Standing

by China Dennington

  Gale sat down and waited patiently for Lynn to do the same.

  Finally, she turned to Gale and began, “I think that you are dream sharing with others in the camp. But only the dreams that are memories. So in a sense, you are experiencing the memories of the other people in this camp.”

  Gale gasped, “So all those things I felt and saw really happened?”

  “Yes, I only know that because there was one other empath in history that had the dream experiences that you are having. His name was Abe Lincoln and he was a good friend of mine,” said Lynn sadly.

  Gale gaped, “So you really knew Abraham Lincoln, and you helped Franklin Roosevelt escape an assassination attempt!?”

  Lynn smiled, “I sure did!”

  “Wait, what about what I saw in your dream of you watching me and looking at the newspaper?”

  Lynn’s eyes twinkled. “Both instances really happened. When I see someone I don’t know and I get that lost memory feeling, it means that I meet them in the future. As for the newspaper article, you helped usher in the one-hundred and eighty year era of peace! You were unanimously elected by the European council of representatives. That’s saying quite a lot considering that there were two-thousand six-hundred of them! They were quite right to, you were and will be an excellent leader.”

  Gale half-smiled. “But there is still a chance that if I fail this mission I could change the past, isn’t there?”

  “Yes, there is. The outcome of things can always be changed from the future. But just remember, be confident. If you let your confidence be dragged from you then you will find it hard to get anything done.”

  Gale smiled. “Thanks, Lynn.”

  The elf’s eyes twinkled kindly as she said, “There’s nothing to thank me for, you have it all inside of you.” Then she got up and walked away.

  I can’t believe that those were all people’s memories and feelings. This is the devastation that Ginvay and Jaegear’s reign has caused. The young girl, the guard, the leader. Different but similar views on what happened.

  Later that morning, Tivia, Gale, Taynar, Force, and Liam gathered around a warmth globe once more to discuss their plans for taking over Keesen. Junior was almost as big as his mother now and was starting to explore on his own.

  Taynar began, “This is going to be very hard. Ginvay sees everything under her gaze. She is sharp. She would notice a fake general as being fake. Her security systems are the best. You need actual DNA samples to get past the security devices. There is a transparent force field wall surrounding the entire city except the gate, which sentries guard. You can’t get in or out of Keesen without a pass that has been sent directly to you from the Central Chamber, the room where she works and lives. She also has about two-thousand loyal guards. Her Center Of Operations, which holds the Central Chamber, is deep in the middle of the city. It is a square structure made up of many layers. It is designed specifically to keep her safe. You have to go through five doors to get to the Central Chamber. It’s virtually impossible to reach her.”

  “That’s encouraging,” said Liam dryly.

  “Actually, I think that there is a way for this to work. What type of DNA samples are required, and does everyone always carry their pass on themselves?” asked Force.

  “A fingernail, and yes, they do carry their passes everywhere all the time,” replied Taynar.

  “Does Ginvay ever use foot soldiers?” asked Gale looking at Force, their minds both concocting the same plan at once.

  “Yes. You would have to capture an important soldier though to get a sample and pass from him. Only the leaders go in person. All of the rest are creations of the mind splitter,” said Taynar, his eyes sad.

  “Sounds painful. What exactly does it do?” asked Tivia.

  “Well, about ten years ago, the population of Keesen was declining very quickly. This was happening because her soldiers kept dying and she kept replacing them with people from Keesen. She soon realized that she would eventually run out of soldiers. Searching out small camps and taking people from them was entirely impractical. So she came up with an idea and had her scientists working double time to produce it. Within a few months her idea had been brought to life. The mind splitter is a chair that someone sits in. When they are hooked up to the attached machinery, five physical versions of themselves appear in the room (other than the one in the chair, who is passed out.) The other versions feel like flesh and blood. They aren’t just images that walk right through you. They can all be in different places, performing different tasks at the same time. Don’t be shocked if you see more than one of the same person walking around. She has a room full of active mind splitters,” answered Taynar.

