I didn\u2019t have a choice, he spun me around and pulled me alongside of\nhim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOutside the intake doors of the ER, we have an ambulance ready to bust\nout the back gate of the hospital. The gate is locked, my men are ready to\nblast it open.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He used his elbow to activate the ER’s main doors. A guard came at us from\nthe security area; with one jab to the guard\u2019s throat, my attacker disabled him\nand crashed him to the ground. The guard had no idea of who he was up against.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDid you kill him?\u201d I gasped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaybe,” he said. \u201cDon’t have\ntime to fool around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nurses and physicians were in shock at seeing what had transpired.\nThey stepped well out of our way as we raced down the corridor to the intake\narea. I looked back to see a physician bending down to attend to the fallen\nguard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy bag, my bag, I can\u2019t leave that\nbehind.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Yeah, you have something we may need.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A heavy object attached to his gun belt banged against my thigh. It was\nmy handbag, I was relieved, I had the next in the series of cellphones in\nthere, which\n<\/em>he<\/em> <\/em>had given me,\nso I could call him<\/em> for help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No one followed us. The intake doors opened – another big man stood by\nthe rear of a running ambulance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll get in the right side, the kid will drive,” he said loudly over\nthe noise of the idling diesel engine. Directing his attention to this second\nvery big man he yelled, \u201cGet her in the\nback and make sure she doesn\u2019t give us any\ntrouble. Be careful, our orders are to deliver her in one piece.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s happening?” I\nstammered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are getting out of the Metropolis, as fast as we can, before the\nWoman\u2019s Police Force catches on that we have you and comes looking for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He unlatched the rear doors of the ambulance, the second very big man\njumped in dragging me behind into the rear of the ambulance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t have a chance to sit down before\nthe ambulance was underway. We screamed out the ER intake road, then lurched\nover the median toward the back gate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The second big man, attacker, or savior, I didn\u2019t know which, held me from falling over. He pulled down seats folded\nagainst the ambulance bulkhead and said firmly, \u201cFasten your seat belt, it\u2019s going to be\na wild ride.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We raced through the parking lot, I couldn\u2019t see where we were going, only where we had been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our speeding ambulance came to a quick stop, tires squealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I heard a loud explosion, metal parts rained down on the roof of the\nambulance. The driver accelerated aggressively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat must be the explosive destruction of the rear gate,\u201d I thought to\nmyself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bam! We hit the gate solidly. With a mighty jolt, the steel gate yielded\nimmediately to the weight of the speeding ambulance. I was glad I had my seat\nbelt on. We came to another quick stop. The rear door of our ambulance opened,\nanother brute got in and lay on the floor. I surmised he was the man who blew\nthe gate open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGo.\nGo,” the floor man\nscreamed to the front seat occupants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The driver activated the horn and siren, I could see reflections of the\nemergency lights in the windows of the buildings as we passed at great speed\nout onto the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey sure built this one strong,” announced floor man, as he rested\nhis head on a jump bag filled with bandages and meds. “An old 4.8L V8\nengine, 285 horsepower, 295 foot pounds torque, they don\u2019t make them like this\nanymore.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a sick way it was humorous, here I was with four nasty guys, out\nrunning many other nasty guys or gals, I am not sure which, who wanted to kill\nus, and one of us was talking about the size of the engine in our stolen\nambulance. Gotta’ love life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our ambulance headed out onto the freeway. The traffic was normal for\nthis time of day, an equal number of vehicles moving in both directions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why\naren’t any emergency or police vehicles converging on\nthe hospital?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey are\nconverging on the front of the hospital. The revolution\nhas just begun. The government is suppressing the news so the public will not\nbecome alarmed and\nthey are hoping to get the riot at the front gate\nunder control before the public finds out. The government doesn\u2019t want to\nattract attention to the hospital. But, this time, they are going to have their\ndirty, deceiving, divisive hands full.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Floor guy consulted his watch, large-faced and sturdy – just like him, built to ‘take a licking and keep on ticking.’ It was an\nuncomplicated watch, just the basics, the dial visible\nin any light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe second and third wave of the revolution is starting now,\u201d floor guy\nyelled over the roar of the speeding ambulance, directing his remarks mostly to\nme. \u201cThey are on the south side of town, at the Capitol, and out in the Big\nGlass area, which will soon get the attention of the public and the word will\nspread outside of the accepted government channels. The government won\u2019t be\nable to contain this riot now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBig Glass, isn\u2019t that where all the medical\nresearch takes place? Why would the revolution want to fight down there?\u201d\nI asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBig Glass is research all right. The wrong kind, it’s where the male\nspecific virus was developed and a sperm bank,\u201d\nfloor hulk replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCome again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBig Glass is\nwhere the genetically engineered sperm are housed, you know, the ones that fertilize eggs with only female DNA,” he\nanswered rather thoughtfully. \u201cHis<\/em> job is to expose that program to the public, and to overthrow the\ncurrent government and see to it that a responsible democracy is restored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy his<\/em> job, you mean the man I’ve been seeing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou must be very important to him<\/em>. He<\/em> sent us to get you. I protested it was too dangerous an undertaking. He<\/em> wouldn\u2019t hear anything of that, then he\narranged this confrontation at the hospital’s main gate, so we’d have a\ndiversion to get you out. I have to admit, it has been very effective.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n We rounded a corner and a Hollister umbilical cord clamp dropped on\nmacho floor guy’s chest. \u201cEwww,” he\nsqueaked, brushing the clamp away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I laughed out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He ignored me and continued, <\/p>\n\n\n\n “After you snooped in your coworker’s computer, the government\ndiscovered the remnants of the selective virus study\nwere still available on the old system platform. The government had assassins\nready to abduct you both this morning at your respective homes but since the revolution foiled their plan, snipers were sent out to shoot you in the\nhospital parking lot. We got one sniper, but it was too late to save your\nfriend, although it was better that she died, instead of being tortured for information. You would also have been tortured, in a very horrible way. These people are very effective; they even film the tortures and show\nthem around to keep others from straying off the line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I turned my head as we continued on the freeway in a northerly\ndirection. Watching out the back windows, I saw a large billboard, the center\nwas painted with a symbol of a woman’s snake-entwined raised fist, the\npolitical statement of the resistance. I began to know where we were on the\nhighway, I recognized some of the exit signs as we whizzed by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy are we going in this direction and for that matter, where?\u201d I asked nervously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are going to leave the Metropolis through the North Quadrant, then ditch this ambulance and take our own Humvee out into the unregulated territory. They won\u2019t follow us, too dangerous for them, our Minute Men snipers pick them off from long distances. Plus, the government is almost out of money, they conserve their resources by policing the Metropolis. If they find out we have you, and we are getting out of town in this <\/p>\n\n\n\n ambulance, they will launch a missile from a drone to blow us up.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The hulk sitting next to me turned away from floor man and addressed the\nmen in the front, \u201cYo, were you able to defeat the GPS\nand the transponder?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The right-hand man turned, looked directly at me and explained what we\nwere up against. \u201cI cut some of the wires to the\nelectronics that were obvious, I doubt if I got them all. We’ll ditch this\nvehicle once we get through the old border crossing in the North Gate, which\nhas never been well supervised. It\u2019s unlikely the\ngovernment could arrange guards on such short notice, they need the ‘manpower’ to defend themselves against the revolution. In the event they were\nable to recruit loyalists at that off ramp, we have our\nrapid-fire Uzis’ – they will die. Simple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The thought of the automatic weapons sent shivers down my spine. \u201cI don\u2019t like guns,\u201d I stammered. He stared right at me as if I was the reason people were\ngoing to die. Maybe we are all going to die; I don\u2019t want to, especially before I can see him<\/em> one last time: goodbye\nmy friend. My face screwed up and I began to sob.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLook lady, I know this is hard on you. You must really have a hold on him<\/em>.\nI have never seen him<\/em> so determined to get you back safely.\nHe<\/em> didn\u2019t want to\nsacrifice you to the government. We are very good at this, it is what we do.