Downfall

By Aaron Morgan

The year is 2237. The world has changed, the technology far more advanced than the human mind could have imagined. But along with innovation, and the passage of time, comes the need for power. The Administration-a group of men, women, and children who have given their lives to taking over the futuristic landscape of the land of the free-have finally put their pledge into action. They are not only taking over the land of the free, but they have expanded their plot to take over the world as well. Enter the life of John Kennedy, an average, everyday, 16-year-old who has the same worries as anyone else. But all of this changes, when the change in democracy, the change in power, and the change in not only his life but the life of every human on the planet is altered forever. With most of his family gone, and everything he has known and even grown up with disappearing before his eyes, can he bring the Downfall of this mysterious "Administration"? Or, will he bring the Downfall upon himself?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781329982581

Book preview

Downfall

Downfall

Downfall

Book One

Aaron Morgan

This book is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, Places, and Incidents either are products of the Author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by Aaron Morgan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2016, by Lulu Press Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-329-93802-1

Cover Art by: Aaron Morgan

Lulu Press Inc.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Ocala, Florida, 34431

aaronmorgan.doodlekit.com

Ordering Information:

Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, educators, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the above listed email address.

U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers: Please contact Aaron Morgan through the following website:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/aaronmorgan

This book is for Matt and Diane, my ever so gracious parents who helped me through the processes of writing this book. I cannot thank them enough.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to my mom, Diane, who has supported me through the process of writing this book. Thanks to my dad, Matt, who helped me learn all the things I needed to know in order to complete this book, and thanks to the rest of my family for helping me and allowing me the chance to write a book. Thanks to my English teacher for helping me with all of my grammar problems, and encouraging me to continue writing this book. Special thanks to my friends Emma, Nick, Bridget, Molly, Reagan, and Martin for helping me in the tedious processes of writing this book, and for being the first readers to encourage me and tell me Please write more. Thanks also to anyone and everyone else who supported me in my times of being braindead, and encouraging me to write on.

Thanks also to everyone at Lulu Press Inc., for helping me, and allowing my dreams to be an Author to come true.

And finally, Thanks to my wonderful readers, the people of this world, that have allowed my dream to deliver my writing to this world to come true.

Prologue

To all of you out there reading this, great. Congratulations. Welcome to the end of the world. Everything that used to be, in this great land of the free, is gone. No more democracy, no more freedom. Heck, we can’t even have a book without the damn government knowing about it. The man behind the mask, a man no one has never laid eyes upon, is the one who governs us all. It is the year 2237, and things have changed greatly in the past years for this country. The U.S. Constitution no longer exists, burned at a ceremony in the house used to be known as the White House. All books pertaining to the history of the Earth have been destroyed and will remain unseen from the eyes of man for centuries to come. Now, here comes the big word you have all been waiting for. But. But, there are those of us who are resisting, those of us who want our home back, those of us who are willing to fight to secure our lives, to win back our freedom. The fighters. The one’s who never gave up, the ones who fought to the end, to the last life of the last man willing to sacrifice everything for the lives of millions.  But, where to start? I guess I can start in the beginning, when our normal, everyday lives were suddenly clashing with the ideals of the new government. It was like a flash of lightning; it came quickly and struck hell fast. And that’s when it all started, when it finally came. The Downfall.

Chapter 1

My name is John. John Kennedy. I live in the state of Florida, or what it used to be. Our home is located in a small city on the outskirts of the larger city of Jackson’s Town. I am 16, and I have an older brother who is 18. I live with my Mom on a house down the road known as no name road, in the Orange City. I go to school at the local high school, Orange High. My brother plays on the football team, and is known for his legendary tackling in our school. On the day that it all changed, it started out just like every other day. But of course, everyone knows by now that looks can deceive…

John wakes to the sound of the house falling down. Or so he thought. He scrambles out from beneath the warm safety of the covers and rushes over to the alarm clock, slamming his palm down on its plastoid exterior, in an effort to shut out the noise that so rudely woke him from his slumber. He turns and staggers back to his futon, where he falls onto the covers, staring blankly at the ceiling.

