Alex stood facing south, waiting to catch a glimpse of the third and final beacon, the destruction of the southern pillar. Dazed he saw small explosions flash in the night as though they were celebrating their impending destruction when he saw in the distance a great eruption in the sky and an object slowly fall to the right, towards the blackness it came from. Over his shoulder a voice summoned.
“Alex, you see that? I think something took that bird out. Do you know of anything from the army down near the southern pillar? Nothing should be that far south.”
Alex kicked around a few rocks and looked at the burning rubble. “I wasn’t given any information about a southern advancement towards Mispellem. As far as I knew, there was no southern concern do to the desert climate. It has always said to be too taxing for civilized people and technology. The sand and the rocky terrain always proved difficult for people to live in. My dad said, that’s why the major cities only have trains that go out there via tunnel.”
“Well something is down that way, what do you think we should do?”
He knew Elijah could tell what he was thinking. “Tyranny is dead. Run and proclaim it in the streets.” Alex looked into his friend’s eyes that were anxiously awaiting his orders.
“Let’s leave three or four boats here, and have the rest of the fleet sail around the far side of the island while we take a direct course south. That way, in case we come under attack, the rest of the ships can be ready for support the moment they get into range and aren’t surprised and scrambling.”
“I’ll radio the boat and have all hands and search parties return to the ships.”
Alex nodded and his friend made the call. A moment later, the sirens sounded calling the sailors back to the vessels. The time of reverence had come to an end. A new world order would come from the rubble, and Alex knew he would help shape it. He knew it would be a difficult task, his opponent simply whipped out the very thought of democracy. Once the rumor had spread, the two countries, learned, would plummet into complete anarchy, no government, and no talks of peace, just a world where anything was possible. He picked up a smooth rock and turned it over in his hands wondering if he should let everyone know about the extent of what happened here, the secrecy of the world hiding among the graves of graves of men and when the world would be ready for it. Standing he tossed the rock into the fires. One day he thought, one day the truth will come out, and he will tell the world what happened and that day he will call for reverence once again, to honor the days that so many died for.
It wasn’t known to anyone who stood there, trembling in the wake and accompanying, stinging stench of sulfur and blood, what this entire conflict was truly about. At no time were their terms sent from the MLM for negotiation, only senators pleading to the people not to join the fray, pleadings that were acknowledged in at the dinner table and ignored in the basements and hallows of taverns.
Alex quietly reflected in his chair, as he watched the men on the bridge move frantically going about their duties. It was obvious to those caring enough to watch that as a whole they were uneasy, and at the breaking point, like figures of frail glass that would shatter to the touch; shatter as the pillar had. The frailty of the world was no longer just a thought in the back of everyone’s mind, it had pillaged its way to the forefront. The ides of war ebbed the small rough stones of hope from shore and vomited back terror, smooth and refined.
As they got closer to the once far off horizon Alex could see what appeared to be a blockade, stretching across the width of the straight. He turned to Eli.
“Sound general courters and radio to the engine room to slow to 30% thrust.”
Eli nodded and repeated the orders over the loud speaker. The ship crawled forward. Alex grabbed a pair of binoculars and watched the line to see if there was any movement. Moment by moment he could see what was blocking their way. Dumbfounded, his memory took him back to earlier in the year while school was still in session. He postulated to his classmates in the mess hall that the best way to control the straight, should martial law ever be necessary, was to place artillery on floating rafts. It was something only a few people sat and listened to that night however only one of them supported his idea. A half-mile from the blockade Alex made the call.
“I think we’re close enough, Eli. Call for an all stop and form up the fleet. Tadpole, open a wide channel and put any incoming transmission on the bridge speaker for me”
Elijah parroted the orders and Tadpole flipped the switch. All ships confirmed the stop and everyone sat waiting. Not a minute had gone by before there was contact.
“Al, if that’s you, that boat really isn’t your style.” The voice was familiar to Alex and he smiled before responding.
“Commander, if your intentions are non-hostile please turn your artillery to face the south and take a small vessel to meet me on the Vanahei beach, within the hour.”
Laughter could be heard over the channel. The blockade began to turn their guns just as the voice came back over. “Let’s make it an early lunch today Al, how about the next 20 minutes?”
“20 minutes, copy that.” Alex turned to the men on the bridge. “Tadpole, Eli, with me. We need to take a landing craft to that beach.”
“Alex, who the hell are we talking to?” Elijah said following him out the door.
Davis echoed the caution. “Sir, I’m not sure about this, that was one of our signals, but it had a different source than our new radios.”
“You two don’t be so worried this time. I recognize the voice and obviously they know I am here. If a battle were to break out, I have a special ops team with me and we outnumber their guns. At worst we capture the commander and have a few holes in a ship.”
