On the eve of the United States’ second Civil War in 2024, these words haunt the man who had prepared for this very moment. As he picks up the phone to make a choice that will determine the fate of the country, he can’t help but reflect on the final moments of the old world back in 2020 and the thousands of brutal steps that led him here.

When the Dragon pandemic stopped the world in 2020, Retired Marine Colonel Tanner Washington held his breath and his wife and children close as he watched the events unfold. As the country his family had served for generations descended into fear, social unrest, and the slippery slopes his grandfather had warned against, Tanner was forced to decide between two worlds and face the aftermath of his final answer to the question: