Name: Jamie
Location: Rapid City, Outskirts
Time: 1000

It all started with rumors and claims. The thought popped into my head, chasing away the feeling the silence of the car gave me.

Claims that religions caused war. It was a delusion in art form. They mix a little lie in with truth, mix it up until black and white turn to grey, then indoctrinate the kids.

I tapped my lip as I sat, then turned to Mark. “Is it alright if I write?”

My protector, as I’d come to think of him, glanced around. “Okay, but keep the brightness low and close the screen when I warn you of oncoming cars.”

I nodded, grabbing my laptop and firing it up. I typed away furiously to catch up with my brain.

They’ve raised up a generation of near-zombies, false doctrine so deeply ingrained in them that they are blind to the truth. This is the truth;

Our government has been arresting and killing those who believe in God. Merely believing in anything other than what they teach is a death warrant.

I felt the seat shift as Mark peered at my screen, curious. I tried to ignore him and kept typing, determined not to be distracted.

That man you saw preaching on the street corner? He will be dead before he reaches his home tonight.

That guy on the news who was killed in a hit and run while crossing the street? He was targeted.

Your cell phone has a tracking device in it, so that they can find you wherever you go.

This is the government we’ve voted in, and these are laws we’ve agreed to.

Let me tell you another secret; in six weeks or less, that law to register all firearms will be used to confiscate every firearm owned by civilians.

Hide your weapons. Get rid of the tracking tags located in the butt of the weapon, and hide that gun! The time is soon coming when you will have need of it.

Soon afterwards it will become mandate to get a mark, it is still unclear what kind, on either your right hand or forehead. This mark will be explained as a way to identify those who do not obey the athorities.

We are headed for war. The killings of Christians and people of other religious beliefs will become public. The public will adore these killings.

Survival of the fittest. That is what they teach. They accuse Believers of murder, genocide, causing war… They claim to be against these things, and yet they are instigating it.

Keep these things in mind, and when they happen, you will know the truth. But will you be brave enough to face it?

~The Truth Seeker

I closed the screen, shutting it down. This wasn’t my typical article, but then, times were changing, and my writing had to change with it.

Mark was studying me. “What?”

“How do you do that? Type so fast, almost without thought.”

I shrugged. “Writing is kind of like talking to me. Actually, I write better than I talk.”

He tilted his head, but said no more, turning to stare out the window. Now it was my turn to study him. He hadn’t been much of a talker so far, but he was being even quieter now. Something was wrong.

Duh, you idiot, his brother died. I swallowed as my own brain insulted me, reminding me of what I had seen at the cabin. Tears tried to flood again, but I held them back. This was not the time; in a carful of guys, hoping not to attract unwanted attention. Tears certainly counted.

I felt guilty, like it was unloyal to not be mourning the deaths of my friends. God, why can’t some things in life just be easy?

I stared out the window, muting my thoughts and focusing on surviving until the next stop. My stomach clenched at the sight of approaching headlights, and I nearly ducked, stopping myself at the last second and forcing my posture to a look of boredom.

A hand touched my knee, almost making me jump. “We’re okay.” Mark said softly, noticing my nervousness.

I nodded. “Sorry, I haven’t been on the run in a while. I’ll get back into the rountine eventually.” Having the job of protecting someone who was being jumpy is very difficult, I knew from expiriance.

Maybe I’ll start working out more diligently when I get to the new safe house. That should keep my mindset in the right place… Or maybe it’s time I did more work outside of the house.

I frowned, tapping my lip as I thought. I hadn’t been very active lately, and my writing was starting to reflect the calmer pace my life had taken. It was becoming less passionate, I realized. Nope, that wouldn’t do.

“Mark, do you know where you’re transporting me to?” I asked, wheels turning.

“I’m taking you to another underground group. From there they’ll probably find you another place to hide.” The question seemed to suprise him.

I slowly nodded. God, what should I do? Should I hide and continue to pound out loads of articles, or is it time to start my next big project? I’d been planning the project for several weeks, outlining what I wanted it to look like and checking if we had the resources to do it. Maybe this move was so that I could pull it off.

