Uploaded September 2010 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Story by alex22868
Cover illustration by me.
Some words are purposely omitted to make the reading run smoother.
All parts of the dramatic reading will be uploaded when they are finished being edited. I will only be reading the Prologue and Chapter 1; Chapter 2 has not been completed yet.
Chapter 1 will be broken up into eight parts.
---
Chapter 1: Hannah
It was the first shaft of sunlight I had seen in a long time.
It was so unexpected that I was blinded temporarily. As the two walked in and hauled me up, I was barely in any state to see them, let alone fight back. So it was easy for them to drag me out of the cell.
I wondered if this was it. So many others had already disappeared, presumably killed. Who was to say I wasn't the next one on their list?
I really do hope they all rot in hell.
I was led down the hallway, passing the rows upon rows of cells, which were becoming increasingly less occupied. And yet my captors didn't seem to be in any hurry to finish us all off. It was as if they enjoyed watching us tremble in fear when they would randomly chose people to die.
Not that I'd seen anyone in a while. They'd locked me up without socialization for a long time all because I was 'seen as a bad influence on other prisoners'. So I'd been sentenced to five months locked up in that cell.
Sick bastards.
I was surprised though when they pushed be out into the main courtyard. Apparently my time alone was up.
I ran through the courtyard of people, looking for him. I couldn't bear the thought of him not being there, waiting for me. Life had already taken away the three most important people from my life. Could life be cruel enough to snatch the one person I had left away?
It wasn't. I pushed past some people standing there and saw him sitting against the wall, staring off into the sky. Seeing him there made all my restraints fall away. I ran over, stumbling over myself in my hurry and crashed into him, essentially tackling him.
Knocked sideways, he shakily turned, startled out of his reverie. But the grin that spread across his face when he saw me made everything better. "Hannah!" he exclaimed. "You're out!"
I smiled back at him, happy for the first time in months. "I've missed you so much Ty," I grinned. "You don't know how much I wanted the time to go faster as I sat in that damned cell."
It was then that the question passed through my mind. It had haunted me as I sat there in my own personal hell. I had to ask him. "Have... Have you gotten word from Alex?" I asked quietly.
I didn't even have to hear his answer. The look on his face told me the whole story. "I'm sorry... I haven't heard any news about him," Ty responded sadly.
I hadn't expected anything, but my heart still sank. Since the beginning I'd lost contact, and now I had no idea where he could possibly be. Would I ever find him?
It was then that they marched in, filed in rows of two, about twenty in total. The entire courtyard, all 275 of us, had to get up then and salute. They raised their flag and we had to stand through their god-awful anthem. After they were done their little pow-wow, one of them walked to the front of the group and began to speak.
"We are here today to give you all a warning," he said. "We have gotten reports of blasphemy against us. Let me remind you all, there is no such thing as freedom of speech here. This is not the US anymore, and your rights have been gone for quite some time. So please, keep your mouth shut or you'll soon find yourself in a confined cell or in front of a firing squad."
"And on another topic, a few of you have been selected for 'special treatment'. If your name is called, you will be one of the few who will be shipped out tomorrow for the new camp in Greenbow," he concluded.
I squeezed Ty's hand as the man read off the list of names. Everyone was tense. We all knew that there was no special treatment, just death camps and medical experiment camps. And no one wanted to be called.
Thankfully, neither mine nor Ty's name was called. I felt a pang of pity for the thirty some odd people whose names were called. It had been happening for over three years now, but I still felt bad when more people were taken away.
As we were ordered back to our cells, I whispered to Ty, "Don't lose hope. We'll get out of here." I looked to Ty for comfort, but his bleak look only confirmed my fears. I was blindly hoping for something that was way out of our reach.
----
Story, concept, characters (C) alex22868
Cover art (C) lsugirl123
Story by alex22868
Cover illustration by me.
Some words are purposely omitted to make the reading run smoother.
All parts of the dramatic reading will be uploaded when they are finished being edited. I will only be reading the Prologue and Chapter 1; Chapter 2 has not been completed yet.
Chapter 1 will be broken up into eight parts.
---
Chapter 1: Hannah
It was the first shaft of sunlight I had seen in a long time.
It was so unexpected that I was blinded temporarily. As the two walked in and hauled me up, I was barely in any state to see them, let alone fight back. So it was easy for them to drag me out of the cell.
I wondered if this was it. So many others had already disappeared, presumably killed. Who was to say I wasn't the next one on their list?
I really do hope they all rot in hell.
I was led down the hallway, passing the rows upon rows of cells, which were becoming increasingly less occupied. And yet my captors didn't seem to be in any hurry to finish us all off. It was as if they enjoyed watching us tremble in fear when they would randomly chose people to die.
Not that I'd seen anyone in a while. They'd locked me up without socialization for a long time all because I was 'seen as a bad influence on other prisoners'. So I'd been sentenced to five months locked up in that cell.
Sick bastards.
I was surprised though when they pushed be out into the main courtyard. Apparently my time alone was up.
I ran through the courtyard of people, looking for him. I couldn't bear the thought of him not being there, waiting for me. Life had already taken away the three most important people from my life. Could life be cruel enough to snatch the one person I had left away?
It wasn't. I pushed past some people standing there and saw him sitting against the wall, staring off into the sky. Seeing him there made all my restraints fall away. I ran over, stumbling over myself in my hurry and crashed into him, essentially tackling him.
Knocked sideways, he shakily turned, startled out of his reverie. But the grin that spread across his face when he saw me made everything better. "Hannah!" he exclaimed. "You're out!"
I smiled back at him, happy for the first time in months. "I've missed you so much Ty," I grinned. "You don't know how much I wanted the time to go faster as I sat in that damned cell."
It was then that the question passed through my mind. It had haunted me as I sat there in my own personal hell. I had to ask him. "Have... Have you gotten word from Alex?" I asked quietly.
I didn't even have to hear his answer. The look on his face told me the whole story. "I'm sorry... I haven't heard any news about him," Ty responded sadly.
I hadn't expected anything, but my heart still sank. Since the beginning I'd lost contact, and now I had no idea where he could possibly be. Would I ever find him?
It was then that they marched in, filed in rows of two, about twenty in total. The entire courtyard, all 275 of us, had to get up then and salute. They raised their flag and we had to stand through their god-awful anthem. After they were done their little pow-wow, one of them walked to the front of the group and began to speak.
"We are here today to give you all a warning," he said. "We have gotten reports of blasphemy against us. Let me remind you all, there is no such thing as freedom of speech here. This is not the US anymore, and your rights have been gone for quite some time. So please, keep your mouth shut or you'll soon find yourself in a confined cell or in front of a firing squad."
"And on another topic, a few of you have been selected for 'special treatment'. If your name is called, you will be one of the few who will be shipped out tomorrow for the new camp in Greenbow," he concluded.
I squeezed Ty's hand as the man read off the list of names. Everyone was tense. We all knew that there was no special treatment, just death camps and medical experiment camps. And no one wanted to be called.
Thankfully, neither mine nor Ty's name was called. I felt a pang of pity for the thirty some odd people whose names were called. It had been happening for over three years now, but I still felt bad when more people were taken away.
As we were ordered back to our cells, I whispered to Ty, "Don't lose hope. We'll get out of here." I looked to Ty for comfort, but his bleak look only confirmed my fears. I was blindly hoping for something that was way out of our reach.
----
Story, concept, characters (C) alex22868
Cover art (C) lsugirl123
