Three Sons

by Saxon Keeley

  Gunfire rattles in the quiet streets and CERE soldiers bark orders as they hold their line against the resistance force that has reached Liang Huazhi Square. The Shanxi Assembly looks more like a fortress than a seat of political power. Sun Ren commands her squad of untrained, but seasoned, resistance fighters to laydown suppressive fire, whilst she and a few others find a good vantage point.

  Rushing to join the conflict, Wesley and his squad support the direct assault against the CERE. At the angle from the bottom of the steps, Wesley cannot make a successful shot.

  “Li…do you read…me?” he said over the coms.

  “Yes, where are you?”

  “Liang Huazhi…Square, we need…immediate back up.”

  Then a shot rips through the air and downs one of the CERE soldiers.

  From the balcony of Salon de Ning, Sun Ren confirms her kill. She pulls back the bolt and stares down the scope. Another shot from somewhere else in the square rings and another soldier is neutralised. One at a time, they are taken out.

  Li arrives at the square to find three surviving CERE soldiers surrendering. They chuck their guns down the steps and emerge from cover with their hands held high. Forced to their knees, Wesley orders his squad to search and restrain them.

  “Guess you had it covered,” jested Li, relieved to see nobody injured.

  Wesley shakes his head, unable to take the credit. He is about to respond when another shot is fired and one of the surrendered soldiers drops to the floor. An echo resonates in the square.

  “What was that?”

  “Cease…fire,” he ordered Sun Ren.

  The two CERE soldiers are pulled to the ground and Wesley’s squad form a protective circle. Wesley and Li notice the resistance fighters all still resting their fingers on the trigger.

  “Stand down,” said Li, resisting the instinct to raise his rifle.

  Across the square, Sun Ren tries to find an opening. “Tell your squad to back off, Jung. These men should be executed, not given free passage off this planet,” she said over the coms.

  Wesley shakes his head. “We are not…like them…we can be…better.”

  “You have not been here. Neither of you have. You have no idea what it has been like, surviving each day. Seeing your people suffer, seeing your friends die. Those men do not deserve to live.”

  Wesley stands firm, refusing to give in to his old commander’s thirst for vengeance. Subtly he gestures to Li and both squads begin to edge towards the Assembly, ensuring the prisoners’ keep their heads down. She watches as they escape into the building.

  Sun Ren throws the rifle strap over her shoulder and leans against the balcony. She holds back her anger as best she can.

  “Sun Tzu would be ashamed of you,” she said with a tremble in her voice. “When you see what those men were protecting…death is too kind for them.”

  “What is…in there?”

  “Diyu,” she said bluntly. Sun Ren knows that pushing her point further would only lead to confrontation, and the mercy he shows is through ignorance rather than compassion, so she steps back into the shadows and gives in. “Jung, I will take my squad south and offer support there. Though you have returned to Shanxi with great numbers, most of them are green. No more of our people need to die.”

  With that, Sun Ren completely vanishes. The resistance fighters turn their backs on the Assembly and head towards the Trading District. Wesley, standing alone at the foot of the steps, takes a moment to compose himself before heading in.

  The Neo-Shanxi Dragon sits atop the rock, surrounded by a puddle of water that trickles down from the rockery behind. Orange and white flickers unconvincingly swim about in the shallow water. Footprints and dried trails of red cover the floor.

  Li ensures that the two CERE soldiers are securely restrained and then orders for them to be detained in one of the meeting rooms on the lower floors. Wesley chooses a handful of soldiers to guard the entrance.

  “Are we ready for this?” asked Li as they both make their way up to the elevators.

  Wesley shakes his head.

  Entering different lifts, they both press the button that will take them to the Whispering Circle.

  Half way to the top, the elevators stop. His squad looks around at one another, not sure of how to react. The electrics behind the shattered screen spark as an indistinguishable number flashes. Wesley is about to test the buttons when the doors slide open.

  A stench so foul seeps through their helmet’s filter. A smell that reminds Wesley of the workshop during the revolt. He coughs and gags. Some of the others remove their helmets to try and escape it, or in case they are unable to swallow it back down.

  “Oh, what is that?”

  “Sir?”

  Stepping out of the elevator, Wesley finds Li standing next to him. Though they cannot see each other, they know the look on each other’s face. They place their rifles onto the saturated floor and together venture down the dark corridor, lit only by the dim green emergency lights.