“Heads up!” The driver’s voice startled me. I snapped out of it when lights flashed in the side mirrors. Cop!

Mark pulled out his weapon, grabbed a jacket and draped it over his lap, covering the weapon in his hand and the holester.

“Act natural. I’m asleep.” He informed us, tilting his head bag slightly, pretending to sleep with his mouth open.

“What’s our story?” I asked as we pulled over.

“A bunch of friends on our way home from a road trip. We went to visit another friend a few hours north.”

“Drunk.” I quickly said, cracking open a can of beer I’d spotted earlier and pouring a little down their backs to get the smell without the obviously new splashes. Then, still careful of my movements so the cops wouldn’t see anything, dumped some on the jacket on Mark’s lap.

The officer approached the window. “What’s the problem? Don’t tell me my back light went again?” The driver asked.

“No sir, nothing like that. I guess it fails you quite frequantly?” The officer looked in a good enough mood, she hoped it would last.

“Yeah, this hunk’o’junk needs a little work.” He laughed, rubbing the wheel.

“Or a vacation to a junk yard.” The officer smirked, then glanced at Mark, who was gently snoring.

“Where are you folks coming from?”

“A friend’s house, spent the day there, now we’re on our way home.”

“Where’s this friend’s house?”

The driver glanced at the other guy, who shrugged. “I don’t really remember, we were drinking.”

“Who drove?”

“I did, sir.” I raised my hand, saving them. The officer squinted at me.

“Where was this party?” He asked, getting annoyed.

“It was…” I blinked, glancing around. “Umm…”

“Yes?” The cop’s tone was that of a parent talking to a stupid teen. Perfect.

I shrugged helplessly. “I… I have no idea.”

The passenger turned to me, annoyed. “How can you not know?!”

“I’m sorry, maybe I suck with maps?! Besides, it’s not my fault you all got too drunk to think for yourselves!” I shouted back. Mark growled and turned his head to the side, away from us.

Brilliant, his face was the only one the cop might know, but he couldn’t see it now. He was too distracted by our fight anyways.

“Okay, you two, enough!” The driver said with athority.

“Fine.” I growled, settling for glaring at the passenger, who glared back. The driver sigh, annoyed.

“Sorry officer, all I recall was that it’s in that direction.” He said, pointing.

“North?”

“If that’s the way I’m pointing then yeah.” He shrugged. The officer rolled his eyes, putting his notepad back into his pocket.

“Carry on.” He said, walking away and leaving the teens to their fight.

The driver rolled up his window, waiting until the officer was getting into his car before pulling out and driving off slowly. He gradually increased speed until they were going the limit.

“Mark, quit snoring.” The passenger ordered once the cop was out of sight, whacking him on the knee.

Mark grinned, straightening. “I’m suprised he didn’t recognize you.” The driver commented.

“Nobody pays much attention to the sleeping guy. Besides, with my head tilted back and mouth open, I probably didn’t look as good as I do in their pictures.”

“Yeah, right. ‘Good.’” The passenger shook his head, smirking.

“I just hope we don’t get pulled over again, there were so many things that could’ve gone wrong.” I said quietly, looking out the window.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll be in Rapid City soon. We’ve just gone the long way around to shake tails and enter the city as close to our destination as possible.” Mark explained.

I just nodded. Sure enough, soon we entered a huge, sprawling city. Mark adjusted his holester, making sure it was hidden beneath his navy blue hoodie. He made sure it was fully loaded, chambered a round, and made sure the safety was off before slipping it back into its holester.

I glanced down at my outfit. There was no way I could carry my weapon conceiled.

I made sure the safety was on and put it in my backpack, inside a smaller pocket so it was easier to access. “I guess I’m more or less unarmed.” I warned. Mark nodded calmly.

They entered a back ally and pulled over. “This is your stop, mates. I hope we will have the pleasure of meeting again.”

“I hope so too. Thank you for everything, God bless.” I said as I climbed out.

“See you later, boys.” Mark said, pulling out our bags.

“Godspeed.” The passenger replied as he closed the door. The car pulled away, leaving them under the cover of darkness…