0:02

Chapter fourteen Roland.

0:05

Once he'd been dismissed, Roland had made it

0:07

his immediate business to get as high as post

0:10

humanly possible before he was needed.

0:12

This was not a difficult task. Rolling

0:14

fuck had been built to keep buzzes going.

0:17

The main roller's bar stocked an assortment

0:19

of beers mixed with LSD laudanum,

0:21

dimethyl trip tomine, and a half dozen shogun

0:23

chemicals. Roland started off by

0:26

sampling them all. He drank until the fireworks

0:28

showing his head was indistinguishable from the

0:30

actual fireworks outside and

0:32

those real Am I just fucking lit? Roland

0:35

decided that answering that question wouldn't make

0:37

him happier. He lost himself for a

0:39

while and drifted from one of the fondel boats

0:42

to a dance party in a field underneath the main

0:44

gantry. After hours of that, Roland

0:46

had his fill of rhythm, so he found his way

0:48

to a coke benge in a weird purple house atop

0:51

one of the spindles. The rest of the night

0:53

he spent testing the limits of his talks and filters

0:55

and his tolerance for human contact. The

0:58

latter came first, he had and in

1:00

the coke party and stumbled through rolling fuck

1:02

until he reached a small booth with baggies

1:04

of umnuloch, a d M T based

1:06

hallucinogen made from synthetically grown giraffe

1:09

liver. Thanks got fuzzy.

1:11

After that, there was a fireworks fight on

1:13

a spindle that caught a shack on fire. He

1:15

downed a shipload of mescal and as the sun breached,

1:18

and then quite suddenly it was afternoon

1:20

and he was lying on his back across the baking

1:22

hot metal of one of the spindles. Schoolfucker

1:25

Mike stood above him, naked as the day he

1:27

was born, and holding some sort of frosty purple

1:29

beverage in a large teaky cup. Hey

1:32

man, Mike said, as he took a sip, Nanny

1:34

as he told me to find you. You straight

1:36

enough to talk to people. Roland

1:39

nodded. He wasn't, really, but he could sober

1:41

up fast. Maybe sober

1:43

wasn't the right word. His brain could

1:46

flood itself with focusing drugs to offset

1:48

the hallucinogens, and he had

1:50

a vial of liquid meth amphetamine somewhere

1:52

in his pack that might do the trick.

1:55

Roland sat up, grunted, and waved a

1:57

hand at Mike. Then he dug around in his

1:59

pack for the vile. He found it and drained

2:01

half. All right, let's go, he

2:04

said. Let's go to the place and do the things.

2:07

Mike helped him down the spindle. Roland's

2:09

unsteady legs were proof that he'd managed to

2:11

find himself a worthy drug bench. The

2:14

satisfaction he felt from that mixed well

2:16

with the initial meth euphoria. By the time

2:18

they reached the conference room, he was wired as

2:20

fuck and kind of wishing he'd picked a

2:22

different drug to spend his mood. Roland

2:25

sat down and eased into his chair. A

2:27

short, young Anglo fellow entered next and

2:29

sat down on the opposite side of the conference

2:31

table. He looked and smelled nervous.

2:34

Roland paid him little mind. He was too

2:36

jittery from the meth to want to talk. He

2:38

decided a nice dose of some downers would

2:41

help his situation and rooted around for

2:43

his heroine kit. At that moment,

2:45

another young man entered the room.

2:47

He was short, Hispanic, and about twenty

2:50

one years old. Nanni Yazzi embraced

2:52

the kid schoofucker might clapped him on the

2:54

shoulder. They started talking, the kid

2:56

said something that seemed to surprise most of the people

2:58

in the room. Roll and half paid attention

3:00

to all that while he loaded up his syringe and tied

3:03

off his arm. He stopped when he realized

3:05

everyone else in the room was staring. Hey,

3:08

something wrong, he asked Rowland.

3:11

Nana Yazi said in a warm voice as she

3:13

gestured to the Hispanic kid. This

3:15

is Mannie. He's going to be your partner for the

3:17

mission. He grew up in the Republic and he's a

3:19

skilled negotiator. He'll help you blend

3:22

in while you do your work. Er

3:24

cool, Roland grunted and returned to

3:26

his heroine. Roland, if

3:28

you wouldn't mind, Reggie was about to speak. Nana

3:31

yazi smile was as indulgent as ever. He's

3:34

uncovered something important about the Heavenly

3:36

Kingdom. It might be useful to you, Roland

3:38

shrugged. Mossy's galis to which

3:41

bartenders and playing on make a pass of a whiskey.

