Zena- Soldier

by Edward Lake

  “Stop asking me questions. I’m not telling you anything.”

  He stepped back and put his hands up. “Okay. Understood.” He turned around and started to walk away. “Good luck… Declan.”

  Before the pitter-pattering sound of his footsteps faded away, I spun around and stared at him. “Hey, Taft!”

  He stopped and turned around.

  I jogged over to him and placed my hands on my hips. “Listen, I’m sorry for being so stubborn.”

  He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”

  I looked him up and down with wavering eyes. “You’ll have to forgive me for not trusting you so easily, but I would appreciate your help. So prove to me you’re being genuine.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “I could have said something when I saw your breast, but I didn’t. I even helped you hide from my friends. What more proof do you need?”

  “I need time, Taft.” I breathed out a deep sigh. “There is just too much at stake for me and my family. Once I get to know you more, I’ll have a better sense of the kind of man you are.”

  Suddenly, the horns from Evander’s battleship blared over the camp. Then his voice came over the speakers hovering in and around the site. “Attention troops. I repeat, attention troops!” he began. “Congratulations to you all. Soon, you will experience spaceflight for the first time.”

  A raucous cheer erupted throughout the camp.

  “Settle down! Settle down! This is not going to be a fun joyride. Spaceflight can be a very dramatic experience.” He paused for a few seconds before continuing. “So prepare yourselves for our voyage to the Holy Planet of Sodus. Due to time constraints, only four camps out of the 416 camps on the North Star will be given a proper initiation ceremony. This will be a four-day process, which means four ceremonies for the honorable Pastor Saros and his family. Our camp has been selected for day one, and the ceremony will commence at sundown. During the initiation, all of you will swear your allegiance to God, and with the blessing of the High Priest, only then will you become soldiers of the Holy Army.”

  I beamed for a moment, then frowned and closed my eyes. It was the next step of my mission, but it also meant saying goodbye to the North Star, the only place I’d ever known.

  I had endured a lot of pain here, yet I had always shared years of smiles and laughter with my family and friends. I could only say my final goodbye to them in spirit and hope God sent them the message. I imagined their faces so clearly, as if they were standing right in front of me. “Declan… Grandma, Turk, and Lydia,” I whispered to myself.

  “Who is he? The real Declan, I mean.”

  I looked at Taft and groaned inwardly. Apparently, I didn’t whisper quietly enough. “I’ll tell you when I trust you.”

  He gave me a nod. “Fair enough.” He reached out and tapped my arm. “Come on. Let’s get back to the camp.”

  Together, we hurried back to our tent and met up with Bon and Atom. The four of us stayed close by as we trekked through the gravelly field of the camp and boarded one of the many ships on standby. Before I took my leap onto the bright, flashing ramp, I took one last glance at my home planet. At that moment, I wondered if I would ever make it back—if I would ever see my loved ones again. Wherever you are, stay strong. I love you. Please, never forget that.

  I turned my head and looked up the ramp. The sea of fellow recruits showed many different faces. Most of them were sad like me, while others shouted blissful cheers. After the soldiers squeezed as many of us as possible into the tiny ship, they closed the ramp and had us all sit down on the floor. Taft, Bon, Atom, and I scrunched up together like vegetables on a tray. We sat like that for a few minutes while the pilots prepped the ship for liftoff. Everyone was panting for air, nudging each other like small children, and trying to adjust to more comfortable positions.

  After a while, I became numb to it all. None of it felt real. Kind of like that moment right before I woke up from a bad dream. At first, for a few seconds, I’d think all the terrible things I dreamed were real. Then, when I’d see my surroundings, I’d realize everything was okay.

  The ship rumbled a bit, and I snapped out of my daze. But this time, there was nothing to wake up from. No cold sweats to wipe off my brow. No Declan snoring in the corner. No Turk and Lydia snuggled together like baby birds in a nest. No Grandma Petra sitting in the corner and staring into the distance because she couldn’t sleep. It was just me now, alone and awake, and it was all real.

