NORMIE [Chapter 9]

The FINAL chapter of NORMIE, a novel by C.S.M.

C.S.M.

Sep 04, 2024

Welcome back to NORMIE, a dystopian novel by C.S.M.

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Here is the FINAL chapter:

Jack stood at the front of the massive crowd as the device shot into the air above him.

The light show.

It soared high above the stage where the 5 Years of Renewal memorial was taking place. President Ramsey continued her speech from behind the podium held within a reinforced glass box, the People’s House framed behind her.

“So we work together now, for the good of everyone.”

The device continued to ascend past the massive screen positioned above the stage. It spun wildly but began to slow and level out high above the crowd, hanging still in the air. From the ground, it looked like a tiny speck and was hard to distinguish against the backdrop of the night sky. Jack waited for something else to happen, but it remained in place.

That’s it? What’s it supposed to do?

Jack stared up at the device as it floated in the air. It was obviously some kind of drone, but beyond that he didn’t know. The people packed in around him were looking too, some pointing fingers toward the sky. Murmurs swept through the crowd as President Ramsey continued her speech. Jack glanced to his side and saw the plainclothes officer looking in his direction. He had a finger held to his earpiece.

He doesn’t know it was me. He just knows it came from this direction.

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Heart beating wildly, he turned back to the device hanging high in the air. What was it doing? After all the talk of a “light show,” Jack had expected to actually see some kind of light. The device wasn’t doing anything expect maintaining its position above the crowd. More people were beginning to notice its presence, holding phones out to capture photos and videos of the strange object.

Come on, come on, come on.

Had he done something wrong? The only instructions he’d been given were: “push to the front of the crowd and hit the button.” He’d done both of those things and now seemed to have come to the end of the road. He thought of Gideon sprawled lifelessly in the grass, Amy folded over on the bench (was she still alive?), his father’s tie stained with blood…

Would it all have been for nothing?

There was a low burst from high above the crowd. The device maintained its position in the air, but green lights were now blinking along its metal frame. President Ramsey’s speech began to cut in and out, her voice distorted.

“Five years… the ashes… hopeful vision… never forget…”

The screen above her turned to static, then went black. The entire stage descended into darkness as the stage lights went out. President Ramsey remained behind the podium, now a faint outline in the shadows. Her lips moved as she adjusted her microphone, but no sound came past the glass box that protected her on the stage.

It’s working. Something’s happening.

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A hush swept over the crowd, followed by low whispers and chatter. Attention shifted from the dark stage to the device blinking high in air. Phones were aimed upward to capture whatever was happening. Jack strained his eyes as the device stopped blinking, trying to find its place among the night sky.

Then it was unmistakable.

Beams of green light shot down into the crowd. They swept across the attendees, briefly casting the gathered figures in a bright glow. President Ramsey became momentarily visible as a beam passed over the glass box on the stage. She was no longer alone, but joined by men in dark suits with moving lips and fingers held to their ears.

A voice registered from the surrounding speakers, but it wasn’t President Ramsey’s.

“You’ve been sleepwalking. It’s time to wake up.”

The audio was tinny and filled with static, but it became clearer as it went on.

“They're lying to you,” Gideon said. “It’s time to accept the truth.”

The beams danced and swirled along the crowd, then they converged above the stage. The massive screen that had been switched off now served as a backdrop for the projection. A symbol appeared from the green light: an eye with two rabbit ears.

The narration continued: “They don’t care about us. They only care about power. It’s time to stand up.”

A man in a white rabbit mask materialized from the green light. Jack didn’t need to see his face to know it was Gideon. He appeared from the waist up, wearing a dark long-sleeve shirt.

“You are being lied to,” his deep voice boomed, now clear through the speakers. “The event that occurred five years ago tonight did not happen like they say it did. You were told that Nathan Howard and his supporters burned down the White House in an effort to overthrow the government. That is not true. The action was carried out by internal actors within the government. Howard was framed in order to justify the extreme actions that have been taken since to overhaul our constitutional process.”

The green beams of light shuffled across the massive screen and materialized into the security footage that Jack had watched that morning. Howard was escorted through an ornate hall, held at gunpoint by a police officer. Additional officers guided his family and security detail in his wake.

“President Ramsey invited Governor Howard to the White House the day after the election. She told him she wanted to concede, but that was not her true intention. Police officers gladly followed orders to murder Howard, his family, and security team.”

The footage that had replayed in Jack’s mind all day was now shown before a crowd of thousands. Gasps and shrieks punctuated the air as it played.

Howard was shot in the head. His wife made the sign of the cross before she was shot next. Then the children. Then the four-member security detail, one by one.

“The police officers then doused the building in chemicals. They left the bodies of the murdered as they set it all on fire.”

The beams of light curled into footage of police officers carrying tanks through the halls. Jack wrenched away as the fire broke out in a green glow, the bloodied bodies still sprawled where they had been shot.

“President Ramsey, her administration, and the media have told you a carefully crafted story about what happened that night. But you’ve now seen the truth with your own eyes. The truth that you have suspected for these last five years. Howard never wanted to overthrow the government, and he never started the fire.”

A woman nearby began to break out in tears, her body shaking uncontrollably. The beams of light showed the charred rubble of the White House and then changed back to the waist-high shot of Gideon.

“In the five years since the White House Fire, President Ramsey has thrown aside our founding documents and transformed our nation. Dissenters are sent far away to remote prisons, never to be heard from again. Your right to vote was stripped away when they canceled last year's election. It’s time for us to stand up together, as a nation.”

The stage lights began to flicker on and off. President Ramsey was at the podium, tapping the microphone.

