EMP Crash (Book 5): Hostile Grounds

by Kip Nelson

  He didn't have a chance to respond, however, as he was pushed and prodded toward City Hall. The large building towered above him, and he breathed in deeply, hoping that soon his leadership would be re-established. His eyes then shifted to the ground and his heart sank as he saw the box that had been placed there, and the fingertips that were gripping the holes to get even the slightest touch of freedom. The guards called out to the king, loud and clear, and Mack took the opportunity to go to the box.

  “Hank, Hank, are you okay?” he said.

  “Getting better all the time,” he said, and then coughed. From what Mack could see, the man was in great distress and wouldn't last much longer if he was left in there. Anger knotted inside him.

  “I'll get you out of there,” Mack said through gritted teeth.

  “It's good to see you again, Mack. Just remember what you promised, love, not hate.”

  Mack felt a small hand on his shoulder as he was pulled away. Every instinct inside him was telling him to fight, that although Peter was young he still was a threat and had to be dealt with, but Hank was right. Mack had promised he would find another way out of this that didn't involve violence. Although it wouldn't be easy, he wanted to stay true to that. However, then he saw Peter stride out of City Hall with that smug, contented look on his face and all Mack wanted to do was disrobe the king and show his subjects that he was nothing but a scared little boy. But it was Peter who held the power for the time being.

  “Let's have less of that, please,” Peter said. “The dear old preacher is being punished, and visits from his friends are not allowed. Besides, I have waited for this reunion for a long time, and I wish to have your undivided attention. After all, last time you left so abruptly, without even saying goodbye. I thought you had better manners than that, Mack, but I see I was mistaken.”

  “I wasn't about to wait around to be killed,” Mack spat back.

  “Well, it was always inevitable and it's going to happen now. I'm still deciding whether I want it to be over quickly or if I want it to be nice and slow.”

  “It's not going to happen, Peter. There's still a way out of this for you. If you surrender now, I'll see that the other children are taken care of. We'll figure out a deal. You've had your fun now, but you can't really be serious in wanting to run this place. You must have seen by now how much stress and work it actually is. Are you really enjoying yourself?”

  “More than you can know,” he snarled, positioning his face so close to Mack's that Mack could feel the heat of his breath.

  “The thing is, Mack, you've never really understood me, even though you keep saying you do. You don't understand the dream I have for the world, or what I'm trying to do here. Maybe it's best that you do die here and move out of the way for the rest of us. To be honest, I have been toying with the idea of killing you all, but the simple fact is I need the labor. Your death will have to suffice, I suppose. Where are the friends you took with you, by the way?” Peter said with a suspicious look on his face.

  “Didn't you hear? I went to fight an impossible battle, and I won...although it came at a great cost,” Mack lied, trying to sell the sorrow as much as possible. It wasn't difficult, since things so easily could have turned out that way.

  “There were so many of them, so many it was overwhelming. We fought so hard and for so long and, in the end, I was the only one left standing. How do you think I got this face? I was standing on a pile of dead bodies, but I was standing,” his voice turned into a growl, “and what you don't understand is that I'm a survivor, and it's not going to be as easy to kill me as you think. While I live there's hope, and I plan to be living for a very long time.”

  If Peter was scared or intimidated by these words he didn't show it, and Mack had to admire his fortitude if nothing else.

  “All your hopes, all their hopes,” Peter said, gesturing to the crowd that had gathered around them, “will end when I execute you, and your followers finally will have to accept the new world order. Your death will bring about a great change, and I hope that brings you some comfort. You're a part of the old world, Mack, and your time is over. It's time for you to stand aside and let me have my day in the sun. But don't worry, you have my assurances I will take care of the people you have lead. Your death shall be the last, and as long as they pledge their loyalty to me, I shall protect them along with all of my Lost Children.”

  “Like how you're treating Hank?” Mack spat back, not allowing Peter to appear magnanimous for a second. Peter scowled.

  “I have my reasons for why he's being punished. Now, Mack, there are ways to meet death with dignity and I hope you have the awareness to remain calm. It would be distressing to those you leave behind to see you struggle for nothing.”

  Peter left to call out his queen. Mack saw Sharon come out and he shot her a look of disappointment, but also noticed how ashamed she looked. Perhaps there was hope for her yet. Mack had his head held high and looked out toward the sea of people before him, a mixture of children and adults. They all had one thing in common; they all were survivors, and whatever happened today he had faith that those he trusted would stop Peter and make the community flourish. Peter gave a speech, but Mack had closed his mind to the young king's words, and was thinking about all he had done with his life. Given how ardent Peter was about killing Mack, he didn't think the others would be able to save him in time. He thought about Anna and how, at some point, he may be reunited with her in the afterlife, and a strange sense of calm permeated his entire body as he accepted his fate. The world would go on without him, and it would be a good world because of people like Grace, Maggie, Saul, and the others. Then he heard Peter load his gun and walk inexorably toward him. The king was ready to carry out the promise that had been made so many moons ago.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  “I THINK everyone should be able to watch this,” Peter said, and directed Sharon to open Hank's box.

