The Metalheads

The room was quiet except for the sound of the printer in the lab. I had made at least 300 flyers so far. I hadn't slept all night, I couldn't after my dad came home. He woke up around 5 am and disappeared again. Neither one of us had considered confronting each other, and I was okay with that. I couldn't do anything about him now, not yet.

The sound of a door opening and closing startled me out of my working trance.

"Hey! How long have you been down here?" Ashley busted in, pulling up a chair next to me. I let out a tired sigh, stretching my arms.

"Umm, I don't know. All night maybe?" I said, getting up to take some flyers off the printer. Ashley laughed.

"Doing what?" I handed him one of the flyers I had spent the night making.

It read: ATTENTION: ARMY NEEDED Those willing to fight for what's right, read on. Anyone willing to participate meet near the new stadium on February 20th between 6pm and9pm. A briefing of the situation will follow after all participants have arrived.

He read over it thoroughly, showing me facial expressions of approval. He handed the paper back to me, pushing the hair out of his eyes.

"I just hope this will work," he said. "Where's Andy?"

I shrugged. "Haven't seen him since last night. His mom called him home."

"What did she need him for?" Ashley asked, straightening all of the flyers in a neat stack. I shrugged again.

"He didn't say." My mind began to wander to the worst possible situations, but I pushed them away. I knew he was probably fine, wherever he was.

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The shackles around his wrists and ankles were way too tight, and beginning to eat through his pale skin. Andy looked around him, around the cell of a room he was in, and down at himself. He was still wearing clothes from yesterday. The last thing he remembered was going home upon his mom's request.

So where was he now? How long had he been here? Panic began to settle in as Andy sat for hours, waiting for someone to get him out. He was starting to lose hope when the door in front of him creaked open, letting a band of light into the room.

"Get up," barked a deep voice from outside the room. Andy obeyed, struggling with the ankle bonds. A masked figure came in the room and removed the chains from his feet.

"Let's go," barked the voice, and Andy was jerked out of the cell and into the light. He could barely see, and the masked person struggled to keep him from toppling over. Andy's body was weak from lack of food and sitting in a cramped space for so long.

The masked man dropped him off in the rear of another dark room. Andy groaned and looked around, noticing that this room seemed a lot bigger, and deja vu began to set in. A familiar voice cut through the darkness, making him shudder.

"Hello, Mr. Biersack."

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"I've called him at least 5 times, he hasn't answered any of them," Ashley reported, plopping down on my couch next to me. We had just finished posting the flyers throughout the county. Both of us prayed we could get enough people to help us.

"Same here. Maybe his phone died and he left it somewhere?" I suggested. For both of us, it was really just a hope. I knew something was wrong. We had to find him. After finally getting an idea, I jumped up, dashing to the door and throwing on my boots.

"Come on!" I screamed to Ashley as I burst out of the house. He soon joined me as I knocked on the Biersack's front door. I had to knock a few times before anyone answered.

"Andy's not here right now," said a fake high-pitched voice. Ashley and I exchanged glances. That was not the voice of Chris or Amy. Before the voice could close the door, I held it open. After a few shoves, it gave way, knocking whoever was there down. We opened the door fully to see a heavy recording machine sitting on the floor and a rope attached to the door keeping it in place. In the hallway, I could see Chris and Amy bound and gagged. Ashley went over to help them, while I looked around. On top of the recording machine, there was a note written on fancy orange paper.

"We are ready. Prepare your army, and we'll bring ours. Just be ready to face the truth. XX~ President Black"

I snatched up the note and crumpled it in my hand, tears staining my eyes. I knew where Andy was now.

"What?" Ashley asked, taking the note from my hand to read it.

"That bastard has him," I snapped before picking up the recording machine and taking it with me.

The next day, I left Ashley alone to finish our plans and take care of Chris and Amy. I didn't want anything else happening to them, so they stayed with us. I went to find President Black's 2 best men: Brody and his father. They weren't hard to find. I captured them and took them back to my house, tying them up there.

