Nomad: Freedom Is Never Free

by Todd Brill

“Has anyone heard about Telarch?” asked Nomad, concern in his voice.

  “He’d lost a lot of blood,” said Danik. “The medics were looking after him. They took him back to the safe house and I haven’t heard anything since.”

  “We need to focus on the final phase of this fight,” said Overwinter. “I don’t mean to sound cold-hearted, but your friend will have to wait.”

  “He’s the reason we’re even here,” said Nomad, gritting his teeth. Danik put a hand on his shoulder.

  “’Winter’s right,” she said in a low voice. “We have to find a way into that compound and finish this or Telarch got hurt for nothing.”

  “What about a feint on one side and the main assault on another?” said Hiyadi, studying the impromptu map scrawled into the plastic yellow table they stood around. They had set up their headquarters in a small apartment a few blocks from the barricades. The tiny shamble of an apartment was abandoned when they got there. Inside it, they could see signs of a hurried escape: scattered food, cupboards still open, and clothes left out in a half-opened suitcase.

  “That seems like the only option right now,” said Overwinter. “But it will come at a steep price. We still don’t know for certain what’s on the other side of the barricades.”

  “One moment, please,” said Hiyadi, his eyes darting from side to side as if reading invisible text in the air. Overwinter looked at Nomad with a raised eyebrow.

  After a moment, Hiyadi looked intently at Overwinter.

  “I believe I have a plan,” said Hiyadi.

  26

  The sky had darkened and turned an elegant turquoise as dusk approached. The clouds had moved off and Nomad could see the myriad stars in the sky. They blinked and shimmered and were completely alien to him. He didn’t recognize any of the constellations he remembered from Earth: The Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, or the North Star.

  He wondered if Earth was still out there somewhere. Maybe one of those small twinkling points of light was the sun. He sighed. It was a freak accident that brought him to this world. What were the odds he would be able to get back? He didn’t like to think about it. Getting home didn’t seem very likely right now.

  Danik stirred, rubbing her leg against his leg. She was waking from her short nap. They had set up a perimeter around the compound and took turns resting for a couple hours until the sun went down. Hiyadi’s plan was extremely dangerous but it was the only viable plan they had. They needed a little rest if they were going to pull it off.

  Nomad stroked Danik’s long, black hair gently and smiled. She was so beautiful and fierce. He loved her more than any woman he had ever met. He had requested she stay with the reserves but she had insisted she was coming with him this time.

  He never doubted her abilities; he was just trying to ensure her safety and survival.

  “I can look after myself, Nomad,” she had said. “You forget who I am.” She was right, of course, but it didn’t make him feel any better about putting her in harm’s way.

  She started awake suddenly and looked around anxiously.

  “It’s okay,” Nomad whispered, patting her shoulder.

  “Is it time?” she asked, rubbing the sleep and dust from her eyes.

  “Almost,” he said, looking at the digital watch-like device Overwinter had provided for him. “About thirty minutes.”

  Danik sat upright, checked her rifle, and straightened her clothes and hair.

  “You look fine,” Nomad said.

  “Just fine?” she replied, raising an eyebrow.

  “Beautiful, as always,” he said, smiling. She shifted closer to him, leaning on his chest. Nomad kissed her head. Her hair smelled of dusty streets and tangy metal, but he didn’t care.

  “Please be careful tonight,” said Nomad, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her a gentle squeeze.

  “You too,” she replied, grabbing his opposite arm and squeezing. They both separated when they heard the scuffling of boots on the debris-laden apartment floor coming toward them.

  “You two ready?” It was Overwinter. They nodded and stood. Overwinter looked haggard and exhausted.

  “Did you get some rest?” asked Nomad.

  “A little,” replied Overwinter, raising a hand to pass through his salt-and-pepper crew cut hair. “I’ll be fine. It’s you who has the hard work tonight. I hope your friend’s plan works.”

  “I trust Hiyadi,” said Nomad. “It’ll work so long as everyone does their job.”

