"Since the dawn of time, roughly a hundred billion human beings have walked the surface of earth. Empires have risen and fallen. Humanity has failed and civil people have caused wars, chaos, destruction. In the end, we caused 80% of the earth surface to vanish. Years and years of wishful thinking and tribalism brought an end on civilization as we knew it. But mother nature saved us all by our ancestors. The totem bearers. 50 years ago, 5 heroes put their lives on the line for the rest of the human population to live. Controlling the elements of nature, they saved us all from ourselves. Today, the rest of the human population is concentrated in one area. Today we have order" A woman on TV was saying before Norah paused it.
"mom I was watching that" Ian said.
"there is nothing to watch it's just loads of crap" his dad said.
"John" Norah raised her eyebrows for him to stop.
"they are 17. They should know"
"know what?" Astrid came out of her room sitting on the couch next to her twin brother.
"the totem bearers they talk about every year on the anniversary of Detroit were destroyed by the government that made the factions. That much power in media was dangerous for their so called peace"
"destroyed?" Ian frowned.
"yes. They hid each totem on different parts of the state and outside. All the totem bearers are dead except for one who was the bearer of the spirit totem." Norah said.
"this is an interesting thing to know 6 months before the public test" Ian said and Norah patted his back.
"public or private you already have invented our whole army tech so" Astrid said and her dad laughed.
"who knows. Maybe I have changed and I become a healer all of a sudden"
"that is the only impossible thing in the world" Astrid answered and they laughed.
The door rang and Mitchel, Norah's friend from leader faction, came in looking distressed.
Norah and John were both from healers' faction. John was a doctor and Norah was a counsellor of the leaders' faction. Both her parents were from the first leaders.
After the government destroyed the totems, they split people into 5 different factions based on personality type and endurance. Leaders, warriors, healers, inventors and the rarest types were called the chosen ones. Only less than 1% of the population were the chosen ones that were public figures. People believed that only the chosen ones could be the next totem bearers.
Mitchel, Norah and John closed the door of the kitchen and started talking. Ian looked at Astrid and they stayed completely silent to hear the conversation.
"what do you mean she is dying?" Norah said looking at Mitchel in shock.
"she is. Madam president has ordered that only children of the first can go and see her. you are one of us whether you like it or not"
"I am the first person who twisted that test so I didn't have to deal with leaders. Now you are asking me to be in the same room with people who killed my parents?" Norah whispered
"Norah listen to me. this is how things are now. You have to come with me to protect your family. She is dying and they shouldn't be the only people who know what she has to say before death"
"let me guess. She is dying from internal bleeding?" Norah said and John put his hand on her shoulder and she sighed.
"Mitchel why don't you give us the room for a moment?" John said calmly and she nodded and went out. John poured a glass of water and gave it to his wife and sighed standing to her in silence.
"I'm not going John" Norah said after moments of John's silence.
"you left the leaders' faction because you thought they were impure and liars. My mother was an inventor and they claimed she died of radioactive leak in her research. She didn't just die of radioactive leak. They locked her in the contaminated zone while she was fixing a leak." John said and Norah leaned her head on his chest.
"you have to go because they twist the truth. You have to hear what the last totem bearer has to say. This is what we owe to our children who never hear the correct side of a story" John said
Norah went out of the kitchen and saw Mitchel in the living room. "let's go" she said and Mitchel nodded to her. "I will be in the car"
Ian looked at his mom worried. "you're going?" Astrid said and Norah nodded and kissed both of them and went out.
Mitchel drove in the city and stopped in front of the large leaders' faction headquarters. It was the new white house. After 50 years, they realized that they needed a leader for the leaders' faction so they elected a president within themselves. Human's need for power is never-ending. Norah got out of the car and they walked into the large white building. Walking through the halls, Norah saw the picture of her parents on the wall of the first ones. She fisted her hands and sighed standing in front of an elevator. Mitchel bended a little so the eye scanner could grant her access to the private elevator. They went inside and she put her finger on the scanner and the elevator went to floor -13.
"does it have a smell scanner or something?" Norah said and Mitchel smirked.
