A Democracy Fallen

by Matthew Savage

  “We join the Democratic Insurgency,” Nolan answered. The Senator turned with a bit of shock on his face.

  “You would join?” The Senator started. “Even after your father was taken for helping us?”

  “Our father felt this was important, just like he felt the restaurant was important.”

  The Senator sat once again and he stared out the window looking at the mountains. Nolan wondered what he was thinking about. He had the feeling that Senator Powell was going to ask them to join in the first place.

  “I am not sure what your father would have wanted. He never told you two about what he was doing. Which leads me to believe that perhaps he didn’t want you participating. Yet, you both are old enough to make decisions for yourself. Until such time when your father returns I will let you join us. You both are going to have to enter our training program. After that, we can decide where to put you both.”

  The Senator led them both to the elevator and down to the lower levels. They walked to a small office where several people were working, Senator Powell told them that Nolan and Sarah were to start training as soon as possible. The lady behind the desk told them that the Sergeant would be in soon and would get them started. Nolan had heard about basic training from his father and he had wondered if it would be anything like that. It was very physical and mentally challenging. A young Sergeant walked into the room. He walked up to Nolan and Sarah who were sitting.

  “I am going to be your Drill Sergeant.” The man said.

  Nolan held out his hand to greet him unsure of how he was supposed to respond to this. “Nice to meet you, sir,” Nolan said.

  “Do not call me sir. I am Sergeant Nicholas Wolf. You call me Sergeant Wolf or Drill Sergeant, do you too understand me?”

  “Yes Drill Sergeant,” Nolan said.

  Sarah responded at the same time with “Yes Sergeant Wolf.”

  “Let’s get moving.” Sergeant Wolf said and left the room with Nolan and Sarah following him.

  “You two will be joining a small class of students. This isn’t like normal military training. We are still forming which means we have people join all the time. It is my understanding you both have some training shooting.”

  “Yes, Drill Sergeant” Sarah and Nolan responded simultaneously.

  “This isn’t like the movies. I am going to teach you some discipline and train you both up as best as we can so that you two can be ready for future combat. This is basically our army unit which is a very broad term at the moment. Unlike the U.S military, we don’t have separate branches. Considering you both don’t have any experience flying you won’t be learning that, and at the moment we don’t need pilots.”

  They followed Sergeant Wolf passed several classrooms, the rooms were full of small groups of students. They walked through a pair of double doors that led them outside. There they found a small woman in a military outfit watching as several people jogged up a large hill. The woman watching the people run turned when she heard the doors opened. She stood at attention as Sergeant Wolf approached her. Nolan wondered if he had ever met her because she looked familiar to him somehow.

  “I have some more students for you Susan.” Sergeant Wolf said. He gave her a wave which must have meant she was able to stand-easy because she relaxed when he did it. “This is Corporal Susan Clearwater.

  "I believe you both have met my sister Mary.” She started. “I will be assisting Sergeant Wolf in your training.” Corporal Clearwater said in a stern voice.

  “She is here to help because I am in charge of training all the new recruits at the moment. She is here to help decide how much training you need before you can enter normal service.” The sergeant said, looking up towards the students who were making their way back to them from down the large hill. “She is a good instructor. So pay attention to what she has to say.”

  “Thank you, Sergeant.” Corporal Clearwater said.

  The students came back down the hill, they were turning to go back up when Corporal Clearwater blew her whistle. The students then lined up in front of her and stood at attention. Most of them were breathing heavy as they stood with their backs straight and feet together looking forward. There were four students, one girl who looked like she could be Sarah’s age, three boys who two of which looked like they were a few years older than him. The last cadet was youngest out of everyone.

  “These are your new classmates.” The Sergeant said. “You all know how important it is we get people working so make sure and help them learn.”

  Nolan was surprised by this. It already seemed different than what he had expected. Corporal Clearwater looked at Nolan and Sarah.

