All According to the Divine Plan: Chapter 1 – Forceful Changes

*I'll be showing off these chapters without the reaction pictures since I want to focus on getting the book out as soon as possible and putting them in the blog post would just slow me down. Thank you for understanding.

Chapter 1 – Forceful Changes

I’m glad that I managed to get out of work today with no one noticing. There was a project I was supposed to finish but that can wait until tomorrow. Besides, the other guys on the team can handle it. It’s not like my input is important. Now that I’m back home, I throw aside my jacket and everything in my pockets on my bed and sit down on the floor and turn on my favorite show while browsing my phone for the next thing I want to spend my paycheck on.

“Hello, Gabriella,” a monster-looking thing says as it comes out of my TV.

 Startled by this thing’s appearance, I take out the sawed-off double-barreled shotgun and shoot it only for my shot to hit everything behind it. “What the?” I say not believing that my shot had no effect.

 “Don’t be so rude. I’m your guardian angel.”

“Get out of my house!” I shoot the thing again to no effect.

“Aren’t you worried about all your precious possessions?”

“I can always buy more and repair the damage done. If you were my guardian angel, you’d know how much money I have.”

“I know of your possessions all too well. They are the reason why God has allowed me to manifest myself today. Soon, a storm will pass by here and take all of it away, so you better get to the basement before you are destroyed with them.”

Before I mention that I haven’t heard anything about a storm coming through here, the sound of thunder, rain, and heavy winds outside. Even though it looks bad, I’m not worried. I prepared my house for this and my house should be strong enough to endure the brunt of it. Still, I go downstairs and hunker down just in case.

Uck. I can’t believe that thing ruined my night’s plans and now I have to worry about paying for damages because of the bad storm. On top of the things that I bought, my bank will have a really bad dent that sets back the future vacations that I have planned this year plus the other stuff I want to buy.

The monster appears in the basement with me. “I’m glad that you took my advice.”

“Listen, you, I don’t care what you say you are. Just leave me alone-” The sounds of tearing and things being destroyed above me shut me up and make me doubt if my house is really okay, especially since the walls of my basement are beginning to crack. Is the storm really that bad? The storms around here haven’t really been known to destroy homes. I’m tempted to go upstairs to check right now, but I wait until the storm calms down before I do and sure enough, my worst fears are realized as I see that my entire house is gone along with most everything in it. Around me is what remains of the house and a few of the things I had. It doesn’t matter that they’re here since everything is broken beyond repair.

“It’s time to leave this all behind and move into a better life that’s been prepared for you.”

“A better life?! Who are you to say what’s better for me after destroying everything that I had and leaving me in the rain?!”

“You’ll see soon enough. Go down the road and a young man, faithful to God, will pick you up in his car. He’ll be the one providing for you from now on and be your husband.”

“I don’t need anyone to do anything for me! I’ve been taking care of myself for years without anyone’s help, so I don’t need that boy, you, or God’s help.”

“So, would you rather stay here in the pouring rain in the wreckage of your old home or find shelter?”

“I still can stay in my basement-” When I take a look back in my basement, the cracks have given way to mud as all the walls cave in and ruin the last of what I had. Now, I have nothing that I own besides my phone, my shotgun, and the clothes on my back.

“Will you take my advice now?”

Damn monster. I don’t need its help. I don’t need anyone’s help. It’s going to cost me a lot to rebuild since I haven’t bothered with home insurance because I wanted to put my money into building it to be stronger and buy more things and go on expensive vacations. I’ll have to work overtime and push my plans back even further, but I can get it done without anyone’s assistance.

Because it’s still raining, I decide to partially take the monster’s advice and go down the road. The closest apartment building is miles away in a different part of the state and will take me a while to get to any place to rest. Cars pass by me every now and then with one driving through a puddle and splashing me with water further drenching me. This is the worst day of my life. I’m both hoping for and dreading someone stopping to help me. If it’s the boy that monster talked about, I’ll have to turn him down. Sure enough, just like the storm, a car unexpectedly stops on the side of the road without me waving at it and a young man steps out of it.

This boy puts on a smile as he approaches and waves at me. “Excuse me, miss? I can drive you to my house to help you get out of this storm.”

“Get lost, kid! I don’t need anyone’s help, especially from your God. He’s taken away my home and everything I had in it through a monster that won’t stop following me.”

“What are you talking about? Your house and everything in it is destroyed? I’m sorry to hear that. Look, we’ll go back to my home, I’ll cook us up something, and try to help you out as best I can from there.”

“I said get lost!”

“Woah, woah, woah! Calm down! I’m just trying to help.”

