Edge Of Bloodshed

by Kip Nelson

  They walked away from the area where the battle had raged, away from the crimson-stained ground, away from the dead bodies, although the stench still lingered. It was a smell that Diana was getting all too familiar with. Stan opened a door and walked inside. The building was an old church, and the cold air swirled out of her mouth as she breathed. Their footsteps echoed against the hard stone, and everywhere she looked it felt as though she was being judged. They walked up the aisle to the front, where two men were having a discussion. One of them was clearly in charge. He had a shock of blonde hair and a beard that reminded her of a Viking. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and his arm was bandaged. He looked tired, but then again everyone in this world seemed to share that feature. Upon seeing Stan, the other man walked away, barely glancing at Diana as he passed.

  “What do you want, Stan?”

  “This is Diana. I think you should talk to her, Matthew.”

  “I don't really have time for this right now. I thought you were handling it.”

  “I was, and I have. You should hear what she has to say.”

  “I thought the whole point was for you to get whatever you needed out of her and then come to me with it in the morning. Everything still is falling apart down there, and there's too much to do. I have to go make sure everyone is safe.” Diana stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt and ruin her chances of being heard.

  “Matthew, please, just a few minutes,” Stan said. He obviously had some sway over the leader as Matthew groaned and took a seat, gesturing for Stan and Diana to do the same.

  Diana quickly explained the situation as best she could, the same way she had told it to Stan. “We never knew this camp was innocent. We were told you had stolen supplies and attacked men from our camp, and that this was just retaliation.”

  Matthew scowled. “She's been a scourge on this area for a long time. She's a liar and a thief and she'll stop at nothing to get what she wants. She puts on the air of being a kind old woman, but as soon as she doesn't hear the answer she wants she just takes it and sends her army afterward. We've heard many stories about her and, unfortunately, we've had far too many dealings with her. It's always the same story. First, she sends a scouting party to make contact and suggests we should start trading, but she always wants food and weapons. That's the only things she's interested in. If you agree, then you'll trade for a while before she wants more and more. Eventually the terms are so bad that you have to refuse, and then she accuses you of betraying the contract and attacks.

  “If you don't even talk to her outright, then she claims you're the enemy, and the same result ensues. Either way, people get hurt and she sends hers out there to decimate camps. We've had more than a few people come to us from other settlements who were attacked by her. They warned us, and as soon as we found out we told her we didn't want to deal with her any longer, but then that only made her attack. We've been dealing in mostly skirmishes up until last night. That was the first brutal attack, and I'm sure she painted us to be the enemy, just like she has done for so many others.”

  “That's what she does. You don't know the half of it,” Diana said.

  “When we were welcomed into the community, she said she wanted to build a better tomorrow, and like fools, we believed her. I should have known something was wrong and I just...I'm so sorry for everything that happened last night. I know you don't have any reason to believe me, but I want to do anything I can to make up for it. I still have friends there, friends like me, who only just have learned the truth about Lisa, and I want to get them back as well.”

  Matthew drew in a long breath and stretched his legs. He stroked his beard and tilted his head up so he was looking at a portrait of a knight slaying a dragon, and gazing at a sculpture of the savior nailed to a cross. “We've all suffered losses. This camp is made of people who have been attacked by her. Frankly, I'm surprised nobody has stood up to her yet. I would have thought there would have been plenty of people who could see what was going on, or are you all blind?” he said, and then apologized to Stan, forgetting he was blind in one eye. Stan told him not to worry.

  “She's got everyone convinced they're victims. People are so frightened and I don't think they want to know the truth, but I'm sure if they were shown what happened they would stand up and fight. They're not responsible for this, Lisa is.” Diana said.

  “It's the responsibility of everyone to stand up and fight for what's right and question authority if they have their suspicions. They must have chosen to be blind. It's easy to believe what you want to believe, and much harder to fight against it when you have to give up shelter and warmth. I understand why you're here, but I'm not sure we can help you. I understand you have friends, but my priority has to be the people in this camp. You can see how much rebuilding work we have to do, and how many people we've lost. I wouldn't be surprised if Lisa is planning to launch another attack on us now, or else she'll come and try tempting people away with promises that they'll always be safe. To be honest, I wouldn't blame anyone if they did want to go. I'm not sure how much of a fight we can put up against her.”

  “But my friends will help!” Diana said, losing the worry that she was going to overstep her boundaries.

  She knew that this was the only chance she was going to get to convince Matthew, and she couldn't leave without him agreeing to go up against Lisa. She needed to be stopped, and they couldn't just wait for her to mount another attack. She only would get stronger and stronger and find other smaller settlements to raid, and the cycle would continue.

  “There's something else,” Stan said, “she has my daughter.”

  “Your daughter? But I thought--”

  “So did I. Diana here described her. Turns out she found Annabelle and has been keeping her safe. She's back there, Matthew. I can't just leave her there.”

