Greenhaus:Storm

by Reckelhoff, Bryan

  The courtyard was empty, the open air lighter and easier to draw in, but it stung her lungs. A spotter accompanied a single sniper at the far end, watching both the Elder tent and the front gate. Mask in hand, Ella breezed through the fortress with her head down. In the tight spaces, the smell of grease and grime was strong, requiring her to cover her nose and mouth. Her entourage grew with every checkpoint she passed, as they no longer had a reason to stay on station.

  A final stop after exiting the gates, and Ella looked at the only place she ever felt at home and wished things could be different. After placing her mask on and tightening the straps, Ella and her escort left the fortress behind. A brisk walk to the rendezvous point near Glass City preceded Ella’s final instructions. All eyes remained trained on Ella, waiting for her signal to begin the assault, as she crested the final hill.

  A stop at the bunker to check on her belongings brought another range of emotions. She pulled the binoculars from her canvas backpack, to test her reaction to seeing Stranger Friend again. They were dusty, so she blew them off before taking a gaze into Glass City. He was gone, as was the Lady in Red and everyone else at the work site. That warm fuzzy feeling she hoped would return if she spotted him never had a chance to resurface. The defenses were powered down and the field was clear of Rangers. Ella had calmed a bit and knew she had made a rash decision to attack, but the Storm camp had passed the point of no return.

  Rushed by pure negative emotion into making a decision she already regretted, Ella had no choice but to move forward with the attack. She knew lives would be lost, both on the Inside and Outside, but she had no way of calling off the attack. She feared her own life would be lost and worried about all the other lives that had just seen their last morning. She wondered if they would be together in the place people went when they died, so she could apologize for all that was about to happen.

  After Ella tossed her backpack into the bunker, she returned to her soldiers, to lead them into a battle she was sure they shouldn’t be fighting.

  An eerie calm surrounded the Storm Camp. Every set of eyes stayed glued upon their leader, waiting anxiously for her next command. Ella’s hand raised high into the air. The hatch to the Beast creaked as Zac scurried down the ladder into the control area.

  The Beast rolled forward, cresting the final hill. The other green machines fanned out to the west.

  I am once again a follower, not a leader, but my days of being either will soon come to an end. The other vehicles rumbled by her, drowning out all other sounds. Zac pulled the Beast into position and popped his head from the hatch, waiting for the signal from Ella to fire.

  If I just hold my hand up here forever, nothing bad will happen.

  Her arm dropped.

  The assault began with a single boom. Ella grabbed binoculars from a nearby spotter. The Inside had already scrambled a defense. Rangers filled the unfinished area she had spent so many days spying on. Must’ve seen the trails of dust kicked up over the hills.

  The first round hit just short of the unfinished addition to Glass City, at the base of one of the coils, creating a large crater. The tower slowly toppled over before crashing to the ground, pulling two nearby towers with it. A large cloud of dust partially blocked her vision.

  Rangers emerged from the tunnel in greater numbers than she had ever witnessed. They charged forward through the cloud of dust to engage Ella’s forces. “Aim for the star,” she yelled. The Rangers fired bolts of energy, incapacitating anyone they touched. The Masked returned rounds of hot lead. The same cool blue that danced through the power lines, coils, and domes discharged from the ends of the hand cannons carried by the Rangers. Her front line stood no chance, the lot of them writhing on the ground in agony.

  A second wave of Rangers rushed to join the two formations firing upon each other in the open field. Ella watched her trump cards race into the battle.

  The blitzkrieg of the Rangers halted when the armored green hulks made their presence known. Ella chased her rolling boxes of boom in a full sprint. The Beast fired another round, this time striking Glass City. A large hole opened, sending a shower of glass to the earth. The unfinished portion was severely damaged, leaving nothing to show for all the hard work of the men in orange except twisted metal and broken glass. The white room they disappeared into at the end of each day was crushed, as was the rectangular glass room they ate meals in. The dome they had been working on began to cave in.