“We are demanding another election,” Gideon said. “An election that adheres to the rules outlined in the Constitution of the United States of America. President Ramsey does not have the will of the people. It’s time to take back our home, peacefully. A country’s future must be decided by its—”

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Gideon’s voice cut out from the speakers. There was static and then President Ramsey’s voice returned.

“Don’t believe this nonsense,” she said, her voice high and flustered. “This is obviously not true. It’s disinformation.”

Gideon’s voice cut back in, but was heavily distorted. “—they claim to protect democracy—”

He was interrupted by President Ramsey, her voice shrill. “Don’t listen to this foolishness—!”

The voices overlapped through the speakers.

“—they’ve suspended elections—”

“—nothing but disinformation—”

“—they don’t care about you—”

“—this man is a domestic terrorist—”

“—only about themselves—”

Gideon’s voice disappeared completely. The green beams of light scrambled across the screen. Images were intercut randomly: Howard getting shot, the fire spreading inside the White House, the bodies on the floor.

President Ramsey took a deep breath from behind the podium. The stage lights were flashing on and off as the crowd waited motionless.

“My goodness,” she said. “What lies we have been bombarded with.” She grappled at her pearl necklace and repositioned the microphone. “Let me remind you why we are gathered here tonight. Nathan Howard and his supporters were responsible for that fire, no one else. We must never forget the shame they brought on—”

Shouts broke out in the crowd. The beams of light on the screen were showcasing the opposite of her sentiments. Jack looked around and saw shocked, angry faces.

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The images continued to replay randomly before them: the murders, the fire, everything scrambled in a green glow across the screen.

“I will not stand down in the face of terrorist action,” President Ramsey fumed. “We must never forget what Nathan Howard did.”

An object flew through the air and struck the glass box encasing President Ramsey on the stage. More objects began to strike the glass box soon after: a rock, a water bottle, a muddy sneaker. Security moved through the crowd. The footage from five years ago continued to play.

Gideon was right. They’re waking up. They’re actually waking up.

“This is all nonsense,” the President said. “We will not stand for such disinformation.” Her face was twisted. “Close your eyes!” she screamed. “All of you close your eyes!”

The crowd became silent. Jack kept his gaze straight ahead, eyes open, fearing what he might see if he turned away. His worst fears were met. He scanned the crowd and his insides twisted — a sea of people was standing still with their eyes closed. The images continued to materialize from the green beams above.

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President Ramsey took a small step back from the podium, raising a hand to her mouth. Her choked laughter was barely picked up by the microphone, registering low through the surrounding speakers. She stepped back to the podium.

“Now let me make this absolutely clear. This man in the ridiculous mask is lying to you. Nathan Howard started that fire five years ago. He and his supporters were trying to overthrow our government, to take power for themselves by force. That is not how a democracy functions. We have since taken steps to ensure the safety of our nation. My administration stands for the powerless. We seek a vision of the future that is fair for everyone. Howard started the fire. He is responsible for undermining the principles of our—”

“Lies!”

Jack’s throat burned as he screamed. His body was shaking all over, his fists clenched at his sides. The images continued to play across the screen overhead. He looked back at the crowd of thousands standing with their eyes closed. A man only a couple rows behind opened his eyes and looked in his direction. Farther beyond, Jack saw the faint outline of another figure bringing a hand to his ear.

Jack screamed again: “Lies! She’s lying to us. They’re all lying to us. You know it’s true. Wake up! Open your eyes!”

More crowd members began to open their eyes slowly. Jack reached into his coat pocket and ripped out the white rabbit mask buried inside. He pulled it over his face and shouted again.

“Lies! We’ve seen the truth with our own eyes.”

Another voice shouted in the distance. “Lies!”

Jack felt his fear fade away. It was working. It was really working.

More voices soon joined in, figures near and far opening their eyes and looking ahead. Fists raised in the air as the roars continued.

“Lies!” the crowd chanted. “Lies!”

There was movement in the crowd. Figures were weaving forward toward Jack. They held fingers at their ears. Jack looked ahead and continued shouting with the crowd. There wasn’t much time left, the plainclothes officers were converging on him.

President Ramsey grabbed at her pearl necklace as she spoke. “Close your eyes,” she demanded. “Do not fall into this trap of disinformation. None of this is true. You are siding with domestic terrorists.”

The roars of the crowd joined together in a unified chant. “Lies! Lies! Lies!”

Jack felt something pull at his arm. He spun and saw a bearded man glaring at him, a wire falling from his ear. He tore away and continued to shout with the crowd, trying to push closer to the stage.

“Lies! Lies! Lies!”

There was another pull at his side. A police officer dressed in full uniform, his face hidden by a jet-black visor, appeared next to him. Jack struggled in his grasp but continued shouting.

“Lies! Lies! Lies!”

Jack was wrenched backward by more officers but continued shouting.

“Lies! Lies! Lies!”

He felt a sharp burst of pain at his torso. Looking down, he saw the blue-white flash of a taser gun. His body recoiled as the electric pulse was shoved deeper into his side.

The crowd was in a total uproar now. Shouts and screams filled the frigid air outside the People’s House. President Ramsey was clutching the podium now, looking back at the thousands of enraged attendees in terror.

Jack’s legs gave out under him, the swarm of officers holding him up.

The uproar continued:

“Murderer!”

“We know what you did!”

“Lies! Lies! Lies!”

There was another blue-white burst of light and his arms became limp and heavy. The officers were dragging him backward through the crowd. He struggled to speak, but the crowd carried on.

“Lies! Lies! Lies!”

Jack Campbell tried to steady his breathing as thousands of people chanted outside the People’s House. What had started as a normal day was now something different. He felt another burst of pain at his side and darkness swam across his vision. The chants continued as he was dragged through the crowd and lost consciousness.

THE END