Fall, Rise, Repeat

by Matthew Schneider

  His eyes accidentally gazed upon Thor’s practically decapitated head. It was split open, and blood painted the walls and the ceiling. Zav grabbed his stomach and threw up all over Thor’s feet. He gagged out his last bit of food and pushed Thor’s shoulders back.

  He was absolutely disgusted, but could not hold himself back from looking at the mutilated head. Blood ran down his face. Zav began to throw up again but held it in his mouth and swallowed. His body ached.

  His fingers moved along Thor’s jacket and felt around the front pockets. He felt the warm metal of the keys and yanked them out. He spun around and sprinted out of the house, and bent over the curb in pain. He threw up once more and blew his nose with his sleeve.

  He gasped for air and continued sprinting down the road.

  “Gah!” he yelped and fell to the ground. He grabbed his leg and winced. A sharp pain from running was causing immense discomfort in his right calf. He massaged his calf and slowly stood up, taking deep breaths and continuing his journey.

  He limped across the intersection and down the road to the mart. He increased his pace when he saw Outlaws standing around the Gurkha.

  “I’m here!” he hollered, waving his hands.

  He limped through the dozen people and climbed on top of the front of the Gurkha. He stepped over the windshield and stood on the roof. There was soft conversation among the crowd, which had to be no more than two dozen.

  “Is this it? We left with sixty people, where is everyone?” Zav asked the group. He looked around and could see a couple late Outlaws coming down the street.

  McConnell stepped forward from the crowd and waved to Zav. “Hey Xavier, it’s me, McConnell. Remember me? Anyways, we suffered massive casualties. I’d say close to thirty. That’s nearly half of the group. We know the Knights suffered worse though. We had a body count of at least fifty Knights. And...seven civilians.”

  Zav stuck out his jaw and puffed his cheeks. “Do you think we’re any better than the Knights if we’re killing civilians? We are rescuing these people, not taking over.”

  McConnell walked to the front to the Gurkha and leaned on the engine. “I didn’t say we killed the civilians. But that’s the price we pay during war. We eliminated the Knights, we lost men, innocent people died. But now we’ve captured the town and can rule over Fairland and Shelbyville. Our numbers have grown to about ten thousand if you count everyone. We’re sitting kings, kid.”

  Zav folded his arms and shifted his weight to his left leg. “This was not a crusade for you to become leader over everyone. If anything, we should be ruling democratically. We will decide as a group where to go from here.”

  McConnell climbed on top of the car and stood with one foot on the windshield. “You can’t let ten thousand people rule themselves. America just fell. We’re better than anarchy. We need an elite class, us, to rule over the rest of them. We must institute a government. Rules!” McConnell stepped next to Zav and whispered into his ear, “Power!”

  Zav turned to face the crowd. “We must work together to come to a conclusion. Obviously, the rest of the town is not here to help us decide. We will run these two towns as republics. America fell because too much power went to one man. Wealth was distributed. Crooked media and misinformed individuals turned us into an unbalanced communist state. For fifty years the infrastructure of America fell before us. Now, we have a fresh start. We will not repeat history.”

  McConnell smirked and adjusted his pants. “Don’t be fooled by this kid. We’ve all been around longer than he, we know that any society is made up of different classes. And besides, let’s take a moment and realize that we were all better off before Xavier, here, came along and started a war.”

  McConnell rested a hand on Zav’s shoulder, who flinched and pushed his hands against McConnell’s chest. McConnell chuckled and swaggered over to the gunning seat. He slid into it, but something else caught his attention. “What’s this girl doing here?”

  “That’s Victoria. Borris’ daughter. Borris was friends with Thor.”

  “Now, ain’t that interesting. Where’s Thor?” questioned McConnell, climbing out of the seat. He walked to the edge of the Gurkha and prepared to jump down.

  “Thor is dead.”

  “Dead? You mean, nobody’s in charge?”

  Zav’s blood was beginning to boil. He clenched his fist. “Nobody is in charge and it will stay that way.” Zav raised his arms and released his hands, extending his fingers. “Outlaws! We are all adults here! We do not need to be ruled by any one figure...but we must come to a consensus.”

