The Heroes Fall -1- When War Calls

by Zy Rykoa

  ‘Don’t worry about the other team,’ said Bo. ‘Chances are we’re only going to play one game today, and that game will be against Ardim and the Pioneers.’

  ‘Then who cares? Let’s destroy them!’ said Konnor.

  The others laughed, but they all knew they didn’t even hate Ardim enough to want to send him to war. Nothing good was going to come of this situation.

  The teams were soon assembled and the first match quickly began, Jaden and the others watching from the sidelines with concern. It became evident early that neither side wanted to lose, as some of the most brutal tackles were being made, injuring some of the better players before even a single point was scored. Years of respect were being broken down before their very eyes as everyone’s need for survival overwhelmed any moral codes or cares regarding the opposing team. It was chaos on the tennagen field, something no one in Callibra had ever wished to see happen to their beloved game.

  The first match was over within ten minutes, the winning team with the better score of three to one. Both teams were escorted to opposite sides of the field, one being the winners’ circle, the other for the losers. This was how they would keep track of who would be going to war and who would be staying. The second match began in a similar way to the first, but the runner was a very good sprinter and even with his entire team tackled by three players, he was able to get across the line three times in a row, winning three to zero. Jaden’s team was called upon next, and as Bo had predicted, it was against the Pioneers.

  ‘Standard formation,’ explained Bo, ‘guard the bridges, get Jaden across before they can come close!’

  Almost like clockwork, the Dynasty moved into their respective positions, made the right tackles and helped Jaden across the midway mark. Bo knew Ardim would be wanting to hurt Jaden badly and made the tackle early to get him out of the round. This gave Jaden an almost entirely clear run as he easily scored the first point. The crowd was as silent as it had been in the previous games, none enjoying what they were witnessing. Even as Ardim’s team made their first run and Corey was hit so hard in a tackle that he flipped over backward, there was little more than a murmur among them. The score was tied at one all as Jaden made his second run, putting a big effort into his jump as he almost cleared the entire stream, swimming the final few yards to get across. Four defenders had been neutralised with only Ardim remaining. Jaden expected another rock to hit him as he ran toward the line, but no rock came, and he saw that Ardim had come out of his hiding spot too late and had no hope of catching up.

  The score was then two to one. The Pioneers were to make the next run. Jaden guessed early that it would be Ardim with the runners’ band, and Bo agreed to double team him. It was a gamble that paid off, as the round was over very quickly, leaving Jaden with the runner’s band for the final play.

  ‘Which way do you want to go this time?’ asked Bo.

  ‘I don’t know, something’s not right,’ said Jaden.

  ‘What?’ asked Konnor.

  ‘Ardim, his heart isn’t in this,’ Jaden explained. ‘He might be stupid but his timing is good. That last round shouldn’t have been so easy. He came out from the trees too late.’

  ‘You’re right,’ said Bo, ‘but why?’

  ‘His life is on the line,’ added Corey, ‘maybe he can’t handle the pressure.’

  ‘Now that you mention it, I don’t like that idea either,’ said Dion.

  ‘Just make the tackle, you’ll be fine,’ Bo comforted and then turned to Jaden, ‘look, we only have a few more seconds, just say which way you want to go and we’ll do the rest.’

  ‘Right bridge, I’ll fake left and outrun them.’

  ‘Everyone got that?’ asked Bo. ‘Good. We only need one more point, boys, let’s do this.’

  Jaden jogged slowly to his position as the team broke apart, still troubled by Ardim’s behaviour. Even to a bully like him, this was too much. The thought of going to war, especially as a result of the game they all loved was heartbreaking. And it was all Kobin’s doing. Jaden had always been suspicious of Kobin, but he did not think a friend of his father’s would be capable of this evil. Could he have twisted this enough in his mind to really believe it to be righteous? After the speech he gave earlier, Jaden was starting to believe it.

