Reign of Ruin

by Bene, Jennifer

  A blue runner ran across the bottom of the broadcast and Danielle sat up straight. “Wait, is that our senator?”

  Standing beside one of the self-proclaimed bishops was a man waving at the crowd, smiling. The text that ran across the screen said: Senator Gramm joins The Church event.

  “I voted for that bastard,” Dad growled, slamming the remote down on the little table beside his chair. Danielle glanced at her mom, waiting for the traditional correction of his language, but her mother didn’t even blink.

  Not a good sign.

  As they started to speak, they were saying the same insane shit they’d been spouting for weeks. That it was the fault of women that God was angry, and the fault of men for allowing women to leave the roles God had meant for them. Bullshit about submission, obedience, service, motherhood. All of it ending in their rally cry… God’s law is the only law.

  “I don’t like this,” Mary mumbled, and Danielle hated how scared she sounded, but she stayed silent for the same reason Mom and Dad were silent. What comforting words were there for this? The fucking government was pairing up with these psychopaths referring to themselves as The Church. Capital letters, like somehow they were above the Pope now. Some of these men had been priests in the Catholic church, others had been preachers and pastors and reverends in other Christian denominations from across the country.

  Actually, if it was just the United States it wouldn’t be as scary… but The Church was spreading. Popping up in Europe and other countries, and people — men — were flocking to it out of fear. Promising to turn the tide on the chaos and destruction by taking their women in hand. It was like the whole world was trapped in some kind of fever dream, a nightmare that wouldn’t end, that just kept getting worse. And now it was in their proverbial backyard.

  “You need to quit your job, Danielle,” Dad said, and she spun on him, shocked, but the grim expression on his face kept her quiet. Her mom brushed her arm again, squeezing, and she swallowed down the argument she wanted to make to listen to more of the insanity pouring out of the television.

  “What do they mean by re-education, Mom?” she whispered, looking up at her mother who looked too pale. “Mom?”

  “I don’t know, honey.” Another hard squeeze of her arm, almost too hard. The pinch of her skin hurt a bit, but she didn’t pull her arm away. It was like her mom was leaning on her, and she couldn’t deny her that.

  The supposed Bishop Miller stepped back, and the next speaker was another pretender. Archbishop Flores, or so the blue stripe across the bottom of the screen said. Danielle’s frustration grew as the man started to talk about original sin like it was some kind of sermon over Genesis, a pointed reminder that Eve first ate of the apple. That before Eve there was the traitorous Lilith, thrown out of Eden first for refusing to submit to Adam. And there lay his message, that women were either of the type of Lilith — traitorous, unfaithful, evil — or they were like Eve. Simply misguided, easily swayed to sin when under a weak hand, when left to their own devices.

  Utter bullshit.

  Absolute, completely insane, bullshit… but the men in the crowd were cheering. Shouting. Applauding. Chanting. And then they quieted to hear more as Archbishop Flores shushed them to share the worst news yet — they were partnering with the government to determine the best course of action to appease God and end the attacks.

  “That can’t be true,” her mom said softly, fingers at her mouth, and then her father exploded.

  “Senator Gramm is right there, Sarah! Right fucking there!” Dad shouted, pushing out of his chair to pace the distance between the bookshelf against the wall and the coffee table. He kept glancing at the television, muttering under his breath. “Damn him, damn them all…”

  “Isaac…” her mother whispered, and when Danielle looked up at her she saw tears in her mom’s eyes and a sense of panic clenched her chest. Her dad was there in an instant, pulling her mom into a hug that ripped her mom’s death grip from her arm.

  “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay. I swear, Sarah. I won’t let any of this happen, I promise.” He rubbed her mom’s back, turning them so he could look over her shoulder at Mary and her. “I’ll keep you all safe, I swear.”

