Chapter Twenty-six

The floor creaked as I paced the living room to stifle my screams. It was three in the morning, and the only change in the channels’ programming was the inclusion of additional murders. One by one, the Order was picking off members of the government who hadn’t been in attendance of the speech. The most recent addition was of a Congresswoman from New York cowering in a bedroom closet. As the emerald-robed man yanked her from her hiding place, she screamed that she would do anything, give him anything he wanted if he would only let her live. A sick smile crossed his face as he raised the gun to her head.

“Anything?” he asked, clearly toying with the woman. She nodded, her eyes looking to the right then widening in terror as a child’s voice came into hearing range of the camera. “Will you kill her?”

The Congresswoman’s shoulders sank, and she yelled for Chrissy to run. The man fired the pistol, the woman screaming as the camera panned to the little girl thrashing about on the floor. She was a much younger version of the Congresswoman.

“No!” the woman shrieked as she rushed to her daughter’s side. A second shot fired and the woman’s body lurched forward, falling limply onto the gurgling Chrissy.

“Always making promises they have no intention of keeping. This one exterminated.” The man gave a curt nod and saluted the camera.

The State of the Union footage resumed, and unable to stomach another second of the violence, I flicked off the television. This had to be a hoax. Probably some big Hollywood executive wanting to promote his upcoming movie and this had been a publicity stunt perpetrated by hackers. Wasn’t Hollywood constantly doing that to drive people to the theaters?

But there had been far too much resemblance between the actors and their roles—down to scars, voice, and speech patterns—for this to be a movie. The President had taken a breath during his speech and almost immediately began coughing, which soon led to gasps for air. He’d clutched his throat, his tired eyes full of panic as he mumbled that he couldn’t breathe. But no one had rushed to his aid when he fell onto the floor of the stage, writhing in pain. The screams had crescendoed as more voices joined the President. The room had fallen silent within minutes, bodies stilled and eyes glassed.

And the Attorney General—his assassination had to be real. The Mike I knew wore his heart on his sleeve and would never have been able to pull that trigger. Had the greenies threatened his family? Were Carrie and her children safe?

My stomach knotted. She’d known of the takeover enough in advance to warn me. They were likely in a much better position than we would ever be.

Still, I had to know the circumstances, had to know what was real. If what happened was in actuality, she wouldn’t be asleep right now. I fumbled through the diaper bag for my cell phone then dialed her number.

“You’re still alive which is good, but you shouldn’t be calling me,” she warned, her voice laden with tears.

“Did Mike shoot the A.G.?”

She sighed in a way that made her sound inconvenienced. “Yes. Ramirez is dead, and Mike fired the shot.” She seemed so dismissive about it, as though it were nothing more than him setting out the trash.

“And you’re okay with this?” I tried to keep the ‘what the hell are you thinking?’ factor at bay. I wasn’t succeeding.

“It’s a new dawn. The Order of the Father has risen, and we’ve secured our place within the organization. You should have joined while it was voluntary. Life won’t be so easy for you now.”

“Omigod, Carrie, how can you be so callous about this?” I expected her to hang up on me, but she breathed into the phone a couple of times.

“Callous? That’s what you call the people who saved your life? Had you not heeded our warning, you and your family would have been joining the leeches in hell by now. We’re even. Don’t contact us again.”  The dial tone resembled death knells and I powered down the phone.

The good news was that she hadn’t known my true identity. If she’d hand-delivered me to the greenies, it would have advanced them in the Order’s hierarchy, possibly enough to garner an emerald robe. Would they keep my secret once my identity was exposed? Us being ‘even’ suggested that particular lifeline had been cut. And because I’d pissed her off, she could offer up my location at the first opportunity.

But she’d been my friend. If that had been her intention, she wouldn’t have warned us. There had been nothing on the television to indicate that the greenies had progressed past killing politicians to aiming for soldiers. She was probably trying to scare me.

I turned on the TV in search for some answers. Every news station in America should be discussing the massacre, but they were silent save for the murderous loop. The news story of the millennium and there was no reason for comment? Reporters regularly interrupted the scheduled programming to announce a young star’s involvement in a hit-and-run accident, yet for this, nothing.

Maybe there was something on the Internet. I touched the compass icon on my phone. Several seconds later, ‘Unable to locate server’ flashed onto the screen. A deflating breath dropped my chin to my chest. We would only know what the Order chose to tell us, and for now, that was limited to the death of our government.

I tiptoed back to the bedroom and curled up against Luc. His breathing sounded like lumberjacks sawing away a forest. He would awaken soon and I was prepared for the worst.

*                                                *                                                *

“It’s freezing in here,” Luc croaked as he twisted on the bed and draped an arm over me. The bed creaked in such a way that it was obvious we weren’t at home, and his body went rigid. “Where are we?”

There was no use lying; it wasn’t like he wouldn’t figure out our location the second he turned on the lights. I feigned sleep until he asked again.