  “Attention recruits of the North Star! Our ascent to Sodus will begin in five… four… three… two… one!”

  Within seconds, we slowly floated up higher and higher. I was sitting so low I could not see past the taller heads and the patrolling soldiers standing in my way and blocking my view of the small windows. Nonetheless, after a short while, I felt the ship accelerate. Soon after, we blasted into lightspeed.

  I shut my eyes and imagined what I couldn’t see. Space travel! I felt selfish for feeling this way, wishing my family could be with me to experience it, too. But how could I not be excited? I would have never guessed in one hundred million years that I would travel through space—to another realm of the galaxy. In my head, I pictured beautiful stars whooshing past my eyes like sparkling raindrops. Oh, and the vast blackness of space. I had only seen the dark sky a few times. It was so mysterious and eerie yet wonderful at the same time.

  When I opened my eyes, it felt like no time had passed at all. I smiled and thanked God for such a wonderful experience. Then, without warning, the ship rapidly decelerated.

  “We will now begin our descent into the atmosphere of the Holy Planet! Five minutes until landing,” a pilot’s voice echoed over the loudspeakers. Just as the pilot announced, we landed within minutes. “Recruits of the North Star, welcome to Sodus, the Holy Planet.”

  I listened carefully as the ramp opened. One by one, the patrolling soldiers led us outside. When I reached the edge of the ramp, with Taft and the others nearby, my eyes grew wide. “Oh God, I’ve never seen anything like this.” I shuddered, trembling at the sight of Sodus, a magnificent, otherworldly utopia.

  Up above, I saw all kinds of ships and hovercrafts gliding through the air like exquisite birds. The streets were lined with clean grass and flourishing trees. Like the soldiers, the citizens wore white and gold and pranced around without a care in the galaxy. Must be nice, I pondered, glaring at them. I wondered if any of them even knew about the miserable place I came from.

  Everywhere I looked, I saw tall, pointed buildings that resembled mountaintops. I spotted a golden palace not far from us, constructed with a large, ranging balcony that overlooked the city. It was hard to tell at first, but after squinting my eyes, I noticed an older man and two women standing with him at the edge of the balcony. The Saros family?

  Right away, Evander and Captain Slate led us to a tunnel across the roadway. I was amazed at how neat and clean everything was. Did the Holy Planet have working slaves, too? Surely there had to be someone or something that kept things so clean.

  Then, just as I guessed, I noticed a robotic flying machine sweeping and polishing the roads and walkways. It even had a suction tube that collected dust and small particles. “If only they made fighting robots, too,” I grumbled. I looked up and realized there were many more of those machines doing work everywhere from the tops of the towers to the ground we walked on.

  The tunnel Evander led us to was spotless and bursting with bright lights on the ceiling and the floor, and there were several adjacent doors on the right and left sides. Once we walked about halfway down the tunnel, Evander turned around and shouted, “All right, listen up.” Everyone quieted down. “I want all of you to look to your left and your right. As you can see, there are doors all along the walls of this tunnel. Beyond those doors are rooms, and inside those rooms you will find your armor and your uniforms.”

  Many in the crowd hooted and threw their fists in the air.

  “We are not finished! Settle down at once or we’ll ship you ri
ght back to the North Star!” Captain Slate snapped loudly.

  “Thank you, Captain Slate,” Evander said. “I do appreciate your enthusiasm, recruits. But for now, I need you to listen.” He stepped forward and carefully looked us over. “Before you try on the armor, make sure it is the correct size. If you do not know your size, we have maids on standby inside the rooms to assist you.” In his eyes, I could see he was proud of us. “This tunnel goes on forever, so trust me: there are plenty of rooms to fit you all. Spread out, and if you see a room getting crowded, move on to the next one until you find a room with enough space.” Evander checked us once more. “Good job, men. Now, go suit up.”

  Like bugs to a rotten slab of meat, we swarmed the rooms and found our armor, uniforms, and helmets. Everything was laid out neatly on the floors and stacked up against the walls. Taft and I hurried to a pile of gear that appeared appropriately sized for skinnier people like us. I also needed him to hide me while I dressed. He knew it, too, and after we shared a quick glance, I stalled until the right moment came.

