The Called: Chosen (The Called Series Book 2)

by Justin Price

  “Affirmative”, said ground control.

  Adnan left the cockpit and looked out the windows as the eight drones came up next to the fighter jet. The jet quickly dropped out of sight and began evasive maneuvers. The drones sent small missiles flying towards it.

  The plane barrel rolled and then looped back around and pulled up right in front of the drones. He turned the plane up just in time to allow the missiles to strike its own drones. Three of them blew apart and spiraled back down to earth.

  The jet pulled back up and caught up with the large Learjet again. This time, they wasted no time in firing at the plane. The force field around it was hit and the plane shook as if it had experienced severe turbulence.

  “Shields took a major hit”, said the co-pilot. “We can take maybe two more like that before they fail.”

  The shaking had knocked Adnan to the ground. Assad was calling him as he got up off the aisle floor. He answered and said, “Hello?”

  “Adnan, I have reinforcements headed your way”, said Assad. “They are five minutes away. Just hang in there.”

  “We are trying to”, said Adnan. “We took a hit and three of our drones went down. We won’t be able to take much more before the shields go down.”

  “Alright. Just focus on doing what you can. I am monitoring the drones as well as the fighter jets coming in. We will make them pay.”

  “Yes sir”, said Adnan.

  The plane shook again; violently throwing Adnan to the floor and knocking the phone out of his hand. He grabbed it and got back up.

  “Hello? Hello Adnan?” said Assad.

  “I am here”, he said. “We’ve been hit again. One more and we won’t have enough power to keep this up. What do we need to do?”

  Assad looked at the monitors where the three World Council fighter jets were coming in to help. They fired their missiles from seven miles away and locked onto the U.S. fighter jet.

  “Alright, listen carefully”, said Assad. “Our planes have fired their cruise missiles. They are still seven miles out, but the missiles will be there in less than a minute at the rate of speed that they are traveling. Tell the pilot to try to give enough space between you and the other plane or else you could be hit.”

  Adnan ran up and told him what Assad had said to him. The pilot said, “You need to buckle in sir. We are going to do things that will toss us around a bit.”

  He ran over to his seat and buckled his seat belt and said, “Samyaza, your majesty. I need to go. We are going to try to get out of the way and I think it is going to get intense.”

  Just as he hung up his cell phone, the plane began to climb higher. The oxygen mask dropped down in front of him and he fumbled to put it on his face. Finally, he was able to strap it on to his face. He sat back in his seat and gripped the sides of the arm rests and closed his eyes.

  At this point, most people would be praying for God to save them. All Adnan could do was think about everything that Assad had promised would come to pass. ‘I know that what he says is true’, thought Adnan. ‘I just have to trust that the universe will see to it that I am alright’.

  The plane leveled out for just a moment and then took a straight nose dive; racing towards the ground as it cut through the thick clouds. The fighter jet was right behind them, facing straight down as it descended; firing machine gun rounds at its tail.

  The altimeter fell quickly. Fifty-thousand feet….forty-thousand….thirty-thousand….twenty-thousand. Just as they got to the point of no return, the jet behind them disintegrated into a ball of flames.

  Shards of flaming metal rained down past the windows as the plane pulled back up about one-thousand feet above the Atlantic Ocean.

  “Oh, thank Assad”, said Adnan.

  As they ascended back up to normal flying range, three World Council jets accompanied them on each side and behind them. Adnan and the pilots in the plane could rest easy now, but the rest of the United States would be in for a rude awakening.

  Bahar called up Assad and told him that they were all okay and that the jet had been destroyed.

  “Who in the world would have ordered that?” asked Adnan.

  “I have an idea”, said Assad. “We know it couldn’t have been the president unless it was ordered before the assassination attempt. Vice President Donnelly is on our side, so it wasn’t him. I think that Speaker William Bernhart had a lot to do with it.”

  “Whatever the case is, we need to report this to the world and show them what type of people they are”, said Adnan.

  “I could care less about public relations right now”, said Assad. “I just want to make sure that they pay for this dearly and I don’t care if we have to make the United States into a desolate wasteland.”

  ―――――

  After three days in a coma, President Liam Cain opened his eyes for the first time. Speaker Bernhart had rarely left his side after his surgery and he was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room asleep.

  Cain looked over at him and tried to speak, but his voice was nearly gone. He rustled around and tried to make enough noise to wake him. Finally, he found the button to call a nurse in. The nurse came through the door within seconds, waking up Bernhart in the process.

  He had a shocked look on his face to see his friend awake and alert. The nurse looked at Cain’s eyes and tested his motor skills and cognitive ability briefly. Everything looked much better than expected.

  “This is nothing short of a miracle”, the nurse said. “The chances of him being this far along immediately after waking up were pretty slim.”

  “Thank God”, said William.

  “I guess you could say that”, said the nurse with a wink.

  “I’m going to go get the doctor”, said the nurse as she walked out of the room.

  William walked up to the side of the bed to speak to Liam. “Do you remember what happened?” he asked.