  “Well, just remember we have a lot of new recruits out there,” said Overwinter. “We can’t rely on military precision from those boys and girls. Most of them are barely old enough to have hair on their crotches, let alone fight a war.”

  “I have calculated troop efficiency into the plan,” said Hiyadi’s voice from the corner of the room. He stepped out of the shadows closer to the group.

  “I have also calculated the probability of our success if you care to hear…”

  “No!” said Nomad a little too loudly. “I don’t want to hear the odds, my friend. That might jinx things.”

  “What does ‘jinx’ mean?” said Hiyadi, turning his head to the side in a mechanical way. Nomad thought the gesture made Hiyadi look like an inquisitive puppy hearing an odd sound for the first time.

  “It means it might bring bad luck,” said Nomad.

  “Ah,” said Hiyadi. “I do not believe in luck. We will succeed or fail tonight based on our abilities and courage, not on luck.”

  “And what if something happens out-of-the-blue?” said Nomad. “Like, something happens that you didn’t expect that changes whether we win or lose? Isn’t that luck?”

  “I don’t believe so,” replied Hiyadi. “Unforeseen events are just that -- things do not occur in the universe randomly. They are not lucky or unlucky; we just did not foresee their occurrence ahead of time.”

  “We could sure use some luck tonight,” said Overwinter.

  “We could use more troops and logistical support,” said Hiyadi. Had he inflected some tone into his voice, Nomad might have thought he was being critical of Overwinter and the rebels.

  “I’ve got us what I can,” said Overwinter. “Most of the city is ours. The other rebels and civilian recruits have taken every major road in or out of the city and all other critical buildings and areas, flushing out the remainder of the troops loyal to Nevenember. The only troops remaining in the city limits are his troops and personal guard in this compound.

  “What about reinforcements from other cities?” asked Nomad.

  “They won’t be here for hours,” said Overwinter, moving to stand by a window overlooking the blocks near the compound. “We also severed all the communication lines in the city, so we hope the Leader won’t be able to call in reinforcements until it’s too late.”

  “That gives us an opportunity to act decisively in this battle,” said Hiyadi.

  “It’s time,” said Overwinter, looking at his wrist computer, which beeped quietly but insistently.

  They packed up their gear and proceeded downstairs to the street. Their aides were waiting for them. They spent a few minutes going over the plan with them again, making sure everyone knew their part.

  Nomad and Danik went with their teams. Hiyadi took position on the roof of a nearby building overlooking the barricades with his snipers. Overwinter took position on the top of yet another building to oversee the battle. Del had been tasked to cover the rear of the compound and Hams was Nomad’s second-in-command. Hams was a battle-hardened soldier and leader. In the assault on the prison camp, he had held back a large portion of the camp’s defenders from flanking the main assault headed by Nomad. His team had been decimated, however, so Overwinter amalgamated the two teams and took command of the reserves himself.

  “This is really risky,” said Hams as he strode down the dark street beside Nomad.

  “I know,” replied Nomad, not looking at him.

  “You’re sure there’s no other way?” said Hams. Nomad stopped an
d faced him.

  “We came up with many different plans. None of them were as good as this one. You need to be in this with me,” said Nomad. “I need you for this to work, Hams.”

  “I’m with you,” replied Hams, stopping to look back at Nomad. “I just don’t want to see any more young people die tonight.”

  “If it were up to me, nobody’d die tonight,” said Nomad, resuming his walk. “We’ve lost too many good people already.” His thoughts turned to Telarch. He hoped his good friend was okay. He imagined they got Tel back to a nice warm bed somewhere and that he was resting and fighting with his nurses to return to the battle.

  Then his mind turned to little Yola and Jorune. He took a deep breath. Nevenember would know their names before he died. Nomad would see to that.

  They approached the final checkpoint in front of the barricades where their team was waiting. His team had swelled by at least double with all the recruits and the merger. Nomad looked them over. He could feel their nervousness and anxiety. He admitted to himself that he was a little worried about the next few hours.

  “Orders, sir?” said Hams, standing beside him.