“We’re at the cottage.”

He remained silent. “At the cottage? I don’t remember the drive.”

“You hit your head and passed out, so I drove us here,” I replied.

“That explains the headache, but why are we here?” He lifted up, supporting his weight with his elbow. I felt his gaze boring through me.

“I spoke with Carrie and Mike yesterday. They said we needed to leave, so this is where I brought us.”

He sighed, the tension between us palpable. “I recall telling you that we were going to stay put. I take it they were wrong about the snow?”

“No, they were right on the money with it.” I reached over and turned on the lamp, unconcerned whether it woke the baby from his slumber in the play yard beside the bed. He was going to need to see the gravity in my face so I shifted to look him in the eyes. The bandages still stuck to his face and normally I would be tending to them by now, but his hawk eyes and clenched teeth would have rejected my attention. This wasn’t the time for coddling.

“What the fuck were you thinking? You could have killed us all because a crazy woman told you to get out of the house. What’s gotten into you? I’m beginning to think you’re as loony as Carrie is,” he shouted as he bolted off the bed.

“You need to sit down, Luc. There’s more, and you probably won’t believe it.”

“I don’t wanna hear it. There’s nothing you could say that would justify you taking our kids out in a snowstorm against my wishes. I’m pissed enough at you that it’s in your interest to give me some space right now.” He walked out and I bit my tongue.

He’d know the truth soon enough.

Noah began to cry. I dug into a duffel bag for my robe and slid into it before snuggling him to my chest. His cheek was cold to the touch so I wrapped the robe around him and headed to the living room. Luc was stacking firewood into the fireplace.

“I can’t let you do that,” I said as he grabbed a lighter. He looked back, scowling at me.

“It’s freezing in here. God, you’ve lost your frickin’ mind.” It was chilly in the house, but he may as well put an X on a map with an announcement of that as our location. I hadn’t driven through hell last night to be foiled because he was cold.

“I want you to watch something on the news. Afterwards, you can decide how cold you are. You’re going to need to sit down for this.” I pressed the power button on the remote as Luc sulked in front of the fireplace. He took a seat on the far end of the couch, sighs filling the stale air around us.

The loop was at its starting point. Luc glared at me as the President took the stage, undoubtedly preparing his next jab at my sanity.

“Just watch,” I mumbled.

His expression went from begrudged to skeptical within minutes. He reached for the remote and flipped through a couple of channels.

“Did this really happen?”

“That was only the start of it. Keep an eye on the next scene.”

He sat at the edge of his seat while he watched the murder of the AG. His face paled as he recognized Mike as the assassin. He massaged his forehead, taking deep breath after deep breath. “Mike wouldn’t do this. It has to be a hoax.”

“That was my immediate reaction, too, but it isn’t. I called Carrie a couple of hours ago and she assured me that it was real. She also said not to call them back.” I paused to give him time to process their involvement. “You have noticed the green robes that the assassins are wearing, right?”

He remained silent as he continued watching the footage. It had now expanded to include the executions of military brass, police officers, and local officials. Gunfire rained upon entire families, unaware that they were being targeted for their loved ones’ career choices. The robed intruders took no prisoners as they carried out their orders, the nearly dead left choking on blood as the assassins prepared the next bullet.

“That could have been us,” I whispered. Luc also could have been the triggerman, a prospect that terrified me more than death. “I don’t understand why they aren’t fighting back.”

“My guess is a number of these murders happened before the speech. Some of them thought they could talk their way out of it; others simply didn’t perceive any threat when they opened the door. The Order, if that’s who’s genuinely behind this attack, is using the footage to further demoralize Americans. I reckon in a few hours, it’ll be pandemonium—if it’s not already in some places.” His words trailed off, and he flipped through the channels until a woman’s voice trembled through the television.

My head jerked up at the interruption on the TV. I recognized her as a morning show contributor on the national news syndicate. Her hair wasn’t coiffed, her makeup was streaked, and she wore a sweater with jeans.

“I repeat: The Order of the Father has perpetrated this act against America. They have killed my colleagues and will not stop until every American submits to their control.” She glanced to the right then paused. “You must fight and protect yourselves. Do not cower to them. They--.” Blood slicked down her temple before she could finish her thought.

“It figures she’d go soft the first opportunity given to her.” The female voice murmured. Another shot rang out, this one the cameraperson, I assumed. “Just as well. I have my statement prepared.”

Two mint green robes flashed on screen, one carrying the body away while the other wiped blood from the table. A professionally attired woman slithered behind the desk. As the camera came into focus, her red lips grew more severe as her appearance resembled the evil queen more than her typical Snow White.

“Good morning, America,” Colonel Bradley-Hemlock said with a curt smile and a patronizing head tilt.

Luc’s face was grim. He ran his hand through his hair. “She’s the fucking spokesperson.”

“As you are aware, your country is no more. You have no government. You have no protective forces. Your food supplies have been cut off. We have commandeered the banking system, media, all utility and power companies, the healthcare system…”

“I’ve got to call Mom,” Luc said while he input her number.

