• Chapter 1: The New Robot

    Children. They used to go to school until they were about eighteen years old. Now their education stops when they are ten so they can work. Families. They usually stay close together. Now they are torn apart by their jobs. Earth used to house the elders of our societies. Now they are sentenced to death because they are unable to work. Now love among humans is a rarity because they are constantly working. The people of Earth have lost their want for fun, rest, and entertainment because of the new robot.

    “Wake up Gabriel. You need to go to the employment office soon!”

    “Ok mom. I’ll be ready in a minute.” Gabriel replied drowsily. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. He squinted as he looked around the room. Sunlight poured in through his window. “Must’ve slept later than I should’ve.” Gabriel mumbled to himself. He wobbled over to his closet and pulled out a black collared shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. He dressed slowly as he shuffled toward the bathroom across the hall from his room. He brushed his long brown hair and tied it into a ponytail. He made sure he smelled flawless before making his way to the kitchen. “Good morning Gabriel. Here have an apple.” Gabriel’s mom greeted. Gabriel took the apple from his mother’s hand and began eating it at the dining table. He never ate a lot of food but when he did eat, he ate quickly. Soon he was waving goodbye to his mom and out the front door of the apartment. He rushed down the stairs, around the corner, and down the street away from his apartment. Once his apartment was out of sight he slowed his pace greatly. “I do not wish to disappoint you mom.” Gabriel mumbled under his breath. He trudged on nervously. Soon he had to swim through a big crowd of people commuting to their jobs. He walked for almost twenty-five minutes before he came across the tall glass building he was looking for. He exhaled nervously as he opened one of the big glass doors. He took one step into the building and noticed his footsteps echoed throughout the room. He looked about curiously. “The people who own this place must be rich!” Gabriel thought. The marble floors, the pillars lined with gold, couches made entirely of silk, it seemed so unreal to him. He walked cautiously towards the big wooden desk in the middle of the room. “Um… Excuse me… My name is -”

    “I don’t care what your name is. Just tell me what you need so I can get back to work.” The woman at the desk interrupted.

    “I’m looking for a job.” Gabriel stammered.

    “Twelfth floor.” The woman replied pointing to an elevator in the back of the room.

    “Thank you.” Gabriel replied. The woman grunted and began sorting papers. He boarded an empty elevator and rode to the twelfth floor. He looked around. The twelfth floor appeared to be a simple hallway lined with doors on both sides. The carpet was a sickening shade of purple and it did not match the dark blue walls. Gabriel walked down the left side of the hallway until he saw a man standing in front of a door. “Excuse me. Can you help me? I’m lost.” Gabriel asked the man.

    “What is your name?” The man asked excitedly.

    “Gabriel Backus.” He replied. The man smiled and opened the door for Gabriel. “Now someone cares about my name…” Gabriel thought.

    “Sit in that chair there so I can test you.” The man instructed. As Gabriel entered the room, he noticed the colors of the walls and floors complimented each other. The back of the room was one giant window that overlooked a street. Gabriel sat in the chair in the middle of the room. It was an oddly shaped chair. The legs were close together and curvy. The back of the chair bowed outward. The man sat behind a desk in front of Gabriel. The man reached into a drawer and removed a metal ball. “Think about how you would describe yourself. If you sit still this test will be quick and accurate. Don’t be afraid.” The man instructed with a smile. Gabriel gulped fearfully but he followed the man’s instructions. When the man set the ball on the table, it came to life. A red eye emerged from the top and wings sprouted from its sides. It flew over to Gabriel and cast a red light on his entire body. It circled him for a few seconds before retreating to the desk. It made a loud clunk as it shut itself off. The man carefully took a screwdriver to the back of the machine. His eye movement indicated he was reading. He began writing on papers lying on the desk. He screwed the back panel of the robot in place and read over the papers he had written on. “Well Gabriel it seems you’d make a fine baker. You’ll start work tomorrow morning at The Breakfast Café.” The man concluded.

    “How’d he know I can cook?” Gabriel wondered to himself. Gabriel left the building and headed back to his apartment. “Mom I’m home.” Gabriel announced as he entered the apartment.