  An awkward silence arose and Gale could feel everyone’s uneasiness.

  So she broke the silence, “I guess we need to be looking out for military leaders approaching the city then. Taynar, do you know if Ginvay will have people searching for a missing general if we capture one?”

  Taynar shook his head and replied, “You don’t have to worry about that. Ginvay won’t use her resources that way, she could care less if someone goes missing. She will just revoke their pass and give someone else that position. But she doesn’t revoke the pass until several days later because the communications are very slow and they might have been deterred by the weather.

  “I happen to know that tomorrow evening at six o’clock, a troop is scheduled to be returning for a military meeting. General Halcon Klide, General Tylene Singl, General Tales Hicot, and General Cinta Breel will be with it. They have security passes into everything important, including the Central Chamber.”

  “How do you know that?” asked Gale with a confused look on her face.

  “About a year ago I worked in Keesen, I was the schedule maker. That meant that it was my job to keep track of any important events. In order to do that I had to have access to the military schedule. I made a few close friends from that department. Anyway, I was planning on escaping, and I made a deal with one of my friends who works there to bring me a copy of Ginvay’s military calendar every few months,” Taynar answered.

  Gale smiled gratefully and said, “Well, thanks, we couldn’t do it without you. Okay, now, when we go on this mission the procedure will be similar to when we invaded Draysok. We will bypass the security systems, then we’ll all rush into the Central Chamber and declare that the city is under attack by enemy forces. When the guards rush out, Liam will go to the computer and lock the doors so that they can’t get back in. We’ll take Ginvay prisoner, then broadcast over the citywide communicator for people to come and take the guards prisoner. Now, let’s make plans to capture those generals, then decide who will go on the mission.”

  “Alright, so we have to get close to the generals without getting any of the other soldiers’ attention,” said Force.

  “That’s not a problem, it’s become a tradition that when they are almost to the city, the generals walk in front and out of sight of the troop to show their fearlessness, while usually they are protected,” replied Taynar.

  “I think that this will be easier than we thought it was going to be!” said Gale optimistically.

  “I think that Tivia, Liam, Gale and I should go. Do you all agree?” asked Force.

  “Yes.” they all replied at the same time. The level of hope in the room was rising.

  Gale waited all day for six o’clock to come around. This is our chance to get into Keesen undetected. We have to succeed. She sighed, Oh so close, but oh so far. At five-thirty Taynar, Liam, Force, Gale, and Tivia started watching out for the troops. Their black cloaks helped them blend into the darkness. Gale was the first one to spot the four generals walking far ahead of the other soldiers. She signaled to the others, with that they all rushed up behind the generals.”

  “What?” exclaimed one, but that was all that he was able to say before his mouth was covered.

  Gale struggled to maintain her grasp on the woman whom she was tying up. “I don’t enjoy this. And don’t worr
y, you won’t be harmed,” Gale whispered.

  They tied up their prisoners and quickly headed back to camp. They took them all into one of the larger tents. Gale could feel their surprise. There were two men and two women who were all in their early twenties.

  Gale addressed them kindly but seriously, “We aren’t going to hurt you. Now we need part of your fingernails and your passes so that we can get inside Keesen.”

  “Why?” asked one of the women rudely. Gale felt cruelty radiating from her. This one was probably loyal to Ginvay.

  “We are going to retake Keesen,” Gale answered.

  “Impossible!” spouted the woman who was Tylene Singl. Her name ran across a badge sewn onto her uniform in stark gold letters.

  The other woman, whose name badge said ‘Cinta Breel’, looked at Singl fiercely and said, “I don’t know what you’re thinking! I was forced into this. If I wasn’t a general then I would die. I would never willingly hold this position, I hate doing this job!” Turning to Gale, Cinta said, “I will willingly give my pass and fingernail sample. Good luck.”

  Gale could feel sincerity coming from Cinta and agreement with her coming from the two men. Oh, I can’t bear this anymore! Gale thought as she grimaced. She got down on her knees and, to Cinta’s surprise, started untying her.

