by Jackie D
“The survival of other countries isn’t really our problem.” MacLeod touched the window, the behavior of a child who only reacted to whims.
“And if they don’t survive because of it?” Kaelyn asked.
MacLeod smiled, a light flickered in his eyes. “Once they’re all dead, the whole world will be ours. No more sharing resources.”
Kaelyn felt the bile rise in the back of her throat. “Interesting.”
Nora crossed her arms. “She wants to know why you’d allow millions of people to die if you had the ability to save them. She’s only pretending to be interested and impressed to fall into your good graces.”
MacLeod put his hands on Kaelyn’s knees and started to rub them. Her involuntary response was to pull away, but she forced herself to remain still.
“It’s God’s will. We’re the chosen people. While the Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews all die because of a failing earth, we prevail. That’s not coincidence.”
“So, Christianity has turned into watching as people suffer and die? Besides your perverted interpretation of religion, what about the Constitution? The Founding Fathers didn’t want there to be a single religion. They wanted people to be free to worship however they saw fit.” Kaelyn knew she was treading on thin ice, but she couldn’t help herself and she really needed to know.
“The Constitution?” He shook his head. “Please, we tried that and it failed. People can’t be trusted with that much decision-making power. They need to be told what to do and who to follow. When my father came to power, the whole country was falling apart. People from all over the world were flooding across the border, sucking up our natural resources, spending our tax dollars, and taking jobs from hardworking people. American people. Mothers were killing their babies right before they could be born, men thought they were women, and young men thought it was okay to have sex with other young men. It was complete depravity.” He sat back in his seat and rubbed his face. “Before my father saved America from itself, there was a war on men. Women thought they were capable of doing the same jobs as men. They didn’t want to raise children; they wanted men to stay home while they went out and pretended to be men. It was disgusting. Who knows what would’ve happened if my father hadn’t been elected.”
Kaelyn tried to swallow her words, but they were too big. “There was no war on men. Women just wanted to be treated equally. They wanted control over their bodies, over who they loved, and what they did with their lives. They didn’t need saving from anyone but men like your father and you.”
Rage filled MacLeod’s eyes, and his upper lip twitched as the transport rolled to a stop. “And yet, here you are, no power, no voice, and no ability to change your fate.” He pushed the door open. “Now get out and do as you’re told before I put a bullet in your head.”
Kaelyn pulled against her steel restraints. She wanted to throw herself across the transport and hit him. Not just to extinguish the anger she felt pulse through every nerve ending, but for the thousands of women and minorities who had been impacted by this mindset. She couldn’t begin to imagine the vile behavior and agony they’d all endured while nothing was done. Well, that would end today. Even if she wasn’t successful she’d at least do her part, even if it killed her.
Chapter Thirty-four
Arrow was only a few blocks from the center of the city where the large group of people had congregated. She ducked into one of the alleyways and opened her transmitter. She programmed in the code to reach the leaders of the Resistance forces. There were several small scuffles taking place along the outermost part of the city limits, but they’d otherwise gone unchecked.
Arrow instructed them to keep their heads on a swivel. Overthrowing an entire government wasn’t going to start or end with a few minor skirmishes. Plus, it would take several days for the sedation drugs to work their way out of the systems of the people of Eden. During that time, no one was entirely sure what to expect from the masses.
She realized that most of the citizens of Eden probably believed the Resistance forces in the streets were there because MacLeod was bringing them into the fold. He had said as much on his emergency transmissions. Even though they were armed, they might not have any reason to think they were anyone but a new soldier force. This group of people had been bred to be complacent. She wasn’t sure if that would benefit them or work against them. But it was too late to weigh the pros and cons of that now. Fortunately, no one gave her a second glance, and when they did, their eyes were so dull it was surprising they’d register anything at all.
She was able to get in contact with her mother and Valor. They were working with one of the platoons to overrun the broadcasting system. Her mother was ready to make an announcement that would be shared not only with the Resistance but all of Eden as well.