\nKilling is part of our game, kill them before they kill us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n I turned my head to face my rescuer. He went on to explain. \u201cYou know how Old Farm Rd. feeds off the highway? And then where Old Farm\nintersects with Old Pond? I have a Humvee under a bush pile on the Old Pond road. The three of us will get out about a\nhalf mile from the road intersection and walk through the bush to its location.\nLoverboy here, has volunteered to act as a diversion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy him?\u201d I asked the hulk who was busy\nunlatching my handbag from his gun belt. \u201cWhy don\u2019t we just ditch this ambulance on the other side of the border? We can\nall walk to the Humvee together.” I sounded as if I\nknew what I was saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hulk pointed to the driver. \u201cLoverboy has made\nup a plan, it’s his to carry out. He thinks if they send a missile and take out\nthe ambulance they’ll assume they killed all of us. He will slow down, jump out\nof the ambulance, leave it running in auto drive and it will continue moving up\nthe highway. He’s a fast runner and he’ll then run\ndown the Old Farm road and meet up with us at the Humvee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had stopped crying to listen and looked over to see the driver in the\nfront seat. Loverboy, if that was his real name, was a teenager, thin and\nfrail, his acne didn\u2019t have time to get better, he was\nthat young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I took a chance to speak, directing my words to Loverboy, \u201cIs it really all right with you, did these men twist your arm?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMa’am, it\u2019s okay. I may be young, but I’m\npart of the team. Don\u2019t you worry about me, Ma’am, I can\ntake care of myself.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n I turned and sat staring into the back of the ambulance. \u201cStrange, this vehicle’s sole purpose is to save lives and now, to kill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know what’s on your mind,\u201d the hulk\nsaid. \u201cNo one wants a revolution but we tried to negotiate a condition where the current government\nwould concede control to a newly elected democratic government with all new\npeople, a balance of men and women this time. But they didn\u2019t want to give up the power and affluence they had gained and told us\nthey would hunt us down and kill us, which, as you know by now, they are in the\nprocess of doing. They never realized he<\/em> had a second plan in the event\nthey wouldn\u2019t agree.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho is he<\/em>?\u201d I asked. \u201cIs he<\/em> that powerful that he<\/em> can start a revolution?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes he is. I\u2019ll tell you more later,” the hulk answered, this time in a softer and more concerned\ntone of voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Loverboy slowed down and took the Old North exit ramp. At first, I thought we\nwould just drive off without incident, then I heard the men in front talking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Right side man instructed Loverboy, \u201cLooks like they stationed Loyalists along the exit and closed\nit with cars. Pull up close to them and slow down a\nbit; I\u2019ll shoot them up and they won\u2019t know what\nthe Saint Mary to do. Ram the blockade! Now!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n We slowed, I could see out the windshield that a group of women were\ncarrying rifles and standing in front of cars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Right side man pulled an automatic weapon into the opened window; he raked the front scene with continuous gun fire. Half went down from\nhis shots, the rest fired back. The women in the street quickly took cover\nbehind the stopped cars on the highway; it did them no good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Loverboy hit the accelerator and slid down below the dash with just enough\nheight to see where he was driving. Several shots from the loyalists penetrated\nthe top of the windshield, ricocheting wildly into the back of the ambulance,\nwhich then rammed the parked cars, spinning them out of the way and tumbling\nthe Loyalists onto the highway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Loverboy drove clear of the carnage, then swerved to the right, the hulk\nopened his door and jumped out. In a walking crouch, he fired automatic weapon bursts\ninto the collision site on the ramp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He systematically shot and killed the women who were still living after\nthe initial fire fight and collision, including a woman who put her hands up in\na sign of surrender. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He walked among them administering a coup-de-gr\u00e2ce to the head of each\nof them. After plucking a radio from a dead woman’s hand, he walked\nbackwards, facing the wreckage with his weapon ready. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou murdered her,\u201d I screamed\nout, while floor man held me down. \u201cShe tried to surrender!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLady, that was no woman.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alison, you have a choice, his words rang out loud and clear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[180,184,182,183,134,70,185,181,186],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":831,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823\/revisions\/831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.angelchroniclestories.com\/chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Humvee.jpg\")
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