Chapter 1: Marjorie Amherst
Marjorie smiled with pride as she was handed her Morale Monitor uniform. She had waited months for this day. She had been one of the most loyal supporters of the Global Community from Nicolae High.
Marjorie never had any religious inclinations. Her parents had been invited to church meetings at least twice. Those Christian morons were so desperate for new recruits, they would do literally anything to get people to join their side. Of course, Marjorie's parents declined. They would have no connection or involvement with the religious crazies.
Marjorie's father, Holden Amherst, disliked religion overall, even before the disappearances occurred. He was an engineer and was a secular atheist who thought the religious folks, especially Christians, were weird and arrogant. Marjorie's mother, Kathleen Amherst, had participated in several fundraisers at Prospect High School before the disappearances and the transition of the name of the school.
Marjorie had always been a straight-A student ever since the first grade. She had been admired, respected, and hated by her fellow classmates. People were envious of her talents and her brilliance. She would no doubt be thrilled to use those talents for the benefit of the Global Community.
She had been active in extracurricular activities during middle school and high school. When Nicolae Carpathia and the Global Community came to power, Marjorie had shown more pride in her high school. She was more than happy to represent them. She would be more than thrilled to volunteer to work for the Global Community after graduation. They offered salary that she would be more than satisfied with.
Marjorie was displeased with the few believers at Nicolae Carpathia High School. Especially Vicki Byrne. She constantly talked to others about God. It was disgusting to have to listen to.
When Marjorie heard that Leon Fortunato would be making an appearance at graduation, she felt more elated. This would be perfect. Great time to make a good impression. She would be the valedictorian, to the surprise of absolutely no one.
But what a disappointing day it turned out to be. Marjorie had walked up to the podium, prepared to give her speech. She felt slightly nervous that Leon was watching. She reached the podium, then she blacked out and fell to the floor.
When she regained consciousness, she was horrified by what the salutatorian, Judd Thompson, had done to the ceremony. According to the replay of the footage from the ceremony, Thompson had given a speech about God and Jesus. This caused an uproar among the students that were loyal to Carpathia. It was Marjorie's moment, and it had been stolen from her. Thompson took advantage of that and butchered it.
Absolutely horrible. Marjorie was pleased to hear that Thompson had been expelled and Coach Arden Handlesman had been sent to a reeducation facility. The more of those Christians that were off the streets, the better. She would just love to wipe the floor with those obnoxious freaks.
Marjorie had signed up for the Global Community after graduation and became a Morale Monitor. She had been assigned to Wisconsin. Kathleen Amherst had been killed when she was traveling on a train in Chicago when it was bombed in World War III. She sobbed uncontrollably for five days. She was pleased to hear that Judd Thompson had been arrested.
Karma wins, Marjorie thought.
But then the earthquake occurred, and Thompson had apparently escaped. Holden Amherst had died in the earthquake. Marjorie also heard about the death of Laverne Jenness, the principal of Nicolae High, during the earthquake. Apparently, Byrne had killed her.
Commander Blancka tried to hunt down Thompson and his friends but failed. Blancka was killed for his mistakes. It was embarrassing for the entire Morale Monitor program.
Marjorie continued doing her duties. Meteors fell, the earth turned cold, locusts started stinging. Marjorie had been stung by one of them the first day they arrived. The pain was excruciating.
She continued proving her loyalty to the Global Community. She was more than thrilled to arrest believers. Those idiots needed to be put in their place.
Then one day, poisonous gases had been inflicted against the students at a satellite school meeting that Marjorie had attended. She was inside a satellite truck when it had been stolen. She woke up to find herself in some Ben-Judah training camp.
She found herself face-to-face with Vicki Byrne. She pretended to become a believer, hoping it would fool her. It didn't.
She had been drugged and dumped off at some unknown location. She immediately reported Vicki to the Global Community.
She would stop at nothing in her conquest to wipe out the believers. She would be loyal to the Global Community until she died.