FirstLineFiction beta

from Contest #4

            For a long time they said we didn't need one, but then something changed and they said that we did. I try to look back, and I try to see where thing began to change…I try to remember where things began to go horribly wrong…but in all of my attempts, my efforts are all for nil. However, all of my endeavors, all of my pondering, everything that I imagine, it all takes me back to the same place. It all takes me back to that trip to the grocery store. It was a stop to pick up some pasta for dinner, but it would turn into so much more.
            I placed my keys into my pocket, and my hands soon followed. The walk from my car to the entrance was a short one, but a brisk on at that. Fall had come and gone already, and you could tell that winter was just around the corner. Dead leaves sat in gutters and clumped in drains, but soon snow would come and cover it all, blanketing everything. I shuffled quickly inside, and out of the weather. I would not notice initially, nor would anyone else. It took time for me to notice. It took time for everything to set in.
            I was browsing the canned-vegetable section, when I heard a clamor in next aisle over. There was a loud shout, which made me drop a can of sweet peas. The commotion grabbed me by the collar, and yanked me out to see what was going on.
            “Mom, Mom! Come here, come see!” One little blonde-haired girl motioned and waved at her parental unit to come join all of the chaos, as she yelled for her. It wasn’t just younger children though. People of every age, dimension, and cultural background seemed to swarm around the fuel of the fire. There was some sort of energetic core in the middle, but I couldn’t quite figure it out what it was yet.
            I heard an uproar of “whoa” and “wow,” of “look at that” and “amazing!” I listened as people said, “I want one,” “How does it feel,” and “How does it work?” With each ensuing question and statement, I wanted to know. I needed to know.
            I pushed my way through the growing crowd, toward the center of the mass. It was a tangle of limbs and coats and store-bought goods, but I was on the verge of breaking through. I readied myself, steadied myself, and then pushed my way through.
            I reached the core of the group, to find two individuals, one man, and one small child. The man was middle-aged, and seemed to be approaching his late 30’s. He was very clean-cut, and had a very charming and suave look to him. He was already beginning to show tiny spots of gray in his black hair, but was still built well. The child was much younger, probably about 5 or 6 years of age. He was a scrawny little thing, with lanky limbs, and a blonde head of bowl-cut hair. The two did not know each other, which made the sight all the more strange.
            The man held the boy up, with the boy’s head resting on the stranger’s chest. You could see the man’s charming smile, and the boy’s eyes wide in excitement. The boy looked up at the crowd and said in the quietest voice, “You really can hear it! It’s…it’s a thumping sound…almost like knocking on a wall…or beating on something! It’s almost like it’s beating on his chest, trying to get out! I can’t believe that he has a heart!  He has an actual heart!”
            At that moment, I knew, just as everyone else around must have known. I knew, and it disgusted me. I couldn’t believe how excited everyone was. Clamoring and gathering around like a bunch of beasts, I couldn’t stand any of them. I pushed my way back through their barricades, and went back to my shopping. I knew they would continue on with their misadventures, but I cared no longer.
            I had seen the advertisements on TV and radio, but I didn’t think it would ever catch on. I saw the billboards and banners, but knew that it was absurd. It was an illogical concept, and I would have nothing to do with it. Who would want something like that anyways; some strange entity, beating away inside, and altogether changing a person. Who would want all of that? Who in their right mind would want to begin to feel feelings? Who in all of the land would want to start experiencing those things they were labeling “emotions”? I sure didn’t, and would have nothing to do with it. I returned to my shopping, and then headed home. I had my own beliefs, but unfortunately, people believed otherwise.
            It began as advertising, and marketing, but an ugly shift into other areas would come. No longer were they happy-go-lucky in their ways, but a darker shade of black. I remember when it happened too.
            Of course, they gained popularity with the advertising, but the product, the hearts, became bigger and bigger. All of the celebrities and high-profile people first started getting them, boosting them up higher and higher. But then, slowly but surely, the common Joe Schmo and Jane Doe began to join in as well. They began to save that extra dollar, squeezing every last drop out of their paycheck, and sometimes even taking out loans all in order to receive that heart.
            I couldn’t understand it though. I would never understand it. There were others like me, who believed as I did, but they would not last long once things began to shift.
            Things began to alter from one norm, to an absolute normality. I remember when it happened too. I was sitting in my TV room eating a TV dinner and watching the news, when a “Breaking News” bulletin came in, straight from the White House, and the President himself.
            “Good evening my fellow Americans. It has been a very exciting and exhilarating few months, not only for me, but for the entire United States. We have seen great change come to our country, and not only have we persevered through this change, but we have excelled far beyond it. And now, I have a grand announcement to make. As many of you already have experienced and received, Americans all over have been choosing to receive a heart. I’ve seen some Americans struggle to work for it, but the smiles on their faces after it is completed, have become memories that I shall never forget. I remember just last week when my 14 year-old son Bobby received his heart. Of course, he was scared, but the moment he woke up after the procedure, I could see the all of love and affection and life, that was so vibrant in his eyes. I myself, received my own heart last month, and it has been the greatest personal decision I have ever made. It even nudges out the decision to marry my beautiful wife Bethany over there. That brings me to the main point of this address though. After long hours of extreme legislation and litigation, we have finally been given the green light, to make it mandatory for every single United States citizen, to receive a heart of their own. We have been working and perfecting this technology, and now we can give it to each and every one of you. Every child and adult and senior citizen, of every shape and size and race, will receive one. This process will take some time, as well as additional taxation, but it will make this country so much greater in the long run. We have a plan set out, that will take the next three months. It will be a hard three months for some, but we will accomplish everything that we have set out to do, and even more. You will all be receiving letters, informing you on when you will be receiving your heart! I thank you all for your time this evening. Stay safe, and God bless.”
