The 504 Squad

     I did nothing wrong. None of us did. It was just our bad luck. We did nothing to deserve this imprisonment. It is cold in this cell and I’m hungry and thirsty. I don’t know what time it is, no one does. It could be night or it could be morning. I’m writing on the only piece of paper I have that I tore from a book. I want people to know what it is like in this place and that the other kids and I did nothing wrong. Please, whoever finds this, know that I did nothing wrong and share my story and the others to the future generation. I beg of you so you can justify us. So that the future will never again, do this to their children.

Prisoner: 1319 J
Male
D.O. B: September 18th 2084 (11 years and 6 months)



     I got on the bus with the other children who were gathered to be taken away. My parents did not show up. They did not even say good-bye. They saw me as a disgrace, as every child on this bus was seen. We sat down in our seats quietly and no one said a word. I looked at the other kids faces and none of them gave any expression except for sadness, guilt, and some seemed lifeless.
We were on the highway for about two hours and there were no other vehicles on the road. There was nothing except trees, trees, and more trees. Were in the middle of nowhere, until we heard an explosion! The bus stopped and some kids fell out of there seats. We saw a fire started in the distance in the woods. Then in front of us, five black cars were rushing towards us. The bus driver grabbed his gun and aimed it at the cars.
     Everyone on the bus sat still, not knowing what to do. I looked from the kids to the bus driver, then from the bus driver to the cars, and then back at the kids. Before he could shoot, the cars surrounded the bus. I got low to the ground, thinking that whoever were in those cars were going to kill all of us. Before I knew it, I heard footsteps get out of the cars and bus driver shooting. But then the shots stopped and everything was silent. Some of the kids and I picked up our heads to look over the seats, to see who got on the bus.
     The people who got on the bus had army pants on along with black shirts. They had guns in their hands and knives on their belts. They cover their heads so the only thing you could see where their eyes. They wore dark brown vests that I could only guess held more weapons and bullets.
“Do not be afraid!” I heard one of them say. The person took of his mask; no SHE took off her mask! She had long black hair and dark skin. She stood straight with confidence and stared at all of us in the eyes.
“We are the 504 squad! You have a choice. You can come with us and be safe or stay here and hope for the best. If you stay, you might just continue on your way to the reform school. So, who wants to come with us?” I stood stiff with the other kids, not knowing what was going on. Then a girl, a bit older than me got up and slowly walked to the front and then another kid stood then another and before anyone knew it, we all got up.
“We’re going to need a lot more cars,” I heard one of them say to the girl.

     I sat in the back of the car with a boy about my age and a girl who seemed to be no older than ten. The girl who seemed to be in charge sat in the passenger seat. We were all quiet until the girl spoke.
“I’m hungry,” she said.
“We’re we are going. You will able to eat and drink whatever you want,” said the girl who never put her mask back on. The car made a sharp turn onto an unknown road that went into the woods. After sitting in the car that felt like for hours, we arrived at a gate. A guard who wore the same uniform saw the girl’s face and opened the gate. The car drove through the gate to the edge of a cliff.
“Get out,” the girl said and the three of us got out. The kids in the other cars also got out with their drivers. We walked to the edge of the cliff and at the bottom of what seemed to be a valley was a town!
We saw cabin after cabin and one huge cabin. We saw kids and some adults walking around and socializing. The kids looked happy and in the distance I saw a group of kids playing kick ball. I’ve heard about the game before the government banned it.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“Home,” said the girl.