  “We’re to split the group into three,” said Nomad, remembering his orders from Overwinter. “Hams, you’ll have Team Two. Danik, Team Three. I will lead Team One. We’ll move as one to attack and take the barricades with the support of Del in the rear of the compound and Hiyadi and his snipers in support from above. For now, get your teams ready, and we wait for the word from Del that he’s begun his assault.”

  Hams and Danik moved off to take charge of their teams, leaving Nomad with his radio operator.

  “What’s your name?” Nomad said to the young man.

  “Poms,” replied the nervous youngster. “Sir,” he added.

  “Never mind the sir stuff,” said Nomad. “And relax, Poms. Just pay attention and get ready to use that radio.”

  “Okay, sir. Sorry. Okay.”

  With Poms in tow, Nomad walked over to where his team was milling about, near a pile of debris from a nearby collapsed building.

  He spoke to them about their mission and its importance, wished them all good luck, and dismissed them. Soon after, they were on their way toward the barricade, silently moving in the dark of early evening toward death and possible retribution.

  The forward elements of Nomad’s team reached the edge of the last street crossing in front of the barricade and took positions among the remaining buildings and rubble in the streets.

  A few shots were fired from the top of the barricade, but nobody was hurt. Once they were in position, Nomad told Poms to radio the code to Hiyadi and his team. He could hear the distant crack and whirring noise of sniper rounds over his head.

  Hiyadi had a better vantage point from the rooftops, so Nomad couldn’t see what he was aiming at or whether he was actually hitting anyone on top of the barricade. He had to trust Hiyadi was helping keep the Leader’s men down, preventing them from effectively repelling their inevitable assault.

  “All clear,” crackled Hiyadi over the radio after a few minutes.

  “Team Two. Team Three. This is One. Begin,” said the voice of Overwinter over the radio. This was the signal for the other teams to begin their feints.

  There were sudden bursts of gunfire echoing through the dark, empty streets for blocks around them. Explosions thundered across the sky and reverberated through the hollow urban area, shaking loose glass from the windows that came crashing down around them.

  The twilight sky flashed with the light from distant explosions all around the complex. Del was told to make a good show using his demolitions skills, and he aimed to please. The spectacle reminded Nomad of a huge Fourth of July fireworks show -- one of those shows where the technicians focused the fireworks right above the heads of the onlookers just close enough to scare them, but not close enough to hurt anyone.

  Nomad checked his timer. It had been five minutes. It was time for the real assault to begin.

  “Okay, let’s go!” he shouted over the din of explosions and yelling. He could see Poms speaking into the radio, but even though he was standing a few feet away, Nomad couldn’t tell what he was saying over the cacophony echoing through the city.

  Poms looked at Nomad gravely and nodded. Nomad could see shadowy shapes detaching from their hiding spots and moving carefully toward the barricade.

  He saw shapes at the top of the barricade popping up just as the first of his team began scaling the hilled rubble. Just as quickly, they were shot and fell limp to the ground. Hiyadi was still protecting the ridgeline with deadly effect.

  The rubble was loose in places. Rebels were slipping and sliding on the piles of loose concrete, stone, and sand as they made their way up the hill.

  One more of the Leader’s men dared to pop his purple head over the cover, and a shot hit the debris just inches below his head. He quickly popped his head back down with a startled look. That one got lucky, thought Nomad.

  After several minutes of careful climbing, the vanguard of Nomad’s team reached the crest. That was when the real battle began.

  A wave of the Leader’s men crested the ridge with the intent of destroying this group of rebels. Two of them fell instantly from Hiyadi and his snipers. Nomad estimated there were about twenty of them left.

  Several of the enemies fell as they were shot from the rebels on this side of the ridge. A few of the enemy got off shots and hit several of Nomad’s team. Nomad was returning fire as best he could from his vantage point halfway down the barricade, but it was difficult to hit the enemy without hitting his own people.

  Nomad acquired sights on an enemy and time seemed to slow. He could feel his pulse pounding in his head, could hear the drumming of rifle fire and explosions all around him. The night had been pushed back somewhat by the light caused by this final battle. Explosions and gunfire lit up the barricade and surrounding buildings like a queer, flickering movie theatre from the old days.

