Children of War - Prologue
Years ago, life was wonderful.
Birds would sing in the trees, flowers were pollinated by bees. Children would play in the park, 'till the day goes dark. Church bells rang, while birds sang. Flags held high, in the bright blue sky, and every sorrow was forgiving, as it's a matter of living.
But that was years ago, and this is now; freedom is an illusion, freedom is never free.
After the year 2030, the world broke out into a panic, people were terrified and scared. Food and resources were depleting, and the world went to war. A war where families turned on each other, governments attacked one anther and citizens committed endless crimes. Nations fell and were replaced by smaller nations or annexed by larger and stronger ones.
People had the idea of killing off anyone who had any uncurable diseases to stop the spreading of viruses. So they set up camps that looked like medical camps, gathered as many extremely ill people as possible and then slaughtered them. It didn't matter who they were, if they were sick, and it was uncurable, they would be killed.
By 2050, the weaker governments fell, the stronger ones annexed them and the global chaos had ceased and order was restored, but in a different fashion. There was no freedom anymore, not for the majority of the populaiton anyways. Most of the world had no middle-class people, there was just the rich and the poor. First class and second class citizens, masters and slaves.
Slavery was alive and well once again, as it had become legal in most states. There were parts of the world where slavery was life, it was necessary in order for their territory to survive and prosper. Other places of the world slavery was a hobby, something that rich people would use for things such as entertainment and enjoyment. There are still those rare nations in the world now that still outlaw slavery and are oppressed to it, but those sanctuaries are hard to get into, as most countries won't let you leave their land unless they want you to.
Freedom died off completely in most of the world, and only rich people and furs would be able to enjoy true freedom. Only small portions in history have even enjoyed true freedom, from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War to World War II where people fought for their freedom and rights. But now all of that is gone, and most of the world is now governed by nations who rule over their land with an iron fist, similar to medieval times periods.
Jeffrey's POV
The sun's intense heat was beating down on my family's local farm one afternoon. I was in charge of looking after my younger brother and making sure that he was not getting into any trouble. We work very hard on our farm, as we feed the local village that is just about a mile west of us.
"Jeff," my brother said.
"What is it, Tom?" I asked.
"Why do we need all this food?" He asked. "We don't even eat half of it anyway."
"That's because we send most of it to the town, where it's needed most" I explained.
I was loading the barrels up with apples from our trees, they seemed to have come early this year.
"Can we go to town?" Tom asked.
"You'll have to ask dad, he's usually the one who goes into town" I replied.
My brother was always curious of the world, he always had so many questions to ask, and if none of us could answer one of them, he would tell us that one day he would finf it out for us and tell us. He was a curious one, and I was curious too, but not like him. My brother was only ten, and I was fourteen, so his curiousity and creativity was probably greater than mine. After a few minutes of loading the supplies on the truck, I called my father over and he got ready to go.
"I'll be back soon for dinner!" My father told us.
"Love you! See you later!" We waved to him.
The truck's engine roared to life, and then made its way out of the barn and down the road into town.
"Okay Tom, let's go help mom make dinner, since dad shouldn't be too long in town" I said.
The two of us then joined our mother, who was making dinner for us in the kitchen, she was happy to see us help her out, since there was a whole family of four to cook for. I hd lived on this farm for my whole life, and I've only been to town once, just to see what it was like. My family needed me here to help out when my father was gone in town for various reasons. I grew up with my younger brother, and I teach him how to do things around here. Our parents would make us work on the farm when we were seven, and as we age up, we would be given more responsibilities.
"How long does dad usually take?" My brother asked.
"I don't know, but he's never been this late before" I replied.
"Well, I'm sure it's justified" my mother told us. "Now, let's eat dinner while it's hot, and he'll eat once he gets back."
"Okay," I replied.
The three of us ate our dinners, but it felt wierd, only having just the three of us, and I didn't like it. My father was always on time for dinner, but not this time, and I started getting worried.
"When's dad getting here" my brother asked.
