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// Prologue: The End, or is it? 
// Story: Balance of the Mind and Body 
// by Swift Blaze 
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	Ever had a moment when you think you had a bad day, and it couldn’t get any worse? Well, one fellow’s day went to the extreme on this particular day. The day of December 21st, 2012.
 
This fellow’s name was Smith, Bob Smith (how original). A young adult of twenty-five, standing tall at five foot, eleven inches. His body structure, you would think, was of an average working man, along with his brown hair and blue eyes. Nothing unique would make him stand out in a crowd. Bob did his normal routine of a work life where nothing special happens. He gets up, goes to work, goes home, and sleeps. Very boring. Except today.
 
Bob had just pulled into his workplace and saw that the entire parking lot was empty. Wondering what’s going on, he pulled out his cell and called his boss.
 
“The person you are trying is unable to connect. All connections are currently busy. Please try your call again later.” The automated female voice said from his phone.
 
Huh, that’s odd. He tried another number of a fellow co-worker. Same message.
 
What’s going on? Bob turned on the radio to hear if something is going on.
 
“This is the Emergency Broadcast System. Major rioting is occurring in all major cities. All citizens are instructed to stay home and lock their doors. The President of the United States has declared Marshal Law until the riots have stopped.” The computerize-voice on the radio says, repeating itself as a looped message.
 
“Well, shit. That would explain why the shop is closed,” he said to himself. Better haul ass home then. Before the riots show up here. Thank you back roads.
 
Bob got home with no issue in running into the military or any blocked roads. A benefit of living in the middle of nowhere. He locked the door behind him and quickly turns the TV on to a news station, wanting more info. News reporters on every station reported about riots showing up in more locations around the globe and military and police are doing their best to control them and get them to disperse.
 
Why is this happening across the globe? He noticed the date in the lower right hand corner: 12/21/2012. Now where do I remember that date. It took him a few minutes, but it finally came to him like a ton of brick. The Mayan Calendar End of the World date.
 
Bob stumbled back and fell into the couch behind him. He couldn’t believe that silly prediction was coming true. It must have been fifteen minutes before another thought entered his head. I should contact my friends to see if they are okay.
 
Knowing the phones are down, he hoped the Internet didn’t go down as well. Bob headed to his tech room and initialized the systems. Computer, Xbox, and PS3 came to life across his monitors. Seeing this setup, you would call him a geek, and he was proud of it.
 
No messages showed up on the Xbox or PS3 that those friends were online. On his computer, the Internet web pages failed to load on each one he tried. But once Skype came online, several messages waited for him.
 
His friends wondered the same thing, if he was alright. None were close to him as they lived in other states and countries. Bob replied to each one, informing them that he was okay and in a safe place, away from any possible riots. Each one couldn’t believe how much chaos was happening everywhere. Bob was in the same boat. His final message to them was for them to stay safe and alive. They wished the same thing to him.
 
Bob signed off and shuts all the systems down. With what his friends chatted about near them, it wouldn’t be long before the power goes out. His Boy Scout training kicked into overdrive as he felt the need to check on what supplies were in his home, planning for the worst.
 
Several hours passed by as he checked on everything. Once satisfied, Bob started to prep an over the shoulder emergency pack. A last resort if he had to flee his home if the riots came all the way out there. The lights started to  flicker when he entered the kitchen.
 
“That’s not good.”
 
He turned on the small TV in there to the news. On the display, it showed an empty newsroom. The only thing was a scrolling message of the same thing he heard on the radio.
 
If they have cleared out, it has really gotten worse. I’m going to need some weapons for protection.
 
Bob headed down to the den room in the basement. Along the fall wall, various weapons were on display behind glass doors. An ammo safe was tucked in the corner to his left. He unlocked the glass doors and started to pick out some weapons. The first ones were a pair of pistols. Next, various dagger blade styles. He placed them into another pack that was hanging on a wall. Once happy with the choices, Bob went to the safe to get enough ammo for the guns that should last him a while.
 
