This is a standalone short story set in the future, where overpopulation has gotten so out of control that the government has started to execute people to keep it at bay. 

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The various colors flash back at his blank face, the voice of a news reporter in the background as his thoughts run wild.

"It's a new month, you know what that means," The woman on the screen says, "Hopefully you won't be next."

After she says this, the screen goes from the many colors to white. The man's blood runs cold as he widens his eyes, sweat forming on his pale face.

"No. No, no, no," He repeats over and over again, as if he'll wake up soon, or someone will sneak up behind him and say, "It's all a prank! You're not going to die!"

But none of that happens. Instead, a sentence forms on the bright screen.

YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FOR EXECUTION. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW.

1. DO NOT TRY AND ESCAPE. WE WILL FIND YOU.

2. YOU WILL BE GIVEN TWO OPTIONS OF DEATH: GUN SHOT TO HEAD OR LETHAL INJECTION.

3. YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO SPEAK TO 3 FAMILY MEMBERS AND 1 FRIEND BEFORE YOUR EXECUTION.

4. 2 ARMED SOLDIERS WILL COME TO YOUR HOME AND ESCORT YOU TO THE PLACE WHERE YOU WILL BE KILLED.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.

Multiple tears stream down his face as he stares at the words in front of him. Standing up slowly, he anticipates the knock on his door that is soon to come.

Several minutes later, the sound of a car driving up to the man's home is heard outside. He stares at the black door to his house, the tears eventually stopping and drying up on his cheeks.

Knock! Knock!

The man slowly walks over to the door, barely able to move his legs, as if they've become numb. He opens the door slowly, revealing two soldiers with large guns in their hands at the entrance.

Nodding, they lead him to the black limo next to his yard, opening the door for him and shutting it behind him once he enters the lavish vehicle. The door that leads to the driver's seat is opened, and one of the men starts the car and begins driving down the road.

Several hours pass before they eventually make it to the abandoned warehouse, stranded in a field where no one goes. The limo stops right next to the field, revealing a large gate with another soldier on the other side of it, also with a large gun.

At the sight of the vehicle, the man pushes a red button next to him, causing the gate to open up with a loud screech. Once opened, the limo drives down the long dirt road to the old building, where a hole where a door once was greets them.

The car stops, and the soldiers open the two doors next to them, leading the man outside and into the warehouse. Their footsteps echo as they walk through the empty place, leading to a chair in the middle of the building.

The men push him down into it, the chair scraping against the old and dusty floor.

"Injection or gun shot?" The man asks in a serious tone.

". . . Injection."

The man nods, walking away, and later returning with a syringe with a red liquid in it.

"Would you like to contact any friends or family?" The other man asks.

"No."

Nodding again, the man lifts up the sleeve of his black shirt, inserting the liquid into his body.

Several seconds later, the man's vision becomes black and his head falls, his skin becoming even paler than before as his entire body becomes limp.

The soldiers pick up his lifeless body, throwing him over in the back of the warehouse with the hundreds of other decaying corpses.

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