Arrow found a reasonably secluded place, pulled the rifle from her back, and fastened the grappling attachment to the end. She took aim at the rooftop and pulled the trigger. Once the hook was anchored at the rooftop, she attached it to her belt loop and pushed the button. She was pulled to the top of the building a moment later, and though she listened for shouts of warning, none came. She removed the drone cloak from her backpack and set it up over the top of her. It would give her a three-foot-by-three-foot space to work in, which was more than manageable. She removed the binoculars from her backpack and scanned the area. The images behind the stage announced that a message from the president was coming soon, with images of MacLeod rotating beside it. She turned her binoculars in the direction the Resistance forces should be heading in from. There they were, a sea of blue uniforms at the edge of the crowd. She felt several things at once—pride, determination, and fear. She worried about all the ways this situation could go and how many people would be in danger. Focus. Get to Kaelyn. Deal with the rest later.
She set her transmitter to the broadcast frequency to be able to hear anything that happened, and then set up her long-range rifle and adjusted the scope. She had a perfect sightline from this vantage point. She’d thought about hiding out near the stage and attacking from there but changed her mind when she saw the soldiers congregating at each end. Even if she was able to get near MacLeod, she would likely get herself and Kaelyn killed. This would buy her a couple of crucial moments while everyone tried to figure out what to do next. She knew the army of the Hand of God would find her within a few minutes, but she hoped it would be a big enough distraction for Kaelyn to escape.
Arrow set up the rifle’s targeting system on the podium where she assumed MacLeod would make his announcement. She tucked the remote activation button into her pocket and went back down the side of the building. She wasn’t sure she knew what the exact right moment would be; she just hoped she would know the opportunity when it happened.
* * *
Kaelyn listened from behind a black curtain where she was waiting with MacLeod, Nora, and several soldiers. There was a prerecorded message playing on several screens. It was clearly intended to invigorate the crowd. The recordings were of people from Eden speaking about their great fortune to live in such an incredible place, free from the dangers and issues of the rest of the world. Then there was a segment regarding genetic modification. The geneticist was offering to help people rid their potential offspring of any issues that were of concern—brown eyes, homosexuality, red hair, and so on. Kaelyn knew more traits had been listed, but she couldn’t bring herself to log them into her memory.
She looked over at MacLeod and Nora, who stood there so smug and proud of the society they were helping to create by eliminating traits they deemed less worthy. She thought of all the different personalities they wanted to wipe out and how much dimmer the world would be because of it. She wondered if this world was even worth saving. If this is what they were striving toward, maybe they had found a way to eliminate human decency as well. Then she thought of the people she had met since she started her journey here. They were decent, special, and wonderfully unique. They were worth saving. They deserved better than th
e MacLeods. That’s who this was all for.
She wanted to see Arrow and disappear into her arms for several years, possibly forever. She thought about her devotion to these people and the belief that they were worth saving. She wished she was here with her now. She wanted some of that adoration to seep into her skin, to make her believe. But that wasn’t reality. This was where she was, and these were the circumstances she needed to deal with.
MacLeod grabbed her by the arm and squeezed. “If you fuck this up, I’ll find every one of your little friends and see that they pay for your poor decision-making.”
She tugged her arm away from him. She knew it wasn’t much, but it was all she had. Nora pushed her from behind, and she practically fell onto the stage. The crowd started cheering for MacLeod and Nora, who stood on either side of her, waving back. The square was filled with people. She scanned their faces, hoping to find a few familiar ones, but there were none. What did occur to her was that these people were clapping and cheering, but not a single one of them was smiling. They were giving the MacLeods what they wanted, but it wasn’t because of loyalty; it was because of fear and conditioning. She had been in crowds of people with her parents who cried when they walked out on stage, who wanted her parents to hold their babies, and to take pictures. These weren’t the faces of people in awe. This was a group of people who had never experienced real leadership.