  “We are to meet here every morning at six-thirty after breakfast. You are to be on time and in uniform. We do physical training first then tactical and weapons, break for lunch, more physical training, then classroom sessions. The classroom sessions vary on subjects. We try and give you as much training as fast as possible so you can do multiple jobs if need be. When I determine the group is finished the Sergeant assigns jobs as needed.” The Corporal said. Sergeant Wolf nodded his approval.

  “I have to check on the others. Continue with physical training. It is getting close to our break, so keep an eye on the clock.” The Sergeant said. He nodded to the other soldiers and headed back inside.

  “Alright everyone, back up the hill again,” Corporal yelled to everyone.

  Nolan and Sarah followed the group as they jogged up the hill. The girl who looked Sarah’s age was leading everyone in the jog. Followed by the two guys who were Nolan and Sarah’s age, then the young kid and Nolan and Sarah were taking up the rear. Nolan couldn’t remember the last time he had jogged. He wasn’t exactly out of shape but he spent so much time the last couple years working the restaurant. He never had the time or even the urge to try and work out and because of this, it wasn’t long before he had a pain in his side. Sarah was also red-faced rather quickly.

  The young kid looked back at them. He smiled and said “Don’t worry you two, it gets easier. Just stay behind me and try to keep pace. Don’t worry about Karli. She did cross country and ran like three marathons.” The young kid laughed to himself a little. “This is the best part of her day.”

  “Good to know,” Nolan said barely getting the words out.

  “I am Ian by the way.” He was becoming out of breath as they got closer to the top of the hill.

  Ian explained that behind Karli who was very thin now that Nolan was looking at her. Karli was built like a runner. She had strong legs and dark brown hair. Behind her was Aaron. He was a thin man, with short, light brown hair. It was hard to tell the color of his hair due to his buzz cut, Ian said he was twenty-one years old. Behind him was Evan, who had darker skin and black hair. He was very broad like a football player and Ian told them at he was twenty-two. Ian was very small Nolan observed. He wondered how a little kid got involved in the Democratic Insurgence in the first place. Ian said he was sixteen years old which didn’t surprise Nolan at all. Nolan wasn’t sure why they let him join. Senator Powell was worried about how Nolan’s father would feel and this kid was years younger than him. He wondered if Ian’s parents worked with the D.I and that is why he was allowed to join. He didn’t want to ask, Nolan felt like the new guy and didn’t want to offend the only person who had talked to them, other than the team who rescued them.

  They made it up and down the hill several times before Corporal Clearwater had them rest for a minute. She then took them to a small building that had a shooting range in it. They were all given earplugs and eye protection then shown different weapons. They were using pistol’s today which Nolan was very confident about seeing as just one day ago he was using a pistol. The building was very plain and long. It almost looked like a bunker. Nolan figured if it was being used as a shooting range then it must be long and quiet. The mountains echoed sound so if the Democratic Insurgency wanted to stay secret. They couldn’t go shooting weapons outside.

  Corporal Clearwater stood in fro
nt of them demonstrating proper gun safety and how to use it. She told them that everyone would get one and practice shooting it. Corporal Clearwater told them the classroom session today would be cleaning and maintaining their guns. It seemed like Nolan and Sarah were the only ones who weren’t nervous about the guns. This proved rightfully so because they certainly shot the best out of the whole class. Even Corporal Clearwater remarked ‘Class better watch out for these two. We might have sharpshooters on our hands.’ This gave Nolan a boost of confidence. It seemed to him that Sarah also was proud of what their father had taught them.

  They finished the range and put the weapons into the gun case and headed back to the base for lunch. As they walked back Sarah was talking to Evan about how to shoot better using her hands a gun. He was paying close attention. He said that was his first time firing a gun and it had shaken him up a bit. Ian was following close behind them trying to listen to what she was saying. Karli was complaining to Aaron about why she had to learn about shooting guns. She told him that she was brought on specifically for communications. She said had she had a knack for breaking codes and that she was supposed to be used for that. She doubted that she would ever make it into a battle if there was ever one.

