0:02

Chapter fifteen, Sasha.

0:05

The man on the gurney was the most comprehensively

0:08

broken human Sasha had ever seen.

0:11

His jaw had been ripped completely out of its

0:13

socket and shattered in four places.

0:15

His eyes had been gouged into horrible,

0:17

smashed, grape looking things. His hands

0:20

and fingers were all broken, as were his feet

0:22

and shins. His ears appeared

0:24

to have been bitten off. His tongue had been

0:26

severed, and the wound cauterized with something

0:28

that had charred the flesh black. Sasha

0:31

hadn't known a person could take such punishment

0:33

and survive. The chart at

0:35

the end of the bed identified him as Sergeant Lufkin,

0:38

a two year veteran martyr whod been guarding

0:40

a checkpoint outside of Dallas. He

0:42

was conscious. Every now and then he'd thrash

0:44

about and let out a burbling moan, but

0:47

the man didn't appear capable of any sort

0:49

of intelligible communication. Well

0:51

these aren't combat injuries, doctor

0:53

Brand said. These men look almost

0:55

like they've been in a car wreck, only the damage

0:58

is too precise and too liberately

1:00

targeted. I've never seen anything like

1:02

it. It was Sasha's duty to

1:04

administer the men's pain killers just

1:06

a tiny drop of morphine each. It

1:09

wasn't enough by any proper hospital standards.

1:12

The soldiers were all in clear agony,

1:14

but the Heavenly Kingdom was short on pain killers,

1:16

and this was the most they could afford to spare for

1:19

invalids, as doctor Brandt had called them.

1:21

This frustrated Sasha. Her mother's

1:23

hospital could have restored all four men to full

1:26

health and vigor with perhaps a month of treatment

1:28

and physical therapy, but the Heavenly

1:30

Kingdom forbade that grown organs and limbs

1:33

cloning contravened the Lord's will. Sasha

1:36

agreed with that in theory.

1:38

She'd fled to the Heavenly Kingdom partly because

1:40

she believed juven treatments had robbed the

1:42

ampt of its humanity. But

1:45

still it seemed so wrong

1:47

that these men would go the rest of their lives

1:49

as twitching and sinceate lumps of flesh.

1:52

The number of things that felt wrong about this

1:54

place grew every day. The

1:56

executions had been the first big shock

1:58

to her system, but she'd accepted Helen's

2:00

justification. The Bible was filled

2:03

with decent men doing awful things in

2:05

times of war. The gallows weren't

2:07

pretty, but they were hardly without biblical

2:09

precedent. She'd been unable

2:12

to justify Alexander's actions in the

2:14

same way. Oh, yes, she knew polygamy

2:16

was condoned by the Word of God. She'd

2:18

read about Lammick and Abraham, and

2:20

Solomon and David, and of course Jacob,

2:23

the patriarch of the Twelve Tribes of Israel

2:25

and a parent namesake for Alexander's

2:28

order. She still hated what he'd

2:30

done to her. Sasha couldn't

2:32

bring herself to believe that a man as truly

2:34

good as Pastor Mike would condone their actions.

2:37

Polygamy is a biblically sound strategy

2:40

for a people on the edge of destruction,

2:42

He'd written in one of his Revelator columns.

2:44

But it is not the human ideal and

2:47

our Lord's eyes, the most perfect union

2:49

is one man, one woman, and as many children

2:51

as they can bear. Had he decided

2:54

since that the Heavenly Kingdom was a people on

2:56

the edge of destruction. After

2:59

the disastrous meet with Alexander, Sasha

3:01

had made her way back to the House of Miriam.

3:03

Helen was seated at her desk when Sasha barged

3:05

in the older woman looked tired, resigned,

3:08

and almost depressed. It seemed as if

3:10

she'd been waiting for Sasha. Hello,

3:13

dear, she said, with a sad smile. I

3:16

assume you just met Alexander. Yes,

3:19

Sasha couldn't help but shout. What they're

3:21

doing is vile, Helen. He wanted

3:23

me as his third wife. He lied to convince

3:25

me to come down here. He says. There's a whole

3:27

group of martyrs. They call themselves Jacobeans,

3:30

and they're just catfishing girls down here. We

3:32

have to tell someone. This isn't okay, this is so

3:34

wrong. I just I can't. Sasha

3:36

started to sob. She'd been too angry

3:38

to cry in front of Alexander. But the

3:40

House of Miriam was a safe place. Helen

3:43

was a safe person. Sasha's grief

3:45

caught up with her anger, and she found herself doubled

3:47

over on the floor, racked by sobs.

3:50

She lost herself in sorrow for a few

3:52

long heartbeats, and then Helen was there beside

3:54

her. She felt the older woman's strong arms

3:57

around her, felt a hand running through her

3:59

hair. There there, child, it's

4:01

all right, it's going to be okay.

4:04

We have to do something Sasha choked

4:06

out, Pastor Mike needs to know what's

4:08

being done in his name. She

4:10

looked up into Helen's eyes. She saw

4:13

pain and anger there, Sasha.

4:15

Helen said, this will be hard

4:17

for you to understand, but the pastor

4:20

is well aware of what those men are doing.

4:22

I've spoken to him about it myself. Sasha

4:25

stiffened. She pulled away from Helen, and

4:27

Helen let her go. They sat next

4:30

to each other on the floor in silence

4:32

until Sasha spoke again. Authenticity

4:35

is the strongest arrow in our quiver. She

4:37

quoted, When did that stop being true?

4:40

When did it become ok to lie in the name of the

4:42

Lord? Helen sighed and shook

4:44

her head. It's not OK, But

4:46

so much about this world we live in is not OK.

4:49

They still murder forty thousand babies per

4:51

year in the American Federation, hundred

4:53

thousand in the California Republic. Sodomi

4:56

and cloning are rampant across the world.

4:58

We the faithful are surrounded on

5:01

all sides. Sasha

5:03

recognized that last line. It was the opening

5:05

sentence of Pastor Mike's infamous

5:07

Sinful Continent in the Hands of an Angry

5:09

God column Sasha couldn't

5:11

deny the truth of those words. Everything

5:14

Helen said was accurate. But

5:16

but how are we any better than them if we stooped

5:18

to dishonesty to fill the heavenly kingdom.

5:21

Helen stiffened and straightened her back. We

5:24

are better than them, dear, because our

5:26

goals are godly. There was a

5:28

hint of pride in her voice. We are fighting

5:30

for the one singular truth. You must

5:32

never forget that the men and women fighting for that truth

5:35

are flawed. We are all falluable,

5:37

we will all fall short of God's

5:39

standards. But we are also the only

5:41

ones trying to meet God's standards.

5:44

And that makes what Alexander did okay.

5:46

Helen shook her head. Sasha saw tears

5:49

in the corner of the older woman's eyes. No,

5:51

child, nothing makes it okay. You

5:54

were wronged. That boy played with

5:56

your heart. He lied to you about

5:58

his love, and that's an un a givable

6:00

thing. But you're here now, aren't you, And

6:02

that's what matters most. Helen

6:05

held her and talked with her for the next few hours.

6:07

By the time the other girls came back, she felt

6:10

better. Not good exactly, but better,

6:12

stable enough to not burst into tears during

6:15

dinner. She kept quiet at meal

6:17

time and was glad that the others seemed too exhausted

6:19

from their day of labor to say much either. After

6:22

dinner, they had another hour of personal time.

6:25

Anne and Susannah zeroed in on her with military

6:28

precision. Sasha's vaunted poker face

6:30

hadn't been enough to hide her sorrow. Her

6:32

new friends had guided her to a corner of the room

6:34

where they'd have relative privacy. What's

6:37

wrong, Anne asked in a low voice.

6:39

She and Susannah both laid their hands on Sasha's

6:41

shoulders. Sasha reached up to grasp

6:44

both their hands. It happened automatically,

6:46

as if by reflex, but it brought her great

6:49

comfort. She closed her eyes and stood

6:51

quiet for a moment as her mind and heart

6:53

calmed down. I met

6:55

Alexander today, she said. Anne

6:58

looked confused. Susannah frowned, then

7:00

laughed and asked, what did have? Bad

7:02

breath? Where his eyes all? She blew out her

7:04

cheeks and crossed her eyes. Anne laughed,

7:06

but Sasha stayed quiet. Susannah smile

7:09

faded. Sash, She said,

7:11

in a quiet voice, what happened? Sasha

7:15

looked from Susannah to Anne, she felt a

7:17

surge of gratitude and her new friends for being

7:19

there at all. She took a deep breath in and then

7:21

told them what had happened. She went quickly

7:24

in the hope that her clipped recitation of events

7:26

would make it all seem less devastating. Oh,

7:29

Sasha, Anne said, I am so sorry.

7:31

This has to be some sort of mistake. Helen

7:34

didn't seem to think so, Sasha said,

7:37

I don't think Alexander lied about the sons

7:39

of Jacob being powerful here. It's

7:41

chaos right now, Sash. Susannah

7:44

assured her. Maybe a few guys can get

7:46

away with acting like this now during the war,

7:48

but once it's over, Pastor Mike won't let them treat

7:51

us like this. Anne nodded.

7:53

Kyle gets rotated back from the front tomorrow,

7:55

she said, I'll ask him about the sons

7:58

of Jacob. Maybe he'll know something we can

8:00

to. Sasha knew from

8:02

the look she'd seen in Helen's eyes that further

8:04

protest against the Jacobeans would be useless,

8:06

and besides, she thought the most painful

8:09

thing was Alexander's dishonesty. He's

8:11

already hurt me as much as he can. She

8:13

tried to convince herself of that, just as she

8:16

tried to enjoy the company of her friends without

8:18

dwelling on the face of the boy who betrayed her.

8:20

She was less than successful. Bedtime

8:23

came, the girls washed up, said their

8:25

good nights, and snuggled up in their beds. As

8:28

usual, Sasha's mind stayed awake and active.

8:30

She wasn't having second thoughts exactly, of

8:33

course, not never, but so much about

8:35

today felt wrong. Alexander

8:37

and the sons of Jacob, of course, but also that the

8:39

brave men she'd worked on that afternoon would never

8:41

walk or see your talk again. This is

8:44

war, she reminded herself. A great

8:46

deal of it is going to seem wrong. The

8:49

next morning and afternoon went by in a

8:51

haze of industrious activity, breakfast

8:53

and bandages and preparing medications for doctors

8:55

and nurses. Sasha lost herself

8:57

in the work and for a few hours was happy

9:00

or sad. Her shift at the hospital

9:03

ended at five, She took her nightly jeep

9:05

ride back to the House of Miriam, but rather

9:07

than going right inside, she decided to take

9:09

a walk around the downtown strip. She

9:11

had a few ration scripts in her pocket enough

9:14

that she could have bought coffee or even a meal in the

9:16

one functioning restaurant still in town.

9:18

But she wasn't hungry. She just wanted to

9:20

walk. This part of the Heavenly

9:23

Kingdom looked less like a war zone and more like

9:25

a functional polus. With every passing day.

9:27

Most of the piles of rubble and spent shell casings

9:30

were gone. Now there was still quite a lot

9:32

of damage to all the buildings and very few intact

9:34

windows to be found, but that strange spoiled

9:37

milk smell was gone. Some shops

9:39

were open again, along with a small farmer's

9:41

market about ten minutes down from the House of Miriam.

9:44

There were people out too, Not many

9:46

families yet, but she saw a lot of sweaty,

9:48

tired looking soldiers. They wandered

9:50

in small groups and clustered around the strips

9:52

only functional cafe. There

9:54

were refugees too, and new immigrants

9:56

to the Kingdom. Greeters in blue and white uniforms

9:59

the foot soul ers of the Kingdom's Immigration Department,

10:01

led columns of them down the main Dragon into

10:04

old government buildings that had been repurposed

10:06

into housing collectives. Sasha

10:08

felt herself filled with a strange pride at

10:10

odds with all the doubt that still roiled in her

10:12

gut. From right here, the Heavenly

10:14

Kingdom looked exactly like what had been promised

10:17

to her. It was still rough, raw and

10:19

unfinished, but it overflowed with the good

10:21

intentions of godly men and women. Helen

10:24

had been right. Sasha could see that now,

10:26

as ugly as Alexander's lies were, as detestable

10:29

as she found the whole idea of the Jacobeans,

10:31

the Heavenly Kingdom was still a thing of beauty. It

10:34

was still worth fighting for. She just had

10:36

to accept that it would never be perfect. And

10:39

hello, Sasha, she stopped.

10:41

The hair prickled up on the back of her neck.

10:44

Sasha turned around to face Alexander.

10:47

Sasha had been lost in thoughts, so it was hard to

10:49

say for how long they've been following her. Three

10:51

other men were with him. They all wore clean,

10:54

pressed, new uniforms and side arms at

10:56

their waists. She didn't recognize

10:58

the rank and sickney as on their shoulders, but

11:00

she did notice that each of them wore a large

11:02

gold badge in the shape of a lion's head on

11:04

their lapel. She'd seen a lot of uniformed

11:07

martyrs during her short time with the Heavenly Kingdom.

11:09

She'd never seen a badge like that before.

11:13

Hello, Alexander. She tried to keep

11:15

her voice cool but respectful. Hello,

11:17

brothers, Peace be with you and

11:19

also with you. The other young men mumbled,

11:21

by habit, are you walking alone

11:24

right now? My dea, Alexander asked,

11:26

his lips curled up into an unctuous smile.

11:29

That worries me. These streets still

11:31

on as safe as they should be. Let

11:33

us walk with you a while. Sasha

11:36

stiffened. There was something dark in Alexander's

11:38

eyes. She wondered if it had always been there

11:41

and she just ignored it before her

11:43

heart began to race. Sweat beat it on

11:45

the back of her neck. There were a lot of people

11:47

around still, but she was away from the most crowded

11:49

part of the main drag. It wouldn't be hard

11:52

for three strong young men to move her somewhere

11:54

less visible. I'd prefer

11:56

to walk alone, she tried to keep

11:58

her tone. Even Sasha felt like they must

12:00

still have heard the trembling in her voice. That's

12:03

nonsense, Sasha, Alexander

12:05

said. No woman wants to be alone

12:08

when they can enjoy the company of their protect

12:10

us. He stepped towards her, reached

12:12

a hand out and brushed the hair away from her

12:14

eyes. Alexander stroked

12:16

her cheek. His hand drifted down to her

12:18

shoulder, where he applied firm pressure.

12:21

Sasha wanted to pull away, but Alexander

12:23

was much stronger than she was. He

12:25

had a gun, and two friends with guns, and

12:27

apparently the personal support of Pastor Mike,

12:30

so she stood still and tried to stop

12:32

her heart from beating quite so fast. Sasha,

12:35

he said, in the gentle, sweet voice that had

12:37

helped to carry her here. You deserve

12:40

to be cared for. I know the full truth

12:42

was a shock to you, and I'm not angry at

12:44

your reaction, really, but you still

12:46

hold it on to fragments of the secular

12:49

world. You need to drop that

12:51

veil from your eyes and accept that God

12:53

wants this. He wants men like

12:55

us, Alexander gestured to his friends,

12:58

men with superior attacks,

13:00

to breed and fill the world with more holy

13:02

warriors. Sasha

13:05

closed her eyes. She took a deep breath in and

13:07

out, and then another. Just go with

13:09

it, a part of her said, he won't hurt

13:11

you if you just tell him what he wants to hear. She

13:14

knew that wasn't right, though she hadn't risked

13:16

her life to cross into the heavenly kingdom

13:18

just to compromise her morals. Now I

13:21

am doing good and valuable work here, she

13:23

replied, in the calmest voice she could muster. I

13:26

don't want to be your third wife. I know God

13:28

has another purpose for me, and I intend to

13:30

seek it. At his hand clinched

13:32

tight on her shoulder, Sasha's eyes

13:34

widened in fear. There was something dull,

13:37

black, and hungry in his eyes. The

13:39

two men behind him straightened their backs and started

13:41

glancing around, scoping out the area.

