“But that’s the thing, Lucas.
They are, and they have been for
1 from getting caught in the crossfire of this nuclear war. But
“In the past decade the depression rate in Oskavia has
increased by 64% and suicides have been at their highest
since the Nuclear War of 58, hitting 55 out of every 250
Oskavians. This has risen large concern for the potential
wipeout of our own generation due to suicide and our future
generations of Oskavians going down our same path. But fear
not fellow citizens, here at StemCorp we offer new beginnings
with an added installment in your daily life The “blithe” can give
you everything you could ever wish for. We can guide you
through the right path… We offer you eternal and absolute
happiness.”
“You see this, Lucas? It’s bullshit.” He says staring at
the box filled with static.
“Yeah, I see it. It’s played on the TV every 30 minutes,
you know?”
He ignores his snarky remark. “I still can’t believe they’re
claiming to give ‘eternal happiness’. I mean depression isn’t
simply cured, especially not with one of those small chips.”
“I don’t know, Elliot. What if they do give us this ́ eternal
happiness ́ ? Wouldn’t that be nice? To not feel like our minds
and our world are collapsing for once?”
a long time. Oskavia has been at war for decades, way before
we were born. Our buildings are collapsing on themselves with
the people who live in them still inside. People are being killed
that’s nothing new, this is all we’ve known, all we’ve seen. And
the government isn’t doing anything to help us in the real
world, they’re just allowing people to put happy chips in us and
play pretend in the made-up world we want to live in. We can’t
just escape our reality.”
Lucas pauses for a moment processing what Elliot said.
“You’re right, you’re right. Besides they’re optional. We don’t
have to escape anything anytime soon.”
“I hope so.” Elliot walked to the small window of the apartment
and looked outside of it. All of Oskavia can be seen this far up.
The buildings tall and slim covered in the black residue of the
war with deep cracks going up and down the cement blocks
making them unstable and on the brink of collapsing. The
skies permanently colored red and black from the fires that
can’t be put out from the missiles. And most if not all greenery
has gone up in flames.
“It’s been quiet. Not a single missile dropped today,” said
Elliot.
“Thank god, my ears started bleeding from the sound
yesterday.”
It became quiet for a moment, only the faint sound of the
woman on the TV was heard.
“Elliot?”
“Yeah Lucas?”
“Do you really not want eternal happiness?”
“No. Not like this.”
2 anymore. Cas isn’t Cas.”
Months passed. Oskavia was 50 50. Half of the population
obtained “eternal happiness”, the Blithes, and the other half
who did not want anything to do with it, the Fireflies. A few
months back, it became clear to the civilians that the blithe
was no longer optional. Speculation arose when Oskavia lost
most of its soldiers in an attack of the Institute. Because of the
Blithe now being mandatory, the Fireflies were formed and
they suspected the government of being involved in this more
than they let on. Eventually people came to the conclusion that
the government needed soldiers after the last attack and
chipping everyone was necessary. But they didn't know how
that would help. The Blithes who crossed over willingly had
grown tired of the war, death, and the crippling feeling that
they will never reach any type of enjoyment in this life; so they
took the only option given to them.
“I already called them!” shouted Lucas with anger in his
voice.
“Lucas, you can’t do this!” begged Elliot.
“I’m tired, Elliot. I’m done praying the building doesn’t
collapse every time a missile drops. I’m tired of breathing
air-filled of black smoke. I’m tired of seeing my friends die!”
“For Christ's sake, Lucas. All of that will still be
happening, you’d just be in a happy high that isn’t even real.
Have you seen Castiel? He isn’t him anymore. He is in a
trance 24/7. He doesn’t laugh, he doesn’t make stupid jokes
“But he’s happy. He told me all about his new world.
He lives in a cottage in the mountains and there’s a lake right
in front of it. The sky is bright blue with clouds all over. There
are bright green trees that are so tall they can touch the sky,
just like the ones we read about in history. And while his mind
is in a happy place, his body simply follows his daily routine. I
want that Elliot. I want that so bad.”
“Don’t do it, please. I can’t lose my best friend.”
“I’m doing it. You better leave before they get here and
chip you too.”
The door was busted down and 3 federal officers wearing
all-black combat gear walked through. Elliot quickly ran to the
closet behind him before he could get spotted. He covered his
mouth and nose to not make a sound. The men grabbed
Lucas by the arms and dragged him to the table next to him.
One of the men pushed his head against the table and took
out a syringe-like gun. He put it against his skull and pulled the
trigger. The gun made a hiss and blood spued from Lucas’
head. The chip was in. The officer held Lucas up and grabbed
his face by the cheeks. Lucas’ body was limp and there was
no trace of consciousness. The officer looked at Lucas as the
blood spilled from his skull and whispered to his face with a big
smile on his face, “Welcome to the Blithe.”
Elliot waited until the officers left and slowly walked out of the
closet. His body was shaking. He had tears running down his
face. He couldn’t let a single word out but his breaths were fast
and short. He tried catching his breath but he couldn’t. Tears
kept falling from his eyes. He saw his best friend still on the
floor, unconscious with his eyes completely open. They were
bloodshot red. He kneeled down on the ground filled with
Lucas’ blood and held his body close to him. He had never
seen someone chipped before.
“Lucas. Lucas. Please wake up buddy.” he said with a
shivering voice still trying to catch his breath.
He didn’t wake up. He’s dead. He’s dead. He’s dead. That’s all
that went through his head. The sound of officers boots
creeped through the hallways. Elliot needed to go. He hugged
Lucas one last time and gently put his body back down. Elliot
ran out the apartment door to the fire escape and promised
himself to never go back there again.
3
It had been 3 weeks since Lucas turned and Elliot was on the
run. The government was after him. They were now hunting
down everyone until all of Oskavia was implanted with the
Blithe. The Blithes began to be the ones who hunted the
Fireflies and they showed no mercy. They were being
controlled by the people in the Institute. Elliot had been on the
run for weeks and he became tired of hiding. He decided to go
to his favorite place to clear his mind even though it might be
risky. He traveled all the way back home to his apartment and
climbed to the top of his building and sat there. He looked at
his home and saw that it was no different than the day that he
saw that woman on TV talking about “eternal happiness”. He
sat in the silence of Oskavia and in the distance, he heard very
faint screams of men and women and could only assume that
they were found and turned. The silence was broken when
around 10 Blithes and 3 officers climbed to the top of the
building behind him.
“It’s time.” whispered a Blithe.
“You're not taking me. I won’t let you,” said Elliot
calmly.
Out of the crowd of Blithes, Lucas walked out and stood in
front of Elliot with a knife in his hand.
“Do it.” said the Blithe.
Lucas held the knife to the inside of his arm and pressed until
he sliced his arm and blood fell to the floor.

“Turn. Become a Blithe. Or they’ll tell him to keep
going.”
“Who will tell him?” asked Elliot.
“Our makers. The Institute.”
Lucas continued to run the knife down his arm and blood fell
profusely.
“Okay stop! Stop! Don’t kill him. I’ll turn.” yelled Elliot.
The Blithes pinned Elliot down to the ground and held the
syringe-like gun to his head. The gun hissed and he felt a
sharp pain in the back of his head and felt the blood spue
quickly from it going down his face and back. He couldn’t
move his body and he was quickly losing consciousness.
Before he could lose complete conscious, a Blithe grabbed his
head as they did to Lucas and whispered to him.
“Your body is now a soldier who will fight for Oskavia in
this war. Your consciousness will be at peace, while your body
will be controlled and used for our needs. You will now fight for
your country. We hope you enjoy your stay. Welcome to the
Blithe.”