Rest in peace, Sympathy.

(R.I.P) Sympathy

By Emerald Woods

"Human nature is the same everywhere in the world.. including perfect ones. If anyone knows how true that statement is, it's our neighbors. Above us, Skyscrapers and shiny buildings hanged from the sky like icicles on a tree. That place was the sky city of Cesiah, where only humans lived. In contrast, our neighborhood, was a wasteland with small businesses, row houses and a vast field with tiny trees growing. Everyone who resided in the sky were a part of a utopia, while everyone in our neighborhood was a cyborg. Completely stripped of our humanity because of the sins that were committed previously. All thanks to my mother, Lacey.

Our world wasn't always this way. My parents and my neighbors used to be human beings that resided in the sky city of Cesiah with their former neighbors. I wasn't born yet, but my mom and Dad informed me of their lives in the skies. All of humanity once resided in Cesiah, in a world of peace and happiness. The world had no violence, war or poverty. Everyone was able to get what they needed and could be what they wanted. The leaders of Cesiah aspired to become a utopia one day. In order to qualify as a utopia, the citizens only needed to prove to the leaders of the world that they were all faithful to one another.

Lacey and her assigned husband, Everett, lived in a huge tower together. Lacey was a sweet woman, who loved her world of peace and comfort but harbored a dark secret. Lacey had been seeing another man named Mark, who would later become my father. She loved both men, but knew she was to remain within the rules of the utopia. One of the rules were that you can only have a child by your partner and only them. I can only imagine how speechless Lacey was to find out that she was pregnant with Mark's child, not Everett's.

When Everett found out she was pregnant, he'd instantly known I wasn't his because he never had sex with my mom. For some reason, Everett forgived Lacey and stood by her side all throughout her pregnancy. Sadly, as time progressed, the leaders had announced a new set of rules that they thought would help the citizens remain faithful to their partners.

Lacey listened as they announced one new rule. "In order for us to become a more perfect world, we must only stay with our one true love and only have children by them. We will forgive any citizens who have committed infidelity in the past. But, any babies born by infidelity will be executed." A leader announced. Lacey nearly fainted when she heard that new rule. She tried to get into contact with Mark, but Mark wanted nothing to do with Lacey and reported her to the leaders. She couldn't believe that the leaders were going to execute me when I was born. She decided she couldn't stand by idly while the leaders took me away from her, her first child.

After days of crying and being bedridden with sorrow, Lacey and Everett developed a plan to stop my execution. They decided to start a petition for the new rule to be abolished because it was inhumane to kill children in exchange for perfection. They went around the neighborhood, attempting to gather up enough supporters. Some refused, scolding Lacey for her decision to cheat on her partner. Others agreed to help Lacey and promised to stand by her side for the sake of her newborn baby.

Weeks later, they gathered enough supporters to face the leaders of Cesiah. Lacey was skeptical about going to see the leaders, especially since she was now due for delivery any day now. But with Everett's support and her determination for me to have a life, she and her supporters made their way to the outskirts of Cesiah, where the leaders lived.

They soon arrived at the heart of the forest in a large clearing, where all four of the leaders sat on wooden thrones. Their white robes shined brightly in the mid morning sun. Lacey waddled to the clearing and stood before the leaders confidently despite her bulging stomach and aching lower back."Salutations, my lords and ladies. I come before you with a desperate plea to abolish my son's execution. I have a petition of one thousand signatures from the citizens of Cesiah to support my efforts." She said, handing them the petition.

Silence stretched as the leaders read the petition. The first leader, an elderly man, stared at her with curiosity. "You dare to defy the rules of Cesiah for one life?" He asked. "I do. It isn't right that my son should pay for my mistakes." "Lacey, you don't understand." Another leader said. "What you have done was not a mistake. Infidelity isn't a mistake, it's a choice. You chose to cheat on your husband, now you must suffer the consequences of your actions." "But I didn't choose to get pregnant!" Lacey exclaimed. "You knew there was a chance that you'd get pregnant, right?" The leader scolded, her brown eyes filled with wrath. "You knew you had a partner and you could have mated with him! But you chose to have an affair with another person!" "Why did you do this to begin with?" The elderly man asked.

Lacey looked back at Everett, who silently watched with sadness in his eyes. She gave him an apologizing stare, then turned back towards the leaders. "Because.." she began. Her small voice filling the area. "I was drunk on the extra attention I got from another man. The extra attention made me feel beautiful, like I was actually desirable to men. Mark tempted me with his beautiful lies and sweet promises to yet be fulfilled. And I...gave in to my urges." Lacey said. "How long did this go on?" The woman asked. "Only one night." Lacey answered.

"One night only and nothing more than that?" She asked. "Correct." Tension filled the area as the leaders contemplated both of our fates. The crowd whispered uneasily until a leader raised his hand and everyone fell silent. " I see that your husband continues to stand by your side, despite your betrayal. That is a good sign that the two of you want to work together to save your relationship. And we will grant you both the opportunity to remain together. You will have the chance to get a fresh start because once your baby is born...they will be executed."