“Liam! Can you do this math equation?” asked my teacher, Mr. Huber. I got up and walked to the black board and did the steps to the equation.
“Is the answer two?” I asked him. Mr. Huber gave a big smile and nodded, and then I returned to my desk. After reviewing a few math problems, Mr. Huber returned our last week exam. I was proud that I received an A on my exam and then the bell rang. We all got up and headed to our next class.
I was at the place called Pascack Valley for about three months. The teachers were the kindness adults I ever met. They were better then my teachers in the real world where all they did was beat me and said how terrible I was. Because of these teachers I became skilled in math and science, along with improving my reading comprehension skill. After school, some of the other boys and I went to the field to play kick ball. I fell in love with the game and I was a fast runner! No one could get me out when I tried to sill a base.
     As I was on my way to the field, a few of the soldiers walked by, heading to the saloon to get something to drink. The group that saved us belonged to an organization called the 504 Squad. The 504 Squad saved kids like me who were being sent to a Reform School. A place where kids were prisoners and they were treated wore there then they were in the outside world. Everyone who worked for the 504 Squad, including the teachers (who weren’t soldiers) went against the government, to show them that there is a better way to help students who were learning disabled. Shortly after I arrived at Pascack Valley, I knew that I wanted to help and I would sign up on my thirteenth birthday.
     My thirteenth birthday came quickly then I expected. After school ended I went to the HQ that was located on the top of the main building to sign up. I walked in and sent to the office of admissions. There, I saw her again. The girl who rescued us from the bus a year ago.
“You want to join our cause?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Are you sure? You’ll become an enemy of the country. You understand what you are fighting for?”
“The right for children who are learning disabled. To fight for the help they need in the school system weather that is extra time, a reader, or computers, and more. I am willing to fight for that cause.”
“You’ll have to attend a week long course before you can fully decide. The course will give you a better understanding of what we do. If you wish, you can wait a while or change your mind about joining our army. Some children here grow up to help our town or start their own families and become parents. Even the teachers here are not soldiers. After the week long program, return here if you still want to join,”
     After taking the weeklong program with eight other kids who were between the ages of thirteen and twenty-eight, I knew I wanted to help. I did not want to become a teacher, or a shop owner, or anything else. I wanted to fight for kids like me. I returned to the office and she was there. She handed me the forms and I signed them.
“You sign up now, but whenever you feel like it, you can withdraw from our army. Please state your name,”
“Liam,” She stared at me and stamped my papers.
“Liam, you are still not soldier. However, you are accepted into our army. First you must go through a yearlong training camp to be familiar with weapons, first aid, and so on. You will need this paper to be signed by your instructor,”
“And who’s that?”
“Me. Welcome, I’m your instructor. Aimee D,”

     Instructor Aimee D was tough but always told us we could do anything. She taught me how to shoot a gun, fight, and hide in the woods. During my training, I started to look up to Aimee D. She was a skilled fighter and strong, yet enthusiastic at the same time. During our break time, I often caught her jumping from tree to tree like a monkey. She said it was her favorite pass time, even when she was a little girl.
     After 6 months of training, we had a test to survive in the woods for a week. Our test of survival was supposed to build up our teamwork. We discovered our skills and each person participated for us to survive. My skill was in hunting; I caught squirrels, rabbits, deer, and more. We were all happy by the end of the week to see that we passed and that our time together in the woods helped us create a bond between each other. We became close and saw one another as a brother or a sister instead of a stranger.
     After training under Aimee D for a year, the time came for me to receive my uniform and certificate of being a member of the 504 Squad. At the ceremony, Aimee D, other instructors, and the man in charge of the District 2 branch shook my hand and congratulated me. At the ceremony, including me, seventy trainees passed and became members of the 504 Squad.
“Congratulations,” Aimee D told my group. Just before I was about to leave to celebrate with the others by drinking soda and eating ice cream and cookies, Aimee D stopped me.
“Master?” I asked her.
“I’m no longer your master. You can call me Aimee D now. But the reason why I stopped you was because you and sixteen other soldiers have to go out tomorrow. This is your first mission. Good luck, Liam,”

     We waited for the signal. I was partner with a boy named Phil who was twenty and in the 504 Squad for five years.
“First mission?” He asked.
“Yeah,”
“Don’t worry. This isn’t a huge mission. Just saving a couple of kids on their way to a Reform School. This is one of those regular missions,” When he finished saying that last line, the explosion went off. The bus halted along with the two police cars next to it. The police officers got out with their weapons ready. The cars came out of the woods and drove straight towards the bus and the officers.
“Now!” yelled the commander over the radio. The cars stopped to a halt and we all quickly got out and started firing.
“Go!” yelled a voice and five kids and I snuck up to the bus. We got on and knocked out the bus driver. An officer ran at us and someone shot him in the chest. He fell dead.
“Don’t worry kids. We’re here to help you,” said one of the soldiers. I looked at each kid in the face and saw the looks of fear and worry on their faces. They did not understand what was going on. Just like what happened to me two years ago.
     The soldier made his speech that we were they to get them to safety and that they could stay if they wanted. Before he could finish his speech, all the kids got up to get out of the bus and join us for their freedom. The firing was still going on and two cars drove near the bus to get a few of the kids inside as quickly as possible. When the last group was about to get into the car I heard a scream.
     I turned around to see a boy running towards us and an officer was about to grabbed him. I ran towards him but the officer got to him first. The kid fought hard to get the officer to let go of him but he was too small and too weak. The officer was about to put him in the police car, when I took out my knife and started a fight with the officer. While fighting, I was able to unlock the door and get the kid out.
“Go! Get into one of those cars!” I told the kid, pointing at the black cars. They were waiting for him. The kid started to run but I continued fighting with the officer. He was too strong to defeat by myself. I knew that to get the group to safety, I would have to hold him off.
“Go without me!” I yelled towards the cars. Nothing happened. I yelled again. This time, they knew they could not help. If they were to help, the kids would be in danger. The cars turned around and headed towards Pascack Valley. When the last car was just turning around I heard someone yell my name. I only got a glimpse, but the boy I save, I recognized him.
     Ian! It was my younger brother Ian! I didn’t recognize him because he grew so much. The car drove away, but I was pleased to know that my brother was safe. When the car was out of site, I raised my hands and surrendered myself.
     When I surrender, the officers took me to a Reform School. I tried many attempts to escape but when I realized I was selfish by escaping alone, I changed my plan and tried to get as many students out as possible. The Reform Schools were harsh and cruel but I was proud to be able to get a few kids out each year. In the end, I remained in the Reform School until the country saw me as an adult. When I turned eighteen, they sent me to a lab where they experimented on my brain. The procedures were painful and there was no way to escape, I’ve tried many times, but failed.