  McConnell put his hands on his hips and smiled. “You do realize I’m next in charge if Thor isn’t around, right?”

  Zav marched to McConnell and swung wide, his fist driving like a hammer towards McConnell’s face. McConnell’s hand shot up and gripped Zav’s wrist like a handcuff and twisted his arm backward.

  Zav gasped in pain and groaned as his wrist was crushed. McConnell pushed him to his knees and dragged him to the edge of the Gurkha. His foot rested on Zav’s back.

  “Now that Thor is gone, we need a strong leader. I am the one who can lead us to greater places. This embarrassment would only weaken us further,” McConnell yelled, and kicked Zav’s foot off, sending Zav off the top of the Gurkha.

  His shoulder hit the ground first, and Zav laid on the ground whimpering. No Outlaw came forward to help. They stared helplessly at Zav, afraid of McConnell.

  McConnell jumped down and opened the driver’s side rear door. Victoria sat inside, her hands over her head. McConnell reached out and grabbed her by her arm, inspecting her with an inquisitive eye.

  Zav grunted and got on all four limbs like a dog before sitting back on his heels and standing up. The crowd watched him, but McConnell had his back to Zav.

  McConnell rested his thumb against her chin, then moved his hand across to cover her entire face when he said, “Boy, get back on the fucking ground before I curb-stomp you.”

  Zav clenched his fist and walked through the crowd. He found Marx, Bobby, Ethan, and Argus at the back. He stared at them, blood dripping from his forehead and nose. “Men!” he spat and pushed past them. “Grow a pair and stand up, you goddamn traitors. We just let eighty people die, and nobody does a thing to stop McConnell from taking over.”

  Marx reached out a hand, but McConnell called from behind, “Let him go! We’ve got more important matters to attend to.”

  McConnell pushed Victoria down on the backseat and got into the driver seat himself. He started up the Gurkha and slammed his fist on the horn, clearing a way through the crowd for himself. He drove off down the road, leaving a quiet mob behind.

  Chapter 7

  The Outlaws cleared the area to search for recruits. They still followed the original plan, but one question was in everyone’s mind: What the hell just happened?

  Zav walked alone and found himself at the edge of town. He paced around the road, kicking up gravel and dragging his heels to make scraping sounds. His shoulder and arm were throbbing, with scrapes and bruises beginning to show.

  Zav grunted and walked towards a stone brick bar on the side of the road. He dragged himself to the red door and swung it open. He stepped inside, squinting so his eyes could adjust to the dim light.

  It had the atmospheric feel of an old tavern, which almost matched the exterior. It was like a medieval-made-modern type of building, with iron grates over the windows, dark wooden tables that were basic and low, crisscross designs on the walls, and stones for foundation like a castle – topped off with a foul smell.

  Zav wrinkled his nose and walked behind the counter. He gazed up and down at the assortment of abandoned bottles and grabbed a cheap whiskey. He hit the top against the wall to loosen the paper wrap and twisted the top off. He found a glass under the counter and poured himself a shot.

  He sat down on a stool and lifted the glass to his lips, paused to take a deep breath, and drank. Still wincing at the burn in the back of his throat, he poured anot
her glass.

  The red door swung open and two silhouette figures barged in. A rush of adrenaline went through his body and he clenched the bottle tightly.

  The two figures walked under a ceiling light and Zav could make out their faces. His hand relaxed and he lifted his glass to Ethan and Marx.

  “Afternoon, lads,” Zav chuckled, his eyes dashing from one person to the other.

  “Xavier, we have come to help you,” Marx said, his German accent forcing pauses between his words. He reached out his hand with a friendly smile on his face.

  “Yeah, buddy, we saw you skulking around, and we were all going to come, but Argus said you didn’t deserve to be reconciled,” Ethan said, pulling up a stool and sitting next to Zav.