"What?!" Lacey cried. "That is our final decision! Lacey will remain here until she gives birth!" "You can't do this! " Lacey yelled. "Your baby will not stand in the way of Cesiah's progress into a Utopia!" "But it's a baby!" Someone from the crowd yelled. "Is a perfect world more important than human life?!" Another person yelled. "Yes!" A leader yelled. "Grab Lacey!" "With pleasure!" A deep voice yelled. In the blink of an eye, Lacey's arms were bound behind her and she was being restrained. "No!!! Let me go!" "It's okay, Lacey. It's me." Lacey was filled with relief to see that Everett had grabbed her instead of the guards. "Attack! Don't let her get away!" Everett grasped Lacey and tried to run through the crowd of people who were now rushing in the opposite direction. 

Guards began to stampede towards the pair. "Everett, I can't..run!" Lacey yelled, grabbing her bulging stomach and waddling as fast as she could. "Sorry, Lacey!" Everett said, stopping. He quickly yanked out a small dagger and sliced a guard's neck. "Everyone, protect Lacey!" Everett roared, shaking off another guard and stabbing her. Lacey's supporters and the guards collided in a swarm of weapons and fists. The area soon filled with the sounds of swords clanging, people screaming and groaning in pain and the iron smell of blood. A group of supporters carried Lacey away from the scene, fighting off guards who chased them. "Stop them!" One of the leaders yelled, running quickly towards her, flanked by guards. Lacey grabbed a knife from a supporter's pocket and slashed the leaders face. "Aah!" She yelled as blood ran down her face.

The supporters fought with all their might against the guards, but there were far too many guards to battle. Just as the guards seized Lacey, she released an ear splitting scream and collapsed in the guards arms, gripping them as she felt sharp cramps in her stomach. "Ooowww!!!" She yelled, gripping her stomach. "Back off, you bastards!" She yelled, blindly kicking at the guards. Lacey bit down hard on a guard's hand and continued to kick at them, trying to ignore her contractions. She connected with someone's stomach and face, but the guards were able to subdue her.

"This is enough!" The elderly leader yelled, pointing a staff at Lacey. A white shield surrounded Lacey and her supporters. "You were shameless about your infidelity to your husband from the day you were accused! You turned our citizens against us in our attempt to create a perfect world for everyone to live in! You are a corrupted woman! And you and your followers are banished from Cesiah!"

A strong wind carried Lacey, Everett and the rest of her supporters into a large funnel cloud. Bolts of lightning struck their bodies, burning away their flesh. With a loud thunderclap, Lacey and her supporters fell from the sky to the hard concrete wasteland below. Lacey, who took most of the lightning's bolt, streaked through the air and screamed in agony. As she landed on the ground, she felt a small weight on top of her. The flash of the lightning's bolt faded and I laid on her, crying loudly. "My baby!" She weakly spoke, pulling me into her arms. When she saw me, she gasped. One of my eyes blinked red and my veins glowed an unearthly indigo. "What have they done to my baby?!" She held out her hand, which to her horror, turned into metal. She scanned her body to see silver bionic legs instead of flesh. "You sky hellions! You took away our humanity! We'll rise against you!!" Lacey yelled, her eyes filled with hatred. "Everyone up there will suffer for what happened to my baby boy!" She yelled.

From then on, Lacey, Everett and I learned to live in a wasteland as cyborgs and the population flourished. I was taught to hate the city above by Lacey, and I and everyone else continue to teach our children to hate Cesiah as well. On my mother's behalf, our neighbors banded together to attack Cesiah, which will be easier considering our advancement as cyborgs. They had very little robotic parts and their veins glowed with a colorful hue around their bodies. On the bright side, we've begun to flourish as a society, with small businesses becoming popular, government and populations flourished.

The door opens, pulling me back into the present. My mom strolls outside with my twin sons in each arm. "Here, Ryan. Thanks for letting me spend time with the kids." "Sure, mom." I said pulling one twin into my arms, while mom strapped the other into the stroller. Mom gazes into the sky, smiling ruefully. Her gray hair sways in the wind as regret fills her baggy eyes."Ryan... sometimes I wonder if you'd had an easier childhood if you were allowed to live in the utopia." She said. I laughed, gently rubbing my son's back. "Mom, is that place really a utopia? They tried to kill me for just being born. They're psychos. They are deluding themselves if they think they're the good guys. I'm ecstatic that you and everyone else here gave me the chance to live. Even if it means I won't have a perfect world or ever be human." I said. I hold out my son to her. He mainly looks human like me, but still has glowing eyes. "We're advancing as a race with every generation. Cyborgs may even replace the human species, especially since that utopia is bound to fall someday." "Something tells me it won't be long." Mom says, pointing towards human bodies falling from the sky city.

The end

Thanks so much for reading my story. Feel free to comment on the story below. Have a good day or night!