  Matthew ran his hand through his hair and blew out his cheeks. “That's...wow, I mean, I'm happy for you that she's alive. At least there's some good news tonight. It's not enough to make up for all of this, but it's something.” He sighed again, and it was clear he had the weight of a king on his shoulders, the burden of trying to make sure everyone was safe in the face of a seemingly unstoppable enemy.

  “I'm sorry, Stan. You know I'd love to be able to help, but we just don't have the numbers for an all-out assault. It would be dicey even if we were at full strength, but after this...I just can't risk any more people.”

  Diana noticed that Stan bristled, but he didn't say anything. It was clear that Matthew commanded deep respect, and that the two men must have been through a lot together. She also got the sense that Matthew was a reluctant leader, and that he was placed in charge probably because nobody else had been willing to take on the role. If what he said was true, and his community was made up of ragtag survivors from Lisa’s attacks, then it must have been a tremendous struggle to keep everyone working together and toward the same goal. Diana didn't know how Matthew managed it, and started to respect him herself, although she hoped she would be able to convince him to go through with her plan. She wanted to see the others again, and hated that she was here in relative safety. Even though she was a prisoner, she had faith that she would be treated better than the others would have been.

  “If we're going to take out Lisa, we have to do it now. We have to strike while the iron is hot. We cannot let her regroup or rebuild, because she'll only get stronger, and she'll come back here to finish the job.” Diana said.

  “I wish I could help you, but it's just impossible,” Matthew said, and he made a motion to leave. Diana glanced at Stan, and then reached out her hand to try preventing Matthew from rising.

  “Wait! You won't need to mount an assault. I've lived in that camp. I know the layout and everything. I'll lead you in, and you won't have to worry about anything. It'll be quick and clean and we'll be back before anyone knows anything has happened. With more people we'll be able to plan a better attack, and we can take down Lisa once and for all.”

  Matthew scratc
hed his beard again, and Diana prayed that the hope in her eyes shone through. He pressed his lips together and looked at Stan. “Give me a moment to discuss this in private,” he said. Diana nodded, even though she was a little perturbed, and went to the end of the church.

  She looked at an inscription on the wall. She never had been that religious. From what she had seen in her childhood, she didn't like the idea that if God existed, he allowed that to happen to little girls. Although now she was hoping that if anyone was up there, he would guide Matthew toward listening to her. She knew it was the right play, not just for herself, but for everyone, and if Matthew didn't agree, then she just would have to find some way to get there herself. She figured she could count on Stan as well because he would want to see Annabelle, although she didn't know how successful they would be if it was just the two of them.

  She looked down the long building at the two men talking animatedly with each other. She felt almost as though she was spying, so she slipped outside and watched the breath unfurl from her mouth. Nearby, there was a man just staring up into the sky. Diana walked up to him.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. It took a few moments for the man to answer. He lowered his eyes to meet her gaze, but even as he looked at her it seemed like he wasn't really seeing her, almost as though he was looking past her.

  “No. No, I'm not,” he said.

  “Did you lose someone in the attack?”

  “I lost everything,” he said, and Diana understood.

  “What was her name?”

  “Elaine. She was...there...and then she wasn't. It all happened so fast. I don't know why or how it happened...to her. It should have been me.” Diana's heart churned inside her and she wished she could have gone back in time and prevented this before it ever happened.

  “I'm sorry,” she said, “but we'll get the person responsible.”

  The man did not respond, so Diana left him alone with his sadness and waited outside the church. She looked up to the night sky and thought about her friends, wondering if they had made it back safely. She smirked to herself. They probably were tucked up safely in bed, although she didn't know how Adam was going to handle telling Annabelle that she hadn't returned. He never was good at those conversations. She knew Annabelle was in good hands, though, and looked forward to seeing them again. Annabelle was going to be delighted, and hopefully they could break free from Lisa and put an end to her tyranny once and for all.

  Diana had been blind to the outside world. In that camp they had been isolated, and she was sure that as long as she could show the other people living there the truth, they would fight back and not seek to defend Lisa. Her time was coming to an end. Diana just hoped Matthew could give her a few more people for what she needed. Then she would go back to that place for the last time.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Adam, Peter, Tara, and Annabelle were being held in a room while their execution was being planned. After Lisa had revealed her true plans, a look of horror had swept across them all. Adam couldn't believe she actually was planning something like this. She had gone absolutely crazy with power and was now like a dictator rather than just a malevolent force. It wasn't just her words that made Adam afraid, it was the way her voice was as hard as a bone, and her eyes were ice cold. Her thin mouth had been pulled back into a wicked smile, revealing pink gums and yellowed teeth. She looked ugly then, and he wished everyone else could have seen what he saw, but it seemed as though they were blind to her ugliness. After she had imposed their sentences he almost laughed because it seemed so ridiculous. What right did she have to execute them? It was like living in medieval times, where the sovereign simply could lop off the heads of anyone he didn't like.

