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Awakening

Reverend Tim Barnes finished up the last of his paperwork in his now darkened study. A lone desk lamp illuminated the desktop but left most of the office shrouded in darkness. It had been a long day of counseling sessions and administrative duties. A ministers work was never truly done.

He leaned back in his desk chair and reflected back on the day and the events of the past six months. All he could do was shake his head in disbelief. The country was in the process of tearing itself apart as Northeast fought the people of the Midwest and Mid Atlantic states.

Jackson Crutchfield had instigated a civil war after being impeached and removed from office in disgrace. His social leanings and foreign polices nearly tore the country apart despite all his promises of a new tone in Washington. After President Alan took office by defeating Crutchfield’s Vice President in the next election the divide of the country only deepened.

The social leanings of Cruthfield were the apex of thirty years of liberal ideology in the country. Their wholesale repudiation across most of the country left the predominately liberal Northeastern states bitter and simmering with rage. The conservatives who swept into office with President Alan were no better as they acted more as conquerors than elected officials. The divide intensified.

It only took several trumped up riots and much Machiavellian intrigue for the war to erupt. This wasn’t the first time in history that a country tore itself apart over political differences.

The effects in the South were odd. Senator Donovan had forged a collation of several states to form a defensive zone. Through political maneuvering, and underhandedness of his own Donovan lead this collation. President Alan believed he had Senator Donovan’s support when in reality Donovan was buying time to strengthen his hand. He’d forge an alliance with whoever won the battle in the north.

The Senator practiced all sorts of political trickery to lead the President into believing he was being supported in full. It was a masterful performance as the Senator dodged and weaved the requests for military troops or had to explain why he was speaking on behalf of several states. For his part the President was willing to accept the situation in the South so he could focus on the north.

There had been several more small battles with various outcomes. The President was able to recall most of his troops from the Middle East and Korea and assemble them into fighting formations. Despite some desertions he had a much larger, cohesive and battle hardened group of men to use.

He faced problems too, however. He had to defend a much larger territory than did Crutchfield. The President also insisted on setting up a defensive ring through the states of Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland and practiced a strategy of containment thus diluting his strength. Nobody could convince him to go for the jugular and use his overwhelming strength to crush Crutchfield before he got stronger.

Meanwhile Jackson Crutchfield continued to build his strength. Many political compatriots from across the country either fled to the Northeast or sent money. More importantly, a host of foreign countries, none with America’s best interests at heart, poured in resources and equipment to the Northeast before an effective blockade could be established. Even when it was, enterprising foreign interests found ways to get money and equipment to Crutchfield.

Another battle was brewing but for some reason a standoff of sorts had developed. Crutchfield didn’t want to overplay his hand and President Alan couldn’t seem to find the strength to play his at all.

****

Reverend Barnes led a large church along the coast and his history was a strange one. He had been in a promising career selling industrial products when one day he felt the call to the alter. Within a week he had quit his job, enrolled in the seminary, and began the process of becoming a man of the cloth.

After several stints in smaller churches he was transferred to his current church of Falls Creek Christian Church. It was an eclectic mix of races, ages and social status but one thing it wasn’t was contemporary and flashy. If you weren’t careful you could easily mistake it for a Catholic church.

As the civil war blossomed in the north, life continued on in the south. The original martial law orders issued at the beginning of the conflict were lifted after a several weeks and those troops were redeployed and marshaled closer to the border. Gun confiscations had happened but they were haphazard and mostly ineffective.

Senator Donovan had enacted rationing of various staple items including gasoline, bottled water, sugar, and other normal basic items. Electricity had also been rationed; if you exceeded a preset amount for the month you were fined heavily. Some folks dealt with this by generators or solar panels, but most folks learned to get a lot more done during the day.

Other changes included the halting of all mail, the jamming of cell phones and Internet services. Landlines did return, however, so you could at least make calls locally or across a region. But no calls were allowed outside the Southern zone and most people took it for granted that someone monitored their calls.

The biggest change was the increasing presence of the contractors. Senator Donovan had a seemingly endless supply of contractors to use to augment the remaining law enforcement agencies. Between the law enforcement officers who remained at their posts and the growing numbers of contractors Senator Donovan was able to enforce his will on the people in the Southern Zone as he liked to call it.

An interesting phenomenon had taken place in the past few months. The Senator had enough supporters with nothing better to do than report on their neighbors that a defacto secret police was starting to form.

The Reverend whistled a sad tune as he locked up his office and walked across the parking lot to his parsonage. Weaving through the hedges he deftly navigated the moonlit night and began preparing a small meal.

As he sat down to his bowl of potato soup and crackers at a dimly lit table he was startled by the loud ringing of the phone. He didn’t bother to get up and it stopped after two rings. As he took another spoonful of his soup the phone rang again twice and stopped.

As he prepared himself a drink he contemplated the meeting the ringing phone signaled. Tomorrow promised to be a busy day.