Monotony and Mondays: Chapter 4 – Made New

Chapter 4 – Made New

Getting up early in the morning, the mantises, my uncle, and I head to church for Sunday mass. During the mass, the priest preaches about the current situation in the country. He talks about how we should stand up to corruption while also making sure to do so peacefully, however, in the event, violence is used against us, we should use our discretion in fighting back and making sure that we only kill in the event of self-defense where the other person is committed to killing us. Because of his preaching, a lot of people talk to him about the specifics of how they should fight back and if they should fight back against the police. One person brings up an example of how the police were trying to arrest him in his own home because he influenced others to protest and stand up for their God.

“These people are really serious about doing everything that God wants them to do down to the last letter,” I say to Calabretta.

“I am too. Don’t you ever think about everything you do, say, and think to make sure you’re doing the right thing all the time?” she says.

“I think I’d go crazy if I did.”

“It becomes second nature after a while. I mean you got here because you were concerned that you wanted to do something right with your life or did you forget that?”

“Honestly, I did for a second there. Thanks for reminding me.”

While going back to the hideout, I think about what we should do today that wouldn’t count as unnecessary work. Most of the mantises are home with their families while the few who have to hide because they are wanted stay with Calabretta, my uncle, and me at the abandoned warehouse. It’s going to be hard to convince them to do anything, especially since the priest talked about the right time for everything and today being a time for rest. He mentioned that there will come a time when the country will change for the better and even if we don’t live to see it, the next generation might or the next one after that. I could swear that these people all seem to think will the same mind as if what they’re saying about them all being united by their God in one Church is true.

By now, it shouldn’t surprise me given all the recent events and how I got here. Nothing says divine intervention more than having your life radically changed to the point where I’m surrounded by the religious that try to solidify my conversion and having to go to church every Sunday. While back at the hideout, one of the communications guys tells us that there’s big news, which is a sudden and welcome change of pace. It’s a message from Silas that is coming across all encrypted radio channels.

“Tomorrow, we are marching on DC and cutting off the heads of the hydra. The president and all the members of Congress who have led this country to ruin will face justice. Join us to create a better tomorrow for our friends, family, and country,” Silas says.

The source of the signal dies off.

Excited about this news, I immediately say, “We should join them! DC isn’t too far from here and I’m sure they’re going to need all the help they can get.”

“I’m not sure if we should risk it. DC is full of soldiers and if they hear about what’s happening, it’s going to be even more packed,” one person points out.

“Yeah? It’s why they need help. Are you saying you’re afraid of the risk? You should’ve thought about that before joining this group.”

“Alabaster,” Calabretta says.

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m going. Don’t you all know about that story where God told the rich man to give up everything and follow Him? Well, I did that and have been following you all and I know for a fact that we should follow Silas to DC to finally change this country for the better.”

Calabretta sighs and then says, “Okay. I’ll go too.”

“And I’ll go as well just to keep you from running head first into the fire,” my uncle says.

Most of the mantises agree to fight with me at DC while the others choose to stay here. Cowards. Anyways, everyone who is brave enough to risk their lives drives with me to DC tomorrow early in the morning when we’re told that most people will be there, however, when we get there, we see that the party has started early. Four lines of defenses that the army has built up have been destroyed and are littered with hundreds of bodies. Seeing this is enough to make me rush in to make sure that I can protect as many people as possible and if there are going to be more bodies, then it’ll be the bodies of those that serve the corrupted leaders of this country. By the time we join the crowds, they’re on the lawn of the White House trying to break through the final bulletproof barriers set up by the army.

The scene is a chaotic one with civilians using makeshift cover and firing at the army with both firearms and explosives while throwing molotovs and handmade bombs. Among the civilians, I see soldiers and police officers, which explains how they were able to get so far. On the other side, the army’s numbers are dwindling with some running away as soon as they run out of ammo or turn on their own, probably to save their own lives. Despite our winning, progress is slow because of the many barriers, walls, and soldiers that are defending them. We help out where we can here until I overhear plans to break in from the other side.

Before we can head over there, we hear the sound of explosions and see smoke coming from one of the sides. Heading over there, we help out as best we can and keep pushing the soldiers back. People flood into rooms to clear it out as efficiently as possible. I look around me to see Calabretta, my uncle, and the other mantises around me and realize this is the first time during this battle I actually cared to see if they were still alive. The high of being here was greater than any party or drink that I’ve ever had to the point where I forgot about them. After silently cursing myself, I continue forward to the oval office and into a saferoom where the president should be.

We find that the metal doors to the saferoom have already been blasted open with the bodies of politicians around us some of which I’ve done business with. Inside, we find many members of Congress and the president shot dead. Above them stands Silas and his allies. He takes out and unwraps a lollipop before putting it in his mouth.

Silas turns around, looks at me, and says, “Aren’t you Alabaster Weaver?”

“I am,” I say amazed to see a living legend in front of me.

He’s decked out in his signature cowboy-like outfit, hat, and revolver with hardly a scratch on him.

“Thanks for what you did. It couldn’t have been easy and it really helped us,” Silas says as he puts his hand on my shoulder and walks out the door.

There was a real emptiness that I can’t explain in Silas’ words. What could be bothering him? I keep thinking about it even as we join the others outside who are celebrating our victory. Everyone is singing ‘God Bless America’. This is the most patriotic I’ve ever seen a group of people even as the dead, injured, and captive are carried off to be cared for. My memory is hazy from the party. All I remember is that I drink a lot like I usually do, try to kiss Calabretta while touching her butt, get slapped, and I wake up back at our hideout as if it were all a dream, but thankfully it wasn’t when I looked up today’s events. Today was a historic day, however, Silas’ tone of voice makes me feel like it wasn’t all that big.