  The whistle sounded and Jaden began his sprint. As he had said, he faked going for the left bridge, allowing Corey and Dion to take down the two defenders far from the right bridge. They knew the defenders would drift toward the middle in case Jaden made another run at the stream. This now meant that the right bridge was free. The defenders from the left bridge were giving chase, but Bo and Konnor quickly caught up and held them, creating a second dead zone and leaving Jaden to run against Ardim for the victory. Ardim was jogging up to the centre as Jaden made his way over the right bridge, but just as Jaden was preparing for the sprint of his life, he saw Ardim stand completely still, watching him.

  Jaden turned slightly once he reached the three quarter mark. No matter what he would not stop completely, so he began jogging backward toward the finish line, watching Ardim stand perfectly still where he was near the stream. Jaden made it easily across the line, and both players remained locked in a stare.

  The Dynasty were declared winners, Jaden’s teammates coming up to congratulate him and themselves on a good effort, but Jaden showed no emotion. His attention was still focused on Ardim, who was now walking toward him as he was escorted from the field.

  ‘Dumb move, runt,’ Ardim sneered at Jaden as he passed.

  Jaden followed Ardim with his eyes and then turned back to his friends.

  ‘What?’ he asked.

  Bo shrugged. ‘Who cares, we won!’

  ‘Let’s go to the winners’ circle and watch the rest of the matches,’ said Konnor, who almost seemed excited by the matches now that he had been running around on the field and no longer had to fear going to war.

  ‘Corey, what did you make of that comment?’ asked Jaden as they began walking to their designated area.

  ‘It’s as cryptic as he’s ever going to get,’ said Corey. ‘Either he’s going to come to get you later for winning or he’s up to something we can’t even guess at yet.’

  ‘I’m not favouring either option.’

  ‘Nor am I,’ said Corey, and both walked in silence the rest of the way.

  The remaining matches followed a similar pattern, with many of the teams proving too strong while the others caved under the pressure. It seemed some were to be given a second chance, however, as Kobin announced several more games for the losing teams. Many cheered as they won and were moved into the winners’ circle, while the others let their shoulders slump as they returned to the losers’ area.

  As the afternoon began to draw to a close, all matches had been played, and several large trucks were driven in through the Gates of Callibra, ready to take the new recruits away from the village. Many of the families were gathering around the losers’ circle to say goodbye to their loved ones, in tears and looking hatefully at Kobin, but Kobin was making his way to the winners’ circle where Jaden was waiting.

  ‘Congratulations,’ he said to them all, ‘your victory has earned you a place in the Hawan Military. Welcome! You will be taken into service immediately.’

  The boys all looked at one another in surprise.

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Jaden, stepping forward. ‘We won, why are we going?’

  Kobin eyed the son of his friend and then said plainly, ‘Do you believe they wanted the weakest of the village to join them? You have shown yourselves to be fine specimens, you should be grateful for the honour.’

  ‘And throw our lives away by going to war? Are you crazy?’

  All seemed to agree and they stepped forward with Jaden in protest. Kobin glanced over them all before stating simply, ‘Whether you go now or wait, it makes no difference. You will all go to war. At least this way you will be in good hands. You should be safe enough,’ and then looking at Jaden Kobin said, ‘so
long as you do as you’re instructed.’

  ‘I won’t go,’ said Jaden. ‘I’m going with my grandfather to Waikor.’

  ‘I’m afraid it is too late for that,’ said Kobin, and he nodded to the soldiers standing nearby. ‘Take them to the trucks. We will leave in the hour.’

  ‘No! You can’t do this!’ shouted Jaden.

  ‘Silence him,’ said Kobin, and a soldier hit Jaden hard in the back, knocking him to the ground.

  Bo and the others jumped forward to help him up and also attack the soldier, but as several guns were aimed on them, they all stood back. Jaden was pulled to his feet by two soldiers and taken to the first truck, where he was lifted into the back and chained to the seats by his left wrist. He tried to yank it free but it was no use. His flesh was no match for steel.

