Code Name Atlas

By Tony Evans

Atlas is a war hero caught between his wife's love and saving the survivors of Earth which has been destroyed by unknown forces. The closest thing to organized leadership are the packs of scavengers that take what they want. To keep his wife safe he builds an army. To give her the life she wants, he fights. To win back their home he must go to war. But she doesn't believe that his sacrifices are for her and his selflessness is driving them apart. As he struggles for his wife's devotion he is caught in a war with a tyrannical dictator. To win the war and his wife's safety he must give her up and fight a war where defeat is expected. To fight a dictator he must become a warlord.

Hovering over everything is the threat of an alien invasion which Atlas slowly pieces together through unreliable stories told by the survivors. He soon learns that his fight is only a small part in a war that has been raging for hundreds of years and reaches throughout the galaxy.

A gritty and realistic action adventure book blends with minimal use of science fiction elements to create a rich, believable contemporary fiction story of one soldier's heart-wrenching post apocalyptic journey to keep his family alive.

Post Apocalyptic Fiction Book Genres:
> Science fiction
> Adventure books
> Science fiction adventure
> Science fiction adventure books
> Military science fiction
> Science fiction adventure series
> Science fiction and fantasy
> Survival fiction
> Post apocalyptic survival fiction
> Suspense thrillers and mysteries
> Action Adventure
> Military books
> Action Adventure Thriller
> Military Thrillers
> Mystery and Suspense
> Military Romance
> Space opera military fiction

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tony Evans
• Release date: Feb 14, 2015
• ISBN: 9781453526873

Tony Evans

Dr. Tony Evans is founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, and author of The Power of God’s Names, Victory in Spiritual Warfare, and many other books. Dr. Evans is the first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, as well as the first African American to author both a study Bible and full Bible commentary. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 2,000 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Learn more at TonyEvans.org.

Book preview

Code Name: Atlas

Tony Evans

Copyright © 2010 by Tony Evans.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010909334

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4535-2688-0

Softcover 978-1-4535-2687-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Prologue

It started to rain. Water was filling the dirt hole I dug for myself to keep warm, but I was too weak to do anything about it.

I looked ridiculous curled up in this dirt hole with nothing but a dirty rag to cover the important pieces. Not that there was anyone here to see me. At least they gave me the dignity of solitude because I don’t have the strength to act like a leader today.

My cell was made just for me. It was freshly dug into the ground. New jet-black steel bars lined the pen with tin atop the bars for a roof. The cell seemed out of place from the other cells. They’re all in rows of fourteen and about sixteen across, all evenly spaced. The cells are square, three yards in length. My own seemed to be in the center of two rows at the northeast corner of the base. All other cages were packed except for the surrounding cages. No one was within speaking distance.

They knew better.

They dragged me in here in a body bag. The guards knew there would be a riot if anyone saw who I was.

Loyal soldiers, my soldiers, loyal to the bitter arduous end; they would riot until they were all dead. Training could never instill that kind of loyalty.

I admired the prison camp. It’s simple and effective design is my favorite combination. The four reinforced concrete walls on all four sides of the camp stood 20 feet high. The length of the base is about 160 yards long by my estimation and about half that in width. The cells make an L shape and are closer to the east wall. I knew this because it always took the sun a bit longer when it rose to shine on the cells. Another large building stood on the west end of the base. I could only see the top of three other buildings beyond the cages, but I couldn’t see what’s beyond those buildings, if anything.

My cage sits right below the tower that was at the northeast corner. All the guards were in flash armor except for the commander who wears a black pin-striped suit.

I’ve only seen him at a distance since I arrived, but I know by the way he carries himself that he’s the man in charge. He hadn’t said a word to me and in doing so revealed a dark truth about himself.

He’s a coward.

He’s probably out there right now practicing his speech that he’s going to give me when they finally drag me into his office, starving and dirty, which would be a striking contrast to his cut and powerful appearance. He’d sit there in his suit grinning, fiddling with something to distract himself from his anxiety, taking a long pause before speaking. I know his kind. Cowards.

The guards walk the battlement at regular one-minute-thirty-five second intervals. God would strike them down if they were even a second off.

I had no idea how long I’ve been here. I found myself longing for the end. I made my mark on the world and now I wanted it to be over.

