For a time, Veronica talked to other politicians within the city walls. Then she even resorted to paying for people to put up fliers and spread the word that her parents had been taken and war was coming. Veronica thought that would be enough to rally the people, but they stayed safe behind their walls, and two weeks into their time back home, they were no closer to rescuing her parents. Roger wasn’t surprised by that fact. He had known when their leaders didn’t come to their aid that the people wouldn’t either. Walls were a funny thing in the modern world. They equaled safety, and once you were behind them, you wanted to stay there at all cost. Most people wouldn’t even leave if one of their family member’s lives depended on it. They viewed the outside world as hell and thought that leaving the city walls was suicide. With that viewpoint, who would ever be crazy enough to help?
After toiling endlessly for another week trying to come up with a solution, Veronica broke down. Her family was never coming home, but that was unacceptable. She would rather die than have that be true, and that was exactly what she planned. Veronica was going back to New Vegas, and she would sneak through the tunnels just like her family had for her. Then she would probably die trying to save them. It wasn’t a good end, but it was a better one than sitting there doing nothing.
Thankfully, Roger had a better idea. It hadn’t occurred to him before, and he blamed that on being on the inside for entirely too long. Insiders weren’t willing to help because they had too much to lose. What about outsiders, though? Alex and Sarah were loved by them. Alex was the kid who was able to rise above it all and find a position of power. He was a true rags to riches story, and he gave them hope.
Then there was Sarah. One of her first acts as a ruler was to let more outsiders into the city and to even give those who weren’t lucky enough to be selected access to the inside for education and shopping. After that, she ordered an expansion of Raines, letting even more people inside, and at that moment, a third indoor city was being built so the rest of their people would have a safe place to live. They were only four years out from having all of their people inside, and the outsiders knew exactly who was responsible for it all.
“Do you really think they’ll help us?” Veronica asked doubtfully. At that point, she had almost given up hope.
“I would bet my life on it. Outsiders are a lot of bad things out of necessity, but one thing is for sure. They aren’t cowards. With everything your parents have done for them, they won’t have a problem killing a few people to get them back,” Roger said.
“What about supplies? We’ll need weapons.”
“You’re joking, right? If there’s one thing every outsider has it’s a gun. They know how to use them, too. Vehicles will be hard to come by, but if we can get them behind this idea, then our leader won’t have a choice other than to give us the vehicles and rations we’ll need to do this. Otherwise, he’ll have a riot on his hands, and in case you haven’t noticed, insiders don’t exactly love conflict here. They’ll take the road of least resistance.”
“What would I do without you?” Veronica asked and let out a sigh of relief.
“You would be fine, but thankfully, we don’t have to do this without each other. Now, come on. We’ve got some people to talk to and an operation to plan,” Roger said and smiled.
It went quicker than they thought it would. It turned out that it was just like Roger thought. Alex and Sarah were legends among the poor. Almost all the men over sixteen volunteered to sign up for a war against the people who took them. Even a good portion of the women were ready to fight. After one week, they had all the support they needed, and once the outsiders heard that their government was content to simply sit back and watch as some of their own were held captive, there were demonstrations, and for a day, the inside had to be closed to every outsider out of fear that violence would break out. It wasn’t ideal that it happened this way, but Raines’s leaders were listening now.
Five days later, they got their wish. Roger and Veronica were granted vehicles, rations, and explosives, which would be key in their plan. She didn’t want to wait any longer, but Roger convinced her to. They had an army, and they had supplies, but now they needed to make sure that army understood the plan. They would need to train, and at the very least, be sure that everyone knew their role. It took several days, but finally, they were ready.
It wasn’t until they were leaving with more people following behind them than Veronica had ever seen that she truly realized the scale of what they had inspired, or to be more accurate, what her parents had done. They had gained the love of these people a long time ago. She didn’t truly realize it until then, but her parents were great people, and Veronica felt herself starting to tear up. This was war, but in so many ways it was beautiful. Here they were taking the fight to New Vegas before they could bring it to them, and they were doing it as one people for the love and respect they had for the symbols of their freedom and safety.
“Are you all right?” Roger asked, noticing that Veronica was on the edge of tears.
“Yeah. I’m just ready to see them again, and I can’t believe this. It never occurred to me to ask outsiders for help. We were taught in school that they were different from us. Some even said they were savages. I should have known better, though. The best two men I’ve ever known have come from outside the walls,” she said and took his hand. A peace ran over her at that moment. Finally, they were bringing her family home once and for all.
Chapter 18
Prison Break
Another week had passed, and Alex had ditched the cane and was now moving a bit better. He could walk at a normal pace, but running wasn’t exactly comfortable or even possible after a few seconds. Still, his recovery was happening rapidly. The doctor had told him that some people recovered almost fully after a couple months, while others with less motivation or who were elderly could spend up to six months in recovery. Here he was at seven weeks, however, and he was almost there. Another week, and Alex truly would be able to work. By the end of the third month, he was sure he would be ready for much more. Alex would be back to his old self, and then he could finally kill the man who had taken everything from them.
