“Hey! So, there’s food?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think its pork and beans or something.”
“Doesn’t matter to me. I’m starving. So how did it go with the medical screening?”
The person behind Ethan, a middle-aged man, dressed as if his style hadn’t changed since 1992 said, “Hey, no cutting. You have to wait like everyone else.” Madison glared at the man for interrupting her, but Ethan excused them and joined Madison at the back of the line, the redheaded girl following.
Then Ethan answered her question, “It was fine. I don’t think they know anything. Or, at least, I don’t think they are saying anything.”
“Yeah, I got the same idea. They were still questioning Andrew when we got done.”
Ethan sighed. “I wish he wouldn’t talk so much sometimes. I mean, I don’t think he’s a bad guy. But he doesn’t trust anyone, and so no one trusts him.”
“Hopefully they will let him in.”
Ethan looked around the camp while they waited in line. He thought that there might be a hundred civilians in the camp and a few dozen soldiers. But there was room for more.
There were more tents than people, and he wondered if he could get his own or if he would have to share with someone. He wondered if he could share a tent with Madison. He wondered where the redheaded girl would sleep and hoped she would stay away now that they were in the safety of the stadium.
After a few moments, Andrew approached the mess area and waved half-heartedly when he saw them. He got in the back of the line, and Ethan suggested that they join him, though his stomach grumbled against delaying food again.
“What took so long?” Ethan asked.
Andrew answered rather quietly, “They were just being dicks about this.” He held up his left wrist dangling handcuffs. “They were just asking me all about it. I told them my story, but I don’t think they believed me.”
“Well, they believed you enough to let you in.”
“What about you, guys? Did they ask you anything weird?”
“Weird? Like what?”
“About each other. You know, did they ask you about the other people you came with?”
Ethan looked puzzled.
Madison answered, “Yeah. Yeah, they did.” Looking at Ethan. “Didn’t they ask you about us?”
“No. It was just a bunch of usual questions like what medications I’m taking and stuff like that.”
Madison replied, “It started out like that, too. But then she started asking me questions about you.”
Ethan looked puzzled again. “Me? What about me?”
Madison took a breath and a few steps forward as the line moved. “How long have I known you? Where are you from? Have you showed any unusual signs of violence. She asked me if you did this.” Her fingers touched her broken lip.
Ethan was too shocked to respond before Andrew continued, “Yeah, same with me. Except they didn’t even ask me any questions about my medical history. It was all about you. Have I seen you kill anyone? How many? Did he seem to enjoy it? Was I afraid to be in his company? Stuff like that.”
Ethan’s mouth hung open as he looked back and forth between them. His mind went into two questions. First, trying to figure out why anyone would be particularly interested in him. And second, “What did you tell them?”
They both looked sheepish and paused as they stepped further along in the line. Madison was first to respond, “Well, I mean I told them that I don’t really know you. But I don’t really know anyone right? This whole thing only started a few days ago, and we’re all separated from the people we know.”
Andrew continued, “And, yeah, you’ve killed some people. But it was only in self-defense. Well, except for that guy at the store. But that was understandable, too.” Andrew glanced at Madison searching for agreement.
Madison nodded. “Yeah, I mean, we’ve all had to fight to survive since all of this started.” She glanced at Andrew for confirmation.
Before the discussion could continue, they arrived at the server, who ladled out pork and beans with slices of hot dogs. Plastic bottles of water were available from a stack of cases off to the side.
There were not enough chairs to go around, so people sat on the ground and leaned back against the wall of the stadium or found their way into the seats and ate there. Ethan got his food and water and quietly went to sit to the side.
Madison and Andrew joined him, the redheaded girl following them. Madison reassured Ethan. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure they are asking everyone these kinds of questions. They don’t know anyone and it’s not like they can go online and run a background check on everyone who comes here.”
“They didn’t ask me any questions like that. And they didn’t ask you questions about Andrew or her.” Ethan pointed his plastic spoon at the redheaded girl. “I mean, we don’t really know anything about her at all. We don’t even know her name.”
If the redheaded girl heard Ethan, then she showed no signs. She looked down into her plate of pork and beans and just ate quietly, one spoonful at a time.
Madison looked to Ethan. “Well, that’s not fair. Consider what she went through. Of course, she isn’t going to open up to us. She needs time to recover. She was alone with those monsters with no one to take care of her.” Her face showed her disapproval of him even suggesting that there was anything wrong with the girl.
Andrew said, “Yeah, you’re right that we don’t know anything about her, but that doesn’t mean anything bad. She might be deaf and unable to hear or speak.”
Ethan continued to eat. They were right. He shouldn’t try to deflect to the girl. But they didn’t know anything about her. And he didn’t like the look on her face at times.
He wondered why no one else noticed. He wanted to ask them if they had seen how she looked at people sometimes, but he could tell that they wouldn’t think well of any more questions about her.
By the time they were done eating, the sun had truly set. The stadium was a strange tangle of lights and shadows from the few spotlights the military had set up. Ethan could hear the roar of the diesel generator from the other side of the football field.
