The Straight Agenda, Chapter 2

I've been crying. The first 100 days of Alexandros Snow's presidency has passed. I'm standing at the local mall. I got some Chinese food, something quick and easy. I have a ball cap on that has been lowered all the way down to my eyebrows and I have on some sunglasses. In the distance, I see Seth.

He was supposed to meet up with me.

Then I see them...

They have these silver helmets on. They started showing up immediately after President Storm was sworn into office. No one knows who they are or where they come from. They have these silver helmets on their heads and they walk real stiff. No one feels comfortable when they enter the place. President Snow signed an executive order that his task force can go anywhere at any time. They don't need to ask. They don't need to say anything.

All of a sudden there is screaming.

I panic thinking it's Seth but it isn't. These two older men are screaming. The men with the silver helmets on have this strange buzzing noise.

"Stop...no wait...please don't take us. Please don't take us THERE!" one of the older men is stating.

As he resists I watch the Silver Helmets strike him in the face. He seems to break the man's jaw. I watch blood splatter all over the mall floor. The man collapses. The other man who was sitting with him breaks down into tears.

I get up ready to say something.

"Don't," Seth stops me.

I watch in shock as the men with the silver helmets drag the two older men away. A few remain even after continuing to survey the area. I can't believe what I just saw. I sit at the table trying to put it out of my head but it seems impossible.

Seth sits relatively quickly.

"I can't stay for long..."



He looks around. He seems nervous and I can see why. The men with the silver helmets. They are walking around the mall.

"Snow's task force. That device on their head. That is your father's device, isn't it?" I ask.

Seth hesitates. After Snow took the presidency by force there were some protesting in the streets. Snow quickly squashed that though. It was known as the Rain of Blood March when Snows A&E task force first appeared. They came with guns. Guns that didn't shoot bullets. Guns that shot lasers. Guns that destroyed everything and everyone opposing Snow. I was a part of that protest. I managed to get Seth to come with me as well. He'd seen the blood. He'd seen the horror from the Rain of Blood March. There was nowhere to run.


Ever since then Seth hadn't really been the same. He seems completely out of it today. He looks like he doesn't want to be here. He looks like he wants to be anywhere but here actually.

"It's called GAYDAR," Seth explains, "My father is in charge of helping President Storm with Project Silverhead."


"Project Silverhead."


He points across the room, "Those things on top of their heads is my dad's technology. It detects gay hormones."


"It's not detecting us," I explain, "I guess it doesn't work."


I reach over to grab Seth.

He moves his hands away quickly, "No. You don't get it. It can only tell if you're turned on by another man. The moment your dick jumps a little bit because you find a gay man attractive GAYDAR will activate. The moment you get too angry with a lover who did something to you, it will activate. The moment you want to kiss a lover you haven't seen in a long time GAYDAR is activated..."

Any emotion triggered by a gay thought will activate it.

At first I think he wants to look at me but he doesn't. He wants to touch me, but he doesn't. He's afraid of the Silverheads.

"Seth, what happens when people are detected."



Seth seems turned off by the question.

"I should go. It's not safe for us to be in public."



"What happens Seth? You have to know..."


Seth shakes his head, "Stop."


"Seth. I don't know what's going on with you. I still love you though. You do know that right."


"I just need you to be more...discreet."


"You? The paragon of hope is telling me I should be discreet."


"I read your open letter to the president that was posted online. The open letter trashing the president. A lot of people read it..."

The night that Robert Nicholas was robbed of the Presidency I wrote an open letter to the president. I had saved it on my computer for a few days and then ended up posting it online. I posted it under a pseudonym. I didn't think anyone would find out. I didn't care if anyone found out. I just wanted to be done with it.

"You read: A city in the sky."


Seth nods and he hesitates with his answer.

"I know you are the writer known as the Flamer. If I figured it out, then who knows who else could figure it out?"


"Who cares. It's just an open letter."


"It's gone viral."


My heart skips a beat. I had been so lost in my thoughts that I had no idea what the status of the letter is. My heart keeps racing the more I think of it. The idea that something I wrote went viral doesn't really make sense to say the least.


"Freedom of speech is in our constitution," I tell him.