  Zav shook Marx’s hand and reached over the counter to grab two more glasses. Ethan pushed Zav’s hand away and shook his head. “I was an alcoholic for a while and that’s not a past I’m willing to revisit.”

  Zav let go of the glasses and pulled his closer. “I just need something to forget about the pain for a moment, please,” he explained, but Ethan put his hands on Zav’s shoulders.

  “That’s why we’re here. McConnell is a dick, that’s the truth. And after kidnapping that girl, we only have more reason to get rid of him. But he’s a senior in the group, and people want somebody to take orders from, so they’re going to follow the top dog. Xavier, you were with Thor when he died. You’ve made a strong stand in this group. We support you,” Ethan spoke clearly, his voice reassuring and full of friendliness.

  Zav smiled and looked at the two of them. “You guys are great, but why didn’t you stand up for me back there? Hm? Too afraid of McConnell?”

  Marx glared and leaned forward. “Dummkopf! Do you think we will start a civil war among the group? The only thing that shall come out of that is violence. Three on one. Then three on three. Five, ten, the group splits. The only way to truly defeat McConnell is to get rid of him – not an option, unfortunately. We cannot and will not kill a member of the Outlaws!” Marx shouted, and sat back down.

  Ethan shrugged and folded his fingers. “I couldn’t have said it better. But now that he’s gone, we can talk to the whole group. We’re gathering the survivors right now, and then we will have a meeting in the center of town. There’s going to be hundreds of people. Many are afraid, especially after the battle, but if we have a good, strong speaker to talk to them…”

  Zav’s eyes glinted in the soft light as he looked at Ethan. “You want me to lead the group?”

  Ethan nodded. “We don’t have the power to give that to you. But if you stand up and show them that you’re a strong leader, and promise peace over the lands, you can rally the Outlaws and our allies to stand with you.”

  “Dis is just like Germany, one hundred years ago. You must bring energy to the crowd. You must find a common enemy. Then, make promises for people to believe in. We can begin to rebuild. Then, we sweep McConnell from his feet and take over! But do not let the power go to your head, Zav,” Marx said, excitement in his voice.

  Zav stood up. “Of course. We will run these towns as democratically as possible. But I should think it would be too many people for everyone to vote. We’ll leave it to the more experienced people, such as the Outlaws.”

  “Now, Zav, that’s a slippery slope. You already cut out thousands of people. If you truly want this to be a people’s republic, then you must allow everyone a chance to vote.”

  Zav looked at Ethan and puffed his cheeks. He popped the air and sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But we cannot coordinate votes and elections over this many people. It would be chaos. We escaped anarchy, barely, but we need to be enforcing rules. If everyone is ruling themselves, we will never accomplish anything. I’m not agreeing with McConnell on the social elite, but we need people in charge.”

  “But as our population grows, as I’m sure it would be your next move to move to Indianapolis, we will need a larger social elite. Then, we will need someone to rule the social elite. It’s bound to happen eventually. We can form any type of government we’d like, but we must not fall down the same hill that the United States did.”

  Zav shook his head. “It will not be like that. The United States lasted two hundred and eighty-some years before we elected a damn Commie into the White House. Even if we had one person in charge, it would not hurt. The crucial factors are who that person is and what they choose to do. And having a leader does not guarantee that rights are going to be taken away.

  “We’ve had a president since the beginning of America. The only reason this whole country became so skewed was because the far left from the beginning of the millennium was grown up and took over the middle class of America. The political parties have skewed so far from what they originally stood for...but that’s not the important part. It comes down to the fact that those no-brainers elected a man who wanted to conform the entire world into a globalist communist society. But that man really just wanted to eliminate uncooperative competition!”

  Marx drummed his fingers against the side of his stool. “Yeah, what’s your point?”

  “We’re starting new. We’re not going to repeat history. Sure, parts of the country are a total radioactive wasteland, and that Commie bastard is probably still alive in a bunker somewhere, but hard times create strong men. We have an opportunity to recreate America. There are still millions of people out there, and when we unite, we can rebuild. A new government, same old rules of constitution...prior to the revisions...as the old saying goes...we can make America great again!”

