Choking on Americana: A Spirited Struggle for Redemption

Mason was furious.

The last few weeks had been a blur of sleepless nights and stress. Mason and his two companions traveled day and night to get here, but it was worth it. Right now, Mason stood before the gates of the most powerful corporation in the country. On his side, he had Jeremiah and Abigail. They moved as one, each filling a different role and completing the trio.

It had taken some convincing for Mason to get them on board with this plan. He had tried to contact several other Spiriteds on his way from Wyoming, but most had either gone into hiding or were dead. He hadn’t expected such a fierce response from The Authority when they discovered that some of their own were helping Mason escape from their prison.

But despite all odds, Mason stood before the gatehouse with his two companions by his side; Abigail, who had lived her whole life within The Authority’s grasp; and Jeremiah, who had drunk himself into oblivion after his family was killed by the very same corporation that stood before them now.

“I can do this alone if I have to,” Mason said aloud. “You don’t owe me anything. You don’t need to be involved in this.”

Abigail looked at him with a mix of fear and confusion in her eyes. Her long black hair covered her face as she stared down at the ground beneath her feet. After a few moments, she lifted her head and looked straight ahead into the distance at The Authority building beyond the gates ahead of them. She spoke in a soft voice that still managed to carry over to Mason: “I want to be part of this too… but I don’t know what I can do… I don’t know how much help I can be… I just want to do my part…”

Jeremiah grunted loudly before swaying back and forth on his feet, “What she said… we don’t know what we can do… or how much help we can be… but that doesn’t mean we won’t try our damndest anyway… right? Let us at least try our damndest… because dammit, we deserve better than this world has given us so far! We deserve better than this world has given everyone! We deserve better than any world ever has given anyone! And nobody is going to give it to us unless we take it for ourselves! So let us try dammit! Let us try our damndest!”

Mason smiled at Abigail as she looked up at him; her eyes still filled with fear but also determination now too. “That’s it! That’s what I wanted to hear! That is why you are both here with me today! Because no matter what happens today or tomorrow or next week or next month or next year, you will never stop fighting against Them! Because you can never stop fighting against Them no matter what They think is best for you! No matter what They say is right for you! No matter what They force you to believe is right for you! You will never stop fighting against Them! Never!"

He paused for a moment as he felt an immense silence fall upon him and his companions. It wasn't until they heard the sound of screeching tires behind them did they realize that someone was watching them from afar. A large vehicle approached them from behind, which caused the three companions to turn around abruptly and stand ready for anything that might be about to happen next. But instead of seeing anything threatening, their faces lit up in amazement when they saw three familiar faces staring back at them from inside the car window; Bud, Coby, and Lily were all there smiling back at them through the glass windows of the vehicle that stopped just inches away from where Mason and his friends stood outside the gates of The Authority's headquarters building.