by Alessio Cala
"I- we have, my wife and I."
"I've seen how he is with you. Even in these darkest of times, you still manage to place a smile upon his face. I have seen it. I come to you for a reason. I need you to do me one thing."
"What is it?" Frank asked.
"You've done more for him than I ever could. I see him with you and her. I see him happy and I could never take that happiness away from him. Please, just grant me this. Let me see him one last time. Let me see my son."
The sudden realisation threw him and all at once everything was clear. Her son. He studied her features again, ashamed he had not noticed the resemblance before. The green eyes, strong nose and tanned skin. This was his mother. This was who he was returning the lost child to. "He's your son. He should be with you." She struggled to compose herself against the harrowing prospect. A thousand yard stare, penetrating his eyes and deep into his soul.
"He won't even remember me," she said. "He was ripped from my hands days after his birth. My people disapprove, for he is the son of an outsider. If I were to take him back, I fear I will lose him again. I can never allow that to happen."
It was pity that Frank felt for her. When Annie and he had tried for a child all those years ago, they had lost the child before it was even born and they kept trying some time after with no luck. To have been granted the gift of a child and then have that revoked only days after its birth; Frank didn't even want to imagine what that felt like.
"I'll take you to him," Frank said. He held out his hand and she took it willingly. He glanced back into the base and saw the sea of grey flood the gates of the black site. Oh shit... Bullets hailed over the runway. The bodies of raiders and the grey wolves dropped in waves. Frank held her hand tight and led her back towards the battlefield.
"We have to get your people to stand down." He tugged forward but she held back. She stood still, terrified.
"They will never yield."
"But they're getting slaughtered!"
"This isn't for you to resolve," she cried back at him. He looked at her, then back at the base, confused. The LPA swarmed like bees defending the hive. He felt lost, defeated. Innocent people were dying and there was nothing he could do. Even if he did run back, there was no way he could put an end to the onslaught of the LPA. He stood there beside her; watching the wolves drive their harpoons and scrapers into the hearts of the raiders, only to be cut down by the thousands of bullets hailing the runway. All they could do was stand on the sidelines and wait for the massacre to end.
TWENTY-THREE
Annie sat aboard the small wooden rowing boat. It rocked gently over the calm water around them. Sam sat quietly in her lap. She held him close, her eyes never leaving the tree line further up the incline. Tracy sat at the other end of the boat, holding onto the rope wrapped around the wooden stump at the end of the boardwalk. She too stared up the sloping prairie of rocks and grass, ready to release them from Autark's shore at a moment's notice. Max sat between them, eyes closed, chin resting over the boat's edge. They had readied two more rowing boats either side of them for the others. The gunfire had ceased for over half an hour. There was no signal, no sign that anybody was coming for them. Annie suffered in silence and patience slowly ate away at her soul.
Where are you, Frank?
She ran her tattered sleeve across her running nose and coughed into the damp material of her jacket.
"Where is Frank?" Sam asked curiously.
"He's coming," Tracy told him. "They’re all coming." She noticed Annie's silence and together they shared an unsettling look of doubt. Their eyes drifted down to Sam. His spine was stiff and his skin pale. He looked as though he had seen a ghost. His eyes froze, fixated on whatever lay ahead. Max's ears shot up. He barked again and again. The sisters followed Sam's panicked gaze and their hearts struck with terror.
A man stood at the other end of the boardwalk, doused in sweat and blood. His long tattered hair twisted and tangled in front of his devilish eyes. Hands by his sides, stiff fingers curled into claws. His hunched shoulders rose and dropped with every breath. He clawed the hair from his face to reveal his scarred skin, burnt and withered. He moved towards them, eyes on the shell-shocked boy in Annie's lap. The heavy clatter of boots knocked across the boardwalk. Tracy shot up, rocking the boat. She grabbed hold of the side to catch her balance and fumbled for the bolt action rifle. The Burnt Man's pace quickened, he locked onto Tracy, already halfway down the platform. Annie squeezed Sam tight. She watched Tracy grab the rifle, her hands shaking wildly as she cocked the bolt into place. The Burnt Man reached the edge of the platform, arms raised and eyes wider than she ever knew possible. Tracy swung the rifle round to face him and fired.