"You think President Storm gives a fuck about freedom of Speech? You don't want to find out what happens if the Silverheads take you away man. My dad showed me. You don't want to know what happens when they take you to the Fixers."


"The Fixers?"


I had never heard the term before. It was clear now though. Seth did know what happened when you were marked as being gay. Maybe that is why he is looking around with fear in his eyes.

"I love you. I don't want anything to happen to you," Seth explains to me.

"Nothing is going to happen to me," I explain, "You are the one who told me to keep hope alive. You are the one who influenced me to write the article. Whatever happened to hope?"



"Hope is dead, Caden."


I'm shocked this is coming from Seth.

"Wow..."


"Please just take the article down. I'll catch you later love..."



With that he turns, gets up and walks away. This was my life now. An A&E Task force patrolling the streets to see if people are gay. It's all for a good reason they tell you. We have to protect people from SHIV, they say. Think about the kids, they say. I look across the table and see a kid. He's terrified by the Silverheads walking around the mall patrolling. I locked myself in doors as much as I can, only leaving to go to work. I only left to realize that things were only getting worse...never better.

I get up from the table. I walk right past one of the Silverheads on my way out. He turns to me. My heart starts beating in my chest wondering if his helmet is going to go off and detect me as a homosexual.


I'd find out first-hand what happened to gay people.

"You should think happy thoughts," a voice says, "It's a good day."


I turn and see a girl standing there. She had a short pixie haircut. She smiles at me. At first I don't smile back but then I see her reach out and hold my hand. I had never seen this girl a day in my life but immediately I knew why she was holding my hand.


The Silverhead that was looking my way thinks she's my girlfriend. He turns and stops looking at me. He finds another person to survey over by the ice cream bar.

"Thanks."


"You always gave yourself away," she tells me.

I hesitate, "I don't know what you're talking about."


"Don't worry..."


She pulls up her sleeve slightly so I can see. Underneath her sleeve I see something that clearly looks like a rainbow. The girl was gay.

"How'd you know about me?"


"I didn't. Like I said you always gave yourself away. You looked so nervous."


"I was just thinking," I explain.

"About?"


"Where do they take us...or people like us...if that helmet of theirs beeps..."


"You don't ever want to know," she says, "Just think happy thoughts. Puppies, Nuns, rainbows...well maybe not rainbows. That might set the Silverheads off. You'll be alright."


"DOMINIQUE...Come on!"


A voice is calling to her. In the distance I see someone. My heart races when I make out the face. The boy looks directly at me. He looks right in my eyes. Our eyes lock together.

"That's my ride," The girl with the pixie cut tells me.

I recognize the boy.

"That can't be...is that Rhett Nicholas?"


"Sure is. You want to meet him?"


What are the chances that Rhett Nicholas was here? I didn't understand it. It didn't make sense. He looks better in person than on television though. I didn't think that was possible because he always looked so fucking perfect on television. I feel a little star struck as I look over at the car he is in. He's not alone in that car. There are others with him.

The girl, Dominique, doesn't seem too eager to get out of the area even with the Silverheads lurking around.


"Nah...I think I'll pass."


"You sure. Never met a gay guy who didn't want to meet Rhett Nicholas before," she laughs, "Not my type but I hear he's a real winner if you like guys..."


My eyes clear the parking lot again until I see where Rhett is. He is waiting patiently now. His eyes are staring at mine. It could be my imagination but it almost seems as though he is waiting and not for Dominique. For some reason it seems like he is waiting for me. I don't know how to describe the feeling. Maybe it's because he looks curiously over at me every second I'm talking to Dominique wondering what I am going to decide to do.

It has to be my imagination.

"I think I'll pass," I state again.

"Suit yourself," she explains, "I'll see you some other time Caden."


With that Dominique walks away. I watch as she gets into the car with Rhett. I watch as they roll up some tinted windows and speed off. I'm so curious how it is that Rhett is out and about. I hadn't heard from him since seeing him on television where his father was killed on live TV. He made no public appearances. But sure enough here he was as clear as day.

I cross my arms, wondering how weird that interaction was.

What was even more weird?