  The preacher staggered out and fell down. His muscles had been so used to being cramped in the box that it was a shock to his system to be free again. His lips were dry and cracked, and he had a dazed look in his eyes as he lay on the ground and floundered like a fish out of water. Sharon rushed to help him, but she would not meet his eyes for she was afraid of how it would make her feel. Peter then ordered her to return to his side, and she obeyed.

  “He'll get better,” Peter said, “and maybe he's learned his lesson. If not, then this soon will teach him.” Then he raised his voice and addressed the crowd, Lost Children and adults alike. All of them watched with horror as Peter held them in this terrible captivation.

  “I have promised you this moment for a long time, and I want this to show you that I am a man of my word. I do not take this matter lightly, and I hope that these matters will end with this. I am going to kill Mack because he defied me once before, and because he is a symbol of the old world, a world which you all need to let go. It's not coming back, no matter how much effort you put toward bringing it back. Instead of creating some kind of hollow clone of the world, you knew we should be looking to the future, and with Mack's death we finally can put everything behind us. You can accept me as your king, and be content in your roles beneath the Lost Children. Each of you need to look into your hearts and ask yourself if it's really worth fighting the inevitable. I already have won, and all you're doing is making a nuisance of yourselves. It has to stop, for the sake of everyone.”

  He spoke with great passion and zeal, and many of the adults had to wonder if he didn't have a point. After all, they had spent so much of their lives fighting, and where had it gotten them? Perhaps it was easier to lay down their weapons and accept the new regime. But then their eyes found Mack and saw how defiant he looked. They saw the wounds on his face, wounds he had suffered for them, and knew that they could not allow him to die in vain. He was a model to them all, an inspiration, and he was the one who showed them how to live properly in this world. He had put his life on the line many times over for them, and he was the one t
hey looked to for guidance. He was on his knees below Peter, but he was twice the man of the pretender king. They steeled their resolve and, in their eyes, they promised Mack they never would give up the fight, and that as long as there was one person standing they always would stay true to his ideals and remember what it means to live, to be human. And Mack saw it in their eyes, and it soothed his soul to know that he was leaving a legacy behind. No matter what happened, he had made a difference in the world, even if it was just to this small collection of people who, had the world not ended, would have remained strangers.

  In his final moments, he thought about Anna and the life they could have had if the world hadn’t ended. He thought of getting off that plane and reuniting with her, of losing himself in her warmth, her beauty, of staying in bed for days as they created and nurtured a new life, borne from their love. Because of those thoughts he had a contented smile on his face, and would face death without regret or fear.

  Peter lowered the gun at Mack and everyone in the crowd was holding their breath as the moment seemed to stretch out for an eternity. Hank whispered a prayer to the Lord. All it would take was one squeeze of the trigger and everything would change, but death had not marked Mack yet. Grace and Tristan had been watching carefully, and as soon as Peter had the gun in his hand Grace told Tristan to get the others, and to hurry. Grace watched with horror as her best friend, her mentor, her hero, was standing on that stage and she wouldn't even get a chance to say goodbye.

  Then it all happened in a flash. Peter was just about to pull the trigger and fulfill his promise when he heard a loud commotion. His face twisted in confusion as he saw a small army running through the settlement, their weapons raised. The Lost Children assumed a defensive posture, and the adults didn't know what to think. At first, they were afraid this was yet another attack by another hostile party, but then they saw Grace and other people they recognized. Before a firefight could commence, the onrushing army stopped a few feet away from the crowd.

  Peter looked up, annoyed that his ceremony had been interrupted, and when he looked back down, he saw Mack was wearing a sly smile.

  “This won't make a difference,” Peter said.

  “Won't it?” Mack asked. “Why don't you take a look at what's happening?”

  Peter turned around and saw the two armies looking at each other. Their weapons still were raised but, as yet, nobody had made a hostile move. The tension was palpable, for one errant shot could have sparked a deadly war, but on the faces of some of the children were looks of recognition. Suddenly, weapons began falling from hands, or were pointed to the ground instead of each other. There were cries of names from the people Mack had gathered. They pushed to the front of the line, tears streaming down their faces as they uttered the names of their children, of those beloved offspring they had assumed they never would see again. They opened their arms and their hearts, pleading with the children to come back to them. This was the moment of truth.

  Mack and Peter both watched with interest, one with hope, one with fear. Peter was arrogant, but he wasn't a fool. He knew if he lost the loyalty of the Lost Children, his vision of a new world order would crumble, because without that loyalty he was just one boy, and he didn't believe one person could make a difference. But Mack knew differently, and he watched with delight as, one by one, the children walked up and embraced their parents. Many tears were wept as the families were reunited. This was the world Mack had wanted to build, and he was glad that his instincts had been right.

  The other adults looked on with joy as more people pushed forward and called out names, and yet more children were reunited with their parents. Some of them looked back at Peter, torn between the past and the present, but in the end love won out over fear, and Mack hammered home the point.

  “The thing is, Peter, your reign was based on fear. You took these kids in when they were scared, and they trusted you because you were the only one offering them a way out. But you never loved them, and they never loved you, certainly not in the way a parent can love a child. There only ever was going to be one way this ended, and part of me suspects you knew that from the beginning. Fear always will lose to love.”

