by Max Masen
Chapter 7:
How Much Farther Can We Go?
“Marley! I’ve been waiting for you!” Joe yelled excitedly.
I zoned his voice out. All that was present to me was my surroundings after Joe’s men had thrown me to the ground in front of their leader. Slaves carrying pickaxes to be taken to the mines. Others carried farming tools to reap fruit for Joe. Joe-land. I was finally here. I didn’t want to admit it, but I felt Joe and I did have a sort of weird connection. I felt like it was destiny that we met. I just wished I knew what came next.
“Marley, answer me!” Joe demanded as he grew increasingly frustrated.
“Sorry, Joe,” I replied. “I was just... admiring what you’ve made.”
“I can thank you for this! If it wasn’t for the revolution, Joe-land could never have come to be!” he said enthusiastically.
“We do have some things in common.” My voice was hesitant, reluctant.
“What do you plan when your Hyenas win the war, Marley?” Joe asked interestedly.
“I, uh, like to think realistically,” I began. “We need to make sure we have strategic advantages and high morale for the troops. We have to make sure we can win the war before we make plans for after the war.”
I hoped my answer appeased him for the moment. It didn’t. I could tell by the look on his face.
“Don’t be so modest, Marley,” Joe said. “What kind of government will you come up with? What rules will you put in place? Will people like me be allowed to live in your new world?”
“Government? Uh, well-” He’s going to see right through me. His guards did so how can he not? “Democratic,” I said uneasily.
“Relax!” Joe ordered of me. “We’re friends, Marley! We have aligned interests! I’m not killing you in my home so I trust you won’t have me killed when you take this whole country as your home, correct?”
“Absolutely. We can… we can make this work, Joe.”
I acted businesslike. I was only entertaining this crazy man until my driver and his passenger could put their plan into action. It was my one and only chance to escape. I had only one job: keep him busy. I could do it. I was beginning to sweat. Joe still looked to me with excitement. I was his idol and I couldn’t understand why.
“How close are you to winning the war?” Joe questioned.
“As you can see, I’m away from my army at the moment. I don’t know what their condition is right now. The quicker I get back to them the faster we can put an end to the resurgent pain in my sides. Or should I say our sides?” I was hoping I could persuade him. I was creating a distraction at least. He’s listening. Good. I can make this work. Maybe I can save Levi after all.
“Ha, of course!” Joe yelled enthusiastically. “We’re going to be-” A noise coming from his earpiece distracted him. “What is this?” He put his stubby finger to his ear and listened attentively.
I finally had a chance to examine him while he was distracted. Joe was a short, chubby man with black, balding hair. He wasn’t even close to intimidating. Regardless of that fact, I was terrified of what came next.
“What’s the matter, Joe?” I asked with a hint of fear in my voice.
“Marley, how do you deal with traitors? People you thought you could trust. But then it turned out they were only around and got close to you to kill you and took what you worked so hard for.”
“I, um, I would… I guess it depends. You can always give them a second chance if…”
I’m out of options. He can see through to the other side of me.
“Give them a second chance?!” Joe bellowed and laughed uncontrollably. He rested on his guard and his guard joined in forced laughter with Joe. “Of course you would think that. That’s funny.”
“What’s the plan, Joe?” I asked in distress.
“Bring them in! Show the traitors to me!” Joe said, commanding his soldiers outside of his private tent.
Joe’s soldiers brought in my driver and his passenger. He found them out. I then knew I wasn’t leaving anytime soon. The soldiers ripped the mask off of the driver’s face and revealed his bearded visage. His face showed the desperation he was surely feeling. It was over for these men. Joe didn’t appear to be one to show mercy.
“What will you do with these men?” My voice raced quickly, wanting to cut Joe off before he did anything rash.
“What would they have done to me if they were given the chance?” Joe asked calmly. He walked up to the men and screamed in their faces: “ I will make you wish you never crossed me! Do you two understand that?! You’re not going to die, no, no, no. Death will be a welcome relief that you will greet like a friend when I’m done with you two!”
“Joe…” I attempted to interrupt him.
“You’re next, Marley!” Joe screamed to me. He then turned to his soldiers and ordered: “Cut whatever appendages off of these traitors you think will hurt most and let them bleed to death. I’m not done with Marley. He sided with these men and then tried to lead me to believe that we were friends! He gets a different punishment. A worse punishment. Lock him with the other prisoners until I think of something gruesome enough!”
The guards grabbed me and dragged me outside. A group of other guards came over to spit on me and kick me. Finally, one stepped forward and hit me in the head with the butt of his rifle.
