Death By Breathing

Alex:

They called it "The Ending".

It has been generations, so there is obviously no one left alive who was there. Now, all we have are the written histories we are taught and the family stories that have probably changed so many times they no longer resemble the truth.

I can understand why they called it that. It must have seemed to them that the whole world was ending.

What it was was a global pandemic unlike anything ever seen or recorded before. It spread so fast and was so lethal that half of the world's population was wiped out before they could even think of producing a cure.

The remaining half of the population was divided into the immune and the altered.

Those who were altered had key changes in their very DNA caused by the virus.

The most dynamic of those alterations was the development of what they called the Alpha gene. Only males developed the Alpha gene.

Alphas are physically larger, faster, stronger, and have developed very dominant personalities. Now, as with everything else, there are degrees of dominance.

Some are even dominant over other Alphas. Usually, they have such a strong aura of authority and strength of personality that they seem to control those around them.

These Alphas have so much power that they are on a whole other level. No one would dare to go against them or refuse them what they want. They are honestly scary as fuck.

Alphas rule everything. They are the government, lawmakers, business owners, law enforcement, and heads of any family in which they are a part. Also, this is where the level of dominance plays a huge part. The more dominant, the higher ranked they will be nd everythi. We live in a totally Alpha-dominated society.

The rest of us peons are literally at their mercy. Alphas can only be prosecuted by other, more dominant Alphas; should anyone dare to accuse them of a crime. If no more dominant alpha exists or wishes to prosecute, then there will be no consequences for said Alpha. This is the case in the overwhelming majority of the time. Most Alphas will not prosecute another Alpha. So, basically, they can get away with whatever shit they want to.

Alphas are not like some shape-shifter wolf thing. Yeah, I have read some of those books, too. Thank god those survived. I wish, man, those Alphas would be fucking hot. Our Alphas are just assholes with superiority complexes.

The rest of us have altered just changed in much more subtle ways. We are all extremely long-lived. We are taught that most people used to only live an average of 75 years. Unaltered or immune people now average 50 to 60 years old. Altered can live normally for around 300 years, but the longest-lived was 380.

We are typically very healthy and suffer from very few natural ailments or diseases, and if we do get injured or sick, we heal at an accelerated rate. It also takes some seriously nasty germs to give us even a cold. I understand these used to be extremely common among the majority of the population. Non-altered individuals still have more susceptibility to illness and diseases. Our medical facilities are basically for them.

Historical records document major failures across government, technology, the military, and everyday life. I can't imagine everything just suddenly ending. There were wars, starvation, and death. So many died of illness or lack of medicine. It is hard for any of us now to comprehend what it was like in those days.

Honestly, without the alteration, I wonder if humanity would have survived and managed to pull ourselves from the brink of extinction.

One major drawback of the alteration was a drastic drop in the number of female births. It is typical now to have 1 female out of every 200 births. Also, our birthrate is very low. Most female altered nowadays will either never be able to conceive, or only be able to give birth once or twice in their very long lives. Yet, as with most things, there are always exceptions.

With the changes in overall health and shorter lives, even the immune birth rates dropped drastically. Although they do produce more babies than we do by far.

Now, immune females can only ever give birth to other immune babies, and they cannot conceive with an altered. Only altered females birth altered or alphas. An altered female can produce offspring with immune males, but she will either produce genetically weaker altered offspring or immune babies.

With the rate of female births so low, our society has become polyandrous. So, typically, there will be at least 2 to 3 men bonded to one woman. Of course, there are variations. However, any woman who is only bonded to one man is looked down upon. On the opposite end, a woman with more partners and more children basically becomes a celebrity. Have one or more of those children be female, and that becomes goddess-level shit right there.

We are taught that there used to be a centralized government that was in charge of what they called the United States, where I live. Also, other continents had their own countries and governments. No such thing exists now.

Our society now is divided into regions. Each region has its own government, run by an Alpha, obviously. The Alpha chosen to lead the region is always selected by a committee of Alphas. Regions are usually big and dictated by geography.

There are regions on other continents, and there is communication between governments worldwide, but our communication with those regions is highly restricted and strictly monitored.

We have fairly open communication and interact with regions near our own. Usually, there are only restrictions when Alphas piss each other off and then forbid their region from interacting with the other region.

Travel between regions is usually only by bus, train, or boat. Alphas are the exception, of course. They go where they damn well please. Stingy bastards that they are. Only the government or the absolute wealthiest Alphas have or use planes.