  Luckily, there were so many of us packed into the room it was hard to see below anyone’s neck. Still, Taft nudged me when he saw an opportunity. I dressed faster than ever before and thanked Taft with a wink. To finish the ensemble, I put on my helmet. It fit nicely with the armor, and afterward, I scanned the room and saw the other recruits putting on their helmets. I saw a few of them press buttons on the left side that made the glass swoosh backward and the edge of the helmet lower a bit into their armor.

  I pressed the button on my helmet, the glass opened, and the clunky edging sank into my armor. “Wow, I can’t believe I’m wearing this uniform.” For a moment, I was that little girl again, daydreaming about how cool soldiers looked in their outfits.

  Taft smiled as he checked me in my new gear. “Man, you look good in that uniform, Declan.”

  It was rather satisfying to hear him say those kind words. Bit by bit, he showed me who he was, and so far, I was happy with what I saw. “Thanks, Taft. You look quite nice in this getup yourself.”

  Over our heads, Evander’s voice blared over the speakers in the wall. “Attention recruits! Return to the tunnel and take the long walk down. The High Priest of Starlight, Pastor Linus Saros, awaits you at the Stadium of Sodus.”

  With that announcement, everyone became serious as we headed back to the tunnel. The walk took forever. When we finally reached the end, we entered a massive stadium stretching high over our heads and shaped like a giant bowl. In the stands, thousands of soldiers, armed with guns, looked on. Close by in the sky, battleships hovered over the stage, shining bright lights on the sea of recruits marching in from the tunnel.

  Then, at last, I looked up and saw him: the notorious Pastor Saros, draped in an elegant white gown, with the two women from earlier by his sides. He held a book, and without question, I knew it was The Teachings of Our Lord, the same book he used during his sermons.

  I wanted to storm the stage and kill him. I wanted to see his blood on my hands. I blamed him for my father’s death, because he allowed the GGC to exist. I blamed him for my mother’s death, too, because she did not receive medical treatment when she fell ill. My brother Declan, Grandma Petra, and my younger siblings suffered because of Pastor Saros. You look down on us now with that fake smile. But someday, God will punish you for your wickedness. I can see right through you, Saros. You fear God just as I do. You’re not a priest. You’re a fraud.

  I would only need a few minutes to kill him, to see the blood leaking from his wounds, to have my revenge. I checked the other recruits and saw just as much seething on their faces. I imagined they wanted blood, too. Yet for me, there would not have been enough of the High Priest’s blood to share with the others. I hated the man so much I’d kill all of my fellow slaves to get to him, to be the one to take his life.

  In the backdrop, directly behind the priest and his family, a choir of hundreds, brainless followers with sweet voices, sang and danced praise to God. Like parts on a conveyor belt, the soldiers ordered us to march forward and then bow to the High Priest and his family before exiting the stadium.

  When I reached the middle of the stage, a few feet before passing the Saros family, I saw a tall, stern-looking man standing near the pastor. He had black slicked-back hair, a neatly trimmed goatee, and deep bags under his eyes. What an unpleasant-looking creature, I thought.

  For us, there was no introduction to the High Priest and his family—only a bow, then an unceremonious exit. It reminded me that, no matter how much I hated Saros and wanted him dead, we would still die under his rule. In my head, I prayed to God that the rebels and Serpents would win the war, even if it meant I had to die. Saros’s death and the fall of his Holy Empire was more important. Maybe then slavery would end and my family would be freed from the darkness of that prison cell. If given the chance to weaken the Holy Army from within, I had to take it!

  When it was my turn to take a bow, I gracefully lowered my head to the Saros family, then moved along as ordered. But before I passed the stage, I caught a clear view of Sadie Saros. She was even more stunning in person. She wore her long black hair straight, and it shined under the bright stadium lights. Her face was still and calm, and her tan skin had an alluring glow that made my heart throb.

