AN: Views expressed within this story do not necessarily reflect those of the author.

The pavement seemed to push back today as Aidan Fisher pressed his shoes against the sidewalk on Wainwright Avenue. It was a muggy, humid day, but the sky was void of light. The sun was away, taking shelter from the agrivating events that had recently taken place in Washington and all over the country. Rather than let its rays, the sun left it to the thick, warm air to enclose the people on the streets on this afternoon, and Aidan was thankful that he was wearing an airy cotton business suit to the rally.

There was a rumble down the street, and an old Ford Focus from the 1990's rolled down the road. There was a teenage girl sitting in the front of it, and, as she drove by, Aidan noticed the bumper sticker read, "I Go SHOPPING Sunday Mornings." The middle-aged man chuckled and felt a small surge of pride run through him, but it was replaced with guilt as he wished his own daughter felt the same way. Despite his wishes, she still chose to attend church regularly with her mother and brother; she still felt it necessary to conform and live life by the book. Tess was a teenager now, but she was young when her mother and Aidan divorced: Aidan had gone through with a traditional Christian marriage ceremony, but when he refused to have their two children baptized, Madison Fisher decided she'd had enough. Madison and Aidan spent many years in custody battles, but the courts always favored Madison.

Aidan frowned at these memories. He loved his children, and he did not want them to grow up forced to follow the cult of Christianity until it was imbedded in their brains so much that they can see nothing but "God" and "Devil". Aidan had watched it happen with his wife, who used to be very open-minded about his decision to be atheist. Conforming to Christianity was something he and his colleagues labled, "a fate worse than death" when they spoke of it at meetings.

Aidan rounded the corner onto Second Street and hesitated for a moment when he saw the large mob gathered in along the sidewalk ahead. The people were mostly women and a few older men, all yelling up at the building in front of them. They held signs painted with phrases like, "America in Hell" and, "Our Future is Dead."

"Well, at least the building was easy to find," Aidan joked grimly under his breath. He walked naturally between the protesters and the Trent Building, then dodged into the entrance before they realized what was happening.

The lobby of the building was a large empty box with a reception desk in the middle and an elevator on each wall. There was no artwork or furniture at all to make the space seem inviting, but, once inside the steel frame of the building, Aidan felt the pressure and heat lift from his skin and was at ease. He straightened his tie, and the clerk directed him to a back room.

The meeting hall was filled with close to three hundred men, women, children, politicians, reporters, and spectators, and they were all intensly focused on the man speaking to them from the stage. The man's name was Robert Connely, and Aidan frowned when he saw how much the crowd respected him. Connely had an air of charm about him and was a good financial supporter of the Atheist Party, but the man was only a puppet for the party's committee to use in office. Aidan was a big supporter of skipping the middle-man and putting people of actual intelligence in office. Unfortunately, charm was usually the scale-tipper for voters.

As he walked along the back wall, Aidan spotted his good friend Gabe Stanley and stood next to him. On the stage, Robert Connely was in the middle of his speach.

"The very fact that the word "God" exists within the constitution of the United States," Connely was saying, "is a direct violation of the Bill of Rights stating that no one religion shall be forced upon the people of this country, nor shall the followers of any one religion exist as a second class citizen because of their religious beliefs. Unfortunately, there are constant cases of this occuring in the government. President Jamseson himself is constantly using religious terms. His entire campaign was formed around Christianity, but when Samuel Curtis ran in 2012, he led in the polls until just before the election, when word got out that he was Atheist, which he was able to keep quiet until then. After that, the Democratic party dropped him. Not for falling in the polls, but for being atheist. This sort of thing was common among politics, and still is even now, in the year 2020: the golden age of political freedom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you know I hate to bring God into these discussions. The real issues are so much more important to this country, but the morality of the Atheist party is so often challenged, that it is difficult not to turn around and investigate into the ways of the Christians. Consider this, if you will. In nearly every branch of the Christian religion, the rule of thumb is that if a person commits a crime against God, he may be forgiven if he confesses and asks for forgiveness for his sin. In some branches, this person does not have to confess, but only has to continue to believe that Jesus of Nazaruth was the son of God. I have discussed this with many religious men and women. If a Christian kills an Atheist, then kills himself while still believing in God and Jesus, then the Christian will go to heaven and the Atheist will go to hell. Now what, may I ask, kind of morality is this? How can they yell and scream and cry at us for being immoral and horrible people while we are only trying to examine the issues and the rights of the people of this country, while they are following a book written thousands of years ago and conforming to what their ancestors were?

