Beyond the Veil_prologue

prologue.the end of the world, I

Cole was not home when the gunshots echoed through the hallways, nor was he there to hear the screams of his mother as his father collapsed, still holding a baseball bat. His ears didn’t ring as the second round emptied into her until she too lay in a pool of her own blood. He didn’t watch the rebel lean over to close their eyes, whispering a mantra as he did, just having ended the lives of two people who benefited from the same system that had cursed him.
Even so, the instant it happened, something imperceptible moved within Cole’s heart, and the strangest feeling of dread washed over him.
Maybe it’s time to head home, he thought. He had chosen that very night to sneak out to the high school a few blocks down. He had arrived far too late to witness any of the kids his age leave the building, or to even have a chance of sneaking in, but he still liked to visit at that time of night to imagine what it would be like to wake up in the morning, maybe walk, maybe bike there, and wave to his friends as he entered the door of his first period class.
Imagine having friends, he thought with some bitterness. Of course, due to his parents’ status, it was all homeschool and friends of friends, who were really more like distant acquaintances. He understood why he had to be raised this way. He really did. It was all to keep him safe. His parents worked for the government doing who-knows-what which meant he had a constant target on his back. They reminded him of that every day to the point where he could not go outside without someone watching him. He knew they were overprotective, and that this wasn’t normal-- the internet told him that much, but his access was revoked before he could read on to find out what to do about it.
All he knew was that he was sixteen-and-almost-a-half, and he hadn’t been allowed to so much as touch a steering wheel, let alone get a permit.
But he got it. He really did. And he was grateful for it. Really grateful, just like his mother told him he should be. Honestly. He knew his parents loved him, and that was all he needed.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t allowed to indulge in his own escapist fantasies every once in a while. His parents were the only people of any importance in his life; he lacked any other family due to his parents’ estrangement from theirs. But he liked to imagine grandparents, cool aunts and uncles, cousins, and of course, attending school and meeting people with whom he’d spend afternoons playing video games and doing stupid things that would sound fine in the moment but that he’d be embarrassed to recall later.
His parents often reiterated the dramatic tale of how both of their families disapproved of their marriage. Cole’s favorite part was hearing how his mother climbed out of an unlocked window to run away from home, following his father to Oregon all the way from the Midwest. He liked it not only because of the wild romance it told of and the fact that it played to his escapist fantasies, but also because it implied that there was still family out there. Maybe they disapproved of his birth. Maybe they hated his existence. Still, they existed for him to wonder about.
But the vague sense of dread remained. Try as he could to push it down, he could not ignore it. It ate away at him, whispering that something was very, very wrong, and that he had to return immediately. So, he decided to walk back from the high school to his house. Maybe this would be the night his parents caught him sneaking out. Maybe they were waiting with the lights off, arms crossed and having already purchased a lock for his door. He didn’t doubt that they’d do it.
As he walked through the night, he observed from on top of the hill flashes of red and blue light heading in the direction of his house. Oh no. Maybe they’d called in for him as a missing person. But after checking his phone, he found no new messages. No frantic texts or voicemails asking where the hell he was. It had to be for someone else.
Even so, his brisk walk erupted into a panicked sprint as he dashed the final block, rounded the corner into the cul-de-sac, and saw–
Federal agents and police officers swarming his house.
“Hey!” he yelled. “What the hell’s going on?!” One of the agents turned towards him. She marched over to meet him halfway. He didn’t know it yet, but this was going to be the last night where he had at least an inkling of what freedom was.
“What--”
He was cut off abruptly as she seized him by the shoulders, then turned him around. He felt cold metal close around his wrists. He was too shocked to struggle, so he moved his feet stiffly as she maneuvered him closer to the colored lights, almost dragging him. From the corners of his eyes, he could see curtains being drawn shut, and nervous eyes peeking through the blinds of the neighboring houses.
“Your parents are dead, and you no longer exist,” the agent said calmly. “Do not try to resist. It will only be worse for you that way. ”
“Wait, what?! I don’t, I didn’t--” he found himself gasping for air, for the right thing to say, for anything to get himself out of this.
“What I’m telling you is that you are being taken into custody. You are now property of the United States government. As of–” She checked her watch quickly. “--twelve oh three a.m. your rights as an American citizen have been revoked.” Cole was too shocked to respond. He didn’t even try to struggle as the agent led him into an unmarked black van. Her gaze softened, and he only heard a few last words from her as she closed the doors.
“Sorry, kiddo. I’m only doing my job. They’ll explain everything later.” Then the van doors were closed, shuddering with a clang, and he was locked in pitch darkness.