2040



The year was 2040. America was in chaos, and China ruled the former United States of America. After years of unpaid debt, China got restless and using the threat of nuclear force, shipped loads of Chinese military to the U.S., raided the White House, and turned all major cities to ruins. A plane was flown over the White House and Chinese soldiers dropped down onto the roof, where they then captured the president and held him hostage. China set a forest fire in Colorado and it spread and burnt all the cities and the majority of the forest. China inhabited NORAD deep in a mountain in Colorado Springs and controlled the rest of the nation from there.

Marcos, a 5’-9”, 16 year old boy, born after China took over America, lived with his parents and brother in the ruins of New York.

Marcos walked in the back gate of his house, his pit bull greeting him at the door. He sat down at the table with his brother and parents, a platter of enchiladas waiting to be eaten. Marcos had just sat down when there was a pounding on the door. His dad opened the door to a group of Chinese soldiers.
His mom, still sitting next to Marcos, whispered, “Marcos, Alberto, run out the back door. RUN!”
The Chinese soldiers said, “Do you have any sons? We are enlisting all teenage boys in our army to fight to keep this territory under our control.”
Marcos and Alberto ran. They ran as hard and as far as their legs possibly could carry them. After hours of running, Marcos finally broke the silence.
“It’s getting dark. We should stop here for the night.”
They opened up their knapsacks and laid out their sleeping bags in the center of a construction pipe and fell into a light sleep. Marcos and Alberto woke up to the sound of marching feet nearing the pipe.
Marcos whispered, “Be quiet Albert, I think it’s the army.”
The two brothers laid in silence as the army, their torches blazing, marched past them.
“That was a close one,” said Alberto a few minutes after the army had passed.
Marcos said, “Pack your bags. We’re making a run for it.”
Once the bags were packed the boys ran out of the pipe, with Marcos leading. Bullets came flying at the boys like a wave. Bullets ricocheted off the construction pipes then hit the ground in a cloud of dust. The clouds of dust disrupted the army’s view of the boys. In that short amount of time the two boys ran and took cover behind an old shed.
Suddenly they heard a voice yell out, “You’re under arrest for resisting enlistment.”
The boys continued to hide and discussed how they would get out of this situation. Finally Marcos came up with an idea. He whispered the idea to Albert. In a short amount of time they had finalized every detail of the plan.
They walked out into the clearing and Marcos announced, “We surrender!”
The leader replied, “Come here!”
They both walked up to the commander and the commander said, “stick your arms out so we can cuff you!”
Right before they locked them up Albert hit the commander in the jaw and took his gun. He then said, “Let us free and we won’t shoot”.
The troops obliged to Albert’s request and dropped their weapons and stepped back. The brothers backed away slowly, then when at a sufficient distance away turned and ran.
They ran to an old abandoned hotel where they camped out on the top floor. They stayed in the hotel for a couple weeks, ducking down and staying silent when sounds of marching feet came near. They used the stolen military gun to hunt rabbits, squirrels, and the occasional deer.
Their time there would have been peaceful except for the fact that they were fugitives on the run. Halfway through their third week, the sound of feet nearing their room awoke them. In a hurry, they packed their stuff and went out the window onto the roof. A soldier kicked in the door and followed them onto the roof. The boys started running across the roof. They jumped from roof-top to roof-top. Still being pursued by their follower, Alberto shot the gun at the one strong pillar holding the building up between the boys and the soldier. Alberto shot at the pillar and when the first few bullets came into contact with the beam it split and the building crumbled right before the soldier crossed it.
The boys ran on until they came to a building with scaffolding. They descended it quickly as so to continue their trip.