0:02

Chapter sixteen. Manny.

0:05

The Barracks had been a high school, once

0:07

built to serve several thousand of the plain O

0:10

area's wealthy at students. The dozen

0:12

huge gray buildings were centered around

0:14

an enormous courtyard that included a practice

0:16

football field, several tennis courts, and

0:18

a running track. The compound

0:21

was boxed in by a high concrete wall

0:23

topped in razor wire. What had been

0:25

built to defend the scions of wealth and Privilege

0:27

from their jealous piers also made the former

0:30

school an ideal training ground for the kingdoms

0:32

soldiers. Manny could see

0:34

hundreds of young men just within the courtyard.

0:37

They ran laps or charged through a makeshift

0:39

obstacle course that had been assembled over the old

0:41

football field. Manny's head throbbed

0:44

just watching them. Ipe. We don't

0:46

have to do too much of that ship, he thought,

0:48

as he scratched the bandage over his severed

0:50

deck, At least not today. Dozens

0:53

of men sat in small groups around the courtyard,

0:56

reading together from books or cooling down from workouts

0:58

and sweat drenched underclothes, Manny

1:00

could hear the sharp crack of rifle fire from a

1:02

shooting range near by. The whole place

1:05

buzzed with a sort of busy, nervous energy

1:07

that might have been contagious if not for the ugly

1:09

stairs. Manny attracted. You took

1:11

the wrong skin to wear, Roland muttered

1:13

at him as a troop of pale, young infantrymen

1:16

clumped past them. Manny couldn't

1:18

help but notice that he seemed to be the only

1:20

person on the training field who wasn't lily

1:22

white. This might be a problem,

1:25

he said. Roland nodded in response.

1:27

He spat at the ground and muttered, should

1:29

I ask skullfucker Mike to sew you into some new

1:32

skin before we left? Manny frowned.

1:34

I'm almost certain that's not how martyrs.

1:37

A rough voice cried out from behind them.

1:40

Turn round, boys, let me see a rise.

1:43

Manny stopped on instinct. He stiff

1:45

at his back and turned around. Roland

1:47

did the same thing, but with a heavy sigh and

1:49

a roll at his eyes. The shout had

1:51

come from a tall, square jawed man with hair

1:53

that had gone a majestic shade of silver

1:55

gray. He wore a black uniform shirt

1:58

with brass cross pins in the epple uts,

2:00

black cargo pants, and a big black handgun

2:03

slung low on his left hip. His

2:05

name tag identified him as Ditmar.

2:07

Manny didn't know enough about the martyrs brigades

2:09

to tell the man's rank. Roland

2:12

turned as Ditmar closed the distance between

2:14

them. He stopped about a foot in from them,

2:16

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

2:19

The fixer forced himself to meet the grizzled

2:21

martyr's gaze. Manny

2:23

wasn't sure how to look like a fanatical

2:25

Christian soldier. There was no way to fake

2:27

the manic glint of true commitment, so

2:29

he chose a different tack. He thought about

2:31

Major Clark, the defiant set of his

2:33

jaw and the promise of violence frozen

2:36

into the ice of his blue eyes. D

2:38

Shaun Clark was not a fanatic, but

2:40

he was a warrior. Many knew he might

2:42

be able to fake that, so he screwed up

2:44

his face into his best imitation and hoped

2:46

it would pass muster well. The

2:49

silver haired old soldier growled and narrowed

2:51

his eyes, but then his face broke out into

2:53

a grin. His tone lifted up an octave.

2:56

By God, he said, it's good to

2:58

have you boys here. He slapped

3:00

a hand on both Manny and roland shoulders and pulled

3:02

them into an embrace. Your souls are

3:04

safe now, my boys. Thank God for

3:06

your warrior hearts. Now. He

3:09

pulled back and straightened up. I'm Martyr

3:11

Ditmar. Where are you bound for intake?

3:14

Manny said, with more confidence than he felt.

3:16

We just arrived today. He glanced

3:18

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

3:21

says we're Infantry Reserve Division.

3:23

Martyr Ditmar seemed surprised, really,

3:26

he asked, I'd have expected them to

3:28

put you at least he nodded at Manny and

3:30

the storming battalion. The storming

3:33

battalion. Yes, The elder

3:35

martyr nodded, you've got the right complexion

3:38

for it. That's

3:40

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

3:43

press the question too much now, you may

3:45

not want the answer. Instead, he

3:47

put a hand on Roland's shoulder. Wherever

3:49

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

3:52

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

3:54

I help him get around. The martyr

3:56

gave a smile that seemed genuine. Well,

3:58

then he said, you want to get your butts down

4:01

to cadet processing it's a hundred meters down

4:03

that away. He clapped them both on the shoulders.

