A power struggle. The Story of St-Dan. By Daniel McCourt

Control of the airports was surrendered to the union. The trains had been stopped boarded and used for shelter by those travelling around the land to find food and energy . The citizens’ fought  themselves. The big Business’s had all fallen and money has became useless.   No one was getting out of Britain. This was it, the beginning of the end.

The sun didn't seem to shine so bright but burn with a dark yellow creating day glow that seemed only fitting for the end of days. The union had taken over most of London and was fighting its way north collecting more and more vulnerable people as they traveled, recruiting the easily led and narrow minded. The union consisted of The Master, and Heads Of Region. For each area of the country they name their own one person who has shown loyalty becomes Head Of Region. The union believed in old time laws such as capital punishment for even the smallest crimes. People in the Old country of Scotland now known simply as The North started to get scared, an army was approaching and there was no way of defending themselves. Order was very much broken crime was rampant and to create an army from people who have lost everything and who had been victims of the media propaganda in the days before “ The  High field Disaster” would not be easy to gather.  The trust would be hard to regain and with no currency system or eligible food supplies there was no certainty that Britain would co operate. Darwin was right “only the fittest would survive“.

High field was an experimental facility in the Wastelands between New Blackpool and The North. High Field employed over 12,000 staff to take part in experiments leading to other uses for the suns power and learning  how we could manipulate the air around us into creating energy for fuel. The natural fuel supplies where running low and this was the only answer for Britain. In 2 years if no progress was made then we would be living on our limits. Not long before High Field was deemed unsafe we lived on what was known as Energy Scans. These simple devices you carried around with you and when you had to heat your home or cook food you where rationed to a controlled amount, how you used it was your own choice and only the wealthy could afford to keep this system running. The working class was hit hard and many deaths occurred through the strife. Life was difficult. This led to burning natural resources such as wood, and re using water again and again through a filtered system that where fitted to every home. Natural waster was hard to come by as the land and hills had been tried out for a few years this was due to |High Field and their air manipulation device this caused clouds to break up and not settle over massive parts of the Britain causing it to be overly warm during the day with little or no rain, also it caused night to be disgustingly cold due to the lack of  coverage.

The workers of High Field had been sworn to secrecy but looking into one of those persons eyes you knew something was not right. What did they know ?. Reports on the news that things where going to get better seemed a distant dream until one day in July when for a brief moment power was restored to every compatible High Field home. Was this the end of strife? For a few weeks hospitals re opened business ran as usual.

On Saturday 5th of August 2033 Things started to turn very strange. No rain had came for months and the sky started to turn into a yellow haze. The atmosphere around The cities of Britain became dense and dry and a dust seemed to float in the air wherever you went catching your throat and making you cough and spurt. The houses sat full of families with windows tight shut as to keep the dry crispiness out of their own home. The trains only ran twice a week to reserve power so these became packed on a Wednesday and Saturday , over crowding being a main problem in Britain.

No one used cars anymore due to the extreme heat The number one casualty at this time was engines combustion and injuring people so cars lay dormant in specially selected areas in each city all close to the river. Every day you would hear about a car Blowing up and someone dying Every day at least 50 cars had to be thrown into the river. The Rivers at this point  was just a bed of dust but it was the safest place for cars to be thrown if combustion did happen. New laws where in place that hired people to gather the streets and put every car out of service with a special Electronic pulse devise disabling the car and any motorised vehicle. This left people feeling trapped. Also Men where Hired to be on look out and dispose of any cars that catch fire due to  the lack of water this was a dangerous job. The river banks from north to south where lined with disused cars, vans trucks and buses. The coast was non accessible as all the land surrounding the sea had been bought  by wealthy business and travel executives in a bid to raise profits from people leaving the country. Leaving Britain had became something of a challenge but we where always informed that the rest of the world was just as bad and in a similar state to ourselves. Was this the truth or just more media lies to stop Britain’s leaving for foreign lands. Whatever the case we believed what we where told. Well some of us.

Unknown to the  City Regulators formally known as The Force and previous to that The Police An internal war was brewing people where fed up of being told everything is okay in Britain. A voice had to rise from the dust and make a change, a voice had to take control and encourage people to get out before it was too late something was about to go down. Tensions started to rise in the cities causing mass fighting between streets and areas. This was due to us being told that if we used to much energy there would not be enough for everyone else so when people left a light on after curfew that family would be targeted for ridicule and abuse no matter the excuse. People would gather from other streets and blame that family for small things like their energy cutting out for a short time, This was common due to the extreme nature of the fuel shortage but people needed someone to blame and since the government had long abandoned us they would turn on each other. This became more and more common until a slogan started, “ every man for themselves”. Everyone started to slowly live by their own rules ignoring Law that was put in place for such events, people who behaved and broke peace laws for public safety where taken to Prisons, cells and abandoned buildings far from their home. There was only so much space and only so much Citizens could take.  