MacLeod was presented with a small tray with three small dots that looked like buttons. He grabbed one and put it on his throat. Nora grabbed the other and then she placed the last on Kaelyn’s neck. It wasn’t until MacLeod started speaking that she realized the buttons were microphones.
He spread his arms like he was embracing the crowd. “Thank you all for coming out today. I have such a wonderful surprise for you.” He motioned over to Kaelyn. “I know many of you don’t recognize her, but this is Kaelyn Trapp. Her father was defeated by my father to give you Eden.” He slid his arm around her waist and held her hard when she tried to pull away. “But God saved her for us. He has brought her through the decades, a true miracle. God’s intention, I’m sure, was to prove to you that you are his true believers, his real followers, his chosen people.” He kissed her cheek. “Kaelyn, please tell everyone how impressed you are with their new country.”
Kaelyn studied the faces of the people again. Some looked confused, others scared, but some seemed blissful. She tried to calculate those reactions to figure out who would remain loyal to MacLeod. “It’s very beautiful.”
He rubbed her back, his fingertips pressing cruelly into her skin. “Why don’t you tell everyone a little bit about the newcomers who have been coming through the city gates? Tell them how they’re here to help. How they’ve been long forgotten, but now that they’ve returned we’ll welcome them with open arms and place them into the worker force.”
Kaelyn saw Arrow duck behind one of the dozen statues of MacLeod that lined the square. Her pulse raced and she scanned the crowd again to see the spread of the blue uniforms that signaled hope. Arrow was getting closer, but she needed to buy her a little more time and not alarm any of the people who surrounded her.
Kaelyn smiled and folded her hands in front of her. “The people you see behind you are known as the Resistance. They are here to help you.”
MacLeod’s eyes bored into her and his grip around her arm tightened. “Surely, the Resistance is no longer the name they’d like to go by. I’m sure we can think of something better.” He smiled into the crowd.
Arrow was only about thirty feet from her now. She didn’t want to keep staring at her and give away her location, but it was hard to look away. She was sure Arrow had a plan of some kind or she wouldn’t have put herself in this position. Kaelyn tried desperately to think of what it might be so she could be prepared to help.
Kaelyn yanked her arm loose of MacLeod’s grip. “There is a better way to live. MacLeod wants to be your king, but that’s not who we are. That’s not who any of you are. You’re not servants or peasants. You’re Americans. The Resistance is here to help take the government back from this treacherous family. They’re here to help you—”
MacLeod grabbed her by the throat and shoved her backward. She heard Nora begin to speak, but she couldn’t make out what she was saying. Her only focus were the white dots that were beginning to take over her vision from the lack of oxygen as she pulled at MacLeod’s hand.
A round of gunshots filled the air. People screamed, and a heavy weight fell on top of her. The last thing she saw before everything went completely black was Arrow running up to the stage. Somehow, she knew everything would be all right.
Chapter Thirty-five
Arrow wasn’t sure if she had chosen the right time to pull the trigger. She knew the rifle would have a difficult time hitting MacLeod from the position he was in, but she couldn’t stop herself when she saw him grab Kaelyn. Now there were people running in every direction, slowing her progress to the stage but also providing cover so she could get there.
Soldiers had surrounded MacLeod and Kaelyn, which meant Arrow couldn’t tell if Kaelyn was okay. But even from a distance she could see a pool of blood forming on the stage. Please don’t let me have shot Kaelyn. She felt someone try to grab her, and she pulled her arm away, needing to keep moving forward. They grabbed her again, more forcefully. She grabbed the hand and turned it over, effectively wrenching the soldier’s arm behind his back. She shoved him away, pushing him into the crowd of scurrying people.
She was almost to the stage when another soldier stepped out in front of her, gun drawn. She grabbed the gun, turning it over in his hand. When he loosened his grip, she took the gun from him and used the butt to smack him in the side of the head, and he fell to the ground unconscious.
