Battle Cry

by Lara Lee Hunter

  She did have to leave the ship however; they all did. Foghorn did not want to put them out on the sand, but he had no choice although he waited to see if they would all die as soon as their feet hit the ground. When they didn’t he gave them a cheery wave and shouted, “Maybe one day I’ll get land legs, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

  They watched the boat sailing away, all of them staring after it. The trip to Olympus was over. It had not gone as they planned and now they were heading back to their homeland no better than they had been in the first place.

  They began the long and arduous trek toward the oasis, none of them speaking. It was Dax who finally broke the silence by saying, “Reena, I have a question for you.”

  Reena asked, “What is it?”

  He stared into the distance, at the shifting sands and the ever-present sky. The unpleasant birds circled overhead and the sun was already beating down on them so hotly that they knew they wouldn’t be able to travel much further that day.

  “Until you went to Olympus, could you have believed that such a place existed?”

  Reena said, “Of course not. How could I have imagined that it would have, I mean we’re told that we are the only place on earth left.

  Dax replied, “That is my whole point. That is what we are told. Have you ever wondered why?”

  Lucas said, “Because that is what everybody believes.”

  Lauren replied, “Or maybe not. Maybe Barkley deliberately made it seem as if we were the only place left on the planet so that nobody would go wandering.”

  Reena said, “That makes more sense. Do you know what Foghorn told me? He told me that there are many continents and that he has not yet had the bravery to stop at any of them, but he has seen people there. He also said that not long ago he saw a ship on the water that didn’t come from Olympus’ continent. He said it didn’t belong to any of the neighboring towns and cities on that continent either; it came from a continent far to the east. He wanted to see who was on the ship but the tide wasn’t right, and they were sailing in opposite directions so you never got to.”

  Lucas said, “Foghorn is something of a teller of tall tales.”

  Deal retorted, “That is true but he is also a hell of a sailor. He actually has been everywhere he says he’s been. Inside his cabin there are stones and shells from all over the place. Not just that continent, but all of them. The only reason he’s never stopped at our continent is because everybody knows that it’s dead, that the nuclear warheads destroyed it completely and that it’s never been able to grow back.”

  Curious Reena asked, “What is a nuclear warhead?”

  Deal said, “I don’t really know. I just hear people talking about them. It was some kind of weapon that the old ones had in the Great War. It’s what destroyed the earth. That and something that had to do with hydrogen. They had magicians back then who could make things that would blow up entire cities, leave the buildings, but just wipe out the people.”

  Lucas said, “You should not have climb so high up into the rigging and up on the mast Deal. The sun has baked your brain. Otherwise why would you be so willing to believe such tall tales.”

  “Because they are true!” Deal shot him a filthy look. “It seems like my whole life I’ve been listening to the same stories and nobody ever told me to question them, but the minute we started questioning them, we found out that none of them were true. I mean think about it: a few months ago would you ever have believed that Barkley was anything besides a hero? Of course not, because that’s what you were always told.

  “If it can be true that Barkley crossed the desert and created the city of Aretula, then why can’t it be true that the city was destroyed by people just as cruel and vicious? That only makes sense.”

  Oaks said, “The boy has a point.”

  Everyone fell silent. Nobody had spoken to Oak about his decision to stay with the tribe despite it being obvious that he could stay in Olympus and have a good life there. Reena knew she should say something to him, tell him that his valor was appreciated and that she knew how hard his decision was, but she didn’t know how to say it. She was fairly certain that nobody did.

  “I saw a Leviathan.” Reena blushed when everyone turned to look at her. “It’s true! It was huge, bigger than the boat even. I thought I was going to die.”

  Deal said, “I saw it too. I also saw her trying to run away from it. She landed right on her bottom in the middle of the boat deck.”

  The tribe all began to laugh, the laughter easing the tension. It was a good thing that the tension was eased because they had a long way to go and they all knew it.

  **

  They made it back to the oasis safely and soundly and Damien met them there at the outer ring. He guided them inside without asking questions for which Reena was grateful. It was only after a huge and very welcome communal dinner that he took her to one side and began to ask her questions.

  Reena was slightly angry with them as she asked, “Did you know about the water? Did you know about the sea?”

  Damien chuckled. “Of course I did. I’ve seen it many times. It’s vast and huge and slightly frightening, it’s also entirely undrinkable, which is slightly ironic isn’t it? Surrounded by water but nothing to drink.”

  Reena said, “I’m glad you find it amusing. What would’ve happened if no ships had come along?”

  Damien waved a hand. “Oh, ships always come along. How was Olympus?”

  She studied his face. “Have you ever been?”

  “No, I see no reason to go. This is my homeland. This is my people’s land. We were here long before Barkley, long before your homeland and long before your city. My people were here before the city was even built the first time, did you know that?”

  Reena said, “No. I didn’t.”

  Damien said, “It’s true. This land, the sand and dust in this oasis — it runs through my veins. It’s where I belong. I would never leave here.”