  Red splatters mark the walls. The floor oozes a murky liquid as it squelches underfoot. Weeping and moaning sounds come from all, but no particular direction.

  Slowly Wesley turns the handle to the nearest door and cautiously he pushes it open. Inside is a woman. Stripped naked, her arms and feet bound to a chair, left exposed. Her skin purple where she had been beaten. Lying dead for some time, she had been abused up until recently.

  Wesley removes his helmet, dropping it to the ground. To preserve the woman’s dignity, he cuts her binds and finds something to cover her. Brushing her hair to one side, he closes her eyes.

  “Sir.”

  He is brought to another room and to a pile of festering bodies. Women, young and old, raped, molested and butchered. Bodies mutilated. Breasts cut off. Blades penetrating them. Violent abortions. Those who hang on to life dribble blood so they don’t choke.

  The soldier cannot bring himself to explain why he has brought his commander here, instead he lets Wesley inspect the bodies for himself.

  Amongst the women, he finds Weishi. Her lips blue. Her touch, ice cold.

  “Jung.”

  His squad tend to the women and Wesley follows Li down the hall. Room after room is the same sight.

  A female soldier stands guard to the room Wesley is brought to, she gives him a subtle nod then opens the doors with just enough room for him to enter. The door closes behind him, and the soldier and Li wait in the corridor.

  Tied to the chair in the middle of the room, Xuan lays beaten and weak. Her bonds cut the skin. Her dress torn. He rushed over to his sister-in-law with a sheet and covers her as he had done for the girl. Through her tears, she cannot make out who is there.

  “It is…me, Wesley. You are…safe now,” he said calming her.

  “Alexander?” she asked.

  “We will…find him.”

  Xuan buries her face, attempting to hide her shame. Carefully cutting a hand free, Wesley takes her and she squeezes tight. Under her breath, she beings to mumble something.

  “What is…it?”

  “Kill me.”

  Wesley stares at her in disbelief.

  “Kill me,” she snapped.

  “What about…Alexander?”

  Xuan struggles to get her words out. “Do not tell him how you found me. Please, do it.”

  Stunned by her request, Wesley takes a step back to look at her. The horror in which she must have endured unsettles him. Xuan’s conviction does not waver and Wesley understands the kindness he would be doing her. Slowly he lifts the sheet over her head, she trembles while thanking him. Drawing his pistol from its holster, he raises it, but hesitates to pull the trigger. Xuan nods hysterically, reassuring him that death would be easier than to keep living.

  The shot is quiet and at the same time deafening.

  Li and the soldier burst through the door. Smoke still exhales from the barrel. Xuan’s body lays limp. Blood soaks the sheet.

  “This…does not leave…this room,�
�� Wesley ordered.

  Neither of them refute his request.

  “Sir!”

  The three of them rush out into the corridor and are directed towards a path completely engulfed in darkness. Not obviously apparent as to why they have been brought here, they are told to remain silent. From the darkness, tiny footsteps squelch about on the saturated floor. Closer and closer they come. Wesley and Li prepare to engage.

  At first a small leg appears out from the shadows, barefooted and wearing grimy, frayed pyjama bottoms. Each of them lower their weapons as they realise it is child. Murmurs of distress come from the boy as he sees the soldiers blocking the path ahead.

  Wesley lowers himself to the child’s level and begins to slowly approach him. His heart skins as Wesley recognises the child as his nephew.

  “Nicholas…”

  The boy is lost, unable to recognise his uncle’s face or voice. Petrified, he begins to back away.

  “It is me…Wesley,” he said softly, holding out his arms. “Father is here…He will be…downstairs soon.”

  Tentatively Nicholas shimmies towards his uncle’s embrace, droplets running down his grubby cheeks as he exhaustedly cries. Wesley holds him in close, making sure he cannot see over his shoulder and lets out an unsteady sigh, too afraid to ask what had happened.

  “Come.”

  Li marches on ahead and orders all the doors to be closed. Lead by the hand, Nicholas is escorted to the elevators and each of the soldiers guarding the rooms watch the young boy with the same sense of dread.

  Nicholas steps into the elevator where Li is waiting for him, he gives him a comforting smile to ease his nerves. He looks back around to his uncle who kneels in front of him and takes him by his shoulders.