     In the year of 3050, the government was under a new leader. The leader himself had a reading and math disability but because he was rich, his parents were able to hire special tutors and kept his disability a secret. This new leader got rid of the Reform Schools across the country. Even the children who were sent to labs on their eighteenth birthdays were free. When I got out, I was forty years old and when I smelled the fresh air I cried. The war, the pain, the suffering, was finally over and I could only pray that nothing like that would ever happen again to any child or anyone who has a disability because we are people too.


Everyone is special in their own unique way

3084

     The war started in the year 2050, when oil was found Mexico. Country after country wanted control Mexico and eventually the United States annex Mexico into their country. Canada found this unconstitutional and declared war on the United States, but due to a plague in Canada, they lost many soldiers. Due to this, the United States won and annexed Canada.
     The presidential election took place in the year 2048 and the winner was John Cortes who persuaded Congress to change the United States constitution. No one argued against him and anyone who tried to disobey him lost everything, including their families and life. John Cortes turned the democracy of America into a dictatorship. Once Cortes annexed Mexico and Canada, he changed the name from the United States of America to the United Tri Countries of America or UTC. Cortes turned UTC into a rich country but in exchange, 80% of the population went under the poverty line.
     In the year 2080, a plague broke out that was believed to have started in Alaska. The plague killed 2/3 of UTC population, but that did not include the rich families who were able to get vaccinations and closed themselves off from the world. Many people died and many families broke apart. Once John Cortes died, his son, David Cortes, took over and ruled just as strict as his father.
     John Cortes grandson ran into a few problems when he became President. His grandson, Samuel Cortes had a wife and a mistress. Samuel Cortes mistress gave birth to a baby boy and his wife gave birth to a baby girl a month later. The family’s wife and the mistress entered a dispute over who would rule once Samuel Cortes died. The two families were the Feng and the Reyes. Samuel Cortes became so stressed over the two families that he banished the Feng to the east coast and the Reyes to the west coast. Samuel Cortes divorced his wife and cut all ties with his mistress. He remarried a year later and his second wife gave birth to a strong and healthy baby boy. Although the two families lost power to the Presidency, their angry towards each other grew and that is where our story takes place. In the UTC during the year 3084.

“Peter! Peter!” Peter woke up and stared up at the sky. He was lying in a field of flowers when he heard his aunt calling him. The sky was so blue and the flowers were in full blossom that Peter forgot he was living in a cruel world.
“Peter stop day dreaming!” His aunt said as she tugged him by his color to get up. She wipe off all the dirt that was on his shirt and pants. Peter liked being dirty, but his aunt always hated dirty things. Her dress, hat, even her house had to be neat and tidy.
“Look at your hair! You messed it up! It took the barber two hours to fix your hair!” his aunt said as she tried to fix his hair with a comb. Peter just stood still, not having a care in the world. A honking noise came from the distance.
“Come, come!” His aunt said as she pulled him towards the van.
The van left the safety of the gates and into the village where people were in the middle of their work. Peter saw beggars, drunks, and hungry children everywhere. Peter hated his country. He hated that he was rich and these people were wondering if they were going to eat.
“How disgusting. Why doesn’t the government just kill them off or something?” he heard his aunt say. Peter ignored her and watched the people outside his window.
“Move faster!” his aunt told the driver and driver flinch.

