Chapter 20

December 16, 2022

Alexander Palace, Russia

Commander Pavel, who had led the Petersburg Honor Guard regiment for years, had heard tales of the Soviet Union falling and the mess afterward. Russia reached a new, challenging age... Needless to say, it was very far from ideal. Putin had not delivered on his promise to conquer Ukraine. Riots and civil disputes over the risen Grand Duchesses had broken out again and again ever since. Two sides were now apparent to the Russian people. The half who believed in the legitimacy of the Romanov resurrection yearned for Russia to be reborn in the Second Coming of Christ. The other half doubted the legitimacy of the resurrection after the Kremlin and Orthodox Church expressed their doubts- before renewing their support for the current status quo. This could only mean one thing.

The princesses were being shunned by Russia again. No, his regiment had seen them resurrect. Commander Pavel himself had even checked the DNA tests with the lab forensics scientist Yulia. The evidence was legitimate, yet the tempting lies of the current regime had clouded the truth. There would be a great falling away from God, and Russia was no exception to that revelation.

Thankfully, Commander Pavel and his regiment of fifty guards knew better. Even another regiment of regular soldiers had joined the secret escape plot. They had done well in pretending to swear allegiance and obey the Kremlin's orders. They had to confine the Romanov sisters in action... Or so it seemed. Yet behind the backs of the occasional visiting loyalist generals, the Honor Guards would sneak outside newspapers and candy to their "captives".

Even discuss their own plan ever since new security measures had been enacted. The supporters of the Romanov sisters had been banned from voicing their opinions or public assembly. Those who did were arrested and never seen again.

A knock at his door sharpened his senses. The hairs on his neck stood up, as he anticipated what it was. He had realized that the Kremlin was planning something sinister ever since Putin expressed that the acceptance of the four women had been a mistake a week earlier. He certainly knew it was time.

"Sir, new orders from the Kremlin by President Putin... It is time," Anton said.

"We must act swiftly, Anton... Notify the rest of our men."

Anton handed the paper to his commander, who crushed and warped it to shreds. With a single nod from his superior, Anton took out his walkie talkie.

"All fellow guards, Plan A, I repeat, Plan A!"

In the cold outside, the guards and the other soldiers outside scrambled around to defensive positions behind the towering pillars of the royal residence. For good measure, a few men drove their armored vans into positions as a makeshift barricade. Guards dressed with uniforms and the old Imperial yellow decorum peeked and aimed ahead from behind their vehicles. From submachine guns to cluster grenades, any weapon would do. Defeating the incoming force was not their purpose. Only distracting them to buy time for the Romanov sisters to escape was the objective.

For they all had seen and believed that the four risen women were who they claimed to be... Especially the news confirming the Book of Revelation.

The other twenty Honor Guards went inside the Alexander Palace as planned. They would help OTMA escape as soon as possible with their commander and their fellow comrade Anton. Already, four extra armored trucks out of the eleven had been prepared for their getaway.

Anton felt his heart race. It was now or never... He raced up the stairs to the second floor. He went to the familiar set of doors to the quarters of the "Big Pair" and "Little Pair", hearing hushed whispers.

Anton hesitated for a split second, but he came to his senses. Each second mattered. He knocked firmly on their doors, and the muffled chatter stopped. The familiar wooden doors swung inside to open, and the four sisters came out...

Olga had stepped out first. Her eyes darted around. It was clear that she was taken by surprise.

"Anton, wait-"

"We cannot wait, Olenka... The escape plan must be done."

Tatiana, who had reddened eyes from crying earlier, spoke between hitched breaths. "The government wants to get rid of us... I cannot even believe the chance of that happening! After all we tried to do for Russia, past and present-"

Anastasia and Maria then widened their eyes...

"Is it happening, Olenka, Anton?" Maria asked while holding her youngest sister closer.

"It is. We must go at this moment. Only take what is needed... Your phones and power banks. Food. Water," Anton spoke, glancing at each sister.

The sisters glanced at each other. Shouts of orders by the loyal guards and soldiers outside drifted through the windows... It immediately became clear that the hostile Russian forces were near.

"Let's go," Olga said, heading into the bedroom.

Tatiana followed Olga, and she hesitated as she glanced around their refurbished bedroom. That very room where they had lived their childhoods and adolescent years in... So many memories and precious things of the past laid between the walls.

It felt poignant. Even their home would be destroyed, but she knew deep down that their lives mattered for the greater good of God.

"Tatya. I know this is difficult, but we must let go of the past."

"But the photos... the little things... They are all we have left of our family."

"I realized that the things we see and touch do not matter as much. The past has passed... But what awaits us in Heaven is much greater. Remember what Papa read to us about what God has in store for us?"

Tatiana then glanced at her fur coat lying on her bed along with her iPhone. Then she glanced at her most prized photograph of a past love... a soldier she once knew. She knew what to at least keep.

"I- I understand."

"Good. Let's get packing as quickly as possible."

The Big Pair and Little pair took only their phones, laptops, and their spare coats. Nothing else was spared... Except that Tatiana had taken a small, prized photograph of her long-lost beloved Dmitri Malama.

They all rushed outside with Anton, carrying their small backpacks. There, Commander Pavel and two Honor Guards waited.

"Anton, help them to their trucks. I will stay behind to help the men fight."