  Liam nodded his head in affirmation.

  “I did what we had discussed before the speech. We carried out an attack on Adnan Bahar’s plane as he left the United States.”

  “Was it…” Liam cleared his throat. “Water”, he said.

  William handed him a glass of water and he took a drink.

  “Was it successful?” asked Liam.

  “Unfortunately, we couldn’t bring the plane down. They had advanced defense systems and they also had backup. Our plane was shot down.”

  Liam looked distraught that he couldn’t get up and carry out orders himself yet. He felt so helpless.

  “Has there been a counterattack?” asked the President.

  “We expect one at any time. Assad has remained silent in the media about this but we know that he won’t let this rest. We think he is planning something really big.”

  “We need to take the fight to them. We need to do it now”, said Cain. “Is our military still intact?”

  “It experienced some shake ups”, said William. “Our announcement was just three days ago, so we have several who are unsure. The bottom line is that regardless of what each general and everyone under them thinks, you are still the Commander in Chief of the military. They have to obey your orders or be charged for treason.”

  “What percentage of the military do you think is still loyal to the United States as its own sovereign country?”

  “I would guess probably ninety percent. Most of these men and women have come from small town, USA. They are very loyal to their country.”

  “This is good”, said Cain. “I would rather have a smooth transition in this regard rather than fight though a situation where we have disobedience in the military. Let’s give everyone one week to request honorable discharge if they would rather support the World Council. We need to be at full strength if we are going to put up a fight.”

  “I agree completely sir”, said William. “I also suggest that we keep an open line of communication with Britain as they have been dealing with a similar situation there. We need to be on the same page. Right now, they are our o
nly sure fire ally.”

  “Get them on the phone as soon as you leave here”, said Liam. “Oh…and how is Jay taking all of this?”

  “I’ll be honest sir. He is pretty irate that you have joined the conservative cause and gone against Assad and the World Council. He never came out and said it, but I have a feeling that he would have been completely okay with it if you had died.”

  “Well, we are going to need to do something about that”, said Liam. “I am sure that this has happened all the way through our government from the top to the bottom.”

  “What do you think we should do sir?” asked William.

  “We could essentially do the same thing that we will do with the military”, said Liam. “We could give everyone a week to resign. If they do not, then we will assume they are supporting our cause. If we are going to have the Constitution back in place, then anyone who is supportive of the enemy can and will be imprisoned for treason.”

  “With all of the prisons for Christians that are open down both coasts, maybe we could shut those down and free them. We could repurpose them for traitors to the United States”, said William.

  “There is one problem with that”, said Liam. “Those are state facilities. Your party campaigned against the federal government intruding on state’s rights for years.”

  “I guess you can call me a flip-flopping politician then”, said William. “I would be willing to change my position for this circumstance, and I know that several of my colleagues would as well.”

  “Well, we will see what we can do. The motion would need to be passed through the House and the Senate first”, said Liam.

  “If most in your party resign, then we should have a pretty good chance”, said William jokingly.

  “There is truth to that statement”, said Liam. “This is just uncharted territory. I just pray that history doesn’t repeat itself with another Civil War.”

  About that time, the doctor walked in and asked Liam how he was doing. “I am doing alright”, said Liam. “A little groggy and my throat is pretty scratchy. I haven’t even tried to move around yet. I can tell it’s going to hurt pretty badly.”

  “Well, take it easy”, said the doctor. “You have had severe internal trauma from the bullet wound. We will keep you in the bed for a few more days to give your body more time to heal and then we will start trying to get up.”

  “Good”, said Liam. “I’m ready to get this catheter out.”

  The doctor laughed and asked, “Do we need more pain meds or are we good?”

  “I’m feeling okay right now”, said Liam.

  “Well, if you need anything at all, just call and we will be right here to help you. We want to give you your privacy as well.”

  “Thank you doctor.”

  CHAPTER 16

  The police cruiser quickly pulled up next to Maggie, Chaim, and Commander Murray. They all looked over in unison and saw something that they didn’t expect. It was DeShawn. He had somehow gotten out of the underground hideout and made his way out of New York with the rest of the believers.

  Maggie was shocked considering he was in such bad shape when she left him just moments before the bombing began. “There is no way he could have had surgery”, said Maggie. “He looked like he was bleeding to death.”

  “I wonder why he is in a police car”, said Chaim. “It looks pretty new. He had to have stolen it.”

  “Well, let’s find out”, said Commander Murray. “Let’s pull over and talk to him.”

  They pulled the car over and stopped. DeShawn got out of the car with his arms outstretched. His shoulder and arm was wrapped up in bandages, but he looked like he felt much better than he had before.

  “DeShawn!” said Maggie. “How did you get out of there in your condition?”

  “Well Mag, I went to the other bunker with the medical personnel just in time. They were able to work some magic with the first aid kit after they discovered that it was just a surface wound. It wasn’t as serious as it looked.”

  “Thank God”, said Chaim. “How are you feeling?”

  “Not too bad”, said DeShawn. “I feel a little weak but the pain meds they gave me are working pretty well.”