I once heard a saying, ‘all great men die young.’ I was young enough and if death found me soon maybe I would be remembered as great. I’m afraid that if I’m left with more time I might ruin the only thing I have left. My name.

I don’t want to plan. I don’t want to strategize. I don’t want to lead anymore soldiers to their deaths.

Attention, said a woman’s voice over the speaker system for the camp. "Any guests of the Alray Holding Facility suffering from uncontrolled vomiting, nausea, skin deterioration, hair loss, and blindness will report their case to the nearest service member right away. Anyone reporting their case and is not suffering from all stated illnesses will be turned away."

I heard some commotion a few cells away. Guards marching through the cells, men yelling at them. I heard a gate open and a man yelling.

I don’t know anything . . . agh . . . I don’t—

The cell door slammed shut. More yelling until it trailed off.

It’s a beautiful day. The rain stopped early in the morning. The sun is bright, passing few but fluffy white clouds. Sadly the day was marred by the random screams of the man they dragged away and continued for three hours. If he knew anything, he would have spilled it by now.

At noon they dragged him back out.

I could finally get some peace and quiet.

I try not to think about the days prior to my capture. As hard as I try, a question always comes to the front of my mind. Why? All I want is to utter one syllable to her.

I sort through all our talks and meetings like a deck of cards. It’s hard to find something that would have given her away. She was good. I give her that.

I was not going to blame myself. I had to trust someone. We could not have gotten as far as we did if I didn’t place my trust somewhere.

Amori.

She would probably be angry. It had to be my fault to get myself in here. In some eccentric and distorted way I suppose she’s right. I tried to help people. To her that was only the reason why I was gone all the time. I tried to give people a life. To her, I spent all my time with other people. You have too big a heart, she would say. Don’t worry about other people, What about me. She would say these things in private, but when we were around others she would be a loyal servant of the community.

I heard a small bang against a bar of my cell. I looked around but saw no one. The guards were still on their patrol across the wall.

I took a deep breath and dragged myself out of my hole to look around and again see that no one was there. But now I saw, lying in the dirt right outside of my cage, was a small rock with a piece of cloth wrapped around it.

I picked up the rock and examined it. The cloth was dirty and tied to the rock with a single piece of string. I untied it and opened the cloth. It seemed to be written in dark smudges of dirt and barely legible:

call sign

I heard people starting to yell again. I looked through the bars and saw a file of guards marching in my direction. I dug a quick hole and stuck the cloth in and covered it. I threw the rock in the puddle that was filling my hole and sat against the bars and waited.

A guard unlocked the gate to let in a few others to pounce on me if I moved. They quickly put a bag over my head and escorted me out.

At least I would have some entertainment now. Torture, lecture, interrogation; all had to be more stimulating than the cage.

Chapter 1

Amori pulled me down behind a burned car. Scavengers, she whispered.

I looked through the broken windows of the car and saw two dozen of them heading in our direction.

The fallout was a week ago and most people were hiding, waiting for– I don’t know what exactly, but the scavengers took full advantage of the situation.

There were many like them everywhere, gathering supplies and collecting equipment. Every now and then I would see them take people: men, women, even children. The scavengers were the closest thing to an organized group that I’ve seen in days.

The ones heading towards us were going through the stores on both sides of the street looking for supplies and loading whatever they found in a gray van that had V&K Plumbing stenciled on the side. The van was moving slowly toward us as the scavengers came out of stores and threw what supplies they found into the van.

I checked my pistol to make sure it was loaded and then felt the two clips in my pocket to make sure they were still there.

It was the only pistol and two clips that I took with us into our basement. I reinforced the basement with steel and concrete a few days before the President came on and started suggesting it. After that you couldn’t buy concrete anywhere. I had to roll the dice on that one. I blew our life savings on that shelter and after I built it I was oddly hoping that I would be able to use it just so Amori would stop nagging me about the money I spent.

The scavengers were getting closer. I wasn’t looking for a confrontation; not with Amori pregnant and especially not with two dozen scavengers. They all carried weapons, but only one carried an assault rifle. He was walking along the side of the van. His clothing was much like the others except for the dark purple vest he was wearing over his black shirt. Sometimes he would point to things and people would run to it and load it in the van and other times he would tell people to drop things.