3:43

Sara can't imagine caring. But

3:45

if you let me finish this, he jiggled the

3:47

syringe in the air, I might be able to at

3:49

least pay attention right now, I'm quite

3:51

too met out to focus. The

3:54

old man leaned forward and sighed. The

3:56

kid looked horrified. He started working his

3:58

mouth and what Roland was pretty sure must

4:00

be the prelude to some sort of expression of shock

4:03

or offense. Schoolfucker Mike preempted

4:05

him. Lead Roland shoot

4:07

up. Trust me, drugs aren't going to make

4:09

him any more or less effective here. Rowland

4:12

grinned. Skullfucker Mike clearly knew

4:14

him, even if he could only sort of remember

4:16

skullfucker Mike. He went back to

4:19

tying off his arm and shooting up, while the younger

4:21

Brits stumbled into the start of his speech. Yes,

4:24

well, I've been going over the

4:26

last few days of successful vehicle based

4:28

bombings on checkpoints from Galveston

4:30

and Lake Houston and all across the Dallas Fort

4:32

Worth area. In total, I've identified

4:35

three hundred twenty one bombings that appear to

4:37

have been carried out as part of this overall

4:39

offensive. Two hundred and forty of

4:41

those bombings involve autonomous vehicles hitting

4:44

dedicated autonomous vehicle checkpoints.

4:47

Right on cue, a projection map flickered to life

4:49

on the wall behind him. Hundreds of red dots

4:51

populated a map of the conflict riddled

4:53

regions of north central Texas. It

4:56

looked like the pattern of attacks you'd want in order

4:58

to funnel the stf's limited resources

5:00

towards the least defensible chunks of their line.

5:03

What was weird was that so many bomb rigged

5:05

autonomous vehicles had gotten through the scanners.

5:08

So Roland asked, how the fuckers

5:10

do it? Munch zero days. Reggie

5:13

shook his head. That's what I thought at first,

5:15

he said, But these attacks actually

5:17

started more than a month before this offensive.

5:19

If they were relying on exploits, the s d F

5:22

I T folks would have caught something by now. The

5:24

most likely explanation is that the mattys

5:26

found some way to make vehicles that aren't

5:28

autonomous. Seemed that way, yeah,

5:32

Manny said. The martyrs have tried to hide drivers

5:34

and autonomous vehicles before the s

5:36

d F watches for it, which

5:39

means the martys have figured out something new, said

5:41

the journalist, some new way to hide a

5:43

human driver that doesn't register on conventional

5:46

senses. And that way

5:48

is nanny, Yazi asked. Reggie's

5:51

face reddened. He grunted and swallowed,

5:53

and then spoke, I've got

5:55

no idea. But I think I know where

5:57

they're putting these new vehicles together. He's

6:00

Napta's fingers and the projected image changed

6:02

to a map of a city called McKinney and

6:04

the Dallas suburbs. It zoomed into

6:06

an aerial shot of one enormous factory

6:08

building near the outskirts of the city. The

6:11

Earth BBC pays for access to

6:13

a few independent satellites that overlooked

6:16

this part of North America. We also

6:18

pay the s DA for limited access to some of

6:20

their drone surveillance footage. From

6:22

all that, I was able to trace out pass for

6:24

seventy eight of the vehicles used in these attacks.

6:27

Every one of them started their journey here.

6:30

The projection changed again to it looked like a

6:32

stock photograph of the front of a large white

6:34

factory building. The Tesla logo

6:36

was displayed prominently by the front door. It's

6:39

an old Tesla plant. They finished it about

6:41

a year before the Civil War. It's been

6:43

in and out of operations since then. As

6:45

best as I can tell. The last normal vehicle

6:48

rolled off the line three years ago, before

6:50

the Heavenly Kingdom started cacking things up.

