Forever to Forever

Chaper I

        Things have been better. Families have been happier. And life has been easier. Past tense that is... As for now, the world has become the filthiest, most deserted place a simple mind can imagine. Not to mention the United States of America isn't even the United States anymore... And the up-coming generation won't even know what America was. There is now no such thing as a democracy, only Dictatorship.

        Don't get me wrong, some people have fallen in love with our leader, Dictator Othello. But as for me, I have my own personal reason to absolutely despise him. Some may wonder why, and it's completely natural to be curious. Well to answer your question's Mr and or Mrs curiosity: Ouija Othello is not only a terrible leader but also a terrible father. Yes. He is my father, and he "failed to raise" me "correctly" just as he is failing to run an entire world.

        Othello has even gone as far to rename our planet, no it is not "Earth" anymore as some are so use to calling it. It is now known as Cassiopeia. Which was already the name of a star constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Othello had the vain queen's star constellation completely demolished.

        As insane as that already sounds, Othello has done even more insane things. Again with the curiosity. I will answer your questions. My "father" has made a law, that whenever there is a new child brought into Cassiopeia the wil have a specific gem gently placed into their chest. It will stay there forever. The significance of the gem is, there is no copy of any gem's shape. Every single person has their one original gem. Except that person's soul mate. They will have  a
specific color that will shimmer a start to shine bright vibrant rays as they get closer to their soul mate and it'll stay dimmed down and dull the further away they get.

        And many would see this law as perfect. But there are a few flaws in Othello's system. What if one person may not truly love their "soul mate"? It wouldn't matter because they have no choice but to wed or they will be killed. Both of them. What if someone's soul mate dies before they get a chance to fall in love? Are they suppose to just never fall in love?

        I don't know who you are but I already know what you're thinking. No, I am not just some rebellious teenager going against her father's wishes and commands. I am a rebellious young adult going against her narcissistic vindictive dictator's wishes and commands. But I could understand your confusion.  

        Now I'm not going to sneakily introduce myself. I'd prefer to be more formal. I am Ambrosia Othello. Which means eternal, but I go by Sia. I am nineteen years of age 5'1", thick brown hair with natural blond highlights that reaches my hip bones, dull hazel eyes with constant dark circles underneath them, so dark it is as if violates could start growing from beneath them. I'm thin, and at this rate with no food, my belly button should be tickling my spine by now. My skin use to be pale, almost translucent, but because of how much time i've been spending outside and in the heat my skin has almost leathered up completely. My torso is kinda short but my legs are technically too long for my body. And I'm not the curviest of women.

        That's all you really need to know about me. I'm not one of the most interesting people you'll run into, nor am I all that attractive. I'm not saying i'm ugly, I'm just saying that if I were in a crowd you wouldn't point me out. I'm average. Nothing important, nothing special.

        I take the last sip of water from my dark gray canteen. I look at my watch and it says that it is currently 104 degrees outside, sunny all day... No clouds, and the current time is 12:47 p.m.. My stomach is no longer growling, it's now moaning loudly mimicking the sound of the ocean next to me. It's empty and I haven't eaten in four days. I can go a few more days, I know that much, I just need to eat for energy. I'm on the run from my father and his government. You don't really need to know why, just trust me as your narrator.
       
I am currently located in what use to be known as Seattle, Washington.  Which means I am exactly 7,184 kilometers from Othello, who is in the area originally known as Russia, now known as Pasiphae. Named after an immortal daughter of the sun-god Helios. Like her siblings, Aeetes and Kirke, she was a skilled practitioner of witchcraft.
       
Seattle is known as Athena. Not as fancy as the other names... I know. But it also is now one of the poorest areas in Cassiopeia, and having the worst famine known to mankind.     
Judging by my surroundings, there is no fresh water near by. I see the ocean and i can't drink that for the obvious reasons, and  especially since we had 64 oil spills in just the last month. It's absolutely more than toxic. The illegal chemicals that leaked into the ocean has gotten into the bloodstream of some species, making them mutate into stronger... faster... and more furious than an advanced mind could imagine. Like is mentioned in the beginning, the world has changed a lot. To be completely honest though, not all parts of Cassiopeia are completely torn down and withered down to absolutely nothingness. Pasiphae is actually beautiful, Ouji Othello's keep is made of  layers of polycarbonate, sandwiched in between pieces of toughened glass called a laminate. His fortress is nine stories tall with 45 bedrooms and 21 bathrooms. Not to mention that is actually larger than what used to be the whitehouse.

    Another issue that we have, is the only wealthy parts of Cassiopeia are owned directly by Othello. Then again Othello owns absolutely everything. Citizens, correction slaves, don't own anything, it is actually against his law. From the bridges and buildings to the grass and toilet paper.

I crack my finger knuckles and pop my neck trying to relax a little. I continue my path down the  concrete sidewalk. I see a person curled into a corner about two meters from me. I can't tell if it's a man or a woman or even a child. I slow my pace and I stay as quiet as possible.

I approach slowly and cautiously, I don't make any sudden movements or loud noises. I'm  holding in my breath so tightly that I can feel one lung getting ready to collapse into the empty pit I call a stomach. Everyone is a threat these days, and everyone is dangerous. You cannot trust anyone... Not even your own father.

I slowly reach in for the blanket, but an animal jumps out from under it immediately. It looks like a wolf, but sounds like a grizzly bear. It's eyes are growing a bright orange, and it's standing on the hind legs, taller than me by at least four more feet. It's a hellhound. Mutated by the toxic water. He snarls at me flashing her ever so sharp canines. I take a step back. Slowly. No... Slower Sia.

Othello's government manipulated most of the mutated beasts and now they have been trained and programmed to attack and track people down. Track down people like me, the ones that disagree with Othello and his laws. People that rebell and run from him. I see the track on his neck. Breath in... Breath out... RUN.

I push my feet quickly in front of me and back and front and back and front and...

GUNSHOTS.

GUNSHOTS.

SHOT.
   
The world around me is just white noise. The feeling of when you hit your elbow on a hard place, is the feeling exploding throughout my body. I try to push one foot in front of the other.

....FASTER.

FASTER...

SLOWER.

SLO-