  Reena looked down at the ground below her. “I used to feel the same way about the woods and I think in a way it is still home, will always be home, but now that I’ve left it, I’m wondering… Is that really my home? I suppose I am being disloyal.”

  Damien said, “No — not at all. You are not being at all disloyal. You have every right to wonder where your home is.”

  “My home is supposed to be where I grew up.”

  Damien said. “You might be surprised where you come from Reena. Just because you live in a place does not mean that that is where you started out.”

  Reena said, “would you believe that they actually thought Oak was the child that the ruler of Olympus had had stolen from her a long time ago?” Damien did not look surprised by that news.

  The women who had stayed with the nomads all seemed to be in good health and to be happy. Reena was happy for them, and in the short time since she had left them with the nomads they had blossomed. She had never realized before how tired most of the women who were Outlaws were. The strain of always being on the run, always being afraid took its toll and now they were relaxed enough to enjoy their lives in a way that they never would’ve been able to in the woods.

  Later that night she ran into one of the women dipping water from the oasis well and she asked, “Are you truly happy here? I mean the oasis is beautiful, but outside there is nothing but sand and wind.”

  The woman to whom she was speaking tilted the pitcher that she was fetching water in towards Reena’s mouth and gave her a long cold drink. “Outside of any place that is home there is usually nothing more than desolation. I would rather be surrounded by desolation and live free and some small amount of beauty than live in beauty that is never really free.”

  That took Reena completely by surprise. “But the point of being an Outlaw is to be free.”

  “When did you ever feel free?”

  The challenge was one that Reena could not answer. When had she ever felt free? Did she even know what freedom was? Those were all questions that she could not a
nswer at the moment.

  Chapter 9

  The weary tribe reached the woods that they called home finally after months of travel. They stood there, none of them speaking. There was nothing to say. And some small part of themselves had known that this would happen. The woods were almost totally gone, burned to the ground. Smoke rose above what was left of the trees and there were bodies hanging there as a warning to other outlaws, dangling from cracked and charred limbs of once magnificent trees.

  With most of the trees gone the caves were visible. They had all been toppled over. The Governor must have had hundreds of men out there with heavy hammers and chattels because most of the rock faces had been desecrated and destroyed. Looking toward the sacred caves Reena felt her heart give a powerful and terrifying squeeze. The cave was also gone, they had destroyed something so sacred and they had not even cared!

  Beside her Lauren began to cry softly. Lucas wrapped his arms around her and rocked her like a child, his hands stroking her hair. He hushed her, but her sobs did not quiet or lesson, and nobody told her that they should. Their home was gone, destroyed beyond repair. It may never grow back again and they knew it.

  Deal’s eyes were surrounded by rings of white caused by the shock. He stared at the destruction and then back at the other members of the tribe, his head going back and forth between the two in an almost comedic gesture. Finally he said, “How could they have done that? Why would they have done that?”

  Reena said, “The Governor… He has gone even more mad than he ever was. He had to have ordered this; we have existed in the woods for hundreds of years, outside the rule of the city. No Governor has ever issued such an edict. Nobody has ever ordered the woods destroyed.”

  Deal began to cry. He was such a brave youngster and so tall and straight that most the time Reena forgot that he was so young, but at that moment she saw him as he was, an eleven-year-old boy who was too thin and knew far too much about the world already at his tender age. He rocked back and forth, the knobs of his spine sticking up through his skin and the heartbreakingly frail blades of his shoulders moving in and out with each horse and unrelenting sob.

  They all grieved. Even Lucas wept for not just the woods but for those who would have been trapped within them. Everywhere they looked they saw the carcasses of animals and people. They had been caught in the fire; either they had died from the smoke or the fire had overtaken and burnt them. Either way it was a terrible way to die, and nobody deserved it. Those unfortunate souls that had been caught and hanged before the fire had been touched by the fire after their hanging. Most of the ropes were already burned most of the way through, but still they hacked through them and released the bodies to the ground.

  There was no way to bury all of the dead. The best they could do was to light more fires and let that fire consume what was left of the bodies, and to say prayers as they did so.

  It was Oak who asked the question, “Where will we go now?”

  Reena looked up at them, her face streaked with dust and ash cut through by the tracks of her tears. When she smiled her teeth were a white flash in the blackness that marred her skin. “Now we go to the city. We bring the war to the Governor.”

  She had thought that somebody would tell her she was insane and that that was not possible. That they had lost their bid to bring in others from Olympus and were greatly outnumbered.

  There was death all around them. The scent and sight of it was everywhere. This was what had come of the centuries of ignoring the horrors that were being doen, of being silent in the face of tyranny.. The sight of the dead, the animals and humans alike, the burning trees, the trees that had been their homes and their shelter in their life, the smell of burning flesh and burning wood, burning grass, all of it. It was a desecration, not just of the caves. Not just of the woods, but of them, of their forefathers and their lives and they were not going to stand for it. Not anymore.

  Deal stood and dusted off his narrow behind. “I get first dibs on the Governor.”