    “Welcome back! How’d it go?” His mom greeted.

    “I’m working at The Breakfast Café starting tomorrow. I’m a baker…” Gabriel trailed off as he shook his head. His mother walked over to Gabriel as he sat on the couch. She stroked his hair. “Everything will be ok Gabriel. You’ll see.” His mother reassured him. However, Gabriel did not feel reassured. He sighed and dragged himself into his room. His mother frowned and went back to the kitchen to make lunch.

    “Gabriel lunch is ready. You need to eat.” His mother called a while later. Gabriel trudged down the hallway. When he neared the window, his mother could see he was depressed. They ate in silence. Gabriel did not want to speak and his mother did not know what to say. Gabriel shut himself in his room as soon as he finished lunch. His mother cleaned the dishes and sat on the couch wondering what to do.

    A few hours later, the phone rang. “Hello? Who is this?” Gabriel’s mother answered the phone.

    “Good afternoon Ms. Backus. This is Asher. How are you?” The caller replied.

    “Oh it’s you, Asher! Would you like to speak with Gabriel?” Gabriel’s mom asked.

    “Yes please.” Asher replied.

    “Gabriel, Asher would like to speak with you!” Gabriel’s mom called. Gabriel left his room hesitantly and stared at his mom grumpily. She handed him the phone and walked into the kitchen, pretending to be busy. “Hey, Asher.” Gabriel spoke into the phone.

    “Hey buddy! Happy birthday! Did you get a job yet?” Asher replied.

    “Yeah, I’m a baker at The Breakfast Café. I start work tomorrow.” Gabriel replied.

    “Oh that’s fabulous! I go there every morning before I go to work! Maybe I’ll see you!” Asher replied excitedly.

    “Oh really? Oh, man that’s awesome! I’ll see you tomorrow then!” Gabriel replied happily. Asher hung up the phone and Gabriel sat on the couch with a wide grin. His mother smiled too. Gabriel turned on the TV and watched a few cartoons before dinner was ready. “I can’t wait to start work tomorrow!” Gabriel said as he ate dinner with his mom at the dinner table.

    “Why a sudden change of heart?” His mother asked, pretending to be surprised.

    “Asher eats at the café every morning. That means I can see him more often!” Gabriel replied excitedly. His mother smiled and they continued eating. After dinner, Gabriel took a long bath in his tub before retiring to his bed early. “Good night Gabriel. See you in the morning.” Gabriel’s mother whispered to herself as she went to bed some time later.

    The next morning Gabriel woke early but refreshed. He dressed hurriedly. He almost forgot to brush his hair. “Slow down Gabriel. Take your time eating.” His mother warned. Gabriel ate his cereal as slowly as he could manage. As soon as he finished his breakfast, he left the apartment and walked quickly down the sidewalk. Gabriel went to The Breakfast Café when he was younger and still remembered its location.

    Once Gabriel arrived, he approached the counter in the back of the café. A woman was busily moving about behind the counter. “Excuse me. My name is Gabriel. I’m supposed to start my work here today.” Gabriel stammered. The woman faced Gabriel with an astonished look. “Good morning Gabriel. My name is Justina. Let’s get you a uniform before I show you how to work the equipment.” The woman replied. Gabriel nodded and followed Justina through a door behind the counter. They walked past machines and boxes before the came to the back wall. On it were hooks holding several aprons. Gabriel tried them on until he found one that fit him. Next, Justina gave him a hair net. She led him back towards a walk-in freezer. She handed him frozen dough wrapped in plastic. Justina led Gabriel towards a counter attached to the wall. “Make some round doughnuts and cut out the center with this cutter. Then bake the doughnuts in that pot back there. After about 10 minutes they should be done. That’s a hot, quick fryer we have back there so be careful. Although you probably already know how to make doughnuts. Otherwise they wouldn’t have given you this job.” Justina instructed. Gabriel nodded and began making doughnuts. Justina made some other pastries before opening the café to customers. Gabriel and Justina had to serve customers to make service faster. About twenty minutes after The Breakfast Café started serving customers; Asher came in to order his breakfast. “Good morning buddy! What can I get for you?” Gabriel greeted Asher. Justina nudged him. “Don’t act like you know him. The robots will get angry.” Justina whispered. Gabriel looked confused. Justina moved her eyes to look at the ceiling. Gabriel did the same and that was when he realized there were two red eyes coming from the ceiling. Gabriel gasped quietly and looked back at Asher. “I mean… Good morning sir! May I take your order?” Gabriel asked. Asher gave him a discrete smile as he ordered.

