Mom lets out a bitter chuckle. “By killing hundreds?”
“It was for the greater good,” Emissary Jacob argues.
“No,” I snap as I limp forward. “This is for the greater good.” I pull the trigger of my weapon, killing the leader of the emissaries.
When Emissary Jacob drops dead to the floor, the remaining four emissaries start to beg for their lives.
“Shut up!” Idris roars, silencing the four terrified men. “There will be a vote. Do we execute the emissaries?”
Idris looks at Raze.
“Yes.”
His eyes move to Kenzo.
“That’s a stupid question, brother.”
When it’s clear there’s a unanimous yes, Idris doesn’t waste any more time, and one after the other, he executes the emissaries.
When the last man drops dead to the floor, the weight off my shoulders is so intense my legs go numb.
With the war officially over, I’m overcome with emotion.
The real hard work is only starting now. We have to get rid of the seven virtues. We must address the citizens and create a new leadership that will be fair to all.
We have to rebuild a new system that will benefit women and not only men.
Jesus, there’s so much to do.
Chance takes hold of my shoulders and pulls me to my feet, then asks, “Can you walk?”
I nod, taking a deep breath of air.
Months ago, I walked out of this building a terrified girl. Today I’ll walk out of here with my chin held high. With steel in my veins. With determination for a better future for all.
Today I walk out of the haven a warrior who won the war against injustice and cruelty.
Hours after the war ended, Quinlan, Idris’ brother, arrived with the soldiers from the main ward.
Word is spreading fast through the ecocity that the emissaries have been killed. There are various rumors making the rounds, and we need to stop them before the citizens start panicking.
With Quinlan being more experienced in politics, we vote that he’ll continue to act as the leader of the free people.
“I’ll address the citizens and assure them of their safety. Do we inform them of all the crimes the emissaries committed?”
“They deserve to know the truth,” I say. “They also need to know about rain and the sun. The stars. What it’s really like outside the dome. We can’t just destroy the force field. It will cause widespread panic.”
Quinlan nods, taking down notes of everything.
You can see he’s Idris’ brother. They have the same features, and honestly, they could’ve been twins. But where Idris has the hardened look of a soldier, Quinlan has serious eyes. I can see his mind working to create a society from which all can benefit.
They’re both leaders in their own way.
Quinlan glances around the table we’re all sitting at. We cleared out an office space on the second floor of the haven, which is headquarters for the time being.
Besides Quinlan and his council of five men, there’s me, Chance, Idris, Kenzo, Dawn, Mom, and Raze.
We’re four women to nine men. In a world where women’s numbers are so few, I think it’s great that we have three votes.
He starts ticking items off a list. “We’ll need to establish new laws. The basics. No murder, no rioting, no looting.”
“No raping women,” I say, my voice firm. “I want the death sentence for any man who rapes a woman. It should not be tolerated at all.”
Quinlan locks eyes with me. “How do you expect me to control thousands of men?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Quinlan, without women, the human race is pretty much fucked. We only need your sperm to create life, which we can find in the laboratories. Unless you want to restart the program, we just fought our asses off to shut down, you need our wombs to carry babies.” I suck in a deep breath. “We’re not just there for your breeding purposes. Women have feelings too. We have rights, and I demand you be as fair to us as you would to a man. “I gesture to Idris. “Give your brother an army to enforce the law. Now that there’s no war to train for, use our soldiers to protect the people.”
“I’d like to be a part of the army,” Mom says.
Quinlan lets out a heavy breath. “Okay, no raping of women.”
“Also, no forcing us to breed,” I add, giving him a pointed look to add it to his list.
After he’s written it down, he raises an eyebrow at me. “Anything else?”
“I’ll let you know when I think of something,” I grin, happy that I got my way.
Quinlan turns his attention to Chance. “You’ll have to head back to the main ward. I know you don’t want to be in the city. Take over my position as leader, and help people rebuild everything that was destroyed. I want to see if the fields between the city and ward are fertile enough to farm.”