Small activist groups started in underprivileged areas of the cities, people arming themselves with anything they could and taking to the homes of the rich that did not share, the buildings of business that made profit and the High field building Itself.  News of this reached High Field executives before the Citizens got to the main land the Factory and Power Towers Stood on. They only wanted answers. High Field had not been on the news for months and we didn't know how long we had left. We didn't know how we where getting power, We didn't know what happened to the 12,000 people employed by High Field.

The towers stood tall on the Bought Land with electrical currents being led across from each one using metal conductors 120 feet in the air. The people approached with caution and rage forcing their way into the land with tools and Brute. The dust seemed to settle on this land and the air became somewhat clearer almost like an atmospheric shift. Breathing became easier and the people took off their masks. One man stood near the top of the hill and looked down onto a crowd of about 20,000 people and everyone fell silent all at once. For nearly a mile Down hill all you could see was people, This was it finally answers nothing could stop this rebellious army. The man walked further up the Hill and on his own Shouted to the people   “ this is it. NOW is the time“.   The crowd cheered and started to run toward the lone man who was at least 600 yards in front of the first wave of people. Suddenly a siren Sounded It boomed out and Some people fell with Shock. It was like a war alarm With its recurring sound of high pitched alert. This went on for about 20 seconds but seemed to last a life time. This unsettled the crowd and out of the blue A shot. The lone man fell With arms Stretched out in front of him and landed face down. The crowd of 20,000 stormed the power towers. Armed to the teeth they ran shots being forced from all around and men being blown apart by mines planted on the land.  High field had committed an act of war.

The air smelled of desperation and confusion, young men who had been born into this Britain dreamed of the past Britain and wanted things as they once where, so much so they fought until they died. The High Field employees in Preparation for the invasion stood surrounding the facility and its towers. The citizens stopping and looking round seeing death and destruction everywhere but still Shouted loud and still continued to fight through the force of Employees clearly brain washed with propaganda. A small group of employees Grabbing members of the crowd that looked vulnerable and Dragging them to their death by throwing them off the highest tower in a presentation to show what will happen to the rest if they do not back down.   The City regulators had arrived behind the crowd, Killing anyone who seemed to be a threat on sight in clear co operation with High Field. This was no ordinary Revolution something massive was going on.  A clearing broke out and 7 or eight Citizens took to the base of one of the towers Laying down plastic explosives in the most vulnerable sectors at the base. A minute later sparks started Pissing out of the tower , the crowd noticing this cheered and ran to apparent safety across a deadly field, traps and gunmen, no one was concentrating on fighting anymore they seemed to have all noticed a falling tower. Citizens Split and ran some dragging friends and Family to safety, wounded and battered most got out of the way of the tower before it Hit the ground. The employees and City Regulators Just stood there in the way of the tower, In and around the factory not moving, staring aimlessly into at the thing that would kill them. The tower fell and in a massive Blast the factory and other Power Tower fell and with a massive explosion Creating a boom so loud it echoed for around 50 miles and smoke traveled forward covering the dead and live with ash. Parts of the tower rolled down the hill Killing and injuring thousands trying to run to safety. The sky you could not see. The land in front you could not see. You couldn't hear anything apart from an echo in your ear and a constant ringing. It was run or wait to die. So everyone ran out of the land and away from the sight looking back once the smoke had cleared only to see Bodies, Blood, Sparks people screaming and still trapped. You didn’t have a choice to go back and help you where in a crowd of thousands all going in the same direction you tried to turn you fall and if you fell you died. “ every man for themselves” This was how people thought now.

Silence broke as around 200 men and woman took to the rail tracks to head back to where they came from. The crowd just kept walking not one of them speaking, some sobbing and others passing out food that had been purchased and found pre High Field. The men had set up safety nets, This meant places to stay on the way back  because 300 miles was a long way on foot. Between New Blackpool  and North City West formally known as Glasgow. Every so often A man or woman would leave the group as if on an actual train. Soon conversation broke out and The numbers seemed to drop again. Finally there was 20 of us nearing the Border. When it was dark it was very dark due to there being no power anymore. The reserve ran dry and Britain was falling away from the modern world. Some Citizens kept asking if they had done the right thing, some regretting, most not.

In the darkness 5 days after the Battle a group of young men appeared and led us into a town. People surrounded the small streets and alley ways to watch the 20 of us walk some muttering under their breath some cheering and shouting acclaim. Candles filled the streets and windows, Wood burning stoves had been brought back out from when the power first went out. People where adapting very quickly. People who had no choice to adapt had to this causing a very mixed reaction between towns and cities. We where informed that it was the same for the other survivors they where being branded heroes or villains, some even being beaten and tortured for their part in the High Field disaster. Luckily for us this town was mostly filled with supporters as they had seen hard times in the past and never done anything about it. This town seemed friendly and stable for the time being anyway. We did not know what waited on us back home and some even questioned leaving.