  * * *

  One Week Later

  “The FCC has announced today that all internet service providers, or ISPs, must adhere to the Congressional Decency Act passed on Tuesday. There is a deadline of thirty days to demonstrate adherence, and it is predicted it will result in the termination of service to over a million different websites currently available today. Dissenters are already filing suits in various courts across the country in an attempt to stop the implementation of the act on the grounds of constitutional violation.” Ed Foster, the male anchor on the channel her parents always watched, glanced down at the notes on his desk, clearing his throat before continuing. “Another section of the Decency Act outlines new government privacy regulations which allow the monitoring of all communications as needed. Notices will be provided via letter from your ISP, cellular service provider, and any other telecommunications providers you may have.”

  “They can’t fucking do that!” Christopher shouted, and Danielle shushed him so she could listen.

  “High-ranking officials in The Church have been partnering with key members of Congress and the Senate in order to make decisions to protect the United States from any further assaults from the individuals referred to as angels.” He paused for a moment before looking into the camera. “Since President Reed originally declared a national emergency on the day the sky burned, little has been done to use his emergency powers allowed under the declaration — other than to dedicate certain funding to the research of the burn spots and the alleged angels. However, along with the FCC’s announcement, President Reed has announced today that any and all civil unrest in response to safety and control efforts implemented by the government will be dealt with swiftly through targeted military response.”

  “Oh, God…” Danielle whispered, reaching for Christopher’s hand, which he quickly took, gripping it tight as they hovered in the doorway to the living room.

  “We here at WXLA 5 want to encourage all of our viewers to stay in their homes this evening, and this weekend. We’d also like to remind our female viewers, especially, to stay safe due to the recent number of attacks on women in the metropolitan area.” Ed Foster swallowed, glancing off to the side of the camera for a moment before looking back. “To end tonight’s broadcast, I’d like to quote a great man by the name of Nelson Mandela. ‘I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.’ In that spirit, and in the spirit of our forefathers, I want to encourage all of you to be safe, but to also not sit back and let this happen. We must rise above the fear that has taken hold of our country, and we must fight it. We must not lose ourselves, and our liberty. The liberty promised to all of us, regardless of skin color, orientation… or gender. Do not go quietly. That is my message.” He took a shuddering breath and brought his eyes back to the camera. “I love you, Amy.”

  The screen flickered, and then a commercial started for a truck, but neither she nor Christopher moved for a moment.

  “Did he just…” Danielle’s voice trailed off, and she felt tears burning her eyes as fear snaked like ice cold fingers around her spine and squeezed.

  Christopher turned and pulled her into a hug, holding her tight, almost crushing the air from her lungs as the arm around her back became like a vise. “You’re not going home tonight, you can’t—”

  The tears came, she couldn’t stop them as she hugged him back, and his mother turned to look at them from her spot in the living room. Leann didn’t move, but she sniffled quietly as she hid her own tears with swipes of her hand.

  “I love you, Danielle. I’m going to keep you safe. I swear.” His promise, whispered against the top of her head as he held her tight, only made her cry harder. It was almost exactly
what her father had told her mother, exactly what she imagined so many men across the country were whispering to their wives, their girlfriends, their daughters. “It’s going to be okay, babe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “I think…” Leann stood up in the living room and he released his hold on her enough to look at his mom. The woman looked at the floor for a moment, sniffling again, before she stood up straight and forced a smile. “I think you two should get married.”

  “What?” Christopher asked, just as shocked as Danielle was.

  “It’s just, I-I’ve been listening to what they’ve said, what they’ve been saying, and I think if you two are married then Danielle will be safer. With… with whatever they’re doing.” Leann nodded a bit, clearing her throat as she wiped at her eyes again. “You both love each other, and I think it would have happened in time anyway, but… things are different now. And I think your parents will agree, Danielle.”

  “I—” Danielle tried to make words form, but nothing in her brain was working. Words were stuck somewhere, jammed up, and she couldn’t get them to move to her tongue to say them.

  Christopher turned back to her, releasing her to press his hands against her cheeks, thumbs wiping away the tears as she saw his own eyes stretched wide, panicked. “Would you marry me? Will— will you marry me?”