  The cannon swung to the right. A third blast struck near the tunnel, hampering the Rangers’ effort to reenter Glass City. Ella saw plumes of smoke rising from the rubble, just like in her dreams. Sensing an opportunity for victory, she ordered an all-out attack.

  The hulks pushed forward. The Rangers and Masked engaged in close quarter combat were crushed under the heavy treads as the green monsters advanced toward the retreating enemy. The Ranger weapons had no effect, the blue rays reflecting harmlessly off their hulls. Seeing the futility of their efforts, the Rangers ceded the ground to the Storm camp and joined their retreating brethren.

  Storm campers unloaded round after round of ammunition at the fleeing Rangers, who returned fire erratically. Salvaging whatever lives they could, the Rangers took cover amid the fallen coils while they attempted to navigate the piles of sharp glass and gnarled metal to seek shelter within Glass City.

  Rangers were pinned down as the second wave of armor was getting into range. Ella sensed victory was near as her camp slowly closed on the Rangers’ position. Ella’s taste of victory soon turned sour. To her horror, a switch was flipped. The power returned.

  Bzzzt. The buzzing noise was followed by an immediate pop of the exploding target. Bzzzt, Pop. Bzzzt, Pop was heard repeatedly as the coils zapped anything within range. Targets aplenty stood on the battlefield, but the number shrank with every bzzzt, pop. The Masked reversed course, their war cries turning to screams of terror as they ran toward the safety of the hills, out of range of the deadly coils.

  Ella was safely out of range, never making it into the battle. She watched as the green vehicles swung their cannons toward the city, ready to deliver their first round of salvos, hoping they would take a few of the working coils out of commission. A loud boom followed by a wave of intense yellow light emanated from the base of Glass City. The retreating Masked were overtaken by the rush of intense light. The blast raced paced the vehicles, causing them to cease operation before firing a single shot. Ella watched helplessly as those caught in its wave were knocked off their feet by its power.

  The wave reached her before she could react. The untamed yellow fury raced passed her, throwing Ella violently to the ground. Temporarily immobilized except for seizure-like convulsions, a searing pain encompassed her entire body. The fall knocked off her mask and left her body propped up on the incline of the hill, giving her a great view of the horror that unfolded. The power cut off again. Rangers reemerged from Glass City.

  Blood and a white frothy substance dripped from her mouth. Ella reached to wipe herself clean, but her arms would not do as her brain instructed them. The Rangers walked the battlefield observing the fallen. Some they left where they lay, others they grabbed and dragged toward the crest of the hill. Two approached Ella and grabbed her, pulling her up the hillside toward its peak as she groaned. The Insiders began to talk and the stunned Ella could only listen as the drool spilled from her mouth.

  “I wonder if this was the camp from the junkyard?” asked one of them.

  “I doubt it,” replied the other. “They knew they were being recruited. We had already sent the letter and met with the leaders to inform them. They agreed to be recruited. This must have been nomads. I hope they didn’t attack our recruits.”

  What have I done, the letter was genuine. I could have given everyone a better life, but instead have given them death.

  “Recon reported no other groups in the area, so you might be right,” replied the other in a deflated tone.

  “Well, most of those up here on the hill see
m to be fine, but some will have to go to Medical for some work,” stated the unnamed Ranger.

  “This one especially,” he said, standing over Ella. “She is the last one that is gonna make it. The rest in our sector are history, Rangers included.” His voice was burdened with a sadness that Ella couldn’t understand. She was paralyzed, but her ears could hear dejection in their voices, and she didn’t understand the pity they expressed toward the Masked.

  “I wish they would stop attacking. Then we wouldn’t have to do this,” one of the Rangers said.

  “I know, this is the worst part of the job,” replied the other in a somber tone. “But we have to clear the field.”

  “All clear over here,” one of them loudly exclaimed, his voice cracking.

  “All clear,” echoed another from a distance, a saying repeated by several others.