I woke up about five minutes later with Benny leaning over me. I was put in a cage with only Benny. The cage was on top of a hill overlooking the city. We could see the slaves working the fields and some coming out from the mines. They were put in whatever rags they could find for clothes. I had realized my jacket was taken from me. My jeans were tattered and my t-shirt was ripped down the middle.
“Thank God! You’re alright, Stumpy!” Benny said enthusiastically. “Look, I’ve been thinking of a few ways out of here.”
“Benny, there’s no way out. We’re lucky we even made it this far. Maybe we should just count our losses and move on,” I suggested. He’s thinking too positively. He always does. Maybe he knows something.
“No, no, Stumpy. Don’t tell me he got to you. You gotta have some hope left.” He grabbed my shoulders and shook me wildly, seemingly hoping that jarring my body would knock his sense into me.
“I have one arm left and everyone blames me for everything,” I said devoid of ambition. “So no, I don’t have much hope left. We’ve made no progress!”
“We haven’t made progress?!” Benny asked furiously. “You met me! That’s progress! You and your brother are still alive! Isn’t that progress?! And on top of that, you’ve made more friends that are going to help you through this. That are going to help us through this.”
“We lost. That’s it. We lost,” I stated definitively. I was done, defeated, and ready to quit.
Benny was growing frustrated and finally yelled: “You’re not dead yet!”
“Benny, I’m sorry I let you down. You know I’m not Marley. I can’t do this,” I explained in disgust of myself.
“You’re a liar, I know that much. But fine, I’m gonna kill you myself then,” Benny said aggressively. What did he say? Does he think that’s a threat? “You’re right, Stumpy, you don’t deserve to live. Why should a pathetic, lying piece of shit get to live when all of those other good people had to die?”
Benny got up and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. My eyes grew wide and I struggled to get any words out.
“Benny, no!” I pleaded. Why do I suddenly want to live?! Wanting death and receiving it are two different things. What is this?! Adrenaline?!
“You’re gonna beg?! You want your brother to remember you this way?!” Benny screamed. “Be a man!” I am one. Levi needs me. Emily needs me. All of these people need me. I didn’t die all that time ago because I can still do some good. That has to be the reason.
Benny released his hold on my collar and threw me to the ground violently.
“Alright!” I yelled back. �
�You made your point! Let’s get out of here.”
“What’s the plan?” Benny inquired.
“What do you mean?” I tilted my head, shooting him a confused expression.
“You’re the leader of the former free world. You make the plans,” Benny demanded.
“Alright, alright. Let me think about it.” I just have to know what the shifts are for the guards. They’re the ones with the keys. They’re the only ones that can unwittingly help us out of this situation.
I spent the night discussing various plans with Benny until we finally settled on one. It wasn’t perfect. It didn’t need to be. It just had to get us out of there.
“Wake up!” a guard yelled to me the following morning.
I didn’t want to get up. I knew what I had to do now. It was all on me.
I finally have to step up and live up to my false title. All I wanted was safety for my brother and I. I got it the wrong way and now I have to suffer.
Two guards stepped into our cage and kicked Benny and I. Benny woke suddenly and put his arms up for the guards to grab him. The guards hoisted us up into their arms. Benny and I exchanged glances and he nodded to me, signalling that it was time. He swung wide and broke free of the guard’s hold. The man holding me threw me and tended to his partner. They cornered Benny in the cage and Benny cocked a defensive stance. “Run, Stumpy!” Benny screamed to me. I didn’t look back. I ran down the downhill gradient. They’re going to kill him. If I don’t save Levi then Benny died for nothing. The guards in a tower on the north side began shooting in my direction as warning shots after the guards had alerted them I broke free. Bullets skidded all around my feet.
I didn’t know what to do. We had the arrangement planned out the night before but now with bullets whizzing by, everything looked different. Interference came from unexpected areas.
I ran through the dirt and the dark buildings. A few slaves stood in my way as I ran. I pushed past them and yelled for them to follow me. The guard house was up ahead. A few more slaves joined in on my side. My vision was blurred and my mind was jumbled with possible scenarios. After another moment of running, I finally heard something. It was chanting. The slaves saw me run and they were chanting. The slaves working and the slaves held in their cages. They were all chanting “Marley. Marley. Marley.” I finally stood up for something. Levi would be proud to see me now. But they should be chanting “Dustin.” I want to be known for what I really did. I want to be known for this moment.