Annie shut her eyes. She heard a thundering weight crash the ocean's surface. Water droplets splashed up against her cheeks and Max's cry echoed through her mind. The deafening gunshot faded away. Her eyes remained shut. She did not open them immediately. She felt immobile, a tingling sensation coursed through her entire body. Max’s wet nose prodded her and left a damp residue across her neck and cheek. She wormed her fingers back into motion and her hand reawakened from the prickling vibrations. She ran it across Sam’s chest and felt his heart pound from within. Her sister’s heavy breaths followed on from the splash of water like an overlaying percussion to the boy’s heartbeat. She listened even more closely and noticed the sounds of gentle waves lapping up against the pebbled shore. It had always been there but she had only now just noticed it. Annie slowly opened her eyes.
Frank...
He was already halfway down the grassland. He limped down with his body to one side to stabilise himself against the uneven slope. He left behind a single shaded parting that divided the field behind him. Annie shot up inside the boat with Sam in her arms. His skin was returning to its regular shade and the sight of Frank helped thaw him from his frozen state. Sam called out to him through Annie’s jagged movements and waved out over the prairie. Annie looked up again and saw them emerge from the tree line; Mike, Kara, and lagging in exhaustion behind them, Barry. They lifted their weary heads and the sight of the others filled them with a new lease of energy. Together they ran the rest of the way, hopping over rolling mounds of rocks and boulders to reach them. Annie settled Sam down beside her. She grabbed the boardwalk and pulled them in closer over the water. Frank made his way down and Max dived up to greet him halfway. The dog jumped up in excitement. Annie wrapped her arms around the dock's wooden post and began to pull herself ashore. She felt the large worker’s hands of her husband take hold of her arms and pull her into his own. He squeezed her tightly. An ounce of energy lingered through her body. She laid her palms flat across his back and buried her head into his broad chest. Frank listened to the sobbing rendition of his wife’s tears and his heart sank. He promised he wouldn’t leave her again. A promise he had broken. This was the last time, he swore it. He held her even tighter and didn’t let go. He wasn’t going to leave her again, not ever, and now more than ever he would do anything to make it up to her.
“It’s okay. They’re gone,” he whispered. “We’re going to be okay.”
He closed his eyes and buried his nose into the top of her head. Even though they hadn’t washed for what felt like an eternity, remnants of freshly scented coconut oil still lingered in the roots of her loosely tied bun. Clattering boots thudded over the wooden beams of the boardwalk. Mike and Kara leaned over the boat. They took Tracy and Sam by the hand and helped them ashore.
Tracy regained her balance and when she raised her head, Barry stood before her. His shoulders were hunched, his mangled hands presented up in front of his body. Tracy stared down at his twisted fingers. His eyes were beady without glasses. He squinted, struggling to look her in the eye and before he could muster up the courage, he felt her entire body weight plunge into him. Her arms locked around his own and he stood there, ashamed and embarrassed of what had become of him.
Mike glanced down into the water between the rowing boats. The burnt
man laid face down, floating atop the water’s surface. His limp body bobbed across the gentle waves out to sea. His soaking hair tangled and outspread over his hidden face. The thickness of his blood penetrated the water like a flurry of smoke through the air. He felt Kara rest upon his shoulder. She stood next to him, her eyes distant across the far water beyond. Her hand rose up to his face and turned him away. She didn’t want him to look anymore. He followed her direction and together they turned their backs on the drifting corpse of the burnt man.
Sam wriggled between Frank and Annie, joining the everlasting embrace. Frank ran his hands through the young boy’s hair and held him close. He peered over his wife’s shoulder. He looked up beyond the prairie and into the tree line from which he came he saw the ragged outline of a feathered cloak. The Raven watched from the shadows of the forest. Her cloak of feathers made her shoulder’s appear broader in the darkness. It was too dark to see any further detail. She stepped forward and her face caught the light of the pale sky.
“What do we do now?” Annie asked in his arms.