The next day comes around and one of our people says that they found one of the government’s allies that’s been exposing the hideouts and plans of groups like ours after listening to the government’s secret communications stations all day yesterday.

“What’s the point of going after them?” I ask.

“What do you mean what’s the point?” one of the mantises asks.

“It’s over. The White House is overthrown, the president dead, and all the members of Congress have a bullet in their skulls. What else is there to do except for waiting for the country to heal?”

“Alabaster, there’s more to changing the country than bringing justice to the country’s leaders. You should know more than anyone that those who are still in power in corporations and the government will hold onto their power and try to keep the country the way it is until their dying breath, especially since they still have so many supporters. This is far from over,” my uncle explains.

“I guess that’s why Silas sounded so strange yesterday.” I sigh heavily and then ask, “Okay, so where are these people located?”

“…where your parents are living,” one of the mantises says.

“What?”

“What did I tell you, Alabaster?” my uncle says.

“Okay, okay. Maybe whoever is coming after us is just using my parent’s retirement house as a secret base of operations?”

“Are you serious?”

“It’s possible. They wouldn’t be able to say no to them nor does it seem like a place where secret operations would be held.” My uncle shakes his head while rubbing his temples. “Well, are we going now?”

“You want to go now?” Calabretta asks.

“Yes, now. If this is far from over, then who knows what those in power will do after the heads of the government are cut off. They may come after more people so we might as well strike first. Well, what are you waiting for? My parents’ lives are at risk here.”

Everyone looks at each other and then most reluctantly agrees while the rest stay behind to look after the hideout. Honestly, the only thing I care about is affirming my belief that my parents are innocent. There’s nothing in for them by going after us. There’s even less now that the president and members of Congress are dead. I hope they surrender peacefully if they do have some part to play. Thoughts of what would happen keep racing through my mind until we get to my parent’s house. It’s a black mansion surrounded by gold-colored walls that have cameras that cover every inch of it. Around its perimeter is a small group of armed guards dressed in suits and body armor.

Without waiting, I step out in view of all the guards and say, “Give up, and don’t lay a hand on my mom and dad! No one’s going to save you if you chose to fight.”

Of course, the guards start firing on me. I take cover, take out my pistol, and start shooting back each shot taking out a guard and leaving a hole in the wall behind them if it doesn’t hit another guard. Advancing forward without caring for backup, I cut open the gates with my sword that slices through them like butter. More guards come out of the house and take positions near the windows. Calabretta, my uncle, and the other mantises cover me as I advance forward and the number of guards steadily decreases until all is quiet twenty seconds later. Going into the house, I find it empty save for my parents who are sitting at a dinner table with pistols in their hands. They put their guns down as soon as they see me with a look of relief on their face.

“Oh, it’s you, Alabaster. What are you doing here?” my dad asks.

“My friends found out that there were people in this place that were going after groups like mine,” I say.

“That’s right and you just took care of them. Sorry, we couldn’t do anything about them. They had us and our inheritance at gunpoint after all. You understand, right?”

I smile at them despite not understanding. My uncle shoots their guns away from behind me.

“What are you doing?!” I ask him.

“Can you stop lying for once in your life, brother?” my uncle asks my dad.

“What lie-” my dad says before his cybernetic arm is shot.

“Uncle!”

“He’s fine. I didn’t even make a dent in his arm. The truth. Spill it. Do you enjoy lying to your own family?”

“Okay, fine. The truth is that we were helping the government track your actions, at least when they could decrypt your phones to find you. We did it not because we were forced to or because they asked, but because of what you were doing to our legacy, Alabaster.”

The truth coming out of my dad is enough to take my breath away for a second.

“What? What do you mean? Our family’s legacy was already tarnished by our crimes. I only exposed it.”

“And that’s what tarnished it further. Now no one will trust our family or company unless they’re allied with you.”

“I will restore our family’s legacy to what it was before and make it greater.”

“To what it was before? Our family’s legacy was never great. Another truth I’ll tell you is that our family history is a fabrication for the most part. Our origins as a royal family from the UK? A tenuous claim at best. What we know for sure is that our family came into true power in the early twentieth century possibly under a different last name and that time period is the same time that we made that sword you have plus our other so-called relics to bolster the lie of our family’s storied history.”

“So…that’s the truth,” I say while pacing around the room not sure what to do at first before pointing my pistol at my parents.

“What are you going to do now? Kill us?” my mom says. “It would be one the best decisions you’ve made in a while.”

After thinking it over and saying a silent prayer, I lower my pistol and then say, “No, I won’t.”

“You won’t? Why?”

“I’ve been learning a lot about truth, mercy, justice, and doing the right thing from these crazy religious people I’m with, and the prayer I just said in my head has inspired me to spare your lives. Don’t spoil this opportunity by returning to what you were doing or we will come back here and I will deliver you the justice you deserve.”

My parents are speechless as they look at each other and then back at me.

“Please, make the right decision. I love you, mom and dad.”

The other mantises and I leave my parent’s mansion and go back to our cars and then leave the area.

“That must’ve taken a lot out of you,” Calabretta says.

“I’m proud that you did that, nephew. You’re growing into a good man of faith,” my uncle adds.

“Thank you. Both of you and everyone else here. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. I don’t know where I would be without you,” I say.

“Well, I think what you just did deserves a reward,” Calabretta says before kissing me on the cheek. “Don’t ask for more.”

“Such a tease,” I say while rubbing my face.

I honestly expected myself to pull the trigger back there, but I guess prayers are sometimes answered in an instant. I’m hoping and praying that my parents do change and by the looks on their faces, something must’ve sparked in their minds. With that done, the mantises, Calabretta, my uncle, and I still have much work to do to help fix America so that its people and the country as a whole become better than it was before, which, of course, will start by doing the right thing.

The End