What are we going to do? Amori whispered.

I don’t know yet. We can’t just walk out of here and this street doesn’t have any hiding places. We were in the middle of a big intersection with few cars.

They’re probably just looking for supplies. They’ll probably leave us alone, Amori said.

Maybe, but I don’t feel like taking that chance. They’re men looking for supplies: food, ammo and entertainment. I gave her a quick look over and smiled.

She looked at me in disgust. You’re a pig, she said.

"They’re pigs. I pointed in the scavengers’ direction. I’m simply a realist." I stroked her hair. She was frightened ever since we left our basement. She kept insisting that we stay at home, but I had a strong feeling that we needed to get away from the city.

I held her hand while I looked around for an escape route. Bit it was Amori who found one. Can we take the sewer? she said.

If I can get it open. The manhole was a few feet in front of us. I crawled over and tried to lift it. I couldn’t do it. I looked around for something to help me pry it open.

A piece of metal was sticking out of the burned car. I went over and pulled it back and forth until it snapped off. I went over to the manhole and stuck the metal piece into one of the holes that lined the cover and pulled back. It came up slightly and refused to more anymore. I realized I had no way to prop it open and if I let it go it would fall back to where it was. I looked around quick and saw that Amori was looking through the car window at the scavengers and didn’t notice me struggling with the sewer cover. I couldn’t let her down. I stuck my foot in the opening and let go. It smashed my foot. I reached down quickly and pulled the cover up; foot intact. Amori, I whispered and motioned for her to come. I’ll go down first and you follow.

I see chivalry is alive and well even in these days, she mocked.

I smiled at her. I know what’s up here, I said. I don’t know what’s down there and I don’t want to send you into the unknown.

I went down and she followed shortly after.

The sewer water came to my knees and smelled rancid. I helped Amori off the ladder as she came down. She was shorter than I was and the water was above her knees making it harder for her to move through the sludge.

It smells horrible, she said, covering her nose.

You’ll get used to the smell after a while and you won’t smell it anymore, I reassured her.

The ambient light in the sewer was barely adequate for us to keep our direction, but luckily there were only two directions to go in. Let’s get going, I said heading in the direction that led out of the city.

The water level started to drop as we walked making it easier on Amori, but she was still struggling. Every time we took a step it stirred the water enough to gush out more of the putrid smell.

We were passing a fork in the sewer and it was obvious what direction we should travel because the tunnel on the right was smaller and completely dark, while the tunnel on the left had enough light to see that it continued for at least another hundred yards. As we walked past the branch to the right someone whispered, She’s pregnant.

I pulled out my gun and pointed it in the dark hole that we were walking past. Amori stood looking into the hole over my shoulder holding on to the back of my shirt. I pointed my gun in the black hole and held it there until someone spoke.

All right, all right, I’m coming out. Don’t shoot me, a man said. He stepped into the dim light with his hands up. I couldn’t make out any facial features. Please sir, we don’t want trouble. Just go, he said.

I don’t want trouble either, I whispered. Who’s back there with you?

No one. I . . .

Don’t . . . I shook my head. Don’t make me." I stuck the gun closer to his face.

Just a few others. We just want to be left alone.

Tell them to come out.

He waited a few seconds and then motioned for them to come out. Five other people and one kid stepped into the light.

Is that it? I asked.

Yes. We don’t want any trouble, said the man.

Are any of you carrying weapons?

No, none of us.

Is your wife really pregnant? a woman behind the man asked.

Yes. I said hesitantly. Why do you care?

It’s just, the women said as she stepped forward. We thought you were scavengers, but I’ve never seen a scavenger caring for a pregnant woman. I thought you could use some help.

I think I can manage, thank you, I said.

Are you a doctor? she asked.

No. Why, is someone hurt?

No. You said you could manage it. I just thought you were.

She was right. How was I going to deliver the baby? I didn’t know the first thing about delivering babies. I could never watch it on TV; it was too… disturbing. I mentally shrugged; I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Where are you going? I asked.

We were looking for shelter somewhere. Waiting for help, the first man said.

It’s been two week. No one is coming, I said flatly.

How do you know that? the first man asked.