    That evening, after the café closed, Gabriel and Justina sat in the back of the café sipping coffee. “If those robots caught you being friendly to that man both of you will… well… no one knows what happens to friends but everyone knows they don’t return.” Justina whispered. The robots had flown away for the night so it was safe for them to talk. “Why would we be punished for being friends?” Gabriel asked alarmed.

    “Those robots are out to brainwash us. Their creator was inspired to make a ‘perfect’, hard-working race of humans. Friendship makes you vulnerable. It distracts you from your work. If you aren’t perfect you’re removed.” Justina explained.

    “But no one can be perfect. Our wants and needs can only be suppressed for so long before we crumble under the pressure!” Gabriel shot back offensively.

    “You know that. I know that. Your friend probably knows that too. But what can we do? We’d probably be killed if any of the robots found out we aren’t ‘perfect’!” Justina replied. Gabriel sighed, finished his coffee, and walked home.
    ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
    “Sir! Sir! Virus detected! Virus detected!” A robot called through its speaker as it flew quickly through the employment office. Another robot followed the first and both flew through the stairwell to the twelfth floor. “Sir! Sir! Virus detected! Virus detected!” The robot yelled through the door at the end of the hall. A man opened the door. The robots flew in anxiously. “What’s the matter with you two?” The man asked.

    “We found imperfection.” One of the robots explained. The man opened the backs of the robots and watched video footage. “Ah so you are the robots that watch The Breakfast Café… It seems that boy I scanned yesterday isn’t quite ready to be human yet… Neither is his ‘friend’…” The man concluded to himself. He screwed the backs of the robots in place. “Bring me Gabriel Backus and Asher Sutton by noon tomorrow.” The man ordered.

    “Yes sir!” The robots chorused. After the robots left, the man cast a wicked smirk at the door.



































    Chapter 2: Death of Friendship

    Gabriel woke slowly. Having a job tired him. He freshened up, ate breakfast as usual, and put an apron over his clothes before he left for work. As he was walking down the street, he noticed a decline in the people on the sidewalks. As he neared the street corner, he noticed two robots across the street speaking with each other. Gabriel quickly ducked behind a building. He looked around for more robots but found people hiding next to him instead. “What’s going on?” Gabriel asked the people next to him.

    “They’re looking for some kids. No one knows why though.” A man replied. It suddenly donned on Gabriel that the robots were looking for him and Asher. Just then, Gabriel and the others heard a humming noise. As it grew louder, they backed farther into the shadow of the building. Some robots flew by their hiding place, searching frantically. “Guys, I have an idea. I need one of you to distract a robot and get them closer to our hiding spot. Then we can all fan out away from this place. With all the commotion, the robots won’t be able to scan us for information well.” Gabriel whispered. A man stood from his crouched position and went onto the sidewalk. “Hey robots! Over here! I found the one you’re looking for!” The man yelled while waving his arms. Robots surrounded him quickly and scanned him. “Where is Gabriel Backus?” A robot asked.

    “Over there!” The man replied pointing to the hidden crowd. Suddenly the crowd rushed down the sidewalk and split into small groups. “No! Come back! Where is Gabriel Backus?” A robot yelled. The robots began chasing the crowd. Gabriel ran as fast as he could until the robots became distracted with the other people before entering the nearest building – a toy store. Gabriel walked nonchalantly among the toys until he came across a water gun. Gabriel snuck the gun into the bathroom and filled it with water. Then he looked for a good hiding place. Soon he came across a toy chest in the back of the store. Opening it quietly, he discovered it was empty. He looked around to make sure no one was watching before climbing in the chest. He kept the lid opened enough so he could see.

