Equilibrium: Chapter I

I

Oreus Sween

It was the beginning of the end of Ghathytij.
Oreus Maxmillan Sween was sixteen years old, average height, weight, and wore average features upon his forlorn visage. Many claim to see a person’s soul through their eyes, but Oreus’ was locked up behind a sealed chamber of bright green eyes. Oreus’ eyes never showed joy or sadness, but rather a cold and calculating vision. His body language and expressions were cryptic, and atypical to the common man. Oreus was different, and in his town of Kalginburg, different was evil. 
He had always found himself  the target of childish cruelty, a subject not pleasant to most. The devilish offspring of less than caring parents were pointlessly cruel to him, taunting him of his every fault whenever the chance permitted. For no known reason, teachers hated him as well, and he felt like he was only a waste of the very fabric which kept together the fragile medium of space. His answers, according to Oreus’ professors, were never as good as the next person’s, even if they were of equivalency. The one thing that kept him together was the thought of eventually ruling a region with all aspects of power controlled by him. A childish game, no doubt, but a game which kept him dreaming and out of trouble. He would spend hours upon hours conquering, destroying, and ruling the puny world which bound his vivid imagination. He pretended to boss his subjects while he reclined in his throne, fashioned out of an old automobile seat and various assortments of tree leaves which shaded his head from the unforgiving sun. He would overlook his realm of stagnant water running fiercely through a muddy ditch and surrounding trees which concealed the dark mysteries of his domain. His castle happened to be the finest in all the land, crafted out of scrap plywood and nails which Oreus rummaged out of the nearby construction site’s dumpster. Most importantly, the weapon which Oreus bore, a staff, carved out of wood, was anything he imagined it could be. A weapon of unfathomable shapes and greater power.
It was July 19, 2045 when it happened. The heavens seemed to cloud over, foreshadowing a tragic event which even the demons residing in Hell would fear. There was no chirping of birds nor the chattering of squirrels. An occasional car would whiz by, blowing leaves into the sides of the cold asphalt road. The trees bowed, though no wind blew, and their leaves were upturned, anticipating the coming rains. A distant wail of sirens indicated that there was still life in the city, though not in the central area of Fort Elexander High.
Oreus stood before the gates of his school, gripping in his right hand the wooden staff until his knuckles were white. The blood pulsed through his veins, but his skin remained cool and pale. Rain drizzled out of the sky, hitting Oreus‘ skin and melting away. He didn’t even seem to take notice in his surroundings. He stood alone, contemplating the events which had occurred in his previous sixteen years on this miserable Earth. He had never really felt right, never feeling like he belonged. He reflected for a moment to his first memories. He had once attended a Tae-Kwon Do class at the early age of three. For the first year, he hated his parents for this, swearing that he would hold a grudge to them until the day that he died. Though he never grew to appreciate the art, he learned of its importance and usefulness for moments he foresaw. He grew stronger, became faster, and grew wiser. He was always a smart child, though never appreciated by his professors. He always had a philosophical touch to him. Oreus’ parents were never there to help him judge his daily decisions, so he felt a sense of emptiness. After much contemplation, Oreus decided he needed to develop self-discipline and learn to fend for himself. Though he was still young, Oreus knew that there would never be a person to be there for him. The sad truth often hit him hard.
He always questioned and never took a piece of information for granted. Life was bearable for him until the age of ten, though far from amusing. He began to realize that philosophy was never going to save him and started to resort to violence. The fights he had in school were always his fault, though he never threw the firs punch. The truth was always locked away, never to be seen or heard by administrative ears. Oreus grew increasingly lonely and alienated from the rest of the world. Oreus, though he didn’t agree at first, started to use his self defense learned in the Tae Kwon Do classes. After a series of bloodied noses forced upon his opponents, no one wanted to fight with Oreus; no one wanted to talk to him either.
Like I have already said, or possibly mentioned in an underlying statement, Oreus had a large appetite for knowledge. What he learned in the pathetic excuse for public education never quenched his desires. Around Oreus’ thirteenth year, he had found himself a frequent flyer in the local library. With so many possibilities, Oreus felt choked on where to begin his learning. The library was simple, twelve rows of fiction, which Oreus found himself less than interested, nine rows of children’s books, and forty-two rows of reference and non-fiction, located in the back behind a small step-up and a ramp adjacently placed for wheelchair access. A small row of Desktop computers lined the center of the non-fiction section, with twenty shelves to the left of the aisle, and twenty-two to the right. However, the numbers are of no importance to mention, so my previous statements may be accused as trivial and unimportant. Either way, Oreus resulted in reading nearly every book in the non-fiction and reference section. He organized his studies by category, listing them in importance. Oreus had no need for paper, and kept a mental note of the books he read. Here is a list of categories numbered by importance which Oreus indulged himself in daily.

