To a Brighter Future Dawn

A blanket of grey clouds beckoned rain over the smog filled city of Yanville. The streets were barren save for the occasional cab going here and there, or wherever their passenger might beckon them on their way to a lifeless miserable job. As the cars drove their wipers would be persistently flowing, wiping away the sand and soot that permeated the air.

The grayish light of the muted sun filtered through the filthy window of a fifth story apartment. The rays of cluttered brilliance landed lightly upon the face of Dana Kenith as she tossed and turned in her little bed, springs creaking in protest. Dana was indignant not to wake from whatever dream she may have, as even a nightmare provides more life than the death of her waking world.

With a final shake she threw herself from her warm covers, slinging her leg out first as her whole body followed suit. Now upright she stumbled to her closet, gaining her composure as she changed from her dusty pajamas into her dusty work clothes. In truth everything was rather dusty in Yanville, at least for as long as Dana could remember. Preparing herself some powder bread from a ration packet she turned it over, finding written on the back in bold marker,

"For a brighter future dawn"

Dana frowned for a moment before she set the ration packaging down. she shrugged, eating the tasteless loaf of nutrients after it finished swelling from the water poured on it.

Having concluded her morning "meal" Dana went to her front door, throwing a satchel over her side. Arriving at the thick steel gateway she took in a deep breathe, opening the door as it groaned in protest. The hallways of her apartment were empty, which Dana found favorable, people were not as friendly as the always had been. The times had been tumultuous since the assassination of the Grand Yannar.

Despite the death of the city leader, who was also the owner of the Yan Conglomerate, the work kept coming, yet there was as changing in the air, the very atmosphere of the workers had shifted, and it spelled danger for any who was not on their side. Fortunately for Dana however, she was.

She was just another cog in the Yan machine. Every day spent in the factories. Every day grinding more of the "magical" Huestone for the eversource, providing power for the region and the Yan corporate empire at large.

Dana had heard tale, whispers more like, of a time before Yan Co. and before there were companies ruling. A time when the citizens of this land they called America ruled, how nice would that be? To have a say in the ruling, to vote upon leaders, to work for yourself? Yet no, this was Yannarah, and you are a cog in the machine.

She thought all this while walking to the elevator, and then riding down to the lobby. Mr. Krist the lobby guard sat with his stunner at the ready, but he was leaning back in his chair, bored of his appointed lot in life. As she past him she did notice, scribbled upon the side of the welcoming counter, that same phrase

"For a brighter future dawn"

Her eyes lingered on the phrase, gaining the attention of guard who simply said,

"They say it will happen soon."

Dana paused and asked,

"What will happen soon?"

The guard smiled, responding with,

"A brighter future, a new dawn." He then leaned further back in his chair, putting his cap over his eyes.

Dana stood for a moment, waiting for further explanation, but finding none she moved on. Exiting the thick Plexiglas doors of the apartment block she pulled up her scarf around her mouth and nose, grabbing goggles from her bag as the sand and soot from the factory blew relentlessly. She arrived to the large brick of cement she called work unharmed and unharassed. She punched in her card, and got to her station.

Thus she began the dull process of sorting soot from huestone, and placing the "miracle rock" in special cylinders to be ground for Hue-powder. She was half way through her shift when she heard it again, one of her gruff coworkers leaned to another and whispered,

"For a brighter future dawn." The other man nodded, and set about his work, but there was a grimness to his disposition that did not waver until it was over, and his job was complete.

There was one cycle left in her shift when it finally happened, when the end started. The grim fellow beside her stood up, hitting the red "all halt" button to stop the endless row of soot and stone. He climbed up onto the stationary conveyor belt, and declared,

"For to long we have bent the knee to the Yan overlords, for to long have we been ruled by an elite. There is a place for all of us, in a brighter future dawn, but we will have to fight for it." And with that he retrieved from his back pocket a metal ball, with a pin on top. Dana realized what it was, she had read about them in history books, that was a grenade. The man spoke again,

"As we all know, huestone is highly volatile. This is a small explosive device. I give you time to run now, but if you linger you will die along side me, for the great cause of liberty."

It took everyone a few moment to fully comprehend the mans words, but it only took one man beginning to run for the stampede to start.

As they all ran the man sat down upon the conveyor belt, soot dirtying his overalls. He looked down, reflecting upon his life, then he pulled the pin, and looked ahead, setting the grenade next to himself he let go and counted.

One.

Two.

Thr...

The grenade exploded. Normally this would not have been a cataclysmic event. Grenades are not the greatest of explosives, and would simply mean a week or two of clean up and repair, but the company had let slack fall on the decontamination team, and there was huestone powder all over the walls. So as soon as the flames hit a raw stone on the conveyor belt it exploded, that started a chain reaction, up the wall, through the vents, and with haste the whole factory went up in flame. Fortunately there were no other casualties, but the explosion was felt, economically, all around.

Dana and all the other workers were out of a job, the company was out of the primary refinement center, and in the companies weakness and in desperation, the people began to look for hope, they began to look for a brighter future dawn.