“Calm down?! How could I possibly do that when your God ruined all my plans?! I will not have him taking any more control of my life and I don’t care what I have to do to get him out of it!” I pull the trigger on my gun only for it to click. Oh, that’s right. I never loaded it again after I fired it twice. Since I’m out of bullets, I try hitting the boy with the gun, but he takes it from me, throws it away, and then grabs me by the wrists.

“Get your hands off me!”

“If you stop trying to hit me I will! Listen, you have three options here; calm down and go home with me, stay in this storm in the hopes of someone else pulling over to pick you up, or walking hours in the storm to find someplace safe.”

“Tch. You have a point. Okay, I’ll go back to your house.”

“Thank you.” The boy lets go of my wrists and keeps his hands up as if I’ll hit him again before turning around and running to his car with me behind him. “So, what’s your name?”

“Shut up! I don’t want to talk right now.” Deciding to take my advice, the boy nods and keeps his eyes on the road. You’ll get your way for now until the storm is over, monster, and then I’m leaving this kid.

“We’ll see about that.”

“Can you leave me alone for a second?!”

“Who are you talking to?”

“That monster that’s been ruining my life! Can’t you see it in the car? It was just talking to me!”

“I don’t see it and I didn’t hear anything.”

“God has allowed you to be the only one who can see and hear me. He is also dulling the young man’s sense of reason as is beginning to think that he should be dropping you off to authorities to be put in a psych ward, so I’d calm down if I were you.”

I’m assuming you can hear my thoughts as well?

“Yes, it’s for your convenience so you won’t look crazy in public if you want to talk to me.”

Ignore it, ignore it! I don’t want to acknowledge its existence, so it has less of a reason to talk to me. Thankfully, it says nothing else before we get to the boy’s house. It’s a small rancher in a neighborhood of small houses. The inside of it is decorated with crosses, what look to be religious statues, and pictures of him with presumably his parents.

“I’ll start making soup and tea for us. Feel free to take a snack from the cabinet, drink from the fridge, and turn on the TV. Oh, you can also use the shower and use the clothes I have since you’re soaked.”

After sneezing, I say, “I’m fine! I don’t need anything except for a phone charger.” Once I get a phone charger, I plug in my phone since it’s dead. With nothing else to keep me busy, I turn on the TV and watch the news. They admit they didn’t know of the storm passing through the area before talking about the daily news. The newscasters talk about where I work at going bankrupt.

“What?! How?!” My question is answered by a guy from where I work saying that they were losing lots of money because of mistakes made by their accounting department and specifically calls out me by my full name and talks about how lazy and incompetent I was. “Bastard! You piece of trash, how dare you say that about me and call me out like that!” Before I know it, I receive an email from the company telling me that I’m fired. Now I’m really screwed with hardly any money, no job, and my name publicly ruined. I also doubt that I’d be able to get a good job in this economy where businesses are more likely to fire employees than hire them.

“Wow, that guy must’ve hated you with the way he described the way you worked and how he blamed you for the company falling into bankruptcy. Can he even publicly do that?”

“I hope not so that he suffers for it!” I’m sure that monster has had its part to play in this. Admit it!

“Come now. I can be the reason behind everything. It’s true that you were lazy at your job and the mistakes that you made cost it too much in the end.”

I didn’t think that all the little mistakes I made would add up like this. With all my plans in shatters, I sit on the floor unable to think of what to do next. Wait a second! Hey, monster, fix this! You said there’s a better life prepared for me right?

“Correct and your prayer has been answered before you mentioned it. You are currently in your better life. As I have said before, this young man will be providing for you and will be your husband.”

Hearing that the boy will be my husband again actually starts to have an effect on me as I realize what it means. Husband?! That boy is going to be my husband?!

He is. Besides God, the young man’s heart was made for you and your heart was made for his.

“Dinner is ready. Come and sit at the table with me.” The dinner that he’s made is irresistible to me because I’m hungry and thirsty. I’ve managed to eat it all without fully enjoying it or really wanting to eat it. “I’m glad you liked it,” the boy says with a satisfied smile on his face.

“Sh-shut up. I’m just hungry is all,” I say before sneezing.

“I really think you should-”

“Yes, I know!” Since I’m still feeling cold and drenched, I give in to the boy’s request and take a shower. The clothes that I pick out are like the red sweater that I have, but because it’s a boy’s it looks like I’m wearing a large sweater dress. This feels so ridiculous wearing his clothes.

“I’ve changed the TV since nothing good is on the news like always. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I prefer it actually.” If I saw that guy’s face and hear his voice for a second longer, I would’ve destroyed the TV. Sitting on a separate chair, I watch TV with the boy while not really paying attention to it. It’s really starting to hit me now that everything has completely changed and I have no control over it. Even if I were to do something, it could be instantly ruined as I’ve been shown today.

