In. Out. In. Out.

 

Louis’ breaths were perfectly aligned with the sound that filled the air. Everyone around him breathed to the same rhythm. In. Out. In. Out. A soft beat that his heart kept time to. He had always found it soothing. Louis turned to the right. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the dozens of people around him turn simultaneously with him. As one body, they all walked forward, not one person missing the steady tempo of feet on the pavement. Louis saw the blank faces around him and vaguely wondered if he looked the same way. The unceasing rhythm became a song to him. The gentle breaths, synchronized perfectly, and the marching footsteps as they neared the farms.

 

In. Step. Step. Out. Step. Step. In. Step. Step. Out.

 

The world was silent but for the noise of the people moving as one being. The birds gliding through the clouds looked down and saw land as far as the ends of the earth. The people looked like dots from the sky. The collection of dots rippled with each movement of a single person. An ocean, the waves moving in graceful motion. Each dot made up a single atom of the large moving being. Louis walked forward.

 

And then Louis saw a boy. He looked about thirteen. The boy slipped through the army of moving beings and disappeared into the crowd. Who was he? Why wasn’t he walking forward like the rest of them? Curiosity surged through Louis and he willed his body to turn around. His muscles did not budge and he continued forward. Frustration. Can’t I tell my own legs what to do? He commanded his right leg to lift off the ground and step backward, swiveling his body around. Time seemed to slow. His right leg lifted. But as time sped up to its normal pace, Louis’ leg thudded onto the ground in front of him and he continued forward.

 

That was the first time he saw Archie. 3 years ago. Louis was fourteen now. Archie had taught him how to speak and move and be free. But he had gone out and never returned. Now, Louis was alone and scared. Was he the only individual amidst the millions of mindless bodies? He had to find someone.

 

The flock of birds soared gracefully through the air. The flight departed and continued through the eternal sky. A few moments later, a speck was seen in the sky trailing far behind the flock. A single straggling bird flapped its wings and squawked defeatedly. The breeze blew to the West and the bird was flying (or rather trying its hardest) to the East. For every weak flap of the bird’s exhausted wings, the wind blew the poor creature backward in the opposite direction. The bird looked down and saw a single tree surrounded by grasslands for miles beyond as far as the eye could see. Underneath the tree was a tall boy maybe fourteen years old.

 

It was a neutral-weathered day. Warm sunshine balanced by cool wind. Lil Louis had long ago thrown away his ‘clone’ uniform with disgust. He was dressed in a homemade shirt, reaching to his knees. It was made of woven grass and lined with the soft fur of a tree. He was sitting on the tall, silky grass with his back leaning against a slender trunk of a shady tree. Louis thought what a beautiful day it was, the cerulean sky dotted with fluffy clouds. But he had no one to share his joy with.

 

Louis encountered a terrifying thought. What if – in his unending solitude – he had forgotten how to speak! He tested out his voice nervously. “Ahem,” he croaked. The answering silence was unbearable. Agonized, Louis screamed, “HELLO IS ANYONE OUT THERE?” Silence. Not even an echo from the open landscape. Louis began a rapid soliloquy with himself discussing the tragic demise of his sanity. He debated the possibility of having a funeral but ruled that is was not only impractical but a waste of time. Furthermore, he could not bear to sit restlessly under the tree for the rest of his life. Louis suddenly and swiftly sprang to his feet. He gathered his small satchel fraught with berries, a second woven tunic, and a lucky rock Louis had found last year. The rock was smooth and round with a plain gray marbled facade. But a brilliant emerald streak ran down the center of the stone. He held the amulet in his hand and slung the bag over his shoulder. Renewed with energy, hope surged through him. He set off on his quest to find another soul.

 

Three days later, Louis had gotten nowhere. The sun beat down on his aching neck and the wind pushed him this way and that. He was in the middle of nowhere. The landscape had not changed except for the single tree long behind him. Tall grass surrounded him and he trudged through, lifting each leg two feet in the air to move forward. Louis had been traveling for an eternity. He felt as if he had only been walking in place. Exhausted, thirsty, and hungry, Louis just wanted to sleep buried in the mountains of soft grass. The clouds parted, swept away by the wind. His eyes widened and his face was suddenly lit up with hope. In the distance, he saw farmland. Fruit trees, vegetables, corn, tomatoes. And people.

 

But they were barely people. They were mindless, stripped of humanity. They are robots,  Louis thought with disgust. He was once one of them.

 

They bent over the crops, harvesting. They stooped down together, their backs straightened at the same time. They stepped forward at the same time. Millions of robots.

 

A familiar sound reached Louis’ ears. The breathing of perfectly synchronized as one person. Louis froze. He felt stuck. His heartbeat instantly joined with the same beat. His breaths were subconsciously aligned with theirs. Louis choked and gasped for air. He felt like he was drowning. The perfect rhythm of breathing used to make Louis feel calm. Now, he felt trapped. Stuck. Stifled. Drowning. He gulped air frantically, trying not to let his breathing synchronize with them. Drowning. He had no control. His heart beat steadily in time with theirs. He didn’t, couldn’t disrupt the rhythm. His body wanted to join in and be the same as everyone. Drowning. Louis’ thoughts clawed at his brain in an internal battle. Drowning. He clutched his lucky rock as if it would save him. Drowning. Louis screamed.

 

“STOP.”

His scream echoed off hills surrounding the valley. The birds in the sky were silent. The wind whispered not a word.

 

“STOP,” he shrieked.

 

The people froze. They turned to him.