I kept running until I made it to the guard house doors. The doors appeared to be locked loosely. A strong slave stepped forward and motioned for me to step away. He came forward and bashed the door open with a sledgehammer. He then stepped away and used his hand to signal that he wanted me to step in first. All this politeness while Joe’s guards were shooting recklessly in our direction. Slaves dropped on all of our sides but they outnumbered the guards at least one hundred to one. All I needed was the keys to the slaves’ cages. I gave them power and encouragement to stand up to Joe; now they only needed the physical freedom to fight.
The guard house was small but about ten slaves fit into it with me. About thirty more stood guard outside as bullets landed all around them. I searched frantically for the keys through cabinets and desks. A few bloodied slaves were in cages in the guardhouse screaming at me to help them.
The building suddenly shook violently after a deafening explosion from outside. One of the slaves screamed that they were using bazookas to bring the building down around us. It was suddenly becoming a desperate race. Where could the keys be? I’m running out of time. Any second the building is going to collapse on top of us.
“I got the keys!” a slave screamed in excitement. “There’s five sets of keys!”
The man gave out the sets of keys to the other slaves and he gave a set to me.
“Let’s get moving!” I bellowed.
“There’s weapons in here, Marley!” another slave stepped forward and told me.
I could barely hear anything over the sounds of battle outside of the guardhouse walls. I nodded my head and told him to get out as many as he could and hand them out. He handed out assault rifles, shotguns, and pistols to as many slaves as he could. He then stepped toward me and handed me a short sword. He told me it was for my handicap. He then proceeded to tell me that a sword would look intimidating while I led the charge against Joe.
I had forgotten that leading meant leading by example. I completely forgot that the completion of this scattered plan would require me to push toward the enemy; it meant no more running away. I would have to fight Joe for freedom. He wasn’t just going to give it to me if I ran fast enough.
“What’s the plan?” a slave asked approaching me.
“There’s more guardhouses! That means there’s more keys to free the other slaves!” I explained loudly. “We need to spread out and get to the guardhouses to help the others!”
The surrounding slaves overheard my orders and agreed to group up into teams and then spread out. The problem was that we were now trapped in a small guardhouse with all of the guards waiting on the other side.
“How do we get out of here, Marley?!” a slave screamed to me.
I have to get to Levi and Emily. People are dying so quickly. What if Levi’s already dead? Any attempt to rescue just him might be a waste of time and a waste of lives. Is that something a leader would do? Would a leader sacrifice his people to save one person? I can’t look for Levi until after the battle is won.
“There’s explosives in the corner!” I yelled back to the slave. “Blow a hole in the wall and let’s go out the back door!”
A few slaves stepped forward and set off the explosives against the wall, effectively creating a hole big enough for us to escape through. I ordered my new guards to get their weapons ready as we went through our new escape route. We encountered three of Joe’s guards hiding behind cover. The slaves laid down suppressing fire so we could slip through and use the cover of buildings to progress.
I led the way through the streets with my sword raised. We got a few hundred feet before I was tackled from the side. I was being held down by an unknown assailant. My attacker was attempting to tell me something but the noises surrounding us drowned out his voice. I ordered my guards to put their weapons down. The voice was finally discernible. It was Benny. He was telling me that he knew where Levi and Emily were. He helped me up and led the way.
Some of the slaves following us broke off to help others out of their cages. More of them joined in and clustered up to help in the charge. We had a few hundred people joined in our group by the time we reached Joe’s stronghold. Benny had explained that Joe was holding Levi inside. I was willing to do whatever was necessary to break Levi and Emily free.
Benny took a large group of slaves and led them to the right side of the house while I led the other half of the slaves to the left side. My group successfully broke into Joe’s house after a slave with a shotgun shot off the hinges on the side door. I ordered a small group of my followers inside to storm the house. I stood outside and showed the others where to take cover at to create a circle around the house to ensure Joe’s guards couldn’t flank us. Intense fighting raged outside as the slaves held their ground. Joe’s people continuously moved closer and threw grenades to dispel our lines and send the slaves routing. Fifteen minutes of brutal firefighting took place before the slaves finally appeared through the side door with Levi, Emily, and the others. What have they done to the two of you? It was a small victory, but it was one we needed to keep the momentum up.
“I need a runner!” I yelled into the vast amount of former slaves.
“I’m here if you need me!” a young woman said stepping forward.
“Tell Benny on the other side of the house that we got what we came for! We’re getting out of here!” My voice was becoming hoarse from the screaming but I wasn’t ready to stop just yet.
The area surrounding us was filled with black, opaque smoke. It was
perfect cover to escape through. I didn’t know how many of us were left or if we even had enough people to mount a full retreat. It was an uphill battle from the moment I broke free. Now we were all going to break free.
