And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. but Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Acts 16:25-30
The Texas sun barely peeked through the black cloud creating an eerie grey haze as Joan trekked away from Austin. She felt as though something pulled her forward. Calling her southward.
Weeks passed. She got rides and took busses until she crossed the Southern border. The beckoning urge grew stronger the further south she went.
Barron had provided Joan with a plebian phone. No Charlotte or elites internet. But she had accessed the dark web knowing her videos would soon be blocked by the trump administration. Trump had been waging war on pagans since the fireball fell on Liberty Hill. He rounded up non-Christians like it was 1942. Joan posted updates and told her fans to stay strong. Stay safe. She urged them to find the dark web as soon as possible. By the time her bus reached Mexico City, all her accounts on the internet had indeed been deleted.
A military base outside
Denver, Colorado
Three Weeks Later
Donald was fuming as usual. "You're as useless as the others! How dare you refuse a direct order!"
Bannon tugged at the collar of his undeserved and uncomfortable General's uniform. "Your greatness, I'd gladly nuke Texas off the map at this point. We simply can't! Flynn changed all the codes! But listen, the patrols around Texas hold fast. No one is getting out."
"Fool! The plague is creeping over Oklahoma! Just shut up, before I shut you up! You're a nobody. I made you a General. And you're being very disloyal! Get it done. Figure it out! I don't give a damn how! Pull the quarantine line back and get out of my face!"
Merlin's God Machine in Hell
Eliphas stood inside the God Machine holding the middle matter handles searing their hands and staring into the window of time. The colors swirled around them like electrons. They grit their teeth as the vessel pulled away from the present and barreled ahead on the time stream. They only made it three days forward when they saw a brilliant flash erupting from the river of time. Eliphas pulled back on the electrified handles, checked the dial and plunged the middle-matter engines into reverse.
"Three days," Eliphas rasped faltering as they stepped from the machine. "Impossible," Leraje croaked.
"How can the cabal be ready in time?" Merlin mused. "We must assume Dantalion knows as well. Fly before he finds us here!"
Leraje spoke to Charlotte on her Copernican Dial, "Get us to Texas, now."
They disappeared before Eliphas caught their breath. Merlin frowned.
A Valkyrie Safehouse
Taos, NM
"If I had access to my computer at the Governor's mansion, I could tell you exactly when and where the shipment is coming. But we do know where the interment camp is. Why aren't we heading there? This sonic gun fantasy is a waste of time. "
"We haven't a chance in hell without those guns. Especially if they get them."
"Can your hackers get into my computer?"
Boudikka looked at Anonymous.
"For sure. After about a week."
"Fuck."
Boudikka looked around the room at her lieutenants. All blank faces. "Somebody better get some ideas fast or we may as well just turn ourselves in."
"Not in this fucking lifetime," Charly grunted. "How many ways are there into Texas? They wont be expecting a hijacking. They'll take the main roads. Maybe Micro can surveil with the city cameras and watch for government vehicles?"
