When Time Runs Out | Teen Ink

When Time Runs Out

February 4, 2016
By Will_NC BRONZE, St Louis, Missouri
Will_NC BRONZE, St Louis, Missouri
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Log 5-13-3045
Looking out the window, I watched a man die. The body dropped to the ground with a thud. I knew he didn’t have a chance. The time agents got him. All this; the time agents, the shootings, the thefts; is all new. This wasn’t always the case. I say it’s new but I’m 30 and it has been around since before I was born. In any case this “new” development took place about 50 years ago. Some scientist created a way to literally add time to your life. An injection that adds 10 years to your life called chemical x. These injections don’t need to be back to back either. You can live a few years after the injection expires and buy another one later. Once you reach a certain age, usually around 65 depending on how healthy you are, you start buying these serum injections that replenish the organs, muscles, and bones. There is a catch though. You can only buy 5 serums in your lifetime. These are not allowed to be willed to anyone. once you die, any serums you had immediately go back to the government to be tested for contamination and resold. However, because these things need to be bought, some people can’t afford them. This led to people selling them on the black market and trying to make their own serums. The problem is no one but the government knows what goes into them. Many people died in the process and countless others suffered horrible side effects. This is the world I live in. 50 years ago, this was science fiction. But now we live it; we breath it; and in that man’s case, we die from it.
Log 7-23-3045
The rebels showed up again at my city’s government building. The rebels, who call themselves The Death Squad, are highly against the idea of chemical x. These people claim to be doing the job of death and restoring balance. They say these injections disturb the natural flow of life and that it should be banned and never created again. The thing is, they are not wrong. Because of this new development overpopulation is more of a threat than ever. Even with the 5 dose limit, there are still people giving birth. The government is trying to pass a law saying that each family can have no more than two kids. It’s a bit extreme but it makes sense. If you limit the amount of people being born, you can try to control the population. This sparked another reason for retaliation because they didn’t like the idea. This only added to the Death Squad’s numbers. Recently I have been thinking, who are the real bad guys? The government calls them terrorists but they are fighting for unborn lives and natural order. Are they really in the wrong?
Log 10-15-3045
The Death Squad has made a lot of progress, they took about a couple dozen of the local government systems. They have taken over several state government buildings as well as individual cities. It’s a slow process for them but they are going to face large problems soon. The government wants them to pay for what they’ve done. Because of this, they are having trouble keeping the cities and buildings they’ve taken. They are starting to gather forces and fortifying all the important government buildings. It’s starting to look like Death Squad is going to need more help.
Log 12-16-3045
I decided to join Death Squad. I’ve done a lot of thinking. Maybe it’s time people did something about this violation to nature’s law. It’s not natural for people to live this long. Even though people and the government say that Death Squad is bad, I actually enjoy it here. I joined about a week ago and I’m still learning new things about this place. I ended up being partnered with someone named Garrett Tronstad. He has been nice...ish. He is part of a revolutionary army so he doesn’t really have the luxury of being “soft” on people, especially new recruits. On top of that he is one of the head ranking officials. It’s challenging having a head official train you because they have to go to meetings and out to the field sometimes. I haven’t gone out onto the field yet because using a gun and fighting are the last of my training. They say that it flies by fast and soon I’ll be out in battle. For a bunch or guerillas risking their lives for a cause, they didn’t seem sad; scared; or depressed. They walked around making jokes and chugging beer like a bunch of old friends out enjoying life. It’s strange but also welcoming. These warm faces and amazing personalities are nothing like the government tells everyone. I guess that’s propaganda for you though. Make the other guy look bad so people support you. It’s sad how many people believe them. Then again, humans are greedy people. They will gladly join the government side if it meant they get to live longer. I wonder how everyone will react if Death Squad actually manages to stop people from selling chemical x?
Log 1-05-3046
I finally have all the training I need. Now that new recruits are becoming less common, there are more minds available to work on ending this war. I’m still too new to be involved in big ideas like this but it’s getting pretty serious from what I can tell. Every Time the meeting ends Garrett and I talk and every time he seems so agitated. He tells me what he can without breaking the rules of secrecy. From what I can tell something very risky is being debated and with the look that is stuck in his eyes I know that not many of us have a chance of making it out alive. Over the past month of working with this guy I feel completely safe in trusting him to make a good decision but sadly it isn’t up to him,.
Log 1-31-3046
After a month, that felt like years, it seems as if the “bigwigs” have come to a consensus. The only problem I have is Garrett hasn’t gotten any better. His face still carries a thousand yard stare, as if he has come to see unmentionable horror. He is speaking even less now. His usual brown hair disheveled and slowly gaining grey hairs. His body has formed a slumped, stooped over stance instead of the usual upright position. His eyes are the worst. What once were bright blue; full of passion, optimism, and kindness; now dulled and full of despair. They seem to be stuck to the floor as if a weight too heavy to lift locks them in place. If a simple idea could do this much to someone, what horrors lay in store for those involved in such a devastating concoction of a scheme?
