Divided We Fall_A Post-Apocalyptic Novel of America's Coming Civil War

by Mark Goodwin

  A few more seconds passed. “Hello?”

  “I’m still here,” she said.

  “Did you hear me?”

  She paused. She wanted to hang up and think it all over; call him back tomorrow with a well-formulated answer. But she knew that wasn’t an option. “I heard you.”

  “And?”

  “And it wasn’t just something you made up in your head.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning— I am . . . attracted . . . to you, also.”

  “Okay. So, is there a problem that I don’t know about?”

  The knot formed in her throat. What was she to say? I can’t trust you because of what Pastor Rob did, because my fiancé ran out on me when my mom got sick, because my adoptive father left me and my mom for some hussy at the office, and because my real dad never even bothered to look me up.

  She swallowed hard. “Can you— just come over?”

  “The same place I dropped you off after the Antifa attack?”

  “Yes. Apartment 6-C. Do you like pizza?” She’d be rushing just to get changed and put on her makeup. She certainly didn’t have time to cook.

  “I love pizza.”

  “Okay. See you in a little while?”

  “Is thirty minutes okay?”

  “Perfect. See you then.” Ava clicked off the phone. She felt excited, and scared, and energized. It was scary, but it was good scary. Right away, she called Charity.

  “Hello?”

  “Foley is coming over. I need you and James to be here, too.”

  “Ava, we just sat down at a restaurant. We can’t.”

  “Come when you’re finished.”

  “I think you’re trying to sabotage yourself. I’m going to pass.”

  “I’m not. I promise. I want to get you guys a rifle.”

  “Then just pick something out. I trust your judgment.”

  “But we’ll be alone; in my apartment.”

  “You’re scared you can’t handle being alone for an hour on your first date? Then hang out down by the pool.”

  Ava huffed. “You’re no help. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Have a good time.” Charity hung up.

  Thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang. Ava grabbed the pizza money off of the counter. “Coming!” She opened the door with the money in her hand.

  Foley stood there with a bouquet of yellow Gerbera Daisies. He looked at the money in her hand and smiled. “The flowers are free.”

  Stunned, she gasped at the flowers. “How did you know?”

  “Know what?”

  “The flowers!”

  “All girls—well, most girls anyways, like flowers.”

  Ava took the bouquet. “Come in.”

  “You look nice,” he said.

  She looked at his neatly trimmed yet rugged beard, his broad shoulders, his strong forearms, and hands. “They’re delicious; I mean beautiful. The flowers—are beautiful. The pizza; it’s going to be delicious. It’s from TJ’s. New York style. Have you eaten there?”

  He grinned curiously. “No.”

  She looked down the hall before closing the door. “Oh, here it is now. I’ll be right back.”

  Ava needed a few moments to shake off the embarrassment, but it wasn’t going to happen.

  Buckley gave a peculiar bark as if he needed to know whether to kill Foley or let him scratch his belly.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, this is Buck. Buck, this is Foley. Be good and you’ll get some pizza.”

  Foley looked at the dog. “Which one of us is she telling to be good?”

  Ava paid the pizza guy and closed the door. “I forgot to get soda. I don’t usually drink sugary drinks. I avoid sugar altogether—unless I’m in a bad place. Then it’s wall to wall candy, ice cream, and donuts.”

  “Such a thing as balance does exist.”

  “It’s overrated.” She placed the pizza on the counter and took the flowers from Foley. “Do you like San Pellegrino?”

  “That’s fine.” Foley inspected the Glock next to the various pieces of gun cleaning paraphernalia.

  “I don’t think I put it back together right.” Ava took a bottle of sparkling water out of the fridge and poured a glass for Foley and herself.

  “Can I take a look at it?”

  “Sure.” She found a vase for the flowers and got some plates. “Do you want to eat first?”

  Foley already had the slide off, the barrel out, and the recoil spring assembly separated from the frame. Fifteen seconds later, it was all back together. Foley cocked the slide and pulled the trigger. Snap! “You’re all set.”

  She looked on in amazement. “Really? It’s fixed?”

  “I’m trying to be good so I can get some pizza.”

  She passed him a plate with two slices and rolled her eyes. “I was talking to the dog.”

  Two hours later, Ava had ordered an AR-15 for herself and one for Charity. She’d bought several magazines, slings, a low-cost reflex sight, as well as backup sights for each gun, and ordered four thousand rounds of ammunition from an online bulk ammo retailer.

  “I guess I’m ready for a civil war.” She closed her laptop.

  “Nobody’s ready for a civil war,” Foley replied.

  She considered the horrors he’d seen in Syria’s internal conflict. “More prepared than I was when I woke up this morning.”

  He smiled to show that was an acceptable answer. “I should be going. I’ve got to work in the morning. I’m sure you do too.”

  “Yeah. Thanks again for everything.”

  “No, thank you.” Foley stood up and gave Buckley a pat on the head. “You have a good night. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

  Ava walked Foley to the door. “You said you have an AK-47, also?”

  “A couple of them, why?”

  “Is that something I should think about?”