1. Government and the science of economy
2. Ancient and modern day weaponry
3. Physics, natural sciences, and biology
4. Psychology and sociology
5. Religion and supernatural occurrences 

He had combined religion and supernaturalism together due to that fact that Oreus never cared much for religion, and always felt that it arose from the silliness of superstition and failure to identify the unknown. He wasn’t atheist, but frequently found himself in a daily escape into the world of science, always theorizing and  scribbling nearly illegible notes. Oreus kept a small leather bound journal with him to scribble notes in, the idea inspired by Leonardo DaVinci. Oreus’ notebook included sketches and a type of coded script which held what Oreus felt were the answers to the world’s great mysteries. In truth, Oreus had completed numerous equations which many continue to stumble over to this day. Why is it that no one has obtained this book then, you may ask. Because it never existed.
It was not long after Oreus’ fifteenth birthday when he ran across a book in his search for The Brilliance of America’s Democracy. It was a small black book with yellowed and dried pages. There was no title or author on the face of the book or the binding, so Oreus flipped open the encrusted cover. In small print on the first page was the following: Where Karl Marx Went Wrong
Author: Jeremy N. Yupustuka. Oreus was slightly puzzled at the lack of any publication or governmentally funded information, but continued to flip through the pages. What the book lacked in pages, it made up for in absurdly small text. The letters were so small, Oreus had to strain his radiantly green eyes in order to read it. After many moments, Oreus closed the book, stood up, and walked over to the checkout counter. One must know that Oreus had never checked out a book in his life, so you can imagine the surprise on the frail librarian’s face. Wordlessly, Oreus slid the book onto the desk and stared at the librarian with a look of indifference and slight disgust. Taking no notice, the frail figure behind the false wood counter grabbed the book with her knobby fingers and placed a return card inside. She paused, then handed to book to Oreus, whose lips never seemed to curve into a smile, even by accident. Oreus grabbed the book in an almost ceremonial manner and walked gracefully out of the door, saying not a word to the librarian whose eyes continued to follow his trail. Once exposed to the cool winter air, Oreus gingerly pulled out the card and discarded it in the nearly dead shrubbery by the door. As one can imagine, the card fluttered in the breeze, occasionally rising then setting, until it met it’s final resting place upon the cold hard dirt. Oreus planned to never return to this library, for all he needed to know was now in this book.
From that day on, he would train himself to be a dictator.