Did you watch the news before any of this? It was going to happen. And it did, now nothing is left. If you really think that help is coming, you deserve to live in ignorance down here. I realized I still had the gun pointed at them. I lowered it and relaxed. There’s a new world above you right now being picked over by the vultures of the human race. A new world’s being forged up there. You have the chance to survive and make a difference. Don’t let this sewer be a metaphor for the end of your days. You can’t be taken over by ignorance. You’re your own hope now. And tomorrow… if you can’t see tomorrow then you are already dead.

They waited in silence for a few seconds as the message sunk in. The woman asked, Where are you going?

I was about to reply when Amori spoke up. Excuse me. She looked at me. Can I talk to you? She pulled me away from the group. You’re not thinking of helping these people, she whispered with fierce words.

If they need help, I have to, I replied calmly so I didn’t agitate her any further.

What do you mean you have to? What about me? I’m pregnant with your daughter. You should be worrying about me. The baby’s about to come; where are we going to deliver it?

I’ll find a place.

Who’s going to deliver the baby?

I will.

You’re going to take them anyway, aren’t you?

I can’t leave them here.

Does it even matter what I say?

It does.

But you’re still taking them.

Yes.

The tunnel was too dark to see her face, but I already knew what it looked like. I could feel her stare through the darkness. Fine, but if they bother me, I’m leaving.

And go where?

She hesitated.

We’ll be better off with more people to help us, I said. We’re not going to make it on our own. What are we going to do after the baby comes? Have you thought about that? I can’t just think about today, Amori, I have to think about the next step. That’s just who I am.

She was not happy with that, but I couldn’t go against my instincts. We walked back toward the group. I tried to hold her hand, but she yanked it away. I sighed and kept rolling with the punches.

You guys can come with us if you want, I said. We’re leaving the city. I have to find a place for my wife to have our baby. After that we’ll find a place to set up camp in the hills and search the surrounding city for supplies.

Whoah, who put you in charge? the first man said. You don’t even know our names.

I know that you’re human and you can walk. To survive we need to work as a group. To work as a group we need loyalty. To find loyalty you need someone that has none to begin with. I’m talking about survival, a basic human instinct. I want you to act on it. If you have a better plan let me hear it.

Let’s just go with him, Gannon. We didn’t know where we were going anyway, the first woman said.

Damn it, Signy. We can’t just go off with anyone who says to trust him.

"You never told us what you wanted to do, Gannon, Signy said. Look at where you got us."

No need to argue, I cut in. If you want to come, then come. We have to get going, I said as I started to turn and walk away.

Yes, we’re coming, Signy said.

I stopped and looked at the figure she called Gannon. He was looking at the ground while everyone was gathering their things. If he was going to come, he’s going to come on my terms and I needed him on my side. I want you to come, Gannon, I told him in a firm voice.

You don’t even know me. Even worse, I don’t know you, he said.

I know that there’s more to you than what I see in front of me. I know that we need your help.

He was quiet for a few seconds while he considered what to do. I realize that I look stupid. I don’t have the look of a philosopher or the dash of an intellectual., but with insult comes benefit. People don’t ask of me or expect much from me.

Yet here you are, leading these people.

Into a sewer, he said.

Are you happy with being average; with doing only what will get you by? I asked Gannon. I need more from you. I need you to help us?

Everyone was ready to go. I heard him take a deep breath and exhale. All right, get us out of this sewer and then we’ll finish this conversation.

We walked until the sewer ended in a mix of smaller pipes and we could go no further. We had to go up. I climbed the nearest ladder and looked around. I

saw a few cars in a deserted street. The road ended at the base of a rocky hill. We were on the outskirts of the city, but I wasn’t sure where.

The sun was setting behind the hill and I was tired. I could only imagine how Amori felt. She didn’t talk to me the rest of the time through the sewer. She’ll get over it. She usually did. Her anger didn’t last more than a few hours.

I looked down the hole and called everyone up.

Amori was the first one up, followed by two women, one boy about fourteen, and three men. When they were all up, I had to decide where we were going to sleep for the night. None of the buildings looked too inviting. None of the lights were on in any of the buildings, but that wasn’t surprising since the powers been out since it happened. I decided to go for what looked like a small warehouse because the building was made of brick and had few windows.

I pointed toward it, That’s where we’re going, I said, and led the way to it with my gun drawn.

