Descending into Madness

a story
2013-02-12 09:51:39,
2017-08-31 19:25:01
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On the Eve of my Graduation's Anniversary,

I see that as we all continue down the road of time our world is beginning to disintegrate. Like an artifact retrieved from a far off land, I am beginning to see that I do not belong. This new world… this new Antiford…

                Today the local constable requested my services. I grabbed my bowler and some tools and headed out. It was another murder… clear cut. I pushed for the evidence crew to do their bloody jobs but, of course, they claimed there was no need. This body, no… this helpless man, would join countless others in one of the many mass graves beginning to surround the city. How many others see it? How many others care?

                It was clear he had been murdered… or mugged. Died so another could live. His money stripped, his water taken. Nobody needs more bread… no… water. One cup of water was worth the lives of two men. Can you believe it? Outlaws, outcasts; bounties could be collected on anyone for a single glass full. What was common to fall from the sky is now a death sentence. Imagine what someone would do for a canteen?  Murdering one for a canteen? It’s a win-win. One man dies so a family could live… or one man dies today to keep another alive for three more days.

                These crimes are becoming more common, more rampant. The police… pfft… police. We have nobody policing anymore. We have the uniforms and the boys playing coppers! Then we have the soldiers… and then you have outlaws and pirates! There is no rule anymore… only suffering.

                Who can help these farmers? These families? I once thought I could aid by insuring the dead had a voice. Now… Now I am unsure if the living can even speak.

                I’m wondering if maybe a change of scenery would do me good. Antiford is only one nation… but escaping from this place is not as easy as grabbing a bag and walking. So… the question becomes… how can I leave? How will I escape…

Why should the dead have a voice if the living chose to cover their ears…