  “Do you think you should be driving?” asked Commander Murray.

  “I was hoping I could catch up and hitch a ride with somebody. You are the first van I have seen since I got on the road.”

  “I think we were the last ones to leave”, said Murray.

  “Yea, I had to fight through a group of World Council soldiers to get out of there”, said DeShawn. “By the time I got to the parking garage, there were no vehicles left.”

  “So you stole a police cruiser?” asked Murray.

  “Well, I wouldn’t exactly say ‘stole’. I borrowed it and I will leave it right here for them to pick it up.”

  “How did you get to it?” asked Chaim.

  “Apparently all of the activity in the area alerted the police and one of them was brave enough to drive into the neighborhood to check it out. He left it on while he looked around at the burning craters in the ground, so I saw the opportunity to drive a fast vehicle out of New York.”

  “We’re glad you caught up to us”, said Maggie. “I seriously thought you were dead.”

  “I must have nine lives”, said DeShawn.

  “Or divine protection”, said Murray.

  “Alright buddy. Jump in with us”, said Chaim. “We don’t need any real law enforcement coming up and seeing this.”

  DeShawn got in the car with them and they headed off again toward the south. It wasn’t long before they could see the lights of Philadelphia ahead. They were going through one of the most dangerous legs of their journey now starting with the city of brotherly love. They still claimed that name but only for their own kind. Christians weren’t allowed in the city. The same went for Baltimore and Washington, DC.

  All three of the cities were experiencing serious civil unrest in the wake of President Cain and the United States’ decision to leave the World Council and fight for their sovereignty. Most of the people doing the rioting didn’t really care one way or the other. They were just looking for an excuse to steal and destroy.

  The sun was setting to their right as they closed in on Philadelphia. They would use the bypass to try to miss some of the madness, but they could already see the pillars of smoke from a few miles away. Whole neighborhoods had been burnt to the ground and hundreds of lives had been lost due to the violence.

  Maggie swallowed a lump in her throat as they exited onto the bypass. “This is just terrible”, she said. “I didn’t realize that things were this bad up here. It happened so quickly.”

  “What do you think made President Cain change his mind so quickly from one extreme to the other?” asked DeShawn.

  Commander Murray spoke up and said, “I’ll tell you what I think and I may be completely wrong. The only thing I can think of that would cause a person to change their stance from liberal politics to conservative politics so quickly would be a salvation experience. I believe he was saved and is now one of us.”

  “That may be a stretch”, said DeShawn. “I mean, look at his track record. I would have to hear it from his own lips to believe that and I don’t see that happening any time soon. The man was already shot as soon as he made the announcement that the U.S. wasn’t going to play the new world order game with everybody else.”

  “Speaking of that…” said Murray, “I think that Assad knew this was going to happen. He had to have planted the gunman. It had to have been an unknowing victim of cerebral reconditioning that was responsible for the assassination attempt. He took a very long shot in a heavily guarded area and hit his target. It’s obvious that he knew what he was doing, but perhaps he didn’t know who he was. We’ve been keeping an eye on this alarming trend and I don’t like it one bit.”

  “Do you think that’s what they are planning for John?” asked Maggie.

  Murray was immediately regretful that he brought that up b
ut he couldn’t lie to her. “Yes”, he said. “Unfortunately, that’s the case. They will wipe every memory of his own life and put in new ones. They know that the most hurtful thing that they could do to us is to see a brother or sister become one of their machines. If or when he finds us, we will have to do whatever we have to do to protect ourselves. He won’t be John anymore.”

  ―――――

  A week had passed since the attempted attack on Adnan Bahar’s plane after leaving the United States, but in Samyaza’s mind it was still very fresh. The anger and rage that he had toward the United States that they would ever try such a foolish thing had not been quelled. In fact, it had only festered and grown.

  “I have something very special planned for them tomorrow”, he said to Adnan. “I’ve been working on a plan of attack this week and it will shake them to their core. They will have no choice but to come crawling back or choose complete annihilation.”

  “What do you plan on doing?” asked Adnan.

  “I have a three phase plan”, said Assad. “The first thing I will do is to completely disarm their navy and coast guard. They will have no protection on either coast or in the Gulf of Mexico. I will accomplish this with long range missiles that we have stationed in Japan, Brazil, Iceland, and Cuba. We have enough to cripple them. Next, all of our World Council forces on the ground will infiltrate and take every military base in the United States as our own by brute force and air support. Lastly, we will cripple their economy by bombing every major city across the nation; especially the coastal cities.”

  “Good”, said Adnan. “They deserve this for defying you. If they don’t want to be a part of our world, then they don’t deserve a place on the map.”

  “They will bow to me”, said Assad defiantly. “If they do not, then I will make it a place that is unlivable for any creature. It will be a smoking pile of rubble before I allow them to ruin our plan.”

  “What shall we do with their President?” asked Adnan.

  “He will be taken into custody and made an example of all across the world. Everyone will see the price of disobedience to our way of life.”