We follow him down the aisle toward her.
“Williams,” Theo says as the woman nods to us. She’s tall, with large, pretty eyes and hair cut short, curls swept to one side. She greets Theo with a handshake, allowing him to kiss her cheek.
“Williams, this is Chris and Diana, and their daughter Sophia. Everyone, this is Nia Williams. My contact.”
He goes on to explain that Nia Williams used to be a representative in California, but I’m no longer listening. I’ve heard it all before—she’s the ringleader of the NAO’s biggest critics, been working on a counter movement.
No, I don’t listen.
This time, I study our Prime Delegate’s face. There’s something trustworthy about it. Perhaps her large eyes or her wide smile.
Looks can deceive, I think, wishing I’d known better than to trust that face.
“We’re calling ourselves the Defiance,” she says, white teeth gleaming. “Max Aota has several dozen regiments headed our way.”
“Who’s Max Aota?” I ask.
“He was a colonel in the US Army,” Williams says. “Now he’s a Defiant. Why don’t y’all take a seat and we’ll get started soon.”
My parents usher me to one of the front pews, and before long, Williams steps forward.
“Thanks for coming,” she calls to the crowd. “You all know why you’re here—or at least have some idea. Our country is at war.”
Murmurs from the crowd greet those words.
“I’m sure you’ve all seen the tragedies. Some of us have lost family, friends. Our leaders have failed us at every level. Commander Haynes’s extreme nationalism, intolerance, and blatant disrespect for our established laws have turned the free world into an autocracy.”
Louder murmurs and sounds of agreement.
“This here is Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Harrison, US Special Forces. He’s been gathering intel for weeks, and what we know is this: Hunters have dispersed throughout the country. Their sole purpose is to extinguish those defiant to the party, to quell our rebellion. Haynes’s army is advancing into Canada. He wants that territory for his own. He’s grasping for too much. His military is mighty, but it’s split. He cannot handle a war on so many fronts.”
Gasps and cheers.
“We are facing dangerous times. You are all likely here for different reasons. Either you oppose the radical takeover of our country, or you’re seeking asylum as an at-risk citizen, or maybe you had nowhere else to go. No matter the reason, we have a fight ahead of us, and we need your help.”
The mumblings turn angry.
“I’ve been working with a group of dissidents since the NAO first formed. We’ve established safe houses and a headquarters west of Louisville. We are organizing, and we need people like you to join this fight. This is not the first place I’ve been, and it won’t be the last. The Defiance will recruit across the country to end the oppression of the NAO.”
“You’re—you’re talking about full-scale war,” says a man in the front row. “Not just riots, but?—”
Theo steps forward. “War. Yes. We’ve fought this kind of tyranny and hate before. This country was born from the fight for freedom, and now, we will fight again. The Defiance has commandeered weapons and equipment from the NAO’s military. Commander Haynes has lost a large portion of his army to us.” He looks around the crowd, his voice strong and sure. “We will not lay down and allow this to happen. We will fight for our freedom. We will fight for our country! We will fight for what’s right!”
As the crowd goes wild, I lean into Mom. “What will we do?”
“We’ll sign our names and go with Theo,” my mother answers. “We’ll fight.”
My gaze trails to the surrounding crowd, and the light around each face grows dreamy.
Don’t do this, a voice whispers.
It will be impossible,it says.
Wake up,it screams.
Consciousness rippedme from the dream.
In my chest, my heart pounded against thick, icy blood as I fought to pull myself away from that familiar panic. Mysubconscious mind often revisited the memory of that church, wishing I’d made another decision. Back then, death wasn’t something I thought about regularly. Now, it stared me in the face with matte black eyes and a rictus of a smile. I was haunted by it, wondering when it would come for me.
