by Troy Dukart
“Little do most people know Yoichi-Sah, but I am half Shinjin. My mother traveled here long ago and married my father here, a Zindaqean. On behalf of the Emperor, I order you to give me that dagger.”
Saying, “On behalf of the Emperor,” in our culture was a code. It meant that this person was ready to die in the name of defending our Emperor and they were afforded one final request. I obliged immediately and handed it to her. Without hesitation, she slit into her wrists and exposed the Tongwa living beneath her skin. She looked up to me and said,
“My brother, there is still much for you to do. I know how you think, how you feel. You are a warrior but you cannot live this way forever. You need to let others into your life and into your heart because it does no good to live alone.” She grabbed my wrists, “You must take them and make them one with your soul. Take them with you to Shinjo and fly through our beautiful mountains. That is my final request.”
My lip quivered at the discovery that Lady Nefertiti was Shinjin and she was sacrificing herself to save me, a stranger she owed nothing to. She was so young too. I stood tacitly as I looked deep into her soulful eyes and let her Tongwa crawl on me. They acted quickly and dug into my flesh. I cringed but didn't make a sound as they bit onto my bones. After rubbing my wrists, the Tongwa spread their wings and provided me a way to escape. Before I jumped away, I reached down and for the second time in my life I hugged a woman. I whispered, “I will forever honor what you have done for me my sister.”
She smiled before closing her eyes. I jumped away and rode the wind currents to dodge the last of the debris. I watched as the island crashed into the ocean. Never had my life meant more after being saved by Lady Nefertiti. She believed in me, and lost her life in the defense of mine. The ultimate sacrifice; the meaning broke through a wall I had held up for so long in my life. I flew to safety as tears flowed down my face for the first time since I had held a sword, and it was long overdue. Emotions find a way out, one way or another, and the longer they are suppressed the stronger they emerge. I would fight every day to prove her sacrifice was not in vain.
Chapter 15
Strafe
Everything had happened so fast; there was nothing more we could've done. That's what I had to tell myself as I witnessed yet another city fall to the Senti. Tiras had told me that their dream was a unified world with no war. Earth already was like that! We proved that peace was possible under multiple flags. I'd always wished for us to love and care for one another. The thing is though, is if we love something, we cannot control it at the same time.
I remember falling into the depths of the ocean. Darkness was encroaching all around me, and my body began to shiver. My eyelids felt like one-hundred-pound weights, trying to close on me.
I didn't fall too far before I felt an arm cradle my head, shoulders and legs. Looking to my right for the one who was holding me, I couldn't make out the face, as it was shining in the bright blue water. Their touch was warming and familiar. There was a long bandana around the person's head and the same necklace as my father's. Dad?
They brought me to the surface and I remember gasping for air and coughing up water. Wherever I was it was humid and dark. Shadowy figures kneeled over me and turned me to my side to help get the water out. There was a bit of blood that came out too, which was worrisome.
We weren't stationary, as I could smell burning gas and oil from the Mag Truck and felt the treads moving across the sands. After letting my eyes adjust to the light, I looked around to see a few survivors from Zindaqe. Zon had his sword hilt resting on his forehead with his eyes closed, lying against the side of the truck. Roya was nowhere to be seen. When I sat up, Rousseau sat across from me. My ribs and head were tender from being thrown around on the rocks and trees. For the rest of the ride I made sure not to touch them much.
“That's some hangover face you got there, mate,” Rousseau ribbed.
“Ah,” I groaned as I squinted and rubbed my neck, “Yeah, something like that.”
One of the Zindaqueans walked by and put a hand on Rousseau's shoulder and he nodded back. The Zindaquean then went back and sat down with his family. “What happened?” I asked.
“Well, some huge islands fell out of the sky and flooded everything mate. It was pretty hard to miss!” Rousseau described as he clapped his hands in an animated fashion, representing the splashdown.
“Yeah, I got that. How did we end up on a Mag Truck?” I responded.