The stadium lights required too much power, so they were kept off. Large garbage cans were overflowing with piles of used paper plates, plastic spoons, and empty water bottles. Ethan wondered what was going to happen to the garbage with no trucks to haul it all away.
The four of them found empty tents to use. Ethan and Andrew found an unclaimed tent, a large dark blue family tent that looked like it was taken from a sporting goods store.
Inside, someone had thrown in a couple of cheap sleeping bags, probably from the same store. Madison and the girl went into an unclaimed tent across from them. Ethan wished they had stayed together. Really, he wished that he could stay with Madison.
He and Andrew crawled inside their sleeping bags. Andrew fell asleep almost as soon as he laid down. Ethan laid there for a little longer. He became concerned and curious about why the military nurse was asking so many questions about him.
He replayed his interaction with her in the medical tent and couldn’t think of anything out of the ordinary. He wondered if he shouldn’t have asked about Austin. What would be wrong with asking about what is happening in Austin?
He was sure that many people were asking about information about home. Maybe something is happening there that they are investigating. But he wasn’t in Austin when all of this started.
He took out his phone from his pocket and turned it on under the cover of the sleeping bag so he wouldn’t wake Andrew. There were no new messages. He listened to the messages from his mother.
Please, come home, sweetie.
Get your lazy ass home, right now!
Though some of her words were harsh, he still liked to hear the sound of her voice. It was normal. It was home. Even the slur in her voice and her demanding tone felt familiar and comfortable.
Exhaustion claimed Ethan, and he slipped into sleep before he rememb
ered to turn off the phone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Ethan stalked through the palace gardens. The half-moon hung high in the cool night sky illuminating his path. The lush vegetation masked his movements from the guards that stood watch near braziers that lit up the steps into the palace.
A cool breeze moved through the gardens carrying the heavy scents of the Euphrates. The gentle wind brushed through the bushes and trees, which further shielded him from the eyes of the watchful guards.
He had trained for years for just this one night. Days and nights and lives were spent for him to be at this moment. He looked up at the stars. The Red Warrior hung between the Great Bull and the Hunter. A good omen. His prey would fall tonight. His people would be free.
He squatted behind a long clay planter filled with exotic plants from the far south where the Undying Serpent Gods ruled beyond question. He watched and waited for one of the guards to look away. His moment came when the guard turned toward the wall and lifted his tunic to relieve himself. Like a cat springing on its quarry, Ethan leaped and ran to the darken spot near the palace wall where the light of the braziers did not reach.
He watched the guard begin his walk around the circumference of the wall that surrounded the palace gardens. Ethan turned back to the palace wall and climbed, his fingers and toes digging into the masonry until they bled. But Ethan did not notice. His only mission was to kill a god. He did not expect to live beyond that.
He climbed the wall past the window on the first floor and lifting himself to the wide-open balcony above. He hung there over the edge. His feet dangled while his strong hands held him still so his eyes could search the darkness for movement. The light of the moon showed him nothing, and so he pulled himself up and onto the balcony.
He waited for a moment, listening for passing guards. He knew that the god he hunted would not be awake at this hour. The cold night air lulled it into a deep slumber. Its limbs would not stir easily.
It would be helpless under Ethan’s blade. But the guards that served it would kill him or give up their own lives to protect it. Such was the power the god had over people.
Ethan stepped lightly into the wide hallway, his bare feet slipping silently on the stone floor. No light entered the hallway except for the moon through the windows. He would have no easy hiding places inside the palace. No vegetation to confuse guards. He glided from shadow to shadow. His only camouflage now was his linen shirt and pants, dyed black to match the night.
He moved down the hallway, searching for the door that led to the god’s inner chamber. Memorized from countless stories and descriptions from servants, who had traversed the inner sanctums, his path was clear to him. Garbage gleaned from stories, which produced treasure only when pieced together.
He came to the corner of the hallway that bent around to the innermost chambers where there were no windows. No means of entry except through the large bronze doors guarded by two of the most loyal guards. Ethan stood behind the corner, only his left eye peeking around so he could study his path ahead.
Torches set into sconces on the wall set a bright orange glow at the end of the hallway. The light glinted off two tall bronze doors covered with profane runes and symbols of the gods. A story played out on that door. A story of monsters older than the gods themselves ruling over a world before Enki, the Lord of the Earth, fashioned Man to serve the true gods.
Standing in front of the doors were two guards dressed in bright bronze armor and a helmet adorned with blue feathers marking them as the false god’s most loyal servants. Their eyes stared straight ahead, their hands holding long spears and tall shields.
Ethan slipped the knives from the cloth wrap around his waist. The knives were perfectly balanced for fighting and throwing. They were very costly gifts from ancient benefactors, who fought against the false gods since before the founding of the great cities of the twin rivers.