You know, I don’t think I want to go to school today.

John blinks drowsily, and begins to stretch his aching muscles, attempting to expel the sleep from his eyes and aching body. He stands up, and makes his way over to his dresser, where he grabs a handful of clothing out of one of the drawers. Turning, he stumbles through the dark room to his shower room door, attempting to yank the door open. Taking several moments to find the handle of the door, he finally manages to open the creaking door, and enters the small refresher. He drops his pile of clothing onto the floor, and turns to flip the switch that activates the lights in the tiny space. Oddly, the lights to not flash on as they normally would.

Wow, first power outage we’ve had in a while.

John reaches over and grabs his phone off the charger. Checking it, he notices it has less than half its normal battery level, so it could not have been charging long before the power outage started. He switches on the flashlight function and sets it down on the bathroom counter, allowing light to flood into the shower room and the room behind him. His bedroom is a room full of strange relics he has brought home from markets, and roadside vendors. He has a strange slug-shooter, a term used for the weapons that fire solid rounds, shaped like a pellet. He also has golden things called trophies, with little statues of people with soccer balls and footballs. He even has something called a Skateboard, an object used in the activity that teenagers used to love, bought at a roadside vendor by a who was lacking teeth. John turns, and strips off his clothing. He steps into the shower, and turns the dial until it indicates it is on the high setting. It sprays mist upon his back, awakening him slowly, like a cat waking from a nap. After taking his shower, he dresses for school, and then treks downstairs, down the aged wooden staircase. He rushes into the kitchen, grabs a nutrition bar off the counter, and rushes outside to catch the bus. He shoulders his pack on the way through the door, and runs across the lawn, praying he makes it to the bus stop in time. He sees the bus dropping through the low clouds, and can see the bottom thrusters quickly easing the bus parallel with the ground. John puts on a final burst of speed and launches himself against the bus doors just as they begin to close.

Late again, Mr. Kennedy? the driver says, smirking as she closes the door.

Yes, ma’am, Mrs. Proski. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.

At his words, the bus driver just nods, and switches the acceleration pad. The bus begins to rise towards the clouds, and zooms off towards Orange High School.

Hey, John! Over here! Get over here, man! I have something to tell you!

John walks over to his partner in crime, Bobby, the kid he has known since 3rd grade.

What’s up, Bobby? Did your mom get drunk again? John says as he places himself in the seat beside Bobby.

No, she didn’t get drunk again. It’s something else. You know that hot blonde Tabitha, who sits with the cheerleaders during lunch? Well, she asked me out to the movies this Friday, to see the new ‘Ghost Town’ in the 4-D house! How cool is that?

John is stunned at his friend’s words. One of the most popular girls in the school asked out Bobby? That was a shocker to the core.

What? Dang man, what did you do, strip down for her? Maybe play ‘Mommy and Daddy’? John says, an astounded look on his face that is soon replaced with a devilish grin.

What? No, why would I do…never mind. So, how’s your brother? I heard he took some damage at yesterday’s game.

Yeah, he did take some damage. Went to tackle this one person and the guy shoved into him, and his arm bent the other way. He broke his left arm, and it will have to be in a cast for six months. So he just dropped out of the football team for the season, and he feels terrible. Even stayed home from school today, but I don’t blame him, because he feels humiliated that he broke his arm in front of hundreds of people.

Well, sorry man. I hope he gets better soon. Anyway, I was thinking you could come see the movie with me and Tabitha.

Wait, why would I come and see the movie with you guys? Isn’t this some sort of date?

Well, yeah, but I was thinking it could be a double date, you and me, and our counterparts.

Counterparts? John questions.

Yeah, Counterparts. Or would you rather me call them our bed buddies? I mean that would definitely work for me.