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not about God, nor should it be. The United States of America is about freedom: freedom of religion and from oppression, and we have yet to see the sun rise on a day in which we are truly able to experience these rights. Until then, we will fight for them with all we have."

Connely moved on to discussing his campaign promises for the future, and Aidan and Gabe walked along the wall and slipped out into the hall.

"I think I hate that man," Gabe stated sourly in a soft voice. He was a few inches shorter than Aidan and three years younger. Gabe had always been the shyer, kinder of the two friends, ever since they were in college together. They both had always enjoyed authors like Ayn Rand, and they joined the Atheism Party in 2015, when they each got jobs gathering information for the campaigns. It was a tiring job, but they did get to travel a lot.

The hallway ended, and the two men began walking across the great space that was the lobby of the Trent Building.

"I heard there were some riots up in New York when they had the rally in Manhattan," Gabe said nervously. "Three people were injured during the chaos. It must have been insane."

Aidan nodded. "Things like that happen. It happened while blacks were getting rights, it happened while women and children were getting rights. Riots happen, it's nothing to worry about."

"Well, maybe," Gabe continued, "but don't you think it would be a good idea if, maybe they backed off a little on the Connely campaign? I mean, if people are going to get hurt over this, is it really worth it?"

"Is it really worth it?" Aidan repeated. He stopped and turned to the man. "The steps we take now are helping to ease the people into the idea of Atheism as a serious standing point instead of a bunch of partying college students who don't want to follow their parents' ideals. Do you think it would be better if we stopped now, and let them win this one? How much harder do you think it will be next time if we give up now?" He continued walking toward the door. "The fact is, we have to stand up for our rights just as much, if not more, than Christians have to stand up for their God."

Aidan charged through the door to find the crowd he saw only moments earlier had multiplied, in number and in rage. The mass stretched back through the street and to the building on the other side, and a quarter of a mile down the road either way. There were people, young and old, racing around and screaming at the men who had just emerged from the Trent Building.

Aidan took hold of Gabe's shoulder. "Let's get back inside," he said nervously. Gabe turned to the building when a shot rang through the air, and the protests of the people turned to shrill cries of horror. Aidan's hand slipped off of his friend's shoulder as he fell to the sidewalk. The shocked members of the crowd ran every which way, trying to escape the blood leaking out onto Aidan's white, cotton shirt.

Gabe fell to his knees next to his friend, panic swimming through his eyes as his witnessed the man gulping for breath and struggling to keep his head up.

A million thoughts flashed through Aidan's mind, but one became clear: he wanted to see his children. His lungs were burning for oxygen, and his best friend's face was fading in and out of his vision. He couldn't move his legs; all he could do was hold his head up off the ground and keep his eyes on Gabe. Where are my children? he asked himself. Where are Jane and Cody? Nothing made sense anymore. The world was such a faded color. He couldn't even make out Gabe's eyes anymore. He could hear screams and cries of people, and he thought he might have been hearing Gabe's voice among them, but all the sounds were fusing together into the fading world.

Suddenly, a vivid yellow color came into view. Aidan opened his eyes a little wider to see a large woman in a bright yellow polyester dress standing above him. Her voice was seperate from the screaming crowd.

"You can still be saved!" The woman cried. "You can still see the gates of heaven! Just ask Jesus for forgiveness, and ask him to fill your heart will love. You can still be saved!"

All other sounds ceased as Aidan looked up a the woman, his eyes barely open. All he could see now was the woman, and he wished he could laugh. Just laugh once, right now, in her face.

His head fell to the pavement.