13:44

Sasha, Alexander said, I

13:46

brought you here. You are my

13:49

responsibility. I don't

13:51

believe you're thinking clearly. We

13:53

should take a walk and find somewhere

13:55

private to talk about all this. I've

13:58

comm indeed a home near by. Come

14:00

on, walk with me.

14:03

He pushed at her. The whole time he spoke, and grew

14:05

angrier with each passing word, so that by the time

14:08

he said walk with me, his voice had grown tight

14:10

and cold. Sasha steadied her heart

14:12

met his eyes with as steady a gaze as she could

14:14

manage, and said, I don't

14:17

want to walk with you.

14:20

Her heart was pounding so loud she was sure

14:22

Alexander and his friends could hear it. But

14:24

Sasha didn't move. She was sure at any minute

14:26

now he would grab her full on and force

14:29

her forward. But before he had the chance,

14:31

a familiar voice called out to her, Sasha,

14:34

is that you? It was doctor Brandt,

14:36

and all her focus on Alexander and his posse,

14:39

she hadn't even noticed the electric hum of the doctor's

14:41

jeep as it pulled up behind them on the main street.

14:44

Yes, sir, she cried, her voice a bit higher

14:46

and more frantic than she'd meant it to sound. What

14:48

do you need getting the back girl?

14:50

You can flirt with soldiers later. The Heavenly Kingdom

14:53

needs your skills. We've got a bit of an issue. Alexander's

14:56

face went purple. The two men behind him

14:58

seemed confused. One put a hand on his

15:01

gun, but Alexander waved him back. He

15:03

shot Sasha a vicious look and then turned

15:05

to doctor Brandt. Suddenly composed

15:07

any idea how long you'll need her?

15:11

What are you a lieutenant? Doctor

15:13

Brandt scoffed, she'll be gone as long as

15:15

the Kingdom needs her. I don't see a ring on either

15:17

of your fingers, so I'm fairly certain it's not

15:19

your place to care how long this takes Sasha.

15:22

He beckoned to her with his index finger. Come

15:24

on now, girl, gladly,

15:26

she said, with a genuine smile. Sasha

15:28

darted past Alexander and his men and hopped

15:31

up into the back seat of the jeep. She tried

15:33

to keep her head and eyes down while the doctor's driver

15:35

gunned the engine and sped off down the main street.

15:38

Once they were under way, Doctor Brandt turned

15:40

back to her. Sasha. He

15:42

asked, was anything going on with those

15:44

young men? Anything untoward?

15:47

I ask because you seem positively elated.

15:49

I've picked you up to deal with a problem. Do

15:51

I tell him the truth? Sasha wondered, Do

15:54

I admit I was lured to the kingdom by a catfisher?

15:56

He'll never take me seriously. Then, this

15:59

job was her favorite part of serving the Kingdom.

16:01

Sasha didn't want to do or say anything

16:03

that might disrupt it. And besides,

16:05

Doctor Brandt was a busy man. Lives

16:08

were in his hands every day. I can't

16:10

distract him with this. No, No, everything's

16:12

fine. I'm fine. Doctor

16:15

Brandt gave her a stern look. Sasha

16:17

smiled a tense smile in response. He shrugged

16:19

and turned his head back to the road. All

16:22

right, he said, And then there was

16:24

a problem with one of your patient's blood tests.

16:26

Oh, Sasha frowned. I'm so sorry. What did

16:29

I do wrong? Nothing at all, doctor

16:31

Branda shared her. But that vile woman, Marigold,

16:34

she's pregnant. Pregnant,

16:36

Sasha was shocked. Most adult women

16:38

in the American Federation had afrodity

16:40

rings installed. Sasha had refused

16:42

hers, but the government offered them for free.

16:45

They provided complete control over reproduction

16:47

and allowed women to select whether or not they wanted

16:49

to be fertile. She'd assumed anyone

16:52

with as many bio modifications as Marigold

16:54

would have a ring as well. Maybe she just

16:56

wants a baby for some reason. Sasha

16:58

hadn't initially considered that possibility.

17:01

It was hard to imagine someone has fallen as Marigold

17:03

choosing to raise children. Yes,

17:05

Sasha, doctor Brandt said, or at least

17:08

that first test indicated so false positives

17:10

do still happen. That's why we're headed back. We

17:12

need you to administer another test so

17:15

we can be certain. Well, shit,

17:17

Marigold grunted. I didn't expect to see you

17:19

back this soon. You need a friend, Darlin. The

17:22

heathen woman looked the same as she had on their

17:24

last interaction. Her hair was less greasy,

17:27

so they must have let her wash, but she wore the same

17:29

slip dress and sat in the same corner of

17:31

the same cell. Sorry, no,

17:33

Sasha said, I'm here to administer a pregnancy

17:35

test. Mirrigold's eyes widened

17:38

for a few seconds. The woman was speechless.

17:40

Her mouth opened and closed. She nodded

17:43

and clutched her left knee with her left hand. Okay,

17:46

the captive said, right, where do you want

17:48

me to do it? Do? Sasha

17:50

looked down at the stick in her hand and then realized

17:52

how these things worked. I'm sure Dr

17:54

Brandt doesn't expect me to watch her. Pa, you

17:57

can go over to your normal

17:59

space. I'll just I'll turn around.

18:02

She handed Marigold the test and spun around on

18:04

her heels so the other woman wouldn't see how much

18:06

she'd already started to blush. Damn,

18:08

girl, are you that squicked out by the human

18:11

body? What Sasha asked without

18:13

turning around. Your face is as red

18:15

as a damn beat. I'm sorry why,

18:18

I don't know, Marigold laughed.

18:20

You can turn around now, I'm decent and done.

18:23

Sasha turned around. Marigold smirked

18:25

at her. You know, she said,

18:28

that instinct to apologize might actually

18:30

come in handy around here. I'm sure the sort of

18:32

men who jump in on this bullshit will appreciate

18:34

it. Sasha recovered her senses

18:36

and felt a bit of anger at Marigold's words.

18:39

I don't appreciate you saying those things.

18:41

She said. The men here are good and brave

18:43

and uh. Sasha's voice caught it

18:45

broke just a little. Marigold saw

18:48

and heard her doubt. The other woman didn't

18:50

laugh like Sasha expected. In fact,

18:52

her smile fell away. Marigold looked

18:55

at her with something like pity. I

18:57

know you don't believe that, she said.

19:00

Sasha closed her eyes and took a deep breath

19:02

in. Then she replied, no

19:04

men are perfect, just as no women are perfect.

19:07

But every one here in the Kingdom tries every

19:09

day to abide by the Lord's will. That's

19:11

what elevates us above. Marigold

19:13

interrupted, does your Lord say women don't

19:15

get last names. We don't

19:17

use last names in the Kingdom because they distract

19:20

us. We can't afford connect. The men keep

19:22

their surnames, don't they. That was true.

19:24

Sasha hadn't thought about it much, what with everything

19:26

else that was going on. But doctor Brandt went

19:29

by his last name, didn't he? And Alexander

19:31

had a surname too. She's trying to weaken

19:33

your faith in the kingdom. Don't give into the doubts

19:35

of the serpent. It doesn't matter,

19:37

Sasha said, and immediately regretted it. Any

19:40

response would surely just egg Marigold

19:42

on and sure enough, Oh it

19:44

doesn't. Then why is that the rule? Well,

19:47

it's obviously because we need some way to tell families

19:49

apart from one another. Marigold smirked.

19:51

Now, and the only lineage that matters

19:54

is the man's, isn't it. Women are just appendages

19:56

in your belief system. I am not an

19:58

appendage, Sasha shouted, surprised

20:01

at her own anger. She heard shuffling

20:03

feet, and a second later the guard had one hand

20:05

on the door and another on his rifle. Ever

20:07

then, all right, miss, he asked, Yes,

20:10

Sasha called back to him over her shoulder. I'm

20:12

fine, sorry, she's just Sasha

20:14

fixed Marigold with a withering gaze. She's

20:17

very frustrating. Marigold

20:19

smirked at that, then she held out the test. Sasha

20:22

hesitated for just a second before taking the

20:24

strip from the other woman. Marigold smiled

20:26

at that too. You're pregnant,

20:29

Sasha said, yep. Marigold

20:31

nodded, congratulations.

20:34

Sasha tried to sound genuine. Marigold's

20:36

eye roll didn't help that, cause, oh

20:39

yeah, the other woman said, this is a real

20:41

joyous moment for me. I hope your people let me

20:43

live long enough to know whether or not my kid will deserve

20:45

a last name. You know, Sasha

20:48

said, in growing anger. This place isn't perfect,

20:50

but if you got to know the people here, you'd understand

20:53

they are the best people I've ever met.

20:55

I wish you could have seen the welcome I received. I've

20:57

never felt so loved. Marigold

21:00

asked, like, all you needed to do was

21:02

show up to earn their acceptance. Yes,

21:05

Sasha admitted, suspicious. Did

21:07

they sort of swarm you but in a nice

21:10

way, everyone hugging you and holding you and

21:12

offering you, say, physical affection? Yes?

21:15

Marigold nodded as if she'd just gotten the answer

21:18

to a longstanding question. They love

21:20

bombed you what. It's a tactic

21:22

colts use, Marigold explained, you

21:24

sort of overwhelmed someone with love and acceptance

21:27

and camaraderie and all that. It nurtures loyalty

21:29

and dependence. She shrugged. It's

21:31

a smart way to manipulate young people in your position.

21:34

You've just fled your home and family for a strange

21:36

and dangerous land. You're scared and alone

21:38

and isolated, and then, like magic, you've

21:41

got a family in a support network. You

21:43

are so cynical. Sasha had the

21:45

fight back, the urge to say damned cynical.

21:48

This woman was making her forget herself. She

21:50

opened her mouth as if to deliver a tongue lashing,

21:52

but the words wouldn't come. Instead, she just

21:55

narrowed her eyes at Marigold and stared for a

21:57

few seconds. I'm leaving now,

21:59

she said, I'm going to go enjoy the companionship

22:01

of my new family. You enjoy this

22:03

cell. Then Sasha turned on her

22:06

heels and walked out. She

22:08

returned late to the house of Miriam. The

22:10

other girls had already finished dinner. Helen

22:13

had left out Sasha's plate a ham sandwich,

22:15

carrot sticks and apple and a small block of cheese,

22:17

and she took it into the common room, where the other girls

22:20

were talking and winding down from their day. Look

22:23

who finally showed up? May sneered

22:25

when she walked in. I guess you're too important

22:27

to eat with the rest of us now, I Sasha

22:30

started to reply. Then she saw Anne

22:32

and Susannah huddled in the same corner where they'd

22:34

all sat last night. There were tears

22:36

in Anne's face, and her eyes looked swollen

22:38

in red. She made no noise, but her back

22:40

and shoulders shook as she sat there, half

22:42

shielded from view in Susanna's embrace.

22:45

Sasha gave maya withering glare, but

22:47

turned and moved past her towards her friends.

22:50

She heard the other girl scoff and say something

22:52

to her coterie of friends. Sasha couldn't

22:54

hear what, though, and she didn't much care. She

22:56

squatted down next to Anne and put a hand

22:58

on the back of her neck. Hey,

23:00

she said, not sure of what else to say. Susannah

23:03

met Sasha's eyes and offered up a sad smile.

23:06

Anne continued to sob for a few

23:08

minutes, they just held her. Sasha

23:10

burned with morbid curiosity over what exactly

23:13

had happened. She knew it must have something

23:15

to do with Kyle, and had been set to

23:17

meet with him today. Had he revealed himself

23:19

to be a son of Jacob too. He's

23:21

dead, Anne whispered in a cracked,

23:23

broken voice. I went to meet him at

23:26

the Cafe Clement, and there were two martyrs there

23:28

waiting for me. They both she stifled

23:30

a sob. They both smiled when they

23:32

told me he'd been killed. They said I

23:34

should thank God for the blessing of a death and

23:36

battle. I'm so sorry Anne,

23:39

Sasha said, Susannah and I are

23:41

here, though, we'll take care of you. She

23:43

hoped that might comfort Anna a little, but the other

23:45

girl lost herself in another fit of tears.

23:48

Sasha's heart broke for her. The pain

23:50

over her own comparatively minor tragedy

23:53

flowed into the empathy she felt for Anne,

23:55

and soon Sasha was crying too. She

23:57

was sure some of the other girls were whispering about

23:59

them. Egged on by May, she didn't care.

24:02

After a few more minutes of tears, Anne managed

24:04

to clear her throat and speak again. The

24:06

man the martyrs I met told

24:09

me the same thing. She said. They

24:11

told me I'd be taken care of, that they'd

24:13

find God's choice for me among the martyrs.

24:15

I tried to tell them, I don't want anyone else,

24:17

not now I need to mourn, But they said, they

24:20

said. Anne's voice caught in her

24:22

throat, and she fought to throttle another sob

24:24

before she continued. He said, the heavenly

24:26

Kingdom might not be able to wait

24:28

for my grief to pass. What's

24:31

that supposed to mean, Susannah asked.

24:33

Sasha didn't say anything, because the only

24:35

answer that occurred to her was surely unhelpful.

24:38

She had a strong suspicion that the sons of Jacob

24:41

had turned their eyes on Anne. Sasha

24:44

stared into Marigold's vagina. She'd

24:46

seen it before, of course, the first time they'd

24:49

met, but it hadn't been her focus then, and she'd

24:51

tried very hard not to look at it too

24:53

much. Now, though the point was

24:55

to look. Doctor Brandt had picked her up halfway

24:58

through her shift at the hospital to conduct a apsmere

25:00

on the captured woman. She'd only had about

25:02

an hour to practice. It's a procedure

25:04

I've done myself a hundred times, doctor

25:07

brand had told her, But that was back in the

25:09

am Fed. It's a simvil thing for a man to

25:11

touch a woman other than his wife. That's why the Israelites

25:13

used midwives. That's why we used midwives.

25:15

And I think this kind of work might be why

25:18

God drew you here. His words

25:20

made her proud. She liked doctor Brandt

25:22

for all his prickliness. She also liked to

25:24

learn it and feeling like she had a useful skill

25:27

that made her special. So she'd paid

25:29

close attention as doctor Brandt had walked her

25:31

through the procedure. It had been fun, and

25:33

the act of learning had distracted her from her

25:35

worries about Anne and her own grief over Alexander.

25:38

Marigold shuddered as Sasha slid the speculum

25:41

in past her labia. You could

25:43

stand to be a little gentler, and would it kill

25:45

you to, I don't know, warm it up first or something. Doctor

25:48

Brandt didn't say to do that. Sasha kept

25:50

her voice firm, This is for the baby's good.