“Mai, it’s time to go,” said her brother. Mai got up from her piano and walked over to her little brother.
“Will you miss me?” she asked him.
“Of course I will! I miss you every year when you go away!” he exclaimed. Mai watched as slaves picked up her luggage and put them in a truck. Mai looked at herself head to toes. Staring at her new light blue dress and black shoes.
“You look beautiful,” her brother said with his big grin.
“Mai, it’s time to go,” she heard her uncle say. Mai was about to give a kiss to her brother, when a slave tripped and dropped one of her suitcases. All her things fell everywhere on the ground and everyone stopped what they were doing.
“Jose! Take this white trash and put him in the chamber,” Mai’s uncle said. The slave begged his master to not put him in the chamber, but Mai’s uncle showed no remorse and paid no attention to the slave. Mai did not look at the old man, pretending that his punishment was nothing to worry about.
“He deserves it,” Mai’s younger brother said.
“Don’t say that. At least not in front of me,” Mai told him.
“Mai, are you ready?” her uncle ask and Mai gave him a nodded.
“I’ll miss you little brother,” and she kissed him. When Mai got in the truck, she looked back to wave at her brother, but her brother stood tall and proud. He did not smile or wave to her. She knew that her brother was going to grow up just like their uncle.

“This is it,” said Mai’s uncle. Mai was happy to finally get out of truck and walked around. She was sitting in the truck for five hours straight without walking. She looked at her new boarding school. She watched as other students got out of their transportation and slaves carrying one luggage after another.
“Mai, you’re room is this way,” her uncle old her and she followed him to a nice brick building with pink flowers in the front. They took the elevator to the tenth floor and met the slaves there with her luggage.
“I made sure you get your own room, so that you would not be distracted. I am going to leave number 133 here to be your personal salve,”
“Thank you, uncle”

     Peter looked out his window to view the school from the jet. To get the school, he had to take a van to his family’s airport and then a three hour jet ride to the school’s location. There were other jets landing and they had to wait there turn.
“Nervous? I promised your parents that you would have the best education that anyone could get. This is the number one school in the country. Some of the professors here have even tutor the President’s children when they were your age,” Peter’s aunt kept bragging, but Peter was bored.
Peter had his own dreams. He wanted to travel the world and wanted to go to a place called Spain. He heard that Spain still had a democracy and out of nowhere became a world power, second only to China. Of course what he heard was just rumors, but he could still dream about thinking what a country like that was like. Where people could do whatever they wanted.
“Peter, the jet landed, stop daydreaming and get out here and socialize!” his aunt demanded. Peter got out and saw other boys and girls his age talking to one another. A boy from the jet next to his came over. The boy had a bit of a tan skin like Peter and was just a bit shorter then he was. The boy wore a button down white shirt and black pants.
“Hello fellow student. My name is Zhang and I’m a first year, and you?” he asked politely. Peter just stared at him and wonder how this kid could be so happy being surrounded by slaves and people living in poverty.
“Peter, say hi to your fellow classmate,” his aunt told him.
“Hey,” Peter said and Zhang saw a sign of shock on his face and slowly walked away.
“Did you say ‘hey’ to him? What have I taught you! We don’t say ‘hey’, we say ‘hello’, we’re not slaves! We’re people!” his aunt yelled at him. Peter showed no expression but he like the way it sounded. Hey. He heard the slaves say it when he was a child and his mother and father did not care, but once his aunt became his guardian, she threw a fit. “Hey” was a word spoken by slaves and those who had no status.
“Come Peter, let’s see your new room,”

     It was the first day of school and that boy Zhang, was in many of Peter’s classes. The other students gave Peter a strange stare and talked quietly among each other. Peter did not care. He sat there and stared at them for being stupid. The teacher taught them about the history of their country and how they should love their president. Peter fooled around by doodling on his paper, something that was seen as a low class past time. But he liked to draw. He was very good at drawing, but his aunt told him he should focus on something that is class such as science, politics, or math. Peter just could not understand these people.
“Peter Feng!” he heard his teacher say. Peter got up and his teacher walked towards him. He looked at his desk and saw his doodling.
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen,”
“Hold your hands out. Sixteen slaps for not paying attention,” Peter prepared for the beating and took it all in.

