As Anarchy Abounds

Have you heard of the optimal strategy in game theory? Or perhaps the prisoner’s dilemma is more familiar? It’s rather simple. Essentially, when given the option between two choices, players typically gravitate towards the one with the highest reward. The reason why many laws are so effective is that the benefits of obeying the law usually outweigh the penalties. Barring the exceptions, who wants to risk spending months or years in jail just to steal a bit of food or murder someone you don’t like?

But what happens if the benefits are negated? For example, regardless of what you say or do, you’ll be thrown in prison. Another person bullies you, irrespective of if you're naughty or nice. No matter how you choose to live your life, you will die tomorrow. What happens then?

Well…

Tick.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. The fires, the looting, the indiscriminate violence – it had all happened before. In every world, in every timeline, when an apocalypse began, everything almost always fell apart.

My bare feet trod along the ground as I observed the same scene on every street. The eversmooth pavement had already begun to warp under the incessant shaking. The familiar scent of gas and smoke filled the air. Fires lightly singed my clothes. There wasn’t enough law enforcement to stop the tsunami of chaos. Some likely already joined the tide.

Tick.

Some said that humanity was inherently evil, but in my opinion, most people were not bad. Sure, on either end of the extremes, there were bound to be those who fought for or against justice. But the majority of people were neutral, only doing enough to remain within the bounds of the rules, or hovering within the gray areas in-between, generally following the herd.

However, that neutrality made humans easy to exploit. All you needed was a catalyst to force the people towards the extremes. In this world of… ten billion, was it? Even if only 0.1% fell in the extremes, that was still ten million who would steal, rob, and kill others for their own benefit. And ten million was more than enough to make the neutral 99.8% do the same, for fear of their own safety, especially if their sin would be erased by the end to come.

Tick.

“Hey there, pretty lady! Where do you think you’re going?” Along with the nasally voice, a hand pulled on my right arm, snapping me out of my reminiscent daze. I was turned around only to see a pair of brown eyes right against mine.

“Hmm… you look familiar…”

“Wait a sec, isn’t she that famous actress?” Another deeper voice asked.

“Oh my god, you’re right! It’s that bitch my boo keeps making eyes at on TV!” A third voice squealed.

“What’s her name, K…, K…, something… Agh, I want her!”

“Sure, whatever. It’s not like it matters anyway.”

I managed to pull my hand out and take a step back. As expected, it seemed to be a group of three, though their makeup seemed a bit unlikely. The person who grabbed me was a man somewhere in his forties or fifties – whatever hair left on his head was more gray than not. With how easily I pulled away, he wasn’t all that strong, but he had a face that could make anyone scream, especially with that creepy grin of his.

The second was a younger dude somewhere in his twenties, maybe even a college student. His dark skin contrasted his blonde-dyed hair as he picked his nose in boredom. He whipped the baseball bat around as though he was getting ready to make a lazy swing.

The final one seemed to be a teenage girl calling the shots. Given her gal-ish look, she was probably the queen bee of her classroom, always taking from others or being sucked-up to. Although her arms clearly lacked muscle, her leader status was probably due to the gun she held, waving it like a toy. Either that, or maybe she made a deal with the other two.

All of them seemed to be wearing some kind of expensive clothing while the older man was carrying around a giant rucksack. They probably robbed a few stores already, lapping up the luxury. Either that, or…

Tick.

“Who are you?” I asked, pretending to be a bit scared.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” the girl snarked, scrunching up her rather average face. She made sure to keep the gun front and center as she spoke. “We just need you to come along for a bit without asking questions.”

“W-why should I do–”

Bang! A bullet shot out from the gun. I wasn’t sure where she was pointing, but it definitely wasn’t at me. A misfire, by all accounts, one that flustered the girl for a brief moment before she quickly recovered.

“What did I just say? As you can see, that burst or whatever has made this place pretty dangerous. We’re just trying to help you. Of course, we will ask for a few small things in return…”

“B-but…”

The girl interrupted once again. “Agh. Shut up already! You see, this is why I hate bitches. They think they’re so beautiful that you have to listen. Just come quietly and we won’t have any problems. Got it?” The dark skinned man smacked the baseball bat against his hand as he walked towards me.

Tick.

I stayed silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. These were exactly the type of people I thought they were. All they did was cause chaos for their own benefit. And now that the world was ending, it was the perfect time to live it up. Trampling over others was just everyday life. They might be only part of the problem, but it was because of these people that the rest felt they were forced to do the same.

There was only one thing to do.

Tick.

~~~

“Tch. What are you looking at me like that for girlie? I can’t stand those eyes of yours!” The dark skinned man swung his bat directly at my head.

Whack!

The doll’s head went flying. After all, when wood and metal collided, metal typically came out on top. However, the result was very much unexpected for the dark skinned man, who simply stood there with his eyes wide open.

“What the hell?!? I said I wanted her! Why the **** did you knock off her head!?” The older man asked, censoring himself as he cursed.

“Jeez, you overdid it this time Leo. I didn’t think you were that strong,” the girl simply stared off, disinterested now that the doll was dead.

“Hey guys, that kind of felt weird…”

“Eh, who cares. And John, shut it. We’ll find you another girl next time, unless you’re into that sort of thing.”

“**** no!”

“Then, let’s get out of here.” Both the girl and the older man turned around, walking away with opposing expressions. “Leo, are you coming?” she turned her head back.

But the dark skinned man did not budge.

“Leo?”

He did not respond. The girl started to realize something was wrong, but it was much too late.

Tick.

Leo’s body slumped to the ground disgracefully, as though a puppet cut from its string. A chisel stuck out a few inches from his right eye socket. And still standing there, as though everything was normal, was the headless doll.

Needless to say, both of them screamed.

The clockwork doll leisurely strolled over towards them, making a pit stop to pick up both the metal and her head, fixing it back into place with a loud click.

“It’s been a while since that happened. I always forget how uncomfortable it is,” the doll coldly said, her voice matching the expressionless facade permanently etched on her face.

“Fuck this!” the older man yelled, too scared to even remember to censor himself. He tried to run away, but almost immediately tripped over his own feet. He stood back up, only to trip again over and over, muttering the same five words. “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t–”

SMACK! The doll smashed the older man’s head in with the baseball bat, killing him instantly. That only left…

“EEEEEKKKKK! STAY BACK YOU MONSTER!” The girl had lost all strength in her legs. She tried pointing the gun at the doll, but with her hands quivering so much, she couldn’t even release the safety. It wasn’t long before the gun fell from her hand. The doll stood, looking down as her mouth began to ramble incoherently. “Please! I don’t want to die! If you let me live, I promise I’ll be your slave and do whatever you want.”

The doll pretended to think about it for a moment, making the girl believe that she had an in. “Seems appealing?!? You want men? Money? Workers? Just leave it to me! Just don’t kill me!!!!”

However, in the end, all the doll did was sigh, raising the bat into the sky. “All your kind does is take, and once something is taken from you, you beg and plead all the same. What about the lives and chaos you caused? Do you know how many worlds could’ve been saved if you just put aside your greed for a single moment?

“Because of that, I made a promise to myself. If anyone who lets their greed overtake them…”

The doll swung the bat down.

“Momm–”

SPLAT!

“...I’ll kill you, even though my actions won’t change the fate that befalls us all.”

Tick.