Elections By A.J. Brown A look at life under various leadership **Note to my readers: I write Custom Stories for those who enjoy my work that would like a personal story written for them. Please email me at ajbrown2005@yahoo.com if you would like more information on my Custom Stories** NOVEMBER 6, 2024: A few minutes before 2 a.m., Hayden Farrell looked at the votes. 12 years ago, this election would be called already with the lead that Dulce Gallo had. Things were different now. The mail-in votes still needed to come in. Hayden watched the mail-in ballots being tallied over the next few days. Sure enough, the defending Democratic president was closing in on Dulce like crazy. This had happened at the last election and he found it a huge relief, terrified of what would happen if the republican president had stayed in office, and feeling more and more hopeful as the votes kept coming in. This time he felt differently. At 26-years-old, this was only his third time voting, voting democrat at the previous two elections, and always rooting for the democratic candidate before that. Democrats were the party of love and acceptance, democrats wanted to help the middle class and poor, not just the wealthy elites. That was what he had always believed until Dulce Gallo changed that. It wasn't just Dulce. It was the attitude he had seen from democrats the last few years. Acting like the former president was evil. He was bad at his job and immature but Hayden thought he had a lot of good qualities and wasn't the monster they made him out to be. And it wasn't just the former president. He didn't think you could shut down every republican idea. A lot of them made sense. He used to like the idea of a minimum wage large increase. That was before he graduated college, found good work, and watched democrats try and bring minimum wage workers closer and closer to his income while doing nothing for him. His older sister played Division III tennis in college. Never playing organized tennis in his life, he could still beat her 9 out of 10 times. He couldn't fathom the democratic idea that biological men should be allowed to play women's sports. Wasn't there a reason that the two sexes were separated in sports to begin with? And he couldn't wrap his head around the idea that democrats considered a live fetus with its own unique DNA nothing more than a part of a woman's body that they could readily destroy, no questions asked. Yet as he got older and challenged some of these democrat ideas that he had once believed, he would be belittled and humiliated by people in his own party. He didn't see any love and acceptance there. Hayden fell in love with Dulce Gallo after just watching her speak a few times. A beautiful woman of only 37-years-old, and a former MMA fighter, Dulce promoted love. She had that 'R' next to her name but those who were willing to listen to her views as opposed to just hating her because she was a republican (a female republican, no less, which many democrats declared that made her a traitor), could see that her interests were in doing what was best for the nation and not just keeping her views in line with either political party. But the votes kept coming in, more and more for the current democratic president, who had claimed that he was going to be the president of unity, while spending his whole term putting down anyone who dared disagree with him. Hayden began feeling depressed that his fellow Americans did not see the value in having a loving president like Dulce. He also started to question if it was a fair system where over 90% of mail-in ballots were all going to the same person. He had given up on following the election and went back to work feeling bummed. That made it that much more of a special surprise when he found out that Dulce Gallo had barely won the election and she was going to be the next president. JANUARY 20, 2025 "My fellow Americans, I want to share with you how excited I am to working with all of you to help maximize the benefit of our country for everyone," Dulce said to everyone. Hayden loved this speech already. It didn't put down anyone. It just spoke about working together. "Today is the first day when we are going to see some meaningful change. Change that will not just benefit certain groups, but will benefit everyone. No matter what we do, the minimum wage will always be the lowest amount of money that any American can make. And therefore, no matter what we do, anyone making minimum wage will always be poor. The higher the minimum wage, the more difficult it is for Americans to get away from being poor. So one of my first goals as president will be to reduce the minimum wage so anyone making more than minimum wage will be further away from being poor. And my next goal immediately after that will be to help anyone that is making minimum wage to acquire the skills to get better work so you can all provide for your families the way you want to!" This got roars from the crowd and Hayden couldn't think of why it wouldn't. He was absolutely in love with what she was saying. And he was in love with her. "I will also make sure that no woman will ever be forced to play in a women's sport where biological males are able to participate," she continued. "There is a scientific reason that men and women's sports are separated and that is because there are biological differences between the two sexes. So I will honor men's sports being for men and women's sports being for women. With that being said - I understand that there are biological men that would prefer to play women's sports. And I understand there are plenty of women out there that would prefer to compete against men. That is why I am going to create inter-gender leagues where any men and women that wish to compete will be able to do so!" The crowd got even more excited. Hayden scrolled down his Facebook Newsfeed looking for the reactions. He