25:52

I'm sorry if it's uncomfortable. This is my

25:54

first time. The woman snorted,

25:57

Oh, well, in that case, you're doing a great jow,

26:00

maybe a little less hard and mine slopes down.

26:02

You're going against the grain, the grain.

26:05

Marigold rolled her eyes in disdain, but didn't

26:07

dignify Sasha with a response, you're

26:09

pushing the wrong way. Sasha

26:12

readjusted, and Marigold gave a sigh of relief.

26:15

That sucks less at least, thanks. Sasha

26:18

busied herself with the swabbing and rubbing that came

26:20

next. She worked slow, methodical, with

26:22

as much care and gentleness as the instruction

26:24

she'd received from Dr Brandt would allow. She

26:27

did her best to focus, but the other woman kept

26:29

talking. You don't look old enough

26:31

to have graduated high school. I'm gonna guess

26:33

they don't train teenagers to do pap smears in the

26:35

am fed Marigold added, do they?

26:37

With surprising earnestness, no,

26:40

Sasha grunted, I'm gonna guest doctor

26:42

what's his name taught you then? Because why he's

26:44

too scared of my demon snatch to come in here and do

26:46

with the jab himself. Sasha's

26:48

face reddened. She did not like the words

26:51

snatch or Marigold's casual mention

26:53

of demons, but she kept her eyes straight

26:55

and stared into the other woman's vagina. I

26:57

have one too. It's not that big a deal, she

26:59

told herself. It's impressive

27:01

you were able to learn that. I'm serious. Real

27:04

props, lady, you're the only woman I've seen do

27:06

a damn thing around here. How do you trick them

27:08

into treating you sort of like a person? Sasha's

27:11

ire Rose and Rose Lord, Calm

27:13

my heart, she prayed. I know she's just trying

27:15

to set me off. It's just desperation, she

27:17

told herself. How long

27:19

do you think they'll let you keep playing like you've got a real

27:22

life. I'm gonna guess it won't be too long before

27:24

somebody puts a baby in you. You know that'll be the end

27:26

of all this, right, like your life, using your brain

27:28

all that, you're going to be a broodmare before

27:31

to stop. Sasha didn't yell,

27:33

but she used her firmest voice, and she was quite

27:35

loud about it, despite herself.

27:37

She looked up from her work and at Marigold's

27:39

face. The other woman didn't look surprised

27:42

or chagrinned. One edge of her lips curled

27:44

up into a wry grin, her eyes twinkled.

27:46

Sasha had never actually seen someone's

27:48

eyes twinkled before there

27:51

we go. I wondered where the edge was

27:53

the edge of what Sasha asked, without

27:55

thinking, idiot, this is exactly what she

27:58

wants you to do. The edge

28:00

of your patients, the point where meekness

28:02

ends. I was worried they've beating it out

28:04

of you. No one beat me, Sasha

28:06

insisted, And there's nothing wrong with being

28:08

meek. The Lord asks us to put on a heart

28:11

of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness,

28:13

and patience. Maybe you wouldn't be in a cell

28:15

if you'd accepted that for yourself. I'm

28:17

in a cell because I came here to trade.

28:20

We weren't waging any kind of war. We weren't harming

28:22

anyone. We wanted freaking cheetohs in exchange

28:24

for our latest coffee crop. Your people

28:26

killed the old government and captured us. Sasha

28:29

closed her eyes, breathed in and out, and tried

28:31

to calm herself. For some reason,

28:34

Marigold's words made her feel anxious and angry.

28:36

She wanted to say the anger was towards the other

28:38

woman, but that wasn't quite right. Marigold

28:41

had been sarcastic and caddy, but she had also

28:43

been complimentary, thoughtful, and far from

28:45

cruel. I'm sure you'll

28:47

be sent back to your people soon. The heavenly

28:50

Kingdom doesn't want any kind of fight with with your

28:52

city yet. Sasha

28:55

finished her work. She withdrew the speculum and started

28:57

gathering up her kit. I do hope

28:59

you're not laboring under the impression that this war

29:01

will ever end, Marigold said, because

29:04

it won't, not while your kingdom exists.

29:06

You're wrong. Will take Austin soon and

29:08

then there will be peace. And what about

29:11

San Antonio? Sasha

29:13

shrugged, heathen nation, But they haven't launched

29:15

any strikes against us. If they'll let us be, will

29:17

let them be remain and expand,

29:20

Marigold quoted one of the slogans Pastor

29:22

Mike had coined during the early days of the Kingdom.

29:25

The other woman had a surprisingly deep understanding

29:27

of their movement. Marigold continued,

29:30

The Kingdom of God will remain and expand until

29:32

it reunites this broken land from sea to

29:34

shining sea. That's your profit, right,

29:37

you're mighty, Pastor sure sounds

29:39

like a recipe for eternal war. Mexico,

29:41

the Navajo, the California Republic, and the

29:43

king of God, Damn Albuquerque don't seem likely

29:46

to sign up for a theocracy, and those

29:48

are just the big powers in the Southwest. Pastor

29:51

Mike would have had an answer to that, of course. He'd

29:53

said that as the Heavenly Kingdom grew, it would draw

29:55

in millions from around the world and become

29:57

a shining beacon to the fallen people

30:00

of the world. Fighting would be replaced

30:02

by peaceful annexation. She'd

30:04

believed that once before she'd left the American

30:07

Federation. It had seemed sensible.

30:09

With Alexander's romantic words in her ear

30:11

and the fiery prose from Revelator in her mind,

30:13

how could she not believe? But now

30:16

she'd spent time in the reality of the Heavenly

30:18

Kingdom. She'd met beautiful people and seeing

30:20

wondrous things, But she had also helped treat a

30:22

seemingly endless train of broken men whose

30:24

bodies had been shattered by war. She'd

30:27

watched a dozen people be executed

30:29

by hanging. Sasha was anxious,

30:32

and Marigold must have picked up on it. The

30:34

other woman's eyes changed. There was something almost

30:36

predatory in them. She leaned forward.

30:39

I know I'm hitting nerves. Sasha that's

30:41

because you were too smart for this shit. You

30:43

got suckered into a fucking nightmare. It's

30:46

time to wake up. Sasha

30:48

kept Marigold's words in her mind. She headed

30:51

back to the hospital. A fresh wave

30:53

of wounded men had been sent over from the Lake Houston

30:55

Front, and she wound up working three hours later

30:57

than normal just to help handle the load. It

31:00

was a whirlwind of bloody bandages, screaming

31:02

martyrs, and i rate exhausted doctors

31:04

trying to do too much with far too little.

31:07

By the time she got off shift, it was dark outside

31:09

and downtown was almost deserted. Her

31:12

driver dropped her off in a weird spot at the

31:14

other end of Main Street. It was a good

31:16

two blocks away from the normal location, but

31:18

she chalked that up to the fact that this wasn't her

31:20

normal driver. She didn't really

31:22

mind the extra walk. In fact, after a

31:25

long day under the hospital's fluorescent lights,

31:27

a dark walk and some fresh air seemed relaxing.

31:30

So she strolled, and she tried to forget the faces

31:32

of the men she'd seen that day. For a

31:34

few blissful minutes, Marigold's words

31:36

fled from her head, and she lost herself and

31:38

the peace that came at the end of a good day's labor.

31:41

The streets of the heavenly Kingdom felt safe.

31:43

She'd done meaningful work. The Lord must

31:45

be hey, hey, no, please, I really

31:47

don't want to. Sasha heard a familiar

31:50

female voice cry out in distress. A

31:52

man yelled something, but she couldn't tell what. The

31:54

woman let out a brief scream that was muffled by

31:57

something. Her voice sounded familiar, very

31:59

familiar. Was an Sasha

32:02

rounded a corner and saw them. It was Anne,

32:04

all right. The girl had a bag over her

32:06

head, but Sasha clearly recognized her

32:08

friend. Two men in black uniforms

32:10

held her by either arm and forced her to walk

32:12

forward with them. Two other men walked beside

32:15

them. They all wore red berets. The

32:17

man who seemed to be their leader locked eyes with

32:19

her. It was Alexander, Sasha.

32:23

He said, in a clipped tone, you're out

32:25

late. She stopped, stared,

32:27

and continued to thrash between the men. Her

32:29

cries were muffled by the bag, but far from an

32:31

audible She seemed terrified. You

32:34

you all need to let her go, Sasha

32:37

insisted, she belongs at the House of

32:39

Miriam, Alexander laughed,

32:41

where do you think we gotta from, silly girl.

32:44

Two of the other men laughed at that. They seemed

32:46

nervous, though she could see both hunger and a strange

32:48

sort of anxiety in their eyes. Alexander

32:51

was all hunger. Alexander, please,

32:54

please, what he asked, with a wry

32:56

smirk. Deny this girl the bliss

32:58

of servant God? Why would you want

33:00

that for her? Do you even believe anymore?

33:03

Sasha, his lips, the lips

33:05

she dreamed about for months, the lips she'd

33:07

watched say such lovely things to her.

33:09

Curled up in disgusted. Look

33:12

at you. You're wearing surgical scrubs.

33:14

You look like a man. You've lost your

33:16

proper place in the world. It disgusts

33:19

me that they let you do that work. Have

33:21

you forgotten what God himself calls

33:23

on you to be Titus two five,

33:26

Sasha, our Lord wants you to be discreet,

33:28

chaste, homemaker's good, obedient to

33:30

their own husbands, that the word of

33:32

God may not be blasphemed. Remember

33:35

that, Sasha, none of you are

33:37

her husband. Alexander

33:39

laughed, That's not true at all. He

33:42

put a hand on the shoulder of one of the men restraining

33:44

and Tamasia married

33:46

her today. We're just helping the happy couple

33:48

to their marital bed. Then why

33:51

is there a bag over her head? Why is she

33:53

fighting? Because it was a rather

33:55

abrupt marriage, Alexander frowned,

33:57

and her mind is still polluted with ungodly

34:00

ideas about how a marriage should look. Thomas

34:03

chose her. The spirit of the Lord

34:05

spoke to him when he saw her from afar.

34:08

It is right and good that they should be wed.

34:10

And he moves up to the front tomorrow Tonight

34:13

will be his first and maybe a last chance

34:15

to help the kingdom remain and expand.

34:18

He held out a seal, a golden badge

34:20

in the shape of a shield with a heavenly cross

34:22

and blazoned on the front. This comes

34:25

from the pasta I have the authority

34:27

to grant marriages to any worthy men

34:29

who wished them, He smiled again.

34:32

Sasha's heart fluttered. She felt Nauja

34:34

rise up inside her. So back away,

34:37

let us pass, and I'd suggest

34:39

you'd dedicate some more time to thinking

34:41

about why God brought you here when

34:43

your time comes. I think you'd prefer

34:46

doing this without the bag. But I'm

34:48

fine either way. Really, it

34:51

was past dinner and passed bedtime when

34:53

she entered the house of Miriam. Helen

34:55

was seated at her desk. She looked up as Sasha

34:57

entered, and in an instant Sasha knew there was

35:00

no use in reporting what had happened to Anne. Helen's

35:02

eyes were bloodshot and puffy with tears.

35:05

She knew. Sasha the

35:07

older woman, said, I have some bad

35:10

news. I saw them, Sasha

35:12

said, is that what's going to happen to all of us?

35:14

Is this place just a bulbing area until

35:17

we get married off? This place

35:19

is your home, Helen said, in a voice

35:21

that was almost pleading. It's here, and

35:23

I'm here to shepherd you to the next phase

35:25

of your life. Don't you believe I want the

35:27

best for you? I do, Sasha

35:30

said, her voice softened. But Anne

35:32

didn't want this, she told me so. Didn't

35:34

she deserve time to grieve? She

35:37

did, Helen said, But the Lord

35:39

demands sacrifices from all of us,

35:42

sometimes more sacrifices than seem

35:44

fair. Anne is in a dark place

35:46

now, but the Lord will send his light to

35:48

guide her. Helen seemed to straighten

35:50

up as she spoke Sasha saw resolve

35:53

settle into the older woman's flint gray eyes.

35:55

So may it be, she said, May the

35:58

peace of the Lord be with you. Sasha

36:01

started to walk off. She didn't trust

36:03

herself to stay and talk. She was sure

36:05

more of her anger would bleed out into the conversation,

36:08

and she wasn't sure what Helen would do if she got

36:10

the impression that Sasha's loyalty had started

36:12

to waver. Sasha dear,

36:14

she said, and Sasha looked back. You forgot

36:17

your dinner. It's in a bag on the table.

36:20

Sasha took it in aiden's silence as

36:22

fast as decorum would allow. Then

36:24

she cleaned up for bed and headed back into the

36:26

dormitories. As soon as she saw

36:28

the light glinting off of Susanna's open

36:30

eyes, she knew the other girl was awake. Sasha

36:33

knelt down at her bed and the two shared a long

36:35

look. Susanna held out her hand

36:37

and Sasha took it. What happened,

36:40

she asked. They let us out

36:42

early and drop us off down town. Susanna's

36:45

eyes were wet with tears. Anna and

36:47

I had a coffee and we visited the market.

36:49

It was nice, normal, almost

36:52

we headed for the house of Miriam. Once it started

36:54

to get dark, and she gulped. They

36:56

were just there waiting with Miss

36:59

Helen. Susannah swallowed

37:01

loudly and her eyes grew watery, but she

37:03

didn't cry. Sasha was proud of her

37:05

friend. That was them, wasn't

37:08

it. Susannah asked, those men

37:10

were the sons of Jacob. Sasha

37:13

just nodded. How long until

37:15

they take me too?

37:24

Chapter sixteen, Manny.

37:28

The Barracks had been a high school, once

37:30

built to serve several thousand of the Plaino

37:32

area's wealthy as students. The dozen

37:34

huge gray buildings were centered around

37:36

an enormous courtyard that included a practice

37:39

football field, several tennis courts, and

37:41

a running track. The compound

37:43

was boxed in by a high concrete wall

37:45

topped in razor wire. What had been

37:47

built to defend the scions of wealth and privilege

37:50

from their jealous peers also made the former

37:52

school an ideal training ground for the

37:54

Kingdom's soldiers. Manny could

37:56

see hundreds of young men just within the

37:58

courtyard. They ran laps are charged

38:00

through a makeshift obstacle course that had been assembled

38:03

over the old football field. Manny's

38:05

head throbbed just watching them. I

38:08

hope we don't have to do too much of that ship, he

38:10

thought, as he scratched the bandage over his severed

38:12

deck, At least not today. Dozens

38:15

of men sat in small groups around the courtyard,

38:18

reading together from books or cooling down from workouts,

38:20

and sweat drenched underclothes. Many

38:23

could hear the sharp crack of rifle fire from

38:25

a shooting range nearby. The whole place

38:27

buzzed with a sort of busy, nervous energy

38:29

that might have been contagious if not for the ugly

38:31

stairs Manny attracted. You took

38:34

the wrong skin to wear, Roland muttered

38:36

at him as a troop of pale, young infantrymen clumped

38:38

past them. Many couldn't help but notice

38:41

that he seemed to be the only person on the

38:43

training field who wasn't lily white. This

38:46

might be a problem, he said. Roland

38:48

nodded in response. He spat at the ground

38:50

and muttered, should I ask skullfucker

38:53

Mike to sew you into some new skin before we left?