Before I know it, the boy hands me a blanket and looks at me with that smile that he always has on his face. “You looked like you were still cold so here’s this blanket. Do you need anything else?”

“N-no, I don’t. I don’t need anything. Also, stop looking at me like that.”

“I’m sorry for what happened to you today. You can stay here as long as you like.”

He’s being so kind to me despite the fact that I’m a stranger and was going to kill him. “Th-thank you. Can you stop smiling at me like that?”

“Like what?” he says before I slap him in the face.

“What did you do that for?”

“For smiling at me the way that you were. Now leave me alone. I’m beyond tired.”

“Okay. It’s about time I’d get to bed since I have work tomorrow. The couch turns into a bed by the way so you can use that to sleep on rather than just sleeping on the couch itself. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask. By the way, my name is Connor.”

“I know they said it on the news, but my name is Gabriella.” Connor says it’s nice to meet me and gives me that smile of his one more time. I get up and am about to slap him again, but he leaves the room before I do. As I lay on the couch bed, I feel colder than usual now that he’s gone. He is a nice guy. Still…my future husband? Ridiculous. It may not be too outside the realm of possibilities given what’s happened today. Everything I had including the control over my life that I thought I had is gone today. Truthfully, I could just go back out into the storm again and defy this life that’s being given to me, but who knows what God would do to put me back on his track. Connor would also go out looking for me and I already feel like I wouldn’t want to trouble him with that because of how nice he’s been.

 “Someone is starting to have feelings.”

Shut up! I don’t know what it is. I’ll figure out what I’m going to do tomorrow morning. All I can do right now is sleep hoping that the future will not be as worse as today was and that this so-called better life is actually what it’s supposed to be.

What I've been working on recently

Here are all the reaction pictures for Gabriella for one of my next books. As she changes through the story so does her appearance. I'll make more if I need to, but I think this is enough for 5 chapters. I may also make this book next since I'm doing so much work on it.

My latest book is out today!

Download for free on Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1356823

Not everyone with money and power is corrupt. Roxy, her family, friends, and allies use the many resources and influences they have to fight actual corruption in all areas of the country such as the Church, corporations, and government. They are trying to save a dying America that's at war with itself and full of traitors who pretend to be virtuous and for the betterment of the country.

Traitors, Turmoil, and Thursdays: Chapter 3 – Fear the Reaper

Chapter 3 – Fear the Reaper

Frantically, I look over every body to see if anyone else is still alive. The few that are alive are people with cybernetic and blown to bits and die seconds after I reach them. Rubble is moved aside by someone and I run over to find Elliot and Annie burned and bloodied, but still alive. I quickly cross myself and silently thank God before helping them up and hugging them.

“We can hug later,” Elliot says while taking out his pistol, “Trouble will probably come to mop up whoever is still alive.”

Annie also takes out her pistol and then says, “Who do you think did it? Do you think it was one of their friends?”

“I doubt it. All their important friends are dead,” I say.

“And so are a lot of our friends. Those amoral bastards would have no problem doing evil for some perceived good purpose. What if the people who did it are traitors? This is hardly different than what happened before.”

“We’ll figure it out later. First, we must get out of here.”

Before we move, people with guns break open the door. We fire at them and advance forward as the entire room begins to fall down around us. There are more assassins in the hallway that we clear out. I move forward not only to act as a moving shield for my friends but also because I’m pissed and want these people dead for justice and what they’ve done to me. By the time we get back to the entrance, we’ve killed over thirty assassins and left hallways and the entrance filled with blood, bullet holes, and bodies. Elliot, Annie, and I rush into our car and drive away before the cops and media arrive since they could be in on this as well and we don’t know who to trust.

“What are we going to do next?” I ask.

“That’s what we turn to you for, but if you want my opinion, we find out who did this and put them to the sword so to speak,” Elliot says.

“I agree. Let’s get back home first before we do anything,” Annie says.

By the time we get home, we tell our friends what happen and to lock up the building. I turn on the news to see the media talking about what happened. The archbishop of our diocese and his allies are asked what they think of it and our disappearance from the scene.

“We think it is obvious what this means and why this tragedy happened. Roxy, her family, and fellow conspirators staged this so that they could kill our friends that held power and they succeeded. We know it was them for sure because of this witness,” the archbishop says before allowing a false witness who claims to have been one of us to speak and make it seem like the assassination attempt was our plan.

“What are you going to do about these murderers who claim to be devout Catholics?” a reporter asks.

“I deem them anathema and apart from the Church. Since they have shown they will kill all who oppose them, I also say that they should be jailed for life or shot on sight and I suggest that the second option is picked for your own sake.”