had never seen so many positive reactions from both republicans and democrats. He truly didn't see anyone hating on what she had said, and how could they? This was the first time he was actually seeing true unity begin and Dulce was just getting started. As she spoke more, he Googled some pictures of her fighting back in her MMA days. This woman had an incredible body. He came across another picture of her sitting on a recliner with the foot rest out, her short legs (she was only 5'2) stretched out and her smooth size 6 feet resting on the foot rest. She looked so cute in the photo. He loved that someone this attractive was going to be leading the country. MARCH 3, 2029: Hayden dipped once of his ten cent wings in the bleu cheese. He had heard about ten cent wings before but this was the first time he had ever got to experience them. It wasn't just wings. Grocery prices were the lowest ever. Gas was under two dollars a gallon. The electric car thing hadn't kicked in the way many thought it would and they were still very uncommon. The last three years he had gotten a 10% annual merit increase at work. Dulce had just started her second term, this one she won decisively despite 75% of the mail-in votes still going to her democratic opponent. Hayden turned up the volume on his 70-inch TV. The fight was about to start. "Chip, if Alyssa Lynch is worried at all about this fight she sure doesn't look like it. She bouncing on the balls of her feet and she looks ready to go." "I have to agree with you Darren, she is a major underdog in this fight, no one is giving her a chance but she is not letting it bother her at all. She looks focused and as confident as any female fighter I've ever seen." "And in this corner!" the announcer said after announcing Alyssa. "Weighing in at 145 pounds - Cayden Clemens!" "Chip, you look at Cayden Clemens and he does not look big at all. Although men are supposedly biologically stronger than women, people forget that men tend to weigh more as well. Cayden weighs three pounds less than Alyssa does despite being four inches taller. Her legs are bigger than his, there is no question about that, and even though his arms a bit bigger hers look more muscular to me." "Yes Darren, I think everyone sees that. If he's stronger than her, I can't imagine by much. The biggest questions in this fight are going to be if Alyssa can account for the reach advantage he has over her and most importantly, can she take a punch from a man? I think that's the thing most people have a tough time believing and if President Gallo didn't assure the nation that this fight was a positive thing, I think a lot more people would have a problem with this inter-gender fight. It is known that Cayden is going to be hitting as hard as he can, not holding back." "And Chip, for anyone that is watching this event that doesn't watch UFC regularly, Lynch is a biological female and Clemens is a biological male, neither of them are identifying as a different gender." Hayden was surprised to hear them bring that up. He hadn't heard any kind of talk about that stuff in a few years. "We're getting started here Darren, here we go. The bell has rung and both fighters are make their way to the center of the octagon. Both look confident and focused and neither looks like they have any hesitation about participating in the first live inter-gender UFC fight. This could be a historic moment." "Oh Chip, look at that punch! Clemens just threw a haymaker at Alyssa Lynch's head but she ducked out of the way. He is coming out swinging and if he had connected on that punch he would have knocked Lynch into next Tuesday. Clemens is definitely not holding back." "Darren, he just threw another one! Lynch barely got her arm up to block that on time." "I'd say Lynch looks a little overwhelmed so far. Clemens wasn't able to connect on either of those two punches but he looks fired up and ready for more. Lynch is already starting to back away." "Look at that look in Clemens's eyes. It's pure anger. I don't know if Clemens's ego is bruised because a woman thinks she can beat him but in all my years of doing this, I don't think I've ever seen a fighter look so angry." "Clemens just threw another punch. Lynch was just barely able to get her guard up to block it again. He barely missed that time and if Clemens connects on one of these ... " "Darren, he just did connect! Lynch backed away but he still hit her jaw. He didn't get all of her but he connected." "Chip, even already, you can see Clemens tiring a bit. He's come our ferocious but it looks like it's catching up to him a bit already." "Lynch just got up her leg and look at that kick she delivered. Lynch is known for having soft, pretty feet, especially for a fighter, but there was nothing soft about that kick. Clemens doesn't have much protection around his ribs and that one got him good." "Clemens just threw another punch back but his ribs are clearly hurting now and that punch didn't have much behind it. Lynch blocked it easily." "Oh and Lynch just put her hands on her hips as Clemens threw another punch at her face. With her hands on her hips and not moving her body at all she just moved her head back and Clemens still missed." "Look out, here comes another kick. Lynch just kicked Clemens in the stomach and now he's the one backing up. Lynch is getting more aggressive. She just threw another kick at his stomach. Oh, but this time Clemens caught her leg." "Darren, look at Clemens, he's holding onto her leg for dear life knowing that he doesn't want to take another kick from her. He looks like he's barely able to stand and it looks like more determination than strength that he's still holding onto her leg." "And Lynch just looks mad that he has it. Look at the look on her face as she pulls it away. Her leg is loosening, both of them are in a fight for control of that leg." "Lynch just pulled her