  It was no laughing matter, though, and the color drained from his weary face as he realized Lisa was deadly serious. Worse than that, nobody was protesting. Nobody stood up and told her she was wrong, or said they could not stand by and let an injustice like this occur. Either they all agreed with her or, more likely, they just were afraid. A bitter taste filled Adam's mouth as he was lifted and taken to a room with the others. Lee seemed to be enjoying this all too much, although he didn't say anything. Adam and the others were sullen until they were together and left alone, their plan in tatters. It all should have been so easy. All they needed was the help from a few people who wanted to stand up for what was right, but nobody in that camp could. They all were morally bankrupt, and they all were going to be implicit in the deaths of Adam and his friends.

  There still was so much left unspoken between them. Adam wanted to say so much to Tara, but it seemed as though the feelings he had for her would be cut off before they had a chance to grow. He'd wanted to see Annabelle grow into a strong, powerful woman as well, and once again, Adam chastised himself. She'd managed to suffer through the death of her parents, and Diana had kept her safe, but as soon as she was under Adam's care she was sentenced to death. And Peter...well, perhaps the man finally would find peace. But Adam still felt like there was a lot for him to do. He wasn't ready to die, and the thought terrified him.

  “I never thought it would end like this,” Adam said.

  “I didn't either. She's never done anything like this before, at least not to my knowledge. I thought at worst we'd be exiled,” Tara said.

  “At the moment that's more of a reward than anything else,” Peter said. “She wants to send a message. She needs to snuff out any kind of resistance. She's going to use us as an example, just in case anyone else gets the same idea.”

  It still was a little strange for Adam to hear Peter talk like this. He had become used to the older man's particular quirks and ways of speaking, but ever since the battle it seemed as though the fog had been lifted from his mind and his faculties all were there once again. Annabelle remained quiet, however, somewhat pensive. Such a young soul should not have been burdened with all of this sorrow.

  “From what I saw there aren't many people offering resistance,” Adam said bitterly.

  “They're all just scared, and can you blame them? They don't want to end up like us,” Tara said.

  “But there are so many of them. If they just stood up to Lisa, she wouldn't be able to have this hold over them. At the end of the day, she's just an old woman. I don't understand how she got into this position in the first place,” Adam said.

  “You know she's more than that,” Tara said.

  “And bullies always find a way to get to the top. She looked at the weakness of other people and used her strength to give herself a good position. I'm sure she was in the same position in her old life, in whatever group she was involved in. This isn't going to be anything new to her.”

  Adam placed his head in his hands. He was tired. He had not slept since the battle, and his body was crying out for rest, just not the eternal kind. He had so much anger in him, but even that was fading because he just was so exhausted from it all. He wanted it to be over. He wanted to be home again, in his office, doing his job, then returning home to watch movies and read books, and then sleep away his sadness. He thought his life had been empty, but at least it had been simple and he wasn't this close to death.

  “I'm sorry,” he choked out.

  “This is all my fault. Peter and Annabelle, you'd never have been in this situation if I hadn't forced us to come to this camp, and Tara, you wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for this plan of mine. This stupid plan. All my plans always fail and maybe this is what I get for being a bad leader, but I wish I was suffering this alone. None of you deserve to be here. You're all too good to be a victim of my mistakes.”

  “You're too hard on yourself, Adam,” Peter said.

  “I never would have made it this far without you. You took care of me when there was no one else around, and you had no obligation to do so. We were strangers, but you let me accompany you and kept me safe and I consider you a good friend, one of the best I've ever had. You don't need to be sorry for this. You didn't force us to come here, we chose to come with you because we like
you, and I know if Diana was here she'd tell you the same thing.”

  The mention of Diana was like a stab in Adam's gut. Instead of comforting him, it only reminded him that a friend had died because she had been swept up into this situation because of him.

  “You are brave, Adam,” Annabelle said.

  It was the first thing she had said since they had been taken into the room, but she had been listening to everything. Very few things slipped by her. “I know this place isn't what we thought it was, but that doesn't mean it was wrong to come here. The only thing you've tried to do is make our lives better, and that's a good thing.”

  “And it's not your fault. The only person who is at fault here is Lisa,” Tara said.

  Adam's eyes welled up with tears. The tiredness he felt made him feel emotionally weaker and he was about ready to collapse. He smiled at them all and thanked them, and then they fell into silence for a little while. The exhaustion overcame Annabelle, and Peter put his head down too, leaving Adam and Tara as the only two who were awake. Tara moved across the floor so she was sitting beside him. Somehow, despite everything that had happened, she still looked beautiful. If she was going to be the last thing he saw, well, there were worse things he could have chosen.

  “It sounds as though you've had a few adventures,” she said, her voice soft and lilting. Adam found it soothing.

  “You could say that,” he said, smiling as he thought back to his past. He told her about how he had found Peter and the two of them had made it out to the forest, only to come back and run into Diana and Annabelle.