  “My father taught Sarah and me how to shoot.” Nolan started and Karli and Aaron looked back at him as he spoke. “I never thought I needed to shoot. At least for anything besides sport which I only did because my dad said I was too good, not to compete.” He paused for a moment because he realized he sounded like he was showing off and that wasn’t his point. “However, yesterday when agents of the USSB came after us. I had to use a gun against people, which is something I never in a million years thought I would do. You never know what is going to happen.”

  “That’s right.” Sergeant Wolf said.

  He had apparently been walking behind the group listening to the conversations. This startled everyone who tried to stop at attention. Sergeant Wolf just waved them on to follow as he passed everyone who stood at attention.

  “If you find yourself in that situation you will need this training. Had Nolan not had it, he could have been killed. His father saved his life by giving him skills he thought he might not ever need.”

  Karli nodded her head in understanding. Nolan hoped he didn’t just embarrass Karli. He tried to catch her eye to see if he could tell her without speaking but she didn’t look at him. Nolan felt his stomach rumble. He was surprised how good the food was, he wondered where they got it all. The group sat together which was recommended by both the Sergeant and Corporal. As they were eating Steven Nelson came and sat next to Sarah.

  “I heard you too officially joined up today.” He said but Nolan could tell this might have been more directed at Sarah.

  “We did,” Sarah said after chewing a large bit of chicken.

  “Good. We need soldiers like you two.”

  “Do you know if Captain Underwood found anything on our father yet?” Sarah asked. Nolan was relieved by this because he also had been thinking about it.

  “I don’t know yet. I am sorry to hear he didn’t make it out of Chicago. From what I heard from Orson and Mary the Senator is determined to find him. I guess they were close.” He paused taking a drink of his water. “From what I heard your father knows a lot about us. He knows the names of high ranking officers, the Democratic Council, and this base. Senator Powell wants him found.”

  “What is the Democratic Council?” Nolan asked. He hadn’t realized that the rest of the people in their class had been listening and Karli responded.

  “They are the leaders. Senator Powell is the head councilman. Senator Collins, Congressman Lucas, and Secretary Hill were also on the council. Along with General Wilkins and Admiral Hays.” Karli said.

  “Most of the council had been hidden,” Steven said. “Senator Collins was in a different party than Senator Powell and Congressman Lucas. Admiral Hays has been retired and in hiding for years now. This information is important to the USSB. It would give them an idea of who they are recruiting and possible members.”

  “Seeing as the only protection against the government were destroyed. They can search and capture and hold people for as long as they want,” Aaron said sticking his fork hard into his food.

  “The normal rules don’t apply anymore,” Steven said in a somber voice. “We are going to find him. I promise.”

  Lunch was quiet from then on. Everyone put away their trays and Steven said bye to them before he headed off. Corporal Clearwater found them and took them outside to continue exercise. After eating so much it was a difficult workout. They worked out for around an hour or at least that is what Nolan assumed it was. He had trouble getting a grasp of time due to how full and uncomfortable he was feeling. They were permitted to go back to their sleeping areas to shower and change for their classroom. After getting ready they made their way to the classroom. Karli was already waiting along with Ian. Nolan and Sarah sat down and after a minute Evan and Aaron arrived followed by Sergeant Wolf. Considering it had been so long since they had to clean any guns. Nolan found it to be a good refresher. The class was spent taking apart and putting together the guns. Towards the end of it, Nolan was pretty good at it. He wasn’t as fast as Sarah who seemed to have a good grasp on the weapon. After their classroom session, they headed down for dinner. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood after the class. Nolan figured because everyone seemed to do well at it.