38:55

Many frowned. I'm almost certain that's

38:58

not how martyrs, A

39:00

rough voice cried out from behind them. Turn

39:02

round, boys, let me see a rise, Manny

39:06

stopped on instinct. He stiff at his back

39:08

and turned around. Roland did the same thing,

39:10

but with a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes.

39:13

The shout had come from a tall, square jawed

39:15

man with hair that had gone a majestic shade

39:17

of silver gray. He wore a black uniform

39:20

shirt with brass cross pins and the epaulets,

39:22

black cargo pants, and a big black handgun

39:25

slung low on his left hip. His

39:27

name tag identified him as Ditmar.

39:29

Mannie didn't know enough about the martyr's brigades

39:32

to tell the man's rank. Roland

39:34

turned as Ditmar closed the distance between

39:36

them. He stopped about a foot in from them,

39:38

looked Roland up and down, and then turned to Mannie.

39:41

The fixer forced himself to meet the grizzled

39:43

martyr's gaze. Mannie

39:45

wasn't sure how to look like a fanatical Christian

39:48

soldier. There was no way to fake the manic

39:50

glint of true commitment, so he chose

39:52

a different tack. He thought about Major

39:54

Clark, the defiant set of his jaw

39:56

and the promise of violence frozen into the

39:58

ice of his blue eyes. Deshaun

40:00

Clark was not a fanatic but he

40:03

was a warrior. Many knew he might be

40:05

able to fake that, so he screwed up his

40:07

face into his best imitation and hoped it

40:09

would pass muster well. The

40:11

silver haired old soldier growled and narrowed

40:13

his eyes, but then his face broke out into

40:15

a grin. His tone lifted up an octave.

40:18

By God, he said, it's good to

40:20

have you boys here. He clapped

40:22

a hand on both Manny and Roland's shoulders and

40:24

pulled them into an embrace. Your souls

40:26

are safe now, my boys. Thank God

40:28

for your warrior hearts. Now. He

40:31

pulled back and straightened up. I'm Martyr

40:33

Ditmar. Where are you bound for intake?

40:36

Manny said, with more confidence than he felt.

40:39

We just arrived to day. He glanced

40:41

down at his papers for a moment and then said, this

40:43

says we're infantry reserved a vision. Martyr

40:46

Ditmar seemed surprised, really,

40:49

He asked, I'd have expected them to put

40:51

you at least he nodded at Manny and the

40:53

storming battalion. The storming

40:55

battalion, Yes, the elder

40:58

martyr nodded, you've got the right complexion

41:01

for it. That's

41:03

got to be a bad sign. Manny thought, don't

41:05

press the question too much now you may

41:07

not want the answer. Instead, he

41:09

put a hand on Roland's shoulder. Wherever

41:12

we go, I gotta stay with Aaron. He's strong,

41:14

but he took a few hits to the head too many. I

41:16

help him get around. The martyr

41:18

gave a smile that seemed genuine. Well,

41:21

then he said, you'll want to get your butts down

41:23

to Cadet Processing. It's a hundred meters down

41:25

that away. He clapped them both on the shoulders.

41:27

It's good to see you here. Smile boys,

41:29

your heroes now warriors in Christ.

41:32

Go forth. God bless

41:34

you, Martyr Manny said. Roland followed

41:36

up with his best attempt at honest enthusiasm.

41:38

Yea God, he said, in a two wide

41:40

smile. We should go, Manny said

41:43

quickly. I don't want to terry on the

41:45

Lord's time. That's the spirit. Martyr

41:47

Dittmar replied, I'll see you both on the training

41:49

field. They stomped off towards the

41:51

Cadet Processing building, which until recently

41:54

had been the high school's administrative building.

41:57

There were posters for school dances and after

41:59

school clubs on walls. It looked like a

42:01

student body election had been under way when

42:03

the Heavenly Kingdom captured this place. Manny

42:05

and Rowland queued up behind a half dozen other

42:07

confused looking young men and waited for their

42:09

turn at the processing desk. The

42:12

intake process lasted around an hour. They

42:14

took his name as date of birth and his measurements,

42:16

and then Manny helped Aaron answer the same

42:18

questions. It would have been triflingly

42:21

easy for anyone with a deck and a good connection

42:23

to find evidence of Manny's career as a war zone

42:26

fixer, but the martyr handling their

42:28

information wrote things down on actual

42:30

paper. Manny got the distinct

42:32

impression that many of the martyrs had disabled

42:34

their decks. He also knew from experience

42:36

that data speeds tended to be pretty ship

42:38

this close to the fighting. Someone

42:40

will check eventually, he warned himself,

42:42

You'd better be fast about this whole business.

42:45

Roland stayed on his best behavior through the whole

42:48

process, although he grew twitch eer and twitch

42:50

eer as the minutes wore on. Manny wasn't

42:52

sure if the chromed man was allergic to bureaucracy

42:54

or just frustrated at having sobered up. Once

42:57

they were done with the first stage of the intake process.

42:59

They were rush it over to another room filled with

43:01

folded stacks of clothing and dince with the scent

43:03

of moth balls. They were shot uniforms

43:06

and then bundled off to a locker room to change.

43:09

Manny was somewhat nervous about stripping

43:11

down and changing in front of Roland, a dude

43:13

he barely knew. If the post human felt

43:15

the same nervousness, he didn't show it. Roland

43:18

pulled off his clothes in a couple of seconds, revealing

43:20

a body that was tight with wiry muscle and covered

43:22

in thick surgical scars. Roland

43:24

started to pull on his beady you pants and noticed

43:27

Manny hadn't yet started to strip. What's

43:29

up, Roland asked, you smell nervous?

43:33

Manny shrugged. I guess I'm a little prude.

43:35

Still must be the Catholic in me. Don't

43:38

let them hear that. Roland knifed those

43:40

fucker's all hang you with your rosary beads. He

43:42

pulled the pants up and buttoned them. Then he paused

43:44

again and looked back at Manny. You are

43:47

you still Catholic? He asked. Manny

43:50

shook his head. No, I don't believe,

43:52

but my family does. Ah.

43:54

Roland nodded, you fake belief. Well,

43:57

that's a talent. It's not a talent,

43:59

Manny said, it's a survival skill. Grow

44:01

up in Texas and you either learned to fake what you

44:03

need to fake where you learned to fight.

44:06

Someone knocked on the door. You ready

44:08

yet, a voice called out to them. Almost,

44:11

Manny responded, and then he started to strip

44:13

his clothing off. A few minutes and a

44:15

change of clothes later, they arrived on the field where

44:17

their training unit, twenty four sweat drenched

44:19

young men were doing push ups. Manny

44:21

was surprised to see that these martyrs, at least weren't

44:24

all white. There was one black man right in

44:26

the middle of the group. It took Manny a second

44:28

to recognize that the instructor drilling them

44:30

was Detmar, the man they'd met on their way to the base.

44:33

He broke into a broad smile when he saw them.

44:35

God's will is truly magnificent, is it

44:37

not? And then he nodded down to the ground,

44:40

fallt and join us, lads. Let's see what you've got.

44:43

Manny and Roland dropped down and joined the unit.

44:45

In another set of push ups. If Roland had

44:47

any trouble at all with the workout regimen, he didn't

44:49

show it. The chrombed man barely sweated,

44:52

and Manny had a feeling that his sweat was more for show

44:54

than the result of an actual biological process.

44:57

Even with the show, it was obvious to every one

44:59

that Roland was not having any trouble with the exercises.

45:02

God's blessed us with a new sampson,

45:04

Ditmar said. A hundred or so push ups

45:06

in the rest of the men, Manny included

45:09

had collapsed from the exertion, but Roland

45:11

just kept going for a while. They all sat

45:13

there, huffing and exhausted and watching him

45:15

go. Ditmar smiled and shook his head,

45:17

a little awed at the sight. Finally, he waved

45:19

for Roland to stop. You've

45:21

made your point, son, and we're all blessed

45:24

to have you here with us. Now get

45:26

up, all of you and sit around me. Manny

45:28

stood, shook the sore news from his arms, and moved

45:31

to take a seat in the semicircle of young martyrs.

45:33

Once they were all properly positioned, Ditmar

45:35

squatted down and cast his eyes around the group.

45:38

Settling on each of them in turn. I

45:40

don't know how you all got here, he

45:42

said, in a quiet, somber voice, but

45:45

I know what brought each of you here, the

45:47

spirit of our Lord and savior, Jesus

45:49

Christ. He cleared his throat. Now,

45:52

he said, very soon, you'll all

45:54

be going into battle, sooner than i'd prefer.

45:57

We don't have time for the kind of training you boys

45:59

deserve. You'll be fighting against men

46:01

with more experience, better weaponry. It's

46:03

a scary thought, but I'll tell you all

46:06

right now, if you go into that battle with the

46:08

same blind faith that brought you here, you'll

46:10

do just fine. God won't let any

46:12

other end come to pass. It

46:15

was dark by the time ditmar led them all into

46:17

the dining facility. The sight of the high school

46:19

cafeteria set off a surprising pang of nostalgia

46:22

in Manny's heart. He hadn't enjoyed school,

46:24

but something about the gray, fabric colored walls,

46:27

the colorful posters, and the dozens of identical

46:29

faux wood tables made him long for a simpler

46:31

time. For a second, he was almost

46:34

able to forget where he was, what he was

46:36

doing, and pretend this was just another day

46:38

in school. That allusion

46:40

was broken when he looked at his fellow martyrs.

46:43

Hundreds of them had filed into the cafeteria,

46:45

dressed in a motley assortment of battle dress

46:47

uniforms from the old U. S Army, the Republic

46:49

of Texas, and even the Mexican Army. Most

46:52

of them were young, not even into their twenties.

46:54

Around a quarter of them, though, were old for

46:57

soldiers in their forties or fifties. There

46:59

was no mill a tarry discipline in their appearance.

47:01

Many of the men had beards or long, unruly

47:04

hair. These fox aren't soldiers,

47:06

Roland whispered to him as they took their seats at one

47:08

of the fake wooden tables on the left side of the room.

47:11

This is what canned father looks like. Kid.

47:13

The heavenly Kingdom just expects these people to die.

47:16

Man. He felt a surge of anxiety. He

47:18

was sure someone else must have heard Rowland, but

47:20

when he glanced around, he saw their table mates were

47:22

all deep in conversation with each other. Most

47:25

of them, at least Jonathan, the

47:27

only other non white person in their training unit,

47:29

seemed to have been excluded. The other

47:31

soldiers leaned away from him, the focus

47:33

of the table seemed to be a tall, square jawed

47:35

young man with a Georgian twang to his accent

47:38

Martyrs. A loud voice cried from

47:40

a podium at the center of the cafeteria. The

47:43

sound of hundreds of bodies on hundreds of chairs

47:45

turning to face the noise filled the room. The

47:47

speaker was a tall, painfully thin man,

47:49

clad in a long black robe. An enormous

47:52

wooden cross hung from his neck. His hair

47:54

was greasy, unruly, and shock white.

47:56

He had a patchy beard and the overall look of

47:58

an unkimpt madman. But then he spoke,

48:01

My brother said, is a blessed thing to have

48:03

you all here to day. He began in

48:05

a voice that was little more than a whisper. There

48:08

was a raw rasp to his voice. He sounded

48:10

almost hoarse. Something about that quality

48:12

drew Manny's attention. In the coming

48:14

days, your instructors will prepare you

48:16

for the great battles that lie ahead. You

48:19

will be given the best arms and armorah

48:21

Kingdom can provide. But just by

48:23

being here, each of you has shown

48:25

you already have a weapon more powerful than

48:27

any tool in our armory. Faith

48:30

in God Almighty, his

48:32

voice raised in pitch. Now it was still raspi

48:35

and horse, but it picked up a sharp, booming quality.

48:37

He spoke faster, his cheeks grew red.

48:40

Put on the armor of God, he cried,

48:43

And you will stand firm against the schemes

48:45

of the devil. Be strong and courageous.

48:47

Do not panic before the enemy, for in every

48:50

battle, the Lord your God will go ahead

48:52

of you. He will never fail you nor abandon

48:55

you. At this, several

48:57

of the men around the room pounded their fists on the tables.

49:00

One man in the back let out a whoop. These

49:02

outbursts inspired other men to cry out

49:04

praise God. Manny glanced

49:06

around, trying to gauge if more or less

49:08

than half of the room was joining in. He

49:10

didn't want to stay quiet, if that was going to look

49:13

weird. But then the pastor went quiet.

49:15

A sense of anticipation filled the room. There

49:18

were about four hundred cadets all dining together

49:20

in this shift, and of course the officer in

49:22

charge, a tall, gangly red head with no chin

49:24

but a strangely beautiful baritone voice,

49:27

led them in prayer before the meal. Manny

49:29

repeated the words after him, but he didn't hear

49:31

them. He did have to elbow Rowland once when

49:33

he saw the big post. Human wasn't chanting along

49:36

with the other soldiers. Just then,

49:38

a pair of big doors to the left of the stage

49:40

swung open. Ditmar walked out

49:42

with a hefty brown canvas bag over his

49:44

shoulder. He was followed by an armed guard and

49:46

then two men in shackles. The captives

49:49

wore striped white prison pajamas, and they

49:51

both looked the worse for wear. One of

49:53

them, a middle aged black man, looked familiar.

49:55

Many thought he must be a captured sd F

49:57

fighter. His lip looked as if it had re simply

50:00

been split, and there was a nasty gash

50:02

on his forehead. He kept his head down and

50:04

his shoulders slumped. His posture was one

50:06

of complete resignation. The other

50:08

man was Manny's heart skipped a beat

50:11

oscar. He'd been beaten

50:13

too, although not as badly as the soldier.

50:15

He looked not so much frightened as bewildered,

50:18

starving, and probably reeling from one or more

50:20

head injuries. Dude Roland

50:22

nudged Manny's rib cage and whispered to him the

50:24

fuck. Many realized his masket

50:27

slipped. He let himself stare in horror

50:29

rather than the excitement evident in everyone else's

50:31

face. No one else seemed to have

50:33

noticed yet, they were all focused on the prisoners.

50:36

But many forced a grim smile onto his

50:38

face and tried to look at least like he was

50:40

deeply satisfied. An armed

50:42

martyr prodded Oscar and the stf man

50:44

in their backs with his rifle and ushered them up

50:46

onto the stage. Dead silence

50:49

reigned over the cafeteria. No one spoke.

50:51

It took Manny a few seconds to realize he

50:53

was actually holding his breath. Once

50:55

the captives were up on stage, the armed martyrs

50:57

pulled them down to their knees. Did Mars

51:00

at his bag down and zipped it and pulled out

51:02

a wooden rod about two feet in length

51:04

and as thick around as Manny's forearm.

51:06

Warriors of God, the priest in toned

51:09

in a low whisper. Manny felt himself lean

51:11

into the man's words, even as dread pickled

51:13

the pit of his stomach. These men appointed

51:15

themselves enemies of our heavenly kingdom, foes

51:18

of God. He raised a hand up to

51:20

Ditmar. His hand shook, but not out of

51:22

fear. He positively vibrated with excitement.