6:53

McKinney was one of the first parts of the old

6:55

Metroplex to fall, so they've had plenty of

6:57

time to fiddle with shit. Roland

6:59

ray his arm and realized belatedly that

7:02

the needle was still dangling out of it. The

7:04

old man sighed again, but Rowland bravely

7:06

ignored him. So what does this have to

7:08

do with your captives, he asked. I didn't

7:10

sign on to help you guys spy or blow up

7:12

a factory. Send this data to the SDF

7:14

for Austin if you think it matters, schoolfucker.

7:17

Mike put a hand forward in a placating gesture.

7:19

We're not asking you to do anything about

7:22

this, he said, but you and Manny will be

7:24

our only eyes and ears inside the Kingdom.

7:26

If you get a hint of how they've accomplished all this,

7:28

it will be valuable to us in the SDF.

7:31

We'll find a way to make it worth your while. I

7:34

mean, the drinks are free, right, Roland

7:36

asked. I don't know what else you got that I might want.

7:39

Mike smiled and gestured to Roland's backpack

7:42

of narcotics, which sat next to him on the

7:44

big redwood table. By

7:46

my account, you've gone through about half your stash

7:48

that's coming out here. If you're able to get

7:50

us any worth while info, I'll make sure

7:52

the bags full before you leave. Roland

7:55

narrowed his eyes. It would be a giant

7:57

pain in the ask to find good percoset between

7:59

here and Cammebltowe. He sighed, alright,

8:02

fine, if we hear something, we'll look

8:04

into it. But Donald your breath. After

8:14

the meeting, schoolfucker Mike took Rolland

8:16

down to the city's makeshift morgue so he

8:18

could steal a dead man's face. Rolling

8:21

Fox Militia had found the fresh corpse of

8:23

some guy Roland's rough height and build. He'd

8:26

fled Dallas and made it almost as far as Waco

8:28

before getting hit by a drone attack. The

8:30

four funk had been gutted by shrapnel, but

8:32

his face was intact enough for Roland's chameleon

8:35

implant. Roland hadn't used the

8:37

thing in so long he worried it might not work.

8:40

He stared down at the man's face and took in

8:42

his features. The fellow was white,

8:44

but his skin was burnt a deep reddish brown.

8:47

He'd clearly spent a lot of time under the Texas

8:49

sun. He appeared to be in his early forties

8:51

and clearly hadn't taken many juven

8:53

treatments. His hairline was fine,

8:55

but the man's eyes and the edges of his lips were

8:57

creased with wrinkles. His dead ring

9:00

eyes were blue. There were deep dark

9:02

bags beneath them. Plenty of time

9:04

to sleep, now, Buddy, Roland thought. He

9:07

closed his eyes, focused on the dead man's

9:09

face and felt his facial bones start to tear

9:11

themselves apart and then reform. He

9:13

felt the pigments in his skin shift two,

9:16

which was always strange. The sensation

9:18

of his pigments opening up and taking in more light

9:20

felt a little like stripping off a thin layer

9:22

of clothing. While Roland did

9:24

this, skullfucker Mike ran a scanner over

9:27

the corpse and located the I D card in its

9:29

right forearm. Mike used a tool

9:31

that looked like a long metal straw to suck the

9:33

I D free and then shoot the tag into Roland's

9:35

own arm. He took a second for Roland's

9:37

body to pull the data. His name

9:39

was erin Wether's. He was single. He worked as

9:41

a mechanic in Arlington for most of his life.

9:44

He had a clean criminal record save for a drunk

9:46

driving arrest in his early thirties. Roland,

9:49

now Aaron, left the morgue with skullfucker

9:51

Mike and headed for the ride that would take him into

9:53

the Heavenly Kingdom. He used the walk

9:55

as an opportunity to smoke a couple of grams

9:57

of fine Afghan opium. He was still

10:00

smoking when they reached the battered old pickup truck

10:02

on the outskirts of Rolling Fox campground.

10:04

The kid Manny was in the driver's seat.

10:07

Hey Manny said, and stared wide

10:09

eyed at him. You look different,

10:11

he added, with a forced smile. Yeah,

10:14

Roland replied and pulled himself into the passenger

10:16

seat. Mike tapped him on the shoulder, What,

10:19

Roland asked, I'm gonna need your

10:21

bag, man. He pointed to the still smoking

10:23

opium pipe in Roland's hand, and that

10:26

the Heavenly Kingdoms got a pretty strict policy

10:28

on intoxicans. You're not going to get a backpack

10:31

full of narcotics through their checkpoints. Roland

10:34

growled at Mike. He couldn't fault the

10:36

other post humans logic, but he'd be damned.

