Happily Ever After the Apocalypse

Chapter 16: The Power to Change Men's Hearts and Minds

Marcus sits in his hovel at the base of the bluff. He feels the pain radiating from his leg down to his toes and from his back down to his fingertips. He's in utter despair. He has truly hit rock bottom. 

Nothing in his life has ever been worse than it is right now. He thinks about everything that has happened to him over the past few months. How everything in his life had changed. He thinks of his brother, so strong but naïve, and how he misses his dumb face. He thinks of the General and his charisma-driven quest for power, and how he doesn't really give a shit about the man or his mission any more. 

Then, he thinks about Max, and how he represents everything he hates in the world. But, mostly he thinks about Serene Fordstealer, and how she is everything good and light in the world. 

Why is life so cruel?

When Marcus first set out to infiltrate a group of rebel spies that were frequently launching attacks and raids on Neworker tax collectors, he had no idea the extent in which his life would change. He discovered a man in the rebellion group who went by the name of John Hancock, and so he offered him little bits of intelligence information in order to finagle his way into their group. 

After some time, John Hancock realized how adept Marcus was at moving across the countryside unseen and unscathed, so he offered him a Brotherhood position and the name of Alexander Hamilton. His whole true purpose was to smoke out the traitors' identities and report them to the General, so they could be tried and hanged. He enjoyed the feeling of being a double agent, until things became complicated. 

He knew there were others in the group who were close to the General, but he had no idea that Max, the General's only son, was the highly esteemed Thomas Jefferson ...until he was told to give the message to Serene. That was the most heartbreaking thing he'd ever experienced. It actually hurt worse than the death of his brother. Now, he doesn't care who Max or Thomas Jefferson or any of the other Brotherhood are. He doesn't care about the General or even Nework. He only cares about Serene.

Marcus had planned to only spend a week or so in Biltmore. He knew his brother was dead when he saw the look in Max's eyes, but he also knew this would be a good excuse to get away for some time. The General didn't really need him as much as he thought he did. Marcus knew he served mostly as a crutch for the General's insecurities. On his travels, Marcus met with John Hancock who told him that Thomas Jefferson had made a contact at Fort Biltmore. 

He then decided to also go to Biltmore with the intention of finding out who Thomas Jefferson's contact was. He thought that he had succeeded when he met the lovely Vera Le Fleur, whose conviction made him question which side he really should be on. It was all over for him, though, when he met Serene Fordstealer. 

He was ready to join the rebellion, even though it stood for everything he was against, just to be with her. She enchanted him to the point that he just decided to simply stay at Biltmore, hoping somehow that in some way they could be together whenever whatever that was going to happen between their countries happened. Marcus was dead, but Alexander was alive.

Alexander was alive at least until he got the news from John Hancock that Thomas Jefferson was none other than the General's son. He never really liked Max, and now he knew why. Even though this news was reviling to him, he would have let it go and continued to fight in the rebellion alongside Serene ...and even Max ...if it hadn't become so patently clear to him that Max was the father of her child and that she still loved him. 

He felt like Max had single-handedly gutted him, spilling any chance at happiness he had on the ground like a slaughtered goat. Max had taken his brother from him, and now he had taken his only reason for living.