📘 The Last Voice in Zundaria
Chapter 1: The Sound They Fear Most
Subtitle: When Truth Speaks Louder Than Bullets
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The loudest thing in Zundaria that morning was the silence.
It drifted like smoke across the capital — past scorched storefronts, broken glass, and the charred remains of protest signs. Nothing moved except for the hum of surveillance drones and the distant laughter of armed soldiers.
Miles Wilson stood alone at the top of the Monument Steps. The movement's red-and-black flag lay beside him, dirty and torn.
"They're not coming, are they?" asked a voice behind him.
He didn't turn. He didn't need to. It was James Carter, the last friend who hadn't been taken.
"They can't," Miles said softly. "Most of them are either dead… or hiding."
Or both.
Zundaria's government had won. Again.
Just months ago, Miles had ignited the largest peaceful uprising the country had ever seen. One million citizens marching. Thirty-three cities filled with chants, banners, hope. The people demanded reform. Justice. Change.
And in just three nights, it was all destroyed.
The arrests came swiftly. Leaders disappeared. Protesters were labeled as enemies of the state. The media twisted the truth into poison.
Yesterday, President Victor Langston addressed the nation with a calm voice and a confident smile.
> "This was never a revolution," he said. "This was noise. And in Zundaria, we silence noise."
Today, that silence reigned.
Miles reached into his coat and pulled out a worn flash drive — black, scratched, but still intact. Inside: names, bank records, secret recordings. Everything.
Evidence of child trafficking, rigged elections, torture chambers beneath government buildings.
The kind of truth they'd kill to bury.
"I'll go with you," James said quietly.
"You shouldn't," Miles replied. "They'll kill us both."
James stepped forward, undeterred. "Then so be it. I'd rather die in truth than live under a lie."
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Thirty minutes later, the livestream began.
Miles stood in front of the ruined courthouse. His face was bruised, his voice clear.
> "To the people of Zundaria: I have no army. No weapons. No protection. Only this—"
He held up the flash drive.
> "This is the truth. The kind they've buried behind walls, bullets, and silence. They've killed for this. Lied for this. Built their wealth on the suffering of the voiceless. But today, I give it to you — free."
The feed cut off five minutes later.
The footage was erased.
The building was bombed.
Miles Wilson was never seen again.
Later that night, the government released a short, polished statement:
> "The traitor has been silenced. Zundaria remains peaceful."
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Three weeks passed. Quiet returned.
But then — the flash drive reappeared online.
The files were decrypted.
The evidence was published.
The words Miles spoke echoed across the country.
And the sound they feared most — the sound of truth — returned.