by A. S. Hames
“What are the East and South States?” Zu asks.
“Nothing for you to worry about,” the colonel says.
Reaching the main trail again, we continue on our journey south toward hilly terrain. The railroad comes up alongside us on the right, as if it’s been told to leave town too. But it’s no help to us. No train is likely to come running along it. I’m guessing it could make or break a place like Renner’s Town. Once the war is over, they would welcome trade. They could do business with whoever’s at either end of this line. Maybe then things would go better for them.
Two miles on, I take a look back, to the now distant town and the forest and mountains far beyond where we left the child-sergeant. It’s like looking into the past.
I think how it’s my fault the rebels knew the Representative would be on the train. And my fault the colonel decided to take Von and his handlers with him. At least one thing makes me grateful. Any view of the north and the past will soon be lost in the ups and downs of the terrain that lies to the south. Sometimes, you can’t put right your mistakes. Sometimes you just have to leave them behind.
The colonel raises his spyglass.
“Looks like twelve men,” he says, confirming we’re still being followed.
I suppose there being only twelve of them tells me they didn’t get on so well at Renner’s Town.
I take a drop of water. It’s definitely hotter than it’s been of late. In fact, I’ve noticed the farther south we go, the hotter and drier it gets. Pride in the uniform is one thing, but the tunic feels like a dead weight.
I decide to ask about it.
“Colonel? Could we take our tunics off?”
He thinks about it then nods.
“Badges to be transferred,” the sergeant says.
I do so, pinning the wolf’s head and sub-lieutenant’s badges to my pale green army shirt and then tying the tunic around my waist. I un-tuck the shirt too and let the air reach my skin. I wish I could unwrap my sweaty bosom – but loose breasts aren’t permitted in public, even under a shirt.
BEN
Jay has removed her tunic. I wonder if it’s possible to fall in love during a war. I’m not saying I’m in love – I wouldn’t know, mainly because it’s never happened, but… well… Jay. How much can you like someone before it turns more serious?
I adjust my cap. I’m keeping that on. We all are. Too much sun on the head isn’t good and the peak keeps the sun out of our eyes.
Now it’s just the colonel and the Representative wearing tunics. The colonel, I suppose, wants to retain his army identity. As for the Representative, his grubby but expensive suit looks so lightweight that he probably doesn’t feel he’s wearing it.
We keep going, into the long arcing bends of the hills. Here, the railroad that’s been our companion along our right hand side sweeps left under us. We cross a wooden bridge to get over it and now the railroad runs alongside us on the left. From here on, it keeps switching sides every couple of miles to give us a distraction from the fact that armed killers are following us. I can only marvel at the engineers, blacksmiths, and workhands who did all this. It must have taken hundreds of them to lay it out so.
About ten miles south of Renner’s Town, crossing another bridge, Dub nudges me.
“Why don’t we leave the trail?” he says in a loud voice. “Then we’d lose those men.”
“No,” the Representative says directly to Dub and me.
I look to the colonel.
“No,” the colonel says to Dub. “We’d lose more of us to starvation. We have to get to the Lake Towns as soon as possible.”
He doesn’t wait for Dub’s response. He just carries on. We all do.
I realize that Dub hasn’t come with us.
“Come on, Dub,” I call back to him. “Don’t make things worse.”
“Worse?” He says it loud enough for everyone to hear. Then he follows us all the same.
I try to take my mind off Dub’s complaints by studying a hilly landscape that is in turn barren and dry on one stretch, scrubby and bushy on the next and then dotted with clumps of trees on another. It’s a bleak outlook.
After a while the colonel stops.
We all stop.
“We can’t keep this up all the way to the Lake Towns,” he says. “We’ll take our chances here. The terrain is good.”
“Are you sure?” the Representative asks.
The colonel is looking around at the trees, bushes, and rocks. He’s right. This is a good spot for an ambush. The trail comes around a big rock and there’s no way to know you’re walking into a bad situation until you’re already in it. It’s not just my head that agrees with him. My aching body does too.
“We’ll set a trap,” the colonel says. “A hundred yards farther on.”
JAY
A few days ago I would have struggled with this kind of thing. I could never see what would make me want to kill in cold blood. Now I know. It’s tiredness. I can no longer run and I don’t want to die. Here, for the first time, I will deliberately kill. Not shooting in the general direction of my enemy, but straight into his big, dark heart.
“The way I see it,” Dub says, “they only want one thing – him.” He’s inclining his head toward the Representative which could, technically, result in Dub’s execution.
The colonel strikes Dub across the cheek. Dub barely moves. He has to be the bravest and craziest boy I’ve ever known.
“Next time, I’ll shoot you dead,” the colonel says.
To me, the colonel has headed off a serious punishment by quickly issuing a lesser one. He may have even saved Dub’s life. I don’t expect Dub to be grateful though.
“Five of us will stay,” the colonel says. He picks out Dub, Ben, Sergeant Seven-Nine, and me. “The rest will continue south.”
“Let’s get moving then,” the Representative says, seemingly satisfied with the arrangement.