“...You have had ample opportunity to join us of your own volition. We give you a choice now. You may serve the Order with the possibility of promotion ten years in the future, or you may choose death…”

“Mom, not sure if you’re still sleeping. We’re safe. You know where to find us. Please come as soon as you hear this message.”

I handed Noah to Luc once he placed the cell phone onto the end table. I reached into my purse and quickly entered a text. “4317 N 1250 E, Montgomery, WV—L.”

A man dressed in a hunter green suit strolled into the camera’s view. Ribbons and brass pins decorated his jacket, while a brass star gleamed on his service cap. Salt and pepper hair peeked from under the hat’s rim. Abi addressed him as General Bryant, but gave him no salute before he slid into the seat adjacent to hers. She barely paid him notice as she continued her report. He waited, giving her his full attention as she read from her script.

“There are a number of dangerous fugitives that must be apprehended for public safety. Have you prepared the list, General?” He nodded. “Viewers please take note. Anyone caught assisting or suspected of harboring these criminals will see his entire family executed. Should you choose to cooperate in regards to their whereabouts, and apprehension is a success, you’ll be rewarded with higher standing in your servitude. Over to you, General Bryant.”

The general pushed a pair of reading glasses onto his hooknose. His eyes moved from left to right as his nasally Good Ol’ Boy accent reiterated Abi’s points about the threats the following people posed to society. He listed names of people, their crimes, and most recent location as recent official photos of them flashed onscreen. The majority of these supposed criminals appeared to be members of the military, and their crimes ranged from murder to incitement to disobedience. He droned on and on for several minutes, Luc’s occasional ‘I know him’ the only break in the monotony.

With a list this long and most of the people being from DC, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, it gave me hope that the Order was using this as propaganda, and that we had better numbers than they wanted us to believe.

“Lucien Michael Goodwyn, also known as Luc Goodwyn, residing in Woodbridge, VA, but with ties to Indiana and Florida: wanted for harboring a murderer and for disobedience.” Luc’s driver’s license picture flashed across the screen. The general moved on to the next of the Greenies’ most wanted.

“Harboring a murderer?” he said, spitting out his water. “What bullshit.”

My mouth went dry and I was unable to speak. I was the murderer Luc stood accused of aiding. The church had found out that I’d killed Ryan and Luc was none the wiser. They were going to make me pay, and my family would suffer the most from it. Fear lumped in my throat as I realized that Ryan was probably right when he said they’d be better off if I’d gone with him. God, I’d really messed up.

Again.

How many people had to die because of my screw-ups? How many had to suffer?

“Luc,” I whispered as tears stung my eyes, “I killed a guy last night. He was in the Order and he tried to force me into his car. I shot him.” My voice grew stronger with each word, but still it cracked as the gravity of it sank in.

I killed a man.

Yes, he was going to kill me. Yes, he had threatened to murder my family if I attempted to call the police. But it didn’t change the fact that I stopped a man’s heart and hadn’t been the least bit remorseful. The law, or at least the law that was, was on my side, but murder was murder.

“You killed someone? With a gun?” Luc asked, his attention wrested away from the television. “I didn’t know you knew how to shoot.”

“I learn fairly quickly, especially when I’m being dragged to a car trunk.”

He studied me, noticing the bruises on my face and neck for the first time in the dimly lit room. “Jeez. It looks like he beat the hell out of you. I hope you shot him in the gut to make him suffer for that.”

“I shot him in the leg first, and ended up firing again right before he closed the trunk. The gas clerk pulled me out or I would have frozen to death.”

He stroked my cheek then threw his arms around me. “I’m glad you were able to defend yourself. You know that no court will convict you of murder, right? I’m sure they have video footage and it’ll exonerate you.”

Except our lawmakers and enforcers were dead or being plotted against. In a court conducted by the Order, the outcome wouldn’t bode so well for me. The sentence had probably been given fifteen years ago.

Would they leave my family alone if I gave myself up?

“Lily Goodwyn, also known as Lily Rose and Lily Clay: wanted for the murder of two individuals, for attempted murder with a controlled substance, and for theft. Mrs. Goodwyn is known to be armed and very dangerous. There is a reward for her live capture. Her most recent address is in Woodbridge, Virginia. She has ties to Florida and Indiana, and I must repeat that she is dangerous and must be apprehended. Again, Lily Goodwin…”

Luc’s arms dropped to his sides as he listened to the general repeat my information, and Abi affirm that I was public enemy number one.

“What the fuck did you do, Lily?”

“I take it she just told you that she drugged you last night?” Jessa sneered. Her stare pierced me as I squirmed on the couch.

“Lights out, America. Be sure to tune in the next time there’s electricity. Until then, convert or die. Have a blessed day.”

The room went dark as every sound in the cottage came to a grinding halt.

Except for my heart. It pounded.