My mother responded by taking Tom by the hand, and smiling "he'll be home shortly, there's probably just something that's holding him up, that's all."
Shortly after we finished dinner, my father came through the door.
"Honey, why and you late?" My mother asked.
"I got a flat, and I had to call up a friend to help me out. Aww is dinner over already? Darn! Just in time for dessert!" My father said.
"You're funny Dan, but you have to eat your dinner just like the rest of us! Here, I'll heat up our food" my mother spoke back.
After eating dessert while my father ate his dinner, my brother and I left the table to go play video games downstairs. Usually after a long hard day's work, Tom and I would go to the basement and play games together. Anything from card games to shoot 'em up fighting games, but we never played online with other furs, and I never understood why.
"I'm gonna beat you this time at Ace Combat!" My brother said.
"No, you're going down! Like always" I replied.
We usually had a few good laughs together, and there was no other place in the world that I would rather be in then in my farmhouse with my family.
Dan's POV
"So, you had a flat tire I take it?" My wife, Angela asked.
"Yes and no" I replied.
"What do you mean 'yes and no'? Is there something wrong?" Angela cupped my shoulder worriedly.
"Yeah actually, the militia stopped me" I replied.
"Shit," Angela replied. "Why did they stop you?"
"They wanted to make sure that everything was in order, I showed them my papers and everything. It took them a while but I was able to pass by without a hitch" I replied.
I was getting nervous, just recently the Florida militia had pulled me over and asked to see all of my papers. I had no problem showing it to them but what worried me was that I've never seen them so demanding before, we paid our taxes and obeyed all laws strictly, so I don't see why they were on my tail about everything.
"Well, I'm sure there was just a security problem, we should be fine. Why don't we watch a movie together? As one big happy family?" Angela suggested.
"Yeah, why don't we?" I smiled at Angela.
After a few moments of getting snacks and beverages ready for the movie that we picked out, we went downstairs and got ready for the movie.
"Alright kids! It's movie time! Turn it off and sit with the ol' family!" I said to them.
"Okay dad! See? I still beat you!" Jeffrey said.
After the kids turned off the X-box, we played Top Gun for the family to watch together. My kids loved the movie, as they were always into the action movies.
After spending quality time with my family, we cleaned up and headed back upstairs and got ready for bed.
"I'm a little worried," Angela told me.
"Honey, there's nothing to be worried about!" I cuddled with Angela.
"Well, it's not usual for the militia to stop you and ask you for your papers unless you're traveling or on a work visa" she inquired.
"I'm sure it's nothing major" I replied.
I got undressed and joined my wife in our comfortable bed, where the both of us then fell into a nice night-long slumber.
8 Hours Later
BEEP BEEP BEEP* BEEP CLICK
We woke up to the awful sound of our alarm clock. Stumbling out of bed, I slowly got dressed and ready for the day, then Angela followed. We had to get prepared for the next harvest, in August. Angela and I made breakfast for us and the kids, while they continued to sleep in.
"I'll go wake them up" I told Angela.
I walked upstaris to go wake up Jeffrey and Tom, but they managed to get up shortly after reminding them that we had a big day ahead of us.
"Okay honey! We're ready to eat!" I shouted as I walked down the stairs.
The four of us then ate our meals happily together, as if there was no other moment in time that we would have together like this again. After eating breakfast, Angela and I cleaned up the kicthen while the kids would make their beds and clean their rooms, they were such caring children and wouldn't hurt a fly. I felt proud for raising children like them, teaching them to love and care and be nice and respectful, all that hard work paid off!
"Umm, dad" Jeffrey said.
"Yes, Jeffrey? What is it?" I replied.
"Outside... There are soldiers outside!" He exclaimed.
"Shit!" I dropped the dishes that were in my hand in the sink. "Take Tom and hide in the cellar! Now! Angela, keep cleaning and look normal, quickly!"
Jeffrey raced to get Tom, and together they bolted out the back door and hid in the cellar. I made my approach to the front door, and slowly began to open it...