FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE

by S. K. Ng

  The jaws of the Swerrell brothers fell wide open. The crudeness of Deputy Governor Greel’s tactic was shocking! There were no warnings! He just took the most forceful and punitive action possible! He just wanted to evict the storm-struck farmers and sell their land to unsuspecting, new farmers from some other province! Truly, there was no compassion in Greel, only ruthless victimisation!

  Root went in to pack, but Bud grabbed him by the arm and stopped him. Root turned around and looked at his younger brother. He knew what Bud was going to say.

  “You do realise, we haven’t spent even a single a night in this house that took the both of us three weeks to rebuild? I say we ignore those soldiers. We lock ourselves up in the house. If they want us out, they’ll have to tear the house down to get us out!” said Bud.

  “So be it!” agreed Root.

  Venom Collart and his family were still living out of a makeshift tent next to his collapsed home. Working alone, his house was only three quarters rebuilt. He was sawing away on a piece of plank for his roof when a stream of horse-mounted Provincial Guards arrived. The stream commander repeated the same eviction orders to Venom as what his comrades had given to Root and Bud Swerrell. Venom totally ignored the soldiers and kept on working. Pearl broke into tears as soon as the soldiers left.

  “Venom, what do we do?” asked a panicky Pearl.

  “Pack up the tent and all our essential belongings. We’ll have to leave. We’ll go to the mountains. We’ll find a cave, where you and Hay can be safe. Then I’ll deal with these government scum!” answered Venom.

  The scene at the Breven’s was not as serene as it was at the Swerrell’s or the Collart’s. When the Provincial Guards arrived to tell the Brevens that they were evicted, Rake threw a solid chunk of log at the stream commander and knocked him off his horse. Then armed with a shovel, he proceeded to smash the faces of two soldiers who had dismounted to help their commander and then proceeded further to smash the commander’s face in with the shovel handle before four more soldiers came to tackle him to the ground. Tiller had wanted to help, but Rake forbade him. He knew he was going to be arrested and someone had to stay behind to take care of their wives. The soldiers beat Rake to a pulp. Fragrance grabbed a nearby axe and rushed towards the soldiers, but luckily, Tiller had managed to catch her before she did any harm to them, and to herself. She screamed loudly and madly to be let go, but Tiller would not comply. Drizzle tried her best to calm her sister-in-law down while her husband tried very hard to keep a hold. Finally, the soldiers were done beating Rake up. They then tied him up and mounted him on a horse. It was a few hours before the soldiers finally left as they had to construct a stretcher to carry their unconscious commander.

  The stream of Provincial Guards sent to Forkwater Village received a different kind of welcome. From the very moment they rode into the village boundaries, the villagers pelted them with rotten fruits and other decaying food items. The mob of villagers ‘escorted’ the soldiers as they went from house to house to carry out their orders and made sure that the soldiers truly received the ‘warm’ welcome they deserved. It came to a point that the soldiers started vomiting from the smell of rot that was emitting from their uniforms and armour. When the villagers ran out of rotten foodstuff, they reverted to mud and animal dung. And throughout the ‘event’, Headperson Eclipse Menox was at the front, setting an example and cheering the rest of her fellow villagers on.

  It was nightfall when the Provincial Guards finally returned to the Swerrells’ home. And after a brief but bitter exchange of words, the soldiers began tearing down the front door with axes. Then they rushed in and dragged the Swerrells out. With no hesitation, they poured oil on the house and set it on fire. Root and Bud sat dumbfounded on the ground. In front of them was their home, where they had lived in since their birth and took them three weeks to rebuild, burning like a huge bonfire. What they felt was not anger. It was beyond anger, beyond rage! It was a type of hybrid feeling of hatred, anger and disappointment that was not describable but which intensity was equivalent to an exploding volcano. The Swerrells rushed at the soldiers, but the soldiers were prepared. Battle-hardened fists smashed into the naïve, soft faces of the farmer brothers. The ensuing fist-fight was more of a massacre than a fair fight, as 15 soldiers ganged up on two desperate, emotionally consumed, defenceless ‘farm boys’. By the time the fight was over, the two brothers were left bruised and bleeding and barely alive. And the same scene played itself over and over again throughout Leafdreams Village.