  “Honey,” Leann said, so softly as she came around the couch to approach them. “I know you love my son, and I love you for it. You two could live here, I have the space, and—”

  “But my sister…” Danielle said, half-dazed as she looked between Christopher and his mom, not knowing what the right decision was. She’d dreamed of marrying him… someday. But not now. Not yet. Not like this. Not when the world was on fire and coming for them, for women, for her.

  “She’s only, what, fifteen? I—”

  “Sixteen,” Danielle corrected the woman, swallowing down the acid etching her throat.

  “Well, still, I don’t think these re-education processes would be meant for someone like her. She’s still so young, you know?” Leann smiled again, encouraging, and Christopher turned her face back towards his.

  “Danielle, please?” He released her to drop to one knee, grabbing her hand in a fierce grip. “Will you marry me? I’ll keep you safe. I swear, I’ll keep you safe.”

  “Wait, take this.” Leann ripped the gold band off her finger and handed it to Christopher, and he held it up. The scratched, weathered wedding band that represented Leann’s marriage to the husband she’d lost, Christopher’s father who had died of a heart attack the year they’d started dating.

  Too much, it was too much.

  “Babe, please, I love you. Just say yes. I’ll ask your parents, I’ll do whatever you want, I—”

  “Okay,” Danielle whispered, voice cracking as she nodded. Lost in a haze, feeling none of the joy she’d once imagined for a moment like this. “Yes.”

  Christopher pushed the ring onto her finger, and it stuck at the second knuckle, but he stood anyway and kissed her. Harder than he’d ever kissed her in front of his mom before, but Danielle didn’t fight it, she needed to feel that connection. Something real, and Christopher was real. They loved each other. They’d always loved each other. This was just sooner than it would have happened, but it still would have happened. She knew that in her heart. She just wished she felt better, felt happy, felt something besides the bone-crushing fear that wouldn’t let go of her as the kiss ended and Christopher hugged her again.

  “I love you,” he whispered into her hair, and she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him harder.

  “I love you too. Always. I always will.”

  * * *

  Two Weeks Later

  “Kennedy, you should come here. You can sleep in our house, you’ll be safer,” Danielle pleaded, but her friend just huffed, laughing like there was nothing wrong in the world.

  “I’m good at my apartment. I’ve got Snickerdoodle and enough frozen dinners to last me through the apocalypse. I’ll be just fine.”

  Groaning, Danielle wiped her hand over her face. “Stop acting like this isn’t a big deal, Kennedy! The fucking military is here, you need to be with other people. Not alone, by yourself, in what’s basically campus housing!”

  “And what do you think will happen if some asshole sees me loading up my car with shit to go to your house?” Kennedy blew out a breath. “Nah, I’m just going to lay low and—”

  “My dad can come get you, help you load your car. They’ll just think you’re going home to your parents and—”

  “Your dad is white, Danielle. There’s no way in hell anyone is going to believe he’s my dad.”

  “You could have a step-dad!” she argued, kicking the little plastic trashcan under her desk. “Please? Just let us come get you.”

  “I’m good, Danielle. I promise!” Somehow Kennedy sounded so positive, while Danielle was fighting back tears as she spun the gold band on her left hand. “They can’t stay here forever. Didn’t you hear what’s happening in Pittsburgh? Total riots. People are burning the city down over there. They won’t bother with the demonstrations here for long.”

  “I swear, Kennedy, I’m going to go over there and get you myself.”

  “That would be spectacularly stupid. You know they’re stopping any women traveling alone right now, and—”

  “Exactly! You don’t want me to get caught up in this shit, so let my dad come get you. Please, Kennedy!” Danielle knew before she’d finished speaking that it was pointless. Kennedy had an iron will, and when she set her mind to something there was no moving her. That’s why the soft laughter on the line didn’t surprise her, even though it felt like something broke deep inside as her best friend started talking.

