The man and the woman stepped between the pillars. The atoms of their bodies broke into pieces and then faded from the Chaktaw’s Earth as Trevor Stone and Major Nina Forest continued the journeys of their lives, along separate paths.
33. Where the Heart Is
Nina lay naked and alone on a steel table. It felt cold and sterile.
Darkness surrounded her. She felt no breeze, smelled nothing in the air, heard no sounds. A solitary light hovered above.
A figure walked toward her, taking shape as the patterns of his arms and legs and eyes formed from the fog of darkness. She had the feeling-the impression-he had been standing in that darkness for a long time, watching. Yet she had never taken note of him.
Now she saw the familiar lines of his face. He was the man she loved with all her heart. The balance to the other side of her life’s equation.
Trevor Stone.
He brought a blanket and pulled its fuzzy, soothing fabric over her body comfortably to her chin and pressed gently around the edges to wrap her snugly in the cover. The chill of the table evaporated, replaced with warmth.
Captain Nina Forest felt the burning, salty sting of tears in the corner of her eyes as her heart opened wide. His hand gently caressed her cheek as he offered a reassuring, kind smile. She brought her own hand over his as if to grab on and not let go. She did not want him to recede into the dark again.
"I…I love you," she told the phantom. "I miss you."
"I love you, too. I always will."
"Where have you been? Why haven’t I seen you before?"
The dream answered, "I’m always here, even when you don’t see me."
His hand withdrew. His smile softened to sadness.
"No…no please…don’t go," she pleaded.
"Someday," he promised. "Someday…"
…"Mom, you okay?"
Nina sat up on the couch in her Annapolis apartment. The early evening sun flickered through half-closed blinds. Additional flickers came from the television set in front of Denise who sat on the living room floor.
"You okay?" her thirteen-year-old adopted daughter repeated.
Nina’s head spun as she grabbed hold of her surroundings. Apparently a full day of training while waiting for her next assignment had exhausted her to the point of a nap.
"You were dreaming," Denise said. "I think…I think you were crying."
Nina rubbed under her eyes finding the slightest hint of moisture there.
"I guess I…"
"Must have been a really sad dream," Denise said although the girl appeared more concerned that mom’s noise had detracted from the TV.
She thought about that and answered, "No…no I don’t think it was."
Denise twisted around and said, "Um, mom, you’re not, like, going through the change or something are you? You know, hot flashes and-"
"Denise! I’m only thirty!"
"Any cute guys in that dream? Huh?" the younger girl goaded.
Nina paused. There had been…there had been someone. She thought…she thought she should remember but could only recall a feeling of warmth.
"I don’t know."
"Geez, mom, even your dreams are boring. But good thing you're up you DO NOT want to miss this."
Denise slid aside so her mother could see the images on the television.
"Looks like it’s all going crazy," Denise said. "What with Trevor gone and all."
Nina ignored Denise’s casual toss of the Emperor’s first name and focused on the video. A reporter stood outside the Imperial mansion. Words in the corner of
the screen announced LIVE VIA SATELLITE.
While she knew they had managed to access some communications satellites, someone had gone to a lot of trouble to ensure live coverage of whatever was happening at the lakeside estate.
– Evan Godfrey’s great march had started when hundreds marched out of Washington D.C., then boarded buses as well as cars and horse-drawn carts. Hundreds more joined after a rally in Baltimore, even more after another stop in Wilmington, Delaware.
Between Evan Godfrey and Sharon Parsons, they covered all the talking points, from notes on democracy seemingly taken from Thomas Jefferson's pen to tender vigils in remembrance of New Winnabow. Guest speakers from union organizers to the relatives of dead soldiers excited the crowds with talk of workers' rights, a corrupt justice system, and the need to seek a peaceful solution to the invasion.
Three thousand marchers rode chartered trains that rolled through Philadelphia where, on the steps of Independence Hall, the President of the Senate-Evan Godfrey-gave "the greatest speech since Armageddon" according to a National Broadcast Network commentator.
That particular speech added one new element to the usual checklist of grievances: Godfrey called for a moment of silence in memory of Trevor Stone. He said that it was for Trevor’s memory that they must march on the mansion and take away power from the military junta who presumed to have the wisdom and leadership of Trevor. That speech turned into an unabashedly glowing tribute to Evan’s ‘good friend’ and attracted hundreds of pro-Emperor sympathizers; people who knew a gaggle of Generals could not replace such a hero.
By that point, the number of Senators and local politicians hopping on the band wagon forced the chartering of luxury coach buses (for those politicians who shared the goal of the mob but preferred not to share accommodations). Of course, Evan's promise of 'live' satellite coverage for the big confrontation at the estate served as additional motivation.
The next morning, trains deposited the masses in Wilkes-Barre where they transferred to school buses, vans, horse-drawn buggies, and scores of pedal-powered bicycles. While the air-conditioned coaches quickly outdistanced the others, the group eventually mustered on the grounds of Joe's Pizzeria at the entrance to Harveys Lake.
Reporters captured photos of uniformed soldiers standing alongside peace protestors mixed in groups with angry labor unionists shouting slogans in tandem with hard core constitutionalists all escorted by scattered formations of Internal Security personnel.
Evan Godfrey filled with pride knowing that this collection of divergent interests should have meant a brawl but, instead, he focused them on one enemy: Jon Brewer and his cabal hiding behind the iron gates at the estate.
He would lead them in lockstep around the lake to the mansion with a list of demands, the foremost of which being nationwide elections administered by the Senate.
The mass of humanity-dressed in everything from jeans and skirts to flashy colored costumes and Ronald Reagan Halloween masks-completely enveloped the thin road weaving around the lake. Additional I.S. agents arrived via helicopter to divert motor traffic and protect the mansion grounds.
This pleased Evan. He worried Brewer might call in hardcore military units or even some of Knox's paramilitary men. Seeing I.S. on the scene meant Dante Jones had prevailed.
So as the protestors arrived outside the sealed iron fence they were greeted by Internal Security personnel and a number of K9 Grenadiers.
More important, they were also greeted by the first functioning post-Armageddon live satellite feed truck, freshly painted "NBN". Not too many people outside of Godfrey’s closest friends at the network new that the timing of the march was based on a small window of opportunity for bouncing signals off a decaying and neglected telecommunications bird floating in a wobbly orbit above the eastern seaboard…
…As Godfrey approached the gates with bullhorn in hand, Jon Brewer and a handful of council members convened in what had been Trevor’s personal office on the second floor.
The General stood at the balcony doors with the curtains drawn almost-but not completely-closed. His wife was there, as was Gordon Knox, Omar and Anita Nehru, General Jerry Shepherd and Dante Jones.
Gordon broke the silence, "You’re just going to stand there and stare at them? What happens when they climb the fence, Jon?"