  Lucas said, “Son, you got to stand in line for that one.”

  Lauren asked, “When will we start towards the city?” Reena said, “we start now.”

  **

  They came into the city as dusk was setting. The guards in the gate had grown lax, but it would not have mattered if they had simply allowed the tribe in. All of them were angry and all of them wanted retribution. The soldiers at the gates were the first to die. Reena took out the first one, Lucas took out a second, and soon there was a battle going on. The citizens who had been walking through the gate when the tribe approached turned and saw what was happening and fled. They had no idea who was coming through the gates and they did not care, all they wanted to do was get to safety.

  That suited Reena; she had no intention of hurting anybody she didn’t have to hurt but nobody — nobody — was going to stand between her and the Governor.

  Soldiers hurtled towards them and she saw Praxis in their midst. She raised her sword and ran at them, forgetting for a moment that this was the boy that she loved… The fact that she did love him had barely time to register before she was flying across the ground that separated them, her sword already swinging. She saw Praxis draw his own sword and he cut down the soldier beside him, the soldier that would’ve buried his own sword within her as she took on the soldier to the right of Praxis.

  Praxis shouted, “What are you doing?”

  “I am starting a war,” Reena shouted back

  Praxis said, “Well thank you for the warning.” And then they began to battle the soldiers that were attempting to murder them.

  Blood flew and horses whinnied and ran. Their hooves struck sparks from the stone and all around them the citizens of the city fled and attempted to find shelter. Or at least, most of them did. Some of them actually joined into the fray; Reena saw a woman using a pitcher, broken into shards to beat a soldier who was fighting another man.

  As more citizens saw other citizens fighting the soldiers, they grew braver and suddenly began to join in as well. It was contagious. Reena had never known just how much resentment and hatred there was of the soldiers. Praxis had however, and he quickly shed his uniform, standing there in nothing but a leather kilt and his bare chest, fighting viciously against two soldiers who were attempting to attack him.

  She jumped in, slicing through the arm of one soldier neatly just as he attempted to run Praxis through with his sword. The smooth stink of blood rose high in the air and the screams and cries all around her were so horrific that she just blocked them out. There was nothing else she could do. She had planned this fight, had never wanted this fight, but it was here and it was happening and there was nothing she could do to stop it now. All she could do was try to save those that she loved and to try to rid the world of the evil that it didn’t deserve to have upon it.

  A window in a house that overlooked the street flew up and Praxis grabbed Reena and rolled with her to one side just in time to avoid a stream of boiling hot oil that was being poured out of that window. Reena looked up but Praxis said, “Don’t. They don’t care or know who they are fighting at this point. They only know that they want to kill somebody. Stay away from there.”

  Looking around she could see he was right; many of the citizens had turned on each other and were fighting each other now. They were also attacking members of the tribe and the soldiers indiscriminately. It seemed that they were simply ready for a fight and now that they had one, they were not about to give it up.

  “Where is my father?”

  Praxis said, “I will take you to him; come on.”

  She followed him through the blood slick streets, ducking to avoid more oil being poured out of windows and pots that were being hurled down into the fighting mob below. She could not see any of the members of her tribe anymore and terror filled her heart, had she gotten them all killed? She hoped not but if she had, there was nothing she could do about it now. The fight had begun.

  Liam was being held that week in a small cel
l several feet below street level. They managed to get to it and because Praxis was a soldier who was known to the men in charge, he had no trouble convincing them to open the cell without spilling their blood, until the alarm sounded and they looked up into the street to see the fight spilling down it.

  The riot had grown larger, and more and more people were joining in. Praxis had no sooner opened the door to Liam’s cell then the mob began to hurtle down the stairs into the jail. One man, obviously in a frenzy stabbed the guard that had looked out the window before he could do anything except turn to Praxis with an accusatory glare on his face.

  Liam said, “I think we had better run if we are going to get out of here. There is another way out, up those stairs. If the mob has blocked that way, it may be our only chance.”

  Reena didn’t even have time to tell her father how happy she was to see him. He gripped her hand tightly though, his fingers squeezing hers as they ran. She knew that he was telling her all those things wordlessly, and that he knew exactly how she felt. Tears blurred her vision but she blinked them back; now was not the time to let her emotions get the best of her. Death was waiting around every single corner.

  She had no idea how things a gotten so out of hand; this is not what she had planned it all. She had not planned anything; she somehow just assumed that she could walk right into the city to the Governor without ever having to deal with all the rest of this.

  So much for that brilliant plan.

  They made it outside but the streets were filled with fighting and screaming people. Not all of them were fighting, a lot of them were simply cheering the fighting on or throwing things. Other people were looting the shops, and as they watched one man actually ripped the jeweled curtains from a litter, leaving the noble woman who was lying inside it bared to their sight. The woman, whose guards had dropped the litter and ran when they saw the mob coming, was yanked from the conveyance, her robes glittering before she vanished beneath the mob.

  Reena shouted, “We have to help her!”