“Ah, I gotcha. Well, when the wave crashed down, I was still in the air. I didn't glide down until after that it died down. Poor bastards,” Rousseau explained as he shook his head, “I kept gliding in circles and catching wind currents. Roya was helping everyone evacuate far into the forest when the water caught up to them. This was one of the three trucks that had made it far enough to miss getting swept away. Zon hasn't said anything the entire ride.”
“So, what happened to everyone else? Did you see Yessa, Argenta or Roya? Tom? Itust?” I asked.
“I'm sorry mate, I don't know where any of them are. Roya's truck is supposedly 5 kilometers northeast of us but they aren't communicating back. I kept my eye on your aura after you fell down and made sure to get you to a truck safely. We're trying to keep within radio distance but they keep moving,” he explained.
“So, we're heading toward the coast, to travel to Crotona?” I concluded.
“Yes, that's our last card in the deck mate. We have to let the world know how serious this is,” Rousseau assured.
“I hate how the people close to us are getting hurt from this,” I sighed.
“We will save them, despite the bloody pain. We have to push on, it's the only way to save your wolfie!” Rousseau reminded me.
“Aren't you worried about your King and cousin trying to capture you? We need Roya too before we can go there!” I said, “I'll try to look for her.”
Closing my eyes, I saw a bright green dot in front of me. Looking around in a full circle, I couldn't see a yellow one right away. Faintly, I picked her up far off in the distance. Roya was alive but we didn't know anything else about her situation.
“Did the Senti storm the beaches?” I asked Rousseau.
“Yes sir. There wasn't much any of us blokes could do about it either. It looked like an army had descended from all those ships,” he said.
“Don't worry Strafe, Yessa and the rest have strong and special hearts. They wouldn't have gone down so easily,” Zon spoke up. He stood up and grabbed a handle on the ceiling as he joined the conversation.
“I never got to tell Itust how grateful I am,” I lamented.
“He believed enough that his sacrifice was worth it for you to push on and save his people. He was a brave soul,” Zon assuaged, he looked like he was speaking about someone else.
“We need to get to Crotona, immediately. This can't wait any longer!” I asserted.
Zon turned and looked out the window. He looked to be caught between two sides, as he curled his lip. Rousseau stepped away and went to care for some of the Zindaqueans. Zon then sighed and tilted his head to the floor.
“Something the matter?” I asked him.
Zon gripped onto the handle with both hands and turned his body to the window. While looking out he said, “Strafe, before this journey, I never thought that the outside world could be this kind and generous. Where I'm from, there are lots of traditions, and most are limited to the Shinjins. The outside world is rarely admitted. I thought it was the same everywhere.”
He began to rub his wrists, and I noticed a similar scar like the one I had. He looked back out the window, “While I was helping the others to evacuate, the island began to fall down, fast. Your island fell first but mine fell at a quicker pace. The link between the Heaven's Gate had been destroyed and I faced certain death. Knowing the inevitable outcome, one of the Zindaqueans knelt down in front of me. They told me that I was a part of something much greater than them, and that my survival would contribute to the end of this conflict. At first I couldn't ac
cept, but they told me that this would mean a lot to them, and that those are the only kinds of gifts worth giving. 'You need to let others into your life and into your heart because it does no good to live alone,' this islander told me. These words I will remember for the rest of my life.”
“You accepted the Tongwa…but they gave you their own instead of new ones?” I concluded.
“There was no time. It was painful knowing that we both could not leave together,” Zon replied.
“An islander that you didn't know gave you theirs?”
“No, a person whose soul will walk with mine forever. Too young she was. Her name was Nefertiti,” Zon sighed.
For the rest of the trip, we kept to ourselves mostly. Throughout the entire time we'd been together, I hadn't seen Zon open up like that. He kept his eyes toward the ocean coast, where the once floating islands rested broken and in pieces in the ocean. A clear, blue tear rolled down his cheek as the ocean slowly drifted out of view.
