Day 7

2.

Tomorrow came. Joe showed up to work promptly. He examined his equipment, and when he was satisfied he sat down and waited. And waited. And waited some more. That normal time of the day, when everyone breathes a sigh of relief, and drives home, finally came. No journalist. No story. No real work. Joe went home.

This had happened before, so it wasn’t headline news, but there was still an odd feeling about today. Joe flipped on the TV and proceeded to surf until he flipped past a picture of the reporter. He flipped back swiftly, so swiftly in fact that he passed the channel 3 times.

“Found dead in yet another gruesome, execution style murder.” Said the TV anchor.

Joe couldn’t believe it. What he couldn’t believe more was the fact that he actually cared and was somewhat horrified. Joe always thought that the reporter was a real asshole, but he never wanted him dead. Too late now, he realized.

Murders in the D.C. area, and in fact across the country, had been on a rise. Rise isn’t the right word. There had already been three times the homicides of the previous year and it was only March. They all seemed to relate to some weird cult like following. There had been rumors that the former president was a major figure head in the organization, but there were no definite links. Nobody had heard or seen him since his major interview a year ago.

This group seemed to be pushing toward an entirely partisan society. They wanted two views for everything. Black and white. No grey area. No bananas in this apples and oranges world. These views included politics, religion, race, gender, automobiles, and even underwear brands. They were ramping up for mass genocide. The first to go were the non-believers. All of the agnostics and atheists were rounded up and marched through the streets. If one didn’t believe in a God and a Devil, then they would find you, out you, and kill you, or so it is believed anyway.

The murders go above and beyond. Most of these seemed to be isolated incidents, even if there were a lot of them, which arose from a disagreement. Somebody would get heated, pull a gun, knife, sword, or even chopstick, and proceed to main the other individual. The stats are not in yet as to which side of the fence was doing more killing, but many have their suspicions.

The general feeling seems to be one pointing toward Armageddon. Some of the highly regarded theologists seem to be in concurrence with that view, but very few will go on the record and say as much. There is enough tension and uneasiness to go around.

More on the gruesome murders. There seemed to be a few different methods that were being used, but no more than three were main stream. The first one was being drawn and quartered. An old form of the death sentence in which a persons arms and legs were tied separately and then stretched by horses until the person was ripped apart. The newest incarnation of this is similar except that people are using cars, trucks, or if they feel really artistic, ride on lawnmowers. One group tried using unicycles, but they attained more injuries than the person being punished.

The second method was one of forced exposure. Tied to a tree and covered in leftovers from the friendly butcher. Wolves, bears, dogs, even house cats would come for miles just to get a fresh taste. One group did try to use hot sauce. While painful, this did not achieve the desired effect.

The third can’t be considered murder, but maybe attempted if you have a creative lawyer. There are these little pink packets of coffee sweetener which contain agents, which in high doses, can cause cancer. There is a restaurant in downtown D.C. that is using this anonymous sweetener to make iced tea. It is an intentional act, and the tea tastes too sweet due to the high sweetener content. Nobody has been able to get them to admit guilt in this case, but everyone knows it to be true. There are a few other diners around the country to adopt this idea. They have all figured out that if the end is near, profits won’t matter too much.

So to sum up the current state of the interior, times have been strange. People individually, and as a whole, are getting much more aggressive. There is an uneasiness in everyone’s darting glances and quick shuffle. If there was still a threat level, it would be at red, or black if there ever was such a color. Things are getting bad and there is really no telling how long they can stay like this in a country that is slowly segregating itself.

Everyone seems to be wondering where the current president, congress, or any political figures are and what are they trying to do about the problems. If something doesn’t get fixed soon, things are going to take care of themselves in a very gruesome way.