The building didn’t have any occupants. There were just a few large boxes scattered around old mechanics equipment.

As the sun set and the warehouse grew dark a few of the people threw some paper in a big tin can and made a fire that everyone huddled around; even Amori.

I could tell she was tired, she wouldn’t tell me outright and she tried not to let it show because she was still mad at me, but I knew how to read her body language.

I made her a bed out of some cardboard boxes that I cut up and laid flat and then made a wall with some of the larger boxes so she could have some privacy. I searched around the warehouse and found some duct tape and newspaper that I put together to make a blanket for her.

When she saw what I made her she tried to hide her gratitude, but it broke through when she caught herself hurrying to lie down. She gave me a small tender smile just before she went to sleep.

Amori was asleep and everyone else was huddled around the fire so I went over and tossed the tape down on the floor next to the fire. If anyone wants to make a blanket, there’s more newspaper in the back.

Thanks, a middle-aged man said. He stood up and stuck out his hand. My name is Laird, he said as we shook hands. He had some gray in his hair and was bulky, but he spoke with a soft smooth tone. He pointed to the sleeping child on the floor next to the fire. This is my son, Keller.

I crouched down next to the fire. A woman, skinny as a toothpick with beautiful slanted eyes, square nose, and brown hair, stuck out her hand. My name is Signy. We spoke in the sewer.

I shook her hand. I remember. You scared the crap out of me, I said as I smiled at her.

"You scared the crap out of me," she said.

Signy was leaning against another woman who was studying my face. My name is Amira, she said. nice to meet you. Amira was in her late thirties with jet-black hair. She was heavy, about twice the size of Signy and had a light brown complexion and a round face.

The man next to her shuffled a little and looked at me through deep set dark eyes. I’m Kale, he said. Kale was a short stout guy with dark hair and hairy arms. Glad we ran into you. I thought we were going to stay down in that sewer forever. I was an electrical engineer before all this. Not much use for that now that the power is out. What did you do?

It doesn’t matter anymore, I said.

Guess not, Kale said, but continued undaunted. You think there’s going to be a need for an electrician in this new world?

What? I asked, confused.

Before, you said there was a new world being forged.

Oh right, yeah I remember and yes I think so. You have to want it and work for it.

God help us, the last man in the group said sarcastically.

I looked over at him. Gannon? I guessed.

He hasn’t shut up about this new world ever since you mentioned it. Gannon was the opposite of Kale; tall and slender, dirty blonde, tan. He reminded me of a surfer. But, false hope is better than no hope I guess.

It’s not false. I spat out. Everyone was looking at me. I composed myself and continued in measured tones. If we’re going to survive we have to work together. I have a child coming and I can’t bring my child into this world with no place to call home. I needed them and I had a feeling that all they needed was direction and a little hope.

I heard that all the crops in California are dead and nothing will grow, Laird said. It’s going to be hard to make a life for ourselves if we can’t grow any food.

And where did you hear that, Laird? Asked Gannon sharply.

I’ve seen it. Whole fields of orange trees dead and rotting.

Maybe the bombs were radioactive, Kale said as if he had a great idea. Maybe that’s why people are going crazy. Maybe there’s zombies!

Shh, Signy hushed him. She looked back at the boxes that Amori was sleeping behind to remind him. Zombies are not going to happen, she said.

Sure would explain why people are acting so violent lately, Kale said calmly.

People are afraid, Amira said in a soothing voice. They don’t want to be taken advantage of so they take advantage of others first.

Gannon looked at me, Amira’s a psychologist and fills the role well.

And Gannon is a jerk and fills that role well, Signy said.

This jerk has kept you alive so far, Gannon said.

Suprisingly, Signy said with a sarcastic smile.

Listen, I said, trying to distract them from each other. I’m leaving tommorow and all of you can come if you want. If you have any doubt at all about following me then don’t come. I want all of you to know right now that when I do something, I do it all the way. It’s kind of a character flaw.

What are you going to do? Gannon asked.

People are desperate, I said. Right now it’s survival of the fittest. Fittest being the strongest. People are going to start pooling their resources and when they start to run low they’ll take other people’s resources and a lot of people are going to die in the process. If we want to survive we have to fortify, collect supplies, and establish production. Pretty soon the supplies in the cities are going to run low. We have to stay ahead of the curve and start making our own supplies: food, water, and power. That’s where Kale comes in. I looked at Kale. Do you know anything about generators?