The City Regulators where rounding up people from the revolt and taking them away, never to be seen again. Luckily the town we entered,  that had no name was built way before the regulators put traces on the roads and went under the radar, basically not existing on any map. This town has just recently been re inhabited with people over 6 days due to the disaster. They came from big cities where everything and everyone was starting to react badly and people even taking other peoples life’s into their own hands. The woman and children felt scared and the men seemed peaceful and didn't want trouble. The reason We where found and welcomed to the Town was because they seen us as men of action, willing to fight. Over a period of 2 weeks the twenty of us took an authority role within this no named town and things seemed to be running smoothly.

With disused cars to the west of us and rail tracks to the east It felt quite safe now things had started to settle. The ground wasn't over heated so some locals started farming. People didn't have to wear their masks anymore as the air was clearing due to whatever experiment at High Field being stopped. Power was still an issue and everyday a team of people would go out and collect what they could, This would usually consist of petrol from the abandoned cars and wood from the surrounding trees. There was make shift cooking devices and lots of modern apparatuses brought from the big cities. The homes where cosy and at night warmer due to the clouds gathering again, The beds where modern and with every day that passed more and more got done in relation to construction, transport to neighboring towns via the un used rail link. Things seemed to be going well until we heard a rumor.


A few years passed and posts had been put in place due to the rumor that High Field victims where looking for revenge this unsettled the town but things carried on as normal, The bridge over the river has been build and  Multi story accommodation had been build by using the resources from an old construction yard 23 miles down the track. As progress grew hear the rest of Britain still Buried in poverty and people could not seem to escape the torment of modern technology. These people where dying in a sea of dust and empty promises now free to start again, build their own resources, let the rain in and use anything they could for power. They did not seem to grasp this. Every day more and more people came to the un named town to see if there was work and food and they would tell us the story of how they traveled for miles from a dark dank city to this rural delight. Everyone who entered the Town was sworn to secrecy but yet more people came. “every man for themselves” didn’t seem to apply anymore a new sense on community was being developed and through time the town grew to around 12 miles, accommodating 5000 people with the little resources  we had.

The oldest in the city would tell the youngest about High Field declaring us as heroes. They would tell the younger people that High field Mined the land until cities crumbled and fell into the ground killing thousands and polluting our only water supply, They would speak of Banks and money and the old system that was in place back in the first quarter of The 21st centaury. They would also tell the stories of how the rich thrived with the power of the Towers and the poor where left to rot with no medical supplies slowly dying out to create an easier way of living for the now non existent government. The economy collapsing under the High Field Law and the City |Regulators taking anyone away that acted against these changes, either to work for high field or be killed. The older members explained that was why at the Battle all those years ago the employees and City Regulators stood under the tower as it fell and didn’t try to run, they knew that High field had to be destroyed and those people gave their lives to the citizens and died as a sign of rebellion, something we as a group of Fighters didn’t realise until it was too late. They explained that was why we had our moment of silence every month on the 5th.

These stories had to be told to the new population. The twenty original High Field survivors thought it was time to address the land. Stories spread through the cities about men who was going to lead people to a new way of living. Show them how to start again with the power of the sun to generate electricity,  to use scarp metal and build things that could be used in aid for people to live, to use and reuse fuel, to grow and farm fruit and vegetables, to start a currency process to swap supplies for something you need and the other person has. We also wanted to teach people about the human right we all have.

The City Guards had Joined the Union so we had to be very careful on who we addressed, We travelled in darkness with yet again safety nets every so often leading us to run down old building and mine shafts where we stayed for days teaching a select few, As time went on we travelled the Country as heroes informing everyone of what we had done and what we can do.

The union had taken over most of London but fear was stopping them travelling any further at the moment.   New law and order had been given but this would only reward the smart and recently wealthy, The people with big homes still in tact and the people who had fire power due to  recent wealth and success. The poor would still suffer. Old time laws where being passed like biblical law such as “an eye for an eye” meaning whatever law you break your punishment will be equal to that. This was strange and un usual to this population due to Religion being obsolete. The Union knew something was going on as the working classes started gathering hope, walking with their head held high they could sense a change was coming and they wanted to stop whatever was giving these people hope. The Master and his Heads Of Region began patrolling the streets, sending hundred of people around the outskirts of The old London to look for any kind of suspicious behaviour, families where being forced into answering questions and some even had their children taken until they told The City Regulators what they wanted to hear. The news of This spread to the Twenty of us and we knew we had to speed things up. We devised a plan.  