  Ethan put his face in his hands. “Zav, I have to ask, because it’s getting hard to tell, what’s your actual political stance?”

  “I’d just like to think of myself as a centrist.”

  Marx and Ethan looked at each other, their feelings unclear. “Whatever. We must be going. The group is going to be meeting and we mustn’t miss that,” Marx said.

  Zav stood up and followed Marx out of the bar. Ethan paused for a moment, staring at the bottle of whiskey, but turned his face and marched away. The three walked, in no hurry, to the center of the town. It was a good five-minute walk, and Zav used the time to think about what he was going to say.

  He came up with few things.

  “Guys,” Zav said, and Marx and Ethan stopped in their tracks and looked back at Zav.

  “Huh?” asked Ethan.

  “I don’t really know what to say to the townspeople. I know I could probably improvise, but if I’m trying to motivate people and start some revolution, I should have a script.” Zav crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

  “Let’s multitask. Keep walking,” said Marx, and they began moving again. “You said a lot of good stuff back there. Maybe use some of those lines and simplify it if you have to. Not everyone is a political genius, so say some things that people like and understand and they’ll support you.”

  Zav grunted. “Where have I heard that before?”

  Ethan laughed. “Yeah. But also, keep in mind there’s a lot of people supporting McConnell like he’s some tough leader. If you can, demonize him, but paint a picture that he’s more-so a bad leader than a bad person, otherwise you’re just going to start a war. This is a political election, not an argument.”

  “I got it, I got it. Good vibes. I feel a little nervous, to be honest. I just gotta get a good rhythm in my head and then go with the flow,” Zav said, motivating himself.

  They neared the center of the town. Zav skipped behind the other two men and swung his arms, stretching out his shoulders. He huffed and paced himself in front of Marx and Ethan.

  Zav looked around but saw no people. He looked back to Marx and Ethan and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t see anyone.”

  Ethan bit his lip and looked around. “Oh, you know what, I bet they’re meeting at Morrison Park. It’s just down Colescott Street and to the left. I’ll lead, but let’s hurry up,” Ethan offered, and pushed ahead of Zav. He skipped along the sidewalk.

  Zav looked at Marx and
they followed. Zav jogged to keep up with the pace of Ethan’s skips.

  There were small, old-fashioned houses on both sides of the road, kept in good condition. There were a few that appeared vacant from their unmowed lawns, and with the little rain the area had received, it must’ve been a long time since they were last mowed.

  They turned left down a narrow street and Zav immediately saw the hoards of people. The parking lot was packed with civilians and scattered Outlaws. The three pushed through the crowd and stepped onto the browning grass.

  Marx pulled Zav close and yelled over the hum of the crowd into his ear, “we’ll get you to the gazebo, and you can climb on top. There’s a megaphone, don’t worry.”

  Zav was pulled through the densely populated park, and he looked around in amazement at the sheer number of people in one place. There had to be thousands in the park, the parking lots, even some roads.

  They stepped onto a sidewalk and the gazebo became noticeable. It was surrounded by armed Outlaws, holding back the crowd. Bobby and Argus were standing in the front and moved to the side to make an opening for Zav.

  “Good to see you, Zav. We’ve got some supplies for you laid out on the table. The lads will talk you through it,” Argus instructed, and put his hand out.

  Zav shook his hand and inspected the items sprawled across the picnic table.

  “Alright. This is business. I forgot to mention this part, sorry. This is a suit coat, which we accepted from a generous donor. It’ll make you look more official, if you know what I mean. The tie is a clip-on, because you’ve got about thirty seconds before a riot starts. Here’s your megaphone,” Ethan said, pointing to each of the items. He grabbed a ladder off the ground and raised his eyebrows. “I’ll set this up, since you’re a little bit injured, and we’ll get right to business.”

  Zav grabbed the suit coat and slid his arms through the sleeves. Marx grabbed the tie and clipped it to Zav’s shirt while he was buttoning up. “I believe in you, kid,” Marx cheered, and smiled widely.