Frank’s eye never strayed from The Raven as he spoke. “We go home.”
“What about the slaves?” she asked.
“They’re free now. The LPA pulled in and Mikes left them working to get people back to their homes.”
“And Sam?”
The Raven nodded. Frank returned the gesture; a shared understanding to a previous agreement. He could only imagine the pain she felt. He imagined it to be as it were during Annie's miscarriage all those years ago, but only ten times worse. Frank swallowed hard. He hadn’t noticed Annie looking up at him now, waiting for his answer.
“He’s coming home with us,” said Frank. Sam stared up, bewildered by his response, and Frank made sure to check with the boy. “That is, if you want to?”
The boy’s dimples curled through his nodding smile. He threw himself into the couple, an arm around each of their legs as he hugged them tight with undying gratitude. Annie continued to stare. She seemed concerned, unconvinced. It couldn’t be true. It was too good to be true.
“What about his parents?” she asked quietly enough for the boy not to hear. Frank glanced back up to the tree line but The Raven was nowhere to be seen. He turned back to Annie, distracted by her concerned eyes so full and wonderful.
He shook his head. “...They weren’t there.”
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"But we came all this way–"
"I know, I know. We asked every one of them. Nothing..."
Annie's attention drew down to the boy. She stroked his hair softly, her expression bland and unfulfilled. It wasn't how he’d expected her to react. In fact, it was just the opposite. She had grown attached to the boy. They had developed a bond that spurred Frank on to see the good in what they were doing. He thought about that night back before Wolvendale, standing out in the darkness with only the cast shadows of the campfire to light them. She had put up a fight that night to protect him, to watch over him and be there for him. He thought that was what she wanted; to have somebody to care for, to know what it is like to nurture a child as though it were her own. Maybe he had made a mistake.
Frank gently hooked his arm around her. "At least we tried."
"At least we tried..." she repeated in a dull faded tone. She smiled briefly but couldn't hold it for long. He knew it wasn't genuine. She wanted to look after Sam but a little part of her was left with disappointment and despair, knowing that the child's true parents were nowhere to be found. It nibbled away at Frank ever so discreetly like a bloodsucking leech. He had lied to her. He'd spent so much time with the boy and he knew how much he made her happy. Allowing The Raven to enter his life now would only confuse the poor child. It wouldn't have been fair. Sam had been through enough. Frank knew it and The Raven knew it also. She had seen them watch over him through the eye of the raven. Frank held Annie close and spoke softly into her ear. "We'll take care of him. He has a gift but it's not for us to say what he should do with it. That's all they wanted him for and he's been through so much. He's just a boy, we should let him have that; a childhood, a real childhood. We'll let him decide what he wants to do with his ability for himself when he grows older."
Frank thought about the future. Maybe there was a time — when the boy was old enough — that Frank could tell him the truth. He would not look forward to that day, but until then, he swore to raise the child as if he were his own and that was a vow he would not break.
"So what now?" Kara asked Mike at the edge of the boardwalk. They stood side by side, watching the others re-unite with their loved ones.
"Well, I think the LPA will stick around, help make amends for what's happened."
"What about you, what’s next for Mike?”
"You know, despite all that's happened. This land has grown on me. I'm thinking of staying."
"You are?"
"Well since there's no military to keep an eye on this place anymore, I was thinking maybe the LPA could fit the boot. Not to control, but to protect. ‘Libertad para Autark.’ ‘Liberty for Autark.’ Javier Paraíso was a good leader, but he was never a fighter. Without someone for the people to look to, they will lose hope in restoring what was once something special. We're already here, I'm here. The LPA can be so much more. They can be the ones to prevent something like this ever happening again. We'll defend. We'll rebuild. We'll grow. What happened back there was wrong. I couldn't stop them from doing what they did to the Beothuk. I couldn't protect the last surviving members of their people and now they're gone forever. I won't let that happen again."
"Not all of them are gone. Despite their way of life, every group of people has those who are cowards at heart. I saw some of them flee back toward the mountains. What happened back there wasn't your fault. There is no way in hell you can pin that on yourself."