  To Ella, it seemed the Rangers used some arbitrary selection process to determine which of the Masked could be saved and those for whom death was inevitable. One of the Rangers in front of her gave a thumbs-up to Glass City and turned his head away to hide his eyes from the coming carnage.

  Ella was not so lucky. She sat paralyzed, with nothing but her eyes working. She watched in utter horror as the power was restored. All left in the field, both Masked and Rangers, disintegrated into nothingness, their bodies gone in an instant as the blue rays hit them. Ella had no idea what the Rangers had planned for her or the others dragged up the hill. With what she had just seen, the loss of so many lives in the blink of an eye, she figured that memory was seared into her brain and would certainly be the last memory she took with her to the grave. Her preconceived notions about those on the Inside automatically led her to believe a visit to the grave would be in her not-too-distant future, but recent experiences caused her to believe these prejudices needed to be reexamined.

  Chapter 33 (Ren Fire)

  The disk of light had only made three passages across the sky, but to the foursome left to command the fortress, it seemed like a hundred days. Not a single report returned from the first attack, leaving all at the fortress in the dark as to the outcome, but almost certain of the conclusion.

  The worst was assumed, that Glass City had defeated the poorly planned attack that a suddenly enraged Ella had ordered. Jeremiah was the most pessimistic, realizing after a day and a half the rest of the camp was likely gone forever. The camp was considerably smaller now. Only ten remained at the fortress, while eight had been sent south.

  Jeremiah, Niles, Jordan, and Ren were accompanied by the six snipers Ella left behind, in case a stray camp wandered into the area. Even in her rage and haste to attack, a soft spot for Ren, Niles, and Jordan remained, possibly the last ounce of warmth in her heart.

  In the Elder Tent, Niles, Jeremiah, Jordan, and Ren talked about their next move over and over as Jeremiah grew increasingly impatient with the rest of the quartet. They decided, though not unanimously, that unless someone returned from the attack with proof of a successful strike, they wouldn’t proceed with the second wave of the attack that Ella had commanded.

  When no one had returned in the days following the attack, they started to develop an alternate plan. The foursome gathered in the tent, sitting around the rebuilt table. “Ella had a plan for us and it wasn’t to attack,” Jeremiah insisted. “She wanted me to lead us south, to search for somewhere to establish a new camp.”

  “The Oasis, that’s where we need to go,” Niles said.

  “It doesn’t exist anywhere except that head of yours, so unless you want me to split your skull, enough talk of that,” Jeremiah countered. His annoyance had grown with each mention of the mythical place over the previous days.

  “I believe it exists,” Ren inserted.

  “Me too, or at least I hope it does,” Jordan added.

  “Well I don’t,” Jeremiah exclaimed as he banged the table. “And neither did Ella. She made no mention of wasting time chasing daydreams. The air is cleaner, the water is too. That’s why she wanted us to head south. I’ve already lived there, so she picked me to lead us.”

  Correction. She picked you to lead us because you are imposing. She knew you’d need a puppet master. That has never been more obvious than now, Ren thought.

  “Why didn’t she tell the rest of us then?” Niles asked.

  “She didn’t want it to leak. She worried that if the rest of the camp found out, few would follow her to the glass,” Jeremiah answered. “She handpicked us to carry out this mission.”

  “Well, what about your buddy, Swifty?” Jordan asked. “Will he go along with the plan?”

  “Don’t worry about him. That is already handled.”

  All four saw the fallacy in attempting an attack if a force much larger had already been defeated. Since south is where Niles and Jordan wanted to go all along, no one countered his suggestion to head in that direction.

  The six others, a mix of old ex-Cloud and Ashe snipers and spotters, agreed with the resolution to allow each individual to decide their own fate.

  ***

  The eerie silence of the previous days ended. Snipers gathered along the southern wall of the fortress, called to the area by a familiar rumble. The engines shut down, leaving just the whipping wind to fill the silence. The foursome joined the others on the wall. Snipers remained motionless, fingers on triggers, waiting to make sure those exiting the machines were indeed friendlies. The creak of a metal hatch preceded Swifty’s head popping out. His dark red mask and unmistakable whitish-blonde hair gave him away an instant before his deep, growling voice did as it confidently announced, “Ella will be proud, four vehicles and all the fuel we could strap to ‘em. Bring her here Jeremiah, or is she out scouting again?”