"What are you doing, you crazy bitch?" Brody hissed.

"Don't worry. I'm just saving you for later." I sighed. February 20th couldn't come fast enough.

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"Get me out of here," Andy demanded. He tugged on the chains that still bound his wrists, but they didn't budge.

"You're no good to your friends in here," the voice cackled. Andy sighed, recognizing the voice.

"Get me out of here, Black. I need to get back to my friends," he begged. President Black stood up, came out from around his desk, and stood in front of his prisoner. He put a hand under his chin and gently lifted his head.

"You're better off in here. You don't want to get hurt during the fight, do you?" Andy glared at the President.

"I'd rather fight with my friends than stay in here and let you torture me," he snapped back. That earned him a slap in the face.

"How dare you speak to your President that way?" he mocked.

"You're not my President!" Andy screamed, earning another slap in the face. President Black continued to mock him and tease him, hitting him every time he shot back, listening to the sound of blunt force echo off of every surface in the room. Eventually, the President began using a whip, leaving long, painful scars on Andy's body. Andy could only wonder, 'Where is Katherine?'

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On the night of February 20th, just before sundown, a group of about 400 citizens of Metal county gathered outside the courthouse, clad with their own weapons and battle gear. There were people of all ages, most ranging from about 15 to 50. I was amazed to see this many people show up.

Ashley and I made our way to the front of the crowd, pushing Brody and his dad along to the front. I climbed up on top of a podium that stood in front of the building. I gulped nervously, remembering how much I despised public speaking. But I had to do this, it was for the better of everyone I cared about. I looked towards the back of the crowd, pleased to see Chris and Amy join the rest of the crowd. I tapped on the microphone, previously borrowed from the county commissioner, and got everyone's attention.

"Hello...everyone," I looked over to Ashley, who was encouraging me to go on. "I just want to thank you all for coming, and to let you know that if you ever change your mind, you are free to leave at any time."

I scanned around the crowd to see if anyone started to walk away.

Nobody moved.

"Okay, well, that's reassuring," I said to myself, clearing my throat.

"I brought you all together here today to tell you that our population is, if you don't already know, the minority in this world. And because of that, over the years we have been pushed around, bossed around, and shoved into the small area we call Metal County, by our fabulous government."

I looked over at Ashley again, to reassure myself before continuing.

"The federal government outside of Metal County, who is in currently in control of us, has been proven to be corrupt. They have, over the years, enslaved, abused, and even captured some, of our people. And for what?"

I paused, waiting for the crowd to think.

"Does anyone have any idea why they would do this to us?" A man in the front raised his hand. I pointed to him and let him answer.

"Because they are all scumbags who judge us by how we look, and not who we are." I nodded, liking his answer, and called on a girl towards the middle of the crowd.

"Because they think we are the bad guys, but in reality, they are. They don't realize that we aren't bad people, they just treat us like we are." I nodded again, agreeing with her as well.

"Those are both very good answers. Does anyone remember back around last winter when the government took up a group of teenagers to go to a special 'camp'?" Most of the people in the crowd raised their hands.

"Well, I was in that group of teenagers," I continued. "And in that 'camp', I was imprisoned, along with the rest of the group. We were forced to work, barely fed, and lived in horrible conditions. We were forced to go to this 'camp' for absolutely no reason at all.

After a few weeks in the camp, I learned that one by one, teenagers were being taken from the camp by the government and being held up somewhere else. I found out where these teens were being taken, and I did everything I could to help them. After finding out about this, I couldn't stand to be trapped against my own will anymore, as I imagine that is how the rest of the prisoners felt. For weeks, I plotted our escape, along with my best friend Ashley."

I waved Ashley up onto the podium with me, and he put his arm around me.

"When the time was right, I got all of the prisoners together, helping the ones that had been captured to safety, and we broke out of that prison within 30 minutes. Everyone in that camp had escaped with me, except for one person."

I paused to wipe a fresh tear that had formed, and to take a breath.