As he started to leave the den, his eyes looked over the space to see if there was anything else he should bring. He remembered his prize possession as he spotted it mounted on the wall by itself. A custom, real samurai sword. One unique thing about the pack he has, it has a special slot in the back to hold his sword. Bob placed it in it and made his way back upstairs.
 
Good timing too. The power just went out.
 
The time on his watch read a little after 1pm, Bob decided to have lunch. The only thing is, with no power, his choice was a sandwich or a sandwich. Tough choice.
 
Decided on the latter one, he made a PB & J one. Bob ate it as he opened the front door of his house. If you expected him to hear the sounds of the woodland animals, none of that was happening. All he could hear in the far off distance were the sirens of police, fire, and ambulance in the city, roughly 20 miles away.
 
Without warning, a military helicopter was flying low and buzzed over his house. “SHIT!” Bob said as he tried to cover his ears from the loud roar of the blades.
 
The helo  headed towards the city as a couple more were following behind it. All of them were armed to the gills. Their path was the same as the first one. It must be really bad if the military had to send in armed helicopters. I need to find out what the hell is going on.
 
Bob closed the front door and locked it again before heading to his computer room again.  In there, he headed toward the closet and pulled out an emergency radio. Once it had enough power from turning the crank arm, he turned it on and searched for any active radio stations.
 
Most of the ones he knows of were now only transmitting static. Even the NPBR station was not transmitting. Bob switched to the AM stations. Nothing found on those. The only frequencies left are the Weather Band stations. He expected those to be down as well. They weren't. Each one within range transmitted the weather forecast for that area it covered. I don't think that is useful in this time of crisis. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! Bob thought as he shook the radio in frustration.
 
Not wanting to leave his home to find out, the only thing he can do now is sit and wait for something to happen. Fifteen minutes went by and Bob is now officially bored. He went to his emergency pack and pulled out something to occupy his time, an iPad.
 
(What? Did you think he was going to pull a deck of cards? It's the 21st century.)
 
Bob typed in his code to unlock it. He tried to decide what to do with it now, his thoughts went over the choices. Could play some games. Nah, that would draw my attention in too much. Need to stay focused. The Internet is out as there is no connection without power. Guess I'll do some reading. Good thing I downloaded some stories last weekend.
 
These stories were not the books that get published and sold. What Bob referred to were fan-created by the shows they watch. The ones he had on the device are for one show in particular.
 
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
 
Yes, he what you would call a Brony. A bro who likes Ponies.
 
Bob didn't share with his fellow co-workers that he likes this show. Let's face it, a dude liking a show that was made for little girls, you would think he was gay or something. But he didn't care what others thought about this. Bob knew there are millions of other Bronies like him and they care for one another.
 
One thing was on the back of his mind, he wondered how the others were all handling this crisis in their part of the world.
 
Time passed as the sun started to set on the day. With the light source going away, Bob knew he will need another source of light soon. He went into the backpack he just packed and pulled out an LED lantern. With a flick of the switch, the room was lit up once again.
 
He guessed on the time, and his stomach growled at him, it was dinner time. Bob brought the lantern with him to the kitchen. Still with no power, the only thing he can have was a sandwich. This time, however, it will be a HLT with mayo (that's ham, lettuce, and tomato). He made two as he wanted to fill himself up this time, unsure of what is happening in the cities around him.
 
With the meal now inside him, Bob turned the radio on again. He is hoped someone was broadcasting something, besides the weather. As the dial is slowly being turned, his ears concentrate on something that was not the static that was already there. The FM broadband came back with nothing. When he switched to the AM, a station started to come in as he turned the dial back.
Quickly, he adjusted the radio antenna to try and clear it up. The static was still somewhat there, but Bob could now hear whoever was transmitting.
 
*static*If you are tuning in now, you MUST leave your homes if you are in the cities! The *static* government has failed in getting the riots under control and have abandoned them. Any gangs in your area are now in control with military weapons. You have to *static* escape with your lives if you want to live! Run NOW! I don't know how long this broadcast will last. *sounds of a door being broken down* OH NO! They're here! For the sake of our species, you must *BANG*
 
Nothing but static was left now. Bob turned the radio off. Silence was left in the house, with a small hum from the lantern nearby. Well, this country is going to shit. When the Mayans predicted the end of the world, I was thinking a natural disaster would be the cause. Nothing like this.
 
