2059AW (After War)
1
There were people everywhere and it was a joy to see. They had come to pay their respects to the man who had made their new lives possible and groups were streaming in from all corners of the globe in an endless succession of happiness and grief.
The founder of Safe Haven may be near the end of his time, but the vision he had created would survive forever. With his strength of mind, the son of a traitor had given them peace, honor, and safety. There were no jails nor any need for them, no hunger, no pollution or dying planet trying to kill them first. The methods he had used to achieve such a utopia were often brutal, but forty seven years after the War of 2012, America was flourishing, spreading back into the wilderness. Even the years they had spent in foreign lands had been ones of happiness and light. Because of Adrian and his Eagles.
In the heart of Safe Haven City, surrounded by rolling farms and playing children, they gathered, waiting. Adrian would see them all one last time, and they would listen well to any last words he had for them.
Glowing with fulfillment, he only spoke for a moment, and then there was a cheer as he stepped proudly from their lives. It swelled from the arched walls around the stage and grew into a noise heard over more miles than anything since the great eruption of Yellowstone in 2013. It was a celebration of the hope he had given them, the second chance to get it right, and they would honor his memory by keeping America in their hearts. It was his last wish.
2
In the early morning hours, the happy dream faded, allowing restless minds to sleep easier, but along Interstate 25, a Mexican with hate in his heart snapped awake with a scream of rage that brought men running to his filthy tent. He would never let them rebuild! That bright Safe Haven future would never exist, Cesar vowed, delivering a brutal kick to the girl chained at his feet. He would sacrifice every son and daughter he owned to prevent it!
He was screaming for his cousin before his filthy feet hit the girl chained to the center pole.
"Get up! There is work!"
3
Immune to the noise, Cesar watched as the plump woman rode out of camp, the cries of her two young children assuring him that she would do as he wanted. She would be missed for her cooking skills here, but at Safe Haven she would be an invaluable tool waiting for his use.