  Soon all in the winners’ circle were loaded into the trucks just as Jaden had been. No goodbye, no gathering of possessions. They were to become soldiers of Hawan, leaving everything of their lives behind. None knew when they would return, or if they’d ever have the chance. Perhaps after the wars were won, or maybe when they had served a sufficient number of years. Their families had noticed the boys being taken and moved toward the trucks, but they were stopped by Hawan reinforcements, which held them at bay. There was nothing any could do to stop it. This was a military unit invading Callibra and taking their young. A simple village did not stand a chance.

  With the roar of truck engines starting, gears shifting and brakes being released, they set out upon their journey, toward a place far from home.

  Chapter Six

  My life, your hands ... where now, my friend?

  January 14, 997 R.E.

  A golden glow spread over the village as storm clouds reflected the final light of the day, but no one in Callibra could appreciate the beauty in such a dark hour. Many did their best to go about their routines, as every attempt made to see the taken family members was denied by the soldiers. A slight tremble in the ground made everyone in the village nervous. It was not common for the ground to shake in these parts of the continent. The last earthquake to have hit Callibra was thirty years previous, when the wars had just begun. Since then, they had enjoyed peaceful living, with little worry aside from bad weather. Those who could remember the day of the quake seemed more nervous than the others, but even they eventually calmed when nothing followed.

  Jaden was oblivious to the rumble as he sat in the back of the Hawan truck, still trying to break free of the chains that held him and his friends captive.

  ‘Ardim was right,’ said Corey, ‘winning was a dumb move.’

  ‘How did he know?’ asked Konnor.

  ‘I don’t think the question is how he knew, but why we didn’t,’ Corey explained. ‘As Kobin made note, why would they want the weakest? They want strong soldiers, fit for battle. We sealed our fate by our need for victory. It’s not our fault, really, we have been raised to always want to win. We never thought for a second that the reward of staying would be given to the losers of that match.’

  The boys were silent, mulling over Corey’s wise words. They understood how they had made such a big mistake, but like everything else, they could not believe it. The reality of their situation was still beyond their comprehension. They knew they were going to war. They knew they would be soldiers. They knew they would not go home for a very long time. But they did not know what any of those things really meant.

  ‘Jaden, stop, it’s no use,’ said Dion and pointed with a flick of his head to the right, ‘you’re going to get us killed.’

  There was a guard where he had indicated, at the back of the truck keeping watch, but he had not seemed to care that Jaden was doing everything in his power to snap the lock. It seemed a futile effort, so he had most likely deemed it harmless desperation rather than a potential escape.

  ‘They can’t do this to us,’ said Jaden, finally calming down. ‘They have no right.’

  ‘In our law, yes, that is true,’ said Corey. ‘That is civilised law, this is primitive. He who has the power does as he chooses. Only those with equal or greater strength can challenge his rule.’

  ‘Then we need power.’

  ‘Yes, but to rival the power of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of soldiers, you would need more power than the Daijuar.’

  ‘The Daijuar ... the great protectors of the innocent,’ Jaden mused, ‘does this mean we’re guilty?’

  ‘They’re just not here, Jay,’ said Bo, noticing his friend’s mood darken even further at the lack of protection from the Daijuar, ‘they can’t be everywhere.’

  Jaden acknowledged with a nod, but did not particularly care for the answer. It didn’t matter. As Corey had said, they had sealed their fates. But Jaden would never accept that he was a soldier, not for a nation that had stolen him from his home. He would have joined the United Resistance, where he would fight alongside his brother, but no one else. Not for Hawan. Not for people with whom he had never conversed. And definitely not for Kobin. He would do everything within his limits to get away when he could. As soon as they removed the chain, he would find a way of getting home, no matter who or what stood in his way.

  The truck went over a large bump and came to an abrupt stop. All the boys were bounced out of their seats momentarily, some crying out from the pain as the chains scraped on their skin and wrenched their joints. It was then that they noticed the audible rumble in the ground.

  ‘What’s happening?’ asked Konnor.

  ‘I don’t know. Dion, can you see anything outside?’ asked Jaden.