In one fluid motion, Ethan stepped from behind the corner and hurled both daggers at the guards. Each one found a home in the guard’s face. They both slumped down onto the ground. The clank of their metal armor and spears against the stone floor echoed in the empty hallway.
Ethan stepped back to the safety of the dark corner and waited. He listened for the sounds of a servant coming to the check on the guards or the alarm of one who saw him. But he heard no signs of detection and slipped back towards the two guards where they lay.
He retrieved the daggers from their skulls and wiped the blood off onto their dark blue tunics. Then he searched for the greatest secret within their pockets. The secret that kept the god safe from assassins such as himself. A magical token worn only by the most loyal guards and servants. He found it tucked deep inside a hidden pocket within the guard’s cloak.
A golden rod slightly longer than his hand tipped with a jewel of deep red. Its beauty caused him to pause. He held the jewel up to the torchlight where he saw flecks of metal inside floating gently like flowers in honey. He knew if he were to sell this arcane artifact, he would become a king in his own right.
But tonight, he would use it to open the last barrier between him and an ancient devil. He reached high up onto the door and lifted the lid of one of the eyes of the monstrous lizards adorning the tall bronze door. Behind the lid was a hole which just fit the golden rod. He slid the rod inside and felt the door vibrate ever so subtly like a cat purring. Then, he pulled one of the doors open.
Inside was a great chamber. Without windows, no moonlight could enter the chamber and pierce the cave-like darkness. Coals glowed inside a large bronze brazier set at the base of a polished black stone statue of the god itself on the other side of the room. The dim light provided the only light for Ethan to see, but it was enough.
It showed the god in its true form, not the handsome human figure that the masses adored and followed. It was a towering figure, with clawed fingers, fanged mouth, and a noseless face. Its eyes were set with yellow diamonds to match the false god’s true eyes.
Six stone pillars stood in regular succession from the door to the other side of the room. Carved into the polished granite of the pillars were more of the blasphemous runes of the god’s vile language. Ethan could not read the runes, but he did not care what they said. His focus was on his prey, lying on a bed of silks and furs.
In the cool night air, even inside this stone chamber, the god laid still and in his true form. Ethan closed the door quietly behind him, locking himself inside with the monster. There would be no escape for either of them. He crept forward lest it should awake though he knew that it would be at its most vulnerable at this time. He stood next to the bed and looked down at the true face of the god that had enslaved the souls of his people.
It laid on his back, covered up to his neck with the heavy, striped fur of a great predator from the east. The black skin of its hairless body shimmered in the flickering glow of the brazier. It had no nose, no ears, no lips. Its mouth was just a wide slit. Ethan gently and slowly pulled the fur down to expose the monster’s chest, showed no signs of humanity. No hair, no nipples, just shimmering black skin.
Ethan held his daggers in his hands and held them high over the sleeping devil. He felt his heart pounding in anticipation of the momentous act he was about to commit. He slammed both daggers down into the monster’s chest. Its eyes opened wide revealing the amber orbs and black slits which narrowed in hatred as it looked up at him.
Ethan twisted the daggers inside the god’s chest and felt its ribs cracking apart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Ethan woke with a start.
The sound of cracking bones shifting suddenly to the sound of a diesel engine starting. Normally, the sound would have faded into the background of the cacophony of noises generated in the modern world. But in this new world, every engine starting sounded like lightning crashing in the sky.
He looked over at Andrew who was still asleep inside the cheap gray sleeping bag, only a few tufts of his long blond hair were visible in the dim glow o
f the tent.
The dream was already starting to fade from Ethan’s mind. Something about stone and darkness. A dark god? Daggers. But whose daggers? His or someone else’s? The only image that stayed strong was of massive bronze doors carved with ancient monsters.
Somehow, he knew that what lay behind those doors was a key to understanding what was happening in the world. A key? That seemed important, too.
He rolled over and found his phone. He quietly cursed himself when he saw that the battery had died. He wondered if there was someplace he could plug it in again. Unfortunately, the charger rested next to a bed in a fire station miles from him.
He slipped out of the sleeping bag and quietly stepped out of the tent after putting on his shoes. He didn’t want to go barefoot again unless he had to.
The sky was shifting from the dark and light blues of night and into the soft reds and yellows of morning. He could see his breath in the cool air of the spring morning. The sun had not quite risen, and most of the camp was still asleep.
The only people moving were some of the soldiers who were at their end of the stadium, eating hot MREs, which caused Ethan’s stomach to growl. The pork and beans from last night didn’t last long.
He looked at the tent across from his, Madison’s tent. He leaned closer to listen and heard the unmistakable sound of the polyester sleeping bag rustling as someone rolled over inside.
He wondered if it was Madison or the girl. He became very concerned about Madison being with that girl. He trusted the redheaded girl even less this morning and resolved to talk to Madison about it.
With everyone else still asleep, Ethan decided to go and talk to the soldiers. He quietly walked past the rows of tents. Some were silent and empty, and some gave the sounds of people sleeping inside. Dew collected on the tents and the grass of the football field which had become the home of dozens of people.
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