Adoration

17

Emily sucks in a breath, and lightly sobs. "I've got to finish this. I have to try. It's what I'm on this Earth to do and Ill die trying." Emily shook her head in denial.

"No Kai, you're wrong. You can stop this right now. I will take you to the police station, and we will do this together. Please Kai." She pleaded. Kai, still sobbing, put his son down in the carrier and strapped him in. Emily cried even harder as he leaned down to kiss his son for the last time.

He turned to her and embraced her as they sobbed together. "Emily, just trust me. I will take care of this. We will be together. This isn't the last time we'll be together." Emily nodded in his chest, she knew it would be, but decided to go with it because she loved him.

He pulled them apart from the hug and leaned down to kiss her as hard as he could. They kissed passionately before they were interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Boss, we need to go. Its starting." He kissed her hard one last time.

"I love you, Emmy." And he rushed out of the door.

Emily collapsed to the ground and sobbed, knowing this would be the last time she would ever see him. She stayed crying for a few minutes until she her Jude begin to fuss around for his mother.

She stood up and washed her puffy face and gave Jude his pacifier. She left the bathroom, and saw the empty lobby, she realized that the debate had already started, and she knew she would be unable to enter. She joined a small group of stragglers in the lobby, who were watching the debate from one of the TV's mounted on the walls. She sat on one of the available couches and placed Jude's carrier next to her, taking him out to feed him a bottle. She watched silently with the crown as Ally began to talk, answering a question asked by an audience member.

"Leadership is about two things: Intelligence and independence. Facts and truth mean nothing if our leader is an idiot or owned by special interests. What I can say about my opponent is he's not an idiot."

Everyone began to cheer, and Emily smiled.

"As most of you know, I have been through hell these past two years. But so, has our country- "

"This idea that America is a hellhole since the 2016 election is a creation of a hysterical press..." Her opponent spoke up.

"Would you do me a favor and try not to interrupt me? You can't intimidate me, and I am tired of being mansplained to." Ally explained. "Now, I have been called a lot of things: hysterical, shrill, snowflake. You can call me a snowflake if you want to, but I am one of millions and together we make a goddamn blizzard."

Everyone applauded for her, as the next person went up to ask a question.

"I have a question for Ms. Mayfair-Richards." Emily held her breath as she saw who spoke.

"Can we get your name, sir? "

"I'm Councilman Kai Anderson." Chaos began as his cult members ordered everyone down by gunpoint, and everyone in the lobby with Emily gasped in fear, some ran off. Emily stayed glued to her seat, watching what he was going to do.

"My question is this: Did you ever think you were more than just kindling? You're not the flame.
You're the spark to start the fire that I built. You're not a hero. You're a symbol. One I created!
Killing people doesn't get the men hard and the ladies wet anymore. But Americans lose
their ever-loving shit when you destroy their symbols, statues, flags, pledges of allegiance,
$20 bills, white Jesus, and Merry fucking Christmas! You come for any of that stuff, you've got rioting in the streets and domination of the news cycle for weeks. You symbolize the hope that women will one day win an argument with their husbands, that they won't be catcalled when they walk down the streets, that their bosses won't talk about their tits anymore, that they'll make just as much money as men make. that the fight is winnable! But when I kill you, they'll see that there is no hope. Women can't lead. Women can't win! They will always be outsmarted and outmuscled! They need to finally understand that what they can and should do is shut up, know their place and make me a goddamn sandwich!"

Emily's eyes watered as she listened to him speak cruelly. She knew that her Kai was truly gone.

The lobby was silent except for the shrill cry of his son. Who had been spooked from the people screaming. Emily stayed seated in her seat, trying to watch the situation while soothing Jude. She held in her sobs, with tears streaming down her face, as she watched her deranged and crazed ex-boyfriend point a gun at her best friend.

"Fuck you, Kai."

Kai's rage boils to the edge as he pulls the trigger.

Emily whispers to herself, "Kai, don't."

The gun clicks, but never fires a bullet. He and pulls the trigger again with no result.

He looks over to his security guard, be she stares at him with a smug grin.

Kai looks back and forth between the two women, "Don't just stand there and stare at me."

"Say something. Say something!" Emily jumps at his rage as he screams at Ally.

"You were wrong. There is something more dangerous in this world than a humiliated man: a nasty woman."

Kai looks at Ally confused, Emily watches tearfully as Beverly sneaks up behind him with a gun and pulls the trigger. The TV goes black and Emily put her head down and sobs.

It was all over.