Annie throws a chair through the TV and then says, “It’s their fault! They set us up and are trying to pin this on us!”

“If they want to declare war on us, then let’s go to war. I’ll gather everything we got and-” Elliot says before I cut him off.

“Don’t do anything yet. Make sure this building’s defenses are up, make sure everyone is armed, and load up the trucks with whatever we can carry just in case we have to leave. We’ll probably have to since they know where we are.”

Elliot and Annie do as I say as they tell everyone to prepare to leave and talk about the specifics of how to deal with the situation while I video call my parents. Come on, come on! Pick up the phone! There we go!

“Mom, dad!” I say.

“We heard what happened and we’re already taking our private plane to get to you,” my dad says.

“But what happened at the dinner…I didn’t know that would happen! It was-”

“Yeah, we know it was a setup. We don’t believe those snakes in the media and that pretentious archbishop.”

“Get down!” I hear someone in the car say.

I see my parents duck down and then hear bullets hitting the car. Soon after, an explosion rocks the car and the call ends. In a panic, I try calling them again and again but am only sent to their voicemail. Of course, they could just be not answering while they protect themselves, but…but…no. I shouldn’t think the worst will happen. Speaking of that, Elliot lets me know that the police are trying to knock down the door.

“I have to help defend the building!” I say.

“You need to get your cybernetic body fixed up. We’ll have our guys defend the doors and activate the manual turrets online to do the heavy lifting,” Elliot says.

“No! I don’t want anyone else risking their life for me!”

“It’s okay! They know better than to let you down by dying. Now, if you want to help, then get fixed up as soon as you can so you can be in top shape.”

“…fine.”

Going over to my room, the person who works on my cybernetic body quickly gets to work. While waiting for my body to be fixed, I start thinking about what could we have done to avoid this. If we stayed behind to explain to the media and cops what happened, they probably wouldn’t have believed us since we were the only ones alive and they already had a negative view of us anyway. Was it possible to tell them the truth and have them believe us? Probably not. We didn’t have any evidence to prove our innocence. The archbishop also had a false witness to bury us even further so it’s a certainty that we were set up. My parents and our home are also attacked soon after as if they were ready to mobilize after the assassination attempt.

It makes me sick to my stomach to see this happen and that I couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. Sure, I could’ve had people check for bombs, but I was also blinded by the opportunity of a better future and didn’t think they would kill their friends along with us. The archbishop and his conspirators have to come to justice now rather than later. When I saw them on the news, they were outside his cathedral so that’s probably where they still are. I don’t think they’ll move from there, especially since it has barricades that can shield the cathedral from the outside and turrets that can manually be used to defend it. We’d have to go in hard and fast to not get bogged down by them, but then again, why can’t I just go by myself?

“The police are retreating. They didn’t even make it passed the front door,” Elliot tells me as I am reentering my cybernetic body now that its repairs are done.

“Start packing up and keep people ready. They’ll come back with more,” I say.

“Right.”

Getting dressed in my black combat gear, I take four pistols with me and two experimental laser pistols along with plenty of ammo for each weapon. If they don’t work, then I could always overheat them and used them as pseudo grenades. I then sneak past everyone, go into the garage where all the vehicles are stored, get on a motorcycle, and use one of the secret exits to leave. These exits were used back in my parent's teenage days when the old subway tunnels were used to sneak into buildings, as a meeting place, and way to get around the city. Using the GPS in the motorcycle, I navigate these tunnels and take the exit that’s closest to the cathedral.

Soon after, the police are on my tail, which is not a big surprise since this is the center of the city and they were probably expecting me. With my motorcycle, I speed and weave passed traffic and all the obstacles the police have in my way until I see the cathedral. I speed towards it as its turrets begin to activate and barriers begin to close. Now at top speed, I drive my motorcycle through the cathedrals gates, guards, and through its doors just as the barriers fully come down. Many guards begin to surround me with their weapons drawn and ready to fire so I quickly head for cover before they do.

Here we go. Now I can finally put all the training I did to the test. I activate my cybernetic body’s systems to their fullest extent enabling me to use my four robotic arms and extra two eyes. I then give my four extra arms a pistol while I wield the laser pistols and go to work. Thanks to this enhanced mode, my senses and speed are doubled allowing me to use all six of my arms in total and shoot effectively. Leaping and running around on the walls, I clear this sham of a cathedral of the filth that guards it. Fifteen bodies lay shrew about the ground floor in about fifteen seconds. I’m thinking this is going to be easier than I expected.