Step 1: Kill those who opposed him

Suddenly, a low beeping violently jerked Oreus from his thoughts. He looked down at his watch to see the time, though there really was no need. He knew what time it was. He had been waiting all his life for this one moment to get here. It was his step closer to his dream. Oreus casually reached down and silenced the incessant beeping on his watch. 8:01 A.M. The late bell tolled. The sound reverberated through his ears, each toll a blow to the ears. For so many years, it only signified a coming day of despair. The bell made its final toll. Oreus watched as few children raced down the hallway, frantic to get to their classes. Oreus almost felt sorry for them, for they were treated like rats. The only thing the children knew was to stand up when the bell rung and to sit down when the bell rung. They moved through the halls, unconscious of where they were truly going. As long as they could remember, it was always the same place. But no, the children weren’t enslaved. They knew what they were doing. They knew more than anyone gave them credit for, and that’s why Oreus was forced to act. He took a deep breath and charged towards the double doors which led into the now empty hallways. He thrust his shoulder into the handle, allowing him to crash through and stumble onto the tiled floor, nearly crashing into the glass walls which led into the main office. The office assistants peered from behind their barely operating computers, looking to see who they could pounce on to punish, like wolves on a carcass. A few dug through their drawers, looking for the detention pads so they may fill out their daily goal. But Oreus gave them no time. Without hesitation, Oreus rushed forward with his staff, hurling himself through the wall. A mass of flesh and glass hurled onto the metal desks, nearly clearing them of useless knicknacks and oddities. Everyone was on their feet now, unsure of what to do. Oreus sprang up off of one of the desks, waving his stick like one would see an enraged chimpanzee do. His heart beat violently, threatening to blow out of his chest. Screaming like a wild jungle cat, Oreus launched into the air, thrusting his stick downward. Almost as if he had calculated the chaos, the stick effortlessly sliced into the skull of one of the assistants. Still falling, Oreus used the momentum to sling his victim over his head and crash out into the guest parking lot. With no blunders, Oreus landed the jump, stick poised ahead of him. The assistants had partially recovered from the initial shock, and were frantically dialing their phones. Oreus recalled his excursion to the janitorial closet where he placed an electronic timer to shut down all electricity in the school, starting with the office and working its way down the power grid to the far end of the school. The electronic locking mechanisms clicked shut on the double doors in every possible exit to the outside. All of this happened in a matter of seconds, all the while, Oreus had gotten up and was ready to continue. He felt the power well in him, the anger searing through his veins. Without warning, Oreus leapt up again and used a more blunt end of his staff to wail another attendant in the temple, instantly killing her. Without pause, Oreus feigned to the right, thrusting his staff behind him and impaling yet another office assistant. On the verge of hysteria, the remaining attendants leapt out of the window, screaming in terror. Not wanting to hinder any progress, Oreus figured that he would hunt them down at a later time. Oreus heard a scuff behind him and wasted no time in ducking down. A loud shot rand out and barely grazed Oreus’ scalp. Wasting no time in details, Oreus lunged at his unknown assailant and managed to pierce the jugular of the poor soul. But Oreus felt no remorse, for no one treated him any differently.   
He rushed out of the office, acting quickly on the recent bystanders. The gunshot had lured numerous loiterers to the office where they unfortunately met their fate. Oreus tore through them like mad, his muscles tightening all the time. He could feel the adrenaline flowing through him like the water in a river. The noise caused by the commotion brought students and teachers alike from out of their classes. What they saw lying on the floor of their hallways was enough to send them spiraling into an unfathomable panic. Students and teachers alike ran rampant through all the hallways, desperately trying to escape, but it was all in vain. Oreus had found an excellent place to hide before hell had broken loose. The madness which gripped the school so fiercely gave Oreus the sickest of pleasures. Feeling that the moment was right, Oreus slowly emerged from his hiding spot in the front office. With the children running amok, Oreus felt that the slaughter would be all too easy. Oreus wanted excitement, wanted to toy with his prey. Looking around, Oreus spotted the PA system which broadcasted throughout the whole school. Oreus made his way to the back offices, where he found another emergency power grid. Oreus quickly flipped on the breaker switch that controlled the PA system and hurried back to the main part of the office. With all of the commotion, Oreus knew that he would never gather the attention of everyone via the microphone. Making short work of his search, Oreus soon turned up a small FM radio which would enable him to emit a deafening feedback. Before he could make his move, Oreus closed the mirrored blinds and commenced to deafening the terrified student and teacher body. The panicked crowd dropped to their knees silently, clutching their ears and screaming. Oreus silenced the screech, and cleared his throat.