  Peter stood by Mack, trembling with anger as he watched everything he had worked so hard for fall away. There were still some children who were left without parents, and some parents who had not managed to find their children, but such was the sheer joy of the moment that there was support and comfort for everyone. All eyes had turned away from Peter and Mack and were wholly focused on the love that was blossoming among them all. Tristan and Maggie hugged, as it brought back memories of their reunion. Grace was filled with delight as well, although it was mixed with some sadness as she knew that she never would know her parents, and she never would experience a reunion like this. Yet, in this world, good things were hard to come by, and this was one of the most beautiful sights she ever had seen. She looked up at Mack, for he had emerged triumphant yet again against impossible odds, and Peter had been defeated. But her face fell as she saw that Peter had an angry look on his face, and the gun still was in his hand, and she was too far away to do anything. She cried out as Peter turned back toward Mack with fury in his eyes...

  Sharon had watched everything unfold. Never had she imagined the children finding their parents again, and it reminded her of everything she had lost as well. She envied the younger children for knowing what it was like to feel the embrace of their parents again. Then, across the crowd, her eyes met with her mother’s, and Sharon's heart melted. In that look was all the sadness and love and happiness and worry of a lifetime, and she hated herself for what she had done. She first had run away because she had wanted to be free and, unlike some of the other children, she had chosen to join Peter on his quest, and left her mother without saying a word. Ever since then she had buried those memories and her feelings, and let a dark snake coil around her soul. Now that she saw her mother again, though, everything came back to her, and she was overwhelmed with guilt and shame.

  Then she caught sight of Peter out of the corner of her eye turning the gun on Mack, and she knew that for once she had to do the right thing, and that the preacher had been right, the dream was nothing like what she had been promised. Just as Peter was about to fire, Sharon leaped forward and pushed the gun away. The shot fired harmlessly into the ground, kicking up some dirt. Peter roared and turned on Sharon, slapping her across the face with his free hand. She screamed and fell to the ground. Mack was about to take on Peter, but because of Sharon’s scream everyone had seen what had happened. Tristan was first to the scene, especially when he saw that Sharon had been attacked. Even though she had betrayed him, there still was a place in his heart for her, and it wasn't easy to be rid of those feelings.

  Mack held back when he saw Tristan approach, knowing that it was good for Tristan's character to overcome Peter and work through some of his anger and guilt. Mack watched carefully, though, ready to step in just in case Peter got the upper hand.

  Peter was in the middle of raising his arms to throttle Sharon when Tristan ran up and tackled him to the ground. The gun fell away from Peter's hand and landed near Hank, who picked it up. Tristan pushed himself up and looked back to check that Sharon was okay, but Peter took advantage of this and kicked him in the back of the leg. Tristan yelped in pain as he fell to the ground. Peter wrapped his strong arms around Tristan's neck. There was only a couple of years between the two boys, yet it may as well have been a lifetime. Peter was bigger and stronger than Tristan by a mile, and Tristan only could flail his hands against Peter's arms as he tried wrestling himself free.

  Tristan felt the air leave his lungs and his head go dizzy and light as the air was squeezed from his chest. Peter had him in a grip from which he didn't think he could ever escape. He felt Peter's heavy breathing in his ear and through blurred eyes he could see Mack and Sharon close to him. All the hatred built up inside Tristan and threatened to explode like a volcano. He thought about Mack, and how he never gave
up, and about his mother, too, and the lessons she had taught him as a child. His mind flashed back to when she told him that he always had to know how to defend himself, and that it didn't matter if the enemy was bigger than him, what mattered was the will to survive.

  Tristan reached down deep inside himself to summon up extra strength. His muscles bulged as he strained them to their limits and pushed back against Peter, trying to force him away. The two boys rocked back and forth and, eventually, Tristan knew he wasn't going to free himself that way. So instead, he flung himself forward and watched Peter get thrown over top of him, rolling until he lay sprawled on the ground. Tristan pushed himself up and gasped for air. His throat was raw and sore and pain throbbed everywhere. Sweat poured from his skin and he ached all over, but he wasn't about to give up. Peter had lied to him and betrayed him and threatened to kill his mom, he needed to be dealt with. Tristan took hold of the rage inside him and roared like an animal as he and Peter ran toward each other and traded blows. It was a vicious fight, each of them clawing at the other, scratching and kicking. It was a brawl rather than measured combat, and at any other time it would have been broken up by an adult. But things were different now. Tristan saw nothing but red as he lashed out with everything he had, pummeling Peter until he felt a squelch of blood and a crack of bone. The wind was driven from him as Peter fought back, but Tristan was relentless in his onslaught. He lost sense of everything and became disembodied, giving himself over to all the guilt and shame that Peter had made him feel, and he delivered his vengeance.

  He still was screaming when Mack placed a hand on his shoulder and hauled him away. Breathing heavily, Tristan looked down at Peter's bloodied face, and then down at his own hands, stained scarlet. Mack was saying something, but Tristan only could hear the furious beating of his own heart.