51:25

Who among you will take up the rod and punish

51:27

these men? The chair scraping

51:29

floor, sound of someone standing up very quickly

51:31

rose behind him. Many glanced back

51:34

and saw that one of the men from his cadet group had

51:36

been the first to stand. He was tall, with

51:38

broad, thick shoulders and chest muscles that

51:40

spoke of a youth spent laboring in the field. He

51:42

had thin, dirty blonde hair, a thick jaw,

51:44

and blue eyes that shone with excitement. What's

51:47

your name, Martyr, the priest asked

51:50

Eric Friedman, Sir? The young man cried

51:52

back, Martyr Freedman, Ditmark

51:54

cried out, as he held the rod up. Come forward

51:56

and do the Lord's work. The

51:59

young man walked forward, stepped up onto

52:01

the stage, and took the rod from Ditmar's hand.

52:03

He glanced down at the captives. His eyes

52:05

passed over Oscar and lingered on the battered

52:07

black soldier. Strike a blow for

52:09

the lord. The priest whispered, and Martyr

52:12

Freedman obliged. His first swing was

52:14

weak and sure and poorly aimed. It

52:16

struck the soldier on his shoulder. He didn't

52:18

cry out, Martyr Freedman's second strike

52:20

was harder, suer. He hit the soldier

52:23

right in the gash on his forehead, and the man dropped

52:25

with a muffled cry. Eric hit him

52:27

again and again and again. Ditmar

52:29

grabbed another rod from the bag and held it out.

52:32

Stand up, men of God. The priest's

52:34

voice rose again to a pitch so high it was almost

52:36

a shriek. Step up and be the hands

52:38

of justice. Just for a moment

52:41

Oscar saw him. Surprise, then

52:43

confusion, and then anger passed over the stringer's

52:46

face in the space of about a second. Manny

52:48

didn't want to think about what Oscar saw in his

52:50

face, and then men rushed

52:52

the stage, and Oscar disappeared in the swarm

52:55

of martyrs to be rushing to share in the beatings.

52:57

Roland took the opportunity provided by the else

53:00

to lean back and whisper a question to Manny. It's

53:02

going on, guy, I know that guy,

53:04

the one on the left. Manny whispered back, he's

53:07

one of my stringers. He works for me. He's

53:09

my friend. Roland nodded and

53:11

then stood up and rushed up to the stage.

53:14

By the time he reached it, a dozen other martyrs

53:16

had joined Eric and beating the two captives.

53:18

There was blood on the floor, blood on the sticks, and

53:20

blood splattering the martyr's new uniforms.

53:23

Oscar cried out from each blow. It sounded

53:25

like his mouth was full of blood. And then

53:27

Roland took a rod from Ditmar's hand and

53:29

in the space of a second, brought it down on both

53:31

men's skulls with dull, meaty thuds.

53:34

The soldiers went still, The screaming

53:36

stopped, and every eye in the room turned to

53:38

Roland. The chromed man looked out

53:40

at the crowd. There was an agonizing moment

53:42

of silence, and then Manny knew what he had

53:44

to do. Praise God, he

53:47

screamed out. The room joined in,

53:49

and soon a chorus of cheers filled the cafeteria.

53:52

After that, Roland was everyone's

53:54

favorite martyr. Once the men's bodies

53:56

were dragged off the stage and dinner began, the

53:59

martyrs could barely tain their admiration for

54:01

his strength. That was incredible. Eric

54:03

said, I can't wait to go into battle with

54:05

you. What did you do before, A young

54:07

man with a thick Oklahoma twang asked, from

54:10

the way you cracked those skulls out of guess you've been

54:12

doing that for years. Roland

54:14

gave short, noncommittal responses.

54:16

His taciturn attitude didn't stop the other martyrs

54:18

from talking about him with supreme glee.

54:21

Their words sickened Manny, but their focus

54:23

on Roland gave him a chance to breathe and mourn

54:25

and avoid looking over at the stage while Ditmar's

54:28

men dragged Oscar's body away.

54:30

By the time the excitement had subsided and dinner

54:32

had ended, Manny felt like he could just barely

54:35

make it to his bunk without breaking down. He

54:37

lacked behind Roland and the others as they all filed

54:40

into the barracks. Manny was grateful

54:42

for Roland's ability to draw attention, until

54:44

during the walk that young black martyr

54:46

sidled up to Manny and introduced himself.

54:49

I'm Jonathan, he said, and I'm honored

54:51

to meet you. Why, Manny

54:53

asked, I think you and I were the only

54:56

ones who weren't cheering during that

54:59

ah, Manny said with a nod. He took

55:01

a careful look at Jonathan's face. The other

55:03

man's chubby cheeks and soft smile seemed

55:05

almost calculated to make him look guileless.

55:08

Whatever he says he's one of them. Be

55:10

careful. I understand

55:12

why it was necessary, Manny said, but

55:15

I don't have to like it. Neither do

55:17

I. Jonathan said, we have to fight

55:19

them. We're fighting for God here, after all,

55:21

but we don't have to become monsters. Manny

55:24

nodded, he didn't say anything. Jonathan

55:26

took that as an invitation to say more. I

55:29

think we're going to have a harder time here than

55:31

the others, he said, and gestured to the very

55:33

Caucasian crowd ahead of them. We've

55:35

got a lot to overcome here, but I think

55:38

that just means God will shower more glory

55:40

on us for the effort. Manny

55:42

was proud that, in his sorrowful and half panicked

55:44

state, he managed to avoid shouting what

55:47

the fuck at Jonathan. Instead,

55:49

he matched the martyr smile and just said

55:52

praise God. Their

55:55

next morning started with an hour of calisthenics.

55:57

The workout was strenuous, but Manny actually

56:00

joined it. The speed with which they were dragged

56:02

outside and forced into motion kept him from

56:04

picturing Oscar's face for a while. After

56:06

the workout, they dove into the real meat of the

56:08

day, a trip to the gun range. It

56:11

had been set up on what had once been a marching band's

56:13

practice field. Dozens of vaguely

56:15

human shaped targets had been cut out of sheet metal

56:17

and set up at varying intervals behind a crude

56:19

sandbag line. Their group of about

56:22

two dozen new recruits were each issued weapons

56:24

of varying quality. Manny received

56:26

a jankie old kalashnikov that rattled

56:28

like a Morocca Rowland was given an almost

56:31

knew G thirty six assault rifle. The

56:33

range instructor was a one legged old martyr

56:35

with a prodigious belly and an equally overgrown

56:38

white beard. He walked them through the basics

56:40

of how to operate a variety of different assault

56:42

rifles you can't know what weapon you'll end

56:44

up needing to use, and then set them

56:46

up on the sandbag line and told them to start

56:48

firing. Manny took aim at a

56:50

target around a hundred feet in front of him. It was

56:52

hard to tell if he hit it or not. Several other men

56:55

had aimed at the same target. Again,

56:57

Manny got the feeling that the purpose of this training

56:59

was not to make them marksman. Basic

57:01

familiarity was all the Heavenly Kingdom

57:03

had time to provide. Roland,

57:05

of course, proved a fabulous shot. He

57:07

stitched a smiley face and bullet holes across

57:10

four of the metal targets, and earned genuine

57:12

praise from the instructor. My godson,

57:14

you've got a gift. This only

57:17

increased Roland's social cachet with the martyrs.

57:19

They crowded around him during the walk to the next

57:22

activity of the day, lunch in a lecture

57:24

on assault tactics. This was held

57:26

in a little concrete amphitheater, something that

57:28

had presumably once served the school's drama

57:30

department. Manny tried to sit down

57:32

next to Rowland, but Eric and a gaggle of his

57:34

friends settled around the post human. First, they

57:37

babbled excitedly to him. Manny wasn't

57:39

sure what they were saying, but every time he glanced

57:41

back, Roland looked absolutely miserable.

57:44

Manny wound up in the back, seated next to

57:46

Jonathan. The young martyr, patted his leg.

57:49

Don't worry, brother, he said. It's gonna be

57:51

tough for us to earn their respect, but once we're

57:53

all out in the field together, they'll stop caring about

57:55

your skin. You are sure about

57:57

that, Manny, asked happy he was never going

57:59

to up in the field with any

58:01

of these people. Of course, I am, Jonathan

58:04

said, I grew up in Atlanta. You know, I

58:06

knew it was going to be rough coming out here. But that's

58:08

the sacrifice we make for God. I

58:10

know he's going to bring this nation back together. Tell

58:13

you the truth. I'm honored to be a part of that.

58:16

Jonathan's eyes shone when he spoke he's

58:18

a true believer. Manny realized there's

58:20

not a doubt in his mind that he's doing the right

58:23

thing. That was scary, and

58:25

things got scarier still when their next instructor

58:27

stepped into the amphitheater. The

58:29

man was old and grizzled too. He had

58:31

both his legs, but his right arm was missing below

58:34

the elbow, and a jagged scar ran up

58:36

the left side of his face. The skin

58:38

on most of his forehead was bald and modeled

58:40

as if he'd been badly burned. Afternoon,

58:43

boys, and God bless you. I'm Monicauda's

58:46

Today you're going to learn how to assault a fortified

58:48

position. Most of the strategies

58:50

who walked them through began and ended with the application

58:53

of shoulder fired rockets. And incendiary

58:55

grenades. Manny couldn't help but notice

58:57

that no time was spent talking about how to avoid

58:59

civil and casualties. He wasn't

59:01

even sure specialist carruthers knew how to

59:03

pronounce the word civilian. Remember

59:06

what it says in the Book of Samuel Boys, the

59:08

older man drawled. Now go and strike

59:10

and devote to destruction all that you have.

59:13

Do not spare them, but kill both man and

59:15

woman, child and infant, ox and sheep,

59:17

camel and donkey. He laughed, which

59:19

made a few of the young martyrs comfortable enough to

59:21

laugh too. I don't expect

59:23

you'll run into any camels or donkeys out in

59:25

Austin, but there will be men, women,

59:28

children, and infants. If they stand in your way,

59:30

they all equally deserve to be purged.

59:33

Manny didn't like the eagerness he saw in the

59:35

faces of his fellow students. The pit in

59:37

his stomach grew throughout the day. While martyr

59:39

carruthers explained how to use the various heavy

59:41

munitions they might be called upon to deploy.

59:44

There weren't enough rockets or mortars for them to actually

59:46

train on any of those things. Manny

59:48

wasn't sure how good a gist anyone really got.

59:51

He wondered how much that would matter when these men

59:53

took to the field. He ate

59:55

ravenously at dinner. Thankfully there were

59:57

no executions that day, but Martyr

59:59

did mar did take the stage again and announced

1:00:02

that the busses were ready to take any interested

1:00:04

recruits down to the main drag for a couple of

1:00:06

hours of what passed for R and R. One

1:00:08

of the older martyrs handed everyone ration cards

1:00:11

and explained they were good for either a cup of coffee

1:00:13

or tea, or a small amount of food from one

1:00:15

of the few stores that had opened back up. Fucking

1:00:18

tea, Roland grumbled into Manny's

1:00:20

ear as they headed out for the buses. That's

1:00:22

what these jumped up Puritans consider a recreational

1:00:25

beverage this fucking country. Manny

1:00:27

had noticed the post human growing increasingly

1:00:29

jittery in irritable throughout the day. He'd

1:00:31

seen Roland cautiously cough up another

1:00:34

small bag of pills right before lunch That

1:00:36

had sated him for a while, but considering

1:00:38

his post human metabolism, many thought he

1:00:40

had to be pretty close to sober. I

1:00:42

am so fucking lucid. I can't stand

1:00:44

it, Roland muttered, what is

1:00:46

it with you people and being high all the time?

1:00:49

Manny whispered back, can you stand being

1:00:51

sober for a few days? Not? Am I

1:00:53

gonna help it? Roland said. He pointed

1:00:55

to his head. There's just too much going on in

1:00:57

there, man, too much input. It's like my whole body

1:00:59

it. But I can't scratch ah,

1:01:02

Manny said, since he wasn't sure what else to

1:01:04

say. The bus hit downtown

1:01:06

Plano after twenty minutes or so. It wasn't

1:01:09

an impressive site. There were maybe

1:01:11

a dozen little shops in one cafe open,

1:01:13

plus a pretty sad looking farmer's market.

1:01:15

He could see no signs of any bars, any clubs,

1:01:17

anything that even vaguely resembled nightlife.

1:01:20

The main drag was crowded with people, throngs

1:01:23

of soldiers and young women in long dresses and

1:01:25

new immigrants into the heavenly Kingdom.

1:01:27

Where should we go first, Manny asked. As

1:01:29

soon as they'd filed off the bus, well,

1:01:31

Roland grunted, unless you're in the mood for shake

1:01:34

off for your some rude vegetables, I'd say

1:01:36

we check out that gallows. Manny

1:01:38

had avoided looking too long at the gallows.

1:01:40

It was empty now, but just staring at it made him

1:01:42

feel sick. There was something sinister and unsettling

1:01:45

about the ground beneath it. It was as if he could

1:01:47

feel the death radiating outwards. What

1:01:50

could we possibly learn there, the Big

1:01:52

Man shrugged. Not much. But

1:01:54

if they wind up hanging anyone tonight, I might be able

1:01:57

to sniff out where they're keeping the prisoners. That'd

1:01:59

be useful data. Well, I'm gonna

1:02:01

be useless for that, Manny said, What should

1:02:03

I do? Oh? Man grabbed some coffee?

1:02:06

What Roland locked eyes with him.

1:02:08

He didn't do that often. His gaze was normally

1:02:10

as shifty and juddery as the rest of him. Look,

1:02:13

kid, you've done a great job above and beyond the collie

1:02:15

and a duty or whatever, and you're good company too.

1:02:18

But I got half a dozen satellites worth a sensory

1:02:20

equipment in my brain and hundreds of wee bitty

1:02:22

microscopic robots floating around the

1:02:24

air feeding me news. There's really

1:02:26

not much for you to do here. Chill out, find

1:02:28

whatever passes for relaxation here and do

1:02:30

it. I'll get you when it's time to go. Manny

1:02:33

started to protest, but then he thought, oh

1:02:36

the hell, he's right, I'm useless. I've

1:02:38

earned a cup of flavorless gringo coffee.

1:02:40

So we thanked Roland and headed off in the direction

1:02:42

of the strip's functioning coffee house, the Cafe

1:02:45

Clement. It looked like it was less crowded

1:02:47

than the others. As he reached for the door, some

1:02:49

one slammed into him. She was a

1:02:51

young blonde, younger than Manny at any rate.

1:02:53

She wore baggy surgical scrubs. Her

1:02:56

jaw was tight and clenched. Her brown eyes

1:02:58

were wide with fear, and there were deep eggs

1:03:00

under them. Oh oh my, she

1:03:02

said, I'm so sorry, sir. Please let me. It's

1:03:04

okay. Manny said, no damage done. Are

1:03:06

you all right? You look terrified.

1:03:09

I'm just just trying to avoid someone.

1:03:11

It's nothing serious. Manny wasn't

1:03:14

sure why, but he pulled the ration cards he'd been

1:03:16

given out of his pocket and offered one to the stranger.

1:03:18

Here, if you want, we can grab a table together

1:03:20

and I'll sit with my back to the door. You're not

1:03:23

big, I can block you. She

1:03:25

looked surprised and a little hesitant, but

1:03:27

after a few blinks she nodded and said, I

1:03:30

actually appreciate that a lot. Thank God

1:03:32

for you, sir. Oh yeah, Manny

1:03:34

agreed, praise him. They

1:03:36

sat and ordered coffee. The young woman kept

1:03:38

craning her neck around Manny to peek at the door

1:03:41

behind them. Look, I'm not

1:03:43

going to ask what's up with you? But can I get your name?