  “With all the sand and dust in Syria, I sometimes wished I could have had one of those instead of my M-4. They hold up better in tough conditions, and the battlefield doesn’t always perfectly mimic a sunny day at the gun range. If we do end up having a prolonged engagement between factions in America, I want to have options.”

  “Could you help me pick one of those out?”

  Foley paused just before he reached the door. “Now?”

  “How about tomorrow? Maybe around six? I’ll make dinner.”

  “Why don’t I pick you up? We’ll go out to eat, then come back and look at guns.”

  “Like a date?”

  He grinned. “Like a date.”

  She blushed and unlocked the door.

  Foley leaned in. Her heart stopped, the blood drained from her face, and her hands felt hot. It was too late to stall. She had to get off the fence. It was time to take a chance. It was time to live.

  She closed her eyes and felt his soft lips meet hers. She started to push in for a deeper kiss, but he was already pulling away.

  “See you tomorrow.” He smiled softly.

  “At six?” She sighed to catch her breath.

  “At six.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

  Deuteronomy 28:47-48

  Ava returned from her morning run with Buckley on Election Day. She locked her door, tossed her keys on the counter and answered her phone. “Charity, what’s up?”

  “Turn on the news. Members of Right Now are clashing with Social Justice Warriors at polling stations all around town. The police busted up a fight at UT, another one at a church in Lamar, and the high school in Travis Heights. I guess Dr. Hodge wasn’t overreacting by closing the office today after all. Beset just announced that all Travis County Public Schools are going to be closed today since so many s
chools serve as polling stations.”

  Ava looked at the time on her microwave. “The polls just opened a half an hour ago.”

  “I know. I was going to take it slow today since we’re off, but I guess I’ll go ahead and vote before it gets any crazier. Are you still coming over to watch the election coverage?”

  Ava turned on the water to her shower so it could get hot. “Maybe you should plan on coming here. If schools are out today on short notice, Megan is probably going to want me to watch Danielle. She doesn’t have anyone else to watch her.”

  “Okay, I’ll come over around lunch time.”

  “Sounds good. And you should go ahead and open your wedding present from me.”

  “We already know what it is. Then we won’t have anything to open on our wedding day.”

  Ava laid out her clothes to go vote. “It’s not like you’re going to unwrap them at the reception.”

  “Wouldn’t that be a hoot?” Charity giggled.

  “Make sure the photographer is nearby if you do. But seriously, you should at least get it out of the packaging and load a couple magazines. I bought it for you in case things got hairy around here. And it sounds like today is off to a bad start.”

  “Maybe you’re right. I’ll talk to you when I get back from voting.” Charity hung up.

  Ava took a quick shower, then got dressed. She stopped off by Megan’s on her way downstairs.

  Megan opened the door. “Hi, Ava.”

  “Hey. I heard schools were closed. I’m off today if you need me to watch Danielle while you’re at work. My boss closed the office, thinking civil unrest might break out. Sounds like he was right.”

  “That’s so sweet.” Megan opened the door wide so Ava could come in. “But I already called off. My grandfather has a ranch north of Temple. We’re going up there for the day. My mom and dad are coming down from Waco. My dad also thinks things could get bad today and doesn’t want us in the city.”

  Ava looked at the two suitcases by the door. “You’re packing heavy to just be going for the day.”

  “If it blows over, we’ll come back tomorrow afternoon. But my dad said to be prepared to stay a few days, just in case.”

  Ava waved at Danielle. “Okay, you guys have a good trip. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  “Bye!” Danielle waved as Ava walked out.

  “You be safe. Do you have somewhere to go?” Megan walked out into the hall with Ava.

  “My boss has thirty acres out near Paleface Ranch. But it would have to be pretty bad for me to leave my apartment. I can hunker down at home for a while. Have a good trip.” Ava continued to her Jeep.

  Her assigned polling station was at an Episcopal church in downtown Austin. Ava paid close attention to the protestors and various groups of people holding campaign signs who lined Frontage Road on her way to vote.

  She took a left on 7th, driving past the municipal courthouse. SJWs were demonstrating on the courthouse side of 7th Street, while Right Now held flags and Ross campaign signs in the parking lot on the south side of 7th.

  Ava drove slowly because both groups were off the curb and in the street heckling and taunting each other. She beeped her horn and gave a big thumbs-up to the members of Right Now.

  She continued toward the church, looking south as she passed Red River Street. “Wow! It’s closed off by protestors!” She guessed the massive demonstration to be near the convention center, about three blocks down from her location.

  Ava arrived at the Episcopal church. She was not surprised to see a gaggle of SJWs gathered around the sidewalk. Ava made a mental note of how many there were. “Probably thirty or so, but they seem harmless enough.”

  As much as she hated to do it, she took her clip-on holster out of the waist of her jeans. She tucked the holster and the Glock in her glove box and locked it. “Seems anywhere you really need a gun, it’s a felony to carry it.”

  Notices that said, No Campaign Signs Past This Point had been flagrantly disregarded by the SJWs who wore Markovich hats and tee-shirts on the sidewalk of the church.

  A girl with black framed glasses and a red bandana around her mouth stepped in front of Ava’s path. “Sorry, this polling station is closed.”