10:39

He was going to spend several days surrounded by a

10:41

bunch of religious nuts and do its

10:43

sober. Roland locked eyes with skullfucker.

10:45

Mike opened his bag and grabbed a heavy

10:47

handful of drugs. He swallowed them

10:49

all one by one, pillbottles

10:52

and baggies, vellucinogens and vials of amphetamines.

10:55

He ordered his gut to reduce its acidity

10:57

so he could store the drugs for later regurgitation

10:59

and can sumption. Then he took one last

11:02

deep hit from his opium pipe and handed

11:04

it and the bag to Mike. Manny

11:06

popped the car and to drive, and they rolled off

11:08

into the night. They drove

11:10

in silence for a while. Roland's hind

11:13

brain would have marked the time if he hadn't done such

11:15

a successful job of pickling it with opium

11:17

before they left. The quiet got

11:19

awkward and boring pretty quick though. He

11:21

considered putting on music, but of course

11:24

his head wear was severed from all outside networks.

11:26

He couldn't connect to the car anymore than he could

11:28

blinks into an email. He decided

11:30

to ask Manny to put something on, guy

11:33

music, Can you music? Roland realized

11:36

he was slurring and his words were not coming out

11:38

the way he'd intended. The kid Manny

11:40

looked irritated. How fucked up

11:42

are you right now? Roland

11:44

gave a shrug that meant very

11:47

You know my ass is on the line here too. I'm

11:49

not made of whatever fucked up science you've got in your

11:51

veins. I'd appreciate it if you took this seriously

11:55

on an objective level. The kid's request was

11:57

fair. This must be a big moment for him,

11:59

going off on a dangerous mission to enemy territory,

12:02

et cetera. But to Roland, this

12:04

was Tuesday or whatever day

12:06

it actually was. He disabled his clock

12:08

and calendar years ago because funk that noise.

12:11

Funk that noise, he said, without meaning

12:13

to good God, I'm so high?

12:16

What Manny sounded confused and perturbed.

12:18

Sorry, man Roland rubbed his eyes,

12:21

a little dazed from the opium. I wasn't

12:23

talking to you. I am the only other

12:25

person in this car, Manny said,

12:28

yeah, but you know I'm highest. Shit. Words

12:30

come out sometimes they aren't meant for anyone,

12:32

and they just happened. The car slowed,

12:34

and Manny pulled over to the shoulder of the cracked

12:36

old highway. When the car came

12:39

to a stop, he put his head in his hands, and breathed

12:41

in and then out very slowly. It

12:43

took Roland a moment to realize the kid

12:45

was going through a panic attack. He's

12:48

never done anything like this before. Of course, he's

12:50

terrified. Roland wondered if he should

12:52

do something to comfort the kid. You

12:55

know, he said, I've killed about

12:57

twelve thousand armed people. Many

13:00

turned to stare at him. He looked shocked,

13:02

but Roland noted with satisfaction the

13:04

statement had disrupted his panic. What

13:07

what the I mean, give or take a handful?

13:10

Roland continued, I burnt my brains, killed

13:12

canner out with crocodile and cheap vodka

13:15

while back. Why would you tell

13:17

me this? Why would you think this would help? Because

13:20

Rolland said, we're about to go into

13:22

a very dangerous place together. You're

13:24

scared you're gonna die, and I want you to know,

13:26

however many arm nut jobs are in that city,

13:29

I can murder them, all of them.

13:32

Manny stared at him. He still looked

13:34

terrified and vaguely pissed, but his

13:36

heart rate was steadier, his breathing had slowed.

13:39

Roland declared his gambit a success. Okay,

13:43

the kid finally said, that's actually

13:45

comforting. Thank you. There

13:47

was silence for a beat, and then Roland spoke

13:49

again that all sudden, I'd

13:52

prefer not to kill anyone. I'd really

13:54

prefer that. I was on a pretty good no murder

13:56

streak until a couple of days back. I'm trying

13:59

to stay on the waggins talk

14:01

well, be a good face, man. This will all

14:03

be easier if I don't have to commit murder.