The archbishop and his friends are most likely on the top floor of the tower that’s crudely attached to this cathedral. Going up to the next floor, I find more and more guards that I clear out without a sweat since they aren’t able to land a single hit on me. I bust through walls and run around the rooms, walls, and ceilings and even manage to find the false witness in one of them who I also put a bullet in. Annie and Elliot were wrong to tell me that I shouldn’t have tried this. This…oh come on. I’m starting to feel the effects of using my systems at their maximum as my skin feels like it's burning and my vision goes blurry for a couple of seconds. I must end this quicker. It’s a good thing there’s only one more floor to go, however, I’m running low on ammo so I must conserve it or at least find an armory. There should be one around here.

Sure enough, I find guards arming themselves on the last floor. Since I’ve come this far without getting hit once, I put my enhanced speed and strength to the test by running at and kicking the head clean off the first guard I come across. This gives me the confidence not to use any guns on this floor as I use my extra limbs, my fists, and legs to break necks and crush skulls. In addition, I use the guards as human shields and throw them at each other like rag dolls. By the end of it, I still haven’t been shot. After raiding the guard’s armory for ammo for my pistols and fuses for my laser pistol, I enter a conference room where the last guards, the archbishop and his conspirators are at.

“It’s over, archbishop,” I say.

“How is it over? Do you think you can take me and all of my friends here? Do you really think you’re the only one who has cybernetic enhancements?” the archbishop says as his cloaks move aside to reveal his robotic body.

Along with that, parts of his face move around to reveal that his face is also part cybernetic. Everyone else in the room does much of the same, which means that this last fight isn’t going to be as easy.

“Even if you do beat us, do you think we’ll confess to the media what we did? They already believe what we say without question and even if someone were to investigate what really happened, they wouldn’t find any evidence of our involvement. Killing us would also dig your graves even further in the eyes of all Americans. You’re fighting a losing war, ignorant girl,” the archbishop continues.

“Was it worth it to kill your own?” I ask.

“It was because they were traitors to our cause. We told them not to offer the dinner and talk with you and your allies, but they thought a peaceful resolution could happen. This is why we killed them and attempted to kill you along with them.”

“You people really are scum and the worst kinds of traitors and not just because of what you’ve done, but also because you betray those under you. People trust you to teach and lead the country properly and you just use your power for your own ends.”

“Our ends are justified while yours are not. I’ve had mercy on you by explaining myself, but the time for it is over. I must thank you for coming alone so that we may demoralize the rest of your allies with your death.”

I can’t die now. Not when everyone is depending on me. To thin this herd out, I start by taking out the remaining guards who have lighter cybernetics than their leaders. These guys go down fairly easily. I then shift my focus to the leaders. Due to my focus on getting rid of the guards and them as fast as I can, my laser pistols overheated which forces me to throw them as grenades taking care of two of the leaders.

Speed is on my side in this fight since my opposition has greater armor. This unfortunately means that I have to use all of my ammo just to take down another two leaders and use the dropped guns to take out a third. Now with three leaders left, I decide to use my arms to kill another and use that one’s gun to wear down the other two, but unfortunately, they manage to shoot off my hands in the process forcing me to retreat behind cover to rethink my strategy. My cybernetic systems numb the pain. Looking at my broken arms gives me a crazy idea, which I’m not sure is a result of the pain.

Leaping out of cover, I focus on one of the leaders and cut them up with my blade-like arms in a hit and run strategy by cutting at their limbs and neck and after cutting them many times, I finally manage to cut their head off. Unfortunately, my extra arms are shot off soon after while trying the same tactic with the others. Still, I’m able to kill the second to last leader with my kicks and what’s left of my arms. With my extra arms gone, my cybernetic body switches power to numb the pain I’m in, however, all its systems are switched to doing this after my last arms are blown away by the last leader who is the archbishop. I’ve sustained serious damage thanks to his rifle that’s loaded with explosive rounds while he only has a moderate amount of damage on his body.

“I think your words were, ‘it’s over’, weren’t they,” the archbishop says.

“For you, it is,” I say as I struggle to stay standing.

Summoning the rest of the strength I have, I use my legs to kick away the archbishop’s gun, take out his legs one after the other, and then do the same with his arms. Even though he’s nothing more than a head and torso, he still lives and tries to use his chin to get away. I kick him over and hold him in place by stomping my foot through his stomach.

“Ple-please…God have mercy,” the archbishop says.

“Mercy? If God was going to have mercy on you, he wouldn’t have sent me to punish you for your crimes,” I say.

I then stomp the archbishop into pieces with my foot over and over again with his face and body in pieces by the end of it. Everything that’s happened has taken all the energy out of me causing me to collapse on the ground now that it’s over. Elliot and Annie are going to be so surprised to find out that I managed to do this by myself. I sure proved them wrong. My systems are stabilizing now that everything in it is focused on keeping me alive, but I still may not make it back to them. That’s fine with me because no one else had to die for me. It makes me happy that I’m able to die for them.