leg free and Clemens immediately started backpedaling. Lynch is the clear aggressor now. She just went right at him. She threw a punch at his head, Clemens was able to block it, but he looked like he almost tripped over his own feet in doing so." "Lynch lifted her leg again, oh she just connected with a devastating kick to the ribs. Clemens just went down. Alyssa Lynch is following him! Clemens is lying on his back with his hands up like he doesn't want any more of her but she's coming. Lynch just sat on his chest and pulled his arms out of the way. She's pulling back her right hand. She just clubbed him in the face. She punched him again. Clemens is rolling over trying to protect his face. He's trying to stay on his knees so he doesn't give her too good of a position but Lynch is right on his back." "She's got her arms around his neck now. She's going for a rear-naked choke. Lynch has him by the neck. She is rolling over and taking him with her. Lynch is on her back now, her arms around his neck. She's wrapping her legs around his ribs and she just locked her ankles in front of him." "Oh and look at Clemens, he's forgotten about the rear naked choke, he's gone right for her legs and his trying to pull them apart. It looks like that look of anguish on his face is because of her legs squeezing him." "Darren, I'm not sure Clemens has ever dealt with legs this strong before. His legs are extremely thin and with the weight class he's in, most of his opponents have had skinny legs too. But look at how big Alyssa Lynch's legs look wrapped around him. He's looking down at her feet, seeing that bright pink toenail polish she has on can't be making this any better for him." "Clemens is pulling on her legs as hard as he can and Lynch looks like he barely notices. His arms just dropped to his sides. His face is purple and Lynch is still tightening her arms on his neck, looking so cool and calm as she does." "Clemens just tapped out! Alyssa Lynch has won the first inter-gender MMA fight!" "Lynch has jumped to her feet with her arms up in the air. She looks excited and you can't help but feel happy for her. What a huge moment this is for her and for women." "Darren, Cayden Clemens is lying on his back with his arms out and if you look at his eyes they are closed. You can tell he's humiliated about this loss and probably thinking this is going to follow him for a long time, if not forever. It's sad, because he doesn't need to feel that way." "Oh now Alyssa Lynch is reaching down offering him a hand. I can't tell if she's offering to shake his hand or help him up but, either way, this is the right thing for Alyssa Lynch to do." "Clemens's eyes are still closed though so he doesn't know she's there. Wait, she just put her foot on his face and is rubbing it in his face. She pulled it away. That got Clemens to open his eyes." "Look at the playful look on Lynch's face. She didn't mean anything negative by it, it looks like she was just trying to lighten him up." "And look at Clemens. He's smiling. Lynch is smiling back at him and the two of them just shared a laugh. Lynch offered her hand again. She just helped him up and if you look at the smile on both of their faces you can see they both like and respect each other. This is great to see, Darren." "The two fighters have their arms on each other's shoulders. Lynch is helping Clemens to the center of the octagon with her. They are handing her the microphone and she is about to speak!" "I want to give a big thanks - to Cayden Clemens for agreeing to fight against me tonight!" she said. "This is an opportunity I've wanted to have for a long time. And it wouldn't been possible without him. I also want to thank President Gallo for supporting me and supporting this fight. President Gallo, you helped give me the confidence to believe that I could accomplish this feat that just a few years ago no one would have thought possible. Your leadership inspired me and has inspired so many like me. Most importantly, I want to thank all of you that came out to watch today. Regardless of what your thoughts were about a man fighting a woman in the octagon, I respect your opinion. I hope you all enjoyed this fight and whether you approve of or like this fight and the result of it now, I still respect your opinion and love all of you. I don't view this as a big step for women at all. What I view this as is big a step towards equality and love for everyone!" SEPTEMBER 27, 2032: "My solution is to continue to get help for those making minimum wage," Puck Rodman said to the moderator with his soft-spoken tone. "We need to continue to ... " "Oh stop it!" Patricia Blanton interrupted aggressively like she had been doing the entire debate. The moderators had gently called her out for interrupting a few times at the beginning but she continued to do so just about every time Puck spoke and the moderators had stopped bothering to say anything to her, almost like they had given up. It made Hayden wonder why they were called moderators and not question askers since that was all they were doing. Puck did nothing to defend himself either. He just stood there, the passive look on his 42-year-old face, his hair slicked back in a ponytail, a look that Hayden didn't think was helping him. Hayden didn't like the fact that he used his nickname of 'Puck' when he was running for president either. He thought people would be more likely to vote for 'Peter Rodman' than 'Puck Rodman'. He had the nickname because he played hockey back in college. Maybe he thought using it to run would help him look tougher. He didn't look tough at all, that was for sure. "There are still millions of people on minimum wage struggling to feed their families!" Patricia continued, yelling at him with a look on her wrinkled face like she thought he was evil. "And all you want to do is try and give them help and support to find better work, well