4:05

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

4:07

your heroes now warriors in Christ.

4:09

Go forth, God bless

4:11

you, Martyr Manny said. Roland followed

4:14

up with his best attempt at honest enthusiasm.

4:16

Yea God, he said, in a two wide

4:18

smile. We should go, Manny said

4:20

quickly. I don't want to terry on the

4:22

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

4:25

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

4:27

field. They stomped off towards the Cadet

4:30

process in building, which until recently

4:32

had been the high school's administrative building.

4:34

There were posters for school dances and after

4:36

school clubs on the walls. It looked like a

4:38

student body election had been under way when the

4:40

Heavenly Kingdom captured this place. Manny

4:43

and Rowland qued up behind a half dozen other

4:45

confused looking young men and waited for their

4:47

turn at the processing desk. The

4:49

intake process lasted around an hour. They

4:52

took his name as date of birth and his measurements,

4:54

and then Manny helped Aaron answer the same

4:56

questions. It would have been triflingly

4:59

easy for anyone with a deck and a good connection

5:01

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

5:03

fixer, but the martyr handling their

5:05

information wrote things down on actual

5:07

paper. Manny got the distinct impression

5:10

that many of the martyrs had disabled their decks.

5:12

He also knew from experience that data speeds

5:15

tended to be pretty ship this close to the fighting.

5:18

Someone will check eventually, he warned himself.

5:20

You'd better be fast about this whole business.

5:23

Roland stayed on his best behavior through the whole

5:25

process, although he grew twitch eer and twitch

5:27

eer as the minutes wore on. Manny wasn't

5:30

sure if the chromed man was allergic to bureaucracy

5:32

or just frustrated at having sobered up. Once

5:35

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

5:37

they were ushered over to another room filled with folded

5:39

stacks of clothing and dins with the scent of mothballs.

5:42

They were issued uniforms and then bundled off

5:44

to a locker room to change. Manny

5:47

was somewhat nervous about stripping down and

5:49

changing in front of Roland, a dude. He barely

5:51

knew if the post human felt the same nervousness,

5:54

he didn't show it. Roland pulled off

5:56

his clothes in a couple of seconds, revealing a

5:58

body that was tight with wiry muscle and covered

6:00

in thick surgical scars. Roland

6:02

started to pull on his beaty you pants and noticed

6:04

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

6:07

up, Roland asked, you smell nervous?

6:10

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

6:13

Still must be the Catholic in me. Don't

6:15

let them hear that. Roland knifed those

6:17

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

6:20

pulled the pants up and button them. Then he paused

6:22

again and looked back at Manny. You ah,

6:25

you still Catholic? He asked. Manny

6:27

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

6:30

but my family does. Ah.

6:32

Roland nodded, you fake belief. Well

6:34

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

6:36

Manny said, it's a survival skill. Grow

6:39

up in Texas and you either learned to fake what you

6:41

need to fake where you learn to fight.

6:44

Someone knocked on the door. You ready

6:46

yet, a voice called out to them. Almost

6:49

Manny responded, and then he started to strip

6:51

his clothing off. A few minutes and a

6:53

change of clothes later, they arrived on the field where

6:55

their training unit, twenty four sweat drenched

6:57

young men, were doing push ups. Manny

6:59

was surprise to see that these martyrs at least

7:01

weren't all white. There was one black man

7:03

right in the middle of the group. It took Manny a

7:05

second to recognize that the instructor drilling

7:08

them was Ditmar, the man they'd met on their way to

7:10

the base. He broke into a broad smile

7:12

when he saw them. God's will is

7:14

truly magnificent, is it not? And then

7:16

he nodded down to the ground. I'll let and

7:18

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

7:21

and Roland dropped down and joined the unit in another

7:23

set of push ups. If Roland had any trouble

7:25

at all with the workout regimen, he didn't show it.

7:27

The chrombed man barely sweated, and

7:29

Manny had a feeling that his sweat was more for show

7:32

than the result of an actual biological process.

7:34

Even with the show, it was obvious to every one

7:36

that Roland was not having any trouble with the exercises.

7:40

God's blessed us with a new Sampson,

7:42

Ditmar said a hundred or so push ups.