14:06

Manny looked a bit nervous again, but he popped

14:08

the car into drive and rolled back onto

14:10

the highway. I'll do my best,

14:13

he said. They were an hour

14:15

outside of Dallas when they hit the first checkpoint

14:18

and the Kingdom's guards ordered them out of the truck.

14:20

Roland stepped out with his hands up. Manny

14:23

had done the same. The guards scanned

14:25

them, verified their status as Republic

14:27

citizens, and then the questioning started.

14:30

What brings you to the Heavenly Kingdom? Their

14:32

leader, a fat man with the kalashnikov, asked

14:34

Manny. We heard about the amnesty, Manny

14:37

replied, and we thought it sounded good. We we want

14:39

to live under the rule of God. The

14:41

fat man grunted. So you're both good

14:43

God fearing men, then, yes, sir,

14:46

Manny nodded, of course, and praise be to

14:48

God for all the victories you've won here. The

14:50

fat Man sniffed at the air and looked over to

14:52

his partner. I'm not wild about another

14:54

skin here, Hanson. You think we need any

14:57

more Mexicans? Hanson shrugged

14:59

orders say you the faithful are all welcome. Yeah,

15:02

the fat guy continued, if they're faithful.

15:05

He looked back to Manny, why did it take a couple

15:07

of devout men like yourselves so long

15:09

to make a break for the heavenly Kingdom. We've

15:11

been at this fight for a while, you know, I. I

15:13

I mean we we were scared, and

15:16

we didn't we weren't sure what to believe.

15:18

What you're supposed to believe is the word of God,

15:20

the man snarled. And that's as clear as

15:23

day to everyone who lives inside the kingdom.

15:25

He looked back at his men and smiled an evil

15:27

wolfie grin Hanson malloy,

15:30

I think we might need to question these two

15:32

more intensively. Radio command,

15:34

and that was the last thing

15:36

the fat Man said, probably ever.

15:39

Roland shoved a hand into the martyr's mouth,

15:42

pulled downwards, and shattered his jaw in

15:44

four places. Then he leapt into

15:46

the others. It went quickly. He

15:48

gouged eyes, broke jaws, severed tongues,

15:50

and then started in on their limbs. By

15:52

the end of it, all four men were still alive,

15:55

but none of them were in any shape to report on

15:57

what they'd seen. Manny vomited

15:59

several times. What I happened

16:01

to do? In your best, Manny, Roland asked,

16:04

more irritated than angry. Once he'd finished,

16:06

the kid recoiled, Roland realized

16:08

Manny had started to shake a little. He also

16:10

realized there was still a part of a man's ear in

16:12

his mouth. Hell, you scared him,

16:15

Sorry, kid, he said, and squatted

16:17

down next to Manny. Look, the odds

16:19

were always good that this first tryal was going to be

16:21

a scratch. The good news is they've

16:23

got other checkpoints. Will hop on the access

16:26

road and find the next one. It'll be fine.

16:29

What did you too, Manny started?

16:31

I stopped them from talking, he said,

16:34

very quickly. No one's dead. There'll be

16:36

uh. He glanced down at the burbling, bleeding

16:38

mess of shattered humans. They'll be I

16:41

but we need to move now before someone

16:43

else comes along, and I gotta break them too.

16:46

Roland popped open the cab so he could change

16:48

into a clean set of spare clothes. He

16:50

was grateful that skullfucker Mike had packed them

16:52

bags to lend their story extra versimilitude.

16:55

Manny changed too, and once his hands

16:57

stopped shaking, they rolled off to the next check

17:00

point. Roland tried not to think too

17:02

much about the men he'd just broken. That

17:04

helped that one of them had been an asshole. It helped

17:06

that none of them had died. But still

17:09

they hit the next checkpoint eight minutes later,

17:11

and things went much better this time. For

17:14

one thing, it was busier. There were

17:16

already a dozen other cars in line when they

17:18

pulled in. The guy who was questioning them

17:20

was less of an asshole, and he seemed to buy

17:22

Manny's claim. We weren't

17:24

brave enough to make the journey until now, but

17:26

we prayed all night about this. I know it's

17:29

the right thing to do. Roland

17:31

had to fight to avoid rolling his eyes. The

17:33

line worked, though. The man at the checkpoint

17:35

waved the men and issued them a temporary transit

17:38

pass. This is good for six hours,

17:40

the checkpoint officer said. That's plenty

17:43

of time to find the immigration center. And poured

17:45

in. If you're caught driving around the Kingdom

17:47

after that, it won't end well for you.

