The Corrupt Kingdom | Teen Ink

The Corrupt Kingdom

May 17, 2024
By Anonymous

Author's note:

I'm a high school student who loves to draw and play video games.

The author's comments:

This is a short story, not a chapter book.

In a corrupt place with neon lights flashing everywhere, people gambling and hiding in the shadows from the guards, life wasn't exactly easy. Clear out in the outskirts, it was dark, cold, and smokey. All the rich people would get to live in the center of the cities and cast anyone out to the outskirts if they had more money or power than you. There was a war going on and civilians were close to the front lines. There were very few resources left and people were starving.

 Technology was advancing quickly and only a few could afford it. And in all this chaos there was a teenage boy named Max. He was your average boy, an orphan with nothing to his name and a little sister to take care of on his own. Max was going about his everyday life working every second he could. It was the same boring, slow, dark, and lonely day just like usual. Everyone was doing the same routine as they always did, working as much as possible, taking on any and all jobs so they don't go hungry. 

Then one day, two people decided that they couldn't take it any longer. Life was miserable, everything was corrupt, and too many people were dying. Max’s little sister Melody and her friend, Blake, were the ones who finally snapped and started fighting back against the guards. The reason they snapped is because during this age if you were poor, you were worth only the cost of all your organs, and the rich could do whatever they wanted as long as they kept their promises and secrets. Likewise, the guards had the freedom to claim anything was illegal, or send anyone to jail, or the asylums and would turn a blind eye to you if you had enough money. If you got caught rebelling, you would either be killed or thrown in prison. 

Max couldn't do anything at that moment seeing he was frozen in fear of what his sister had just done. He refused to believe it and wished it was all a bad dream, and that he would wake up and his sister would still be here. But it was not a dream. He had to sit there and watch his sister's body get dragged across the cement. He was horrified after what he just saw. 

That was the last time he saw his sister. She was dead, gray, cold, bloody, and broken. And she was gone. All of his family was now dead. They were twins (Max was older by a few minutes) and at only 13 years old, he had no other family and now she was gone too. Melody was his whole world and his only reason for living. He didn't know what to do. All the life in him had drained out of him; his eyes had darkened and were lifeless and grim.


4 years later...   


“You get back here! Someone stop him!” said the merchant as he ran after the boy. 

“Ha! I'd like to see you try!” said Max. “You'll never catch me alive!” 

Max was running from the guards with some stolen weapons. He ran for a while and eventually got away from them. He made it to his underground facility at the asylum and dropped off the weapons and greeted the people there waiting for him.

 “I knew you could do it!” said Alex. 

“These past four years of hiding and collecting weapons little by little have started to pay off,” said Mr. Joe.

For the last four years, Max has devoted himself and the rest of his life to his little sister's cause. He had found a reason to live. Melody’s death had fueled his desire for change. He found people in the mental asylum that also wanted to escape and change the world for the better. Together, they secretly and slowly took over the asylum and convinced the people who worked there to join them on their side. Together they planned Operation BLue. 

Operation BLue was the plan to overthrow the King and Queen and start a new government. 

Everyone would work hard day and night to prepare for operation BLue. Mr. Joe had been around for a long time and knew a lot of people and knew all the good people that would be willing to help them and how to get valuable information. Alex was the hacker and could hack into almost anything and could steal money and information that way. Alex could also build robots, bombs, and other mechanical things. Then there's Max; the brains and bronze behind it all. He was the one that found these people that he knew would never betray him. 

He got all of this started but this plan wasn't his; it was his sister’s. She had spent years thinking of a fool-proof plan and had everything ready. She even left instructions for her brother. But he didn’t know why she left notes for him to do it. Why didn't she do it herself? thought Max. Why did she do something so stupid all those years ago that would cause her not to be able to fulfill her plan? In her notes, the day before she died, it says “I’m going to test a theory tomorrow…I’m scared, but I have no other choice”. What does that mean? Max thought. He didn't have time to find out, though he trusted his sister, so he did what the notes told him to do. 

Operation BLue was to be carried out in two days' time. The whole asylum was getting ready and preparing for Operation BLue. Max went out for some air and to relax. A boy with pointy ears was watching him. It was a vampire: vampires were known to work for the government as spies. He had a small nose, pink eyes, brown hair, and pointed ears. He was observing Max to see if he was hostile or not since they were at an asylum after all. The boy slowly approached Max. Max saw and darted across to hide behind a tree. 

The boy said, “I didn't mean to scare you. I want to help you.” Max was hesitant but then he remembered something from his sister's journal. In it, it said “There is a vampire living by the asylum deep within the trees. I think he knows something we don’t. I've been watching him for a while, and he seems to be off the government radar. He lives alone and I think we might be able to recruit him. He looks young but is probably at least 200 years old.” After some thought, Max came out from behind the tree, “I don't trust you fully yet, but I'll listen to what you have to say,” said Max. 