7:44

In the rest of the men, Manny included,

7:46

had collapsed from the exertion, but Roland

7:48

just kept going for a while. They all sat

7:51

there, huffing and exhausted and watching him

7:53

go. Ditmar smiled and shook his head

7:55

a little odd at the sight. Finally, he waved

7:57

for Roland to stop. You've

7:59

made point, son, and we're all blessed

8:01

to have you here with us. Now get

8:03

up, all of you and sit around me. Many

8:06

stood, shook the soreness from his arms, and moved

8:08

to take a seat in the semicircle of young martyrs.

8:11

Once they were all properly positioned, Ditmar

8:13

squatted down and cast his eyes around the group,

8:15

settling on each of them in turn. I

8:18

don't know how you all got here, he

8:20

said, in a quiet, somber voice, but

8:22

I know what brought each of you here, the

8:25

spirit of our Lord and savior, Jesus

8:27

Christ. He cleared his throat. Now,

8:30

he said, very soon, you'll all

8:32

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

8:34

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

8:37

deserve. You'll be fighting against men

8:39

with more experience better weaponry.

8:41

It's a scary thought, but I'll tell

8:43

you all right now, if you go into that battle

8:45

with the same blind faith that brought you here,

8:48

you'll do just fine. God won't let

8:50

any other end come to pass. It

8:59

was dark by the time Tim ditmar led them all into

9:01

the dining facility. The sight of the high school

9:03

cafeteria set off a surprising pang of nostalgia

9:06

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

9:08

but something about the gray, fabric colored walls,

9:10

the colorful posters, and the dozens of identical

9:13

faux wood tables made him long for a simpler

9:15

time. For a second, he was almost

9:17

able to forget where he was, what he was

9:19

doing, and pretend this was just another day

9:22

in school. That illusion

9:24

was broken when he looked at his fellow martyrs.

9:26

Hundreds of them had filed into the cafeteria,

9:29

dressed in a motley assortment of battle dress

9:31

uniforms from the old U. S Army, the Republic

9:33

of Texas, and even the Mexican Army. Most

9:36

of them were young, not even into their twenties.

9:38

Around a quarter of them, though, were old for

9:40

soldiers, and their forties or fifties. There

9:43

was no military discipline in their appearance.

9:45

Many of the men had beards or long, unruly

9:47

hair. These fox aren't soldiers,

9:50

Roland whispered to him as they took their seats at one

9:52

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

9:54

This is what can father looks like. Kid. The

9:56

heavenly Kingdom just expects these people to die.

10:00

Many felt a surge of anxiety. He was

10:02

sure someone else must have heard Rowland, but when

10:04

he glanced around, he saw their table mates were all

10:06

deep in conversation with each other. Most

10:08

of them, at least Jonathan, the

10:10

only other non white person in their training unit,

10:13

seemed to have been excluded. The other

10:15

soldiers leaned away from him. The focus

10:17

of the table seemed to be a tall, square jawed

10:19

young man with a Georgian twang to his accent

10:22

Martyrs. A loud voice cried from

10:24

a podium at the center of the cafeteria. The

10:26

sound of hundreds of bodies on hundreds of chairs

10:28

turning to face the noise filled the room. The

10:31

speaker was a tall, painfully thin man

10:33

clad in a long black robe. An enormous

10:35

wooden cross hung from his neck. His hair

10:37

was greasy, unruly, and shock white.

10:40

He had a patchy beard and the overall look of

10:42

an unkimpt madman. But then he spoke,

10:45

My brothers, it is a blessed thing to have

10:47

you all here today. He began, in

10:49

a voice that was little more than a whisper. There

10:51

was a raw rasp to his voice. He sounded

10:53

almost hoarse. Something about that quality

10:56

drew Manny's attention. In the coming

10:58

days, your instructors will prep pare you

11:00

for the great battles that lie ahead. You

11:02

will be given the best arms and armorack Kingdom

11:05

can provide. But just by being

11:07

here, each of you has shown you already

11:09

have a weapon more powerful than any tool

11:11

in our armory. Faith in

11:14

God Almighty. His

11:16

voice raised in pitch. Now it was still raspi

11:18

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

11:21

He spoke faster, his cheeks grew red.

11:24

Put on the armor of God, he cried,

11:26

And you will stand firm against the schemes

11:28

of the devil. Be strong and courageous.

