5-10: Queen's Gambit - The Last Straw

Paul- United Human Faction- Night 49

            There was an obvious shift in the mood of their site after Thomas started making himself useful. The color palette brightened significantly, and, more noticeably, the name changed. They were no longer a society of thinkers searching for a way out of the dark future; they were a Faction in a war of wills. Thomas used his “contacts” and “affiliates” to spread the word, and many ex-military militias enlisted immediately.

            “The Inalienable Atheist” was what Thomas called himself. There were tens of posts in the box labeled with the hideously pompous name. It was the only thing Paul had every truly despised about the man. It was not a matter of ideology; Paul was agnostic, after all. Instead, Paul hated the feeling that Thomas believed his ideas were the only ones worth investigating. Everyone else was a tool for use in Thomas' mind. At the bottom of the pile of the blogger’s artifacts was another note written on an index card. On it was written “I knew there was something wrong with that man.”

            The next four folders were lists of organizations the Faction had dismantled after Thomas’ activity. Most of the names were recognizable. There were businesses, crime families, and even one or two South American governments. There were outliers, though. Paul didn’t recognize the names of several groups at first, but they fit into a pattern. Thomas had been tearing apart religious organizations, including the one Carlos had been a part of in Ecuador. Another index card followed the files. Only one name was visible.

            “The House of Lost Shepherds”

            Thomas had been using pain. He was no different from Richard, and never had been. Paul had always trusted the man, but he knew Julian had invested a degree of hatred into his publicist. Now Paul knew why he had despised Thomas’ moniker.

            Karen had known all along.

            The last document in Thomas’ file was a photograph. It showed a car burning in the middle of the desert. In the corner was written: “Love, Tommy.”

            Paul’s scars burned with the memory of what had happened because of Karen’s intuition. She had figured Thomas out, and paid for it with her life. Sharon had been right all along. For anything to change, everyone needed to get their hands dirty. Paul was finally ready to take his share of the dirt.