  Over at Wheatparadise Village, things were not much better. Although Tiller Breven had led his wife and sister-in-law peacefully away, his neighbours had not given up without a fight. But once again, there was no fight, just something close to a massacre. There were streams of soldiers going from house to house, forcefully evicting their tenants and beating up those who resist. Tiller could do nothing but watch his neighbours and friends endure punches and kicks and beatings. There were the occasional killings, when some of the villagers resisted just a little too strongly. How could they have gone this far? He could see that not all of the soldiers believed in what they were doing. Some felt so disgusted with what they were ordered to do that they vomited. But being soldiers, they carried out their orders perfectly and unquestioningly. A thought occurred to Tiller. Perhaps being the naïve ‘farm boy’ had its advantages, at least his soul still belonged to him, not like these soldiers, whose souls belonged to whoever outranked them.

  Forkwater Village ‘endured’ the forced eviction in a much better way. These villagers left their homes peacefully, realising the futility of resistance. But that did not stop them from hurling abuses, curses, threats and anything emotionally hurtful that they could think of. The womenfolk cried when they saw the soldiers lock up their homes. The men, meanwhile, just stood by with their eyes red and their nostrils flaring. And although they had chosen to endure this victimisation, in no way would they surrender to it! In their hearts they began making vows of vengeance! Every tear shed, every heart broken, every insult and humiliation was to be compensated in triplicates! It was there and then, that the people of Forkwater Village made up their mind. They would chose rebellion, just as Venom Collart did three weeks prior.

  When the sun finally shone the next morning, there was no cheer or the sense of joy that it usually brought. Hundreds of homeless and displaced families were marching like refugees towards the mountains, the only place they had ever been safe. The Collarts and the rest of Hopecreek Village arrived first, and after a good eight-hour hike, found a large cave that seemed suitable to serve as their temporary home. They had already settled down and started to cook dinner when Headperson Eclipse Menox arrived with the whole of Forkwater Village. Tiller Breven, now the interim headmen, arrived with his fellow Wheatparadise villagers just about an hour later. The other ‘refugees’ would arrive only the next day. As the cave was not big enough to accommodate the latecomers, they had to find a different one. As a result, the people of the ten disaster-struck villages were scattered in tiny caves throughout the mountains.

  An emergency meeting was held between the headmen of the ten villages. Also present were a number of influential individuals, individuals who suffered great losses or individuals who had certain skills and expertise. Amongst them were Root Swerrell and Oak Nomell. At the meeting, which had Tiller Breven serving as chairman, Venom Collart and Headperson Menox spoke for rebellion while the Swerrell brothers, Oak Nomell and a few others spoke against it. In the end, it was decided that they would try for one last attempt at a peaceful solution. They had learnt from one of the families who had a relative serving as a soldier in the local garrison that Governor Sheppal would be making a visit to Southverge Town for some official business the following week and that he would be staying at the Southverge Haven Hotel. They had also found out that Rake Breven and some of their fellow villagers who were arrested earlier were being held at the local garrison and that they were not being mistreated in any way, which was a little
bit of good news to them.

  The villagers then came up with a plan to conduct a protest at the hotel and hopefully convince the governor to fix the ‘mess’ his deputy had created. All agreed to the plan except for Venom Collart, who had agreed to be there but not to take part. He was absolutely certain that the protest would just be a total waste of time but he would allow himself the opportunity to be proven wrong. The meeting was finally adjourned after ten hours. Although some had walked away hopeful, most knew that Venom was right. Still, they had to give peace the best chance to work. And if they had tried their best and failed, then there would be less guilt on them when they launched their rebellion. In the end, this was the final peace of mind that they had wanted to hang on to before they ‘sold their souls’ and committed the most atrocious act possible to humanity, which was ‘WAR’.