  “I love you, lady. Really. But I promise I’m fine. There hasn’t even been a patrol through the apartment complex, and I’m staying indoors. Just me, the quiet cat lady, not drawing attention from anyone.” Kennedy sighed. “You focus on you, and your fiancé, and your sister. I’ll be fine.”

  “You’re so damn stubborn,” Danielle grumbled.

  “Ahhh, but you love me anyway.” Kennedy laughed again, and Danielle felt her lips curve up in a smile, even though it didn’t sink any deeper than the surface.

  “I wish you’d gone home before all this,” she whispered.

  “Yeah, but my parents hate cats and I would have had to abandon Snickerdoodle with you, and you’re allergic so… I’m here. But I’m talking to them every day, and once they can leave Philly they’re going to come and get me and Snickerdoodle. They promised he could come with me.” Kennedy made a cooing sound. “And who is the bestest boy? Who’s my little protector? You are! Brave little kitty boy.”

  “Snickerdoodle isn’t going to stop them, Kennedy.”

  “I dunno, you haven’t seen him when he’s pissed off because I haven’t given him his daily tuna treat. He gets damn feisty.” Kennedy laughed, and Danielle wanted to scream again. To shout at her, but she also knew it was pointless.

  “All right. Okay…” Danielle forced a deep breath. “You know you’re my best friend, right? And I totally love you?”

  “I know. You’re so lucky to know me,” Kennedy joked, and then she sighed. “But, yeah, you’re my best friend too. We survived Algebra II together, remember?”

  “Yeah, I remember. You saved my ass.” Danielle leaned back in her chair, trying not to cry. “Just be safe, okay? Don’t be a hero, don’t do anything stupid. Promise me.”

  “I’m planning to be quiet as a church mouse over here. Quietly binge-watching my DVD set of Sons of Anarchy where the man can’t tell what I’m doing with my electricity.” She laughed again. “I disconnected my DVD player from the wi-fi after that last bullshit they pulled.”

  “Okay… just— shit, take care of yourself, okay? I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

  “Same, girl, same. You better keep calling me. Tell me what the outside world is like! Is orange still the
new black? I have to know.” Another fucking joke, but it had been what made Danielle like her so much in the first place. Kennedy had a wit unmatched by anyone, and as beautiful as she was, no one expected her to be so damn smart. Biochem major with plans for a doctoral track. Before the sky burned, she’d had a bright future. Now? Now it felt like none of them had a future at all.

  “I’ll call you every day, I swear.” Danielle stood up, knocking her desk chair back as she turned to wander around her room. “Keep your phone charged, okay? I don’t want to have a panic attack because you zoned out on Jax Teller, all right?”

  “I got it. Phone on the charger.” Kennedy sounded a little more subdued for a second. “I do want to hear about what happens with you and Christopher, okay? Even though I can’t be there, I claim Maid of Honor. Your sis can be second fiddle.”

  “Deal,” she answered, unable to fight the smile. “I’ll have Mary hold up a picture of you at the courthouse if Dad lets her go.”

  “Perfect. Then everyone gets to be blessed with my visage while you marry the first boy you ever took to bed.” Another laugh that had Danielle rolling her eyes.

  “Oh my God, you’re ridiculous.”

  “Awesome is the word you were looking for, and you’re right. I am.” Kennedy was smiling, she could hear it in her voice, but she also knew her friend was too smart not to be scared. Everyone was scared, and what she wanted more than anything was to know for sure that Kennedy was safe — and that just wasn’t possible.

  “You’re right, you’re awesome. I’ll call you tomorrow about the same time, okay?”

  “Okay, talk to you then. Love you, girl.”

  “Love you too. Bye.” Danielle hung up the phone, anxiety still thrumming through her as she tore open her bedroom door and walked downstairs. The TV was off, and she was glad, because she didn’t need another reminder of just how fucked up the world outside was. She just wanted things to feel normal again. That’s all she wanted.