Caden

~

Days pass without me hearing from Seth. For a moment I swear that if we were in an actual relationship he would break up with me. I guess me writing that letter had really spooked him in a way that I didn't think it would. I thought Seth would be different. I thought he would be stronger. He was the one who had all this hope that Nicholas would win the presidency. Now that Robert Nicholas lost the presidency it seemed like he was a different person. He wasn't the only one either. The anti-gay sentiment was spreading like wildfire. Everywhere.

I can hardly concentrate at work. I've been doing freelance writing for a local newspaper station. It isn't what I always wanted to do but I had a degree in Journalism and work like this got me by. The truth is Journalism was dead.

"I'm thinking about running a story about how SHIV actually can spread through saliva," a girl named Julie at work is saying.

"That's not true though," the person she's talking to says.

Julie is the office bull shitter. The number of fake stories she comes up with is ridiculous but she's popular. Maybe that's why she's walking around now with her head perched up so high you think something's wrong with her.


"Do you know that?" Julie asks.

I roll my eyes at her. It's hard not to.

"Julie take the talk to the break room," the chief Editor Ryan states walking into the room, "Crosby. Yeah you. Crosby come this way."


I knew when Ryan called me by my last name that he needed something important. I get up at that moment and follow Ryan into his office. Ryan is an older man but still quite attractive. Julie calls him a silver fox probably because he has this really attractive face and this beautiful gray hair on the top his head. He runs his hands through his hair before starting every conversation. I sit back and just feel awkward in the room.

Something is right. That much is clear.

"Am I in trouble?"


He doesn't answer outright.

He slides a folder over to me, "Does this letter look familiar to you?"


I open the letter. My heart drops when I see what it is. It is the letter that I wrote to the president. It is the letter that went viral. The title of it reads: The City in the Sky.

"It doesn't look familiar," I lie.

Ryan sighs.


"I read thousands of articles in my life time. Do you know how many of your works I've read since you've been working here?"


"Dozens..."


"Hundreds," he corrects me with a snide gesture, "And you know, Caden, after editing so many of your writings I've come to notice many things about you. The way you arrange syntax. You're use of metaphors. So when I read this open letter, it just seemed familiar."

He stares at me. He stares through me. He knows! I know he knows.

"I don't know what you're talking about."


"I figured you said that. And that is why I hacked into your company email."


"You did what?" I state, "That's illegal."


"And what you did isn't?" Ryan asks me, "Sit...sit down."


I see someone standing behind Ryan's door. My heart is racing. I knew what this meant. Treason.

"You told someone...didn't you?" I ask.

"Yes."

The person stands behind the door making sure I wouldn't leave. I would be sent to the fixer. That is what that meant. I would finally find out what the Fixer was. I would die there. Rumor had it that people who went to the Fixer never came back. Rumors had it that it was worse than a Nazi Death camp.

My heart was racing. Today was the first day of the rest of my life and I wouldn't even be able to tell Seth how much I loved him. I wouldn't even get the chance.

The door opens.

It isn't a Silverhead though. It isn't a cop. It isn't a member of the military. The person that walks through the door intimidates me almost as much as those people though. I watch in shock as Rhett Nicholas walks through my boss's door. He stands there crossing his arms and taking the seat that I just got out of.

He seems cool, calm and collected. His long braid folds over the chair that he is sitting on. He is dressed in a motorcycle jacket and some jeans. He looks completely different from when he used to be on the campaign trail with his dad.

"You..." I state.

Again.

This was the second time I had seen Rhett Nicholson. What were the chances?


"Do you know who this is?" Ryan asks me.

I look over at Rhett. Everyone knew who Rhett was.

"Are you following me?" I ask.

He looks at me as though it is laughable. I would expect it to be. Why would someone like Rhett Nicholson be following me. His eyes stare deep in mine as though thinking how to answer and then Rhett nods slowly.

"Yes. Yes, I have."



What the fuck?



"Why?"


Rhett smiles at me, "I read your open letter: A City in the Sky. Every gay person I know read that letter. It had...let's say...an impact. I had to meet the man who wrote it. When my old friend Ryan reached out to me and told me he knew who it was, I just had to see you in person. You don't understand what this letter means."


I look over at Ryan.

"You're..."


Ryan nods, "I'm gay. Not only that. I'm part of the Rebellion. I'm part of the Gay Agenda."


