It was close to midday when I got the call. I was sitting in my office, just filing sea some paperwork, and my kids were roaming around the complex, probably pestering the old and senile Pèdro Garcia who worked at the lobby of the building, down at least seven floors. I looked at by phone and saw that the number wasn't from Spain. Apprehensively, I answered it, thinking that it was going to be just a wrong number.
"Hello?" There was a long pause on the other end of the line. I did not hear a thing. "Helloooooooooo?"
I still heard nothing. I shook my phone and turned up the volume. "Hello?"
Still no answer.
I ended the call and put my phone back down. I realized, my phone was distracting me, so I put it on silent.
I continued my work for about twenty more minutes. Everything was peacefully quiet, and I sincerely enjoyed it. I was glad my kids weren't around, bugging me.
Finally, I turned my phone back on to check the time.
13 missed calls.
I was confused, and slightly alarmed. Someone had seriously been trying to contact me for the past twenty minutes. I went to my call log and realized all the number was coming from another continent. I googled the area code, (Yes I know, I'm ancient, I still use Google.) and the first thing that popped up was a Wikipedia page on The United States.
Were was the United States? What was it? I did some farther research.
Goverment: Democratic Republic, run by Founding Fathers' Constitution. Then proceeded by Dictatorship. Overthrown by Dictator Ricky Stevens in 2299.
Stevens?
Change in name to The Republic of North America, including Canada and the Canadian Islands.
Canada?
I clicked on the blue link leading me to a page on Canada, and then slowly began to realize many things.
Stevens was well over 200 years old, and humans can't live longer than 115 yet. Canada and The United States were the original regions of the the North America, however, Stevens took over the government and combined the two regions.
My head was spinning with so many questions. I put down my phone and swiveled in my chair to my bookshelf. I quickly pulled out my encyclopedia from 2298 (It's SUPER ancient) and flipped directly to the world map.
There it was. The United States. Canada. My hand grazed over the page and I stared at it in disbelief. I'd lived 18 years there and I never knew this? Then again, Stevens was keeping our information and knowledge from us. He never approved of Google search engine so I never was able to access it until I got here, to Barcelona.
My phone began to vibrate again.
This time I answered it. "H-h-hello?" I asked, scared.
It was silent again.
"Hello?!"
Still no reply. I pulled the phone from my ear and looked at it confused.
"SEND HELP!"
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and fear. I held the phone back up to my ear.
"Hello?"
"PLEASE! SEND HELP!"
"Sir, please tell me what's going on?"
"I CAN'T! THEY'LL HEAR ME AND SHOOT ME!" I heard screams in the background and gunfire. It was The Rounds Patrol!
"Sir, what is going on, please, tell me." This was making me suddenly reminisce my youthful days, living in fear of the government.
"LIA! IT'S ME! PLEASE, YOU'VE GOT TO COME BACK TO SAVE US! YOU'RE THE ONLY PERSON IN THE ENTIRE WORLD WHO CAN STOP STEVENS-"
"Please tell me who you are sir!" I declared. "I need to know who I have to help!"
"It's me!" he said again, and immediately, I knew that my past wasn't completely over yet, and that I had to go back to the United States to end this once and for all, when the man on the other end of the line said,
"It's Charlie!"
Then the call got disconnected.