A day later, we'd made it to the coast. Surprisingly, the Senti didn't follow; maybe they thought everyone was dead. We were at a port town, a line of trade one could say. Besides some Zindaqueans that ran the place, it was full of foreigners like us. It looked to be a link between the North and South continents and cultures from both sides had come together to form an entirely different flavor. The air smelled of all sorts of aromas from around the world, most prevalent being the sea itself. It rested in a crescent valley that sloped slightly down toward the waterline.
Flying to Crotona was a dangerous gamble we decided. There was too much risk that the Senti would notice us. Thankfully, trade ships crossed the Metagean Sea on a regular basis with travelers. Riding a ship across would allow us to sneak in easier to Crotona in case they had a large presence there. The journey across would take one week, but I didn't mind. I'd never been on such a long ocean voyage. I was excited to give it a try.
Both of the Mag-Trucks that we rode on we parked near a large garage filled with heavy lifting machines and other vehicles. We had around fifteen families with us with no money to spare, many of them with children. The only thing we needed was to buy tickets to cross the sea, and thankfully we already had enough on us to do so. We decided that once we met up with Roya that we would try selling the trucks and giving the money to the families so they could have a little something to get back on their feet. It was the least we could do.
Rousseau's mind seemed to be in two places, as he had trouble finishing sentences and actions. Every so often he would close his eyes and look to find Roya and Tom. Sometimes I had to shake his shoulder to help him focus. I'd never seen him like this since we found out he was a banished prince.
We waited half the day and decided we needed to go out and find Roya. Zon and I managed to broker a deal with a few traders to buy our Mag-Trucks. They weren't too keen on them being stolen Senti vehicles. One of the traders said he needed parts badly and another told us that the Senti vehicles were some of the most reliable in the world, which was why he was willing to take the chance.
Once both were sold for a fair price, we gave as much money to the families as we could so they could get to where they needed to. We rented some Mag-Cycles to go find our friends. Rousseau flew off quickly; it was as if his senses had been restored.
“His heart is always on his sleeve. Something his enemies will take advantage of,” Zon commented as he watched Rousseau fly away.
“Wouldn't you feel the same way, about someone you love?” I retorted.
“The Senti have taken everything from me. My family has already been lost in the chaos of war. There is nothing left in my heart but to avenge their memory,” Zon replied coldly; he too flew up and away on the Mag-Cycle.
“One cannot find inner peace through outer violence,” I remembered Professor Sighter saying one day, “It is only through the act of forgiveness and expressing your pain that the heart may move on.”
I hopped on the cycle and rode off.
The air was warm and dry in the midday. It was strange to go from humid to dry so quickly, but that's how deserts work. I put on some shades that were in a compartment of the cycle to help take away the incredible amount of glare reflecting off of the sands. Zon was within visual distance while only the vapor cloud from his Mag-Cycle was traceable from Rousseau. We traveled for about half an hour before we got close to Roya's and Tom's aura. There was a smoke cloud visible in the distance. It stood out clearly.
Rousseau already landed when we touched down. The coolest thing I liked about the Mag-Cycles was that unless they were docked at a charging station, they always hovered instead of resting on the ground. It was the same back on Earth too.
We saw the final Mag-Truck that had survived. It seemed that the engine had died on the way over and I could still hear it choking on fumes. There were some people resting in the shadows of the Mag-Truck but we didn't see Roya anywhere.
“Hey!” I yelled, “Is anyone injured? We're here to help!”
Stricken with dehydration and fatigue, the survivors could only wave to us. We looked around and found only five survivors alive out of the fifteen on board. The rest hadn't made it. A familiar face popped out of the back of the truck, with a look of grimace. It was Roya, and from how dry her lips were, we could tell she was sick. Her owl Fena greeted us from the top of the truck.
“Roya,” Zon assuaged; he put her arm over his and helped lay her down against the truck. He popped open his water jug and gave her a drink.
“Thank Ren,” Roya said softly between drinks; she had a raspy voice, “I thought dead for both of you.”
“We need to get you all back to the city immediately!” I said, but Roya shook her head.
“No Strafe,” she replied, “Take care of the others first. I'll be okay.”