11:31

Do not panic before the enemy, For in every

11:33

battle the Lord your God will go ahead

11:35

of you. He will never fail you nor abandon

11:38

you. At this several

11:41

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

11:43

One man in the back led out a whoop. These

11:46

outbursts inspired other men to cry out

11:48

praise God. Manny glanced

11:50

around, trying to gauge if more or less

11:52

than half of the room was joining in. He

11:54

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

11:56

weird. But then the pastor went quiet.

11:59

A sense of antis had patient filled the room. There

12:01

were about four hundred cadets all dining together

12:04

in this shift, and of course the officer in charge,

12:06

a tall, gangly redhead with no chin but

12:08

a strangely beautiful baritone voice, led

12:11

them in prayer before the meal. Manny

12:13

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

12:15

them. He did have to elbow Rowland once when

12:17

he saw the big post human wasn't chanting along

12:19

with the other soldiers. Just then,

12:21

a pair of big doors to the left of the stage

12:23

swung open. Ditmar walked out

12:26

with a hefty brown canvas bag over his

12:28

shoulder. He was followed by an armed guard and

12:30

then two men in shackles. The captives

12:32

wore striped white prison pajamas, and they

12:34

both looked the worse for wear. One of

12:36

them, a middle aged black man, looked familiar.

12:39

Many thought he must be a captured sd F

12:41

fighter. His lip looked as if it had recently

12:43

been split, and there was a nasty gash

12:46

on his forehead. He kept his head down and

12:48

his shoulder slumped. His posture was one

12:50

of complete resignation. The other

12:52

man was Manny's heart skipped a beat

12:55

Oscar. He'd been beaten

12:57

too, although not as badly as the soldier.

12:59

He looked not so much frightened as bewildered,

13:01

starving, and probably reeling from one or more

13:03

head injuries. Dude Roland

13:06

nudged Manny's rib cage and whispered to him the

13:08

fuck. Many realized his masket

13:10

slipped. He let himself stare in horror

13:13

rather than the excitement evident in everyone else's

13:15

face. No one else seemed to have

13:17

noticed yet, they were all focused on the prisoners,

13:19

But Many forced a grim smile onto his

13:22

face and tried to look at least like he was

13:24

deeply satisfied. An armed

13:26

martyr prodded Oscar and the STF man

13:28

in their backs with his rifle and ushered them up

13:30

onto the stage. Dead silence

13:32

reigned over the cafeteria. No one spoke.

13:35

It took Manny a few seconds to realize he

13:37

was actually holding his breath. Once

13:39

the captives were up on stage, the armed martyrs

13:41

pulled them down to their knees. Ditmar

13:43

set his bag down and zipped it and pulled

13:45

out a wooden rod about two feet in length

13:47

and as stick around as Manny's forearm. Warriors

13:50

of God, The priest in toned in a low

13:53

whisper. Manny felt himself lean into the

13:55

man's words, even as dread pickled the pit

13:57

of his stomach. These men appointed themselves

13:59

enemies of our heavenly kingdom, foes of

14:01

God. He raised a hand up to Ditmar.

14:04

His hand shook, but not out of fear. He positively

14:07

vibrated with excitement. Who among

14:09

you will take up the rod and punish these men?

14:12

The chair scraping floor sound of someone

14:14

standing up very quickly rose behind him.

14:16

Many glanced back and saw that one of the men from

14:18

his cadet group had been the first to stand. He

14:21

was tall, with broad, thick shoulders and chest

14:23

muscles that spoke of a youth spent laboring in the

14:25

field. He had thin, dirty blonde

14:27

hair, a thick jaw and blue eyes that shone

14:29

with excitement. What's your name, Martyr,

14:32

the priest asked Eric Friedman,

14:34

Sir. The young man cried back, Martyr

14:37

Freedman, Ditmark cried out as he held the

14:39

rod up. Come forward and do the Lord's

14:41

work. The young man walked forward,

14:43

stepped up onto the stage and took the rod from

14:46

Ditmar's hand. He glanced down at the

14:48

captives. His eyes passed over Oscar

14:50

and lingered on the battered black soldier. Strike

14:52

a blow for the Lord. The priest whispered,

14:55

and Martyr Freedman obliged. His first

14:57

swing was weak and sure and poorly aimed,

15:00

struck the soldier on his shoulder. He didn't

15:02

cry out. Martyr Friedman's second strike

15:04

was harder, sure. He hit the soldier

15:06

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

15:08

with a muffled cry. Eric hit him

15:10

again, and again and again. Ditmark

15:13

grabbed another rod from the bag and held it out.

