#why does every project I’m given feel like a hidden camera prank

[dalkyum]

feeling like a trapped animal in the office 2day

[idonthaveanaccent]

English Project

So in my English class, we finally got to do creative writing!

So yeah, I decided to share what I had turned in. It isn’t the best thing in the entire world. It had to be dystopian, which I personally hate writing because you have to create a whole new society and rules.

I prefer writing fantasy/sci-fi (as you have gathered).

Anyways, here it is!

Utopia. A world without flaws. It’s without a divide between people. One with freedom and endless possibilities.

The Chairmen promise safety and peace. They promise that all who follow them will be given only the finest of necessities.

The Shadows promise equality amongst every level of man. They promise the freedom to live and breathe as anyone should.

People split into two and occasionally have friendly debates on who is right and who is wrong.

The two leaders, while it is obvious they do not care for one another, refuse to resort to violence.

After all, this is Utopia.

Young children from both sides hear whispers from the outside. They take these fragments and spin them into elaborate tales. They excitedly tell other children, and these fairy tales spread throughout the utopia, bringing along the legend of misery. Their favorite one is of the villain, Thanatos.

His name is derived from an ancient god from a civilization whose name has been erased from modern history. The name means death. They whisper about how everywhere he goes, people die. He’s a terrorist in the outside world, killing off people from any place. The children laugh at these tales, knowing that no such human could exist. Yet, his cautionary tale still spreads throughout the two cities.

Thanatos comes to each city, and murders as many people as he wants. They say that the only way to know if you are going to be murdered is if you see a black dog at the stroke of midnight. Should you see it, you’ll die in two days’ time.

The adults warn the children about spreading these lies in their homes, but on the streets, the children sing about Thanatos and laugh at the possibility of death from another human. After all, this is Utopia.

But even the most unlikely of stories are true.

~ ~ ~

“What do we have here, Captain?”

The Police Captain stood in front of the billboard, eyeing the red letters sprawled over his leader’s face. He sighed. “Has to be some teenager’s prank, no?”

The Officer’s eyes moved across the billboard. “It is a sick prank then.”

“Of course. This could be a nasty fine for them.”

“Where’d they even get red spray-paint?”

“Probably from the underground market. You know how hard it is to smuggle stuff in here. Must’ve paid a hefty price for it. And all for this death note.”

“’The Chairmen are poisoning this world, creating a destructive, aristocratic society. Promising safety, they deliver. Peace, however, is unachievable. They have a criminal underground throughout the streets. And because of this, the Chairmen’s ideology shall be erased from existence, bringing on a brand-new age of peace and serenity’.”

“A Shadows sympathizer?”

“Possibly, but this color- it doesn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t seem like spray paint.”

The Officer walked forward, pressing his hand against the dried red. He pulled his hand back and sniffed the dried flakes that got on his fingers. “Doesn’t smell strange.” He whispered, disproving his theory.

Suddenly, a loud scream from behind the billboard was heard. The Captain and Officer hurried behind it to see a young female citizen staring at the back of the billboard, her face completely white. The two looked to where she was looking, and immediately the Officer fainted, while the Captain was too shocked to speak.

It was their first time seeing two dead bodies.

~ ~ ~ “A scythe was carved into each of the victims’ chests, showing similarities to a legend known only as Thanatos, a legendary murderer who kills for pleasure. A murder has never once occurred beneath the rule of the Chairmen, and everyone is fearful for the leader’s life.”

Vernon frowned as he looked at the TV. Suddenly, the screen went black.

Vernon looked over to see Lloyd looking quite angry at the screen. “Lloyd, I was watching that.” Vernon said, his voice seemingly void of emotions.

Lloyd rolled his eyes. “We don’t need to see how our boss is being threatened by a fake murderer made up by children and a fake news story. No one ever is killed under the Chairmen’s rule.”

Vernon blinked at him. Lloyd rolled his eyes. “Just help me find file two million, three hundred and seventy-six thousand, two hundred and thirteen X, alright?”

“What’s so important about that file, Lloyd?”

Lloyd gave Vernon a dark glare. “You’re just an intern, don’t as questions.” Vernon sighed as he snuck a glance at his bag. However, Lloyd seemed to notice. “Vernon, what-?”

Before Lloyd could finish, the sound of a woman screaming was heard. Lloyd immediately looked up, his eyes wide. “Beatrix!” He shouted, running towards the scream.

Vernon felt a wash of relief run through him as he grabbed his bag and hurried after him.

Lloyd was sitting inside the Chairmen leader, Beatrix’s, office. Beatrix was huddled in a corner, rocking back in forth. Tears made her face glisten in the little light left in the office. Her makeup streamed down her face, and her lipstick seemed to be smeared everywhere. Lloyd was holding onto her hands, attempting to get her to talk.

“Come on, it’s okay. What happened?”

Beatrix looked up, revealing her red and swollen eyes. “I- I saw it.”

“Saw what?”

“B-black dog.”

Lloyd’s head jerked back, his eyes wide. “You couldn’t have- how? Where did it even go? How’d it get in?”

Beatrix shook her head. “I- I don’t know, Lloyd! B-but I- I saw it! It looked me dead in the eye and- and it ran out- out there! I- I’m gonna die, Lloyd?”

Lloyd shook his head. “I’m not going to let you die, Beatrix. You’re going to live, you hear? This- this is all some elaborate prank, understand? Tell her, Vernon!” Vernon stared down at Beatrix. He looked up at Lloyd, who was staring at him with a hopeful look in his eyes. Vernon sighed.

“Well…”

~ ~ ~ The second threat came to the Shadows.

