Sub-Faction 13: A Short Story

The thunder of gunfire in the deafening dark woke me from my sleep. I had sat up in my vagabond rags and silently woke my raw-boned brother. We sat up and listened to the pandemonium outside the windowless building. The light from the fire we layed around gave off scant warmth. I held Williams shaking hand and we rolled and went to sleep. Lemon-soured light penetrated the city and it rested like some gargantuan beast, overpowering the distant horizon. Once again I was the first to wake, untangling myself from sheets I stood, staring out over the city. As we left the building I navigated the littered streets of Sub-Faction 13, home to the hopeless all you could see were dilapidated buildings and smoke that has foul suffocating smell that leave …show more content…
Girmaldi and his class division left Faction 13 a landscape of smokestacks and slums, while the elite lived in golden, pristine fortresses looking down upon the remains of a society. Ever since Girmaldis medical breakthrough, in extending life expectancy by 300 years, he had won the hearts of the people and many powerful men. Despite the increase in longevity, our bodies continued to age, weren’t immune to all illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. Our society's ability to provide food, shelter and medical care has consquently collapsed and widespread looting and riots are common. When the upper-class noticed society crumbling they fled with their new technology created by Girmaldi. He ended up becoming the most powerful man and created a system that was implemented by fear. The rise of Girmaldi resulted in the city being lost to the dogs and the filth that contaminated the streets. Since my father’s death my brother and I were living by stealing from shopkeepers, reselling their products and sleeping in abandoned buildings. Crime was on every corner in Sub-Faction 13. I always told William to stay back and wait for me metres away from shops when I robbed stores so he wasn’t at