“Attention citizens of Ft. Elexander High School. As you may know, there has been a murder or two in our very halls.“ Oreus paused and heard absolute silence in the hallways. He stood smiling with evil pleasure. “You may be wondering who is responsible for this brutal act. Of course, you will find out in time, for you all will die.” A wail could be heard beyond the enclosure of the office. “What you should be asking yourselves is why this is happening to you. Of course, I would love to tell you, but that would be all to easy. Instead, I would rather demonstrate my first steps in becoming your leader. Of course, not you personally, because you will die, but your parents, friends, and loved ones who could not be at this momentous occasion with you today.” Oreus could hear the sobbing of many in the hallway. “This is not a hostage situation, so I would advise that you grab what you can and protect yourself. At least you can let others know that you went down fighting.”
I will not explain to you what happens next, for anyone can see that this child is strong. And though it is my duty to relay the details, I feel that it is my best judgment to assume you understand that everyone was  gruesomely slaughtered at the hands of a sixteen-year-old boy. Sixteen years of built up anger, hate, and humiliation were redeemed by this gruesome act, and he was satisfied. Oreus burst out into the courtyard and looked into the sky. He was not sure what he was looking at, but he knew that whatever was up there was beyond forgiving on the behalf of Oreus. The rain poured in torrents now, but Oreus could not feel the pain which each drop delivered to his pale skin. He dropped down on his knees. He had taken the first step. But was it the right step? He thought about the Ten Commandments which he had read about in the many books of religion.
“Thou shalt not kill,” Oreus whispered. Thought began to flood in his mind about the teachings of Christianity. How was it that one being could rule the universe? How is it that one man by the name of Jesus could be born of no father, crucified, and raised from the dead? How was it possible to part a sea with merely a stick and faith in a non-existent being. Oreus, though intrigued, dismissed it as blasphemy. So why think of it now? Why the Ten Commandments? He felt weak. What had he done? Then, he rapidly stood up, ignoring the nearly crippling head rush.
“How dare I question what I have worked for my whole life?” he challenged to himself. “I am a fool. My decisions were justified.”
Suddenly, a small beeping emanated from Oreus’ watch. Bewildered, he gazed down upon it. Very rarely was Oreus shocked or surprised, for he calculated evry possible step, and a mistake was a rare occasion. Nervously, Oreus looked down at his watch which glowed a faint green against the greyness of the atmosphere. 8:01 A.M. Oreus felt his pulse quicken, his heart race, and a sweat break out on his forehead. His battery was not low, he had changed it that morning. Time had not moved at all. Actually, time seemed to have moved backwards. Oreus looked back down at his watch. It now said 7:55. Oreus swallowed hard.  The school bell rang, but no one rushed to their classes. The sound simply echoed through the dead hallways littered with lifeless and gory bodies. Erupting out of nowhere, Oreus could hear a small applause echoing throughout the courtyard. He whirled around full of anger and a twinge of fear. Oreus’ stomach turned, almost as to wring out the contents which had been held in there for the past hours. There, before him stood a white cloaked figure, silent and billowing, though no wind blew. The strange figure bore a scythe that instantly struck fear into Oreus’ heart. It had jagged edges on the silvery blade that were black, with twinges of crimson intertwined with the metal itself. The staff of the scythe itself was the color of night, if night had a color. The wooden shaft almost seemed to writhe in the grasp of this thin and ghostly figure. For the first time in his life, Oreus felt truly afraid. He was confused. Everyone was dead. Who was this man? Perhaps it was not a man at all.
“That was quite a show Oreus,” the figure said, it‘s voice rattling like bones on a chilly night. “Too bad it never happened.”
Before Oreus could even speak or even process the meaning of the figure‘s statement, the thing raised the scythe and immediately, Oreus’ world melted away. The horizon seemed to melt away, as if the world he resided in was a dampened oil canvas. Oreus even felt as if he was melting away into an unknown abyss. Then, black. There was nothing visible except the billowing form of the stark white creature with the shape of a man.
“Now,” the being whispered. “Lord Tyrannus Octavian Rex, you are mine, for you have completed your training.”
And with that, Oreus’ world was thrown into darkness for eternity. But a new being was to arise, and one day, he would rule.