  Everyone finished eating and Nolan and Sarah realized they had lots of time on their hands at the moment. They invited their class to come hang out in their common area. Sarah said she wanted to go and find Steven to see if he wants to come. She ran off to go and try to find him and Nolan caught Ian watching her go. Nolan headed back to his room and got out of his uniform and into something more casual. Nolan suddenly really missed his things. It seemed to hit him at that moment how much things had changed. He was pulled from his thoughts by a knock on the door. He opened it and Sarah and Steven were standing there.

  “What were you doing?” Sarah asked. Nolan had a feeling she knew something was up.

  Nolan cleared his throat and said, “Just changing.”

  “Well come on. Let’s hang.” Steven said nodding his head towards the lounge area.

  Steven walked away and Sarah caught Nolan’s eye and he knew she was going to ask what was on his mind. He just shook his head and walked a little faster than her to try and avoid the conversation. He sat on one of the couches and Sarah went to turn on the television but Steven stopped her.

  “Trust me there isn’t much good on.”

  “How do you know?” Sarah asked.

  “We had it on in the office I was at today. The government pretty much has complete control of what is on television. You may not realize it at first but I picked up on it. Any movie or show about anti-government has been taken off the air. The news had stopped reporting on anything bad the government has been doing. It is like they completely changed directions overnight.”

  Sarah put down the remote. As she did Ian came around the corner and Nolan could tell he was taken aback a little by Steven sitting next to Sarah. Ian smiled and said hi, in what Nolan felt was an attempt at seeming excited, and sat down across from Sarah. They small talked for a bit before Evan and Aaron showed up. Karli was the last to arrive. She was carrying a book in her hands as she came around the corner. Karli found a spot a little bit on the outside of the circle everyone had formed.

  Aaron had brought cards from his room and they all played a variety of games. Nolan couldn’t remember the last time he did something like this. He was hanging out with people, like friends. He had friends back home but many of them went away to school or had moved away. The last couple of years had been spent working almost every day at the restaurant. He had forgotten what it was like to hang out with friends. As everyone played, Nolan realized that he didn’t know much about anyone sitting here. Nolan cleared his throat. “How did all you get involved with the D.I?” This caught everyone off
guard. The room got a bit quiet before Ian spoke.

  “My parents came to this country as refugees from the Middle East. My mother was pregnant with me when she got here. So when I was born here I became an American citizen. We lived here for some years until they started deporting the refugees. My parents didn’t want me to go back to the Middle East. We were from Syria and our country was crippled by war. My parents had to leave and try and find somewhere else to go. I was an American citizen so they couldn’t deport me.” He paused for a moment he looked at the ground before continuing. “I got sent to an orphanage. I spent several years there, hoping to hear from my parents. I hoped to know where they were or where they were going but I never did. Our government stopped sending aid to Syria and turned its back. When things here started going real bad I was found by Congressman Lucas. One of his aides came to the orphanage and got me out. Told me what they were doing and I joined. I wasn’t allowed to fight for a long time. Senator Powell suspected something drastic was going to change. When the Senate was informed that they were being dissolved. Senator Powell started working harder to build our forces and I was allowed to join.”

  “I never knew that about you,” Evan said.

  “I never really told anyone. The couple people who did know the whole story are dead now.” A tear came down Ian’s face and he wiped it off trying to play-it-cool.

  “You still haven’t heard from your parents?” Karli asked.

  “To this day I haven’t heard from them. It has been almost seven years now.” Ian said.

  “Has anyone tried to find them?” Steven asked.

  “I am not sure.” Ian was trying to hide his tears. Sarah moved next to him and put her arm around him.

  “I will see if we can start to look for them,” Steven said.

  “Really?” Ian said surprised. He seemed as though he didn’t believe what he had just heard.

  “I can see if we can get any information on them. I do a lot of intelligence work. I might be able to see. I can at least find out where they are.” Steven said taking out a piece of paper and Ian gave Steven his parent’s names. “We have been out of touch with that area of the world for a long time. I will see what we can do. I can’t make any promises, though.”