The year was 2016, technology is thriving, people are talking and enjoying life as they know it. But little did they know, that soon, their lives would change forever. It was 8:00 pm EST when the chaos started. I was living in Miami when they first declared Martial Law. I was on my way home from work, I was a construction worker. Me and my team were working on blueprints for a new apartment complex that would house over 3,000 people. It was pretty hard to make up those blueprints. There was a lot of planning and landscaping that had to be done before any building could actually be done. As I was driving home, something in they distance caught my eye. "Everyone evacuate your vehicles and walk to the checkpoint ahead for further details!" I got out of my car and started walking towards the man who was talking into the megaphone. He was wearing standard military clothing with a badge that read Sgt. Reeves. "Um, excuse me sir?", I asked as I walked up to the armored jeep. "Whats going on and why are there military vehicles on the road?" "Sir", he said, "you need to walk up to the checkpoint to be further informed of whats going on. Please proceed." So I started walking up towards the checkpoint, but my walk was cut short by the enormous line of people in front of me. I leaned over left and right to try and get a good look at what was happening up front, but people who were panicking were blocking my way. I waited in line until my turn finally came up. "Name, sir.", said the soldier. "John Douglas.", I said. "Age?" "26", I said. "And address, sir?" "Wait, why do I have to give you my address?", I asked. He looked at his clip board. "Sir, can you just comply with me? As you can see, there's a lot more people waiting to get through. So please just tell me your address."
I was still trying to figure out what the heck was going on. "Sir, your address. Now.", he said in a intimidating tone. He started slightly moving his right hand towards his gun holster where he had an M1911 pistol. "1504 Riverdale Drive.", I said quickly. He started writing on his paper and made a face that kinda made him look stupid. Like he was the richest kid in school or something. "Ok, please continue through the check point." I started walking forward as I was thinking about what he would've done if I hadn't told him my address. Would he have pointed it at me? Or even shoot me? Nah, he wouldn't do that, not in front of all those people. Or would he? Considering all hell has probably broken loose, he probably would. I continued walking before I saw a desk with another soldier. "Over here, sir.", he said. I walked toward the desk. "Name?" "John Douglas.", I said. "Ok, Mr.Douglas. Are you aware of what's happening here?" "No, that's what I've been trying to find out this whole time." "Ok, well, to put it simply, the United States Government has declared Martial Law on all states." "What for?", I asked. "Apparently, there are terrorist threats across the country on every single major city in every state." I couldn't believe what he was telling me. There were terrorists in every state threatening to kill people?! That's probably the first time something like this was every happening. "So, what's the plan? Is the government going to take care of things?", I asked. "For right now, we don't know all the details. There's stuff that's even classified for us. But if there anything, we'll be sure to let everyone know. Now if you will, please give me your right hand." I looked at him with an eerie look. "If you don't mind me asking, why?", I asked. "Because sir, we need to mark you to make sure everyone is in the system." " I'm sorry, your nicer than the other soldier, but I'm afraid I can't do that." I started walking away, but then I heard, "Stop right now, or I will use deadly force!" I ran as fast as I could, hoping he wouldn't shoot me in my back.
I ran until I saw an alley way I could dip into. I ran down the alley and hid behind a dumpster. I tried to be as quiet as possible. I heard the soldier run past the alley. I was wondering if he had alerted any other soldiers yet. I slowly walked out from the alley and headed back for the desk. When I got to the desk, I took the marker tool he used and used it on my hand. I knew that I had to get out of this place, FAST! I started walking towards the direction the soldier went to see if there were any other exits. After a few minutes of looking, I didn't see any other exits. I knew then, that there was only one way out. But it was going to be difficult to do. Just thinking about it scared me. But I had already done more than I thought I ever could. It seemed like I was a person out of a TV show or a movie. But I couldn't let any of that get to my head, or it could get me killed. And right now, death could be around every corner. I started making my way towards the exit. While I was walking , I saw a rifle leaned against a desk. There wasn't a soldier nearby, that I couldn't see, at least. I quickly grabbed the rifle. It was an M16A2.It was semi-automatic and automatic, which could come in handy. Then I started running for the exit, realizing that if I got caught with the gun I'd be killed on sight with no second thought. When I got to the exit, I saw the guard look back towards me. "Hey! Stop now and put down the gun or you will be shot on sight!!", yelled the soldier.I aimed my gun at the soldier, and pulled the trigger. It shot rapidly into the soldier's abdomen. After I shot he fell to the ground. I had gotten so rusty with guns, since I hadn't used one in years. The last time I used a gun was when my dad taught me how to use one when he went to the shooting range one day. My dad also had an M16A2. But I forgot to check which mode it was on before I shot. But I got him, that's all that matters right now. Everyone waiting in line started freaking out, running away and screaming. I ran through everyone trying to get back to my car. When I got to my car, other cars were behind mine, blocking me from getting out. I started running down further to see if I could find another car that wasn't blocked.
I finally found a 1998 Dodge Ram SLT that should do the job of getting away from here. Luckily, it wasn't locked and the keys were in it too. Looks like someone was in too much of a hurry to grab their keys. I got in and started the truck. I put it into reverse, and booked it out of there. I heard gunfire behind me but non of the bullets hit somehow. "I have to go home and get some stuff.", I thought to myself. I had to go home and get my survival gear that I had been collecting and storing for years now. I knew some kind of tragedy would happen, so I started collecting bug-out supplies for this occasion. When I got home I went into my closet and grabbed two big duffle bags of survival gear. When I finished getting everything I needed, I headed for the door. When I opened it, there was a man standing out there with a pistol in his hand. At first glance, I thought it was a soldier, but I looked again and it was just a regular guy, at least from what I could tell. I stepped outside and asked,"Are you ok,sir?" He looked at me fiercely. "I'm gonna need your keys and your supplies. Now hand them over now, and we won't need any ugliness.", he said.