Chapter 21

Theme Song: "Peace of Mind" by Above and Beyond

December 17, 2022

Petrozavodsk, Russian Federation

By the time the renegades had arrived, it was two in the morning. The lakeside city had become much quieter. Yet there was still tension that could almost be felt in the cold, damp air. The trucks slowed their advance into the dimly lit city roads, and the drivers glanced around to see the remnants of earlier chaos that had ravaged the city. Looted cars and stores with broken windows and doors laid desolate. Gangs of city residents stood outside of their apartment complexes holding baseball bats and sometimes pistols. Pungent smoke from earlier fires drifted in the air among the dimly lit buildings and streets. Some streetlights were even struggling against the night in flickers.

What caught their attention most of all were clear signs of two major factions forming. The speed by which the Russian people had begun to split apart both shocked and surprised the renegade soldiers.

Those who likely supported the current Russian regime had images of the traditional Mother Russia mascot stepping on a demon by the head. Those who did not support the current regime had a vastly different image. It was somewhat similar to the Romanov iconoclast- Except that it depicted Jesus Christ descending to earth under a heavenly beam of light shining onto the kneeling, robed figures of OTMA.

Anton had to admit that the rebel symbol pleased the eye more. It even evoked feelings of hope among the serious circumstances his homeland had entered... Hope for a better future for not only Russia, but the world!

He continued to gently press the pedal, glancing around for a place to stop. He squinted ahead, spotting a four-way intersection. Either he would turn or continue straight ahead. Anton held up his hand, signaling a brief stop. His fellow guard spoke into a walkie-talkie.

"All units, cease movements. Further directions will be given."

The following armored vehicles stopped their drive for the moment. Warm engines hummed and tailpipes smoked wisps in the frigid, gloomy night air. Snowflakes gently fell ahead. Anton glanced around, paying more attention to signs of friendly territory... And a hundred meters ahead, there was a barricade of vans and cars. Flanking the sides of the barricade were banners. Armed civilians with rifles and shotguns peeked from behind the blocking vehicles.

"Can you zoom into those banners, Alexander?"

"Yes... I see they are rebel banners, but how would we identify ourselves as on their side? Our food is getting lower, and our men may be tired."

"We will still proceed forward, but we will have to wake the four sisters, especially Olenka."

"Sir?"

"I have an idea."

"What if it does not work?"

"It will work. Olenka will have to demonstrate her powers that she told me about earlier."

"Yes, sir. Should I give your order?"

"Yes, you may tell the previous vehicles to remain still. The soldiers will wake up the four sisters and ask them to follow me."

The other soldier besides Anton nodded before speaking into the walkie-talkie again. Within a few moments, the engines of the vehicles stopped. Soldiers opened the doors and back hatches before getting out of their trucks. Anton stepped out of his truck as well, glancing back to see Olga and Tatiana stepping out with shaky legs. They glanced around with worried faces.

Olga wiped her eyes and blinked a few times. She had dozed off on the truck for just three hours. She had fallen asleep just an hour into the trip once the initial shock of the escape had worn off. How she had woken up so quickly despite her shortened rest confused her, especially the sight of the quiet urban surroundings. So, they had arrived at Petrozavodsk!

At the sight of Anton approaching her, she mustered a smile. She had so much to be thankful for... Especially for someone so special in her heart.

"Anton, is this..."

"Yeah, it is."

Tatiana glanced behind Anton into the distance. She glanced around with a confused frown, as her oldest sister held her closer.

"Olenka, Anton... Why... Why did we stop?"

"There is a rebel roadblock ahead. We will need to prove to them that we are the escaped renegades before we rest for a few hours," Anton said, glancing back at the roadblock...

"Wait, so this means Olenka needs to approach them and show her gift. I should go with her!"

"Are you sure? They are armed."

Tatiana and Olenka looked at each other. They stood still, thinking of what their approach would be. A minute later, they spoke quietly to each other...

"We should go together alone, Olenka."

"No, I think we should have Anton with us, but unarmed."

"Why?"