My eyes grow heavy for a bit then I shut them before I hear a group of people barge in. It’s Elliot, Annie, and a bunch more of my supporters. They run to me and make sure I’m alive before taking me out of the building.

“I would slap you over and over again if you weren’t half dead,” Annie says.

Elliot agrees and then says, “This is what we were afraid of Roxy. You’re blessed to have come out of it intact.”

He then tells me about how they knew I’d come here after seeing that I was gone and hearing news reports of me assaulting the cathedral. Once I’m inside a truck that’s like the back of an ambulance, my body repairer and a doctor help further stabilize my condition as we drive off. We’re going far outside of the city to meet my parents and their allies who are all thankfully alive. Elliot and Annie are sitting in the back of the truck with me watching me as if I’ll get up and leave again.

“I’m glad you brought justice to those scum, however, you had us really worried there, Roxy,” Elliot says.

“What were you thinking?” Annie asks.

“I was thinking that I could end our enemies by myself. Heh, I was right for the most part,” I say.

“Sure, but they’ll be more to face in the future. This isn’t the end,” Elliot says.

“It’s the end in some ways. We won’t have to worry about the archbishop and his conspirators anymore. I think something is really starting to change.”

“Besides us being wanted criminals now who will get arrested or shot on sight?”

“Besides that. We’ll still bring change to this country and make it better than ever. Our friends in the corporate, government, and police sectors are meeting us, right?”

“They are, but you should be focusing on resting right now. No more talking,” Annie says.

“Okay.”

I can feel it. We’re close to the end of an era. With my friends and family, we’ll root out the corruption in our country and turn it into a proper one just like our founders did. It’ll be free from the traitors in business, government, and Church, or at least most of them realistically speaking. Now that our enemies have declared war on us, we’ll have to root them out the old fashioned way like how our ancestors did in the beginning years of our country, and drive them out of it, which I’m sure my dad will be more than happy to do. We’re almost there. All it takes is the resilience to keep pushing forward day after day, and we’ll make a better country and future in no time.

The End

Traitors, Turmoil, and Thursdays: Chapter 2 – Another Day, Another Grind

Chapter 2 – Another Day, Another Grind

I go about my daily morning routine and then call my parents who thankfully pick up. There’s always a feeling in my gut that they’ll one day not answer the phone and end up dead since many people hate them. I’m sure they have the same fears about me since a lot of people hate me as well. I ask them how things are going on the west coast where a majority of media and entertainment in America is controlled.

“We’re having modest success here in helping people and trying to combat the propaganda in media with books, movies, games, and more of our own,” my mom says.

“It’s a struggle day in and out to keep it all afloat, but our friends and family and faith in God keep it going. We’re sure to succeed since modern art has nothing on real beauty, especially there’s is so perverted. Our charities and the honest work we do around the community also helps pays the bills. I still say we should do something about the satanic pedophiles here,” my dad says.

“Like what? Good people have been trying to get them out of the industry for decades.”

“You know what I want to do. It’s the same thing that Roxy did to those traitors.”

“Violence is the last resort. Surely, there are other methods to eliminate their influence,” I say.

“I pray to know them, but your mother always seems to get the answers while I don’t. Our enemies should be thankful that she’s here to temper me. How are things in the east in the most corrupt capital in the world?” my dad asks.

“Same old, same old.”

“I'm proud that you conducted yourself so well during that press conference. Your father would've started a fight with them,” my mom says.

“And then I would’ve had a nice talking down to them for an hour or so. I’m madder that I wasn’t the one they were targeting. No one messes with my family.”

“How are your friends, Elliot and Annie?”

“They’re doing fine. Still arguing but managing to get along like always.”

For the next few minutes, we talk about the past and how we should get back together one day probably during the summer. We end the call by saying I love you to one another and telling each other to keep in touch and call in case anything happens. These daily calls that I have with my parents really help not just because they give me good advice and let me know what’s going on around the country so we can coordinate our forces, but simply talking to them is enough to lift my spirits. Besides talking to them, being with friends, praying, and the thanks of the people we help are enough to get me through the harder days. The only problem is that I hardly have enough time to enjoy these things. My work takes up most of my time and my opposition never lets up.

Most people get something special when they’re in their early twenties like their first car and their first time going out for drinks. When I turned twenty-five, I inherited the east coast branch of my parent’s empire as they call it and I’ve been the leader of it for five years. It's funny that the weight of my role only affects me when I think about it. The day my parents gave it to me didn’t faze me since I was raised to take it and wanted to because I wanted to change the country for the better and still do. With renewed strength, I get dressed up and head out.