All of a sudden, Bob felt and heard a rumble. He went to the back windows and looked through them. Nothing coming from this side of the house. He headed towards the front and looked through a window beside the front door. His eyes saw some flickering light coming from up the street, and it was heading towards his home.
 
As the light sources came into view, he could see people caring fire lit torches. From the light, his eyes saw everyone carrying a semi auto rifle. They didn't appear to be military as they were not in formation, nor were wearing standard clothing and armor. Bob looked to what was following the group. His eyes grew wide as he saw what was making the rumble. They had a tank.
 
Bob went and turned off the lantern in the living room to reduce being spotted of being in the house. He made his way  back to the window and watched the group in the street. The tank stopped in the middle between his house and the one across the street. The armed people were arguing something, but he couldn't make out what.
 
The tank's gun barrel began to rotate. It swung toward the other house. Once it stopped, a big bang came from it. The front door exploded from the impact. All the other people standing around began to shoot at the house. Glass was breaking and the siding was being torn to shreds from the onslaught of bullets. Once they all finished their clips, the tank turret began to rotate again.
 
Bob didn't need to be a physic of where it was aiming next, his house. He bolted from the front, grabbed his packs, and headed out the back into the woods. He was out of the house for only ten seconds before another bang came from the tank. He dived toward the ground and took cover. Bullets started to fly through the home of Bob, destroying everything in their path.
 
Bob could hear some of the bullets pass over him. All of a sudden, the house exploded in a big ball of fire. He picked his head up off the ground and turned to see the remains of his former home. The second story was no longer there. The only thing that you can see standing was some of the frameworks in the corners.
 
Before Bob can do anything about it, debris began to fall. A piece of his house fell and slammed into his head. This knocked him out.
 
Unknown time has gone by before Bob awoke with a splitting headache. Soon, pain started to come from other places on his body. He opened his eyes and saw parts of his house were covering him. Before Bob could try and lift the debris on him, he felt someone on top and they were lifting the stuff off him.
 
Once the piece that covered his head was off, Bob smile of joy of being saved changed when he saw who it was. It was one of the people that was with the tank. This guy's face was a mix of a Latino gang member and a merc would be the best way to describe it. Around him were the rest of his buddies.
 
"Well, look what we have here. I thought I saw something in that house." He said.
 
Someone else said, "What do you want to do with him, boss?"
 
"I think I will let him decide." He got close to Bob's face. "Now then, we have been killing all day and night. Instead of us deciding how to kill you, I will let you decide. We can either shoot you, or hang you. Which way do you want to die?"
 
Bob said with a quivering voice, "Can't you let me go and live?"
 
"Sadly, no. With the end of the government, we are going to create a new world order. But first, a lot of people have to die to show we mean business. So what is it going to be?"
 
Bob thought hard on this as it will be his last decision he would ever make. Coming to a decision, he replied, "I'll choose the bullet. But, can you do it right at midnight?"
 
A thug behind the boss said, "Now why would we let you choose the time?"
 
"I just want to know that I survived the Mayan End of the World prediction. You'll still get to kill me. I just wish to live after this day, with all the chaos that exploded from it."
 
The boss thought for a little bit about this request. He turned to a black dude on his right. "What time do you have? I also want the seconds." He commanded.
 
This guy pulled a phone out of his pants pocket and looked at it. He replied, "11:59pm and 30 seconds, boss."
 
The boss turned back to Bob and said, "Guess you are in luck. I can wait for 30 seconds to go by before I shoot you." He pulled out a pistol and aimed at Bob's head. "Give me a count down."
 
"15 . . . 14 . . . 13 . . . 12 . . . 11 . . . 10!" shouted the gang around them.
 
Bob stared at the end of the barrel, looking down the dark hole the bullet will soon shoot out of.
 
"9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4!"
 
"Adios, muchacho."The boss said. He pulled the hammer back on the gun.
 
"3 . . . 2 . . . 1!"
 
Bob heard a click, then everything went white.