The Start of an Era

January, 25, year 2087.

The moon was shining, it was overshadowed by the neon lights that were shining all over the city, I was riding my motorcycle, I needed to get out of the crowded area to take the closed roads as fast as possible to get to the high stratum. I felt ready.

I grabbed the right lanes to exit under the bridge and get to the closed lanes. There was no one around, I braked and got off the bike, from the backpack I took out a muffler and magnetized it to the exhaust pipe, I sealed the engine so it wouldn't make noise either, after all it was a somewhat old bike. I also turned off the lights. I took the drone out of the backpack, I leaned on the barricades of the road and turned it on to turn off the cameras of the road, when I turned off the first camera I would have exactly ten minutes to turn off all the cameras from that street to the one I had to reach, so the whole circuit would colapse. To achieve the entire route before the activation of the cameras would take seven minutes, the cameras would reactivate in five... I can make it.

I found the first camera, from there it was just following the pattern. Eight minutes, good time. I ran to the bike, accelerated without hesitation. Nothing could be heard, just the wind breaking lightly against the helmet. I had been there for a minute.

I remembered the first time I felt real anger, it was a long time ago. I was fifteen years old and I was leaving school, I was waiting at a traffic light when I noticed three guys behind me, at first I didn't give it importance to it. After a couple of streets I realized that they were following me, I was on my way to work at the store, a random neighborhood store, I passed in front of the park that was two streets away from the store, one of the guys pushed me and threw me to the ground, I turned around and looked him in the face, without fear, I was already used to people trying to rob me, "I see you are a strong guy" one of the three guys told me, "be a good boy and give us what you have, we don't want to make the park where the kids play dirty, right? " I got up from the ground and dusted myself off, "I don't have anything that belongs to you" I said as I tried to escape the situation. That's when one of the guys grabbed my arm and said the following word: "oh yes you do", I felt my blood boil and my body heat up, everything I had with me was mine and nothing but mine, I wasn't going to give three threatening druggies anything. Aggressively I released my arm and with speed I turned and hit the guy in the face, another one of them took out a classic knife and attacked me, I just moved back and kicked him hard in the leg so he fell to the ground, as he was groaning in pain he dropped the knife and then I took advantage and grabbed it, the third guy threw himself against me and without thinking I attacked him with the knife sticking it in his abdomen, the man I had hit in the face shouted loudly "Cactus! "Then he looked at me with rage and attacked me, without realizing it, the guy I hinted in the leg had stood up and was behind me, he grabbed me and let the guy I had hit in the face take revenge by hitting me twice as hard.

I remember that day, my scowl and my great anger. I was four minutes in, I was running out of time, the timer was ticking fast, I didn't know if I would make it. I didn't know if the circuit would suddenly return or if the cameras would gradually turn on, I only knew that I had to get to the place in a matter of seconds. The countdown started: ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three... I had made it.

I braked the bike, got off, took off my backpack and leaned behind the wall of the house, the place where the cameras did not see me after turning back on. I looked at the sky, the moon was shining, this time it wasn't being overshadowed by anything, its brightness was reflected in my helmet.

I fell to the ground, I took an altered breath, I took off my backpack, I got up with a scream and attacked the man who had hit me, he tried to grab me, but I grabbed his arm and with a trip I threw him to the ground, the other man was quick and went for the classic knife instead of me, I reacted with the right time and hit him with my knee in the face, the man fell to the ground. Still in anger, I picked up the knife and without hesitation stabbed him again and again and again, after the man did not react and the knife went in effortlessly I calmed down, stood up and with a look of disgust saw the man I had just killed. Then I approached the other guy who had a knife wound, sat on him and did the same as with the previous man. I got up again, I cleaned the knife with the arm fold of my shirt and put it in my pocket, I approached the third guy who looked at me horrified "please.... let me go" he said with a trembling voice, "the future had no mercy on you, that's why it made you attack me, I, following those steps, won't have it either", I grabbed the man by the hair and dragged him, I picked him up and putting my other hand behind his head I hit him several times against a metal pipe that was in one of the games, then I just picked up my backpack from the floor and left.