  “Come help me, Liam,” said Gale.

  “But…”

  Gale looked at Liam encouragingly and said, “Don’t worry, she is telling the truth, she won’t go back and tell Ginvay. Neither will Klide or Hicot.”

  “Alright,” replied Liam hesitantly as he got down on his knees and started untying the two men.

  When the three were free they eagerly gave Gale their passes and fingernail samples.

  Tears came to Cinta’s eyes as she spoke to Gale, “Thank you. Thank you so much for rescuing me. I have always had the chance to run, but I never had anywhere to go. Hopefully I will be able to call Keesen my home when you take it over.”

  This is why we have to win.

  Gale smiled, “Thanks for helping us.”

  “Trust me, nothing would make me happier than for Ginvay to be defeated. This war needs to be over. Everyone has suffered too much.” The pain in her eyes shone as she continued, “It doesn’t matter how much she trusts the people she designates as generals. We are nothing but figureheads to show Ginvay’s power. She makes us do awful things and we don’t really have any power. The reason the people themselves didn’t overthrow her long ago is because she has cameras and spies everywhere. At the slightest hint of trouble, secret meetings, or anything like that, she immediately sends guards to haul them off to jail...and once people enter that prison they never get out. Sometimes she even kills them. So, she holds us all in terror.”

  Gale nodded sympathetically. Even though they were still outside of the city, she was already feeling the pain.

  The next day everything was prepared, disguises were made based upon the design of the uniforms of the generals, and Gale, Tivia, Liam, and Force prepared themselves for the coming undertaking.

  Before the quartet set off the following morning, many of the people in the camp gathered to wish them luck. Gale was ready for the mission to begin, she wanted to end the pain of these people. They all set off in the black and gold uniforms of Ginvay’s generals. As the ground rose to meet Gale’s feet with every step, she could feel more and more sadness and hurt.

  Finally, they were about to face the guards at the city’s gate. Gale looked up at the tall, cruel, black skyscrapers and everything they stood for. They seemed like they were taunting her, saying “We have power, you cannot stand up to us. You are foolish.” What she was about to do was defying greed, and selfish power. It was also very dangerous. She pursed her lips and thought, We will win this. Truth has more power than greed, and love has more power than fear. The two guards stood on either side of the entryway inside the city.

  “Do you have passes?” questioned one, glancing at their general uniforms with fear. Force, Tivia, Liam and Gale all silently presented them.

  “Go ahead,” said the guard once he had reviewed the passes for authenticity.

  The pain here was much greater than in Draysok. Gale had to grit her teeth to keep an ocean of tears from coming out. All of the buildings and grounds were kept up, but not in a happy way. It was all a show of power. Like Taynar had said, Gale noticed multiple versions of the same people walking around and doing different things. The misery of the people there bombarded her, she was finding it hard to concentrate. It took them an hour and a half to reach the Center Of Operations. It was a large, black cube-looking structure.

  As they approached, Gale noticed multiple guards around the entrance. The red alerts in her head went up and foreboding twisted her stomach. Taynar didn’t mention anything about guards around the door. When they got to the door, a sentry stepped in front of them and stared silently ahead. Now Gale knew that something strange was going on. She was trying hard to focus her efforts, but it was difficult with all of the terrible feelings coming at her.

  She managed to focus just enough to try a tactic that had succeeded once before. “Get out of my way! How dare you block the way of one of Ginvay’s generals! I will report you if you don’t get out of my way at once!” Gale shouted.

  The sentry didn’t even flinch. She glanced behind her at Force and the others. As she was talking, the rest of the guards had completely surrounded them. Oh no! thought Gale in panic.

  “You seem to be overusing that tactic,” came a cruel woman’s voice.

  The guards parted, and a woman who was no doubt Ginvay walked through. She seemed familiar to Gale. The woman stood still and silent for a moment with a smirk on her face. Suddenly, the incident in the ladies room in Draysok came back to Gale in a flash!