After I patted her on the shoulder, I walked around to the back and entered the cycle. Inside was cooler than outside but still hot. It was dark, which made it hard to outline the figures near the back. The echo of stepping on the metal floor permeated through the truck as I walked down the lane. When I finally got to the figures, I was both happy and saddened by what I saw. To the left and right sat Yessa and Argenta, and on the floor holding Tom Flint in his arms was Rousseau.
His eyes were wide and his mouth shivering as he held his lover. Yessa held her head down while Argenta was sobbing. Tom Flint…was gone. There was a life-less tint to his usually bright skin that I'd never seen before. Like many of the others, Tom Flint was another soul that the desert heat had claimed today.
“Rousseau…” is all I could muster out.
Rousseau began crying on Tom Flint's chest as if just by saying his name, it had finally sunk into his psyche. I knelt down on one knee and put my right arm over my left breast and my left hand on the metal plate. I'd noticed that Rousseau had his aura turned on and it wasn't mono-colored anymore. Green and black tattoos intertwined across his body and a gust of wind blasted through the Mag-Truck. When he turned to look at me, his retinas were half black, half green. Did Tom transfer his power to Rousseau?
With my eyes closed and head tilted down, I personally thanked this man for everything he had done for us on this journey. He'd risked his life to help us breach into the capital of a hostile state, coached the Rodin Pirates to a national title and saved us from becoming prisoners to the Senti. There was no one more worthy of the title of hero than our dear friend. Someone who could never be replaced, had lost his life too soon.
I rose to my feet and looked at Argenta, who started sniffling. I looked to my left where Yessa was sitting. Doing the only thing I could, I extended a hand out to both of them. At first, they hesitated and looked at each other, but then each took my hand and I brought them close to me for embrace. We hugged and mourned together. The girls didn't cry any tears. Their dehydration was becoming serious.
Zon stepped into the vehicle and expressed a true sign of respect by bowing down to a 90 degree angle. He closed his eyes and turned around, “Strafe, we need to start movin
g these survivors back to the port. They will not last much longer.”
Wiping the tear off my cheek, I nodded and said,
“Yeah, the others would be happy to see them.”
As I held them both close, Rousseau turned to us and said,
“Strafe. I, I, I need to talk to Argenta for a moment mate.”
She turned to him, and then to me; I nodded, “I'll be right outside.”
After helping Argenta over to Rousseau, Yessa and I walked into the shadow of the Mag-Truck. Zon and Roya had explained that they would take back the remaining two survivors back on Zon's Cycle. I told them I would take care of Yessa and Rousseau would get Argenta. Fena flew alongside them.
Yessa sat down next to me in the cool sand as we watched Zon and Roya take off. She was holding my hand and noticed the scar the Tongwa had given me. She caressed it back and forth in the loving way we always had been with each other. Then she leaned her head on me, “Strafe, did they hurt you?”
“No, this was a gift from the Zindaqueans. I can fly now,” I explained.
“Hmm,” she smiled, “So now you won't fall into gorges anymore right?”
We laughed.
When we caught our breath, I looked her in the eyes, “Yessa, I'm sorry that I got you involved in this. I never wanted to have anyone get hurt because of me, and you've had to endure what nobody else should have to. All of this has come and gone so fast, and I will never let anyone hurt you again.”
“I'm, I'm sorry too. This isn't your fault, you didn't start this war and you can't be in two places at once. Everything about you has changed Strafe, you're not the same guy I knew back home who was, reckless and brash. You are a part of something much bigger than yourself now. We both carry burdens. You've become a man who has taken responsibility, and that's more than the world can ask from you. And as for me, I'm American, just like you. Nobody was going to break me down, ever,” Yessa replied.
“It's funny how your words can wash away all the dust that has tainted me ever since that day. The thought of never seeing you or everyone from back home tore at my very soul…My brother is alive Yessa! I need to save him and Brutus. I fear Gain has lost his way, but I won't give up on trying to save him either. The Senti have all of them. Having you back though, is worth more than you can imagine,” I told her as I caressed her cheek.