"Huh... I never felt resentment" I said looking at the moon, remembering the first time I killed. I was silent for a few seconds, then I stood up and picked up my backpack from the ground, took a deep breath, took out a pistol with a silencer, "the time has come" I said, I put the gun in the holster hanging from my pants, activated the drone lens inside the helmet and made it my eyes, so I would know the position of each of the guards inside and outside the house, I looked at the watch on my wrist, it was 01:35 am. I climbed the wall.

I carefully landed on some bushes on the other side, there were no guards around, I approached the stairs on the backyard and climbed them, slowly. The drone indicated to me that at the back door there was a guard, he was close to me, I waited for him to turn around, so he would turn his back to me, slowly. I approached him, reached into my pocket and took out the classic knife, carefully put my hand in his mouth and slit his throat, waited five seconds and then left the body gently on the floor. I grabbed the radio he had in his ear to intercept the signal and find out what was going on around me, nothing could be heard coming from the radio.

I continued outside the house, turned the corner and approached the kitchen, the lady of the house always left a window open to let the food smells out. I entered carefully and quietly, the house lights were off, I activated the infrared vision of the drone to see the guards inside the house, there were only two at the entrance, which I could avoid, they were still, probably asleep. I went through the dining room, walked through the living room, and arrived at the stairs, I climbed them supporting each foot delicately so as not to make any noise, as they were wooden stairs of those seen in old houses.

As I reached the second floor I heard a noise, I quickly crouched down and turned on the drone's infrared vision again to see what it was. A boy had gotten out of bed to go to the bathroom. The bathroom light came on, I got up and slowly walked down the corridor, I unholstered the gun without hesitation, I leaned against the frame mom the door, when I heard the sound of the water crashing I entered and without the child noticing I shot him, a clean shot to the head that would give him a painless death, I left the body in the tub and turned off the light, I closed the bathroom door and waited a few seconds to close the door to the room. I arrived at the end of the corridor, I entered the main room, taking small steps I approached the bed, I was still with the gun in my hands, I looked up to see who was in the bed, it was the woman. I grabbed the pillow on the other side of the bed and placed it gently on the lady's head. I placed the gun gently on the pillow and fired, nothing was heard. I went back out the door into the corridor, up the stairs to the third floor. There it was. Under a door I could see the light coming out, it was the study of the man of the house. I approached the door, put the gun against the door and activated the infrared again. Yes, there he was. The man's back was to the door, I deactivated the infrared vision of the drone and turned on the one on the helmet, I calculated and taking a deep breath I said "goodbye scum" and pulled the trigger.

The bullet went through the door and accurately hit the man in the back of the head. A clean shot, instant death. The body fell on the table.

I put the gun in the holster, walked back down the corridor to the stairs, went down to the first floor again, crossed the living room, but stopped, turned and looked towards the main entrance, there they were, both guards were asleep, I drew the gun and changed course towards the entrance, I was going carefully. Without realizing it, I accelerated my pace. I arrived, I was in front of the door, “huh... I thought they were inside...” I crouched down, I pointed the gun at the door, I put the gun barrel behind the head of one of them and fired, the body fell from the chair, the other guard moved and before he got up I aimed and fired, another clean shot to the head, the body fell backwards.

I got up, deactivated the infrared vision and walked to the kitchen, I went out the window through which I had entered, I turned the corner, I walked and saw him again, his eyes were open, I drew the gun and fired twice "you decided to protect scum and not those who need it, that turns you into scum too" I said, I went down the stairs and walked through the yard without looking back, I reached the bushes, climbed the wall and fell where the bike was, I picked up the backpack, picked up the bike and climbed on. I did the same process of deactivation of arrival cameras, when I finished I accelerated the bike and left the place.

January, 25, year 2087, time of abandonment 02:12.