The 5

Chapter Three: Eden

WARNING:

THIS BOOK CONTAINS EXTREME VIOLENCE, GORE, SEXUAL CONTENT, DRUG ABUSE, AND LANGUAGE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

One of the soldiers walked through the streets of Eden. He passed the skyscraper in the middle of the city. The building was in a large needle shape made of dark blue stained glass. Other glass office buildings surrounded the needle, and smaller suburban houses lined the outskirts of the city. The soldier turned and walked down a cobblestone path. He arrived at a lake on the very edge of Eden. He let out a breath of relaxation as he lay down in the lush light green grass. He watched as families had picnics, children flew kites, and men fished off of the dock. This place felt like the world before. "Excuse me... sir?" Another soldier asked, appearing next to him. "Yes?" The other soldier responded, sitting up. "Are you new here? I don't recognize you." The soldier asked skeptically. "No... I'm not new, I just got back from a drop off. My name's Jason." He explained, pointing to his name tag. "Huh, sorry, I guess we've just never met before. Figured I already knew everybody here. Well, I'll let you get back to it." The soldier said, walking away. Jason laid back down on the grassy hill and contemplated what to do next.

Kiefer and Ryan sat down next to each other at the bar. "I'll take a whiskey." Ryan told the bartender. "Just a glass of cum- I mean beer for me please." Kiefer stuttered. The bartender gave them their drinks while doing his best to avoid eye contact with Kiefer. "So, how have you been, Kief Chief?" Ryan asked, taking a sip of his drink. "Not bad. This place is definitely treating me well. Although, I don't know if I can say the same for Tyson." Kiefer responded. "Yeah, I know. He'll get used to it over time." Said Ryan optimistically. Kiefer looked uneasy about something. "You look uneasy about something." Ryan pointed out. "Yeah... I don't know, I guess I just feel like something's off about this place." He said. "I get it. It's hard to even believe there's anything good left in the world. I feel like I'm looking at everything through fuckin' shit coloured glasses." Ryan agreed. Suddenly, the doors of the pub burst open. Kiefer and Ryan turned around to see an angry looking man holding an assault rifle. Before anybody could react, he aimed it forward and began firing. The bar patrons began running around frantically and screaming in terror. Some of them fell down, blood spewing from their heads and bodies. Ryan and Kiefer dove to the floor and crawled behind the bar counter. The bartender was ducking down, loading a shotgun kept under the counter. He peeked up and aimed the shotgun at the man. Kiefer and Ryan watched as the bartender was bombarded with bullets. The bottles of liquor behind him exploded as glass landed on Kiefer and Ryan, giving them both small cuts across their faces. The bartender fell to the floor, his torso full of bullet holes. Ryan grabbed the shotgun out of the man's arms. He tried to peek over the counter, but was immediately met with a barrage of bullets. He ducked back down. "Fuck! I need a distraction!" Ryan yelled. Kiefer quickly grabbed one of the few remaining unbroken bottles from the shelf. He dove out from the side of the counter and threw it at the gunman's head. It smashed over the man's face, causing him to lose his balance and trip backwards. Ryan swiftly stood up, aimed the shotgun at him, and pulled the trigger. A loud bang and a flash of light filled the room as an array of bullets flew across the pub. The man tumbled into the wall behind him, bullet holes in his chest. Ryan and Kiefer both walked past the few living people left in the bar, who were now cowering behind flipped over tables. Ryan looked down at the man, now laying on the floor covered with blood. "Drop the weapon!" A soldier yelled, aiming his rifle at Ryan. Ryan obediently raised his hands and dropped his shotgun to the floor. The soldiers put Kiefer and Ryan in handcuffs and began bringing them to the police station.

Jason and two other soldiers, one named Clyde and the other named Tyrell, stood behind a man who looked quite poor. His clothes were dirty and ripped, his hair was messy, and his face was blackened from ash and coals. "Please... my family was so hungry, my kids haven't eaten in days." The man cried. "What did he do?" Asked Jason. "He was caught stealing food from the main garden." Said Clyde, clicking the safety off on his pistol. "And that's worth an execution?" Jason asked, confused. "You know the rules. We're pretty tight for food right now, we can't afford anybody, especially not working class people, to be stealing from us." Tyrell explained. Clyde raised his gun to the back of the man's head. "You guys wanna hear a good joke?" Jason asked suddenly. "Is now really the time for that?" Asked Clyde, annoyed. "C'mon, it's really funny." Jason pleaded. "Fine. What is it?" Clyde asked him, lowering his pistol slightly. "Okay, here it goes... how did the soldier sneak into the city?" Jason began. "How?" Asked Clyde and Tyrell in unison. "Because I am a very quiet soldier." Jason responded. Suddenly, he pulled out his pistol and shot Clyde and Tyrell in the head. They both fell backwards, blood and brains leaking from their skulls. The man on his knees looked up at Jason in shock. "Are you gonna tell anybody that I was here?" Jason asked. The man shook his head. "Good. Now, I want you to pack up your shit, take your family, and get out of here." Jason told him. The man stood up, his hands raised as if he was surrendering. "W-who are you?" He asked. Jason narrowed his eyes at the man. "You can call me Tyson." He said. "Why would I call you that?" The man asked. "Because that's my name." Tyson responded.