17:50

They drove on, but it was slow going. After

17:53

the checkpoint, the roads into Dallas

17:55

were choked with ruined vehicles and actual

17:57

traffic. It looked as if hundreds of people

17:59

had taken a heavenly kingdom up on its amnesty

18:01

offer. Roland couldn't fault

18:04

them for that. The Kingdom seemed to be winning.

18:07

As they rolled towards Plano, they were stopped regularly

18:09

by patrolling martyrs and asked to present their

18:11

papers, But bit by bit they made their

18:13

way onto and through the packed and crumbling

18:16

highways of Old Dallas. At

18:18

one point they found themselves installed traffic

18:20

on Highway seventy five, overlooking

18:22

the cratered ruins of the Lakewood Blast.

18:25

He felt cold October air. He smelled

18:27

barrel fires and heard the sharp crack of rifley.

18:30

He saw flashes of a face it might have been

18:32

Gem's, and he remembered the feeling of a cold

18:34

metal handle attached to something heavy dense.

18:37

He remembered yelling to a small, sweaty

18:40

hand held tight in his own. He remembered

18:42

guilt, what's

18:45

up, Manny asked. He looked over at

18:47

Roland and his eyes widened. Dude, you're shaking.

18:49

Don't tell me you're flipping out now. We're way too deep

18:51

in this thing. Roland shook

18:54

his head. It's it's it's nothing, he

18:56

said. Just a piece of an old memory

18:58

hit me in the face. I think I've was in town

19:00

when that fucker went off. The

19:02

young man's pupils grew as big as saucers

19:05

virga, he spent. You're fullish shit, Roland

19:08

shrugged. I don't know. Maybe it's just a piece

19:10

of a memory. I might be confusing it with something

19:13

else. Sure got triggered by seeing

19:15

the blast side, though Manny

19:17

was not satisfied by that answer. I

19:20

refuse to believe that someone could watch an

19:22

atom bomb evisceraate a city and not

19:24

have a clear memory of it. I had to take anti

19:26

Radtoll's my whole childhood because of that bomb.

19:29

I don't have any clear memories, kid, none

19:32

from further back than about I guess, five

19:34

or eight years ago. I don't have a whole lot of clear

19:36

memories since then either, But that's from the drugs.

19:39

What the hell happened to you? Manny asked,

19:42

I thought you post humans all had hard drives

19:44

running through your blood. Were you too cheap to pay

19:46

for a photographic memory? Roland

19:48

scratched his neck. He wasn't ditchy, it

19:51

was a nervous gesture. He was a little

19:53

fascinated at the fact that this line of questioning

19:55

made him feel nervous. He really

19:57

couldn't remember the last time a conversation

19:59

had made him feel that way. Weird. I

20:02

got hurt, was all he could honestly say.

20:05

I don't remember much of anything from before the revolution.

20:07

Help, I don't really remember the revolution.

20:11

The line of cars started moving again. Many

20:14

popped the car back into drive, and they rolled

20:16

further into the Heavenly Kingdom.

20:18

Both men were quiet for a minute until Roland

20:20

spoke again, That's why

20:22

I'm doing this, you know. He wasn't

20:25

sure why he was saying all this, but Roland found

20:27

he couldn't stop himself. Jim,

20:29

the guy who brought me on, you know, some fucking

20:31

East Coast search and who specializes in post

20:33

human brains. They think they can give

20:35

me back my memory. This rescue mission

20:38

is That's how I pay for that.

20:41

Are you sure you want those memories?

