The War In His Mind

Chapter 40

"I believe there's more to this world than the lies we've been given." Abraham said. He stood on a makeshift podium comprised of debris and jagged pieces of wood that were torn from battered houses. Beneath him were two hundred men conscripted into the armed forces of his rebellion.

"You've all seen the deceit of Thomas O'Neil. You all have rejected it, just the same." He could see a blood stain in Isaiah's penthouse and thoughts rushed into his mind of the sacrifice that Israel made. "Yet there are those of us...who have died trying." He paused, letting the somber tone seep into the hearts of those listening. "They have not died in vain."

"Now you're facing fear- the same fear that I have. What if we fail?"

"If we were alone we would have already failed." Behind the crowd of soldiers stood mothers and fathers united with their children. Abraham smiled. "If O'Neil attacked us when we were divided, he would have slaughtered us."

"Yet a family united does not easily fall."

"You men are my brothers. We are all family here."

"Which one of you wouldn't stop O'Neil from killing your family?"

A man in the center of the audience raised his rifle into the air. "Down with the O'Neil!"

The crowd slowly chimed in, one after another.

"Down with the O'Neil!"

"Down with the O'Neil!"

"Down with the O'Neil!"

Abraham raised his hand into the air as if he was proclaiming victory. "This is our time! We either stop him here or we die trying...What will you choose- life or death?"

"Down with the O'Neil!"

"Down with the O'Neil!"

"Down with the O'Neil!"

Abraham's fist clenched shut as he pumped it into the air. "Yes...yes...down with him!"

"We will storm his portion of the city. Half of you will be with me, the other half will attack any soldier you see." Abraham jumped down from the podium. He grabbed a rifle and rushed towards the train station. The men followed behind him.

Natasha met up with him and pulled him back. "Wait...I'm coming with you."

"Don't you mind the danger?"

She smiled. "Where ever you are, I am."

He stopped briefly and the men rushed past him. He could see them in the corner of his vision, yet his eyes were locked with hers. There was no one in this world he cared about more. "We'll claim our independence together." He leaned in and kissed her tender lips.

Together they stormed into the train station. The two hundred men felt more like a thousand as they squeezed into close quarters. The missiles from Isaiah's tower had blown open a large portal to the stair case that led downtown. Dozen by dozen, the men poured out. Gun fire could be heard from the top, but Abraham didn't know who was firing. It could be a trap for all he knew- but with two hundred men, it would be a lengthy fight.

He worked his way to the entrance and looked out into the vast openness of Downtown Wonder City. It was four times the size of the restricted space in Uptown. Vast towers full of snipers took out men as they worked their way down the stairs. Abraham and Natasha ducked behind the large wall that lined the staircase. Abraham assumed it was no less than three feet tall and made of thick concrete. Bullets lodged in the side but didn't pierce through to the other end.

When the firing paused, Abraham peered over the top with his rifle to shoot at the attackers. Two bullets hit a man sitting on top of the courthouse. Through his scope, Abraham could see he was still holding onto life. With a final bullet to the skull Abraham put him to rest.

He grabbed Natasha by the hand and rushed down the stairs, holding close to the wall in case the gunfire started again. Every few seconds the gunfire erupted and formed a barrier above them. They ducked to avoid the bullets yet feared that dreadful moment when one would slip through.

It continued for several minutes. Abraham felt as though he wouldn't survive the onslaught, but he did. He looked back at Natasha, who seemed to be as uncertain as he was.