tell that to the man or the woman working two full time jobs eighty hours a week who still can't afford to food on their family's table! Enough of this help and support for better work, it is obvious it is NOT WORKING! We need to raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hour and we need to do it NOW!" Hayden didn't know anyone that fit the description that Patricia was describing and he figured anyone that did was because they weren't following the programs that Dulce Gallo had put in place for them. The programs seemed to work, he even knew people personally that swore by them, but in order for them to work people actually had to register for them and follow the steps. He knew there were still plenty that were not putting in the time to do even that. Thinking about making the minimum wage that high and getting that much closer to his current income made him feel sick. "Senator Blanton, President Gallo's programs have helped ... " Puck began, a look on his face like he almost feared this 68-year-old woman. Patricia Blanton looked younger than 68 but she still looked old. "There are MILLIONS of people her programs haven't helped!" Patricia barked back, almost screaming. "MILLIONS! We all love Dulce Gallo, she has done a wonderful job uniting this country, we all know that. That's why I always told this nation that we needed a woman president and this woman has done a great job accomplishing unity. But now it's time to take the next step! It's time to elect a woman president who is going to GET THE JOB DONE!" Hayden couldn't believe how excited the audience sounded about her obnoxious speech and how Puck was just standing there, speechless, looking like he had been smacked in the face. Dulce would never have allowed a rude opponent to just take her over like that. He thought about how not once during Dulce's campaign had he ever heard her mention anything about being the first woman president and it wasn't something she spoke about after winning either. He drowned out Patricia interrupting Puck on another issue when he logged into Facebook, even more disturbed about what he was reading. Everyone was talking about how Patricia was 'owning' Puck in this debate. Puck cruised through the primaries because his views were the most similar to Dulce's and when he did actually get to speak during this debate he was using the same talking points. Now suddenly everyone viewed Patricia as 'owning' him just because she was louder and obnoxious? Thinking back to 2024, Hayden thought about how Dulce was more forceful than her 81-year-old opponent at the time who had cognitive issues and he hated to think that that was the reason she won. He continued to look all over the news and social media as this program of a shouting woman called a debate progressed and everywhere he looked everyone seemed to view her as winning. Hayden felt nauseous. NOVEMBER 1, 2032 "My fellow Americans," Dulce said into the camera as she addressed the nation. "I want to thank all of you for all of the support you have given me and our nation over the last, almost, eight years now. We wouldn't have this nation of love without the support and teamwork of each and every one of you. Tomorrow you will have the opportunity to vote for my successor and I want you to vote for whoever you think is the best candidate to lead our country. I would like to share my opinion with you. I think Patricia Blanton is dangerous. She has some good ideas, and I don't disagree with them all. But part of being a leader is bringing people together. The behavior she has shown in her campaign has been one of anger and dislike towards many Americans that may not share the same views as her. I think having Patricia Blanton as our president will reverse all of the work we have all done to unite as a nation. Please do not take my word on this, but do think about it and what you've seen from Patricia Blanton, before you cast your vote tomorrow. And make sure all of you GET OUT AND VOTE!" NOVEMBER 3, 2032 It was after 1 a.m. and at 34-years-old it had been a long time since Hayden had been up this late on a weeknight, but tonight he didn't feel like sleeping at all. The votes had been close most of the night. He was more anxious as he watched them tally than he would have been watching the score of his own team in the Super Bowl. Rodman had started off with a decent lead but as the night went on, the votes coming in for Blanton started shortening the gap. At 2 a.m., Blanton had a small lead but soon it was just going to be the mail in votes that were counted. Rodman didn't have a chance. JUNE 13, 2037 "I'll tell you, Liam O'Connell has a lot of guts getting in the octagon with Mackenzie Carlisle," Sally Adams said. "I think stupidity is the better word," Hazel Winnicki said with a laugh. "Yeah, that's what I MEANT to say!" Sally said, also with a laugh. "Ah was tryin' to be nice." A lot of people said that Sally Adams hated all men. A lot of other people said that she hated all white people. Hayden didn't think either of those things were really true because he had seen Sally talk badly of women and black people. Hayden thought Sally Adams just hated anyone that disagreed with her. "Well we know that Mackenzie is going to pummel him!" Hazel said with vengeance in her voice. "This is the first inter-gender fight in over two years. Liam is young and stupid and of course he's a male so he doesn't know how to think. I can't wait to see Mackenzie rattle that little brain he has." With Hazel Winnicki there was no question. She hated all men, no one that listened to her for more than two minutes could deny that. When she announced men's fights she may as well have been announcing a fight of two rats as she took pleasure in watching the two get hurt, the bloodier the better. When she was announcing a women's fight, both fighters were brave, courageous women that she had the utmost