20:43

Back. Manny asked, what fun do

20:45

you mean. I don't even know who I am or was right

20:47

now. Wouldn't you want that ship back if you lost

20:50

it? Many glanced over to

20:52

him, they locked eyes. I

20:54

don't know, the kid said, you say

20:56

you killed at least twelve thousand people. I've

20:58

been working as a fixer for the last two years,

21:00

and I've seen a lot of fucked up eyes, dead

21:03

eyes on men who have done too much killing. But

21:06

none of them hold a candle to what's going on

21:08

there. He pointed to Roland's face. I

21:10

don't know. I got a feeling your past as one

21:13

big fucked up nightmare. Maybe

21:15

you're better off without it. Rowland

21:17

was quiet for a while, and Manny didn't

21:19

say anything else. They crept along

21:21

and stops and starts, and inched closer to Plano

21:24

as the sun cracked open the horizon. Kid.

21:27

At a point, Roland decided he'd

21:29

worried about the same thing himself since Jim

21:31

made the offer. Every hour or

21:33

so, he still found himself thinking about the driver

21:35

of that technical The man had reeked

21:37

of love, and yeah, the guy had

21:40

been fighting to establish a crystal fascist

21:42

nightmare state. Somehow that didn't mitigate

21:44

his death. In Roland's head, most causes

21:46

were ship. Most men who fought for anything

21:49

fought for nightmares. That guy

21:51

and all his friends had just been doing what felt

21:53

right based on the ship lives they'd lived.

21:55

The same thing had to be true for most of the soldiers

21:58

and insurgents Rowland had killed. How

22:00

many civilians did you kill, Roland? How

22:03

many lives did you in just to keep the battle

22:05

drugs flowing? When he thought

22:07

about it that way, he really didn't want

22:09

his memories back. But then,

22:11

of course there was Topaz. He loved

22:13

her so much, or rather, the pieces

22:16

of him that remembered her loved her so much.

22:19

Roland knew he wanted those memories back.

22:21

He needed them back. Every time he thought

22:23

about her face, something twisted inside him,

22:25

as if his guts were being tugged in whatever direction

22:28

he thought she might be. It was a

22:30

weird way to feel about a woman he only remembered

22:32

in fragments. Roland shook

22:34

his head in a nervous attempt to shake the thoughts

22:36

from his mind. Then he stared ahead

22:39

at the line of cars. The

22:48

immigration center was chaotic, crowded,

22:50

and heavy with the smell of scared humans. It

22:52

was also a happier place than Roland would

22:54

have expected. Martyrs in fresh,

22:56

olive drab uniforms with bright golden crosses

22:59

and blasted on the arms handed out food, water,

23:01

and even cups of instant coffee to the adults.

23:04

They posed for pictures with children. The

23:06

whole place almost had the air of a party

23:08

about it. There was someone filming, too.

23:10

Roland guessed he must be a propagandist

23:12

for the Kingdom, putting together some sort

23:14

of documentary. They stood in line

23:16

for two full hours before it was their turn in

23:18

front of the intake officer. He

23:21

was an older man with a big, bushy mustache,

23:23

red jowls, and a droopy rooster wattle

23:25

of a throat. He had a whiny voice that baraged

23:28

them with questions as soon as they sat down at his

23:30

desk. How many apostles

23:32

did Christ have? What was the name of the hill

23:34

where our Lord was crucified? What is

23:36

the fifth Commandment? Manny

23:38

answered every question while Roland sat there

23:40

and smiled vacantly like an invalid. They

23:43

decided in the car that playing dumb was

23:45

his best option. He'd probably wind

23:47

up starting a fight if he talked to the man. And besides,

23:50

Boland didn't no shit about the Bible. He

23:52

didn't even have any memory fragments of church

23:54

services. And why is it that you're

23:56

answering all the questions, young man? The officer

23:59

finally asked about your friend here erin

24:01

is it? Ah? Yeah, Roland

24:03

replied, I just I don't

24:05

know. I don't test so good. Mom said,

24:07

I ain't a thinker, but you are a Christian.

24:10

Yes, oh, yes, sir, he

24:12

nodded enthusiastically. I love God.

24:14

I am all about God. The

24:16

intake officer narrowed his eyes at Roland.

24:19

Manny flashed him a look of fury, and then quickly

24:21

turned it into a smile directed at the officer.

24:23

He's a he's slow, sir. His

24:26

mama took care of him, but she died in a drone

24:28

strike two months back from the SDF.