The boy said, "My name is Oliver and I’ve met your sister. You two look very alike.” Max was surprised. He didn't know how she could have met the vampire as he always kept a watchful eye on her just in case something bad happened. “I know that she is gone, and I want to help now,” said Oliver. “Melody was very kind to me and wasn't bothered by me being a vampire and all. . . I would like to avenge her. If that's okay with you.” Oliver said. 

Max said,” Anyone who is willing to help us is welcomed here. I'm sure they won't mind.”

“Thank you! I also have a note for you from your sister.” said Oliver. Max took the note and it read, “Max, I know you keep watching me and you're not very good at it. Oliver is trustworthy and has a kind heart. Please take good care of him.” 

“Of course she knew,” said Max with a smile on his face. “Come on Oliver, you're one of us now.” Oliver smiled and followed him inside. Everyone welcomed him and told him that there were lots of people like him who were at the asylum helping. Oliver felt reassured and went to talk with Max. The day of Operation Blue was right around the corner and Oliver had some important information for Max. 

“Max? Are you there?” said Oliver.

“Yeah, you need something Oliver?” said Max

“Well, there's something I think you should know. My Mother used to be a spy and she would write everything down in a journal. She found out the awful truths about the government and would write about the government's weaknesses and drew a map of the palace and the guard's base. The government found out and killed her, but they never found the book. I would like you to have it. I think it will help you.” Oliver said. Max was intrigued. A vampire who worked for the government switching sides. It was unheard of. Vampires who would work for the government would be paid very well and get special benefits. Whatever the government was doing had to be even worse than Max had originally thought to put all that at risk. 

Max took the book and said, “Thank you for trusting me with this and telling me all that. It was really brave of you to do that.” Oliver smiled. “I'll put this to good use, and I'll make sure to return it.” said Max. I wonder what happened to his dad, Max thought. Oliver decided to stay and help Max prepare for tomorrow. The two of them worked on Operation BLue with the new information and new map. The plan was complete by nightfall. 

In the morning everyone was ready to fight. They were all determined to win. We had to create an uprising with the civilians by the guard's outpost and sneak in while they were distracted. Another group would go to the palace and sneak in. With the notebook that Oliver gave them, they found out that everyone in the palace was being brainwashed. The one brainwashing them was the head Officer of the guards and the second in command. They were in charge of all the guards and could do anything they wanted. Oliver's mom had died before finding out why he was doing this, but she did make an antidote and the recipe for the antidote and left it for Oliver before she died. All they had to do was bring the evidence of the guards being corrupt and show the King and Queen what was happening after giving them the antidote.

Thirty minutes later, Mr. Joe successfully started a riot and distracted the guards. Max, Oliver, and Alex snuck in and found that the head officer was there waiting for them. 

He knew that something was off when civilians started an uprising, so he decided to stay to find out. He was right. Max had thought of a backup plan just in case something like this happened. They brought weapons and were ready to fight. They needed that evidence or the whole plan would fall apart and all the work they had done would be all for nothing.

The three of them got their guns out and started lasering him. He had protection armor on him and a shield. But Alex hacked into it with his E-watch and deactivated all of his weapons and armor. The head officer had severely underestimated them and did not bring any backup. They had him surrounded, but he wouldn't give up. He got out his knife and started slashing at them unexpectedly. He ended up stabbing Oliver in the neck. Max put pressure on his neck while Alex finished off the head officer with his robots and guns. Max couldn't bear to watch another person die in front of him again. He ran with Oliver to the nearest hospital. He didn't care how much it cost; he ran there anyway. When he made it to the doctors, they said they didn't know if Oliver was going to make it. The treatment here wasn't as advanced as the ones in the inside of the kingdom so they didn't have the right things to treat him with. The head officer missed Oliver's vitals, but the shock was too much for him and he fell into a coma. 

Max was furious and was blinded with rage. He joined the others and told them that no matter what, they couldn't lose. They had to stop this. Max and Alex snuck into the palace while the rest of the people from the asylum and Mr. Joe pressed forward to the inner kingdom. Once in the palace, they released the antidote in a smoke bomb. Alex had brought all the evidence they needed and showed it to the now un-brainwashed King and Queen. They explained everything to them and helped them understand. They caught them up in all that had happened during the time they were brainwashed. 

The King and Queen were shocked, but they were wise. They could not deny the evidence and facts. They knew what needed to be done. 

Over the next few years, they righted the wrongdoing and informed the whole kingdom of what happened. They stopped the war and helped all those in need. They had found out what happened to Oliver and gave him the treatment that he needed. Oliver and Max now live together and made a grave for Melody that they would go visit often. Everyone was released from the asylums and was given housing and all necessities needed. All the rich people who were caught breaking the law by Mr. Joe were arrested.

 Life was looking brighter, and everyone was excited for what the future held. 



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