by Devon C Ford
Not being able tell friend from foe, he and his men formed a semi-circle, using the barricade to protect their rear and stood or couched with weapons held ready scanning the melee in front of them through the sights of their rifles, fingers on triggers ready to fire at anyone that even raised a weapon in their direction.
Turning his head, he saw a small group break away and run for the trees swinging axes and machetes wildly at anyone near them. Smiling slightly as he remembered the conversation in the caves about only their enemies running away, he shifted his aim and muttered to himself, “Only cowards run.” Then more loudly, “Eyes left. Six making a break for it.” His finger squeezed the trigger and two fell before he was forced to pull up his gun as a small group of warriors fighting desperately blocked his sightline.
~
Tanaka, six paces ahead of his men, had almost reached the trees when bullets started zipping past his head. Crouching as low as he could without slowing down, he heard the meaty thwacks of bullets striking flesh and men crying out in pain. Tears of fear began pouring from his eyes and a high-pitched squeak of sheer, unadulterated terror sprang from his lips as he fell to the floor and scrambled the last few yards on all fours like an uncoordinated dog and threw himself behind the nearest tree to curl up in a trembling, crying ball. His remaining men, lost in their own terror, ran past him and crashed blindly through the undergrowth desperate to be anywhere but where they were right then.
In battle, a person’s senses are at their ultimate height as the body absorbs and inputs as much information as it can about your surroundings. Your full concentration is on the person in front of you, trying to kill you as hard as you’re trying to them, but subconsciously you’re also taking in every unexpectedly insignificant facet of your surroundings.
Harrison, with Tori protecting his left side, was facing two men at the same time. His blades slashing at and deflecting the blows aimed at him whilst Tori swung her own blades at anyone that got close. The one on his right, overreaching as his swing hissed past his left shoulder, left the smallest of openings which Harrison took without hesitation. While his left arm swung toward the other man, making him pause his attack and giving him the fraction of a second he needed, his right arm shot straight out impaling the other one in the chest.
Even as Harrison pulled back the blade he knew it was a killing stroke; the man was out of the fight. He shifted his position and raised both blades once more before he felt it. The mood of the battle had changed; the pulse was different, like a point had been reached where some undetermined balance had been tipped in their favor.
Men were still screaming their battle cries, but beneath that he felt the hint of panic and desperation.
With a mighty roar that was heard by all, he smashed both his blades through the defenses of his one remaining opponent, seeing the fear flash in his eyes as the warrior foresaw his own death. His blow knocked his axe aside as if it was a stalk of wheat bent by the wind. Harrison’s arms were a blur as he reversed his swing and, unleashing all his pent-up rage, powered both his machetes in a vicious downward arc that almost cut the man in two.
The men from the Springs, desperately trying to defend themselves, broke when Harrison’s roar rolled across the battlefield. As soon as one turned, the dam broke and the remaining survivors turned and fled to run in all directions. Some fell as blades reached out to them as they passed, but mostly the men of Three Hills were momentarily disorientated by the battle ending, so allowed their fleeing enemies to push past them as if knowing they posed no more threat to them.
Williamson and his men, also surprised by the battle ending so suddenly, couldn’t bring themselves to fire into the backs of the fleeing men.
A silence, only broken by the screams and whimpers of the injured and dying, washed across the battlefield. Men, blinking with shock and surprise to find themselves still alive stood silently and stared at the blood-soaked field and carnage that surrounded them. For a full minute no one spoke until Harrison raised his blood-covered machetes in the air and screamed in triumph, “Three Hills!”
His men all roared their reply and brandished their own weapons as they joined in. Their collective outpouring releasing the adrenaline and gut loosening terror that had powered their arms to beyond normal endurance and won the victory.
~
I was crouching with my weapon raised, sandwiched between Hendricks and Jones. Listening to the clashing of blades and roars of battle that was raging unseen beyond the barricade I was trying to work out what was happening. Were we winning? Or would Tanaka be leaping over the barricade to overpower us with an unstoppable tide of warriors our guns couldn’t stop?
The silence, when it fell, was more terrifying than the noise of battle; it was so sudden. Hendricks muttered softly but loud enough for us all to hear.
“Hold your positions.” I’d lowered my weapon slightly, as if removing it from my shoulder would increase my hearing, but when he gave his command I raised it again, my eyes flicking everywhere in panic searching for an enemy I couldn’t see.
When Harrison’s victory roar filled the air I literally jumped out of my skin in fright. If I had had my finger on the trigger of my rifle I’m pretty sure I would’ve involuntarily pulled it. I turned my head to look at Hendricks who, along with Geiger and Jones, had lowered their weapons. The stares of determination and concentration their faces had been filled with changed to smiles of jubilation.
“Ha…have…err, have we won?” I stammered uncertainly.
Hendricks smiled at me. “Looks that way, old chap.” Still struggling with the strange phrases the he came out with which always took a few seconds to interpret I just nodded at him.
Before he moved Annie spoke into our earpieces. “The battle is over. Do you want casualty figures?”