As Alex stood that morning, he heard Sarah stir. She still had five minutes left to sleep, and he hated to wake her, but he had actually been lying there for over an hour simply thinking of what he would do once he was well. For today, Alex hoped to shadow Sarah and help her in any way he could. Sure, he didn’t have any desire to be stuck babysitting a bunch of snot nosed kids, but it was better than spending another day in the room alone.
“Are you all right?” she asked him in concern. In the first few weeks, he used to wake up in pain almost every night, and Sarah was afraid that was what was happening again.
“I’m fine. As a matter of fact, I almost feel good. In another week, I’ll be ready.”
“Ready for what exactly?” Sarah asked with one eyebrow raised. She was hoping he was referring to an escape plan.
“For work . . . or anything else we need to do. I can’t say I’ll be one hundred percent, but I’ll be able to move enough to do what needs to be done.”
“Good. I’ve been waiting for what feels like forever. How are we going to do this, though?”
“That I don’t . . .” he managed to say before they heard a thunderous roar in the distance. Then there was another, and Alex thought he heard two more somewhere far away. The faint sounds of screams could be heard from outside the palace walls.
“What’s going on?” Sarah asked with wide eyes.
“I don’t know,” he said and glanced out the window. They couldn’t see anything past the palace walls, but he at least knew that whatever happened didn’t occur there.
“You don’t think they finally came for us, do you?” Sarah whispered.
“God, I hope not!”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because Charles sent his people to take Raines last night. If our soldiers are here, then Raines won’t even stand
a chance.”
“I didn’t even think of that! We need to move now!”
“Agreed. Follow me,” Alex said and walked toward the door. He opened it to see two guards in the hallway who looked like they were in a panic.
“Please, return to your room until we can investigate what is happening,” the closest one said and stepped in front of Alex.
That was a mistake. Alex knew that if their army was making some noise outside the palace that it could only help to make a little inside it, too. It was time for a fight, and he planned to give it to New Vegas. Alex delivered a quick chop to the bridge of the guard’s nose, breaking it in the process, and as he grabbed it out of instinct, Alex reached out and pulled the gun off his side. In one smooth motion, he fired two quick shots. The first pierced the guard’s chest who was standing by Lee’s room, and the second one went straight through the closest one’s left eye and buried into his brain.
At that point, Lee and everyone else stepped out of their rooms to see the death and chaos that had ensued. None of them looked panicked, however. In fact, the first thing that Alisa did was reach down and take the second guard’s gun. All of them had dreamed about this fight, and it was finally time to take their chances. Either they were getting out of here tonight or not at all.
“Are all of you ready for this?” Sarah asked.
“I’ve been ready for weeks,” Travis said, still looking tired from being overworked. His rage far outweighed his sleepiness, however.
“You know I’m ready,” Lee responded.
“And I’ve wanted to kill Charles Boyd from day one,” Alisa said and smiled.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here,” Sarah said.
Sarah took the gun from Alisa, knowing that when it came to a fight, she would shoot straighter and be more likely to stay composed. People often forgot that she wasn’t originally just a politician. She was a soldier who had outclassed most of her peers. Today, once again, Sarah was going to get a chance to put that training to the test.
She led the way, considering that Alex was still moving a bit slower than he would have liked, and they walked to the edge of the stairs. She peered down them to see no one. It was strange. Sarah was so sure that shots would have attracted more attention, but there was a reason killing those guards hadn’t brought more of them. Roger and Veronica’s people were there. They had easily infiltrated the outer city and taken the tunnels. From there, they set explosives at key points, taking out more than a dozen locations including city hall, the pit, and the market district. With all the destruction, it had drawn most of New Vegas’s forces away from the palace. The remaining ones were simply satisfied with securing Charles Boyd in a safe room on the first floor.
Sarah led them down to the second floor where all they saw were servants wandering around looking out windows and gossiping about what could be happening. Still, there were no guards. She led them down to the first floor and then to the back door to find that things were a bit more difficult, however. When they looked outside, they saw that over a dozen guards were standing watch in the garden. They knew that there was an entrance to the palace in the tunnels, and they had even sent some men down to defend it if their attackers dared to come that far.
“What are we going to do? We can’t take that many people out,” Sarah said as she took a step back and Alex got a look at what they were up against.
“I think we should . . .” Alex managed to say before they heard a boom and the whole palace shook. It knocked all of them back, and for a moment, they had no idea what was going on, but then as the shock left them, they looked outside into the distance to see the garden in ruins. Their people had hit from underneath it at just the right time.
Alex could see that all the guards were down. Whether they were all dead he didn’t know, but it was safe to say that none of them were in any shape to fight. It was time for them to move, only Alex couldn’t go with them. He still had some business to attend to.
“All of you should go. Our people will be in that area soon enough, and if there’s still an opening, you can escape through the tunnels,” Alex said.
“What about you?” Sarah asked.
