Movin? that plot along?
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Emotions in shambles, the group set out the next morning for Nevada. Summer was quickly receding and the days were beginning to shorten. The cool morning air greeted the haggard refugees as they stepped out from the church. Scavenged bicycles carried them through the town and eventually into the desert. By noon no one had said anything other than simple grunts and the group still felt defeated. It seemed their only means of coping with loss was to flee. Whenever one place was filled with too much blood, they simply up and left, trying desperately not to look behind lest they give shape to the nameless horror that stalked them.
All around them, they saw the remains of civilization. In a park they stopped at for lunch, they stumbled upon a mass grave prepared by the local municipalities to combat those falling victim to disease. The distinct lack of bodies in the trench stood as a testament to the bizarre properties of the virus. Even the Hegemon seemed to have pulled his followers from the region. Abandoned trailers squatted along the interstates, board games and gun ports still laid out inside. Even the stray carton of cigarettes could be gleaned from the derelicts.
The mid-afternoon sun had begun its descent when the group pulled into a library to rest. They stowed their bikes in the parking lot, forgetting to chain them together. The dregs of society now had bigger things to worry about than stealing bikes.
Killion opened the door and nearly collapsed. Crudely welded pieces of steel hung from the rafters. Upon each pair, a gaunt figure was mounted. Emaciated ribs poked out through tattered shirts and large caliber staples were shot through their wrists. Whiteboards bearing terse titles such as ?Drug Addict?, ?Klansman?, ?Deserter?, and ?Infected? were pinned to the chests of the men and women like lapel flags. Another man lay on the floor by a desk at the register, a small hole present in his chest. The radio at the counter was blaring a message broadcast after the coup.
?Men and women of America, the Lord has given us a golden opportunity to do his will! The Impure have been scourged from our lands and now we can reap what has been sown so long ago. By obeying the laws of the Lord, we shall overcome and take advantage of this unique opportunity. A clean slate has been prepared for us, His Anointed! Rejoice, for the same pestilence that struck down the wretched has delivered heavenly judgment upon us. We are forgiven by the Father and now we can continue His work untroubled. So keep watch over your fields, be wary of the sinners and snakes in your midst. Hesitance in justice shall deliver thee to the Devil. Be strong and be wary, though the Lord has given us this chance, we must make the most of it. It is your sacred duty to prepare this world for the Kingdom of Heaven and to secure our Lord a bastion in this world. March onwards, Christian soldiers! May His will be done!?
?Dear God, our little friend?s gone mad! We?ve got a theocrat running roughshod over what?s left of the world!? Shaz cried out. ?As if the plague wasn?t bad enough, this Hegemon?s got a pastor?s collar around his neck!?