My heart sinks. It would be treason to be in this room with these people. If anyone knew we would be lined up and shot.

"I don't know anything about this. I just wrote a letter," I explain.

Rhett smiles, "That letter has become a rallying cry for the Gay Agenda. You don't understand just how powerful words can be. In particular, you don't understand just how powerful your words are. I'm not the crying type. The first time I read a City in the Sky I broke down and started to cry. I understood every word you wrote. I understood every syllable. You somehow managed to express every feeling that every gay person has ever felt."


"It was just a letter."


Ryan smiles, "Caden, I always looked at you as a mediocre writer to be honest. You suck at Opinion pieces and your journalism is OK at best. I didn't know you had this in you. You have a passion for this topic."


"And I want you to come join the Rebellion," Rhett respond, "I want you to join the Gay Agenda."


I laugh.

I don't mean to be rude but they got the wrong guy.


"I'm no one's rebel," I explain to Rhett.

"That letter WAS the beginning of a rebellion. Whether you like it or not. There is still hope and that letter gave it to us."


"Hope is dead."


Those were the words that Seth had told me. I was putting myself out there and Seth was right. He was so right.

I attempt to get up. I attempt to leave.

Rhett grabs me by my hand.


"I don't know you. I don't know anything about you except what you wrote. I'm telling you that a passion like what you have can make the difference. It can unite people to our cause. We can fight back. You were there at the mall. You saw how they treated that gay couple. It's happening all over. Do you know where they take them."


"No."


"Good. You don't want to have that image in your head. You'll never sleep again if you find out what one of the Fixer Concentration Camps are like. You'll never understand. You hear me? You think you can hide from them forever. You can't. You walk out of that door and that's it, Caden. I can't protect you."


I look at Rhett. He was honorable. He was noble. He was brave. He was like his father.

All of those things would get him killed.

"Good luck with your rebellion."



~

I head home but stop. I look down the hall and see that my door is open. A group of Silverheads walk through my apartment. At first I panic. I think they are targeting me but I'm wrong. I know for sure they are going house to house. They are INVADING people's homes. They are sweeping through to make sure that they find every gay and send them off to the concentration camps.

I turn back. I turn back and go a few doors down to Seth's apartment. I have to warn him. I have to let him know that the Silverheads are coming. I know Marla is at work and I know where he keeps his spare key. I immediately open the door and go into his apartment.

I have to keep silent. The Silverheads are close.

I can hear Seth in his bedroom. I hurry up and make my way towards the bedroom. When I get there I open the door and my mouth drops.

"Seth..."


"Bae..."



Seth was having sex. It's not with Marla, though. It's not with his wife. My mouth drops when I see who Seth is making love to.

"Elijah!"

All I feel is anger. I feel so much anger. I came to warn Seth about the Silverheads. I came to warn my lover and he was cheating with my BROTHER who just so happened to be this big homophobic maniac. My heart is racing. None of it makes sense. None of it.

Why would he do this to me? Why would he?

"Why would you do this to me?" I'm asking Seth.

He wanted to marry me. Why would he turn on me? Why would he do this to me? Was I not in the closet enough for him? Was it the open letter that I wrote? Why the fuck would he do this to me and why with Elijah of all people?


Both boys struggle to get dressed and Elijah runs out the house half naked without even giving me another look. I can see the embarrassment in his eyes. All that talk about hating gay people and he was one of them.

I'm so angry that I don't hear the Silverheads. They walk into the apartment unannounced probably having gotten keys from the landlord.

They walk into the apartment. They see me standing there angry as hell. That anger is what makes their GAYDAR go off. I know it is. I'm looking right at Seth.


And that's when Seth betrays me.

"It's him!" Seth rats me out, backing away, "He's gay!"

I should struggle. I should tell them what Seth was just doing at least. I should fight but when you are heartbroken nothing like that comes to mind. All you wonder is why? Why the man that you wasted years of your life with would do something like this to you made no sense.

I feel them handcuff me. I feel them begin to take me away.

I know I'm going to the Concentration camp. I know I'm being taken off to the Fixer but all I can do is look back at Seth and wonder the same question over and over.

Why?

 

 

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