Today – GROWTH Competition Submission

Today I woke up with a strange feeling. I recently moved into my grandma’s hut in the middle lands. I can still feel her spirit in here, but I didn’t know much about her, so it’s kind of like moving in with a stranger. I can’t stop thinking about my parents in the frontlines while I make breakfast. The smell of bacon reminds me of when they burned all the houses…

They had just enlisted in the new regime of his excellency Mr. Deulive, after he had explained in the broadcast that a great terror was approaching the country. I feel like his cameras must have followed me into this hut. But that couldn’t be, the Mediterra was deemed a safe zone by the treaties of Farro. Breaking that law would be declaring war with the oceans themselves.

Sometimes I feel like this world has tried to cope with authoritarian rulers for so long that it doesn’t remember free will.

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Today I talked with a strange man in the woods. He said I would start something big, and I felt a spark inside of me. I remembered what I always wanted to do and I set foot on Deulive’s land again.

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Today I found a handful of people who formed a clandestine alliance against Deulive’s rule. I talked with them and they seemed to be inspired by my determination, which grew each day. I plan to lead them.

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Today our numbers reached 100. I named our group the Liberty Legionnaires. I have a few strategists that planned our first attack to the Citadel. We have stationed in the outskirts of the city and plan to grow there. Some say we are in the lion’s den, but what better way to learn about the lion than to live beside him.

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Today I woke up worried that this will just end as soon as Deulive finds out where we are stationed. I decided we need to be constantly moving. I have to destroy these worries with my reason. I must find once more the inspiration to live for what makes me free.

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Today our group stands 3200 strong. We hold many weapons, but spend too many resources fighting other gangs. I am frustrated, because for as much as I dislike the moral codes of the Green Gas gang, we must stand together if we want to defeat Deulive.

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Today we split the city in half. The southern half is controlled by the men of the One Resistance, a union of all the gangs in the outskirts of the city. The northern half is protected by the river that runs through the city. We have destroyed all the bridges, but on the other side of the river the armies of bots keep growing. Deulive has disappeared.

I know this is a lost cause, we could never win against those armies, but I can’t help but wonder, what would I even do if we won?

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Today the elves stand on the other side of the country. We now have the machine army stuck between two rivers and an ocean. Now I can actually start to see the possibility of an end to this war. 

I went across and revisited my old home in the land of the elves, the ruins were still carbon, mostly washed off by the rain. but I saw that nature had started to grow into the town, the borders marked by the path were now overgrown and animals strolled in and out. I thought I should put an end to this. Today I declare the Citadel free from the powers of Deulive.

The EMP bomb set off the other side of the citadel and the bots couldn’t escape.

…

Today I woke up in the cabin again. I dreamt about that man in the woods again. I made breakfast, but this time I could only think about my grandmother’s favorite rose bush. I wonder how many times she had pricked her finger trimming it.

I am happy it has grown so much since I first moved in.