Sire, the leader of the Shadows, had heard about the treats to the Chairmen and didn’t believe it. However, once he heard about Beatrix being found in her home in a very…gruesome manner, he chose to believe Thanatos was very real, and very dangerous.

Certain files had been found to be missing after her murder. No one revealed what the files were about, as they kept saying they weren’t that important. However, the Shadows found it very odd. Why would someone steal their files? The sound of footsteps was heard outside Sire’s door. He sighed and looked towards the door. As soon as he did, the sound of a fist pounding against a door was heard. “Come in.” He growled out.

The door opened, and standing there was Fox, his second-in-command. He marched in, his log-sized arms crossed over his chest. Fox nodded at his superior. He stood in front of him and handed him a stack of papers.

Sire looked down at the papers. They were all snapshots of a sign in downtown. It was coated in the same red that Beatrix’s warning had been in. Except, this one was now addressed to him.

“’The Shadows are killing this world. They promise equality amongst every level of man and they have achieved it. They promise the freedom to live and breathe as anyone should, but they deny many of those who have done wrong those two things. They are a disease in this ‘utopia’, and need to be killed off to make this a better place’.” Sire read, his hand clenching the paper as time went on.

Fox sighed. “Two bodies were found drained of their blood with a scythe carved into their chests not far from this message. We cleared out the citizens and cleaned up the blood, sir.”

“Good. Anything else, Fox?”

“We have a new recruit, sir.”

“What is his name?”

“Well, it’s- “

Before Fox could finish his sentence, Sire noticed a black shadow in the corner of the room. His eyes widened as he made out the vague shape of a dog. The dog walked out, revealing its sleek black coat. Sire reeled back, his eyes wide. “Sir? What’s wrong, sir?”

Sire whipped out his pistol and pointed it at the creature. “Where the heck did you come from?” He cried, preparing to shoot the dog.

However, the dog jumped out and seemed to run towards Sire. He cried out and Fox even seemed startled. Before either one could fire a shot at the dog, it leapt out the window.

Fox looked up at Sire. “S-sir?”

“Yes, Fox?” Sire said, holding in his nerves.

“Are- are we going to die?”

“No, we are not going to die, Fox. Now, that new recruit you mentioned.”

“R-right. W-well, his name is Vernon…”

~ ~ ~

The news of Sire and Fox’s death spread like wild fire through the two communities. The utopia was slowly starting to fall to ruin.

People wanted to know why the legend of Thanatos had come to kill their leaders. Soon, they got their answer.

One day, while everyone was watching their daily programs as they tried to keep their mind off their leaders’ deaths, every screen went black.

People began to freak out, worried that maybe their whole system was crumbling. However, instead of a just a black screen, a figure in a hood appeared, a large black dog seated next to him.

“Hello, people of Utopia. By now you have a clear idea of who I am. I am Thanatos, the killer of Beatrix of the Chairmen, and Sire and Fox of the Shadows. Many of you are questioning my motives, wondering how killing off the leaders would accomplish anything. I’m going to tell you this now: utopia does not exist.” His voice was distorted and robotic.

The murmurs within the cities turned into cries.

“The Chairmen, while true to their word of keeping many of their followers safe, did not follow through on their second claim. Many of you believe that everything given to you by the government is high quality, yet it is of the outside world. The fabric of your clothes are made from the leftover fabric from other clothing. Not only that, but hidden cameras are easily placed in any appliance. Not only are they lying to you about the quality of tings given to you, they also are using cameras to spy on their followers to make sure they are loyal. How could you possibly believe me, though? Simple. While I was there, I managed to grab a bunch of their secure files. This one, file two million, three hundred and seventy-six thousand, two hundred and thirteen X contains plans for their security cameras. Don’t believe me? Well, I just sent every Chairmen citizen a copy of this official file. There are multiple signatures from higher ups on it.”

The citizens from the Chairmen were shocked to learn that he was telling the truth. The files did include plans for smaller security cameras.

“Now, onto the Shadows. They promise equality amongst every one of their followers, and they do deliver. Many of the inequalities found only in old textbooks in the outside world do not exist in the Shadows ranks. However, what their second promise says is not something they follow. Freedom. While it does allow everyone freedom, there is something they fail to mention. Not everything goes unpunished. Many crimes are punishable by death. The person sentenced to death is often said to have either joined their ranks, or simply left. Many families have lost their loved ones. How do I know this? Well, in the Shadows base, they have a secret room in which they execute the accused. I managed to sneak a security camera in there on a secret visit, and after killing both Sire and Fox, I managed to grab the film from the room and I have edited the video to hide the more gruesome murders. The only murders you will see is the classic ‘shot to the back of the head’. I would recommend people eighteen years and younger not watch this.”

The followers of the Shadows were shocked as they watched the following clip of their leader executing a young teenage boy in the room.

“I’m sorry to have had to show you that clip, but I couldn’t let that injustice slide. I hope that you people of the utopia will be able to work with me and my people, those of the outside, to create a new world in which everything is perfect.”

And with that, the TV went back to the program they had been watching before.

~ ~ ~

Vernon sighed as he stood in the middle of the street, the orange light from the sunrise bathing him in warmth.

They were free. Utopia was gone. Vernon felt a small smile grow on his face. As he stood there, the sound of small clicking was heard, and then panting.

Vernon looked down to see a long black dog walk up to him and gently bump his hand, wanting to be pet.

“Good boy, Cerberus. Now, where shall we go next?”

So yeah, that was that!

Not my best work. She told us it had to be around two pages, and I didn’t want to make it too long (it reached six pages) so I kept it as concise as possible, but then I learned one was twelve pages long and I just didn’t know what to do with my life at that point.

But yeah. I hope you at least enjoyed this poorly written thing.