15:16

Stand up, Men of God. The priest's

15:18

voice rose again to a pitch so high it was almost

15:20

a shriek. Step up and be the hands

15:22

of justice. Just for a moment.

15:24

Oscar saw him surprise, then

15:27

confusion, and then anger passed over the

15:29

stringer's face. In the space of about a second.

15:31

Manny didn't want to think about what Oscar saw

15:33

in his face. And then men

15:36

rushed the stage, and Oscar disappeared

15:38

in the swarm of martyrs to be rushing to share

15:40

in the beatings. Roland took the opportunity

15:42

provided by the chaos to lean back and whisper a

15:45

question to Manny, what's going on? Guy?

15:47

I know that guy, the one on the left. Manny whispered

15:50

back, he's one of my stringers. He works for

15:52

me. He's my friend. Roland

15:54

nodded and then stood up and rushed up to

15:56

the stage. By the time he reached

15:58

it, a dozen other martyrs joined Eric and beating

16:01

the two captives. There was blood on the floor,

16:03

blood on the sticks, and blood splattering the martyr's

16:05

new uniforms. Oscar cried out from

16:07

each blow. It sounded like his mouth was full

16:09

of blood. And then Roland took a rod

16:12

from Ditmar's hand and in the space of a second,

16:14

brought it down on both men's skulls with dull,

16:16

meaty thuds. The soldiers went still,

16:19

the screaming stopped, and every eye in the room

16:21

turned to Roland. The chrombed man

16:23

looked out at the crowd. There was an agonizing

16:25

moment of silence, and then Manny knew what

16:28

he had to do. Praise God,

16:30

he screamed out. The room joined

16:32

in, and soon a chorus of cheers filled

16:34

the cafeteria. After that, Roland

16:37

was everyone's favorite martyr. Once the

16:39

men's bodies were dragged off the stage and dinner

16:42

began, the martyrs could barely contain their admiration

16:44

for his strength. That was incredible.

16:46

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

16:49

with you. What did you do before? A

16:51

young man with a thick Oklahoma twang asked,

16:53

from the way you cracked those skulls out of guest, You've

16:55

been doing that for years. Roland

16:57

gave short, non committal responses. His

17:00

taciturn attitude didn't stop the other martyrs

17:02

from talking about him with supreme glee.

17:05

Their words sickened Manny, but their focus

17:07

on Roland gave him a chance to breathe and mourn

17:09

and avoid looking over at the stage while Ditmar's

17:11

men dragged Oscar's body away. By

17:14

the time the excitement had subsided and dinner

17:16

had ended, Manny felt like he could just barely

17:18

make it to his bunk without breaking down. He

17:21

lacked behind Roland and the others as they all filed

17:23

into the barracks. Mannie was grateful

17:25

for Roland's ability to draw attention until

17:28

during the walk that young black martyr

17:30

sidled up to Manny and introduced himself.

17:32

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

17:35

to meet you. Why, Manny

17:37

asked. I think you and I were the only

17:39

ones who weren't cheering to ring that

17:42

ah, Manny said with a nod. He took

17:44

a careful look at Jonathan's face. The other

17:47

man's chubby cheeks and soft smile seemed

17:49

almost calculated to make him look guileless.

17:52

Whatever he says, he's one of them, be

17:54

careful. I understand

17:56

why it was necessary, Manny said, but

17:58

I don't have to like it. Neither do

18:00

I. Jonathan said. We have to fight

18:02

them. We're fighting for God hereafter all,

18:05

but we don't have to become monsters. Manny

18:07

nodded, he didn't say anything. Jonathan

18:10

took that as an invitation to say more. I

18:13

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

18:15

the others, he said, and gestured to the very

18:17

Caucasian crowd ahead of them. We've

18:19

got a lot to overcome here, but I think

18:21

that just means God will shower more glory

18:23

on us for the effort. Manny

18:26

was proud that, in his sorrowful and half panicked

18:28

state, he managed to avoid shouting what

18:30

the fuck at Jonathan. Instead,

18:33

he matched the martyr's smile and just said

18:35

praise God. Their

18:44

next morning started with an hour of calisthenics.