respect for. Not wanting to listen to these two, he wanted to mute his TV, but for whatever reason over the last few years, he had felt this addiction to negativity, like he couldn't tune it out as much as he wanted to. That probably had something to do with the fact that it was everywhere. Ever since soon after Patricia Blanton took office, any time there was an inter-gender MMA fight they did not observe weight classes. Her reasoning was some nonsense that there were enough biological differences between the two sexes that weight didn't matter or something that all of her sheep bought into and it actually happened like so many of her other insane ideas. And in every inter-gender fight, the woman always happened to be much larger. "In this corner!" the female announcer announced. "Weighing in at 174 pounds - Mackenzie Carlisle!" The crowd roared as the 5'10 Carlisle held her long arms up. "And in this corner," the female announcer announced and the crowd quickly quieted. "Weighing 141 pounds - Liam O'Connell!" Hayden listened to the boos in disgust. He had a great deal of respect for O'Connell who talked in interviews about how hard he prepared for this fight, despite the hate he got from everyone saying he had no chance and didn't belong in the octagon with Carlisle to being with. Hayden watched the two fighters make their way to the center of the octagon, Mackenzie towering over him as she stood over her 5'5 opponent. The two of them put their fists up without touching gloves and the bell rang. "Look at that punch Carlisle led off with!" Hazel said excitedly as Liam got walloped by Mackenzie's fist. He remained on his feet despite already looking like he didn't know where he was but he looked off-balance and like he may fall at any moment. "Heh-heh, Carlisle just rocked him again!" Sally said and she let out a long laugh as Liam fell to the ground and already looked like he was done. "You can't mess with her, boy, you CAN'T mess with her!" Hayden watched as poor Liam had no chance. He had trained harder but Mackenzie was the current champion of her weight class and she had a lot more experience than her opponent who was six years younger than her. In addition to the extended reach, Hayden looked at how much thicker and more muscular her arms looked compared to his. Liam didn't stand a chance against her but she was the only woman the league would allow him to fight against. "Hoo-hoo, Mackenzie just kicked him in the ribs," Sally laughed. "He'll be feeling that one tomorrow." The kick looked extremely painful to Hayden but Liam looked like he was still dazed enough from the two punches to realize it much. He tried putting his arms up to defend his face as Mackenzie made her way down to her knees. She grabbed his left arm, pulled it out of the way, and socked him in the face. He looked like he wasn't sure where he was, putting his arms up, kind of trying to defend himself, and kind of trying to push her, but looking unsure of what he was trying to do overall. Mackenzie straddled his chest, her thick legs wrapping around his exposed ribs with no protection on the sides. It looked like if she squeezed her legs hard enough his body would just pop like it was a watermelon. He swung at her stomach and connected but she didn't looked the least bit bothered. Trying his best to do whatever he could, he pulled on her top and tried to pull her down closer to him. "Oh did that boy just try and touch her breast??" Sally said. "You go girl, you pound him hard for that, you make that boy sorry for what he just did!" Mackenzie did just that, a fierce look on her face as she brought her fist forward and connected with his face hard. His attempts to block his face looked even weaker now as Mackenzie moved his arms aside with no problem. Hayden watched her punch him hard then hard again, all in the face, his arm now flopped to the side, looking defenseless. He was no doctor but this fight looked like it needed to be stopped immediately. 15 years ago it would have been but the female ref just stood above watching. "Ha-ha, look at him!" Hazel laughed. "He's become Mackenzie's own personal punching bag." Hayden actually supposed that was true but he as he listened to Sally let out a loud cackle to her response, he didn't see how either of them could be laughing. Mackenzie finally stopped but she leaned forward, wrapped her arm around Liam's neck, and lifted it up in a neck crank position. Liam showed some possible life as his arm briefly went up and then it flopped right back down. Cranking his neck with as much pressure as she could, Mackenzie looked up to face the audience, her mouth open showing her mouth guard as she looked like she was taking pure pleasure in what she was doing to him. Hayden wanted to jump through the screen and push her off of him as it looked, not only like she was killing him, but like that was what she was trying to do. The referee continued just to stand there and watch. "Ooh, she is making him pay!" Sally said with great pleasure. "She is making him PAY!" "Liam O'Connell sure was shooting his mouth off a lot before this fight," Hazel said, and Hayden thought about how Hazel Winnicki had a much bigger mouth than Liam O'Connell did. "I am SICK of these toxic men and their egos all just thinking the rules don't apply to them. Liam O'Connell should have realized he had no chance against the champion and just watched her from home like a good boy. I have a feeling we'll have one less toxic male fighter in the UFC after tonight." Hayden watched Mackenzie still cranking his neck and he thought there was going to be one less 'toxic male fighter' in existence after tonight if she didn't let go of him soon. Mackenzie finally let go and Liam's head just dropped, the back of his head hitting the mat harder than any conscious person would have been able to take. Mackenzie went back to punching Liam's head which