“I have something I still need to do. Charles Boyd has to pay for what he did to us.”
“I agree, and there’s no way I’m leaving before he does,” Travis said, his eyes glowing with anger.
“No, you have to leave. All of you do. Please, we don’t have time to argue about this. I’m sure that explosion will draw enemies to this location soon enough. If you’re going to make it, you have to go now,” Alex said desperately.
Lee nodded, and for as much as Alisa hated to leave, she agreed, too. Travis, however, didn’t want to. He had waited for this moment for too long. In his fantasies, it had always been him killing Charles Boyd.
“Please, go. I promise he’ll die slowly and painfully,” Alex said.
“Okay. I trust you,” Travis reluctantly said, and the three of them stepped out the door. Sarah didn’t move, however, and for as much as Alex wanted to argue with her, he knew there was no winning. She wasn’t going to leave him anymore than he would leave her.
“Are we doing this?” Sarah asked.
“We are.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s find Charles and show him that he never should have left us alive.”
They walked slowly to the west side of the first floor only to find nothing other than a few stray servants who looked frightened. How could they not? They had been taken at a young age and made into nothing. What would this new invader do to them? That had to be what they were thinking, but if Alex and Sarah had their way about it, these people would be the ones left to make this city new again. Only those who had suffered truly knew the value of peace. That was what Alex had always thought, and so far, it had rung true.
Finally, they headed to the east side. Two steps into the hallway, and Alex saw exactly what he was looking for. Four guards stood outside of a room. They raised their guns and fired just as Sarah pulled him out of the room and back behind a wall. Alex had been a sitting duck with such limited mobility. He wanted to thank her right then and there for saving his life, but there was no time for words. Alex could hear footsteps already coming their way as the guards got closer and closer.
With a simple nod from Alex, Sarah knew what to do. They were going to take their chances. Alex stepped out first, shooting from the hip on pure instinct. He fired six times in less than three seconds, while Sarah stepped out from behind him and shot three more. Her shots were more controlled with one landing to the chest of the closest target, and the other two burying into another guard’s head. Alex, on the other hand, was able to spray three guards with bullets, killing two in the process and severely wounding the other as a bullet ripped into his gut. There was only one problem. After the sixth shot echoed, Alex felt a pain in his shoulder. He didn’t go down. He couldn’t, not until he knew if Sarah was all right.
He turned to see that she had been hit, too, although the wound didn’t look bad. Her right arm had been glanced by a bullet, but it was more of a scratch than an actual shot. Overall, they had made it out all right. There was just one more thing to take care of before they could confront Charles. Alex regained his composure and turned toward the final living guard who was holding his stomach as blood pooled around him. He didn’t have long to live, so Alex planned to make this quick.
“What are we going to find when we open that door? Are there other people besides Charles Boyd in there?” Alex asked.
“I . . . I’m not going to tell you . . .” the man managed to stutter in pain before Alex took control of the situation. He stuck his thumb into the open wound in the guard’s stomach. The man cried out in pain, and then Alex repeated his question.
“What are we going to find? Tell me now, or things will only get worse for you.”
“He’s alone! I . . . I swear it!” He yelled out in agony.
“Good,” Alex said and
took a step back before raising his gun.
“No! Wait a minute!” the guard yelled, but Alex didn’t hesitate. He fired two shots into his chest, ending the man’s life almost instantly.
“Are you all right?” Sarah asked Alex.
“I’ll be fine,” Alex said, pretending like his wound was nothing, but it was far more than a flesh wound. Tendons had been torn, and he couldn’t even lift his left arm anymore.
“I know better than that. Let me look at it and at least get you cleaned up before . . .”
“There will be time for that. Right now, I want to finish this, though. Okay?” Alex asked.
“All right. Let’s do this,” she said, and they headed for the bedroom where their former captor would be waiting.
Sarah cautiously opened the door only to find Charles waiting on them with a .44 Magnum cocked and ready to fire. They fixed their aims on him. He was outnumbered, and there was no way he would live through this confrontation, but they also knew that if they killed him now, there would be a pretty good chance of that gun going off and blowing one of them away. They had to talk him down.
“Drop it if you want to live,” Sarah warned.
“Do you really think I’m stupid enough to believe you would let me live after everything that’s happened?” Charles asked, still wearing that same grin he always had. Even now, he thought he was in complete control.
“I hate you, and there’s no doubt about that. I would love to pull the trigger and see your brains splattered all over this room, but I met your children, too. I don’t love the idea of leaving them orphaned. Give up, and you’ll be spared,” she lied.
“Why? Even if you would let me live, what would my life be like after that?”
“You would be a servant,” Alex said, returning a smirk of his own.
“Like I would ever serve either of you,” Charles said and scoffed.
“You wouldn’t be serving us. You’ve enslaved an entire generation of people after you killed their families. I think you owe them more than you could ever pay back, but you’re going to try. You’ll stay here in this palace and work as hard as you made them until the day you drop dead.”
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