18:47

The workout was strenuous, but Manny actually

18:49

enjoyed it. The speed with which they were dragged

18:51

outside and forced into motion kept him from

18:53

picturing Oscar's face for a while. After

18:56

the workout, they dove into the real meat of the

18:58

day, a trip to the gun range. It

19:00

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

19:03

practice field. Dozens of vaguely

19:05

human shaped targets had been cut out of sheet metal

19:07

and set up at varying intervals behind a crude

19:09

sandbag line. Their group of about

19:11

two dozen new recruits were each issued weapons

19:13

of varying quality. Manny received

19:16

a jankie old kalashnikov that rattled

19:18

like a Morocca Rowland was given and almost

19:20

knew g thirty six assault rifle. The

19:23

range instructor was a one legged old martyr

19:25

with a prodigious belly and an equally overgrown

19:27

white beard. He walked them through the basics

19:29

if how to operate a variety of different assault

19:31

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

19:34

up needn't to use, and then set them

19:36

up on the sandbag line and told them to start

19:38

firing. Manny took aim at a

19:40

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

19:42

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

19:44

had aimed at the same target. Again, Manny

19:46

got the feeling that the purpose of this training was not

19:48

to make them marksmen. Basic familiarity

19:51

was all the Heavenly Kingdom had time to provide.

19:54

Rowland, of course, proved a fabulous

19:56

shot. He stitched a smiley face and bullet

19:58

holes across four of the old targets and earned

20:01

genuine praise from the instructor. My

20:03

godson, you've got a gift. This

20:06

only increased Roland's social cachet with

20:08

the martyrs. They crowded around him during

20:10

the walk to the next activity of the day, lunch

20:13

in a lecture on assault tactics, This

20:15

was held in a little concrete amphitheater, something

20:17

that had presumably once served the school's drama

20:20

department. Manny tried to sit down

20:22

next to Roland, but Eric and a gaggle of his

20:24

friends settled around the post human First, they

20:26

babbled excitedly to him. Manny wasn't

20:29

sure what they were saying, but every time he glanced

20:31

back, Roland looked absolutely miserable.

20:34

Manny wound up in the back, seated next to

20:36

Jonathan. The young martyr patted his leg.

20:38

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

20:40

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

20:42

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

20:44

your skin. You are sure about

20:47

that, Manny asked, happy he was never going

20:49

to wind up in the field with any of

20:51

these people. Of course, I am, Jonathan

20:53

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

20:55

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

20:58

the sacrifice we make for God. I

21:00

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

21:02

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

21:06

eyes shone when he spoke. He's a

21:08

true believer. Manny realized there's

21:10

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

21:12

thing. That was scary, and

21:14

things got scarier still when their next instructor

21:17

stepped into the amphitheater. The

21:19

man was old and grizzled too. He had

21:21

both his legs, but his right arm was missing below

21:23

the elbow, and a jagged scar ran up

21:25

the left side of his face. The skin

21:27

on most of his forehead was bald and modeled,

21:30

as if he'd been badly burned. Afternoon,

21:32

boys, and God bless you. I'm Mada Caruthers.

21:35

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

21:38

position. Most of the strategies

21:40

you walked them through began and ended with the application

21:42

of shoulder fired rockets and incendiary

21:44

grenades. Manny couldn't help but notice

21:46

that no time was spent talking about how to avoid

21:49

civilian casualties. He wasn't

21:51

even sure specialist Caruthers knew how

21:53

to pronounce the word civilian. Remember

21:55

what it says in the Book of Samuel, Boys, the

21:57

older man drawled. Now go and strike,

22:00

can devote to destruction all that you have.

22:02

Do not spare them, but kill both man and

22:04

woman, child and infant. Ox and sheep,

22:06

camel and donkey, he laughed, which

22:09

made a few of the young martyrs comfortable enough to

22:11

laugh too. I don't expect

22:13

you'll run into any camels or donkeys out in

22:15

Austin, but there will be men, women,

22:17

children and infants. If they stand in your way,

22:19

they all equally deserve to be purged.

