The Green Rising

Chapter Twenty-nine

It was another five days before the electricity came roaring to life. I set about doing my chores and sent the girls to the bathtub before I flicked on the TV. Though my fingernails were bitten to nubs, I had hope that maybe someone had thwarted the Greenies. I also had this fear that Luc had been captured.

The colonel came onto the screen and I sank onto the couch. In her emerald suit, she looked ready to give the news. There would be no celebration of independence today.

Abi droned on about how the church membership had grown by more than a million people in the past few days. She was ecstatic that so many were ready and willing to work for the order. The live stream then switched to massacre upon massacre, with only a handful of participants joining. I felt nauseous with each bullet that zinged into the crowd and wondered why they didn’t fight back. The Greenies had the guns, but a crowd could easily rush at least a couple of the assassins and turn the tables on them.

Abi returned to the screen and gave a smile to the camera, as it panned to include General Bryant. The general’s hair had been shorn to army standard. Blood coagulated around his brow. He limped over to the chair beside Abi. I smiled that someone had probably gotten the better of this man. At least someone was thinking.

“Before we begin, General,” Abi scoffed. She looked at him from head to toe, smirking at the man’s obvious pain. “I have a few questions for you.”

An audible rush of air escaped his lungs as he sat down. “Go on,” he said in his southern accent.

“Is it true that you warned a number of people about our operation?” Her voice was contemptuous.

“No. I did no such thing,” he answered, gazing into the camera.

 “Did you tip anyone off that such an operation might happen?”

He turned his attention to Abi. “I bought my children and grandchildren one-way tickets out of the country. The president already knows that. Now, will you let me do my job?”

“Are you aware that you have committed treason?” She gave the camera her most patronizing of smiles.

“For wanting to ensure their safety? Hardly.” His voice remained even, though he seemed to shrink in his seat.

“They weren’t members of our church, therefore they deserve no safety. Unlike the old United States, this country expects exemplary behavior from its leadership. In allowing non-members to escape, you’ve committed treason. For that, you’ve been sentenced to death.” She held a gun to his temple and fired, his body thudding onto the floor. “Guards,” she gestured to the table’s bloody mess, “clean that up.” She broke out her curt smile. “Now for what’s happening around you.”

 It was another round of public executions that I was not going to force myself to watch. I walked over to the kitchen and emptied the pots of boiled water into the vat, a little bit splashing over the funnel. My leg jerked back in reflex and I resisted the urge to curse as heat soaked through my jeans. Task complete, I peeled down my jeans to view the damage the water had caused, just a red spot the size of a silver dollar on my thigh, no blisters. I ordered the girls out of the tub so Jessa could take a shower.  

“Welcome back. I will be reading the list of fugitives for the moment since the general is otherwise indisposed,” Abi said as I returned from the bathroom. She held a crimson-stained paper in one hand, and with the other, she pushed reading glasses up the bridge of her nose.

I sat on the edge of couch, hoping that Luc’s name would still be called along with mine. She read through the list at a much slower pace than the general had and my nails shortened with every passing minute. When she got to my name, her voice was laden with disdain. She grimaced as she read that I was to be captured, not killed. Nothing had changed in regards to my status.