As the skiff slid up onto the shore there an owl, perched on a piece of driftwood, greeted the explorers with a screech. Alex turned to address his men. “I know the guy that is in charge here, trust me that for now I won’t need you guys to follow, but keep the boat running and Eli, find a clear shot at the other solders just in case. I don’t think anything will happen but you never know.”
Elijah nodded and shook his friends hand as he left the boat. Alex stood by the boat a minute to make sure the voice was who he remembered it was. A small craft pulled up a hundred yards away from his present location and a familiar face jumped out; it truly was Ryan. They walked towards one another with their arms in the air and the closer they got the laughter and smiles were unmistakable, they were happy to know the other was alive. They met nearly halfway between where each boat had made port, Alex could tell there were only two or three men on Ryan’s craft and knew there was nothing to be afraid of. They shook hands, hugged and after a long embrace, Alex spoke. “What happened to you?”
Ryan pointed to his neck, ghastly scars stuck out from his skin. “They captured me Alex. The day of the invasion, the boat floated down river about halfway to where the pantheon was. We were sticking to the Mispellem coast line because we were unsure of who was attacking and figured it would be better to do that than attempt to cross into Vanahei and be slaughtered getting off the boat. Since we still were unsure as to who was causing the attack. We came across a bend in the straight and came into contact with what we thought was a shipping vessel. It signaled for us to come close, put a white flag out on the bowl yelling that they were in distress. We moved our boat adjacent to theirs and asked what was happening. They asked where we were out of and where we were heading; I improvised and said we were a special transport heading on an aid mission to the DMZ to supply medicine and food. They had stated they had found a person in the water earlier that day; he was unconscious and asked if we could take him with us. I grabbed one of the civilians, who said he was a doctor and we made our way onto the ship to take a look at the unconscious man they took us quickly below deck and to a room where they stated the man was. When we opened the door, they pushed the doctor into the room and grabbed my arms restrained me with handcuffs and took me further down the hallway. When we were passing by a doorway,
I dropped to my knees and tripped the two men escorting me. Quickly I bolted for the doorway and got my hands back in front of me, I ran up to where we were docked with the transport and yelled for the boat to keep heading south and not to stop until they reached the DMZ.
“I felt something hit me in the back of the head right after the boat separated. The next thing I remember was waking up to a splash of cold water. My arms were above me, and it didn’t take me long to realize I was hanging by the handcuffs. A mix of blood and water started to run down my face and into my eyes and mouth. They beat me a few times before they started interrogating me. They asked me who I was, what my mission was, how I knew about the invasion. They wanted to know everything about me even how I received the scratches on my arms. They beat me up again and left me for who knows how long. Eventually they came back in and put a bag over my head and dragged me by the handcuffs. They tied me back up and took the bag off my head. I was outside, hanging once again as the sun beat down on me for hours, burning my skin. They brought me back inside at sunset. Putting a bag back over my head, the burlap scratched and rubbed up against my burnt skin. Every moment they pushed me forward, their hands felt like hot coals against my sink and it hurt terribly. In time, they ushered me back into the room they were holding me and hung me up by the handcuffs once again, leaving me there with the bag still over my head. A slow dripping noise came from below me, I could only imagine it was blood from the cuts on my wrists. I tried to keep the time with the drops like a metronome, but I passed out form the pain once again. They woke me like they did the first time with the cold water. It actually felt great, my skin was able to cool down a bit, until the torture continued.”
“The first crack made me howl like a wolf at the moon. A stick or switch of some kind had hit me so fast, and the pain so terrible, the nerves in my body couldn’t tell when the next impact was. I could only hear it slice through the air in anticipation. Next thing I can remember is hearing the sound of a metal chair or stool of some kind being drug across the floor with an awful screeching sound, which came to a stop directly behind me. Heavy boots echoed their steps as somebody climbed to its top and took the bag off my head. He moved his arm forward and showed me a two-foot length of barbed wire, asking me one last time for information. I couldn’t bring myself to mutter a word and they placed the bag over my head once again. The bite of the wire along my throat made me scream loud as the tears welled up. I guessed I would never make it out of that room alive. He moved it back and forth a few times readjusting his grip as I struggled and screamed from the pain.”
“After that I woke up in a bed where these people had been taken care of me for a few weeks after they had plucked me from the river. I guessed that whoever captured me, though I died after I had blacked out from the pain and just threw me overboard. I had a weak pulse when I was found and they weren’t even sure if I’d survive the night.”
The blank expression Alex had on his face made his friend smile. “I’m so sorry Ryan, You were the unit commander and I should have been listening to you for the orders instead of giving them, I should have gone with the civilian’s inst-.”
“Stop right there. We made a decision Al, I knew you had the best shot at staying behind and holding them back. No one else can make the kind of shots you can, and so far through this thing, we’re both still alive. But now, with these scars on my neck, I’m just as ugly as you are.”
Alex chuckled. “Was there any sign of the civilians after you were taken hostage?”