22:22

Manny didn't like the eagerness he saw in the

22:25

faces of his fellow students. The pit in

22:27

his stomach grew Throughout the day, While Martyr

22:29

Caruthers explained how to use the various heavy

22:31

munitions they might be called upon to deploy,

22:33

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

22:36

train on any of those things. Manny

22:38

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

22:40

He wondered how much that would matter when these men

22:42

took to the field. He ate

22:45

ravenously at dinner. Thankfully, there were

22:47

no executions that day, but Martyr

22:49

Ditmar did take the stage again and announced

22:51

that the busses were ready to take any interested

22:53

recruits down to the main drag for a couple of

22:55

hours of what passed for R and R. One

22:58

of the older martyrs handed everyone ash and cards

23:00

and explained they were good for either a cup of coffee

23:03

or tea, or a small amount of food from one

23:05

of the few stores that had opened back up. Fucking

23:07

tea, Roland grumbled into Manny's

23:10

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

23:12

what these jumped up Puritans considered recreational

23:14

beverage this fucking country. Manny

23:17

had noticed the post human growing increasingly

23:19

jittery in irritable throughout the day. He'd

23:21

seen Roland cautiously cough up another

23:23

small bag of pills right before lunch that

23:25

had sated him for a while. But considering

23:28

his post human metabolism, man he thought he

23:30

had to be pretty close to sober. I

23:32

am so fucking lucid. I can't stand

23:34

it, Roland muttered, What is

23:36

it with you people and being high all the time?

23:38

Manny whispered back, can you stand being

23:40

sober for a few days? Not if I'm

23:42

gonna help it, Roland said. He pointed

23:45

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

23:47

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

23:49

itches, but I can't scratch ah,

23:52

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

23:54

say. The bus hit downtown

23:56

Plano after twenty minutes or so. It wasn't

23:58

an impressive site. There were maybe

24:00

a dozen little shops in one cafe open,

24:02

plus a pretty sad looking farmer's market.

24:04

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

24:07

anything that even vaguely resembled nightlife.

24:10

The main drag was crowded with people, throngs

24:12

of soldiers and young women in long dresses and

24:14

new immigrants into the heavenly Kingdom.

24:17

Where should we go first, Manny asked. As

24:19

soon as they'd filed off the bus well,

24:21

Roland grunted, Unless you're in the mood for shaky

24:23

coff here some rude vegetables, I'd say

24:25

we check out that gallows. Manny

24:27

had avoided looking too long at the gallows.

24:30

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

24:32

feel sick. There was something sinister and unsettling

24:34

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

24:37

feel the death radiating outwards. What

24:39

could we possibly learn there, the Big

24:42

man shrugged, not much. But if

24:44

they wind up hanging anyone tonight, I might be able

24:46

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

24:48

be useful data. Well, I'm gonna

24:50

be useless for that, Manny said, what should

24:52

I do? I don't know, man grab some coffee

24:55

what Roland locked eyes with him.

24:57

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

25:00

lee, as shifty and juttery as the rest of him.

25:02

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

25:04

the collie and a duty or whatever, and you're good

25:06

company too. But I got half a dozen satellites

25:09

worth a sensory equipment in my brain and hundreds

25:11

of wee bitty microscopic robots floating

25:13

around the air feeding me news. There's

25:15

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

25:17

find whatever passes for relaxation here

25:19

and do it. I'll get you when it's time to go. Many

25:23

started to protest, but then he thought, what the

25:25

hell, He's right, I'm useless. I've earned

25:27

a cup of flavorless gringo coffee. So

25:30

we thanked Roland and headed off in the direction

25:32

of the strip's functioning coffee house, the Cafe

25:34

Clement. It looked like it was less crowded

25:37

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

25:39

slammed into him. She was a young blonde,

25:41

younger than Manny, at any rate. She wore baggy

25:44

surgical scrubs. Her jaw was tight and

25:46

clenched. Her brown eyes were wide with fear,

25:48

and there were deep bags under them.

25:50

Oh oh my, she said, I'm so sorry,

25:52

sir. Please let me. It's okay. Manny

25:54

said, no damage done. Are you all right?

25:57

You look terrified. I'm

25:59

just just trying to avoid someone.