"My friend Sarah, who I had known my whole life up to that point, was put into a gas chamber a few days before the escape."

A few gasps and "no"s escaped the crowd. I could tell the people were getting more fired up about our mission.

"She had protested against a few of the guards. They ripped her away from me, and I watched them drag her away to her death."

I took another breath, noticing a few people throughout the crowd raising their weapons and shouting.

"She has been my inspiration for years to stand up against the fist that has held us in a choke-hold for most of our lives because we were different from the rest of the world. And now, I am tired of being in the control of another person who has no right to tell me who I can be."

The crowd raised their fists and screamed in unison and agreement.

"I will not let this corrupt population on the outside control me and my people."

Again, the crowd raised their fists and cheered.

"I will not let these assholes push me around and segregate me from the rest of the world because of who I choose to be."

The crowd cheered again, this time loud enough for the life outside the border to hear us.

"I will not let the fear of being who I want to be consume me because I do not meet the standards of a bunch of selfish control freaks. I will stand up for what's right, even if I stand alone. So, if you will let me command you, we will make these people pay for the burden they've put upon us."

This time the crowd cheered louder than ever, and I could see police trucks from the other side begin to file in the gate behind us. The crowd turned to look, watching the trucks as they pulled up at the front of the court yard.

I stepped down from the podium and made my way through the crowd to face one of the officers that had stepped out of his truck, dragging my own prisoners along with me. Silence hung over the area as the entire crowd watched us walk toward the trucks.

"Can I help you?" I asked the officer, putting my hands on my hips. He removed his sunglasses and sighed.

"May I ask, what business you have congregating this group of...of fools... and being this loud and obnoxious?" I just laughed and grabbed him by the collar.

"You tell your President to bring his army. We're ready for him." The officer smirked, removing my hand from his shirt.

"Why don't you tell him yourself?" Suddenly, a different truck pulled up along next to the others. President Black stepped out of the passenger seat, and joined us on the sidewalk.

"I am just as ready as you are, my dear," he smiled.

"Where's Andy?" I demanded, holding Brody and his dad at gunpoint in front of me.

"If you release your prisoners, I'll release mine."

He laughed a little.

"Oh, your tall blue eyed friend? He's right here." He turned and whistled to one of the officers standing near his truck.

He opened the back doors, and another officer came bursting out of the back, dragging a limp Andy with a gun to his head. His entire body was clad with bruises, cuts, and scars. I knew he had been tortured. I couldn't get over how much sadness had collected in his eyes. Ashley kneeled down to untie him and help him, but President Black stopped him.

"No. You release yours first," he grinned, gesturing towards the 2 men kneeling on the ground before me. I released them, but didn't take my eyes off of them. They scrambled away like rats and stood behind the President.

"Let him go," I growled. Ashley paid no attention to the gun that was now pointed at his head and helped Andy up, untying him and carrying him on his back to his parents.

"Now, if you will release your grip on our people, we won't have to do this," I bargained. He began to negotiate.

"What would you offer in return?"

I paused, thinking. I had never really thought about what I could give him to get him to leave us alone.

"I shouldn't have to give you anything," I snapped.

"You should treat us like humans."

"Then let us fight, and see who really owes who," he sneered.

"Let's fight then," I said, turning back to my army. I whispered over to Ashley to keep Andy and his parents out of the fight, and to keep them safe. He looked at me with sad eyes, but obeyed. I looked at the crowd before me, and every single one of them stood ready. They had their weapons in hand, and angry looks on their faces.

Satisfied, I turned back to President Black and smirked, listening to the screams of anger and battle cries behind me.


"If you want a fight, then we'll bring a war."

Notes

Here's a nice long chapter for you guys. I hope you like it. I know the past few chapters haven't been the best.

Don't be afraid to leave comments down below :)


~Maddie <3




I LOVE THAT SONG REFERENCE MADDIE, KUDOS TO YOU MY FRIEND ~Andy'sPanda38