"Because Putin may have put our faces on public broadcast for anyone to report us! I am sure that even the rebels would have to stay informed of Putin's sinister deeds and about our looks."

"I see. Then your boyfriend can accompany us," Tatiana said, smiling.

"Yes, yes! They may recognize him as well as I. We did post a few selfies on VK before the government, well, betrayed us."

The two sisters turned around to Anton.

"So... What's the plan?"

"All three of us will go ahead. None of us should have any weapons."

Anton looked at his comrade, as he unstrapped his pistol holster. He handed it, along with his spare bullet packs, to Alexander.

"May God protect all of us."

Anton and his comrade crossed themselves. It was now or never. Time was still precious, and every minute wasted was a minute gained by their foes. Alexander watched Anton lead Olga and Tatiana ahead towards the roadblock. They passed their leading truck, and by then the rest of the soldiers began to watch the three with anxiety.

Olga and Tatiana had never felt such fear ever since the Ipatiev House. Only this time, they were walking towards those who could help them. Either they would doubt their identity and attack them, or they would believe them and grant refuge. Their steps stopped as they saw the rebels aim their firearms at them. One of them, an armed man in Orthodox priest robes, passed an opening in the roadblock. He gestured for the rebels to put down their weapons with a gradual, downward motion of his right hand.

A fellow rebel with a thick fur coat and shotgun accompanied the unknown armed priest towards their three visitors.

"Take off your hats."

Olga, Tatiana, and Anton took off their hats, revealing their heads entirely. The priest stepped around them, eyeing their appearances with meticulous attention. From the shapes of their faces to even their eye and hair colors, no detail would be ignored. Moments passed as the priest looked around...

Finally, the priest returned to his position beside the armed, tall man.

"If you are the one and only risen Olga, step forward."

Olga glanced at Tatiana, taking a deep breath. She stepped forward, meeting the gaze of the priest.

"I want you to do something impossible by human effort."

Olga then glanced up at the gloomy, snowing skies. She steadied her breathing and closed her eyes, praying silently...

"God, I call for you. Give me peace of mind and strength to help my friends..."

She calmed herself, letting go of her worries. She focused on something that could not be explained with ease... Ella had not only taught her to deny her selfish desires, but her doubt too. In a way, it was looking inward at a little piece of divine presence in her being. A warm, tingling feeling spread through her, and it was definitely not just body heat. No longer could she feel the cold. She smiled, opening her eyes to see the priest widening his eyes in surprise!

Tatiana and Anton stepped back in surprise as a glowing white aura enveloped her. Olga then outstretched her hand at a nearby car. The car wobbled gently before rising a couple meters into the air.

The priest and the armed man dropped their weapons in awe as they watched the car turn a full one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. The car then descended back to the asphalt with a gentle landing, slightly bobbing its steel frame with a squeaking sound.

By then, the armed rebels behind the roadblock had begun to whisper to each other.

"She has definitely risen!"

"She's glowing!"

"Uh, did we record that?"

Olga looked at the priest, giving him a warm smile that reminded him of her pictures on the Standart long ago. If there was heavy doubt about the identities of the three visitors before them, it had been blown away. She glanced back at Tatiana and Anton, who laughed with joy and stepped over to share a close embrace with her.

"I apologize for the initial doubts we all had, Your Risen Highness. Earlier we were attacked by disguised loyalists and lost three young men... We wanted to be cautious earlier. I am Father Leo, and this is my good friend Boris."

"I understand, Father Leo. We arrived here after my boyfriend Anton drove us from Petersburg. Besides my sister Tatiana and my boyfriend Anton, the others are in the trucks behind us. We need a place to stay for a few hours."

"Good, good. You all may join us for a brief meal and rest."

(Line Break)

The four risen sisters sat together in the meeting room of the abandoned city hall. There, they were able to have a break. They had even learned about how the rebels had ambushed loyalist officials in power. It was a well premeditated and coordinated attack that had been planned through a secretive network on "the dark web". However, there were still loyalist civilian gangs controlling some neighborhoods in the city. The other loyalist residents had long since fled or had been expelled out.