26:01

It's nothing serious. Manny wasn't

26:03

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

26:05

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

26:08

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

26:10

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

26:12

big, I can block you. She

26:14

looked surprised and a little hesitant, but

26:16

after a few blinks she nodded and said, I

26:19

actually appreciate that a lot. Thank God

26:21

for you, sir. Yeah, Manny

26:24

agreed, praise him. They

26:26

sat and ordered coffee. The young woman kept

26:28

craning her neck around Manny to peek at the door

26:30

behind them. Look, I'm not

26:32

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

26:34

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

26:36

man U Emmanuel Manny

26:38

for short, Sasha. She

26:41

said, I just got here a few days

26:43

ago. You this is my second

26:45

day, She looked, surprised. I

26:47

wouldn't have guessed, what with the uniform,

26:50

he laughed. It turns out

26:52

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

26:54

even really have a choice. Well,

26:56

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

26:58

the Lord wants you. Praise God for that. She

27:01

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

27:03

something about her tone and the way her jaw and never

27:05

unclinched that made Manny suspect she was a little

27:07

less than convinced about her own words. For

27:10

the next few minutes they talked in between SIPs

27:12

of mediocre coffee. He learned

27:14

she was from the American Federation and enough

27:16

of a true believer that she'd smuggled herself

27:18

into the heavenly kingdom. She didn't

27:20

seem like a zella, though. More than anything,

27:22

she seemed scared. How

27:25

do you like it here, he finally asked, Is

27:27

it what you'd expected? She didn't

27:29

respond for quite a while. Instead, she

27:31

stared into his eyes. Manny stared

27:33

back. It was a strange feeling. She

27:35

must have been trying to search out whether he was trustworthy

27:38

or trying to trick her into revealing her disloyalty.

27:41

He maintained eye contact and tried not to

27:43

seem like a member of whatever the Heavenly Kingdom

27:45

called their secret police. Apparently

27:47

it worked. Of course, I'm happy here

27:49

in God's Kingdom, she smiled, an empty

27:51

smile. I've been blessed to meet so many

27:53

dedicated people, but um, I've also

27:56

met some people who am I am well,

27:58

she coughed. Not everyone

28:00

here seems to have the Lord in their heart. Manny

28:03

almost laughed at the irony and her admitting

28:05

that to him, but he kept his mouth shut

28:07

and just nodded. Sasha took a long sip

28:09

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

28:12

She was very pretty, but she was also

28:14

pretty young, and of course she'd volunteered

28:17

to join a theocratic murder state. That was

28:19

probably another reason he shouldn't get too attached.

28:22

So anyway, Sasha explained, I've

28:24

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

28:26

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

28:29

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

28:31

the house of where I'm staying right now.

28:33

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

28:36

Manny smiled his most charming smile. I'm

28:38

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

28:41

hour at least before the buses take us back to

28:43

the barracks. And

28:45

so for a while they just talked. She told

28:47

him about her work in the hospital, and he tried

28:49

to say as little as possible about his two

28:51

shitty days as a martyr. Sasha

28:53

didn't seem to mind that he didn't have much to

28:55

say about himself. Manny got the feelings

28:57

she was just happy to have someone to talk with. Most

29:00

of her words passed over him until she mentioned

29:03

something about a prisoner. She's from

29:05

one of the road people from some moving city with

29:07

an obscene name, and she's pregnant. So

29:09

I'll be seeing her again tomorrow, probably to do a

29:11

more thorough examination. I feel

29:13

weird about it. She was so strange, so

29:15

different from anyone I've met, but I really don't

29:18

like Wait, a prisoner is this

29:20

at the hospital? Sasha seemed

29:22

confused by that question, and Mannie worried he

29:24

might have overplayed his hand. Why do

29:26

you The rest of her question was cut

29:28

off by the sound of a bull horn outside.

29:31

Manny couldn't make out most of what was being

29:33

said until he heard prisoners and

29:35

sd F in an electronically distorted

29:37

Southern drawl. Oh no, Sasha

29:40

moaned, what what are they talking about?

29:42

It's another execution. Manny

29:45

stood up and stepped towards the door. He

29:47

had to see who it was. Even before he

29:49

got there, a terrible feeling had started to

29:51

boil up in the pit of his gut. He pushed

29:54

the door open, jogged towards the gallows,

29:56

and pushed his way back through the crowd. He

29:58

could see Rowland standing to the feed off

30:00

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

30:02

eyes were focused on the four men and two women

30:05

in shackles at the foot of the gallows. Five

30:07

of them were strangers. Six

30:10

was Mr Coron. Hey,

30:14

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

30:17

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

30:19

free e pub of every chapter and eventually

30:21

the whole book at a t r book dot com,

30:23

complete with illustrations. If you

30:25

want to support me in writing the sequel,

30:27

you can crowdfund me at After the Revolution

30:30

the Sequel at go fund me. Just type and go

30:32

fund me After the Revolution the Sequel.

30:35

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

30:37

I'm just going to try to crowdfund the next

30:39

one and see how that works. So After the Revolution

30:42

the Sequel on go fund me. You

30:44

can also find the community of fans

30:46

of this book online at our slash

30:49

after the Revolution on Reddit. So

30:52

after the Revolution the Sequel on go fund

30:54

me and our slash after the Revolution on

30:56

Reddit. A t r book dot com for the

30:58

whole book. Thanks