For The Love of Others

For the Love of Others

Steven drove down the road deep in thought. So much had changed in the last ten years. Back then not everything was perfect, but people were more or less good. Then the war happened. He thought back to those times. He was only ten then. He remembered how he and his sister used to chase each other around the back yard pretending and shooting each other with water guns. He cherished those times the most now that he thought about it. He shifted gears and let his mind continue to wander to the past.

He remembered his mom and how she used to love her flower garden. He thought back and one time stood out to him the most. His mom was cutting back some of her roses as he ran around the yard. He ran up to her.

"What are you doing Mommy?" He asked.

She smiled. "just removing some of the dead branches so that they keep growing."

"Is that why they are so big?" He asked bouncing up and down.

"The reason they grow so big is because of the love and care I give them" She cut off a large flower and gave it to him. "With enough love and care anything can grow big and be beautiful."

He smiled and ran off with is flower and played with his sister some more. He looked up at his visor. He still had that rose, preserved with lacquer, and it meant everything to him. It was only a few years after that when the war started. The government had been overthrown and it seemed like under the new regime everything changed practically overnight. The new government wasn't about to take chances. They developed a drug that suppressed the emotions of the person who took it. Soon after that they released the mandatory directive that all citizens would take the new drug. A population of mindless zombies was easy to control. The people continued to work and only needed to have a shot once a year to keep them perfectly docile and compliant.

It wasn't long before it was clear that the testing that went into the drug was below typical standards before it was administered. It was obvious pretty quick that some people were either completely immune to the drug or it wore off after about a week. Steven was one of these people. It was dangerous for these people. If the government found out they would be killed without a second thought. He had grown pretty good at pretending to still be on the drug, however. He could remember the first injection and how instantly the persons mind just goes blank. He could remember screaming that he didn't want to get a shot, but soldiers just held him down and gave it to him anyway.

He shifted gears once more. His mom and sister were not as fortunate. They were so out of their mind they couldn't remember their own names let alone each other. It tore him apart inside just thinking about it, but he knew that it would all be better soon. He smiled as he crashed through the fence. The guards shooting at his truck. He reached up and grabbed the flower his mother gave him.

"You'll both be better soon" he said

Just as he crashed into the building, the thing that made it all easier for him was knowing that right now across the country there were others. Twenty-five others, all hauling the same forty tons of high explosives. All crashing into the manufacturing plants and storage facilities of these drugs. He hoped he took out everyone he could with him.