  The sun was missing the following week when the people of the ten villages held their protest in front of Southverge Haven Hotel. In its place were gloomy skies and a cold, wet drizzle. Tiller Breven, Eclipse Menox and the other village headmen were at the front of the protest, chanting slogans and holding up banners. A river of Provincial Guards had been deployed at the entrance of the hotel to prevent the protesters from entering it. Venom Collart, however, just stood at the side a fair distance away; observing and not bothering to hope. He was sure he knew how things would end. And before long he was proven right. In the heat of the moment, one of the villagers threw a rock through a hotel window. A ‘villager’ behind him took out a dagger and stabbed him. The others heard his scream of pain and turned around. It did not take them long to realise that the other ‘villager’ was not one of them, but was actually an undercover spy, an infiltrator, sent there by the Provincial Guards.

  Almost immediately, all of them converged on the infiltrator and began beating him up. The river commander saw his man in danger and ordered his soldiers to move in and rescue their comrade. The protesters resisted. Punches were thrown. Then someone picked up a rock and smashed it into a soldier’s cheekbones. After that, daggers were drawn and the killings started. Tiller and Eclipse saw that the situation was out of control, and called for their fellow villagers to scatter. But it was too late. By the time the protesters finally dispersed, 15 bodies lay lifeless on the gravel road with wide-opened eyes, gaping mouths and extremely pale skins.

  Tiller Breven was disgusted beyond measure. The Fallsian Military had resorted to killing citizens again! Eclipse Menox was crying in grief, but steeled herself enough to ‘shepherd’ her fellow villagers away from the scene. Venom Collart just closed his eyes. What he felt was not grief, but regret; a regret that he did not try harder to convince them that what they tried to do was futile. But although he had known that the protest would be futile, he had never expected it to turn deadly. His resolve was now firm and final. Rebellion! There was clearly no other way!

  Venom had turned to walk away, but suddenly a stranger took hold of his arm. He turned to look at the stranger, but could not recognise who he was.

  “Who are you?” asked Venom.

  “No need for you to know! But I know who you are! Maybe we can help each other. I have a proposition for you. You’re in trouble. You have no home and no land. You have no respect. You have no sympathy. You have nothing. You have nothing because you have no money. With money comes respect. With money comes power. You can buy respect, power and even fear with money. You can destroy your enemies if you have money. Now, I have money,” said the stranger.

  “And you’re just going to give it to me?” asked Venom.

  “Yes, if you’ll do me a favour. A favour for a favour. I’ll give you 200 gold coins, if you’ll do me this favour that I ask,” said the stranger.

  A simple favour, this was all the stranger had asked of Venom. It sounded easy. Or was it?

  “Well, what’s it, this favour that you seek?” asked Venom.

  “I need you to kill the mayor for me!” said the stranger in all honesty.

  “What!?” said Venom, but as he looked at the stranger’s straight and serious face, he knew the request was genuine.

  “I said I need you to kill the mayor for me,” said the stranger calmly.

  Venom just stood there, stunned and confused. This was a total surprise to him. He did not know how or even where to begin processing this new development.

  “Why do you want the mayor dead?” he asked after a long pause, not sure if the answer would make any difference.

  “He slept with my wife. That low down garbage of a human being used his power and influences to get her in bed! Can’t you see that I’m a victim, just like you? Please help me!” said the stranger.

  “I don’t understand! Why do you ask me for this ‘favour’? Why don’t you kill him yourself? That’s what I’d do,” said Venom.

  “Of course, I would if I could. But his bodyguards were briefed to look out for me. I can’t get close enough to kill him. But a total stranger like you could. They wouldn’t suspect you. You can ask to see him about the crisis that you’re facing. You can tell his secretary that you just want to see him to hand over a letter of protest, and then when you get close enough to him you can kill him,” said the stranger.

  That sounded like a ridiculous plan. How would he escape?

  “But then wouldn’t his bodyguards try to kill me after that?” questioned Venom.