  Dion craned his head to check through the flap on the back of the truck.

  ‘I see machines,’ he said, ‘big ones ... but I don’t think that’s what’s causing the rumble.’

  ‘Tanks?’ asked Corey.

  ‘No, these are bigger than houses.’

  ‘What?’ said the boys in unison.

  ‘They’re enormous, the biggest machines I’ve ever seen!’

  As the boys all tried to look outside, there was a boom in the distance that caused the rumble to stop, followed by silence, and then several more booms.

  ‘What is that?’ asked Konnor.

  ‘It’s coming from home,’ said Jaden.

  ‘Perhaps Kobin is holding a celebration to raise their spirits,’ said Corey dryly.

  More booms sounded, and then there came what sounded like gunfire.

  ‘No, something is wrong,’ said Jaden, ‘Dion, what can you see?’

  Dion had gone silent, his face suddenly white. He turned to the others, seemingly try to say something about what he had seen, but it appeared he was lost for words.

  ‘Smoke,’ he managed to whisper.

  All the boys in the truck began to look at one another in confusion, but were disrupted when Jaden started banging the chain hard with the loh-korah his grandfather had given him. He would never have shown such disrespect to something his grandfather had given him in normal circumstances, but now he knew that he had to get home, had to get free, no matter the cost.

  ‘Jaden, stop! You’re going to hurt yourself!’ Dion yelled, finding his voice again as Jaden began to use all of his strength.

  ‘You! Enough!’ shouted the guard, quickly racing toward Jaden.

  Jaden began to shout louder than both Dion and the guard, emphasising each word as it connected with the steel, ‘Let—me—go!’

  The guard used the back of his hand to strike Jaden across the head, causing him to yell from the pain and land a final blow on the chain. The loh-korah lit up in bright gold, sparks flying all about him as the chain snapped. Jaden immediately stood up, using the force of his movement to swing his arm back up into the guard’s jaw. The guard was hit so hard that he flew backward, straight out of the truck.

  The boys all looked at Jaden, shocked by him managing to free himself, the glow of the wristlet and how far he had just sent the guard back with a single hit, but he was in too much of a panicked state to stop. He quickly jumped out of the truck, rem
oved the keys from the guard and gave them to Bo, who freed the others while Jaden ran toward the village. He was only a few miles away. He could still get back in time. But hope was slim as he realised Dion had been right. There was smoke rising in several places from the valley. The village was under attack.

  Jaden ran like he had never run before, faster than in any tennagen match or any time he had tried to get away from Ardim, faster than was even humanly possible. He was running as a man possessed by a greater purpose. His need to save his family was absolute. Soldiers from the other trucks spotted him but did not seem concerned. That was when he noticed that for all the trucks heading away from the village, hundreds of others of all shapes and sizes, including the ones Dion had said were bigger than houses, were heading toward Callibra. He did not know why. He did not understand what he was seeing. But it made him push even harder.

  Ahead he saw two men wearing maroon robes arguing. Both had long hair, one with golden brown, the other blonde and carrying a staff.

  ‘Father!’ called out Jaden.

  Tyral turned slightly and revealed the man in front of him to be Kobin.

  ‘Jaden! Get home. Now! Get them to safety!’ yelled Tyral.

  Jaden skipped sideways a couple of times as he passed them, wondering if he should first help his father fight Kobin before racing home, but quickly saw the wisdom in his father’s words and continued on his way.

  ‘This is not how it was meant to be!’ Tyral shouted at Kobin. ‘What have you done?’

  The two men that had once been mistaken as brothers now faced off. Kobin remaining calm, Tyral reaching a state of panic like Jaden and his friends. It appeared Kobin was the only one that had been expecting what was to come, angering Tyral even further. Heated wind pushed Tyral’s thin cloak away from his impressive frame, the moving flaps tapping out an unpredictable rhythm and revealing a belt of tools and weapons underneath. He was prepared to fight, even with the sickness threatening to cripple him.