    Almost an hour later Gabriel heard the front door open. Not long after that he heard the sound of robots speaking, “Did a young boy come into this store?”

    “I’m not sure. I wasn’t paying attention. I was stocking the shelves.” Gabriel heard a man stammer.

    “Then we will take a look around ourselves.” The robot replied. It was mostly silent after that besides a few bangs and crashes as the robots turned over the store. Finally, the robots flew to the back of the store and inspected the chests. It was difficult to open the chests without hands so the robots banged their heads against the wood to test for echoes. “There’s something in this chest!” A robot cried after bumping Gabriel’s chest.

    “Then open it!” The other robot replied. Both robots tried to open the chest but they failed. “Hey you, store manager, open this chest!” The robot demanded. The man walked over hesitantly and opened the chest. Gabriel quickly sprayed the robots with water. Their circuits shocked them, causing an internal fire – they were dead. Gabriel threw the water gun to the ground and ran out of the store.

    As Gabriel walked through the alleyways, he thought about something a robot had said. Earlier they had only demanded to see him, not Asher. A thought suddenly occurred in his mind. They already had Asher in custody. Now, Gabriel was left with a question – how will he get to Asher?

    Gabriel crept around a clothing store. He did not have much money but it was enough to buy a new shirt and jeans. He changed in the fitting room and removed his apron. Next, he went to a salon. He paid to have his long brown hair curled and gelled into place. Now, Gabriel could walk among people without being detected by the robots.

    Gabriel walked around town as normally as he could manage. He listened in on any conversations but he could not gather any clues about Asher’s whereabouts. As Gabriel walked near the employment office, a window broke far above him. A robot flew out the window and landed on the other side of the street, clearly dead. “I told you to bring me Gabriel before noon!” A man shouted out the window.

    “Well that wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. But who would’ve suspected the employment office was after us?” Gabriel thought to himself. He entered the employment office. “Excuse me where can I get a job?” Gabriel asked the woman at the front desk, pretending to be clueless. The woman pointed to the elevator and Gabriel went to the twelfth floor. He approached the room with the broken window. “Excuse me? I’m looking for a job.” Gabriel called through the door. He could hear thumping against wood but soon it stopped and the door opened. “Come on in! Sit in that chair right there!” The man greeted. Gabriel walked in but did not go to the chair. Instead, he went to the desk. “Oh no please don’t go near my desk!” The man cried. Gabriel pulled Asher from behind the desk and untied him. “I am Gabriel Backus. What do you want from my friend and me?” Gabriel announced. The man snarled and ran towards both of them. Gabriel shoved Asher away from the man’s grasp and dodged the attack. Gabriel kicked and clawed the man but he was too strong. Gabriel found himself lying on his back, tired and hurting. Robots came through the door and trapped Asher by the broken window. The man held Gabriel by his arms. “Say goodbye to your friend!” The man cackled.

    “No! Don’t do it! Please don’t hurt him!” Gabriel begged. Asher became panicky and his reflexes became slower than the robots’ wings. Asher was driven out the window to the road below. Asher’s screams echoed throughout Gabriel’s head. “No!” Gabriel screamed repeatedly. Tears formed in Gabriel’s eyes and hit the floor like rain. “See what happens when you have friends Gabriel? You really shouldn’t do something unhealthy like that.” The man said as though nothing had happened. Gabriel’s legs became weak and he could not support himself so the man dragged him into the elevator and onto the sidewalk outside. “Asher…!” Gabriel stammered as he looked upon his friend lying dead in the street. The man released Gabriel and walked back into the building. Gabriel crawled toward his friend slowly. He put his hand on Asher’s chest. His tears grew worse with every passing second.

    About five minutes later Gabriel heard a familiar voice calling for him. He looked down the road to see his mother running to him. She knelt by Gabriel and helped him to his feet. They looked at Asher with sorrow before heading home.

    At the apartment, there was a long, still silence. His mother was the first to break the silence. “Gabriel, I’m sorry you had to go through that. They shouldn’t have let you see him like that. I knew I should’ve kept you away from Asher before this ever happened.” His mother said just above a whisper. Gabriel was still silent.

    In fact, days passed before Gabriel spoke again. His work performance had been slipping until the day he decided to speak again. He led his mother to the couch. “Mom… Asher and I were friends. We believed in ourselves, each other, and that one day we would live in a better world. Now, Asher is gone. However, that’s not a completely terrible thing. In fact, I’m glad I got to see him. I’m glad I finally have a reason to fight for the better world Asher and I have been dreaming of.” Gabriel explained. His mother was taken aback by his words. Fearfully she grabbed his arm. “You can’t do that! Your foolishness will get you killed! Asher doesn’t mean that much! He’s just one life in this large world! We’ll learn to move on!” His mother yelled. Gabriel shook his mother’s hand off his arm. He shook his head and left the apartment to go on a walk.

    As Gabriel walked, he thought about Asher, he thought about the conversation he had with his mother, and he thought up plans. After about 20 minutes, he came across a restaurant that was still open. He went inside and ordered a small coffee. He continued thinking as he sat sipping his coffee.

    On the way home Gabriel whispered under his breath, “I love you mother. I respect you. However, Asher means so much more to me now. Moreover, if I die then I’ll see you later mother. Much later I hope…”



































    Chapter 3: Gabriel’s Plan

    Gabriel opened the back door to The Breakfast Café silently. “I’m here Justina! Where are you?” Gabriel called out. He heard a sudden rush of feet on the floor. Justina leapt onto Gabriel giving him a hug. “Oh my gosh I thought they were going to kill you last night! There was a huge swarm of robots flying down the sidewalks a little after midnight. I thought they were after you again.” Justina cried.

    “Nope, I was in bed way before midnight. Nevertheless, it’s weird that robots would be out at that hour, especially in large groups. I wonder what was going on…” Gabriel replied. He shook his head and started work. As Gabriel started ringing up orders on the cash register, some of the people smiled at him oddly. Gabriel was confused but kept staring at the cash register pretending he did not notice.

    After The Breakfast Café closed, Justina and Gabriel sat at one of the tables sipping coffee and talking. “Did you see how those people were smiling at you?” Justina asked. Gabriel nodded. “Something isn’t right. However, when I say ‘right’ I mean abnormal, not wrong. It’ll probably be something good for you.” Justina reassured him. He nodded. “But, Justina, I wanted to ask you something. Um… I think our country needs to move forward. I think the people here need to advance themselves into freedom. Asher, my friend, and I have always dreamed of a better place. Recently you may have heard they killed Asher. However, seeing that has really driven me to achieve our dream. Justina… Will you do me a favor? Will you join my revolution?” Gabriel explained. They sat in silence for a long time. “Yes. Of course I will!” Justina finally replied. Gabriel smiled and both of them left the café to go home.

    The next morning as Gabriel was walking to work someone stepped onto the sidewalk from the shadow of a building. “Gabriel… Come with me. This will only take a moment.” The person said. The voice was very deep so Gabriel assumed this person was male. Gabriel hesitantly followed the man into the shadow and through the alleyways until they came across several other figures. “Oh how clever of you. You did find that Gabriel boy after all.” One of the figures said. Gabriel froze. “Who are you?” Gabriel asked fearfully.

    “We are the new organization F3. We Fight For Freedom. You started us Gabriel. Now lead us.” Another figure explained. A sudden feeling of joy swelled inside Gabriel. He began to smile. “Of course I’ll lead you.” Gabriel replied happily. The group huddled together and discussed things in a whisper. Finally, they parted and Gabriel went to work.

    “I’m here Justina!” Gabriel called out as he entered The Breakfast Café.

    “You’re late! Where have you been?” Justina called from the other end of the room.