"no, we were hoping for Ian to come up with that one" she said and Norah raised her eyebrows frustrated. They got out of the elevator and a mirror door opened.
"Mrs Palmer, it is good to see you after so many years" the president said
"the pleasure is mine" Norah said with a half smile and looked around.
The children of the first ones were all there. she saw her childhood friend and walked towards him.
"Toby?" Norah said and he turned and smiled.
"Norah. I'd wish to see you in better circumstances. It's been a long time" he said kindly and Norah smiled.
"it's good to see a friend" Norah said genuinely.
"Mr Handerson, is everyone here?" Madam president asked and Tobias nodded to her and opened a door on the other side of the room. Inside, Madam president stood next to a bed. Two men were unlinking the old woman from the AI that was treating her. Norah looked closely and saw the last of the heroes.
"Christina everyone is here" Mitchel said and the old woman sat straight and strong and took a necklace off her neck.
"is that?" Tobias said whispering. "that's the spirit totem" Norah said and they looked at each other worried. The look on the faces of the president and those around her changed when they saw the spirit totem.
"it is a piece of my totem that I kept after the government got rid of the other totems and my brothers and sisters died one by one. The reason I am showing you the last piece of this totem is a message I received from the previous bearers of the spirit totem a day before I was captured. One of the first leaders gave me the rest of my totem because of that message" she said and looked at Norah and started coughing.
The men helped her lay down. "what was the message?" Mitchel said.
"a prophecy" she said and the president looked scared.
"when corruption is within the factions, someone from the rarest and purest will rise against and will create history" she said having trouble breathing and Norah turned pale. The old woman grabbed the arm of the president firmly and the totem glowed.
"they who will be chosen by the ancestors and feared by the corrupted" she said in a high tone and died. The president nodded to Mitchel and Norah saw that. Tobias opened the doors and Norah went out with the others.
"want to have a drink?" Toby said and Norah laughed stressfully.
"actually Toby, my kids are alone I have to go home." Norah said.
"Norah what's the rush??" Toby said and Norah shook her head and walked away anxiously.
She saw the head of the warriors' faction going into the building. President was talking to Mitchel and saw Norah leaving. She nodded to 2 soldiers and they went after her but she got in the bus. Norah grabbed her phone and called John
"come on John" Norah said nervously to herself.
"hey it's John leave a message"
"damn it." she called Ian.
"yes mom?"
"where is your dad?"
"out why?"
"Ian. I want you to grab your sister and leave now" she said sternly.
"why? Mom? Mom?" he said but the lines were jammed.
"they know…" Norah said to herself.
Ian ran to Astrid's room and opened the door. "what's going on?"
"mom called. We have to go" Ian said throwing a backpack for her.
"if mom is that distressed, it means that the warrior faction is involved. Didn't you invent the android that they use?" Astrid said.
"you are a genius" Ian said and grabbed his laptop. "this won't stop the faction but it will slow them down" he said typing some algorithms.
"why can't I call mom?" Astrid said. "turn on TV" Ian said and she turned it on.
"after an attack on the president by one of the chosen faction today, madam president has ordered all units to take down the rebel faction" a reporter was saying.
"that's not any person that's my android prototype" Ian said and John came home.
"they are coming" John said and went to pack a bag for the children.
"dad tell me what's going on" Astrid said and he looked at her. "you are a chosen one. Your test results say that" he said and gave her a bag.
"I am not going anywhere without any of you" Astrid said and the door was broken down. Soldier units of the special force came inside the house and John grabbed a gun.
"don't sweat it John. We both know you're not going to do it. hand over the girl and we will be on our way." Marcus, the head of the warriors' faction said.
John aimed at him more firmly and shot the ground beside his leg.
"get out of my house" John said and Ian pressed a button and the androids stood in front of John.
"self destruction mode activated" the android said and a timer was shown on its face. "dad run" Ian shouted and they went out of the back door. Astrid was there and Ian hugged her.
They were running that a bullet caught John's leg. "dad" Astrid said scared and John shook his head. "go" he said and started shooting at the unit. Ian and Astrid started running and Astrid looked back and saw a bullet shot into her dad's head.