"I know, I know... but I still can't help but feel responsible. The least I can do is accomplish what I set out to do when I came here; restore freedom to Autark."
"Sounds very noble. Also sounds like a lot of work. You plan on doing it all by yourself?"
"I'm sure the people will cooperate."
"Elkford is without a leader, Merribank has been burnt to the ground and Wolvendale is a ghost town. You're going to need someone who has lived here long enough to know how things were before this all started; a face the people will recognise as their own to vouch for you when you announce these plans of yours."
"That's true," Mike smirked. She was way ahead of him, but he played ball. "Know anybody?"
"I might."
The wind blew strong and the tide crept in deeper along the stilts of the boardwalk. Frank planted a kiss upon Annie's forehead. He brushed the stray hairs away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. Through all that had happened he had lost sight of the fact that she was in desperate need of care. She needed rest and nourishment to cure her ailments. They all did. They had spent enough time out in the cold for one winter.
"Come on," Frank said. "Let's go home."
Frank and Annie each took hold of Sam's hands. Together they went back up the boardwalk of Autark's harbour, back toward the military base, back home.
EPILOGUE
Elkford was the first town of Autark to be restored to its former glory. The settlers were forever in debt to the LPA who stayed to guard the land and its people for the sake of a forgotten liberty. The one thing that the people of Autark shared in common was their value of freedom.
Mike and Kara stood in Elkford’s courtyard. They were in the middle of conducting a high intensity training course for the men and women of the LPA. They held a course every afternoon for those who wished to attend. Nothing was obligatory in the LPA, nothing except for safety talks and emergency drills. They went through everything that afternoon; cardio, weight training, muscle build and even close quarters combat drills. Mike and Kara ran vigorously up and down the rows of their people with booming voices. They shouted words of encouragement for the pe
ople to keep on going just that little bit longer. The toll of Elkford's steeple signalled them to stop. The people of the LPA quickly formed rows of an orderly fashion. Mike thanked them for their attendance and dismissed them promptly. A banner was situated high above the archway of the stone wall that curved the perimeter of the courtyard's barracks.
'Libertad Para Autark - You are your own being, and so you shall be free.'
Mike and Kara had worked to instil this motto into the hearts and minds of their people. They weren't soldiers, they were human beings banding together to work towards a different way of life; one where men and women could make use of their trade in exchange for the goods and services of others. The settlers and freedom fighters of Elkford were no different. Each and every individual pulled their weight in the effort to restore Autark. A lonesome raven did watch. It was perched high upon the single cherry blossom of Elkford's courtyard with watchful eyes that observed the many defenders of Autark. As the people of the LPA dispersed through the courtyard to return home to their families, Mike and Kara strolled back up the stone pathway and disappeared through the doors to the keep.
The raven flew south along the western coast. It rested upon the branch of an apple tree, one of many in an orchard blooming like no other on the island. The sign on the front gate was a little faded, something that had yet to be refurbished. The sign read, 'Frank & Annie's.' It curved upwards in the middle across a hand-painted picture of assorted fruits and vegetables. The raven caught sight of a young boy with a long nimble stick in his hand. The boy closed the wooden gate and ran up the dusty trail alongside his faithful border collie.
Sam lobbed the stick up towards the glorious two story country house. It had transformed from what once was a simple wooden structure on a platform, into a brick house on a foundation of concrete. A wide trellis filled the space between the top and bottom floor, blooming with confederate-jasmine that twined the wooden diamonds of guidance. Max bolted after the stick. A whirlwind of dust kicked up in his tracks and fluttered back down into the open trail. He heard a monotonous knocking that sounded like it was on the other side of the house but he was soon distracted. He spotted them kneeling in the tomato patches, picking only those that were ready to be picked. The bearded man lifted his head and smiled as he spotted Sam through the garden. Sam caught sight of the black leather eye patch immediately; it was always the centre of focus against the vibrant colours of the garden. He ran through the row of tomato plants held up by support posts and fell into the man's arms. Frank hugged him tight and Annie turned round to see what was going on through the vines of tomatoes.