Another day passed and twenty was now ten. We approached Old London and knew by day light we would Reach The Remains of The old Royal mall, The master had taken up residence in the once named Buckingham Palace, now a place to boarded windows and around the clock security. The master also had solar panels on every roof Teasing the Citizens with the only Power available within the City. This was not affordable to the people unless you gave into his demands.  That is why we travelled showing the people how to make their own electricity. More and more people where leaving Old London by sneaking out whenever they had an opportunity. We had set up a secret underground railway link Between the Old Embankment station to The north of the city, then to Comfort, food and medicine. More and more people started to use this and the people starting to hear rumours and stories decided enough was enough.

Monday 5th August  2053. Twenty years after the High Field towers fell. News had travelled about us arriving in London. We decided to hold a public event. Firstly tell someone we knew was working for The Union about a possible event or protest, this would be a clash of power and be seen as an act of civil war. What The Union doesn’t know is that this would be a distraction. The City Regulators gather At Buckingham Palace preparing to shoot on sight and kill anyone trying to protest. The plan was working perfectly. Now in another part of the city A stage was being erected in the shape of the High Field Tower for us to address the nation. The distraction seemed to be working because no one from the union was in Hyde park, the master was in fear but mad with power demanding us to be found.

People started to gather. 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 soon people who had left the city came to support the cause. This all seemed a bit familiar but this time it was “ every man as one”
Me and Nine other Gathered and before I Knew it There was over 100,000 people. This was most of the population in Britain today. They gathered and waited. I looked out from beyond the stage and saw the crowd, these people where happy. Passing out food. Sharing stories. It took twenty years but society was back and ready to regain its once proud country. The master now had no control.  Everyone’s attention was drawn to the air as a plane flew over head for the first time in more than twenty years, Some people where scared, some cheered, I recognised this from the news as a boy The king had a plane he used for public address he flew around the country.  This was when I knew it was the master. He and his pilot had taken he plane.  As the plane circled the air above the park I Started My address, I told the other 9 heroes to stand in the crown. I knew what was going to happen.

I start. “ When I was fifteen years old there was no hope no future, The sun was burning our land and there was no resources, The dust that some of you still have nightmares about was My world, nothing was clear not even my mind. We travelled for !9 years, spreading a message of hope and teaching people to live in a society and how to regain control of their land their family, we taught you to be teachers,  we taught you to build things, how to use the sun and rain for natural electricity a process long gone now being re introduced. we will Not Fall under the Old Laws and suffer. You are not alone anymore. Everyone will have somewhere to go the master has fallen! The City Regulators have abandoned him and the Heads of Region are now disbursing. Not to worry , there was twenty of us, now only ten this was because we infiltrated the Heads of region. We have people on the inside stopping The madness from the core. The Heads of region will think they are going to safety led by Our Ten High Field Heroes into a prison where no more harm can be caused by them. The Heads of Region hire the City Regulators we have had them trained for years and they are bringing normality back to the masses they will now be Peace keepers and teachers of equality, no more will Britain suffer. We shall always remember the first heroes of This power struggle the ones that fell at the first hurdle only to give us confidence and help us be determined and eager. I ask you one thing. Spread this word, Teach Hope to everyone you know, Go to a town with electricity and learn how to use and make your own power. This is a new age. The reign of the master and The Union is over. We have destroyed them from the inside. Now look up at the plane, This man has no where to go and will be shot down over any waters. He isn’t here to escape. There was a reason I am on this stage Myself. A reason I address you alone. “


As the crowd looked at the plane and screamed, cheered and  yelled throwing anything they could never hitting high enough.  “ the master thinks he can escape, this can’t happen. There is a reason for everything and this legacy must go on. I ask you to Run and spread what we have been taught and what we have taught you, I ask you to remember me and I know how you will. I have fought for everyone of you and you must never back down. Remember what happiness is, remember music , remember Your potential. “

The crowd started to run forward away from the stage as  the pilot Turned the plane to fall forward from earlier discussed  coordinates.

As the crowd ran some knowing what was going to happen the 9 others looked up at me and with a sad look of satisfaction they all nodded and one by one joined the crowd as they left. The pilot was one of the other 10 heroes he had taken the master and for the first time in many years flew a plan as a symbol that the citizens are returning and the old ways are returning. The master would die but so would I. To be remembered in death for something heroic like helping saving the citizens. The master would die and be remembered as a dictator who used Resources, power and fear to torment the people.  

The plane Was falling nose first right toward the stage where I stood. Faster and faster the plane could  not pull out of any nose dive this was it. I stood with my arms spread out and shouted “ REMEMBER ME”    

The plane crashing was the first step and sign of Technology being re introduced. The death Of Daniel was the sign of a new Life beginning and the end of an old regime. That’s why forever more people will Refer to Daniel as ST-DAN and remember this historic event as The day the Rain fell.