Chapter 21

“Vince,”

He opened his eyes and looked up at Chris, who was standing over him as he sat in a chair.

“Are you all right?”

He stood up and nodded. “I was just praying,” he replied.

“What were you praying for?”

He went over to the sink and filled a glass with water. “You know,” he began, “I wasn’t praying for our victory. I was praying that God would watch over Samantha and Mykella. Our victory lies in Mykella’s hands,”

He looked out the window and noticed the army form in front of the building. There was a lot of negativity he saw as he looked the people over. Negative and hostility.

Vince turned back around, ready to ask Chris why they were so negative when, an hour ago, they were ready to fight for their freedom.

“It’s Mykella,” said Chris, reading his face. “Those in the front of the apartment are the ones who don’t believe that Mykella is their savior.”

Vince knew this would happen. Didn’t Agnes warn them of this? “Do you think we should go down and talk to them?”

“Karl’s already doing that.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“And a fine job he’s doing,” replied Vince behind sarcasm. He turned back to the window and looked down at the army. “How many others truly believe it, or are willing to fight?”

“A hundred – maybe two, give or take a couple.”

“All right,” said Vince with a sigh. “We can still use them. We’ll just keep half on the front, the others behind, ready to ambush.”

“Do you think it’ll work?” She was hopeful, but she had her doubts.

Chris had been preparing herself for this for twenty years, and now that she was thirty-nine, she felt positive that she had made peace with her maker. “How far do you think it is?”

Vince had no idea; he hadn’t thought about it that far. He almost cringed at the thought that it could end up taking them days, or even months to reach Orion’s stronghold by foot. He couldn’t remember how long it took for them to reach a safe haven when Agnes rescued them.

“Well,” he began, “we definitely need to find a way to transport water during the march.”

“Why don’t we go to the outer territory and get the trucks and convoy there?”

“That’d be too noticeable – Orion could spot the convoy miles away before we could even get close enough to see the castle.”

“Not if he’s fighting Mykella.”

Vince sighed and thought of Mykella. If only your mother were still here; she’d know what to do, he thought.

“Okay, here’s what we’ll do: We’ll convoy to a designated location, then walk the rest of the way. Does that sound all right with you?”

She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It sounds better than walking the whole way when we’re not sure how far it is.”

“Then we’d better get down there and tell everyone the plan,” he said and finished his glass of water in two gulps.