  “Yes, they would. But it’ll be too late. The mayor would be dead, irrespective of whether they kill you or not! Firstly, there are fewer soldiers guarding him because they’re being diverted to protect Governor Sheppal while he’s here. Secondly, the mayor never sympathised with you, you know that! He was absolutely silent throughout this crisis of yours! He could’ve helped you if he’d wanted to, but he didn’t. He just wanted to stay in the good books of the governor so that when the deputy governor gets promoted to governor, he gets promoted to deputy governor. Then he can victimise some other poor villager just like how Greel victimised you! Look, I’m sure you can come up with a feasible escape plan. Think about it, I’m offering you 200 gold coins. As a matter of fact I’ll double it! 400 gold coins! That’s a lot of money! You can buy yourself a small piece of land, build a new home and start all over again with 400 gold coins! Come on, help me out, will you?” persuaded the stranger, offering a deadly looking sheathed dagger and a pouch which Venom assumed contained a lot of gold coins.

  Venom stared blankly at the stranger for a long time. The stranger stared back. Finally, Venom took the dagger, but when he reached for the pouch, the stranger did not let go.

  “This is half of what I’ve promised you. Meet me here at dusk on the same day next week to get the other half. That’s how much time you have. But remember this! Betray me and I’ll hire someone else to kill you, and unlike the mayor, you don’t have any bodyguards to protect you,” said the stranger as he finally released his grip on the pouch.

  “It’ll be done,” said Venom.

  And with that, both of them walked away in different directions and disappeared into a crowd of people.

  The protestors made their gloom march back towards the mountains that served as their temporary home. Tiller Breven lead the way while Eclipse Menox tended to the wounded who were being transported on horse-drawn carts. The Swerrell brothers came out of that incident unharmed, but Oak Nomell sustained a deep cut on his forearm. Venom Collart, however, was not with them. As the villagers passed by their own villages and homes, to their horror they saw that some of these homes already had new occupants. A few emotionally overwhelmed villagers could not help themselves but to scream and yell at these new occupants to tell them to get out. These new occupants, in return, looked at them as though they were confused and deranged. In the end, it took both Tiller and the Swerrell brothers to calm their fellow villagers down and get them moving again.

  Venom Collart sat alone in a dark alley in Southverge Town. His mind was preoccupied with solving a puzzle. This was a puzzle he was unfamiliar with. It was the puzzle of how to kill a man and
get away with it. There was no doubt in his mind about the decision that he had made, only the means to carry it out. He knew the stranger was right. A good word from the mayor could have helped them a lot. Instead, he had just hid in the background and did nothing. Venom had every reason to hate him as much as Deputy Governor Greel. And 400 gold coins was a lot of money!

  A week later there was a knock on the door of the Southverge mayor’s office. The office was on the first floor of a building in a busy part of town. The secretary came in and told the mayor that there was a farmer from one of the ten ‘problem’ villages who wanted to see him to hand a letter of protest. The mayor broke out in a loud chuckle. He whispered to himself something about futile causes and stupid people who did not know that they were doomed. Finally, he asked his secretary to show the farmer in.

  Venom Collart walks past two mean-looking soldiers and steps into the mayor’s office. He is careful to bolt the office door when he closes it, but does it ever so subtly that the mayor does not realise it. He then proceeds to exchange pleasantries with the mayor, culminating in handing him an envelope. As the mayor sits down to open the envelope, Venom casually puts his right hand into his pants pocket, where he places a firm grip on the dagger’s handle. He scans the mayor’s desk to check for sharp objects and finds none. The mayor looks up in curiosity as he finally opens the envelope and gets to the letter within, only to find that it is a blank piece of paper.

  At this point, Venom pulls out the dagger from the right pocket of his pants, and with his left hand, pulls its sheath away. Then Venom dives across the desk, and places his left hand on the back of the mayor’s neck, securing him in position while he thrusts his right arm and the dagger that he is holding, straight into the mayor’s heart. With all his anger and hate, he twists the handle of the dagger. The mayor offers no cry for help. The pain and the shock totally consume him. He sits frozen with a gaping mouth and bulging eyes; drawing short, hurried breaths as Venom manipulates the dagger and delivers unimaginable pain. The mayor’s vision begins to blur. The pain begins to subside. Everything turns white, then dark….