Shaking his head, Hendricks replied, “The butcher’s bill can come later.” He held his hand out to me and pulled up from my crouching position. “Shall we join them?”
Standing next to him he glanced at my rifle and said softly, “Put the safety on, Anderson. I rather suspect it would be bad form to shoot anyone now.” I looked at my rifle and guiltily noticed it was still set to full auto, so with a flick of my thumb I moved the switch to safe mode before lowering it on the sling that kept it attached to my body.
“Aw come on, man. I’m new to all this soldiering stuff. You have been doing it your entire life. Cut me some slack, will ya?” I replied, a little bit embarrassed at my rookie status being so obvious.
Hendricks put his hand on my back as we walked toward the barricade.
“I was, chap, I was. It’s not a computer game now though, and we don’t respawn or get extra lives, so gun safety is paramount no matter how experienced or not you are. But I will say this young man, you are exceeding mine or anyone’s expectations on how you would act and behave when the chips are down. What with killing those bugs, especially that beautiful kick you did to protect your girlfriend, I’d take you out with me any time to fight them.”
I automatically started to say, “She’s not my…” until I realized with a pleasant shock that after the night we had shared in the pod together she more than likely was. He smiled at the wistful look that came over my face.
“Come on,” he said, slapping me on the back and almost knocking me off my feet. “The sooner we get this mess sorted the sooner you can get back to her.”
The field of slaughter that lay before me, once I had scrambled over the barricade, almost made me throw up the food I’d eaten not long ago. Bodies lay heaped together, each showing the horrific wounds caused by weapons.
Harrison and Hendricks took command of the field.
Harrison’s warriors, following a command from him, began sifting through the bodies for any who still lived—Springs or Hills—following their leader’s orders to bring them to the newcomers.
With aid kits spread before them, Williamson’s men had set up a triage area where their battlefield medical training was put to full effec
t treating the wounded as best they could.
Annie was keeping a constant overhead surveillance, changing the drones that zipped overhead continually but was not communicating much with us on the ground. Hendricks had to ask Annie to land one of the drones so the people from the Three Hills could see it was not a demon or some devil of the sky. Every time one had flown over they’d all cowered from it or raised their weapons to try and smash it from the sky. Once Weatherby and Hendricks had shown and explained what they were, even though suspicious glances were cast toward the whirring machines, the work continued.
Amir had commented on Annie’s silence and Annie, with a haughty tone to her voice, answered immediately. “Mister Weatherby, I am here but I do not need to keep reminding you of the fact when it is apparent that you are busy. It will only have the effect of slowing down the work you are doing. My point is proved by the fact that both you and David have now stopped what you are doing to merely have a conversation with me, which will only delay your departure time.” I was amazed when she gave what seemed to be a sigh of exasperation before continuing.
“As it happens, in five minutes I was going to open up a communication channel between you two and Mister Hendricks to remind you that if you do not leave in the next thirty minutes you will not make it back to the compound before night falls. I do not need to remind you that even though it is highly unlikely due to the waning moon, The Swarm could still appear.
At the mention of night approaching and The Swarm I noticed Weatherby glancing around in panic as if expecting them to appear at any moment. When he noticed me staring at him he gave a small smile and shrug of apology. I was surprised, though, at my own reaction. The moment Annie mentioned it my first reaction, before I stopped myself, was to reach for my pistol in defense, and not fear, as Weatherby had shown.
Chapter 27
Complacency Kills
Tanaka lay under the cover of a huge fallen tree. He had, in panic, burrowed himself under it to escape any pursuit he had expected to be hot on his heels as he ran from the battle and abandoned the remains of his men to their fate. Paralyzed by fear he hadn’t dared move for hours and had lain in a semi-comatose state as his brain tried and failed to comprehend what had happened. He knew he’d soiled himself at some stage but didn’t care. So used to getting what he wanted merely because of his name and the fear it brought with it, defeat and humiliation was something he had never experienced before and he didn’t know how to deal with it.
He swung between raging with quiet, vengeful anger at how he would bring death to any that defied him, to sobbing fits brought on by fear at the thought of leaving the safe hole he had dug himself into and having to meet his enemy. His mind, always unstable, was becoming truly unhinged.
It was only when the light coming through a small hole in the earth and branches he had used to cover his hiding place began to dim, that the fear of being outside the walls as night fell outweighed the fear of him being discovered. It forced him to dig his way out. Climbing unsteadily to his feet, he shambled off in the direction of his compound, jumping at every sound and expecting at any moment for an attacker to leap out at him from behind every tree. He continually stumbled and fell over as unseen tree roots in the growing dark caught him unawares. Holding his prized rifle out in front of him he screamed in shock every time he fell over, thinking he was being attacked by either a human or an animal.
The ground was soft, often muddy in places, from the torrential rain that fell regularly. Every time he fell in one of these places, his face, hands, clothes and his weapons became covered in a thick layer of it.