  “Scouting? No, she’s not out scouting, but she is gone, along with everyone else,” a dejected Jeremiah responded.

  “Where’d they go and when are they comin’ back?” Swifty asked.

  Jeremiah paused as the other three hatches were opened and the occupants of the vehicles climbed out. “They aren’t. At least, we don’t think they are. They went to attack Glass City three days ago.”

  “Has anyone checked on them?” a suddenly excited Swifty asked. “They could be needing our help. We should go at once. Quick, everyone inside,” Swifty ordered as he started to retreat back into the vehicle, the other drivers following suit.

  “Swifty,” yelled Jeremiah, bringing his bright blonde hair back up the ladder. “You know as well as I do what has happened to them, and what will happen to us if we follow. You saw it first hand in the south. Now get everyone out. We need to discuss the next move.”

  Swifty and the seven others joined the quartet on the ground as the snipers kept a watchful eye through their scopes. “It sounds like the next move has already been discussed,” Swifty said in a suspicious tone.

  “We have orders from Ella to head south…”

  “Stop,” Swifty yelled. “You already said she was gone, Jeremiah, so her word matters little to me. I never understood why you let her remain Elder anyway. That was not the plan when we were sent north. These were not our orders.”

  “Plans change, Swifty. I see a better way. I am no longer under their command. I’m out for myself now.”

  “You were scared of a little girl,” Swifty mocked him. “And you are scared now. But I will tell you this much; I ceded control to you once, and I will not make the same mistake twice. I am taking charge and I say we are attacking. I didn’t go rustle these up for nothin’ ya know.” His hand gripped something near the waistband.

  Ren, Niles, and Jordan remained quiet, as did the seven behind Swifty, while the two from the Blood camp settled an old score.

  “Think what you want of me, but we are taking one of these and heading south.” Jeremiah walked toward a vehicle and started to climb up.

  “Not so fast, these are ours and we’ll decide what to do with them,” Swifty said as he pulled Jeremiah from the vehicle, tossing him to the ground. A bullet whizzed by Swifty’s head, striking
one of the containers of fuel, creating a fireball that reached high into the sky before burning out. The intense rush of heat caused Swifty to take some steps back, but not before it singed his hair. He patted it, just to make sure it wasn’t burning, while he stared in the direction the bullet had come from.

  Jeremiah dusted himself off and gave a thumbs-up to the snipers on the fortress wall. “Like I said, plans change. We are takin’ one of these. The rest you are free to use as you please.”

  Swifty was still stunned, gazing at the fortress, trying to locate the hidden gunman. Before he could answer, Niles, Ren, and Jordan were already climbing aboard the shell of the vehicle to prep for departure.

  Jeremiah stood mask-to-mask with Swifty, waiting for him to make the next move.

  “Then it’s settled,” Swifty said, sticking out his hand to offer peace.

  Jeremiah shook his hand. “No hard feelings, old friend. I just have to do something different. I’m going to ditch the two old guys and take the little sprite back east across the big muddy and settle a score there.”

  “Good luck. And if you make it back home, give ‘em hell for me.”

  Jeremiah’s piercing whistle brought the snipers from their hiding places to join the rest of the group. “Those that want to join the attack may do so, and those that want to go south may go with us. But we leave soon, so decisions must be made,” Jeremiah announced.

  None decided to go south, opting instead to follow a different path. The bungee straps were removed from the three vehicles that would move forth and attack, the fuel left behind. It was a ceremonial gesture; they knew they wouldn’t be coming back. The three green hunks of metal pulled away, leaving the quartet to load up supplies before their departure. After securing all the fuel, food, weapons and ammo they could, the new camp headed south.