The smoke was spreading which made it so I could no longer see more than a few feet in front of me. Joe’s guards were shouting to fix bayonets and get out other close range weapons. They were getting ready for a charge. My people weren’t prepared. We were trying to escape, not fight. Joe’s men were ready to take the initiative, and with it, the momentum.
I yelled to anyone that could hear me to begin running away. They can’t hear me over the sound of gunfire and explosions. Nonetheless, mostly everyone knew what was coming and began running.
I started sprinting through the smoke and down an unseeable, yet level path. I could see silhouettes of others running alongside me. Some were my allies, while others were those trying to kill us. I could suddenly make out the fence holding us within. We were almost free after less than a minute of sprinting as fast as I could. Many of the slaves outran me and were grabbing onto the fence and were trying to climb over it. I then discerned that gunfire was coming from our side. The enemy set up a killzone, waiting for us to get that far. They gunned down the slaves on the fence and those nearby me. It was a heavily fortified machine gun nest on the top of a building.
“Turn around!” the slaves were yelling as a warning.
I turned to face the other way as one of Joe’s guards came upon me and attempted to hit me with the butt of his rifle. I moved abruptly and he hit what was left of my left shoulder with the rifle. I recovered quickly and unveiled my newly-acquired sword. He lifted his rifle again to bash it against me, but I stabbed him in the stomach too quickly. My sword pierced through his vest with ease and went clean through his abdomen. As I pulled the sword out, he fell just as quickly. That was for Levi.
Joe’s guards were too prepared for a slave uprising. It was amazing we even got close to having the upper hand. It was almost over. The last of the slaves were being wiped out quickly and the bullets were landing around my feet and were getting closer. At least we didn’t go down without a fight. A smile nearly formed on my face. I stopped in place and waited.
A hole was suddenly blown in the fence a few yards down. The hole was large enough for a person to escape through. The slaves near it began funneling through it as fast as they possibly could. Many were getting caught on the fence because too many were trying to fit through such a small space. More explosions occurred near us and the fence. More holes were blown in the fence until the fence came down completely. Joe’s explosives had worked against him and his fortifications. He was now without slaves and walls for his city.
I ran to the broken-down fence and jumped over parts that looked like they could get stuck on my shoes. All this as the battle continued raging around us. We were still getting gunned down but we could see safety and freedom. That was all that mattered. No more slaves. No more masters for these people.
“Keep going! We all go together!” I screamed as the slaves ran with me.
I made it past the fence and ran into the woods as quickly as possible, while checking behind me occasionally to ensure I still had a decent-size following.
“We made it, Stumpy!” Benny called excitedly from behind.
He picked me up by the waist and lifted me up. Swinging me around in excitement, I could hear him crying. He had been through so much. I had been so focused on the terrors I had been exposed to, I forgot my people had seen just as much, if not more than myself. I had it easy while these people were outside the government and Hyena walls. They fended for themselves over the dwindling resources. Benny was out there too. Benny fought for his life more than once. This whole survival thing was new to me. I was thankful for Benny and everything he did for us. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have gotten as far as I did without him. I wasn’t ready to admit that to him, though.
“We did it! We’re free!” I shouted to the masses.
“You did it, Stumpy!” Benny yelled in reply.
“Dustin, you’re a hero!” Levi uttered as he came up on our side. “You actually came through for us.”
“Actually?” I asked jokingly. “You had doubts?”
“None of us thought we’d be outside those gates again!” Levi remarked.
There were fifty-four slaves left after the fighting had died down. I managed to get a headcount later that day. Emily and her daughter were among the living. They ran up and hugged me. No words were spoken. No words needed to be spoken. We weren’t safe yet, though. We had too many people and no place for refuge. Surely more would die soon due to disease or starvation. A better death than by Joe’s guards, though.
I led the group with Benny, Levi, and Emily helping spearhead. We walked for another few minutes until we heard a branch break. We halted the entire party and ordered them to be quiet. A man dressed in military gear and a mask exposed himself to us. He had a military rifle but he kept it around his back and lifted his hands up in peace.
“Are you alone?” I asked after a moment of hesitation.
“No, I have an army. Are you slavers?” His voice was patient, polite.
“No, former slaves,” I replied pridefully. “We just escaped from Joe-land up the road.”
He gave an exasperated breath and looked at me through the eyeholes of his mask with a relieved expression.
“I don’t want to know how you did it, but you people need a safe place to stay. We can offer that to you,” he stated.
I accepted his offer and ordered all of the former slaves to follow us to where this man was leading us. As we walked, we passed the man’s supposed army. There were around a hundred men in military gear and a few trucks loaded with supplies. They were gearing for an assault. They were coming to attack Joe. They would have freed us. We weren’t alone.