There were four more running toward her, and she pulled her breathing apparatus from her pocket and pushed it into place in her mouth and nose. She pushed the activation button, allowing her to breathe as she rolled a smoke sphere toward the approaching men. It hit the ground, and smoke started pouring out of it, blinding the soldiers and causing them to double over in a coughing fit.
She finally reached the stage. There were several people surrounding MacLeod, who was lying facedown on top of Kaelyn. She had assumed this was their position, but the idea hadn’t prepared her for the rage and fear that flowed through her body. As she moved toward them, she assured herself that Kaelyn was simply unconscious and the blood belonged to MacLeod. There was chaos all over and around the stage. Several soldiers hurried Nora MacLeod off the stage while others were making a path for the emergency transport to get close enough to assist the fallen dictator. People were yelling and crying; there were shots being fired in the distance. The uprising was beginning, and MacLeod was going to be helpless to stop it.
She wasn’t going to get Kaelyn out of here with any fancy maneuvers. She pulled her gun from its holster. There were six soldiers and one of her, not great odds. But she was going to get Kaelyn out of here or she was going to die trying. She took a deep breath and was about to charge forward when she felt someone next to her. Valor.
“I wasn’t going to let you have all the fun by yourself.” He activated the electricity in his baton.
Now that the odds were better, she put her gun away and pulled her baton from the sling on her back. She hit the button on the bottom of the rod, and it started to buzz with electricity.
The city soldiers who stared at them appeared confused. They weren’t sure what to make of the two of them. Unlike the Resistance, these poor men hadn’t spent a lifetime training for this day. They had probably been forced into service, an unfortunate consequence of being born into the wrong class, and the ones facing them were marked as city soldiers, the kind who never left to patrol the outside. Up until today, they probably hadn’t had to face anyone fighting back, questioning their position. They’d always been the takers, and now that they were forced to deal with opposition, they were freezing.
Arrow noticed a few trembling hands wrapp
ed around their guns. It only gave her pause for a second. Then one of them fired off a shot and she and Valor went in different directions with an unspoken understanding they would attack from the sides.
Arrow rolled on the ground and came up alongside one, pushing her baton into his kidney. He went down as the next fired another shot. She flipped over on her stomach and used her legs to sweep around, taking him out at the knees. When he hit the ground, she shoved the baton into his stomach, causing him to start convulsing.
The final soldier in her path was backing up toward MacLeod. The panic in his eyes was real as he fumbled with his gun, which ultimately fell to the ground.
“We’re aren’t your enemy.” She motioned at him with her baton. “We want to free you from all of this.”
He glanced down at his gun like he was going to try to go for it.
“You don’t want to do that and I don’t want to hurt an unarmed man,” Arrow said.
He stared at her for what seemed like several seconds, then he turned and ran in the other direction.
A very large, daunting man with a general’s stars was standing in front of MacLeod. With a gun in each hand and his legs planted firmly, he pointed the weapons at Arrow and Valor, and he made no move to leave. “You will let emergency services through.”
“I’m not letting you take Kaelyn Trapp,” Arrow said.
“I don’t give a shit about the girl. I just want to get him out of here.” He nodded to the emergency responders who waited at the side of the stage.
Other soldiers were running toward the stage now, and they’d run out of options and time. “Okay. I have explosive devices set all around the stage. Tell the approaching soldiers to stop. You take MacLeod, we’ll take Trapp, and no one else has to get hurt.”
The general looked like he didn’t believe her, and with good reason. There were no explosives anywhere near the stage. She would have never risked Kaelyn like that, but he didn’t know that. He pushed his transmitter button all the same and told the soldiers to stand down. The emergency responders put MacLeod on a gurney, and Arrow was disappointed to realize that he was simply unconscious and not dead. The shot had hit him in the leg. Hopefully, it hit an artery.