     In the class next store, Mai was feeling bored herself. Like the majority of the other students, she had her own personal slave. Whenever Mai needed books, her slave got them for her. Whenever she needed a pencil, her slave got it for her. Whenever she dropped something, her slave got on all fours and got it for her. Mai felt lazy about her slave doing everything for her. Mai wanted to be able to do things herself. She was afraid of what the girls without slaves were thinking about her. She also wonders if the boys found her stupid.
“Go away,” Mai told her slave one time, but the slave stood by her side. Mai’s uncle had totally authority over slaves, not Mai.
     One day Mai’s slave got ill and fell down from fever. The security came and told Mai that her slave was no good. They would send a message to her guardian about it and the salve would be ship back to her home. They informed her that it would take at least two days for a new slave to arrive. Mai found this to be wonderful since she could be on her own.
     While in class, Mai’s teacher caught her not paying attention. The students in her class giggled at her. The teacher sent Mai outside to stand there until the end of class. While standing outside, Mai noticed a boy standing outside his classroom door. He seemed bored and restless. Mai walked over to him and stood by his side.
“Hello, fellow student. My name is Mai,” she said.
“Hey,” he said. This caught Mai off guard. What kind of person says ‘hey’ except for a low life or a slave? Although this confused her, she liked it.
“Hey,” she said back shyly. The boy looked at her.
“This country sucks,” he said. This also caught her off guard, but Mai had to agree.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Why, so you can tell on me?”
“No, it’s just. I think this country sucks as well and I want to leave,” this caught the boy off guard.
“My name is Peter,” he said.
“Nice to meet you, Peter,”
“Your Mai Reyes aren’t you? How would you feel if I told you I was a Feng?” Again, this caught Mai off guard, but this time she froze. A Feng? Mai always heard her family talked about them and how they were nothing but savages. Ruining their chances of ruling the country. Mai heard that they used to kill and eat children. The older children in her family used to tell horror stories surrounding the Feng family.
“Scared?” he asked.
“No,” Mai said quickly.
“You are. I can read your facial expression,” Mai started to get angry with this Feng. She started to take notice that he had no manners at all and treated her with disrespect. She started to hate him, just as much as her family hates the Fengs. Then the bell rang and the hallways crowded. Mai lost Peter in the crowd.

     Months passed and Mai tried to stay away from Peter, but she kept staring at him. Peter kept staring at her too. Although she doesn’t know it, her remarks at their first conversation caught Peter off guard as well. Peter took an interest in her and Mai took an interest in him.
During an afternoon class, the two of them were once again outside their classrooms.
“What do you want to do? When you graduate?” Mai asked Peter.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said.
“I would want to travel. I would like to go to Spain and see what their country is like. After all, I can speak the language,” Peter could not help listening and staring at her. After all these years of attending numerous of rich, fancy schools, he finally meets someone who shares his same dream, despite her being a Reyes.
“I want to travel too,” he caught himself saying.
“If only we could take a jet and leave here today,” Mai said.
“We can,” and for the first time, the two looked at each other with smiles on their faces.


     Mai’s younger brother, Fernando overheard his uncle yelling into the telephone. He was screaming and cursing and saying things he shouldn’t be saying in front of him. His uncle put the phone down and put on his jacket. He called security and gathered as many male family members he could find. Fernando knew that something bad had happened and he wanted in on the battle.
“Uncle, I want to join,” Fernando said holding his gun.
“You’re too young,” his uncle said and the men left without him. Fernando watched as the van left to its unknown destination. That was when Antonio appeared with his gun in hand.
“They left you behind too?” Fernando asked.
“No! I’m guarding our home with the other older boys. Uncle Tito is right, you’re too young to fight,”
“Am not!”
“Are too! You’re only up to my shoulder and my gun is bigger than yours!” Antonio said, pointing the gun straight at Fernando.
“You’re a traitor!” Antonio yelled at Fernando.
“What?” he asked.
“You don’t know? Your sister ran away with a Feng! Your sister is a traitor, so you’re a traitor too! You stupid, pathetic, orphan!” Fernando could not believe what he was hearing.
“My sister would never do that!” he yelled at Antonio.
“Really? That’s why the men went away. A war is going to break out and it’s your sister’s fault!” He shot his gun and Antonio stared at Fernando’s lifeless body.
“Traitor”

     Although the two never knew it, but their rebellion started a civil war in UTC. For over 40 years the Feng and Reyes fought each other until their fortunes and members were gone except for the two who escaped to a safe heaven in Spain. Spain was indeed what Peter and Mai hoped for: a place for freedom.



When there is war, there is no winner