now looked like an old ball full of stuffing that the stuffing was going to start popping out of as it got knocked around. The referee finally came along, slapped Mackenzie's shoulder, for her to get up. Hayden remembered in the old days the referee would push the fighter off in a situation that looked this dangerous. And he figured that probably should have happened a while ago. Mackenzie jumped up in celebration, looked down at Liam, kicked him, in the side, and then started running around the octagon in celebration. The referee looked down at Liam not moving with curiosity and not concern. She didn't even bend down to check on him. JUNE 14, 2037 Hayden's eyes watered up when the first thing that popped up on his Facebook Newsfeed that day was the article about how Liam O'Connell died. He started to feel sick as he read some of the comments on the article: "One less toxic male on this earth - I don't think anyone is crying." "Mackenzie did him a favor. Someone as stupid as him doesn't benefit from being alive! LMAO!" "Isn't anyone actually sad about this man's death? I'm disturbed reading so many comments that this was a good thing or even that it's funny!" This one got a quick reply. "Sorry, I don't cry for privileged white boys." Hayden closed the browser down, unable to read anymore. The hatred that existed in this country since Patricia Blanton had won her first election was unbelievable and now it had gotten so bad to the point people were celebrating a man's death. A 24-year-old man who had done nothing wrong. How did the country not see this? How did Blanton win the 2036 election? Well he knew exactly how it happened. Ever since she had taken office, Patricia Blanton had made it her mission to abolish the Electoral College. 'It has made our society less democratic and it NEEDS TO GO!' she had said with loud and obnoxiously which always led so many people to believe it must be true. Hayden just needed to get out of the house, get away for a bit, he was going to go to the gym and not even bring his phone with him. He got in his car but it wouldn't start. Once again, he had forgotten to charge it the night before. Damn it. JULY 11, 2038 Dalton Wall hadn't been able to help himself. He stood in front of the Horns' house at 1:38 AM, looking at how big it was thinking of all of the valuable stuff that would be in there, looking at how dark it was thinking about how easy it was going to be. They didn't have a sign for a security system on their front yard. There was no way they had one. He knew a lot of people had signs that didn't have alarms, just as a decoy. But no one would actually have an alarm without a sign. The sign was almost as valuable as the siren was in keeping burglars away. He didn't want to go back to jail, though. Prison hadn't been very fun for him last time, a 5'2 22-year-old white boy. He very well may have killed himself if it weren't for Patricia Blanton's program to get non-violent criminals released. God bless Patricia Blanton. Dulce Gallo, that cunt who promoted love, yet did nothing for the less fortunate like him never would have gotten him out. The only people she loved were herself and the elite. Still, he did not want to go back. Under Blanton, there was no limit on the amount of non-violent crimes committed, as long as the crime wasn't violent, he'd be able to get out. But even just spending the night in local jail was something he did not want to do, that one guy took his damn coffee cake from him every morning and he wasn't even able to eat. He wouldn't go back, though. They didn't have an alarm. If they did, the siren would go off the second he broke in. If he heard the siren, he'd bolt out of there long before any of the cops who should have been defunded could get there and he'd forget the whole thing. There was too much potential in the Horns' house to pass this up. Dalton could feel the excitement in his body as he practically skipped up the stairs from the finished basement, a laptop in its case over each arm, over two thousand dollars cash stuffed in one pocket, and some nice jewelry stuffed in the other. He wouldn't even look suspicious walking down the street with what he had, not like anyone was going to be on this street driving around at this hour. He felt his heart skip a beat when he was about to make his exit out of the back door and he saw Officer Joyce standing there, his fat, stubbly face with a big smile on it as he held up his hand, waving his fingers. ** Dalton tried to keep control of his breathing as he felt the handcuffs extra tight around his wrists and looked at the cage that separated him and Officer Joyce who actually whistled as he drove, taking way too much pleasure in this. He fantasized about that cage not being there and just taking the chain of handcuffs and wrapping them around Joyce's neck, strangling the fat fuck as he drove. "You're in deep shit!" Dalton said to him threateningly. "You're telling me you just happened to show up there? They don't have an alarm system and there's no way anyone saw me, it's so dark around there. I'll be walking away from this in no time and then I'm going to sue your ass for stalking me." Joyce turned around and gave Dalton a big smile with his yellowing teeth. "Silent alarm," he said. Dalton kicked the back of Joyce's seat and Joyce just rocked his head back and forth like he was enjoying some music. Dalton's eyes started to water up. Why didn't he just let it be? Didn't he learn his lesson from the last time? He knew he had to stop blaming himself. This was Joyce's fault, not his. His mom always told him that cops were the most abusive people on in the world and that there wouldn't be half the crime there was in the country if they had anything better to do than meddle in other peoples' business. And here they were, Joyce pulling into the station. They were going to take his wallet, his gold chain, and