"Quite a fitting title if I do say so myself. As I broadcast this message, Revolution is in the air. Every hundred years or so, the future is forever changed by a defining moment in history."
In response to Niklaus's speech, my Dad shouted in frustration and stormed out of the room. I knew what he was doing, but I wanted to hear what Niklaus Fastay had to say before I went into action, and judging by my brother's body language, it was obvious that Renton and I were on the same page.
"Now, some of you may be wondering why I have gathered you all here this evening; the reason is simple. I wish for you all to bare witness to the birth of a new civilization. I will usher in a world where anything is possible, and even the weakest can become great." Suddenly pausing, Niklaus swiped his hand at the air as if cleaning debris.
"I will usher in a new age by wiping those unworthy of existing from the earth." He stopped and pointed at the clock in the top right of the screen.
"When this clock hits zero, life as everyone knows it will forever change. So I ask you this one question before I start the countdown. Will you survive the change? The time is upon us all; you will all see my vision of the future, and in 15 hours, The Requiem of Earth Will be upon us."
The screen cut to black, the timer slid back to the center of the screen, and the countdown began.
In that instant, Renton and I exploded into motion, methodically moving through every spot in the house where a gun was hidden. Not only did we retrieve the weapons, but we also brought all of the swords and knives we had been collecting our whole lives downstairs as well.
Upon reconnecting with my brother, we moved to the kitchen, where I placed a sheet on top of the table and laid out everything we had, including ammunition.
Unfortunately, my best friend and his brother weren't as active as my family was. Tristian and Chase hadn't left the couch; both were still too stunned by the revelation we had just received.
"DAD, WHAT AMMO DO YOU HAVE UPSTAIRS?" Renton yelled to our father, who was changing into his police uniform. After a loud bang, something slipped down the laundry shoot; our Dad had thrown several cases of ammunition down it.
"THANKS, POPS," I quickly yelled through the ceiling, to which He responded with a couple of foot stomps. Steadily my brother and I took inventory of everything we had. As we were doing that, Tristian and Chase came into the dining room and were astounded.
Tristian whistled, but Chase freaked out momentarily upon seeing all the weaponry we had spent amassing over the years. If it were any other time, I'd chalk it up to our Dad being a cop and former military, but even by those standards, we had enough weaponry to equip a small militant arm.
While scanning through our wares, a sudden realization that made absolute sense popped into my head, causing me to speak it aloud.
"DAD, WERE YOU THE SUPPLIER FOR YOUR BUDDIES GROUP THIS WHOLE TIME?"
'Has he been preparing for this since the Bombardier started his threats? Or would that be considered giving our father too much credit?' I thought to myself while breaking down my favorite rifle and ensuring it was working.
Meanwhile, as I was lost in thought, cataloging all our weapons and ammunition, my Dad finally returned from upstairs with his arms full of even more guns.
"What can I say? They needed weapons, and I had an easy way to get my hands on everything they couldn't, but this here is just my personal stock."
Chase looked at my Dad in horror before muttering, "Mr. Fairaday, you are a terrifying man."
Hearing this, we all couldn't help but laugh, causing Chase to turn bright red in embarrassment.
Once we had all calmed down, My Dad explained how the chief had called him in to help gear everyone up for the riots that were sure to ensue. The question was how many people were still awake to see the stream from the Bombardier.
"Boys, I'm unsure if I can return here anytime soon. But I am 100 percent sure you will all be fine. Tristian and Chase, I recommend you listen to my sons; we don't exactly know what will happen when that clock hits zero, but I expect you all to be alive after it does."
Finishing addressing Chase and Tristian, he grabbed Renton and me by the back of the head and put all three of our foreheads together in a family huddle.
"Think Smart; don't rely on reaction time alone. Don't get caught in a shootout; you never know what other people are using. I'm so proud of both of you. You have truly grown up to be strong men. Take care of the two knuckleheads here, and I will see you again. Count on it."
When he was finished, he let us both go and left into the night to help keep a handle on the situation at hand. We didn't know if we would see him again, but we hoped we would.
None of us slept that night, not only because of the stress caused by the timer that was steadily ticking down second after second. But within an hour of the network takeover, riots had begun nationwide, including outside our apartment.
The sounds of breaking windows and car alarms echoed into the night. There was no rest to be had.
The four of us were unable to sleep and antsy to act, so we began sealing ourselves in the building; anything sturdy was wedged against one of the apartment's two entrances.
Our attention was more towards the bottom floor, so we moved mattresses downstairs, propped them against windows, and followed up with a dresser or something of equal weight to hold the makeshift barriers in place.
As we were about to finish barricading the back door, there was a knock followed by a phone call; Carleigh had run three blocks to get to us. So without a second thought, we set to work tearing down the furniture wall to let her in.
Within a few minutes, the four of us had dismantled the barricade and let Carleigh into the apartment by the back door. And at a glance, She was in bad shape. Someone had broken into her apartment and was ransacking it as we spoke, but none of that mattered; all that mattered was she was safe with us.
While Chase took her to the downstairs bathroom to clean up, Renton, Tristian, and I rapidly repaired the barricade before sitting in the living room to watch the live coverage on TV.
As we watched, Renton and I gave a quick rundown on proper gun control and how each weapon we had worked; as we explained things to Tristian, our hands never stopped moving as we took each rifle and handgun apart and cleaned them thoroughly. Surprisingly, each weapon was perfectly maintained, so cleaning went quickly.
After a short time, Chase and Carleigh joined us, and they watched intently as we reassembled each part, asking questions about how it worked and what specific parts were used for.
Giving a short tutorial, I proceeded to show them the bolt for one of the rifles; before moving down the list of features and detailing each part of the weapon to the mother and son pair.
It took some time to get everything ready, but five hours since the countdown began, each piece of the arsenal was primed and ready for combat if need be. The others had gone to bed an hour before, but Renton and I were still up and reviewing strategies for the coming hours.
All over the world, people were panicking and attacking each other. The police were trying to keep a handle on things in the United States, but the National Guard had to step in when things got too tough for local police to handle. It boiled down to simultaneous massive riots occurring nationwide, and no group or organization could maintain order and control.
Within Five hours, the Cyber Bombardier had completely crippled our nation. The People were revolting, and the main reason was that our country hadn't acted sooner. To an extent, they were right. If we had just sent over twenty thousand troops, we would have obliterated this threat long ago, but no, the president had initiated a two-year plan.
In the eyes of the general public, that was too much time. We should have stomped out the roach as soon as he raised his ugly head.
"Renton, you should get some rest. I'll take the first watch." Heaving a sigh, I tapped my brother on the shoulder and pulled his attention away from the TV.
He nodded in response, leaned against the wall, and was out cold within seconds. That was one thing we had learned to do that benefited both of us.