John just looks at Bobby, and Bobby stares back with a menacing glare. Bobby suddenly grins and bursts out laughing. John begins to laugh too, and it soon turns to hysterical laughter, reaching all sides of the bus. They laugh until their side’s aches, and their lungs feel abused of air. Taking a deep breath, John goes to speak to Bobby, when he sees something out of the corner of his eye. Looking out the window to his left, he thought he could see a plane with a propeller moving through the air. He glances at Bobby, who is talking with a girl sitting behind them, then looks out the window again. All he sees is a wide expanse of blue sky and the endless sheet of cotton-white clouds. John shrugs, then leans forward to listen in on the conversation that Bobby is having with the girl.

Chapter 2

The Bus begins to drop out of the clouds. The descent causes John to feel as if he left his insides above them, in the empty spaces of the sky. The feeling is so intense, John begins to close his eyes, before nausea takes over and causes him to double over in his seat and hold his abdomen.

Hey, John, buddy, you’re not gonna hurl all over me, right? Bobby inquires.

Shut up, you big motard! John says through gritted teeth.

He wishes they could have buses that stayed anchored to the ground, and used wheels to get around, like he saw in the picture of an old yearbook of a high school from 2078. The bus finally touches the ground, and the teeming mass of teenagers stand up and rush down the aisle towards the door. John stands up to join the line of teens already making their way out of the bus and into the loading zone when he gets shoved back into his seat. He hits the ground next to his seat, knocking his head against the metal wall. For a moment, all he hears is laughter, and then he hears the kid’s voice, as if he is listening from a distance.

Loser! Why don’t you just stay there, that’s the level of education you need!

John looks up and gives his attacker a menacing glare, and not soon after he does the boy hesitates and takes several paces away from John.

Hey! What are you doing back there, Mr. Wilkins? Leave poor Mr. Kennedy alone. You ain’t got nothing to do with him.

Slowly, Wilkins backs up and walks away, allowing the rest of the kids behind him to scurry towards exit of the bus and onto the school campus. John stands up, rubbing the back of his head, and starts walking down the aisle. He notices immediately he is the last one on the bus. If he is late again, he will so be grounded.

Thanks, Mrs. Proski. See you this afternoon. He mumbles as he walks by the aged bus driver.

The older woman just smiles and closes the bus doors. As John sprints towards the double doors leading into the school, he glances back and sees the bus rocketing into the sky, the blue-green thrusters flashing in the early dawn light. John slows to a walk as he nears the doors, seeing the principal walking around the corner. As the school principal disappears behind an open doorway, John increases his walking speed to a brisk pace, searching for his friend, Bobby.

Must already be inside,

John thinks. John takes the stairs two at a time, and he nearly passes Bobby in his efforts to get to homeroom on time.

Dude! Where the hell were you? I’ve been waiting for like the past 10 minutes!

I’m fine, Bobby. I fell. Did you talk to Tabitha yet?

Smirking, and detecting John’s obvious lie, Bobby replies Oh, yeah! I did. She totally wants it to happen. You coming to the movies with us, I mean. She’s really good friends with Rebecca, so no one will feel like the third wheel.

Whatever you say, motard. John replies.

John turns around to search the crowd for his girlfriend, Rebecca. John had met Rebecca at a beach last summer and they had started dating at the beginning of last school year. John continues scanning the crowd, not seeing the bobbing red head of Rebecca, and turns around. Bobby is already hiking up the staircase, and John hurries to catch up. As he approaches his friend, the bell begins to ring, and Bobby and John rush through the hallways that are dense with the other students attending Orange High to try to reach their first class in time.

Chapter 3

John shoves his phone into his back pocket, not willing to let anyone know he has it, and definitely not willing to give it to his teacher for confiscation.

Alright, guys. I know ya’ll hate tests, and I definitely can relate to that. But we have to get this done and move on to the next topic. So grab a pencil and a sheet of paper, and if anyone has a phone, please hand it over now so that there is no noise during the test.

As Mr. Jones makes his way around the room, beginning to confiscate phones, John reaches down and pulls his holo-pad along with the other supplies needed for the test for his pack.

Ok, students, I am now handing out your test packets. Testing begins as soon as you receive your packet. It is due at the end of class. Good luck.

……………………………………………………………

John’s mother, Cissandra, frantically dials in the number for John on her phone. She hears the buzzing sounds of static as she ruffles around inside of her drawer for