I wonder what the colonel would do if he knew the Representative’s sole purpose was to end the war. Surely, he would support that. But then I think of Steven Rose. He seemed something he wasn’t. If I was any kind of empath, I’d know for sure.
As we say our temporary goodbyes, I slide the envelope into Taff’s hand. He’s puzzled, so I whisper close to his ear.
“The Representative thinks he can persuade the Leader to end the war. If he doesn’t make it to the Lake Towns, this envelope has to take his place.”
Taff looks at me like I’m crazy.
“Trust me,” I say, “and don’t tell the damned film woman or my brother.”
I note that the Representative has seen me hand over the secret item.
“We’ll see you soon enough,” the colonel tells those departing.
There are nods and worried smiles. Then, all too soon, they’re gone.
As the rest of us take up positions in trees and bushes above the trail, the colonel goes to check on the enemy through his spyglass. It’s not long before he hurries back.
“Okay, it’s two, eight, two. Let the first two through then we’ll attack the eight. I’ll fire first, then you all join in. Dub, you target the front of the eight. Ben and Sergeant Seven-Nine, you aim for the middle. Jay? You and me will hit the rear. Once the eight are down, we’ll mop up the others.”
“Everyone understand?” the sergeant says.
We all nod.
“Up there,” the colonel says, pointing to one side. “Take positions where you can find them.”
I reckon he’d be good at team sports, organizing tactics and so on.
It’s not long before I’m a little way up a tree and the scene is deathly quiet. From this vantage point, there’s a good view of the trail below. It won’t be long now. I adjust my footing on the branches and think of the child-sergeant slipping from a greater height than this. I wonder how he’s doing. I wonder if he’s getting plenty of fish.
Two men appear on the trail.
I wonder if they think they’ve left the worst part of their day back at
Renner’s Town. Or do they sense that death is still with them. I don’t wish them ill, or pain, but in this moment I do wish them death.
In this moment.
I wonder if that’s the heart of poetry. Not to explain the world, but to capture a moment.
I must forget poetry for now.
The two men are below me.
I feel the weight of my gun.
I hardly dare breathe.
24. Ambush
JAY
As the men we’re going to kill come into view, I make sure I don’t study their faces. I only need to shoot them. I don’t need to worry that they might be good people in a bad situation.
Krak! Krak!
Gunshots!
It’s them at us! I’m up a tree with men shooting at me! In a panic, I fire back in their direction, over and over, until all my bullets are gone. Then I drop my weapon and jump out of the tree.
I land heavily and tumble, but I’m okay. I don’t know if I’ve killed anyone because I’m too busy moving up the slope. All around me guns are blazing. The noise fills my head. I just want to run. Maybe if I do, they’ll never know I survived and I could finally go home.
“Jay!”
Oh my! I nearly die of fright. But it’s Ben.
“This way,” he says. He’s leading me the wrong way. We’re going down, not up! But the shooting has stopped and there’s the colonel. There are men dead on the trail, Sergeant Seven-Nine’s body is at the foot of a tree, and the survivors among the enemy have pulled back in rapid fashion.
“Where’s Dub?” I ask.
No one replies.
The colonel retrieves an enemy weapon and some ammunition, which he hands to me.
“We have to move,” he says.
Is that it? Is Dub dead too? I cannot believe it. Not Dub. Not brave, boneheaded Dub.
“Let’s go,” Ben says, taking my arm and guiding me.
We head off south and soon we’re rounding a bend. My mind is so full of images that it takes me a few seconds to realize that the colonel has halted.
“Okay,” he says, “we took down seven. Maybe eight or nine when their injuries take hold. Ben, go on ahead. Get the Representative to wait for us. We won’t be long.”
Ben looks worried but he goes. I’m worried too.
“We need to make sure I’m right,” the colonel says.
We’re soon back at the battle site and beyond it to a point where the colonel can use his spyglass.
“Yep… there’s one… and another. They’re in no shape to follow us.”
“Should we look for Dub’s body?” I ask.
He lowers the spyglass.
“Are you planning to dig a grave or cremate him?”
I don’t know. But I guess he’s right. This place is still too dangerous to spend time and strength digging or cremating. I suppose I just wanted to see Dub again. Maybe say some words.
“It’s not like I thought,” I tell the colonel. “I thought I’d be fighting redcoats on the Front. Them on one side, us on the other. But it’s ordinary people in ordinary clothes.”
“I know,” he says, “but you’re a soldier. You have to deal with what’s in front of you. Maybe one day, you’ll see some redcoats. You might even find yourself fighting alongside them.”
The idea stuns me. “Why would I be fighting alongside redcoats?”
“You haven’t been told everything, Jay. There are enemies we and the redcoats share. Your brother has fought alongside them.”
What?
The colonel raises his spyglass again to check on the enemy’s flight.
“Colonel? Ax was fighting with the redcoats?”
“Yes.”
I find it unbelievable. And yet…
“The East and South States – is that who we and the redcoats share a hatred of?”
He lowers the spyglass.
“I’ll explain it all in good time. Now go bring the others back. We’ll light a fire and cook some hog.”
“Hog?”
