The Day Before Hell

A small child in a purple dress stands alone near the edge of a 3-story building. She has a glowing blue square on the back of her neck. Where are her parents? Down below on the street, drunk again. They’re laughing without a care in the world. They’re part of a large parade crowd clogging up the futuristic city’s glowing sidewalk. Paper shreds flow with the wind. She bites her lip, unsure if she should jump. She inches closer. A boy points up at her, and slowly everyone else notices her.

She leaps.

The crowd screams.

BAM! She’s caught by 3 robots holding a trampoline-like sheet. The crowd cheers, and she tears up as she’s approached by her parents. Her dad hands her mom his drink.

“That was too scary!” she says as she begins to cry. Her father picks her up and pats her on the head.

“There’s no need to worry,” he says. “We made sure you were saved as early as possible.”

“That’s right,” says her mom. “We love you so much, we made sure that if anything ever happened, you would be in the server.” Her mom wipes her tears and some confetti from her face. “Now let’s get you an ice cream!”

Loud music can be heard playing through the night. Buzz is in the air. The night sky is lit up by the tall futuristic buildings in Gen City. It’s currently in night mode, and the white and green buildings have changed color to black with various neon lights. The sky has a large ticker on the moon. Is that the moon?

No, it’s a screen! The inside panel of the enormous city-wide dome has been turned into a large TV screen, simulating the night sky. Right next to the moon is a giant logo for the “ViGen” company. Its green heart shape with a “V” in the middle makes it unmistakable. On the moon ticker reads the time and date:

December 30th, 2099, 9:10 p.m.

Stores are selling out of champagne. Bars are advertising for their New Year’s parties tomorrow. Flying blimps and drones carry banners advertising end-of-the-year sales and specials.

However, no matter where you look, the ViGen company’s logo is on every building, street, and piece of tech in sight. The logo is branded on all the citizens’ clothes as well.

Tonight is particularly special for the Connor family. They’ve finally made enough money to save their son. They enter a church-like building far away from the commotion of the parade. A large “ViGen” heart-shaped logo sits on its top where a cross used to be.

Much of the interior still resembles a Catholic church. Much of the nave has had its pews replaced with waiting room chairs and couches. Its stained glass windows are still there, praising a former god.

A commercial on several TV screens plays on a loop, showing the benefits of getting the glowing blue ViaChip installed on your brain stem. “Should something ever happen to you,” the commercial repeats, “your consciousness will be saved by our patented ViaChip and uploaded to our quantum server to be revived later. How much is your life worth? Save your family today!”

The altar is replaced with a front desk where an orange-haired clerk taps away at a keyboard. The computer’s screen is a thin, clear piece of glass projecting holographic images.

The couple walks in with their preteen. Blue squares glow on the backs of the parents’ necks. The clerk smiles as he sees them approaching.

“Welcome. What can the system do for you?” he says in a cheerful tone.

“Finally time to save our son! He’s 12 now,” says the father.

“Excellent! Every mind saved will live on for an eternity within the server. I just need you to—"

SMASH! A man in ripped clothing, dripping BLOOD, bursts through a stained glass window. The family huddles in fear as glass rains down and splinters in all directions. The mom screams. The bloody man rolls onto the ground. He lays there only for a moment before jumping to his feet. He looks around, dazed, and sees the family huddled behind the desk with the clerk. His eyes grow wide as he suddenly realizes where he is, and he sprints for the entrance.

CRASH! Suddenly, another man comes in through the other window. This one is dressed in a BLACK UNIFORM with glowing green stripes. The heart-shaped logo of ViGen is on his uniform and his silver gun. He’s no more than 18, and his head is half-shaved, with the other half having short purple hair. His eyes are a sky blue. We will come to know this man as Dex. Dex lands with a perfect roll and chases after him.

He fires at him. Plasma bullets come spewing out in succession. The bloody man evades and dives behind a couch. Wood and cloth ERUPT from the chair as the bullets riddle it with holes. The man crouches lower behind the pew and pulls out a smaller plasma gun. He stands up and fires. The man’s stray plasma bullets force the family to scramble to the side. Dex leaps behind the clerk’s desk and tips it over for a shield. The clerk cowers underneath it.
“Aren’t you going to stop him, Keeper?!” the clerk says.
“Aren’t you?” Dex snaps back.
“Wait, you’re so young! Don’t tell me you’re only a rookie Keeper!”
“Shut up!”

Dex presses a couple of buttons on the side of his weapon. It blinks blue twice. He peeks from behind cover and starts firing. His bullets come out slower than before but are larger in size. The bloody man returns fire directly at the desk. Dex dodges a few plasma bullets but holds his position. POW! One scrapes Dex’s arm, and he falls back into cover, clutching his arm. The man moves toward the main aisle. Toward freedom.

Dex checks his arm. It’s smoking, but he’ll live. Dex bites his lip. Then he looks at the desk clerk’s chair and smiles. The man is still giving suppressing fire. He’s inching toward the door. A shadow quickly emerges from behind the desk, and the man fires at it. But it’s just a chair. Dex emerges from the other side and gives a solid shot. 

BAM! It hits the man directly in his shoulder, and the man’s gun fires. One of his stray plasma bullets bounces off a pillar. POW! It hits the father directly in his face. The woman screams.

Dex leaps over to them. He looks at the father’s limp body and charred face. A tear fills his eye, but he wipes it away quickly.
He stands and checks the aisle. The bloody man is lying on the ground. Dex bends down and flips the father over. He sees the back of his neck still glows blue.

“Worry not,” says Dex in a soft tone. “Your husband is saved and with the server now. You’ll see him again someday.” The woman nods, crying. The teen stares in shock.
FOOM! The doors to the church flap back and forth. Dex jumps up at the sound, but it’s too late. The bloody man’s corpse is gone. Dex sprints outside. He bursts through the door to see an empty parking lot. He sucks his teeth. He taps twice on the blue chip on the back of his neck, then puts two fingers to his ear.

“I have lost visual, I repeat, I have lost visual,” Dex says. “I am still in pursuit. Keeper Dex, out.” He sprints into the night toward the parade.