Today, I am going with Annie’s plan that we scheduled. We are serving food at a poor house and giving out food and water in the surrounding area. My part in it is to be around but not too close and look out for trouble. I’ve tried to be in the midst of the poor, but this has turned people away for various reasons. Some are afraid of us or disdain us. I can’t blame them for fearing for their lives, especially after the attempt on my life and how the media portrays us.

There are people who are also uncomfortable with my appearance. People even think of me as a reaper because they think I’ve only brought death and division into the country. On the other side of things, having any kind of cybernetics is a sign of being upper middle class since only those with a modest amount of wealth can afford them. Meanwhile, everyone lower than in status will have to spend their life savings on them. Certain jobs will pay a portion for the cybernetics, but it will come out of the worker’s pay and since machinery is becoming more complex and dangerous to repair, some people will have to deal with it if they want to continue working in those jobs.

Thankfully, nothing bad happens today and it all goes smoothly. Wait. I’ve spoken too soon. A little girl is crossing the street chasing after her ball and a truck is barreling down the street. Using my cybernetic body’s enhanced movement, I’m able to snatch her out of the street and get her back on the sidewalk before she gets run over.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

She looks at me unsure of what to say. I get her the ball she was after and still nothing.

“Be careful crossing the street next time,” I say with the best smile I can with my cybernetic face.

With still nothing to say, she hugs me, bows her head, and then runs off. The people who see what I did also nod and smile in approval with a person on their phone presumably talking about it while telling me I did a good job. Surely enough, I find a short video of me saving the girl on the internet when I return home. This video gets a mostly positive reception with the obvious detractors in it that don’t like simply because I’m in it.

“What you did raised our reputation more than the charity event. Maybe we should patrol the streets looking for kids in trouble next time,” Annie says.

“That would be a good compromise with what I want to do. I’ve been talking to our police contacts about going out on patrols with them or training people in self-defense and what to do when they run into trouble,” Elliot says.

“Your training would involve guns, which are all but illegal to have except for single shot bite-sized pistols that might as well be BB guns.”

“The honest officers don’t care if you have guns and will let you exercise your second amendment rights as long as they don’t catch you having them. They say they’re also willing to look the other way if you don’t use them for the wrong purposes.”

“Whatever the particulars of the current law are, do you have everything prepared for tomorrow, Elliot?” I ask.

“I do and our friends in the police are happy that we’re finally going to help them. The weapons for training and protection just in case something happens are ready.”

“Good.”

During the next day, we teach our people and volunteers how to shoot, how to defend themselves, and when and when not to get into a fight. The place we are doing this training at is a burned out school that we’ve barricaded with bulletproof barriers. It’s also in a part of the city where the other law enforcement shouldn’t bother us. In addition, this school is an example of why the local neighbors should have guns since it was a Catholic private school that was attacked for teaching traditional values and not protected by the police because of that and its general location. The building is currently being repaired by the neighbors and is sometimes used as a poor house, but still has scars from its previous attack with broken floors, ceilings, and walls, burn marks, and what looks like dried blood on the floor. While walking its halls by myself, I feel like I hear the screams and cries of its past occupants crying out for help and justice. This becomes too much for me to handle so I go back to where the training is happening to help out.

“Is something wrong?” Elliot asks.

“It’s nothing,” I say.

“I can see something is wrong. It’s the school, isn’t it? The atmosphere here bothers me too, especially since I went here before it burned down.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. I haven’t told you before since I try not to let it bother me. Still, I won’t lie that it isn’t part of why I want to restore justice to the poor districts of the city besides the constant reports of violence and all of the corruption in the government and corporations that we’re meant to trust. Doesn’t it make you want to take things into your own hands?”

“It does and this is what we’re doing to help mend the country.”

“Yeah, but I wish we could do more and fix a lot of our problems in an instant.”

“Me too.”

“Well, that’s what we have God for, right? We can only do so much.”

“You’re right. Let’s get back to the task already given to us.”

We continue training for a few more hours and end it around five in the afternoon, but after we leave, we’re immediately attacked. The trucks that were carrying the weapons and ammo are blown up and we are attacked from all sides. Retreating inside the school, we take cover behind the broken and burned down walls that lack the protection we put on them since they were put down not too long ago. They must’ve waited for us to be in this situation before they attacked. Even so, because of the training we did and our numbers, we are able to overwhelm them and minimize casualties.

By the end of it, we lost three people and have six that need to go to the hospital. While inspecting the bodies of our assailants, we find that one of them is still alive. His hands are cuffed and he is brought before Elliot, Annie, and me. To my surprise, both of them and most of our allies think he should be killed.

“It’s people like this who blew up this school,” Elliot says.