everything and make him put on one of those orange jumpsuits, locking him up like he was some kind of animal. And for what? For taking things from other people just like they were going to forcefully take from him? He couldn't go back in there, he didn't want to get his ass beat again. The back door opened. "Come on, you little midget," Joyce said as Dalton looked up at him in horror. "Let's go." "No!" Dalton said desperately and suddenly an idea came to his mind. "You can't take me in there. I identify as a woman!" Dalton could feel his breathing get more out of control as he looked at the initial look of surprise on Joyce's face when he said that. Then he saw that look of surprise turn to anger as Joyce's face came closer to him. The fucking bully, these cops thought they could do whatever they wanted. "Don't start with me, you little shit," Joyce said but Dalton could see a bit of fear in the man's eyes behind the rage. "Get out of the fucking car now." "No," Dalton said. He knew it was a lot easier to say 'no' to a cop then it would be once he was inside. "I-I identify as a woman and I want you to take me to a woman's jail." "I know you had a girlfriend before fucker and there's nothing about you that looks like you identify as female, now don't fuck with me. Get out of the car now!" He raised his fist. "What, are you gonna hit me?" Dalton said, now speaking with more confidence. "Go ahead, get yourself on the news for beating up someone that identifies as a woman. Mayor Estes will have you fired and you'll never find work again. The law clearly states, prisoners have the right to be placed in the prison of whichever gender they identify with, no questions asked!" He watched Joyce with his fist still up, looking like he was going to hit him anyway. At that moment, it didn't seem worth getting hit by the 230 pound guy and Dalton was about to cave in, take it back, and tell him just to take him to the male prison. Then Joyce dropped his fist. "You little prick," Joyce said before he slammed the door and got back in the driver's seat. ** "That cop wasn't being very nice to you, was he?" the short, old C.O. said after Dalton had everything taken from him and he was back in that orange jumpsuit that he had sworn he'd never end up having to wear again, getting walked through the door back to where all of those cells were. "Giving you a hard time about your gender identity? Let me tell you something, that is not right." "Yeah, he was shaming me over it," Dalton said, talking in his voice he used when he was trying to get pity, one that worked less and less the older he got. "It really upset me." "Sounds like you had a rough night," the C.O. said. "I'll tell you what. There's a pretty lady in here. Between me and you, she's pretty horny tonight. She's been locked up in here for twenty days now and she's getting antsy. Tried getting me to have sex with her. Happens a lot when you're a hack in a women's jail. I can't risk my job over that, plus I got a lovely wife at home. What if I put you in the cell with her and just kind of looked the other way at anything that happened in there? You be interested?" "Yeah!" Dalton said, unable to hide his excitement. "Alright, brother. Let's go this way." He took Dalton down a dark hallway and then opened the door that was pure steel and just had a small window near the top of it. Dalton felt his cock growing with excitement thinking about this cute woman that he was going to be all alone in the cell with. "I got one for ya, Shana," the C.O. said. "I'll be far away from here." Dalton turned around and looked at the C.O. wink at him. Dalton smiled back, the door closed, and locked. Dalton looked at the woman sitting on the bottom bed of the bunk setup. She stood up, her large breasts jiggling under the prison garment as she did, and based on the look on her face Dalton could tell this wasn't going to be a friendly arrangement. She had to be a foot taller than he was. She looked to be close to 40-years-old and her long blond hair draped down her shoulders and covered some of her face. Her tattooed arms were muscular with veins bulging in multiple spots. "What are you doin' in a woman's prison, boy?" she said to him as she stepped towards him. "I-I-I identify as a one," he said nervously. He briefly looked back at the door just as a reminder that no one was going to be anywhere near the other side of the door to hear him and then looked back at Shana whose stare was in the same exact place it was before he turned his head. "You got a dick, boy?" she said as she took another step. "If you got a dick, you don't belong in no woman's prison." "Look," he said. "I just want to go to bed. I'm not gonna fucking rape ya or anything." Shana laughed loudly. "Rape me? That's a good one, boy. Will work perfectly, actually." She moved closer to him then brought her knee right in his balls. He felt the pain shoot throughout his body and dropped. He lay on the ground, holding his groin, and moaning. "See that? Reason that hurt you so bad is you're not a woman." She grabbed the top of his shirt with one hand, and the waistband of his pants with the other. He realized how strong she was and how light he was when she picked him up like he was nothing. She proceeded to heave him across the small cell and his head felt like it cracked when it collided with the concrete wall. Sitting on his ass, he tried to keep the feeling of terror he had because as he could feel the fear going away that meant he was close to being knocked out. He held up his hand in submission as Shana came towards him, not even really knowing what he was doing. She picked him up again and threw him towards the bed so the top of his head ran right into the angle of the steel portion of the top bunk. Dalton fell again with the feeling like the inside of his head was bleeding. He was already half-conscious which was the only thing that