“I saw a dead hog. They were carrying it with them.”
“I didn’t see any hog, colonel.”
“The rear two had it. They never got into the fight, but they dropped it when they ran off.”
My eyes wander to the bodies of the fallen.
Human bodies.
“Hog,” I say. I have a bad feeling about this.
“We are starving, Jay. The hog meat will allow us to continue the journey.”
“Hog meat,” I say. I don’t believe it’s true.
“Bring them back. I’ll prepare a fire.”
“Hog meat,” I say again.
“Those are the words, Jay. And only those words. Understand?”
I nod and he takes a knife from his pack.
“What about the enemy?” I ask. “What if they change their mind and come back?”
“It’s all about numbers. They don’t have the numbers to make it worth their while. Trust me.”
I do trust him. At least on fighting matters.
“It’s good to have someone to learn from, colonel.”
“You can learn from anyone, Jay. Everyone does at least one thing well. Find out what it is. Try to understand it. You’ll meet a lot of people in your life. You owe it to yourself to learn as much as you can. Then, one day, you’ll be a good teacher.”
A shot rings out. The colonel falls. I freeze.
From behind a tree, a face.
God no! A ghost! I stumble back and trip over the colonel’s body.
“Dub?”
It is. It’s Dub for real.
“I’m not with you, Jay. I’m not with the Nation anymore.”
“What?”
I check on the colonel. He’s dead. He’s damn well dead.
Dub comes over, his gun pointed right at me.
“Leave your weapon. We’re going to find the others.”
“You can’t do this, Dub. You can’t kill everyone.”
“Just walk, Jay.”
I put my gun down and walk and I try to work out what to do. Only, I can’t think of anything.
“Why are you doing this, Dub?”
“I’m fed up with us killing the wrong people.”
I’m confused. “The colonel wasn’t the wrong people.”
“Shut up and walk, Jay. When the rebels win the war – and they will – they’re going to change things. Make things fairer. Then we won’t have leaders who throw away other people’s lives.”
“The Nation can change, Dub. I’m sure of it.”
“Shut up, Jay. This ain’t one of your school debates.”
“Don’t kill the Representative.
“I’m not killing him.”
“He’s going to stop the war, Dub.”
“Handing him over will stop it quicker.”
“To those rebels?”
“They’ll get him in front of a camera. He’ll admit to our crimes and say we’re wrong. That’s the way to stop it, Jay.”
“Ax won’t let you do it.”
“Ax? He might be able to rip the pants off some poor scared girl but he don’t frighten me.”
“What?”
“Why do you think he had to join the army? They weren’t desperate for volunteers back then.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I really don’t care, Jay. Just keep moving.”
There’s no stopping him. I can see that.
Within ten minutes, I see the others – Ben, Zu, Taff, Von, the film woman, and the Representative. Where’s Ax? I think about yelling but what can I say? I’d be shot dead before I could make any sense. And they’re coming toward us, closing the gap.
Dub aims his gun.
“You, Mr Representative, I’m arresting you.”
The Representative is quick to pull out a hidden weapon.
Krak!
The bullet grazes Dub’s arm.
Krak! Krak!
Dub is shooting back and I’m hitting the ground and there’s crazy movem
ent and more shots that are shocking in their raw brutality. The film woman goes down. Ben and Taff? Are they hit? I don’t know! There is panic and squealing. The Representative collapses. Dub runs. Ben shoots at him. He misses and Dub keeps going. Von starts after Dub but stops in confusion.
I scramble up to see if I can help anyone. The film woman. My God, she’s dead. She really is.
Ben is okay. He’s already helping Taff, who seems to be alive. Zu is emerging from a ditch. I check on the Representative. He’s alive but only just. There’s too much blood on his front and it’s still coming out.
“The envelope,” he says. “You must get it to the Leader. He’s stubborn, but he can be swayed by facts.”
“Try not to speak,” I say.
“Taff’s hit in the shoulder,” Ben calls to me. “The bullet went straight through. If we keep it clean, he should be okay.”
Taff has Von sitting beside him like a personal guard.
“You must get it to him,” the Representative insists. “Your desire for peace will get you through any hell. The Leader…” He coughs a little. “He’s my son.”
This is a lie. The Leader’s father is a familiar figure. There are paintings, statues…
“I know what you’re thinking,” he says. “But you’re wrong. The Third Leader had no children. To avoid… loss of face… he adopted my son. I had no choice. My son was… adopted to become… the Fourth Leader.”
I try to get a sense of him. It’s powerful. As if something hidden is being revealed.
“You should rest,” I say. I wish I had some medical training. A doctor might be able to do something. But his eyes are only on me.
“By the powers vested in me… I grant you the status of… Emissary to the Senior Representative. Tell my son… I’m sorry about the fight in rose garden. Give him the report.”
I’m staring at him because it’s all too much to take in. But he grabs my hand and his eyes become more alive than I’ve ever seen before.
“Only you can stop this war.”
I want to say something, because I have about ten questions, but he dies right in front of us. Nothing big – just like someone blowing out a candle.
If I’m right, the world has just lost a dominant empath.
BEN