1:03:45

At least that might make this less awkward. I'm

1:03:47

man U Emmanuel Manny

1:03:49

for short, Sasha, she

1:03:51

said, I just got here a few days

1:03:53

ago. You this is my second

1:03:56

day. She looked surprised. I

1:03:58

wouldn't have guessed what with the form,

1:04:00

he laughed. It a turns out

1:04:03

they just hand these to anyone whole hold a gun. I didn't

1:04:05

even really have a choice. Well, if

1:04:07

that's where you wound up, I'm sure it's where the Lord

1:04:09

wants you. Praise God for that. She

1:04:12

didn't seem like she was joking, but there was

1:04:14

something about her tone and the way her jaw and never

1:04:16

unclenched that made Manny suspect she was a little

1:04:18

less than convinced about her own words. For

1:04:20

the next few minutes, they talked in between SIPs

1:04:22

of mediocre coffee. He learned

1:04:24

she was from the American Federation and enough

1:04:26

of a true believer that she'd smuggled herself

1:04:28

into the Heavenly Kingdom. She didn't

1:04:31

seem like a zella though. More than anything,

1:04:33

she seemed scared. How

1:04:35

do you like it here? He finally asked, Is

1:04:37

it what you'd expected? She didn't

1:04:39

respond for quite a while. Instead, she

1:04:42

stared into his eyes. Manny stared

1:04:44

back. It was a strange feeling. She

1:04:46

must have been trying to search out whether he was trustworthy

1:04:48

or trying to trick her into revealing her disloyalty.

1:04:51

He maintained eye contact and tried not to

1:04:53

seem like a member of whatever the Heavenly Kingdom

1:04:55

called their secret police. Apparently

1:04:58

it worked. Of course, I'm happy here

1:05:00

in God's Kingdom, she smiled, an empty

1:05:02

smile. I've been blessed to meet so many

1:05:04

dedicated people, but um, I've also

1:05:06

met some people who am I am well,

1:05:08

she coughed. Not everyone

1:05:10

here seems to have the Lord in their heart. Manny

1:05:14

almost laughed at the irony and her admitting

1:05:16

that to him, but he kept his mouth shut

1:05:18

and just nodded. Sasha took a long sip

1:05:20

of her coffee. He felt a little bad for staring.

1:05:23

She was very pretty, but she was also

1:05:25

pretty young, and of course she'd volunteered

1:05:27

to join a theocratic murder state. That was

1:05:29

probably another reason he shouldn't get too attached.

1:05:33

So anyway, Sasha explained, I've

1:05:35

run into some men I don't like very much, and

1:05:37

they keep finding me when I get off from my shift at

1:05:39

the hospital. I'm sure they're waiting outside

1:05:41

the house of where I'm staying right now.

1:05:44

I just don't want to deal with that again. Well,

1:05:47

Manny smiled his most charming smile. I'm

1:05:49

happy to help you wait them out. I've got another

1:05:51

hour at least before the buses take us back to

1:05:53

the barracks. And

1:05:55

so for a while they just talked. She told

1:05:57

him about her work in the hospital, and he tried to

1:06:00

say as little as possible about his two shitty

1:06:02

days as a martyr. Sasha didn't seem

1:06:04

to mind that he didn't have much to say about himself.

1:06:07

Manny got the feelings she was just happy to have

1:06:09

someone to talk with. Most of her words

1:06:11

passed over him until she mentioned something about

1:06:14

a prisoner. She's from one of the road,

1:06:16

people from some moving city with an obscene

1:06:18

name, and she's pregnant. So I'll be seeing

1:06:20

her again tomorrow, probably to do a more thorough

1:06:22

examination. I feel weird about

1:06:24

it. She was so strange, so different from

1:06:26

anyone I've met, but I really don't like Wait,

1:06:29

a prisoner is this at the hospital? Sasha

1:06:32

seemed confused by that question, and Manny worried

1:06:34

he might have overplayed his hand. Why

1:06:36

do you The rest of her question was

1:06:38

cut off by the sound of a bullhorn outside.

1:06:41

Manny couldn't make out most of what was being

1:06:43

said until he heard prisoners and

1:06:46

SDF in an electronically distorted

1:06:48

Southern drawl. Oh no, Sasha

1:06:50

moaned, what what are they talking about?

1:06:53

It's another execution. Manny

1:06:55

stood up and stepped towards the door. He

1:06:58

had to see who it was. Even wore he

1:07:00

got there, a terrible feeling had started to

1:07:02

boil up in the pit of his gut. He pushed

1:07:04

the door open, jogged towards the gallows,

1:07:06

and pushed his way back through the crowd. He

1:07:09

could see Roland standing twenty feet off

1:07:11

to the left from the wooden platform, but Manny's

1:07:13

eyes were focused on the four men and two women

1:07:15

in shackles at the foot of the gallows. Five

1:07:18

of them were strangers. The sixth

1:07:20

was Mr. Coron Chapter

1:07:30

seventeen Roland.

1:07:33

Roland smelled the execution before it

1:07:35

started. There's been a lot of strong smells

1:07:38

in downtown Plano when he arrived. Gunpowder

1:07:40

and sour, fierceweat, the acrid stink

1:07:42

of anxiety, and the warm, wet odors

1:07:44

of grief and confusion. He'd smelled

1:07:46

the stale reek of military rations, the

1:07:49

sharp pang of anemia, and the boiling hot

1:07:51

testosterone that wafted off the martyrs

1:07:53

like a jet stream. But a half

1:07:55

hour into his time downtown, something else

1:07:57

had drifted over the packed masses of refugees

1:08:00

in pilgrims and militiamen. It was hard

1:08:02

to define a bit of tension, a bit of anticipation.

1:08:05

The odor was faint enough to suggest something

1:08:07

unconscious, a collective emotion, the

1:08:09

aggregate scent of a crowd of people who weren't

1:08:12

consciously aware of how they felt. There

1:08:14

was no neurotransmitter, no pheromone

1:08:16

he could identify. In particular. This

1:08:18

scent was more elusive. He was only

1:08:20

able to lock it down through the memory fragments

1:08:23

that triggered col gray sky, a

1:08:25

biting chill in the air. Hundreds of men and women

1:08:27

bundled up, clustered around barrel fires,

1:08:29

everyone talking, excitement in their voices.

1:08:31

Anxiety on the air mingled with the gun

1:08:33

oil, and anticipation something was

1:08:36

about to happen. A few

1:08:38

seconds later, the scent of anxious anticipation

1:08:40

started to rise. Roland heard the

1:08:42

deep bouncing thrumb of heavy rubber wheels

1:08:44

on pavement. His hind brain tied the sound

1:08:47

to a particular species of obsolete armored

1:08:49

personnel carrier originally manufactured

1:08:51

in Bulgaria. After following

1:08:54

its route for several seconds, his hind brain guessed

1:08:56

the a PC was bound for the main square.

1:08:59

Roland spent the net a few minutes, jockeying

1:09:01

for a good position close to the gallows. He

1:09:03

wasn't sure that's where the convoy was headed.

1:09:05

It seemed like a good guest, though, and he was

1:09:07

quickly proven right when the APC pulled up

1:09:10

to a stop just a hundred feet away. The

1:09:12

crowd stopped and gawked as the heavy doors

1:09:14

slid open. Soldiers in full body armor

1:09:16

stepped out, dragging six men and women and honest

1:09:18

to God, manacles and chains out into the

1:09:21

dying light. The captives

1:09:23

were all l stf. Roland didn't even

1:09:25

have to make an educated guess on that one. The

1:09:27

heavenly Kingdom had made sure to address them. In their

1:09:29

tattered and bloodstained uniforms. They

1:09:31

were all of them emaciated and

1:09:34

broken looking. The evidence of torture

1:09:36

was so clear that Roland's enhanced eyes

1:09:38

weren't even necessary. The captives

1:09:40

had broken, bleeding finger nails, black

1:09:42

eyes, painful limps, and feet that looked

1:09:44

like they could barely stand to touch the ground.

1:09:47

One of the martyrs, a tall man wearing a red

1:09:49

beret instead of a combat helmet, strode

1:09:51

ahead of the group. He had a voice hamp in

1:09:54

one hand. He raised the other up in the air

1:09:56

in a prayerful gesture that was matched by

1:09:58

most of the crowd. Brothers are the sistas,

1:10:00

the martyr's voice boomed. Today the Lord

1:10:02

and his loyal soldiers have delivered unto you

1:10:05

a blessing it The crowd tightened

1:10:07

around Rowland. He could see here feel

1:10:09

as people rushed out from the cafes and shops

1:10:11

to watch. The fear and excitement

1:10:13

was so thick in the air. Roland was sure even unmodified

1:10:16

humans could have sensed it. Here we have

1:10:18

six prisoners from the s DF the

1:10:21

martyr began. These men and women

1:10:23

were all captured in the last week. Rather

1:10:25

than accept their defeat, they chose to fight

1:10:27

as insurgents against the heavenly kingdom.

1:10:30

God and his martyrs are merciful, but

1:10:32

these sinners have spat on that mercy.

1:10:34

Now it is our privilege to execute upon

1:10:37

them the judgment written this honor. Have

1:10:39

all his saints praise ye

1:10:41

the Lord. A ragged cheer

1:10:43

went up from the crowd. Many of the assembled

1:10:46

sounded less than enthusiastic, at least

1:10:48

to Roland's ears, but there were still dozens and

1:10:50

dozens of voices full of reckless hate. The

1:10:52

prisoners marched forward with their escort, every

1:10:55

nearer to the gallows. Roland's ear tingled,

1:10:57

and he sensed Manny's presence out in the street.

1:10:59

Now the kid smelled afraid, with a

1:11:01

faint, fading tinge of permonal arousal

1:11:04

humh. Roland backed away and escaped

1:11:06

the main press of the crowd. In a few seconds

1:11:08

he was behind Manny, and he put a hand on the fixer's

1:11:11

back. The young man jumped and then shot

1:11:13

rolland a furious look hell Manny

1:11:15

caught himself and instead pointed up to the line

1:11:18

of doomed men and women. Roland, I

1:11:20

know that. Hey, a girl ran up

1:11:22

to them. She smelled scared too, but the scent

1:11:24

was much deeper on her, sunken into her

1:11:26

skin. She'd been scared for quite

1:11:28

some time. She seemed to know Manny, and he

1:11:30

definitely knew her Sasha,

1:11:33

Manny said, I'm sorry, I just needed to. He

1:11:35

paused, shook his head, and then put a hand on Roland's

1:11:38

shoulder. This is my comrade,

1:11:40

Martyr Erin. We fled here together once

1:11:43

the SDF retreated from Farmer's branch.

1:11:45

Aaron, This is Sasha. It's

1:11:47

good to meet you, Martyr Aaron, she said, and

1:11:49

flashed him an anxious smile. I'm

1:11:52

so glad God's grace has brought us all together.

1:11:55

Oh yeah, Roland said, in his most convincing

1:11:57

voice. God soa so good. I'm really

1:11:59

just he gestured toward the

1:12:01

gallows. I'm a psych to see this. Oh,

1:12:04

look crossed over her face, disgust

1:12:06

mixed with building anxiety. She was dressed

1:12:09

to play the part of the good Christian woman, her

1:12:11

hair done up in a tasteful bun, her face unadorned

1:12:13

by make up, her sleeves long and her clothing

1:12:15

baggy, but her scent didn't lie. It

1:12:17

suggested she was pretty far from all in

1:12:20

on this whole heavenly Kingdom thing. You're

1:12:23

ah not excited to see God's justice,

1:12:25

Rollin asked the young woman

1:12:27

frowned and shook her head. I understand

1:12:30

the necessity of such brute of such extreme

1:12:32

measures, but I don't have to like it, Manny,

1:12:35

do you? She started to ask Manny something,

1:12:37

but the young man broke off from their little group

1:12:39

and darted forward towards the gallows. Oh,

1:12:42

Sasha finished in surprise. I'll

1:12:45

h I'll go check on him. Roland

1:12:47

said, it's a probably best if you

1:12:49

wait here. Huh. She looked confused,

1:12:51

but she nodded. Roland followed behind

1:12:53

Manny and caught up to him. About four people deep

1:12:55

into the growing crowd around the scaffold. The

1:12:57

fixer's eyes were locked on one of the stf

1:13:00

prisoners, a middle aged man with a prominent

1:13:02

black mustache and a look of courageous resignation

1:13:04

in his brown eyes. He stood in the

1:13:06

middle of the gallows, calm as a stone in the ocean,

1:13:08

while one of the martyrs fitted a noose around his neck,

1:13:12

Manny, Roland said, that's Mr

1:13:14

Barrowne. Manny said, someone you

1:13:16

know. Then Manny swallowed

1:13:18

and nodded his head. Tears threatened at the corners

1:13:20

of his watery eyes. Roland felt

1:13:22

like it would probably be a good idea to get the kid

1:13:24

away from the gallows before he did something

1:13:27

stupid. Roland's hind brain helpfully

1:13:29

informed him that there were only around sixty armed

1:13:31

men in the whole square, but he also knew

1:13:33

there were one hundred and eighty three armed men within

1:13:35

a mile of their current position. If ship

1:13:37

started now, it wouldn't end for a while. Roland

1:13:40

put a hand on Manny's shoulder. We

1:13:42

have to do something, Manny said, What

1:13:45

do you want me to do? Roland asked,

1:13:47

Rush up there, beat that red barred fun I get

1:13:49

with an own side arm, and then cock punched the rest of him

1:13:51

into submission. You can beat

1:13:54

them, Manny said, yeah.

1:13:56

Roland nodded. But if I do, that's

1:13:58

the end of the mission and probably the end of

1:14:00

those hostages. I can't save your buddy, and

1:14:02

you probably even that girl if she wants to come.

1:14:05

But the Kingdom's going to assume some monster

1:14:07

man from rolling fucked just terrorism

1:14:09

them. They'll bury those captives too deep for

1:14:11

us to find. And then Austin's as fucked

1:14:13

as a blind pussy in a dick forest. A

1:14:15

man the crowd turned and stared at Roland

1:14:18

volume. Man volume. Roland

1:14:20

guessed he'd heard just the tail end of his last sentence.

1:14:23

The word pussy had probably piqued his ears.

1:14:25

Before the man could say anything, Roland pointed

1:14:27

towards the gallows and let out aloud whoop,

1:14:30

followed by a Praise God, Praise

1:14:32

God. The inadvertent eavesdropper

1:14:34

started cheering along with him and turned back to the

1:14:36

impending execution. Roland

1:14:38

turned back to Manny. The boy was quiet,

1:14:41

his face controlled, but fat tears ran down

1:14:43

his cheeks and his shoulders shook with silent sobs.

1:14:46

Roland directed him back away from the worst

1:14:48

of the crowd. Mr Pirrone baked

1:14:50

the cake for my twelfth birthday. Manny whispered.

1:14:52

He showed us Monty Python, he dropped us

1:14:54

off at soccer practice. Manny

1:14:57

had started to babble. He smelled on the edge

1:14:59

of an outright pa nick attack. Roland's

1:15:01

hind brains started to identify potential improvised

1:15:03

weaponry options among the crowd. He settled

1:15:06

on a small, thick set man He's got

1:15:08

a real denscranium, good weight distribution.