We have personal vehicles, but fuel is prohibitively expensive. Electric vehicles are the norm, but because electricity consumption is closely monitored, long-distance travel doesn't happen often. You also have to get permission to travel between regions, so it's a huge pain in the ass.

The only thing not closely monitored for electricity consumption is technology. We are a very technology-oriented society. From what I learned in school, they once had something called the Internet, or the World Wide Web. I wish we still did. I can't imagine having that kind of information at your fingertips.

Don't get me wrong, we have computer technology that allows us to interact pretty far and wide. It is mainly used for business and school. We do have access to information and use a type of inter-regional interactive platform. However, it doesn't go beyond multi-regional. I would love to study ancient computer systems, but it's forbidden.

I often wonder how much information is out there that is kept away from us. Also, why are they so determined to keep it from us or keep it to themselves?

Some say it's to make sure nothing like "The Ending" ever happens again. That could be part of it, I'm sure. However, I think the main reason is that once Alphas tasted power and control, they were determined to keep it.

If you keep people ignorant and have them believe whatever information you give them, they become much easier to control.

Our education system is reminiscent of what we were taught it was like back then. We have school, but we don't have numbered grades.

When we first enter school, we receive a basic education. Not only is it engineered to teach basic skills, but it also helps hone skills and highlight our strengths and weaknesses.

Then, once they document your strengths and weaknesses, they give a little attention to your likes. They create a path for your education. Then, once you finish your path, you quit lessons and go to work based on it.

Now, it doesn't happen often, but sometimes they get it wrong. Note the sarcasm. If this happens, there are procedures you can follow to change or "correct" your path. It's just a giant pain in the ass and way too much paperwork.

Thank God that didn't happen to me. They actually managed to get something right.

Now, I can't honestly point to a single time when I became aware that I needed to be exceedingly cautious about sharing information about myself. Maybe because I have known since I can remember that my parents are total assholes. I honestly don't have good memories of my parents. I am absolutely sure they only had me for the status boost.

It sure as hell wasn't from any warm fuzzy feelings regarding having a child. As soon as I was born, I was handed off to the nanny. My mother only bothered to have anything to do with me for photo ops and social engagements. I was a means to an end for the world to acknowledge her superiority. If I didn't know better, I would swear she was an Alpha with her level of self-importance. My father is her equal in every nasty part of their personalities. They had another partner, but he disappeared when I was just a baby. I was told he just left one day, but I don't know. With my parents, I can't say I blame him.

We have a rather unique level of mutual disdain. I hate them both and can't wait to get the hell out of here.

We don't have a specific age at which we are considered legal adults. Since so much emphasis is placed on our education, everything centers on it. We become adults once we complete our path and put our education behind us. Granted, this typically never happens before the age of twenty at the earliest.

At 22, I have finally finished and have started anxiously planning my exodus.

Now, with understanding quite young my parents' level of assholery, and my place in the family dynamic, I learned to hide things about myself.

The only people who know everything about me are my two best friends.

I met Rachelle and Dean while in education. She was the only other female on a path like mine, and Dean fit with us as we all adored all things computer technology. We often paired up for any group projects we needed to accomplish. They are also more than aware of my parents' lack of humanity. So we have made plans to escape together.

About a year ago, they fell in love and bonded. Dean and I never saw each other as anything but best friends and chosen family. So far, they haven't found any other guys that fit with their dynamic, but they are open to it. I am exceedingly happy for them.

My only sorrow with it all is that they are both immune, and I am altered. So I know, barring some crazy circumstances, I will outlive them both. I decided back when we first met that I would rather have them in my life as long as possible, rather than missing out on their friendship.

Most altered people tend to keep themselves apart on some level from immune. With the vast differences in longevity and health, the general consensus is that we don't mix. I have always found that exceedingly bullshit. Altered tend to be more snobby and think themselves more important than they really are. I have actually met far more decent immune than I have altered. I can't stand snobs. My parents have undoubtedly poisoned me against the superiority mindset.

Rachelle's mom died when she was young, so she was raised by her dad, and later on, her stepmom and second dad. She never really clicked with her new family members. Her dad was always so busy making a living that she fell through the cracks.

Now Dean has the dream family. His mom and 3 dads are wonderful. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time at Dean's house. They wholeheartedly adopted us.

Rachelle and Dean know now that my education is complete, I need to disappear fast. I know my dad is probably planning a way to sell me to some Alpha assholes. So, I have to escape before that can happen.