  “It’s you!” she cried.

  It was the same woman who had almost ruined the takeover in Jaegear’s city. Ginvay had her black hair down now, but her face still contained the same stern cruelness.

  “Yes, are you surprised dear girl? I hate to break it to you, but I let you take over Draysok.” She examined her fingernails. “Of course I was going to do it myself, but I figured out that something strange was happening during our little encounter. I decided to wait a while and see what happened. I thought I might as well let you do the work for me. After all,” she looked up, “you will be a breeze to defeat.”

  Every moment the fear of the civilians watching the scene rose. Their panic that they would somehow be associated with the disturbance and blamed skyrocketed. Every moment Gale found it even harder to see clearly. Force looked disgusted and defiant, Tivia and Liam were both trying to be brave, but they were really scared.

  Suddenly, Force attacked one of the sentries, throwing him aside, and before any of the other guards could react, Force, Liam, and Tivia had slipped into the crowd. Gale could barely tell what was happening. She tried to follow, but couldn’t focus enough to run, and by the time she had reached the opening, a guard stepped in her way. She clutched her head. So...hard...to...concentrate! The tears of the people spilled out of Gale, she could only hold back half of them now. Her head pounded….

  “Get them!” shouted Ginvay.

  Three of the six sentries immediately gave chase, while the other three closed about Gale in a tight circle. Gale could just make out Ginvay’s angry face through her tears.

  Suddenly, she sharply turned her head and eyeing Gale with hate said, “You have given me much more trouble than I have time for. You will pay. And your friends will be captured.”

  At that point the fear, misery, and confusion of that tortured city was too much, too overwhelming. Gale couldn’t hold it back anymore. She collapsed on the ground and all of her tears poured out, the tears that these people had been crying for twenty years. I have failed, humanity will be destroyed. That was all she could think of, she was oblivious to anything around her. The feelings of everyone rushed in and out of her, in and out.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

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sp; Gale’s eyes slowly opened. She was on her back, and above her was darkness. The air was permeated by a strong stench. She slowly sat up. Where am I? What happened? As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized that she was in a cold, hard prison. Dark metal, no windows, and vertical bars that barely gave any room to see through them.

  “No!” she muttered.

  This can’t be happening. I’m actually in Ginvay’s prison. Claustrophobia hit her. She couldn’t really be stuck in a place with no way out. Could she? Gale felt like the walls were closing in on her. There was barely any light, it was hard to see. Horror crashed into her when she realized that she was stuck here until Ginvay let her out, if that ever even happened. In addition to that, she had no way to communicate with anyone. Alone. Completely alone. A flash of anguish hit Gale’s soul. Tears ebbed from her eyes. Then she remembered everything and cried even harder. Imprisonment was something that was hard for her to handle, but what about the others? And the mission? Is there any hope left?

  After a while, her tears started to dry up. She straightened her shoulders. If Ginvay comes, then I won’t show any fear. I hope they’re okay. She hadn’t thought of it until that moment, but maybe they were here in this prison, just not in the same cell. She stood up and walked to the bars. A quick glance showed that this section was filled with other cells.

  “Force? Tivia? Liam?” she called as she grasped the bars. No answer. She tried again, but no one responded. Maybe they escaped.

  For all she knew, they could be on another level. She drew a sharp breath as she suddenly realized that Ginvay may not have spared them at all. She put her head in her hands. No Gale. Don’t even think like that. They’re fine. I’m sure they’re fine. She silently walked to the other side of the cell and leaned back against the wall with her arms crossed. She stared through the bars in frustration. What am I supposed to do now? she wondered.

  At that moment, Ginvay strolled in front of Gale’s vision. Her face was cold as ice. Gale could feel her annoyance and ruthlessness, but she didn’t know whether that meant that the others had been captured and said something that made Ginvay angry, or if it meant that they had escaped. It could mean any number of other things.