    “Sorry, I… Uh… Slept in a little too late.” Gabriel replied. He quickly got to work. As Gabriel worked the cash register that day, he took note of the people that smiled at him. After The Breakfast Café closed, Justina led Gabriel to the back of the store. “Those smiling people are starting to creep me out. I don’t think you’re safe here Gabriel.” Justina said fearfully.

    “Don’t worry. Those people are our friends. They’re part of F3. I’m their leader. In fact I was hoping you’d want to be the co-leader.” Gabriel explained. Justina smiled and that was enough of an answer for Gabriel. “Well let’s go meet up with our new organization!” Gabriel said excitedly. They walked from The Breakfast Café to an old antique store. “I heard this is where they hide.” Gabriel whispered. Justina followed him inside and they wandered around the messy, cramped antique store until they found a desk in the back. It looked like an ordinary checkout counter with a cash register and an ordinary cashier behind it. The man behind the counter lifted his head when he heard Gabriel and Justina near him. The man smiled and walked into the shadows behind the counter. Gabriel followed him. “Oh, Gabriel! What a pleasant surprise! And who is this lovely woman?” Someone in the shadow greeted.

    “Hello everyone. I’d like you to meet Justina. She’ll be our co-leader.” Gabriel replied happily.

    “Are there any lights over here?” Justina complained. Everyone laughed and someone turned on a simple table lamp. “Alright time to get down to business,” Gabriel paused, “I want to know who everyone is, I want to know why F3 was formed, and I want to figure out how to proceed in our current plans.” There was a long silence before anyone spoke. “Well, I guess I’ll start. My nickname here is Inferno. The history of F3 isn’t very long. We’re all young kids just looking for a better place to live. After a boy died, we decided to take action. We know you’re affiliated with the boy that died. At least that’s what the news reporter said.” A pale boy with brown and white hair replied hesitantly.

    “Our current plan, for those of you that may not already know, is to convince the locals to fight on our side. Depending on how well that works, we’ll decide what to do next. By the way my nickname is Gears.” Another boy with black hair added.

    “Ok great. So what kind of jobs do you have around here?” Gabriel asked. Everyone was silent. They shifted uncomfortably. “Ok well I see we need to work on that. So let’s line up in a single file line against this wall and I’ll get everyone’s ideas on jobs. Then we should be able to decide who gets the jobs by what they’re good at.” Gabriel ordered. Everyone followed his instructions and soon F3 was more organized.

    The next day Justina and Gabriel went to work at The Breakfast Café so they would arouse any suspicion. When it was time for the café to close, they went back to the antique store. “Inferno, how are the robots coming along?” Gabriel called out as he neared the back of the store.

    “Great! Gears, Searchlight, Abominus, and I are making great progress! We should have this done within a week or two!” Inferno replied.

    “Wow, Inferno you recruited three people? Well if that’s how many you need… Scourge how is your team doing over there?” Gabriel asked.

    “We’re fabulous over here! I have Firebolt researching guns, Spectro comparing some miscellaneous knives we had lying around, and I’m studying metals. We’ll be done way before Inferno’s team.” Scourge replied.

    “Great! Justina and I will go back out and recruit then. See you all later.” Gabriel replied. Gabriel parted with Justina and they wandered the town searching for people willing to join F3. By seven o’clock F3 had over a dozen new members. “Our plan is working great so far,” Gabriel announced when he came back to the antique store, “Inferno, you can have most of these new recruits since your task is more difficult but Scourge may have some too.” After assigning positions to the new recruits, everyone left the antique store.

    When Gabriel entered his apartment, his mother stood by the door waiting for him. “Gabriel where have you been lately? You’ve been getting up earlier and staying out later. What’s going on?” His mother inquired.

    “Like I said, I’m achieving my dream.” Gabriel replied nonchalantly.

    “Gabriel this has to stop right now! Forget about Asher’s dreams! If you pursue them you’ll end up like Asher!” His mother yelled.

    “If I end up like Asher then I guess I’ll end up like Asher! At least I’ll feel like I’ve died trying! That’s more than you could say!” Gabriel shot back. He bolted to his bathroom and took a bath. His mother sat on her bed crying.