1:15:10

He'll make a great club. Roland

1:15:12

shook himself out of it. Then he tried to shake

1:15:14

Manny out of it by literally shaking

1:15:17

him by the shoulders. Hey, listen,

1:15:19

you're friend up there. It's gonna die or

1:15:21

a lot of other people are going to die. Those are

1:15:23

the two options. I know it sucks, I

1:15:25

know it's ship, but we cannot fix this.

1:15:27

If you stay calm, though, we can fix something

1:15:30

worse. Do you understand me. Manny's

1:15:33

eyes came unglazed, The flow of tears

1:15:35

slowed, then stopped. It was an impressive

1:15:37

feed of willpower. Most people didn't

1:15:39

have that kind of control over their emotions. Roland

1:15:42

had to guess Manny's work as a fixer had at

1:15:44

least prepared him to function in the middle of a waking

1:15:46

nightmare. Okay, the kid

1:15:48

said, but I have to watch. Roland

1:15:51

wanted to argue, but one look at Manny's

1:15:53

eyes made it clear that arguing wouldn't do

1:15:55

any good, So instead he stood

1:15:57

there next to Manny and kept his hand on the

1:15:59

boy a shoulder until the terrible thing was

1:16:01

done. It was as ghastly as these things

1:16:04

always were. Most of the crowd cheered

1:16:06

every snapneck, every jerk of a dying

1:16:08

soldier's legs. Shock Waves

1:16:10

of memory racked Roland's mind at the sight.

1:16:12

He felt warm spring hair blow across his

1:16:14

cold chest. He saw a small sea of familiar

1:16:17

strangers, men and women he'd known once upon a

1:16:19

bloodier day. He felt a big gun

1:16:21

kick in his hands. He felt a warm splash

1:16:23

of blood across his chest and face. He

1:16:25

heard the heavy final thump of a tiny body

1:16:27

heading the ground. He saw Topaz, She

1:16:29

looked ill. He saw skullfucker Mike with

1:16:31

a hand on her shoulder. He heard Jim's voice,

1:16:34

make sure the camera's catch this next

1:16:36

one. Jim cried, We've got

1:16:38

an honest to god Shaney with us today.

1:16:41

Back in the present, Roland watched as Manny's

1:16:43

friends turn came around. Manny

1:16:46

swallowed, his face went pale. Tears

1:16:48

streamed down the boy's face, and Roland felt a

1:16:50

sudden, peculiar urge to bury him in a hug.

1:16:52

He did not do that, though. Roland just stood

1:16:54

still with a firm hand on Manny's shoulder while

1:16:56

they tightened the noose around mister Perrone's

1:16:59

neck and dropped him down own to hang until he

1:17:01

was dead, dead dead. Roland

1:17:03

was proud of how straight Manny stood, how the boy

1:17:05

held back from sobbing, and how once the sad

1:17:07

spectacle was over, Manny turned back around

1:17:10

and headed towards the Christian girl, Sasha.

1:17:12

She still stood where they had left her. Roland could

1:17:15

tell she'd been crying too, although she'd

1:17:17

taken some pains to describe it. She was

1:17:19

hard to get a read on that one. She struck him

1:17:21

as one of the faithful, but she didn't strike him as

1:17:23

a nut. Maybe she just gotten suckered

1:17:25

into this awful place. Roland could surely

1:17:27

understand that. He was pretty sure he'd

1:17:29

been suckered into dumber things. Praise

1:17:32

God, she said, with hesitation. Praise

1:17:36

God, Manny responded. Roland

1:17:38

didn't say much. She gave him a look, but

1:17:40

not an angry one. That was

1:17:42

she locked eyes with Manny. Roland was pretty

1:17:45

sure she'd blocked the rest of the world out. She

1:17:47

must have seen the signs of his tears too. She

1:17:49

coughed a little and continued, that was awful.

1:17:52

I know it's necessary, but I'll never

1:17:54

stop hating that. It's

1:17:56

a good thing to hate, Manny said.

1:17:58

And then, look, we you have to get back

1:18:00

to base. Curfuse coming up soon.

1:18:03

But if you want to hide from those undesirables

1:18:06

tomorrow, I'll be waiting outside the cafe.

1:18:09

They kept talking, but what they said was beyond

1:18:11

Roland's interest. He was busy listening as

1:18:13

the prison convoy drove off. Now that

1:18:15

he knew the sound of the prisoner transport a PC

1:18:18

urally tracing it back to its origin point

1:18:20

was child's play. Aaron Manny's

1:18:23

voice jerked his attention back to the conversation

1:18:25

happening in front of him. We should probably

1:18:27

go, Manny said. The busses

1:18:29

will leave soon. Oh ship, surely,

1:18:33

surely right, right, surely right, we should

1:18:35

go. Roland smiled at Sasha. It

1:18:38

was lovely to meet you. Good evening. He

1:18:40

put a hand on Manny's shoulder, and together they

1:18:42

headed off to the buses. Manny only

1:18:44

stopped twice to cry. Manny

1:18:47

didn't say much the rest of the night. Roland

1:18:50

was proud of him for holding back his tears during the

1:18:52

bus ride, and they walked to the barracks, the

1:18:54

kid broke down as soon as he got into bed, of course,

1:18:56

but he kept his sobs silent, and Roland was pretty

1:18:59

sure none of the other roots noticed. It

1:19:01

helped that they were all exhausted. At the end of the day,

1:19:04

Roland puked up, then popped a handful of

1:19:06

ambient and percocets and washed them down with

1:19:08

a tall glass of the beer he'd brewed in his own

1:19:10

guts. He offered Manny some, but the

1:19:12

boy declined, so Roland had a second glass,

1:19:14

and then a third. It wasn't enough to get him

1:19:16

wasted, but the cocktail of drugs did a tolerable

1:19:19

job of leading him into unconsciousness.

1:19:21

He drifted off to sleep an hour or so after

1:19:23

the rest of the men in the barracks. The

1:19:26

next day was more army style bullshit

1:19:29

push ups and wind sprints in a big dumb obstacle

1:19:31

course. Roland had to be real careful to

1:19:33

act challenged. As the day went on, he

1:19:35

instructed his body to elevate his blood

1:19:37

pressure and temperature, to flush his face red

1:19:40

with blood, and to send enough sweat from his pores to

1:19:42

make a passable imitation of exertion. It

1:19:44

was tedious and he hated it, but the first half

1:19:46

of the day went by pretty fast. Then

1:19:48

it was time for a close quarters firefight

1:19:51

drill. The men were given actual rifles sans

1:19:53

ammunition, and divided up into assault teams.

1:19:56

They spent the next five hours taking turns defending

1:19:58

or attacking different rooms in an old apartment

1:20:00

complex that had been commandeered by the Heavenly Kingdom.

1:20:03

There was a lot of shouting from instructors who sure

1:20:05

as ship wanted the recruits to think they knew more about

1:20:07

urban warfare than they did. At

1:20:09

the end of one particularly long set of door

1:20:12

bridging drills, one of the instructors dropped to his

1:20:14

knees and started chanting in tongues. He seemed

1:20:16

to be celebrating that one of his slowest squads

1:20:18

had finally nailed a textbook entry.

1:20:20

Roland wasn't sure what the hell to make of it. The

1:20:23

man almost smelled like he was having a schizophrenic

1:20:25

break. The heavy wash of neurotransmitters

1:20:27

wafting off him made it clear this wasn't just some

1:20:29

gesture for show. He seemed legitimately

1:20:32

overcome with joy. Other soldiers

1:20:34

and even a couple of instructors started kneeling

1:20:36

around him. They were all chanting in some strange

1:20:39

language. The first instructor kept

1:20:41

repeating what sounded like hom noshkalashka,

1:20:43

hom nosh kalashka. Roland's heidenbrain

1:20:45

knew a lot of languages, but this sounded like nonsense

1:20:48

to him. He noticed the speech patterns of

1:20:50

each chanting man were pretty consistent with American

1:20:52

English. The actual words were gibberish,

1:20:54

though, and many grabbed him by the shoulder

1:20:56

and pushed gently down. Roland

1:20:59

took the hint and then took knee. The kids

1:21:01

started to chant in a low voice Latish

1:21:04

killa, josepha Tinchala. It

1:21:06

was more gibberish, but Roland followed suit. He

1:21:08

started to spit out nonsense of his own, and a tone

1:21:10

low enough that it didn't rise above the din of chanting

1:21:12

maniacs. Manny's strategy, he

1:21:14

realized, was to make big, exaggerated mouth

1:21:17

motions without actually speaking at a high volume.

1:21:19

It made him look right without drawing any attention.

1:21:22

The whole weird scene went on for a little over

1:21:24

two minutes. Eventually, the instructor stopped

1:21:26

chanting and lay on his back, sweaty and spent.

1:21:29

The other soldiers seemed to have ended their fits in

1:21:31

the same way. Roland could tell from

1:21:33

their heart rates and body temperature that about half of

1:21:35

the men had been faking it, just like he and Manny.

1:21:38

The humid stink of guilt was heavy in the air.

1:21:40

Roland's heart went out for them. It must

1:21:42

be agony to believe so hard and something

1:21:44

so dumb that you'd castigate yourself for not

1:21:47

buying into it enough. After that

1:21:49

they filed into the mess hall. They said their prayers

1:21:51

ate their dinners, and then queued up for the buses downtown.

1:21:54

The ride was uneventful, and the instant their feet

1:21:56

hit the square, Manny went off to find Sasha.

1:21:59

Roland shook his head in appreciation for the all

1:22:01

consuming power of human desire, and then bounded

1:22:03

off to check out the presumed location of the jail.

1:22:06

It was about a three mile jog. At full

1:22:08

speed, Roland could have cleared the distance in a few minutes,

1:22:11

but a low profile was the name of the game. He

1:22:13

stuck to a fast walk and kept to the shadows

1:22:15

and alleys as best he could. Plano hadn't

1:22:17

been a very dense city before the martyrs had taken

1:22:19

over, so there were a lot of times where he was basically

1:22:21

out in the open. He had to trust that his uniform,

1:22:24

in the general state of chaos and the newly founded

1:22:26

Kingdom would obscure him. This was

1:22:28

the first look he'd gotten of the Kingdom on foot,

1:22:30

Roland decided he didn't care much for it. There

1:22:33

was a great deal of foot and vehicle traffic, but most

1:22:35

of the people seemed to be either soldiers or refugees

1:22:38

without anywhere else to go. He passed

1:22:40

two checkpoints where twitchy looking martyrs

1:22:42

performed data scans on decks and personal

1:22:44

hard drives. He even saw one soldier

1:22:46

sorting through paperback books in the trunk of some

1:22:48

poor fox car. Roland noticed

1:22:51

several white vans with black crosses painted on

1:22:53

the side. They cruised the streets, clearly

1:22:55

on patrol for something. He watched

1:22:57

one stop in front of a family of refugees

1:22:59

heavy with back packs and carrying intake papers

1:23:01

in their hands. Men in white jumpsuits

1:23:03

with gold cross badges piled out and surrounded

1:23:06

the family. Roland concealed himself

1:23:08

behind a dumpster and watched as the patriarch

1:23:10

of the family handed them his papers and spoke

1:23:12

in a frantic, animated tone. One

1:23:14

of the men pointed at his daughter, who wore a stained

1:23:17

T shirt and a ragged pair of denim shorts.

1:23:19

They were baggy and hardly stylish, but the

1:23:21

men in the jumpsuits seemed furious. They

1:23:23

pointed and shouted. The man put his hands in

1:23:25

the air and tried to say something, but one of the jumpsuited

1:23:28

men smashed his head with a cane. Cold

1:23:30

rage bubbled up inside Roland. Fuck

1:23:33

this place, he simmered to himself, Fuck

1:23:35

these jinkiest throwback fundamentalists and their

1:23:37

fascist bullshit. He wanted

1:23:39

to charge out from behind the dumpster and tear into

1:23:41

these low rent his bomb motherfucker's. He

1:23:43

wanted to shove those thick wooden rods so far

1:23:45

up their asses they'd be shipping splinters for weeks.

1:23:48

The mission, he reminded himself, the fucking

1:23:50

mission, And so he watched as

1:23:53

the men in white beat the old guy. He

1:23:55

watched as they pulled the poor bastard's daughter into

1:23:57

a van and forced a hideous gray woolen dress

1:23:59

over her head. It didn't fit, and

1:24:01

it looked liable to give her heat stroke in the late

1:24:03

Texas summer. She didn't fight them, though.

1:24:06

Roland moved on reluctantly and found

1:24:08

what his hind brain suspected was the old jail.

1:24:11

The a PCs he'd seen last night were parked out

1:24:13

front. The compound was guarded and busy. Roland

1:24:16

counted fourteen guards just outside.

1:24:18

Mind you, there were human guards, no powered

1:24:20

armor, no heavy artillery, nothing at

1:24:22

hand that could do much more than tickle him.

1:24:24

They wouldn't present a danger, but they would cause

1:24:27

a hell of a lot of noise if he attempted a daylight

1:24:29

prison break. He scrambled up onto

1:24:31

a half collapsed condo building that had been abandoned

1:24:33

after a heavy mortar shell gutted the inside.

1:24:36

It provided a good view of the jail. For the next

1:24:38

hour, Roland just watched. His hindbrain

1:24:40

mapped the pattern of the guard rotations and noted

1:24:43

the security protocols they followed when each

1:24:45

new vehicle arrived. He took a lot

1:24:47

of deep breaths and gradually pulled enough

1:24:49

sense from inside the jail to have a decent idea

1:24:51

of how many people were in there. He'd

1:24:53

never smelled Marigold or the other rolling

1:24:56

negotiators before, but his nose picked

1:24:58

up on three people with a handful of to market

1:25:00

modifications. Most of the martyrs

1:25:02

he'd met had been limited to civilian grade healing

1:25:04

sweets and sensory upgrades. It was a

1:25:06

safe bet that these were their targets. Then, and

1:25:09

you've got the message. Put down the phone.

1:25:12

Roland wasn't sure where or when he'd heard that aphorism,

1:25:14

but it came into his head, and a moment later

1:25:17

he realized the sun was pretty low in the sky.

1:25:19

It'd be bus time soon. He headed back through

1:25:21

the high shadows and across the cracked and bullet

1:25:24

scarred boulevards until he was able to merge

1:25:26

back into the evening crowd at the square. Manny

1:25:28

and the Christian girl had moved on from the cafe

1:25:31

by that point. He actually ran into them in front

1:25:33

of some building with a sign that identified it as

1:25:35

the House of Miriam. They were saying weird,

1:25:37

chaste, religiously goodbyes, Oh

1:25:40

hello Aaron. Sasha smiled when she

1:25:42

saw him. Manny turned around and flashed

1:25:44

him a weary smile too. Roland

1:25:46

could see pain in the kid's eyes, but it was at least

1:25:48

cut with a bit of arousal. He decided

1:25:51

that was a good thing. Ever since Oscar's

1:25:53

death, Manny had been writing the line between function

1:25:55

and complete emotional collapse. He

1:25:57

decided to encourage the fixer's weird friendship

1:26:00

with the Christian girl. Hey, Roland

1:26:02

said, how is the guffey? Smelled

1:26:04

like it was mostly chickory and food die when I walked

1:26:07

by earlier. But maybe they sold you all the good stuff

1:26:10

they did not, Manny said, you

1:26:12

must be blessed with an exceptional nose. Sasha

1:26:14

said, and gave him an odd look. Then she asked,

1:26:17

what did you get up to? I checked

1:26:20

out the farmer's market. Roland lied,

1:26:22

I'll tell you what. Some uh, some good freaking

1:26:24

cucumbers up in there. That's where I

1:26:27

was cucumbers. Sasha's odd

1:26:29

look deepened. Manny brought a hand up to the bridge

1:26:31

of his nose and needed his brow and frustration.