            I couldn’t believe it, but it had happened. The sands of time could not be undone, and the thread of my life, which was slowly untwining, could not be fixed either. I could go about life as I wanted to, but I knew that life as I knew it, was slowly disappearing. I could only wait.
            Life went on, and I saw people change around me, like a renegade tornado scooping up my friends and family, then spitting them back out, but spitting out different people altogether. I could and would do nothing though. What was one person to do? “Anti-Heart” groups began to form, but as quickly as they were built up they were torn down by the Government. Pretty soon you couldn’t even speak badly about the process. You only really had three choices when it came down to it. When you got your letter, you could either: get your heart and live life, live in prison, or live six feet under. Those were the choices, and I knew that sooner or later, I would have to make my choice.
            It was a week after the first week in January, when my letter finally showed up in the mail. It was a day just like any other, until I saw that Government Seal on the back on the envelope. However, the moment I saw it, my stomach lurched, and I felt like vomiting. I kept moving forward though; I had no other choice.
            My hands shook as I peeled back the Seal, and gazed upon the fate that I was served. The letter read, “To Whom It May Concern: As authorized by the President of the United States, you are hereby summoned to receive your heart implant. Please report to the Implant Center at 1:00 P.M. sharp, on January the 10^th. If you are unable to attend your scheduled appointment, please contact us at our listed number. If you attempt to neglect your appointment, the Officials will be sent to your place of residence in the hour following your deserted scheduling. You will then be placed under our custody, and our Officials will help you decide what will become of you. We thank you for your time, and hope to see you on the 10^th of January, at 1:00 P.M. sharp.”
            I looked at the calendar, and looked at my watch, and knew that my time was even shorter than I previously believed. It was 1:50 P.M., on the 10^th of January. I sat down at my kitchen table, but before I could even pick up the phone, or even try to figure out a plan, I could already hear the sirens in the distance.
            I was out the door like a renegade breeze, and like a wind without a cause. The weather was beginning to become stormy as well, so I found myself at home. My feet bounced off of the pavement as the sirens grew louder and closer. They were coming, and I knew it would only be time. Time was my only ally, and a poor one at that.
            I saw Aorta Bridge ahead, and I knew that their vehicles wouldn’t fit over the small walkway. I knew that it would be my only shot to gain some ground on them. I darted toward the entry arch, with the sirens nipping at my heels. I turned the corner onto the bride, and saw my fate. Officials were behind me, and Officials were gathering on the other side of the bridge already. By the time I noticed though, I was already out onto the bridge, and too far to turn back.
            On the opposite side they had had a loudspeaker, and began to speak. “Come with us sir, and we will not harm you. Come off of the bridge sir, and we will not have to use force.”
            I saw them all readying their weapons, concentrating their eyes, and focusing all of their attention on me. Not a single one of their eyes strayed from me, and they all watched as I stood there motionless. “We will give you to the count of ten sir, and then your fate is in our hands.”
            “My fate has never been in my own control. You know that as well as I do,” I yelled as I stepped up on top of the guardrail. They all shifted uneasily as I did so, but took no action yet.
            “Not a single one of you understand, not a single damn one of you! This isn’t even my fault you know! I got the letter late in the mail! Ha! Late in your system of postal services! Mark off another great failure, for each and every one of you. Look at you all now. You’re all a bunch of carbon copies, no more original than the next man. I know you’ll never notice, but let me speak my peace! Let me speak the words of what I believe to be true. I know that you’ll never consider my word, or even remember this day, but I will, and somebody will. My words and actions may not be remembered today, or tomorrow, but one day a child or a geriatric man or someone else just like me will. They’ll come out of the workings, up from beneath you, and they’ll challenge what you stand for. Just like me, they won’t be used as just another pawn in the grandiose scheme of things. Did you ever stop to think that it was wrong? That maybe you were forcing it on people? Did you ever stop to think that people, that I, didn’t want a heart? I didn’t want a heart then, and I don’t want it now. Why can’t you see that? You have those hearts; I thought that they, of all things, would make you understand! They’re supposed to make you feel compassion, pity, anything! But do they? Do you even understand? I don’t think any of you damned souls will understand. I know that you won’t. I don’t know where everyone went wrong, or who said that this was the change that we needed. I don’t understand any of it, but I understand it all more than any of you. That’s why this happened. And…that’s exactly why this has to happen.”
            I pushed off the railing with all the strength that I had, as I heard the rush of gunfire back behind me. It was an operatic commotion of gunshots, yelling, and of chaos, but as I fell down towards the icy water all of those sounds would disappear. It was all meaningless, and it was all gone.
            My body crashed through the bone-chilling liquid, and down towards the bottom of the river. I knew the currents would be too much to overcome, but it didn’t matter. As my body was dragged and pulled deeper, and deeper, I found exactly what I had been looking for; there was silence all around. I heard no pounding. There was no beat. There was no heart. Silence.

back to Contest #4