  He could hear the screams of enemies and friends alike as their bodies were ruined by fizzling shrapnel and piercing projectiles flying through the air at incredible speeds. Tearing up bodies like pincushions.

  In that moment, Nomad’s resolve took over and he squeezed his rifle trigger. The rifle banged and jerked slightly as the projectile was launched at his target near the top of the ridge. When Nomad regained his sight picture, the man was gone. He had slumped over a large hunk of grey-brown concrete now stained with blood.

  Suddenly, the fighting stopped and his team took the ridgeline. They were cheering and some were firing into the air. Nomad scrambled to get up the remaining dozen or so feet to the top.

  When he got there, he saw bodies littering the top of the ridgeline. Most were enemies, but several were rebels.

  “Check our friends and send any wounded back down to the medics,” he barked at Hams, who was smiling. Hams nodded and began ordering some of the team to police the bodies.

  “Good work, everyone!” he yelled to everyone within earshot. “Now we take the compound!”

  “Sir, Overwinter is asking for a report,” said Poms loudly beside him.

  “What did I say about the sir, stuff, Poms?” he replied smiling at the young man.

  “Sorry, Nomad. I forgot. What should I tell him?”

  “Tell them we’ve taken the barricade, and we’re going into the compound grounds. Also tell Hiyadi that they can move forward to the ridgeline as planned.” Poms nodded and began keying in the mic.

  Nomad crested the ridgeline and looked down into the compound grounds. There were numerous bodies littering the rubble-strewn courtyard. It looked as though there were large cannons or guns of some kind that had been destroyed by large explosions and sat askew or on their sides in large blast pits, blackened and rendered useless.

  He looked across at the Leader’s compound itself and saw a lone figure standing on what looked like a balcony near the top of the structure, looking over the carnage below.

  It was Nevenembe
r. Nomad could feel it. He could sense cold waves of hatred and malice emanating from the Leader. For a moment, their eyes met, and suddenly, Nomad could feel, not so much see, a wispy black-grey cloud surrounding Nevenember. Nomad could see a faint reddish glow in his eyes.

  It was like looking through the window of a wood stove at the raging fire within. Pure contempt and anger flowed from Nevenember and Nomad could feel the rage bubbling out of the Leader like a perverse witch’s cauldron.

  Nomad knew at that moment that he faced an enemy possessing a power like his, but Nevenember used his power for his own sake, to rid himself of anyone who stood in his way.

  And the one person standing in Nevenember’s way was Nomad.

  27

  Nomad watched as the sky boiled into black, angry sackcloth, obscuring the faint stars. The wind began to howl like a pack of deranged wolves chasing their wounded and bloody quarry through the forest. Nomad could feel the malevolent power of Nevenember exerting his influence on the sky and wind around them.

  Then the clouds burst with a skull-fracturing boom as Nomad exerted his will. He took a deep breath first and closed his eyes, feeling the quiet of the dark sea. Its tranquil waves steadied his nerves and cleared his mind of all doubt and fear.

  Nomad would avoid calling on the black sky. He understood its power, but the devastation he had caused with it before still tugged at his heart and he couldn’t forget past mistakes at that decisive moment.

  Instead, he spoke to and listened to the part of the sky that was not black: the empty sky. Empty sky was serene, peaceful, and calm. Empty sky was quiet. Nomad had to listen very carefully to hear it. But it was there. It answered him clearly and peacefully.

  The black sky split in two. Then, an empty hole in the clouds began to form. Nomad could feel Nevenember’s presence in the black sky. His fury and strength assaulted the empty sky with the powerful blackness. For a moment, the black sky and empty sky whirled together in a seething mess of inky tendrils and star light.

  Nomad gently urged the empty sky to exert itself, exert its power for its own sake. Against the darkness, empty sky pushed back, disrupting those smoky-black tendrils of cloud threatening its existence. The emptiness grew.