Killing Nightmares by Reis Asher

Author:Reis Asher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: horror, alternate universe, dystopia, action/adventure, bisexual, transmasculine, nonbinary, civil war
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Published: 2023-02-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

EDGAR

Edgar jerked awake, expecting for half a second to go through the usual routine of padding downstairs to the fridge in the early morning. The warm sensation of Reis resting so close to him made him open his eyes and realize they were in a much smaller bed, in a much smaller house that wasn’t their own. The whole weight of the previous day came crashing back like a tidal wave as he realized why they were here. The wedding that had ended in carnage. The Bureau attack. Fleeing to Kasyova as Anver became Tony Anvas’s personal military dictatorship in less than twenty-four hours.

Reis stirred beside him, and Edgar wordlessly sought their comfort, resting their head on Reis’s stomach. Reis stroked his hair until some of the horror and fear seeped out of Edgar. The sunlight burst in through a net curtain covering a narrow floor-to-ceiling window on one side of the room. The sun kept on shining with defiance, even though the Twin City-States had fallen apart.

“It was a mistake to think we’d won. Hubris,” Edgar muttered.

“Hmm?” Reis asked. They brushed the sand from their eyes, sitting up.

Edgar licked his lips, an odd taste in his mouth left over from sleeping in. “Four years ago. We thought we’d saved the Twin City-States, but all we did was delay its expiry date.”

“I refuse to believe it’s over,” Reis argued. “Anvas can dissolve the government, kill our agents, install his soldiers. He can give himself a fancy title if he wants. He’ll never be my President. I’ll never accept Anver as an independent state with him as its ruler. The Twin City-States belong together, and I won’t rest until the rightful government is restored to power.”

“Our representatives are gone,” Edgar pointed out. “The President was murdered on the debate floor. The Kasyovan representatives were taken out and shot. The Anverite representatives were offered the choice to betray the Twin City-States or die. Most of them chose to live as cowards.”

“So, we’ll elect new representatives. We’ll start over. I can’t let Unification end here, Ed. I can’t just stand by and watch.”

Edgar smirked at the use of the shortened version of his name. Even after years together, it was rare to hear it coming from Reis’s lips. It only brought home how much things had changed, and he hoped to never hear it again. “What are you going to do, Reis? Go back to Anver and lead a rebel army? It’ll be the Civil War all over again. Anverite against Anverite. Anver and Kasyova already split into two. Do you want to divide Anver further?”

Reis balled their hands into fists. “What else can we do? I’ve been thinking over and over about what that soldier said and he’s right. It doesn’t matter what information is on that drive. Anvas already won. He won’t obey the rule of law, no matter what dirt we have on him. There’s nothing we can do to unseat him without violence.”

Edgar closed his eyes and rested his head back against the headboard.

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