Log 2-10-3046
I’ve been noticing a lot of guns being transported here. I get that we are on the front lines but there are more guns here then we know what to do with. On top of that, everyone is being forced to do more training and drills. Even people who have already passed the tests need to go back to training. It makes no sense, we know how to fight already, why are we training so hard?
Log 2-25-3046
I’ve decided to do a little bit of snooping. Something isn’t right. I’ve tried asking the high ranking officials about why we’re doing this but they just yell at me to do more training. On top of all of this secrecy and unexplained actions, I haven’t seen Garrett since the officers started making us do more training. Was he moved out to help another regiment? That wouldn’t make any sense because he is one of the people who run this whole organization. He should be stationed in the headquarters.
Log 2-27-3046
This is wrong. This is all wrong. Garrett’s gone. I overheard a couple officers talking and they said they were glad they finally got rid of him. When I heard that, everything clicked together. The way that Death Squad is run is it has two main leaders who give out their ideas and plans and the other high ranking officers toss around the idea until it goes up for a vote between them. Garrett is one of those people who run the place. The other man was Jude Marth. Out of the two leaders, Garrett was the most sensible. He was the one that kept a level head and thought things through. He was the real reason that Death Squad was still alive. Jude looked the same way he acted, like a brute hungry for power. He was 6ft 7in tall and was all muscle. The guy practically lived in the workout room. He also was an ex-military soldier. You could tell because it didn’t look like he ever left the army. He still had the same military haircut, always wore a tanktop and pants, and walked around at all times in boots that reached halfway up shin. This guy was now in charge of the entire revolutionary army with no one to stop him from doing whatever he wanted. I didn’t find out what he was planning but I know this, I no longer feel safe.
Log 3-07-3046
A raid, he is planning a raid on Washington DC! I knew that man craved power but I never thought he would go for the president. He made the announcement earlier today by saying once we have the president hostage, we can demand that chemical x be stopped. However, having followed him for the past couple of days I can tell he has other plans. He wants the whole country under his control. I have to put a stop to this but I have no support. Garrett, the only person who could actually convince everyone on what was really going on, is gone. It’s me versis all of Death Squad. My options seem to be limited to leaving Death Squad and escaping, go along with what Jude has planned, or try to get some back up and take Jude down.
Log 3-09-3046
I knew it would have happened sooner or later I just wished I was given a bit more time to prepare. Someone caught me tailing Jude and got curious as to what I was doing. I knew they would report me to Jude so I ran to my bunk, packed what I could before I heard the footsteps, and jumped out of the window. Next thing I knew, an alarm was going off and I heard gunshots. I ran to the nearest town and found an ally to hide in. Now I’m stuck because they have stationed troops all over town.
Log 3-15-3046
It has been hard just trying to stay alive, much less hide from soldiers stationed here. I’ve been put up on wanted posters as a traitor. The signs read, “Wanted, Scott Roberts, Reward: $500.” They want me so bad, they are willing to pay $500 for me. I have to start Telling the people about what Death Squad is really up to.
Log 3-20-3046
What are the odds. So many things just fell into my lap in the past 5 days. For one, I found Garrett. Turns out he escaped like me. There was a family watching over him and keeping him safe. Apparently the whole time he was gone he was preparing an army against Jude. We agreed that we were part of Death Squad at heart but we didn’t like they way it was being run. The people have nothing but improvised weapons and a few guns. On top of that, none of the people who had helped us had any fighting experience. The first time I saw the group I thought that it was useless to even try to go up against him. Until I heard the plan that Garrett had come up with. Instead of charging the base and risking the lives of the people and the Death Squad soldiers, he was going to simply kidnap jude and tell everyone what he was really planning and convince them to leave him behind. The plan was to have one of our members say they caught me and demand to see Jude for the money, then when Jude showed up we would jump him and his guards and tell the people. We all knew this plan was risky and had many holes in it when he pitched the idea but it was the best we had. I have the rest of today before I become a hostage.
Log 3-21-3046
The plan went horribly, Jude didn’t show up. When the soldiers came we waited to see if Jude would show up. After a few seconds of not talking one of the soldiers reached back and pulled out a small stack of $50 bills. That’s when things got crazy. The people who were hiding in the warehouse jumped the two guards and took their weapons. The guards looked both surprised and murderous. That is until they saw Garrett. Once they saw him, he started to explain our situation and why we did what we did. After that we set them free and they decided to work with us. We then spent the rest of the time we could, before they had to go back, creating a new plan. This time, it was a bit more thought out. Now, we were going to have the two guards go tell Jude that it was a fake me and that I wasn’t there. Then over the next week, they would tell all the soldiers they could about Jude’s scheme. We agreed on three days before both the people and all the soldiers stormed the base and took Jude out of power. The only problem is Jude has many lackies that won’t go against him. They are the only people that stand in the way of us and Jude. I was assigned to be on the front lines with Garrett and a few others to capture Jude. I have a strange feeling that I won’t be writing another log entry. In case of the worst happening, this is Scott Roberts, proud member of Death Squad, signing off for the last time.



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