THE BACKLASH
1015 Words
The celebration lasted three days.
Elliot stood in the main cavern, watching the copies dance, sing, and cry. The bill had passed. Copies were legal entities. They had rights. Protections. A future.
But not everyone was happy.
Frank walked up beside him, his face grim. "There's trouble in the city. Protesters. Anti-copy rallies. People are scared."
"Scared of what?"
"Scared of us."
Elliot looked at the copies. At the children playing. At the adults laughing.
"We're not the ones they should be scared of."
"Fear doesn't care about logic."
The news spread quickly.
Headlines shifted from celebration to panic. "Copies Granted Legal Status—Country Divided." "Are Copies Taking Over?" "Protect Our Families—Reject the Copy Agenda."
Elliot watched from the command center, his heart heavy.
Adam pulled up a map. "There are protests in every major city. Some have turned violent."
"Any copies hurt?"
"Dozens. A few killed."
Elliot's hands curled into fists. "We need to do something."
"What?"
"I don't know."
The meeting was in the main cavern.
Elliot stood at the front, looking at the faces of the copies.
"The bill passed. We have rights. But not everyone accepts that. There are people who want to hurt us. People who want to take away what we've gained."
David spoke. "What do we do?"
"We protect ourselves. We protect each other. And we show the world that we're not the monsters they think we are."
"How?"
"By being better than them."
The first attack came at dawn.
Elliot was in his quarters, sleeping, when the explosion rocked the canyon.
He ran to the entrance. Smoke billowed from the east ridge. Frank was already there, his rifle raised.
"Mortars," Frank said. "From the mountain."
"Who?"
"I don't know. But they're coming."
The copies gathered in the main cavern.
Fear was thick in the air. Children cried. Adults whispered.
Elliot stood at the front. "We're under attack. Someone wants to destroy us. But we're not going to let them."
Maria spoke. "What if they have weapons we can't match?"
"Then we fight with what we have."
Frank led a team to the east ridge.
Elliot followed, his rifle raised. The morning sun was bright, casting long shadows across the rocks.
"There," Frank said, pointing to a cluster of figures on the mountain.
Elliot raised his scope. Civilians. Armed with hunting rifles and homemade explosives.
"Not military," he said.
"Worse. Militia."
The militia spotted them.
Gunfire erupted. Frank dropped behind a boulder. Elliot fired back.
"How many?" Frank shouted.
"Twenty. Maybe more."
"We need reinforcements."
"Adam, send David's team."
"On their way."
The battle lasted an hour.
David's team engaged from the south. Marcus's team from the north. The militia was surrounded.
"Lay down your weapons," Elliot shouted. "You're outnumbered."
The militia leader stepped forward. A tall man with a gray beard and cold eyes.
"You're not human," he shouted. "You're copies. Abominations."
"We're people. Just like you."
"You're nothing like us."
The man raised his rifle.
Frank fired.
The man fell.
The militia surrendered.
Elliot stood over the bodies, his heart heavy.
Frank walked up beside him. "You saved lives."
"I killed people."
"They started it."
"That doesn't make it right."
The prisoners were taken to a side cave.
Elliot sat across from the militia leader's second-in-command—a young woman with short hair and defiant eyes.
"What's your name?" Elliot asked.
"Elena."
"Not the same Elena."
"No."
"Why are you here?"
Elena glared at him. "Because you're not human. Copies are a threat. They always have been."
"We've never hurt anyone who didn't hurt us first."
"That's what they all say."
Elliot leaned forward. "Who sent you?"
"No one. We came on our own."
"There are others?"
"Thousands. All over the country. We're not going to stop."
Frank pulled Elliot aside.
"She's telling the truth. There are militia cells everywhere. They've been organizing for months."
"Then we need to stop them."
"How? We can't fight a war on a hundred fronts."
"Then we find their leaders. Cut off the head."
Adam pulled up the militia's communications.
"They're using encrypted channels. Military-grade."
"Can you break it?"
"Give me a week."
"You have three days."
The days that followed were tense.
Elliot moved the copies deeper into the caves. Sentries were posted at every entrance. Patrols swept the canyon every hour.
Daphne found him in the command center, staring at the map.
"You're not sleeping," she said.
"I can't."
"The children are scared. They need you."
"I need to protect them."
"By burning yourself out?"
Elliot was silent.
Daphne took his hand. "You're not alone. Let us help."
The breakthrough came on the third day.
Adam cracked the militia's encryption. "Their leader is a man named Victor. He's former military. He's been organizing the cells for years."
"Where is he?"
"His headquarters is in the mountains. About two hundred miles from here."
"How many people?"
"Dozens. Maybe more."
Elliot studied the map. "We hit him fast. Hard. Before he knows we're coming."
The mission took two days to plan.
Elliot led the team. Frank covered the rear. Marcus handled security.
The compound was hidden in a valley, surrounded by trees.
Elliot lay on the ridge, watching through his scope.
"Guards at every entrance," Frank said. "At least twenty."
"We go in at night."
The attack began at midnight.
Elliot's team moved through the darkness, silent, deadly.
Guards fell. Doors opened.
Victor was in the main building, surrounded by his lieutenants.
Elliot kicked the door open. "Nobody move."
Victor raised his hands. "You're too late."
"What do you mean?"
"The attacks have already begun. All over the country. You can't stop them."
Elliot's blood ran cold.
The news came in over the radio.
Explosions in the cities. Attacks on copy shelters. People dying.
Elliot listened, his heart pounding.
"Adam, how bad?"
"Bad. Dozens dead. Hundreds wounded."
"Can we stop it?"
"I don't know."
Victor smiled. "You can't save them. You can't save anyone."
Elliot grabbed him by the throat. "Call them off."
"I can't. They're not listening to me anymore."
"Then who?"
"Someone else. Someone worse."
- Writer