1:26:34

We should head back to the buses. I'll I'll

1:26:36

see tomorrow, Sasha. Yeah, yes,

1:26:38

of course, Sasha replied with a genuine

1:26:40

smile. If this was a sane

1:26:42

world, Roland thought the two of them would have had

1:26:44

a real date by now. But this was the

1:26:46

Heavenly Kingdom. They were surrounded by extremist

1:26:49

militants, and Sasha probably wasn't even allowed

1:26:51

to look at condoms. Also, she's one

1:26:53

of those militants, Roland reminded himself.

1:26:56

He let the kids say their goodbyes and then walked

1:26:58

back to the bus with Manny. The had seemed

1:27:00

unsettled. I feel like I'm making a

1:27:02

real dumb decision, he said, what

1:27:05

Roland asked, talking with that girl? Manny

1:27:07

shrugged. She's told me all she knows about those

1:27:09

prisoners already. But we're supposed to meet

1:27:11

at the one shitty cafe in this town tomorrow.

1:27:13

I know it's stupid, but I kind of want to make that meeting.

1:27:16

Why is it stupid, Rowland asked. They

1:27:18

had to drop their voices a little as they drew closer

1:27:21

to the line for the buses, because

1:27:23

Manny said, we're not going to be here long. Sasha

1:27:25

confirmed, our people are in the jail, and you scattered

1:27:27

it out today, right yup, So

1:27:30

we're confirmed twice over. It's time to do

1:27:32

this thing and get out. I don't have time to eat

1:27:34

shitty food with a pretty girl. Roland

1:27:36

turned and fixed his eyes on Manny's. He leaned

1:27:39

in until their noses were almost touching, and

1:27:41

then he poked the boy's chest with his index finger

1:27:43

for emphasis while he spoke Emmanuel

1:27:46

Sanche's listen to me, there is always

1:27:48

time to eat shitty food with a pretty girl. Fuck

1:27:51

the war, funk, what's a good idea? Go eat

1:27:53

some garbage and stare into her eyes. Do

1:27:55

something human in this in human place. Late

1:27:57

night will be a better time for the rescue anyway. Manny

1:28:00

was silent for several long seconds, then

1:28:02

he said okay. The

1:28:06

next day started with more pete as

1:28:08

usual, Then it rolled right into an extra

1:28:10

long trip to the firing range. In three more hours

1:28:12

of close AsSalt drills, Roland found

1:28:14

himself disgusted by the Kingdom's tactics.

1:28:17

Their go to was to dump heavy artillery on

1:28:19

any embedded resistance. No heed

1:28:21

was paid to the civilian cost. They were

1:28:23

fine having untrained kids lob mortars

1:28:25

in decrowded neighborhoods. The Lord

1:28:28

will recognize his own. Martyr Carruthers

1:28:30

had said over and over again that

1:28:33

evening before the dinner prayer, the raspy voiced

1:28:35

priest, the raspy voiced priest came

1:28:37

by to speak to all the recruits in the chow hall.

1:28:40

Roland missed Martyr Ditmar's introduction of the

1:28:42

priest. He was too busy puking up and surreptitiously

1:28:44

eating his last bag of drugs, but his

1:28:46

ears perked up when the wild haired old nut fuck

1:28:49

launched into his speech. The burdens

1:28:51

placed upon the warriors of God are great.

1:28:53

You men have sworn yourselves to a ponderous

1:28:56

duty, but that duty does not end on

1:28:58

the battlefield. If the heaven a kingdom

1:29:00

is to remain and expand, we will need

1:29:02

you to fight in the field and with your

1:29:04

other God given attributes. This

1:29:07

elicited a dim chorus of chuckles from

1:29:09

the audience. It took Roland an embarrassing

1:29:11

amount of time to realize what the preacher was talking

1:29:14

about. Not jeez, this speech

1:29:16

is about fucking. The Lord commands

1:29:18

us to be fruitful and multiplied. The priest wheezed,

1:29:21

But he also calls us to respect the sacred

1:29:23

bonds of holy matrimony in times

1:29:25

of war. At the times we all live in now, this

1:29:27

might seem to create some difficulty, but

1:29:30

that's only because most of us are trained to think

1:29:32

of marriage in the secular context.

1:29:34

The average married couple in the American

1:29:36

Federation dates for eight years

1:29:39

before being wet. In California,

1:29:41

it's closer to ten. Of course, in

1:29:43

both those places, dating is more or

1:29:45

less a form of cash less prostitution. Roland

1:29:48

had to strain to avoid rolling his eyes. Next

1:29:51

to him, many listened dutifully. His face

1:29:53

was almost unreadable. Perhaps people

1:29:55

who don't trust their creator need years of

1:29:57

time to decide if another person is a suitable

1:29:59

partner. Happily, we have the will

1:30:01

of God to guide us. You young men,

1:30:03

are strong and virile and faithful. Your

1:30:06

Lord wants you to find love. He wants

1:30:08

you to bring more children into this world. This

1:30:10

is why, as the hour of action draws closer,

1:30:13

we still encourage each of you to spend

1:30:15

time every day going out into the city

1:30:17

and mingling with the other sheep of our great

1:30:20

flock. Aha. Suddenly

1:30:22

Roland understood it. It seemed odd

1:30:24

to him that the Heavenly Kingdom, a state still

1:30:26

so unformed and tumultuous, devote time

1:30:29

and resources to bussing their military recruits

1:30:31

downtown. It made sense now,

1:30:33

they wanted all these young men to find women and

1:30:35

fill them up with babies before they went off to die.

1:30:38

It was grim as hell, but it was also quite

1:30:40

logical. The truth of it is the

1:30:42

pastor rasped. Marriage is a simple

1:30:44

process. When you find the right person,

1:30:47

the right arrangements can be made in an hour or

1:30:49

two. That is why I'm here along

1:30:51

with Pastor Sandor Ellsworth and Biggins.

1:30:53

You can find us at any hour of the day

1:30:55

or night to bless your unions. Once

1:30:58

God shows you to your wives, and

1:31:00

there are more pastors at the House of Jacob near

1:31:02

the square. I urge you to go out

1:31:04

into the kingdom in search of love and make use

1:31:06

of us. Our chief job and our chief

1:31:09

joy, is to help our noble martyrs

1:31:11

find the love and bless God promises

1:31:13

every faithful man. Wives are

1:31:15

his blessing to us. Children are

1:31:18

our duty to him. Now, the

1:31:20

man said, with a rakish grin, go forth

1:31:23

and multiply the flock. The

1:31:25

line for the buses was extra long that day.

1:31:28

By the time Rowland and Manny actually made it to the

1:31:30

square, there were nearly an hour later than usual.

1:31:32

Manny rushed right off to find Sasha. Rowland

1:31:35

found his way to an alley and then darted across

1:31:37

town and towards the jail. Once again. They'd

1:31:40

already confirmed the location of their targets,

1:31:42

so Rowland's last job was to mark out a good

1:31:44

exit route from the city. He didn't

1:31:46

expect it be a quiet prison break

1:31:49

that would draw attention and fighters. The

1:31:51

good news was that nothing within the Heavenly Kingdom

1:31:53

looked particularly well organized.

1:31:56

A ton of fighters patrolled the streets, but

1:31:58

most of Plano was still pretty war to worn. Their

1:32:00

camera grid was far from comprehensive.

1:32:03

If they had a sizeable drone force, it was kept

1:32:05

nearer to the front than here. The quickest

1:32:07

route seemed to be to head straight north from the jail,

1:32:10

up k Avenue and pasted an old housing development

1:32:12

filled with crumbling mansions. That route

1:32:14

would take them past two fortified bases.

1:32:16

There'd be a couple hundred infantry to deal with, along

1:32:19

with their attendant d PC's and a handful of drones.

1:32:22

Roland felt confident he could have punched a hole

1:32:24

through all that on his own, but he expected

1:32:26

to have four or five civilians in tow The

1:32:28

odds of one of them taking a stray round were just

1:32:30

too high. Another possible

1:32:32

route took him up and to the left towards an old

1:32:35

tollway that seemed to mark the end of the Heavenly Kingdom's

1:32:37

static defenses. They controlled a lot

1:32:39

of the territory beyond, but the patrols there

1:32:41

looked random. There were no fortifications

1:32:43

or checkpoints. It was a much longer route

1:32:45

than the other, but potentially one that required

1:32:47

a lotless fighting. The last option

1:32:50

was to veer right and take Park Avenue to Richardson.

1:32:53

The Heavenly Kingdom had controlled that territory

1:32:55

for even less time than they had held Plaino, and

1:32:57

the fighting there had been heavier. They'd pass

1:32:59

a lot of check points, but not much in the way of

1:33:01

troop concentration, as long as they kept south

1:33:03

and away from Dallas proper. The

1:33:06

scouting work itself was exhilarating. Roland

1:33:08

had a lot of ground to cover, so he spent most of his time

1:33:10

sprinting and scaling buildings, leaping from roof

1:33:12

to roof and in between shattered windows. His

1:33:15

senses were in full use. There were always

1:33:17

passing convoys of civilians, or patrols

1:33:19

of martyrs, or those odd white police fans

1:33:21

somewhere nearby. He was close to caught

1:33:23

a dozen times, and he loved every minute of

1:33:25

the work. By the time he got back to

1:33:27

the main square, it was quite late and almost

1:33:29

time for the buses to leave. He did a quick

1:33:32

loop of the square to see if he could find Manny

1:33:34

and Sasha. He caught traces of their sense,

1:33:36

but neither of them seemed to be out and about. He

1:33:38

eventually tracked Sasha's pheromone trail back

1:33:40

to the house of Miriam, but Manny seemed

1:33:43

to be gone. That was strange. Roland

1:33:45

headed back to the buses and the hope of finding him

1:33:47

there. But Manny wasn't in line or

1:33:49

on any of the buses. So Roland

1:33:52

headed back to the base and tried to ignore the

1:33:54

unease as it blossomed in his belly. Maybe

1:33:56

he headed back early. Maybe the date went

1:33:58

bad. That made sense. Sasha

1:34:01

seemed nice for a religious extremists, but

1:34:03

you couldn't predict Zellots. It was so damn

1:34:05

easy to set them off. Manny might have

1:34:07

just said the wrong thing. That decided it'd be safest

1:34:09

to head back to base and chill in the barracks. The

1:34:12

bus pulled into the school comb training

1:34:14

facilities little vehicle depot. Roland

1:34:17

noticed at once that Martyr Ditmar and a small bodyguard

1:34:19

of armed men were waiting. That was unusual.

1:34:22

Roland's hindbrain warned him that this was probably

1:34:24

related to Manny's disappearance. He felt

1:34:26

a thin drip of adrenaline start tapping on the

1:34:28

back of his amygdala. It was the feeling he

1:34:31

associated with shit about to happen.

1:34:33

Roland tried to enjoy it without letting it push

1:34:36

him into action. Before he knew what was really going

1:34:38

on, Martyr Aaron Ditmar

1:34:40

said as he approached Roland, the instructor's

1:34:43

bodyguard stayed close behind. Would

1:34:45

you come with me. We've got some news for

1:34:47

you. Where's a manual?

1:34:49

Roland asked, we'll explain

1:34:52

everything. The older martyr said, just

1:34:54

come with me. Roland followed

1:34:56

him into the maze of buildings and towards a small office

1:34:59

occupied by a white haired man and what looked

1:35:01

like the Heavenly Kingdom's equivalent of a dress

1:35:03

uniform. It was blue, bedecked

1:35:05

with metals and had a shining silver cross

1:35:07

on each epaulette. The fancy man looked

1:35:09

very tired. Roland could smell cheap caffeine

1:35:12

wafting from his pores. This

1:35:14

is Commandant Dawkins, Martyr Ditmar

1:35:16

explained. He's in charge of this facility.

1:35:18

We've been telling him about you. Martyr

1:35:21

Ditmar is hard to embrass, the commandant

1:35:23

said, But to his eyes, you're some sort of latter

1:35:25

day Sampson. The strongest man

1:35:28

I've ever seen, said Martyr Ditmar.

1:35:30

He's a darned fine shot too, something

1:35:32

of a marvel. Where's my friend?

1:35:34

Roland asked, where's a manual? The

1:35:37

commandant gave an indulgent smile. It

1:35:39

didn't meet his tired eyes. Listen,

1:35:42

Martyr, I know you can appreciate how important

1:35:44

unit cohesion is during a situation

1:35:46

as stressful as combat. We've had to make

1:35:48

some changes in order to ensure unity.

1:35:51

Emanual is one of a number of soldiers we've

1:35:53

transferred to special duty. Roland

1:35:56

could read between the lines. He was sure if

1:35:58

he checked in the barracks that Manny Jonathan

1:36:00

and the other handful of non white recruits would

1:36:02

all be absent. What kind

1:36:04

of special duty? Ditmar growled

1:36:07

behind him. Now, listen, Son, just

1:36:09

because the commandant called you a Samson

1:36:11

doesn't mean you're in charge around here. We're

1:36:14

prosecuting a war. You won't

1:36:16

be privy to every decision made above you.

1:36:18

When you're just going to have to get used to that. The

1:36:21

commandant was a bit calmer. He put his hands

1:36:23

forward in a placating gesture and tried it again.

1:36:26

Your friend is fine, he's better

1:36:28

than fine. He's going to get a chance to serve

1:36:30

his Lord and the heavenly Kingdom and glorious

1:36:32

martyrdom. You should be happy for him.

1:36:35

Ditmar stepped forward and squatted down

1:36:37

next to him. He put a hand on Roland's thigh.

1:36:40

A third of a second later, Roland had calculated

1:36:42

the best way to rip that arm free of its socket

1:36:44

and beat the other men in the room to death with it,

1:36:46

but he held still for now. Manny would

1:36:48

have been proud. Listen, boy, Ditmar

1:36:51

said, I know you got used to having that brown

1:36:53

kid help you talk with people, and I'm sure he

1:36:55

did a fine job. I get that you're

1:36:57

not much for social graces, but we're

1:37:00

going to take care of you now, all right,

1:37:02

You've got a whole army of brothers here. Just

1:37:05

do what you do best and we'll handle

1:37:07

the rest, okay,

1:37:09

Roland said. He put a hand on Martyr

1:37:11

Ditmar's wrist and clinched it hard enough

1:37:13

that everyone in the room heard the bone snap.

1:37:16

The look of dawning terror on the other man's

1:37:18

face was the best high Roland had gotten

1:37:20

in days. He savored it for

1:37:22

a quarter second before finishing his sentence.

1:37:26

I'll do what I do best. Then, Hey,

1:37:30

I've written a novel. It's called After the Revolution.

1:37:33

You can find it as a podcast under After the Revolution,

1:37:35

and you can find it at a t r book dot com

1:37:37

as a free e pub if you like

1:37:40

it. I am crowdfunding the sequel so

1:37:42

that I can keep making my books free. That

1:37:44

will be it After the Revolution, The Sequel

1:37:46