Chapter 1

The Darkness Of The World

Dante

The sun broke through the dark morning clouds, shining a beam of light on the city. There was a dreaded hush, as if the entire city was going to be annihilated. The Ordinaters drove by in their cars, searching for the undesirables. A woman ducked behind a crate just in time before the car drove by. A man in ragged clothing tried to find a hiding place, but he couldn’t find one. He felt several bullets ram into his back before he fell lifeless to the ground.

Others scrambled to hide, and many were shot. Slowly, the Ordinaters swept the town, killing all who got to close. After the killing time, the homeless gathered the dead, and buried them.

Later in one of the common junkyards that lined the outskirts of town; an older woman shook her head and said, “Damn the Ordinaters. They killed my family.”

A man of about 19 placed his hand on her shoulder and said, “We all hate them. We all remember that we are wanted. According to the president, who calls himself a president but really is a dictator, we ‘undesirables’ cannot exist. Those who have money can eke out a good existence and those who are able, live freely. We however are ‘evil’ to the others. Due to unchangeable circumstances, we must die. The overpopulation, famine, and that motherfucking president-”

All of a sudden, three Ordinaters jumped out from behind some rubble, and began opening fire. The old woman was killed, and the man ducked behind a wrecked car. The Ordinaters continued to fire at the homeless people. The man picked a shovel, and stealthily crept over to an Ordinater. He delivered a crushing blow to his skull, and the Ordinater fell to the ground. The man swung again and caught the second Ordinater in the chest. He stumbled backwards, and the man crushed him again.

The third ordinater had cornered a boy of about seven, and a girl of about 15. He cocked his gun, and slowly edged toward the trigger, trying to get them as worked up as possible. He called out to his comrades “I‘ll kill the boy, but ill keep the girl, for” he grinned through the mask he had on. “Personal reasons.” The boy screeched and the girl fell on her knees and begged him to take her life instead. The man brought the shovel down on the Ordinaters head and the Ordinater fell to the ground, dead. He tried to calm the children. He said, “Looks like those bitches wont ever threaten you again.” The children calmed down a little, and then they settled down.

The girl asked, “What is your name?”

The man looked down and said, “My name is Dante. I honestly don’t know where I came from, but I assure you, I will protect you.”

The girl smiled a little bit and said “I’m Lillith. This is my brother Duncan.”

Duncan gave a slight wave, and hid behind Lillith again. Dante smiled, ruffled Duncan’s hair and said, “I will protect you as if you were my own. Lord knows what would’ve happened if they had caught up with you.” Dante looked around. He asked Lillith, “Do you know if there are other people around.”

Lillith looked around and said, “How can I tell that you aren’t with the Ordinaters?”

Dante looked at Lillith quizzically. He said “If you look over there,” he pointed to the bodies of the Ordinaters “I killed them. I wouldn’t kill a bunch of my own comrades. I have a code of ethics.”

“Come with me.” She walked nimbly around the junkyard and found a car buried under more rubble. She opened the door once, waited about five seconds. Banged on the metal of it twice and shut the door. She walked to the other side of the rubble and tossed a rock down a pipe that was sticking out of one of the piles. A hatch opened on the side of the pile and they climbed down it.

Inside it, the other homeless people were living in the sewer system of the city. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, but the Ordinaters hadn’t noticed them. The waters had long dried up, and people had made makeshift houses in the canal way. It made Dante sick. Dante followed Lillith in her tour of the underworld of the Homeless.

Authors Note:

The narrative will change from me telling it from Dante’s viewpoint and then the Presidents viewpoint. Each chapter will alternate, but the chapters of the president might be a little shorter.