  From where I was, she seemed like an angel that I would never reach or a magical princess from another world who blessed the galaxy with her beauty. More than ever before, I wondered why she seemed so distant and different from her mother and father. Of course, my assumption could be wrong, but the way she carried herself and those uncomfortable looks I had seen her show so many times made me think otherwise.

  Like the other recruits, I was ordered to march outside and find a ship on standby. One after another, they transported us to the Soldiers Academy, a collection of large connected buildings shaped like domes with tiny windows on all sides. The soldiers dropped us off at the main entrance and headed back to the stadium to transport more recruits.

  Several maids greeted us at the entryway and took us inside the majestic academy. Gold trim lined the walls inside the main hall. The floors were polished so cleanly they looked like mirrors, clearly showing our reflections as we walked.

  The maids told us to pick any vacant room in the academy, but before we could trek away and get comfortable, Taft, Bon, Atom, and I, plus a few others, decided to look around.

  The walls were marked with passages from The Teachings of Our Lord. Most of them spoke about listening to God and obeying the laws of the galaxy, which led me to a certain passage that struck a nerve. In “Chapter Fourteen: The Laws of Temptation,” Abe wrote, “I have seen men who lust for other men and women who lust for other women. God tells me that this behavior is savagery, for such affections are unnatural.” He went on. “God tells me that anyone who participates in this behavior must be executed at once, for mankind cannot survive with forbidden love.”

  I wanted to cry after reading the passage. It reminded me that people like me were not accepted in the galaxy. Yet no matter the odds, I had to stay positive and survive for as long as I could.

  Shortly after my browsing, I found a room with Taft, Bon, and Atom.

  “This sure is an upgrade from the tents,” Bon said, smiling from ear to ear.

  The room was small and organized with ten beds and a few metal storage compartments for our guns, armor, and clothing. Each bed had a ray gun neatly placed at the center and a nifty communications device next to it.

  I found a bed and stared down at my weapon. It was a sleek, superb piece of equipment. I reached down and picked it up. Up until then, it was the most exhilarating experience of my life. The girl with the holey shoe, pretending it was a gun, now had a real gun, a powerful weapon that could kill anyone, even a priest.

  “Hey, Declan,” Taft called out from the other side of the room. “You ready to blast some enemies with that thing?”

  I turned my head and showed him my smug grin. “Yeah, I’m ready.” I looked bac
k at the gun and slid my hand along the smooth, black metal. “I’m ready for war.”

  16

  Zena

  I woke up before sunrise and noticed a red light blinking on my communications device. Not knowing what to do, I pressed the red light and stared at the tiny screen. In a flash, a small holographic image of Evander popped up, and it said, “Declan Ezra, meet me at my ship when you wake up. There is something I would like to discuss with you.”

  I narrowed my eyes and blinked at the hologram, wondering why he would send me an urgent message so early. Even so, I headed downstairs to the main entrance and asked one of the maids to bring me a transport to Evander’s ship. First, she radioed to the soldiers patrolling the academy and informed them of my request.

  Minutes later, two soldiers marched into the building and came right over to me. “State your name, soldier,” one of them said.

  “Declan Ezra, sir. I’m a slave soldier from the North Star.”

  The soldier who asked for my name waved his hand over my face. “We know you’re a slave soldier. Where are you headed, Ezra?”

  “To Captain Cain’s ship, sir. He sent me a message when I woke up and told me to meet him there.”

  “Show us the message,” the other soldier said.

  I boosted my communications device and pressed the red button again. Nothing happened.

  The soldier who asked me to show him and his comrade the message laughed and grabbed my wrist. He pulled my arm close and pressed a few buttons on the screen. Within seconds, the message replayed. “Okay, head outside, soldier. Two of our senior soldiers will take you to Captain Cain’s ship.” The man placed his hand on my back and shoved me toward the door.

  I sighed and left the academy with my head down. The rudeness the soldiers showed me was another stark reminder that as long as the High Priest ruled the galaxy, I would always be a slave.