24:30

I'm just trying to make sure he's okay. The

24:33

man grunted, and then looked to Roland. I

24:36

imagine that must make you angry, losing

24:38

your mother. Roland nodded and put

24:40

on his best fasimile of an angry face.

24:42

They're bad men. I want to hurt them back,

24:46

the intake officer chuckled, Well, I've

24:48

got good news for you. Then. The Heavenly Kingdom

24:50

needs soldiers. I'm sending you both to a

24:52

training platoon. In a few days, you'll

24:55

be martyrs and you'll have a chance to get your

24:57

revenge. Wait, Mann,

24:59

he asked, were we're being drafted? The

25:01

officer narrowed his piggy eyes. The

25:04

Heavenly Kingdom is fighting for its life. Boys.

25:06

Every person we let in has a job. There

25:09

are no shirkers here, no layabouts.

25:11

If you aren't willing to help build the Kingdom of God

25:13

on earth, we have no use for you. And I've

25:15

decided you boys will best serve God

25:17

in our infantry. And

25:20

just like that, Roland found himself inducted

25:22

into a military for what was at least

25:25

the second time in his life. The

25:27

intake officer gave them more papers, signed

25:29

a mustering order, and sent them off with directions

25:31

to find the barracks that was apparently their

25:33

new home. Manny handled the

25:35

rest of the interaction well. He even managed

25:38

to act enthusiastic after his first startled

25:40

outburst, But once they were out of ear shot

25:42

back in the truck, he started to hyperventilate

25:45

again. It looked like another panic attack

25:47

ERDA. He cursed. This was such a fucking

25:49

bad idea. Hey, Roland

25:52

patted the kid on the shoulder. It's gonna be all right,

25:54

buddy. Some aspect of his comforting

25:56

tactic must have gone wrong, because the kid just

25:58

looked pissed. You not realize

26:00

how fun this is, Manny shoved rolling

26:03

back. We're supposed to be affecting a rescue

26:05

here, he yelled. They're going to have us drilling

26:07

and training day and night, will be surrounded by

26:09

soldiers. I thought we'd just be squatting in an apartment

26:11

saying some peace be with you is when we went outside,

26:14

I thought we were going to track down those hostages and like

26:16

a day, Now, what the funk are we supposed to

26:18

do? Roland thought about that for a

26:20

moment. You thought about the martyrs he'd faced

26:22

on the battlefield three days ago in their motley

26:24

armor and battered, rusted weaponry.

26:27

Look, he said, this for a real army,

26:29

we'd be fucked. But you've seen how these guys

26:32

fight. They had numbers and some professionals,

26:35

but the bulk of their forces are just poor dumb

26:37

fox with a week's worth of training and whatever gun

26:39

was lying around. We're not going to be

26:41

drilling from dawn till dusk, he

26:44

gestured at the truck's dashboard. They're letting

26:46

us drive our own fucking truck up there. This ain't

26:48

gonna be like a real army. I guarantee

26:50

you we'll have time to do our ship. Stay

26:53

calm, stick close to me, do what I do.

26:55

I'm real fucking good at soldiering. If

26:57

you follow my lead, they love us, and our

26:59

job will be that much easier. And

27:01

what if something goes wrong? Man, he asked, what

27:03

if they catch us? Roland shrugged.

27:05

If they catch us, then will already be in the

27:07

middle of their army. That will save me so

27:10

much time. Hey,

27:14

I'm Robert Evans. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

27:16

I hope you enjoyed the chapters to come. You can find the

27:18

free e pub of every chapter and eventually

27:20

the whole book at a t r book dot com,

27:23

complete with illustrations. If you

27:25

want to support me in writing the sequel,

27:27

you can crowdfund me at After the Revolution

27:29

the Sequel at go fund Me. Just type and go

27:31

fund me after the Revolution the Sequel.

27:34

Um. I'd like my books to always be free, so

27:36

I'm just going to try to crowdfund the next

27:39

one and see how that works. So After the Revolution

27:41

the sequel on go fund Me. You

27:43

can also find the community of fans

27:45

of this book online at our slash

27:48

after the Revolution on Reddit. So

27:51

after the Revolution the sequel on go fund

27:53

me and are slash after the Revolution on

27:55

Reddit. A t r book dot com for the

27:57

whole book. Thanks