  Ava tried to push past her but another guy, also with a red bandana covering his face, stepped next to the girl with the glasses.

  Determined not to be intimidated by them, Ava said, “You guys aren’t supposed to be demonstrating past this line.”

  “Then call the cops. They’ll probably come move us before the polls close tonight,” The guy said.

  Ava watched as three people with red armbands walked past the protestors and followed the signs directing them to the polls. “You let them through.”

  An older SJW stepped forward. It had a beard, but wasn’t exactly what Ava would have referred to as a man. It said, “They’re wearing the symbol of solidarity. If you forgot yours, just show me your voter registration card. As long as you’re a registered Democrat, I’ll be happy to let you through.”

  Ava fumed. She turned around and walked back to her Jeep. Felony or no felony, she was getting her gun and she was going to vote. By the time she’d returned to her vehicle, she’d thought about all the anxiety she’d had to go through the last time she’d been in such a situation. Ava also took note of the traffic cams on the intersections of Trinity and San Jacinto. Still, she was determined that she was going to vote.

  Ava looked around, peering back toward the courthouse when suddenly she got an idea. Ava started her Jeep. She peeled out of the parking lot and sped toward the courthouse pulling into the lot where she’d seen Right Now. Ava jumped out of the Jeep and located the rowdiest-looking members of Right Now.

  “Hey, what’s up?” One of them approached her as if he thought she might be a problem.

  “A mob of SJWs is gathered at the church up on Trinity. They aren’t letting conservatives vote. They told me I either had to have one of their Nazi armbands on or be a registered Democrat. Otherwise, they wouldn’t let me into the polling station.”

  The guy pulled down his American flag bandana from over his mouth. “Yeah, they put that out all over their social media sites. It’s going on all over the state.”

  “Really? What about the rest of the country?”

  The Right Now activist shook his head. “Nope. Just Texas and Florida. Ross can’t win without those two states, and the lefties know it.”

  “That’s completely illegal! They can’t do that! If Markovich wins, no one will accept the outcome.”

  “The left will. And Markovich will be in power. Do you think he’ll do anything about it?”

  Ava shook her head. “No. He’ll set up a special council who’ll look into it and find that it had no effect on the outcome of the election.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So, do you guys want to help me make a difference? It’s at least one more vote for Ross.”

  The guy grinned. “Yeah, we’ll help.” He turned to his people. “Half of you guys, follow me. We’ve got a group down on the corner of Trinity and 7th who don’t understand how America works. Let’s go educate them.”

  Ava smiled. “Thank you.” She got into her Jeep and turned around to go back to the church. She watched her rearview as four pickup trucks full of good ol’ boys waving ball bats and American flags followed her.

  Ava parked and gave the guys from Right Now a chance to get to the polling station. In a matter of seconds, the SJWs who’d prevented her from entering had more to worry about than who Ava was voting for. Threats and yelling were followed up by an all-out assault on the SJWs surrounding the church. Ava tried not to let her satisfaction show too much as she walked through the doors of the church.

  She approached the table where she provided her information to a woman who was preoccupied with the commotion outside.

  “Can I have my ballot, please?”

  The woman turned back to her. “Sure. Is everything okay out there?”

&nb
sp; “It is now.” Ava took her ballot and proceeded to the next available voting booth.

  Five minutes later, Ava had performed her civic duty and exited the polling station. When she walked outside, the tensions had escalated. The SJWs were gone, but the guys from Right Now were contending with a larger group of Antifa thugs. Antifa outnumbered the people from Right Now and were better prepared for the skirmish. They wore arm and leg guards, most had some type of homemade shields, and their makeshift weapons had large nails or wood screws embedded in the business ends.

  Ava stepped back toward the polling station and bumped into someone behind her. She turned around to see three people wearing black jeans and hoodies with red bandanas over their mouths. All three had Antifa armbands around their upper arms.

  “Where you going?” The one who spoke to her sounded like a male.

  “I’m trying to leave,” she answered.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have come in the first place,” another said. “Where’s your symbol of solidarity?”

  “Just let me leave. I don’t want any trouble.” She turned to walk back toward the fighting, but one of the Antifa hooligans blocked her exit.

  Suddenly, the one in the middle pointed at Ava. “Hey! I remember you.”

  “What?”

  “From the bridge!”

  Her heart stopped. She knew she had only seconds to get out of there or she was dead. Ava didn’t hesitate. She kicked him between the legs.

  The hoodlum in the middle crumpled to the ground like a Jenga puzzle. He pointed up at her. “That’s the chick who shot Tommy!”

  Ava punched the one on the left in the nose and tried to flee, but the ruffian on the right tackled her to the ground. She squirmed trying to get out of his grip. “Let go of me!” she screamed.

  She flipped over to the right just in time to see the boot of the one she’d kicked in the groin coming right at her face. SMACK! His toe hit her right in the mouth. CRACK! A second kick hit her in the neck. POW! BAM! BOOF! The other vandal was kicking her in the torso while the first kicked her over and over in the head. Unarmed, she could do nothing but curl up in a ball while the three monsters kicked her relentlessly.