Building an efficient one, large enough to power a few things at once, from scratch is going to be pretty rough, Kale said, picking at his lower lip. If we can find an existing generator it will be much easier to maybe repair it or simply maintain it.

Good. I—

Gannon interrupted. Wait just a damn minute. There you go again spouting all this stuff about production, forging new worlds and fighting the good fight. Why don’t we think about the here and now? How do you even know that no one is coming to help?

I looked at him somberly. Look around you Gannon. All of you left the city because it was in ruins. I’m sure you’re alive now because all of you had the foresight to see what was coming. If you were smart enough to go underground when the bombs fell then you know that there will be no rescue, no relief. We are it. If the government does come, it will be a long time before they get here, and by the time they do, the scavengers would have torn us apart.

Where? How? I’m sitting here thinking about all this and—don’t get me wrong—it all tastes good, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin doing something like this. I don’t even know what we’re going to do tomorrow!

I was starting to feel even more tired. If he had any good ideas, I wanted to hear them. If I wanted them to trust me, then I had to show them that I was willing to listen and incorporate their ideas into mine. I explained to them that I needed resources. They needed material resources and I needed intellectual resources. All right Gannon, if you don’t like my ideas then why don’t you tell all of us what you want to do?

He took a deep breath and waited for a few seconds before he spoke. We should try to find others like us first. You said we’ll be better off in a group and I agree, but maybe we should find more people first. We can probably find someone that knows where we can find help, someone who knows where to go.

Where do you want to go Gannon? Amira asked.

We should go back to the city. We’ll find more people there, Gannon said in desperation.

No help is coming, Gannon, I said. I already told you what kind of people you can expect to find out there. Right now everyone is looking for some direction. What do you think is going to happen if you run into people that already put their loyalty into someone who doesn’t have the admirable intentions of finding ‘help’? Even worse, someone who’s reckless, that’s going to lead them straight to the punch bowl of salvation and convince everyone that the funny taste is just their imagination.

If these people were stupid enough to follow an idea like that then maybe I didn’t want them to come with me. Besides, this would give them a good contrast of ideas when they went to sleep tonight and thought it over.

It’s getting late and I’m getting up early tomorrow to head out. You should all sleep. You’re going to need your strength for whatever you decide. I looked up at Gannon and locked eyes. He wasn’t angry he was merely observing me. As I turned around to join Amori I could still feel Gannon staring at me. I tried to sleep lightly that night. I didn’t know them that well.

After leaving the group, someone put out the light and everything was quiet, except for the wind. The wind was howling a monstrous howl outside and made me appreciate the warmth of Amori’s body.

I waited a while to make sure everyone was asleep, then I finally relaxed and decided to fall asleep. I needed my strength tomorrow if I was going to get everyone out of here.

My mind wandered as I drifted off to sleep.

I was scared. I remembered when I was younger my father used to tell me that everyone was scared. It’s what you do when you’re scared that determines who you are. I told Amori that I needed them to help me for her and the baby. In reality I just wanted to help them. I didn’t know why and I didn’t feel like I needed a reason. I knew I could help them. Not just them. I wanted people to survive this.

These were dangerous times, exciting times. It was a morbid appreciation, I knew, appreciation for anything that broke the flatness and uniformity of life before all of this. Maybe when this was over, the new world that we would find would be better than the one we were in. Maybe that’s why I wanted to try so hard to help people. To show them a new way of…

I fell asleep a few thoughts later.

I woke up the next morning and Amori was already awake. She was standing at the window looking out of it. It reminded me of when I first saw her. She was on stage at a rally with a few others looking over the crowd. The rally was staged in the middle of our college campus with swarms of students gathered around the tiny stage. She had the same look then as she does now; confident.

She was on stage speaking words that I never heard as I was caught up in a daydream of her. The only thing I could remember was seeing her face for the first time. I didn’t care enough to ask what the speech was about and she never cared enough to explain.

She went to a couple of rallies after we started dating. I was sure she was going to beg me to go and speak at some of her rallies after she found out who I was. Her friends begged her a few times to get me to come and speak, but she never asked me. One time they got enough courage to come and ask me themselves, but after