minimized his fear as she hauled him up again. He knew he wanted to be afraid but didn't feel much of it as he felt himself getting throw into the steel part of the bed again, his head hitting it, and then dropping. Shana lifted him back up again and he only felt one more of them. ** It was a little after 10 a.m. when Hayden was on Facebook and he saw the article pop up in his feed. A biological male was brutally beaten to death by a female prisoner he was sharing a cell with. Shana Finch claimed that the deceased attempted to rape her and that she killed him in self-defense. Hayden read down the comments on the article, even though he had pretty much been able to guess what they were going to say: "Serves the rapist right. Won't be able to rape anyone in hell." "He learned a lesson. Good that he won't get another chance. He doesn't deserve one. Privileged white male probably would have blown it anyway." Hayden couldn't read any more of this. He found it ironic that all of the people making those comments were almost surely the same people that defended people being able to pick what jail or prison they went to based on how they identified. He had felt pretty darn sure this was going to be a major problem and of course even after the fact, no one could admit the major mistake that was made. He logged out of Facebook and didn't dare check how his 401K was doing. That always depressed him more than anything. When he first started investing, his financial advisor had assured him that the market was going to fluctuate, and that when he retired everything would be all good. That wasn't what he had noticed. He saw it go up and up when Gallo was in office and do nothing but decline since the first few months after Blanton took over. At this rate, his 401K was not looking useful to help him retire. FEBRUARY 8, 2042 "Come on boy, get up!" Hayden felt Ashley's pantyhose covered foot kicking him in the side, waking him up out of the best sleep he could be getting, sleeping in a dog bed on the floor. As he got up and looked at her to show he was awake and paying attention, she continued to kick his side. She was going to do this until he got up. As he felt her foot poking him, he looked up at her shapely leg through the pantyhose and the short black skirt that she was wearing. She wore a grey thin sweater up top that was tight to her 36D breasts that looked even bigger because of her 5'1 height. The 23-year-old girl's face looked so smooth and pretty. If he didn't know the way the world was now, he never would have guessed that someone so pretty could be so cruel. "Outta here, boy, I need to use the internet," she said. "Go sleep in the garage." He looked at her pretty face some more. There had to be some goodness underneath it. He listened to the way she spoke to other women that she respected, how friendly and happy she sounded. Had she existed in another period of history she would have been an amazing girl. She just didn't know any better. That's what he told himself anyway. He liked to think that someday she might learn the errors of what she was taught. But she wouldn't hear it from him. She kicked him in the ribs harder. "You deaf boy? Go sleep in the garage if you need to sleep. You should probably clean the damn kitchen up, that's what you should be doing. Better see that done by the end of the day. But I need you out of this room now so I can use the computer." Technology hadn't advanced at all since women had taken over most of the industry. In fact, it had taken a major step back and Ashley was actually working off a desktop that looked like the kind people had over 40 years earlier. He had to be out of this room because men were no longer allowed to use the internet, or even be in the room where it was being used. There was too much false information being spread from toxic men. Patricia Blanton was able to get that law passed right before she had taken away the right to vote from men. That was all passed before the 2040 election. And that was what led to Paulina Oliva-Santiago. Hayden would laugh and call her POS to himself, though he would never say that out loud. That would have been enough to land him in jail, though he often wondered if jail would be much worse than living with Ashley. It wasn't that POS was worse than Patricia Blanton. She just happened to be taking the country further down Blanton's dangerous path. And she was younger. And hotter. At 37-years-old, POS was going to be in the political spectrum for a long time. And if she was able to successfully end term limits like she had said she was going to do ... "I said get up, boy!" Ashley said as she smacked Hayden in the back of the head harder. As Hayden got up, he looked at the look of satisfaction on her face that he was doing what she wanted. He supposed things could be worse than being stuck with Ashley. With no one willing to hire him as it was almost impossible for men to find work these days, at least someone was willing to take him in. It was better than being in one of those group homes for men where they were all thrown in a large room together and under the rule of women much meaner and more abusive than Ashley was. And even some that were taken in got physically and mentally abused much worse than him. Suicides among men were by far at an all-time high but he hadn't even thought about that. At least not yet. "Hey," she said as he was about to walk out of the room. She grabbed the top of his shirt with both hands and forced him to look her in her pretty eyes. "What do you say?" "Thank you, Miss Ashley," he said. Her grin grew bigger. "Such a good boy," she said. "Next time you don't listen to me I'm going to have to hurt you worse. Don't make me do that, OK?" "Yes Miss Ashley," he said, and she gave him one more smile before he left the room. **Email ajbrown2005@yahoo.com if you would like more information on my Custom Stories**