"Sir-"

"I trust you entirely, Anton. You have been an outstanding and loyal one under my command. Now I declare you as acting commander for your men."

"But- What about you?"

"If I stay, the pro-Putin forces will be more convinced that the risen Romanov sisters are protected by the men left behind... Despite them actually escaping."

"How would I know what to do?"

Pavel smiled, patting Anton on the left shoulder.

"Trust your gut. Don't overthink your choices."

Anton lowered his head, feeling melancholy... and a bit uncertain.

"Noted... Commander."

"I must go now. Remember my advice to you and remember that we are all brothers."

Pavel hugged him one last time, before he looked one last time at Olga, who felt tears welling up in her eyes. Not from sadness but gratitude.

"Thank you, sir."

"Of course. May we all meet again in Paradise."

Commander Pavel ran downstairs with his two personal guards... to a certain death. But he would at least fall fighting for a cause more precious than his own life.

(Line Break)

"In here, quick!" Anton whispered, gesturing to the armored truck.

Olga and Tatiana, glancing left and right, then ran to the opened back of the armored truck. They climbed in with the few things they held, wincing in fright as a few screams of agony came from the direction of their royal residence. They glanced back for a split second before rushing into their truck. Anastasia and Maria also closed their eyes in fright, whimpering in fear within a truck's trunk. They could not fathom if their pursuers were closer or not... The lack of knowing only made the feelings worse.

Whatever their rescuers were doing, they needed to hurry.

The few dozen soldiers with Honor Guards who had been entrusted under Anton's command gestured to each other to go into the various armored trucks. How the soldiers did not wince from the loud crackles and distant booms almost baffled the four Romanov sisters. Another distant staccato of gunfire resounded from the distance past the forest trees. More screams could be heard.

But even more terrifying was another thing... A familiar droning echoed all around. It was the sound of a single military helicopter flying overhead. The sound of its rotors then grew louder, and Anastasia peeked out from the still opened back doors of her truck...

The helicopter was slowly descending in a corkscrew pattern down towards their location.

"Go, go! Split off the decoy rides as per the plan!" Ordered Anton.

Anton then ran into his truck driver seat, buckling his seat belt. A split moment later, the trucks rumbled to life, and the other half of the trucks drove off as fast as they could. Those were the decoys.

"Anton, Anton?" Olga called out from the grated opening of the truck compartment.

"Not now, babe! Hold on tight!"

Anton pressed the pedal hard, accelerating his armored truck onto a nearby road. Not far behind, a few other trucks with their guards and soldiers followed in a single file line. They had only just begun their escape. Where they would go would be a distant city where most rebellions and riots had occurred against the current regime... Yekaterinburg. Ironically, it was the very place where they had first been executed over a century ago. How history had taken its turns was almost baffling to all of them!

The trucks now had diverged far apart. The decoys had taken the roadway leading directly to Petersburg, but the true transports for the four sisters had taken an indirect path along more remote roads towards the E-105 freeway heading eastward.

Within the helicopter, the pilots argued as they glanced down at the landscape...

"Are you foolish? The decoys would obviously take the longer and harder path rather than the most obvious and convenient escape path out of Russia. They will pass through Petersburg!"

"No, they would have to avoid our men coming from Moscow and Petersburg. Come on, Aleks," the other pilot said, pointing his hands sharply to the road snaking north across the forested land.

"No, there are plenty of their supporters in Petersburg. We know that as Putin and Dugin pointed out... It's basically their nest of pink-lensed fanboys and fangirls who yearn for their Tsar," Aleks spat out.

"Fine! As long as we get them in the end."

The helicopter then turned around from the forest, heading towards the decoy convoy of trucks.

Back on the surface, Anton knew the helicopter had chosen the decoys to pursue. He glanced at the side mirrors, and he heard no sound of the helicopter anymore. He wanted to stop and rejoice, but he could not risk letting his overconfidence cloud his decisions. Not only did his girlfriend need his help to escape east, but the world needed all five of those risen princesses.

It would be a few hours until their resting stop at Petrozavodsk, alright. The only reminder that Anton needed to heed was to drive and act normally once on the highway. Avoiding attention by the police and passerby would be crucial even at stops.

Within the trucks, Anastasia and Maria had long since gained some peace of mind. They, too, had also noticed no helicopter noises, sirens, or distant pattering of gunfire. They glanced at each other, then bursting into tears as they hugged tight in the cold compartment. The guards near them prayed. They all would pray hard that night while they all headed into their own wilderness with adversity awaiting ahead.

(Line Break)

"Blyat! These inbred bastards escaped our aerial patrol."

"We were not even able to capture the loyalist commander alive for interrogation. He took down a few of our men in a suicide grenade blast... Our options are running thin, dammit."

"That is of no concern, General. As long as we fulfill operation Okhrana as per Putin's orders and hide news of their capture from the public eye, we will be cleared."

"Fine, Dugin. I will arrange an alert for the authorities to report any suspicious sightings and have a little discussion with Putin to arrange martial law... we will have an insurrection on our hands if we do not crush them soon."

"I knew those four women had something off about them... They are not who they claim to truly be. Neither do our existing doctrines explicitly support the possibility of pre-apocalypse resurrection..."

The general and Dugin ended the phone call, leaving each one of them alone in their room to wonder...

What had they gotten themselves into?