    The following afternoon Gabriel and Justina went to the antique store. “Great news Gabriel! We’ve finished the robots!” Gears called out when he heard the front door open.

    “We’re done with our research over here! Now we’re constructing weapons. That should only take us a few more days!” Firebolt added.

    “Fabulous. Searchlight, would you and the rest of your team be able to help Firebolt? Thanks guys. As for Justina and me, we’ll be out recruiting. See you all soon.” Gabriel replied. That evening, while Gabriel and Justina were away from the antique store, they recruited several more people for their cause. Before Gabriel and Justina parted ways for the night, Gabriel commented, “I feel confident now. I know we’ll win. For the first time in my life, I think I’ve finally experienced a spark of hope.”
























    Chapter 4: Spark of Hope

    Hardly rested, hardly groomed, Gabriel left his house and headed straight to the antique store. “Should I go to work first? No… it wouldn’t make much of a difference now, would it? After months… Today’s the big day… Eh, forget work.” Gabriel thought on his way to the antique store.

    “Searchlight,” Gabriel breathed heavily, “Are you all ready?” She nodded with a small smile. “Spectro, is everyone armed and ready?” Gabriel asked excitedly. She nodded and everyone raised their guns and knives as proof. Gabriel smiled and held out his hand. “Justina, will you fight beside me on the podium?” Gabriel asked nervously. Justina fit her hand in his and they led the large crowd into the streets. Searchlight secured her team in the robots and followed the crowd. They walked to the employment building and stood a tall podium in front of it. “Attention people of Sungleam! My name is Gabriel! I am here to free you all from your misery!” Gabriel announced into the microphone.

    “It’s OK to want freedom! There are many others like you! We’ve all gathered here to help you be free! So join us and help yourself and those around you achieve our common dream – freedom!” Justina added. They attracted a massive amount of attention from the passerby but the robots also quickly noticed the commotion. “Destroy! Destroy!” Gabriel heard, at least a dozen, robots cry as they flew down the street.

    “Destroy this!” Inferno yelled from inside his manufactured robot, then fired at the government’s robots.

    The protest went on for hours. Gabriel encouraged the uproars, and Inferno destroyed the robots. Finally, someone emerged from the employment building. Everyone turned dangerous glares at the man. “Please calm down. I do not wish to hurt any of you. I wish to speak with your leader.” The man said.

    “I’m their leader.” Gabriel replied.

    “Please, come inside with me. Official government leaders wish to speak with you.” The man replied. Gabriel agreed and followed the man inside. They rode the elevator to the fifth floor. It appeared to have one door. The man led Gabriel through the door and before him, he saw a little over a dozen people sitting at high desks waiting for his arrival. “Good afternoon, Mr. Backus. Please, have a seat.” One of the men at the desks greeted. Gabriel sat at an unoccupied desk. Another man entered the room with hot tea and handed it to Gabriel. “Alright let’s get down to business. You’re Gabriel Backus, the leader of a protesting group. Care to add to that?” A woman asked.

    “We go by F3. I’m a leader but I also have a co-leader. We protest the government today for the freedom of the people of Sungleam.” Gabriel added. The political people were silent. “I don’t think we should do that. Mr. Backus you’re dismissed.” One of the men spoke up.

    “Wait just a minute,” A woman quickly interjected, “Let’s hear what Mr. Backus has to say. Let’s see what our people have to say. The situation outside our window looks very serious, wouldn’t you agree?” The man grumbled but let Gabriel continue speaking. In fact, everyone talked over the issue for almost five hours.
    ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
    Justina stood at the podium for a long time. She egged on the crowd and Inferno surrounded the protesters to keep the robots away, although they had stopped attacking hours ago. Finally, one of the doors to the building opened and Gabriel appeared. “Thank you to everyone who has supported our cause. It’s official, we’ve won.” Gabriel announced calmly.

    “I love you!” Gabriel heard a voice call out from the crowd. He looked around and he saw his mother rush toward him. “I love you too, mom.” Gabriel replied barely above a whisper as he embraced his mother in a tight hug.