“I checked the banks on both sides of the straight, and near the DMZ, It had been nearly two weeks though by the time I was strong enough to look. This group had captured these artillery cannons from the MLM as they tried crossing the southern pillar a few days after word had spread about the war. They waited for them to cross the bridge, and then slowly advanced on both ends blockading them in and taking them out one by one. I told them of your idea with placing one cannon per boat and have a mobile battery and control the straight and the southern pillar. We didn’t want them crossing into the DMZ and taking the island killing more people.
“Well I do have to say, I like how you took my idea in making a cannon battery. Remember how many people thought I was crazy?”
Ryan reached into his pocket and tossed a small object towards Alex. “It worked beautifully. I guess it was a good thing I gave you so much shit about that book on the bus huh? Otherwise you may have never given that too me.”
Alex looked in his hands to see the tiny notebook that he had written so many ideas down in. flipping through he saw the small sketches and drawings. Several of them had been booked marked, ideas, which Ryan thought may help, and the most vivid one was the floatable battery down stream from where they stood. He smiled and tossed the book back to his friend.
“Not sure I need that anymore, you said it yourself all of those ideas are locked and stored somewhere in my head.”
Ryan pointed to the large boats behind his friend and laughed. “I can see that.” Sticking the book back into his pocket, he continued briefing Alex. “We also lucked out that all their efforts have been focused on the taking of Anderhill that they have only set up a small blockade of the southern highways a few miles in on the Mispelliem side and currently have no interest in advancement into Vanahei. We’ve tired patrolling all the way up to the pantheon, but it’s just too far without the aid of ground troops since these guys aren’t part of the NVA.”
“I have one question Ryan. How did you know we were friendlies and not to open fire. I mean look what happened last time.”
“The radio transmission you sent. We snagged one off of a dead MLM a few days ago. I have it on a scan to pick up all frequencies. We heard your message come through about the bombing run and sailed north as quickly as we could and took out the bird. Just weren’t fast enough to get there before the bombs fell.”
“Command briefed me in a mission dossier that the new radio’s we had, were encrypted differently and didn’t broadcast on the open channels anymore.”
“So they would have had to get the encryption codes and installed them on the radios for us to hear you. Al-”.
“Tillery was the General I was to capture on my mission, he was a double agent actually in the loop for us. Which means, he either couldn’t find or didn’t know there was a mole inside command.”
“Alex, come quick!” Elijah shouted from the boat. “Something’s happened, it’s broadcasting on all of our emergency channels.”
Before Alex could open his mouth, Ryan was already running towards the skiff. Alex followed quickly and jumped on board. Tadpole took the headphones out of the jack and let the message already in progress continue.
“…we have been hit. It is unknown as to what, but there are only a few of us alive. Again I repeat this is Communications Specialist Thom Petersen, broadcasting only on the EAM frequency. NVA Command has been destroyed. All forward locations hold and do not advance. Wait for instructions. Any commander in route, your assistance is requested ASAP. Repeat, we have been hit…”
He looked out over the slowly blackening water, and wondered if would he find any survivors at HQ when he reached it. Would the world survive this conflict, or would it burn itself to the ground, just to have one man prove to himself that he could rule over ash and soot?
The Owl, he saw just moments before, screeched breaking the unsure hold Alex had on his thoughts, and flew seaward in search of his prey.
Part III: Dies Irae
Listen children to a story that was written long ago
About a kingdom on a mountain and the valley folk below
On the mountain was a treasure buried deep beneath a stone
And the valley people swore they’d have it for their own
So the people of the valley sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure, tons of gold for which they'd kill
Came an answer from the kingdom "With our brothers we will share
All the secrets o
f our mountain, all the riches buried there
Now the Valley cried with anger "mount your horses, draw your swords"
And they killed the mountain people so they won their just reward
Now they stood beside the treasure on the mountain dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it: peace on earth was all it said.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and Cheat a friend
Do it in the name of Heaven
Justify it in the end
There wont be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away
- The Original Caste
Eli was able to locate the hatch crudely hidden among the rocks of a small fjord twenty miles north of the southern pillar. Shoals harbored the small inlet and its lack of camouflage was offset by its impassability. As the pool had no other special characteristics to hint any tactical advantage, someone would have to be directed precisely to find it. After contact was reestablished with HQ, the decision was made to scatter the fleet throughout the straight, distancing the vessels far enough apart where they could still look out for one another and provide support, yet create a curtain to hide the crippled Valhari from the enemy. Eli and Alex split away from one another, each taking a small TAC team with them. Eli headed for the fjord to get direct access into the main tunnel line and manually open one of the trap doors along the roads for Alex and his unit to deploy into, while HQ attempted to get the rest of their systems online.
It was risky for them, with no other way to monitor the labyrinth of tunnels that lay beneath the massive continent, but to assess the damage they agreed that it was better to try and may their way back to command starting from the furthest entrances and working back towards the center, regardless of the time it may take.
Pillars of Glass Page 21