Olga had to admit her surprise at how quickly the rebel Russians had joined together as a movement. Now, they had a secret and instantaneous means to communicate. Even their leadership had formed some level of organization.

Former Russian veterans and excommunicated priests made up councils per city division. Just below them were educators and professionals in various areas from technology to medical care. The final organizational level was a diverse and numerous group of regular civilians. Those that worked in this level would be militia fighters, builders, cooks, and other assistants.

All they needed before were inspiring figures to rally around on earth, and now they had found them. A special message had been encrypted with a special encryption key and sent to the other divisions in Perm, Yekaterinburg, and smaller Siberian cities. Further confirmation had been exchanged briefly before the other rebels had approved. The only restrictions they had were to keep the locations of the risen sisters a close secret and switch encryption keys often from a pool of a few dozen. Any traitors would be either shot or exiled depending on how severe their betrayal was.

Tatiana had felt uneasy when hearing of the drastic security measures, but she had to agree that the drastic times forced them to do drastic things. She disliked how conflict made morals more ambiguous than clear cut. Neither was the thought of Russia splitting again in another civil war ideal at all.

She would pray for even their enemies if given the chance.

Maria and Anastasia too had been surprised when they had learned about a movement centered around loyalty to them and rejection of the current regime! Their tiredness and fear had also gone away when they began to speak with their supporters. Even a few children had given them some of their snacks!

The priest known as Leo soon returned to them sometime later.

"You have only another two hours. Our other divisions in smaller cities along E-105 have reported a convoy of tanks three and a half hours from here. We do not have the firepower to defeat them, but we will distract them. The rest of us will fall back to other surrounding cities and regroup."

"But... People will die!" Maria said, tears filling her eyes as Anastasia lowered her head.

"I knew Putin was suspicious... I just never expected how quickly his government betrayed us!" Olga spat, grimacing.

"It pains me to hear about these terrible things, but it cannot be helped, Your Risen Highnesses. Sometimes suffering is necessary for the greater good when things are forced down a certain path."

"Yeah, but we are very grateful for your support and help. We cannot bring back those who fell for our sake, but we will do our best to serve," Tatiana spoke quietly.

"We will honor whatever you do. No matter what happens, we must all remember that we all serve the Lord."

The four Romanov sisters nodded. The realization finally hit them, and things were clear now about their intended purpose on earth. This was a struggle with far-reaching implications and effects for the entire world. Without them, everything would fall.

Olga stood from her seat, her expression serious and tight-lipped.

"We will, Father Leo."

The rest of her sisters got off their seats as Anton stepped over with an unopened energy drink.

"Need some Gatorade?"

"Yeah, thanks baby," Olga said, kissing Anton on his cheek.

"Your Risen Highness, has your... Boyfriend treated you well?"

The oldest Romanov sister giggled. "He did."

"She treated me well too."

"Ah, that is good news too. Again, remember that you all may stay another two hours at most to remain safe. May we meet again, whether in Heaven or on earth."

"Got it."

The priest left to meet the other local leaders nearby. The sisters watched him disappear into the commotion until he could not be seen. Anton then remembered something...

"Where is my friend Ivan now?"

"Oh... We have no idea."

"Ah shoot, I remember now! He did say that he would leave for Yekaterinburg. Chances are that he will reunite with us there."

Maria wiped her eyes again... "Really?"

"Yeah, he must be very special to you too."

"Your friend? Yeah... I really like him."

"Well, if he tasers you again, I'll definitely show him a piece of my mind."

"Olenka!"

Olga laughed. "I was joking. Actually, I've forgiven him already."

Anton and Olga held each other close again, as the speakers began to play a familiar EDM song. They began to hold hands. The melody began with soothing synths and vocals like those of angels...

Their feet began to move again, but this time in a practice waltz. Their eyes met and their faces remained close as they slowly swayed in their shared hold.

Neither could the rest of the sisters resist a brief dance to keep spirits up. Not only would they feel some hope and joy, but the onlookers felt their spirits lift too.