In the rapidly fading light he was forced to break into a run to cover the last mile before the land he held sway over in the day became the property of the night, and the terrors that it contained, even though logic and knowledge told him that The Swarm probably would not return for weeks. Forcefully trying to compose himself he made a vague attempt to brush off the worst of the mud and pieces of foliage that covered his clothes and exposed flesh as he stood before the closed gate and raised his fist. He banged on it, bellowing to be let in.
He stood expectantly, assuming that within moments one of his sentries would notice him and immediately open the gate, welcoming him inside with gratitude and deference. He smiled and began thinking of the long hot bath he would enjoy, mentally choosing which of his concubines he would grant the privilege of joining him to ease the stresses he had suffered during the day. Once refreshed, he would then call his loyal lieutenants for a war council so he could issue the orders for the attack that would wipe out both the newcomers and the traitors at the Three Springs.
Impatient and angry at the lack of immediate response, he banged harder on the gate with his fist and commanded once more for it to open. Eventually, a scared-sounding voice called from behind the gate. “Who…Who is it?”
“How dare you ask who I am,” he screamed back, the rage building inside him. “Open the gates or you will be punished!”
He heard the man’s voice call out that Tanaka was at the gate before the screeching sound of the locking bar being withdrawn drowned out his voice. The moment the gate started moving he kicked at it with his foot and forced his way through the widening gap. He aimed a kick at the gateman and berated him for being so slow but was surprised when, instead of cowering in fear, the man stood and stared silently at him. More stood behind him, their faces not showing the fear or respect he usually received, but instead open-faced and obvious hostility.
Uncertainty and fear built up once more in him. He needed to get his most trusted men around him, so he walked determinedly to his quarters. The crowd that had begun to gather in the open space in front of it parted as he stormed past, scowling at them as his mind raced. He could sense the hostility of the people but was too arrogant and blind to the self-belief in his own powers he couldn’t understand why.
The fact that, in the last twenty-four hours, he had led his people twice to crushing defeats and had brutally at the cost of more of his people, ended a rebellion against his rule did not register in his unhinged mind to why they would still not unquestioningly follow him.
Most of the warriors had died either in the failed attacks at The Source or in fighting on both sides of the rebellion against him. The ones who had escaped the massacre when the warriors of Three Hills had smashed into their exposed rear brought back with them the story of how The Tanaka had fled the field, leaving them to their fate.
People openly began celebrating his hopeful demise and collectively they felt the weight the oppression that he had ruled by being lifted. No one had yet dared to even suggest they needed to find a new leader, but the more ambitious of the remaining men knew the time would come when those questions would be raised.
The cost of defiance was clearly on display; Byrne’s mutilated body still swung in the town square where he had been hung by his feet as a reminder to everyone the cost of defying The Tanaka. The warriors, especially those that were marked as being loyal to their leader who had guarded the community when the others left, kept their hands on their weapons and a close eye on any they deemed a threat. No one knew where each other’s loyalty ultimately lay.
Tanaka stopped on the veranda of his quarters and turned to face his people. Scanning the crowd he was shocked at how few there were. It was mainly the women, the too young or too old to fight, who stared at him. No more than twenty warriors were in the crowd.
“Where are my men?” he roared. “I want everyone here.”
A hidden voice, that of a woman called back, the venom in her voice evident to all. “They’re all dead. My husband and my two sons have not returned. Hardly any have.”
He tried to find the woman who spoke without success, so he fixed his eye on a random woman in the throng to pretend he had and replied, “If they have died, they will be honored as heroes of the Springs when we win our final victory. Their sacrifice will not be for nothing.”
“Victory?” another voice, this time male, spat bac
k. “What victory? We have no warriors left.”
He had never had his words questioned like this before. No one ever dared, as they knew to do so would bring harsh and immediate punishment upon them. His oratory skills were all about issuing commands he expected to be obeyed immediately, not debating whether he was right or wrong.
Not knowing what else to say, he shouted back, “We have their weapons,” as he raised the rifle up in the air and shook it triumphantly.
“You promised we would all have them,” another hidden voice shouted from the other side of the throng. “Where are they? We can’t fight these people with blades and arrows, not after they decimated us at the entrance to The Source.”
“We won!” Tanaka screamed back, his voice high-pitched with rage, spittle flying from his lips as he continued his lies in desperation. “We made them retreat, they could not stand up to your power, we forced them back.”
Another man pushed to the front of the crowd and faced Tanaka directly. “Won?” he asked, his voice mocking. “Won? It took me all night to get out of that hell hole. Only one in ten of us who entered returned, and you call that a victory?”
Tanaka could see a warrior he knew to be loyal, the man named Sanchez, who he had recently named as his captain, pushing through the crowd trying to reach the man.
Good, he thought to himself. At least I have one loyal man left.
Before Sanchez got to him the women surged around the man blocking Sanchez’s efforts to reach him. Sanchez struck out at the women but they mocked him, baying and hitting him back.
Tanaka watched shocked as his loyal captain was mobbed by the women. Eventually he fought his way through the crowd and joined Tanaka on the veranda. He needed to end this gathering as he feared the few lone voices of dissent would soon multiply with each person that escaped punishment after speaking out as his mind sought desperately for an avenue of escape.