“Please! I had no choice but to do this,” the man says with tears in his eyes.

“Why do you say that?” I ask.

“I was forced to! Everything I have and everyone I love was at risk! I know names and the places they meet at. I promise to pay for what I’ve done and then some just let me speak. Please, believe me.”

“Don’t do it, Roxy. He’s just trying to save his own skin.”

I look into the man’s scared eyes and make a decision.

“He’s telling the truth. Let’s let him speak somewhere safe.”

The man thanks me over and over again as we get him inside the school. After interrogating him, we go out and end up finding the people he described in every location. We end up making a few arrests since most refuse to be taken alive. Those who we do arrest tell us they were paid to make trouble for us by an anonymous person.

“There goes another trail to find out who is after us gone cold,” Annie says.

“At least we got rid of this group from the city. They were one of the many gangs that cause a lot of trouble in this part of the city with the violence they were hired to commit. It’s a win in my book,” Elliot says.

“Yeah…” I say.

Annie and Elliot put their hands on my shoulders. They know I’m upset at the lives of our friends that were lost today and the best thing they can do is remind me that they’re here for me. When we get home, we’re surprised to see that the media is again showing us in a positive light, and the surprises don’t stop there. I get a call from one of our opposing groups that they want to meet up for dinner at a hall to talk about cooperating in the future. Since I have the call on speaker, Annie and Elliot hear it and whisper to themselves. Why am I looking at them? This is my decision.

“We’ll do it. When’s this dinner happening? I’ll gladly pay for my people and myself,” I say.

Both Annie and Elliot seem concerned about my decision. I’m told that the dinner can happen this week. We agree on it happening this Thursday at four, which is in two days. I thank them for the opportunity to work together and see eye to eye and then hang up.

“Cancel everything we have going on this Thursday,” I say.

“That goes without saying. Are you sure you want to do this?” Annie asks.

“Can we even be sure we can trust these people?” Elliot asks.

“We’ve been working all these years for a chance to make peace with our opposition. We have it now and I won’t waste it.”

My friends are reluctant to accept it, but they do because they say that they trust me. I tell everyone else about this dinner and the reaction I get is mixed with some happy about it while others are uneasy. During my next daily call with my parents, they’re much the same way but trust me and say that they’re proud.

“Be careful with those people and don’t forget to bring your guns,” my dad suggests.

“I have to agree, but don’t show off your guns. Just be calm, and cooperative, but also unmoving in your foundations,” my mom says.

“I will.”

The next couple of days pass by like the wind and before I know it, it’s Thursday. I get dressed in a long black dress and head out to the event. When I arrive, I’m surprised to see that so many governors, mayors, corporate leaders, and more who are all dressed to impress with fancy suits and dresses of all kinds of colors.

“It’s strange to see that the archbishop of our diocese isn’t here,” Elliot says.

“Yeah, but his allied bishops and priests are here,” Annie points out. “I’m more concerned that I don’t see the leaders of the non-Catholic conservatives here.”

“Which non-Catholic conservatives? I see a couple of their leaders here.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter since they’re all heretics.”

“I wouldn’t worry,” I interject. “The people here are too important to lose, so it’s not like every group sent fodder here to talk to us. Are you thinking that they’ll-”

“Shh. You’re right. They wouldn’t sacrifice these people in particular. I’ll try to relax and not let my worries get to me,” Annie says.

“Yeah. Do you ladies want anything to drink?” Elliot says as he gets up from our table.

Annie says she wants a red wine while I want a simple soda. I can’t afford to be too comfortable and not because Elliot and Annie are implying that an attempt on my life may happen. My mind has to be completely focused and at attention so I can make the most of this. Hopefully, this’ll be the start of a peaceful America if this goes right. God, give me the strength and wisdom to make that happen.

As more people come in, my friends and I make small talk with them as if we’re strangers who have nothing against each other. The food and drink orders are taken and then served not too long after. With all the talking and laughing, you’d think this was a school reunion dinner. That is until the talks actually start.

Now that the pleasures of the night are done and the business part of it begins, the topics of tonight are brought up such as religion in politics, cybernetics, the rebellious states, crime, and other surrounding topics. The rules of this meeting are set as people are allowed to state their points and answer questions from the other groups at our discretion. More is brought up about this with the other groups being given a chance to talk first. Then, everything falls apart. Not because of what’s being talked about or us being what’s talked about negatively, but because explosions go off in the room killing nearly everyone. I see nothing but smoke, fire, debris, and dead bodies. I’ve survived thanks to my cybernetic body. Still, I wish that I didn’t so I wouldn’t have to see so many of my friends dead and my opportunity to make peace with the opposition gone in an instant. Why…God?