  “This is…my friend…Li Guang. He is a…good man…and will keep…you safe…until your father…arrives,” explained Wesley.

  “Your uncle will join us soon,” Li continued, giving Nicholas no chance to dwell on his anxieties.

  The doors slide shut and Wesley waits for the elevator to begin it’s decent before screaming. He slumps down onto the saturated floor and punches the ground, leaving an indentation of his fist in the boards. The exoskeleton absorbs most of the impact.

  An emergency transmission has been sent out calling for all available medical units to assist. The rooms closest to the elevators have been cleared out and the surviving women are brought to wait for medical attention, wrapped in anything that will keep them warm. Those who did not make it are laid out in rows to give them dignity in death.

  Wesley lays Weishi down next to Xuan. He finds a spare blanket and lets it fall over her body. He places a kiss on both their foreheads and leaves for the Whispering Circle.

  A faint ringing resounds around the hall. With no signs of S.E.L. or the CERE, Wesley and the few selected soldiers walk around freely. Emotionally exhausted, it comes as no shock to find two bodies by the window.

  Ignoring the gaping hole in the side of his grandfather’s head, Wesley takes the opportunity to say his own personal farewell. “You stupid…old man. We believed everything…you told us…and look what…it has brought…us.”

  On the floor, next to him is a soldier in black and blue uniform, the letters ‘S.E.L.’ engraved on his chest plate and an ambiguous emblem on his armband. The gun still rests in his hand, having taken both of their lives. Denying anyone retribution.

  Wesley loses control and lunges at the dead soldier, striking him repeatedly. He screams as blood splatters his face. The exoskeleton hammers his fist down harder and faster. Bone breaks and flesh is pulverised into mush. His scar grins a twisted grin.

  “Sir!”

  He tries to fight off his comrades as he is dragged away from the remains of Worms. His nostrils flare and his fists throb. They restrain him as best they can, waiting for their commander’s temper to subside.

  “Sir, it is over. It is over.”

  *

  Grey clouds hang over the utterly grief-stricken colonists gathered in Liang Huazhi Square. A crowd of white and blue, dressed to commemorate the departed, huddle together with the surviving members of their family. Sons and fathers grieve for their mothers, wives, sisters and daughters; parents weep for their children who gallantly gave their lives in the resistance; and grandparents mourn for their lost lineage. Not a single citizen of Shanxi has gone unaffected by the occupation.

  Amongst the crowd, the three sons stand together with their children. Only one year ago they buried their father by the lake on Maia and fear has plagued their thoughts since, now that weight heavies their hearts, unable to fully comprehend their loss. With the last ounce of strength, they stay strong for their children.

  Mẫu Thoải steps up to the microphone, the Assembly building behind her, and prepares herself for the proceedings, a favour for Alistair. The people of Shanxi wait patiently for her to begin. She inhales and unintentionally let out a sigh which is picked up by the microphones.

  “Love, love is what brought you here today. It is because of love that your pain, your sorrow, cuts so deep. It is because of love however, that Neo-Shanxi refused to submit to defeat and despair. Your sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, dared to defy an adversary so callous and cruel because the love they held for their family, for their home. It is because of love that tomorrow holds a future for Neo-Shanxi and you, its people.

  “Maia morns for Shanxi. Thuỷ Phủ morns for Shanxi. Though times may seem dark, you are not alone. Before me, I see a community that possesses an unbridled strength which will persevere for generations to come. Love unites us and consolidates our loyalties to one another.

  “We will never forget what happened here, but be must always remember our loved ones the way they were,” she said, taking a short break before continuing with the acknowledgment of the confirmed deceased.

  Mẫu Thoải is handed a tablet and name by name she reads out the losses suffered during the revolt and during the occupation. Families listen to hear confirmation of the death of a loved one. Eventually she reaches the Jung family.

  “The Jung Family: Dr Charles Jung, Dr Li Jung, Weishi Jung, Xuan Jung.”

  On hearing his mother’s name, Alexander falls into his father’s arms. Wesley watches them helpless, when he turns to check on Alistair, he notices something has snapped inside of him. Needing the comfort of their father, both Nicholas and Jessica tug on his trousers’ leg to try and stir some sort of response, but Alistair stares blankly at the Assembly, detached from everything around them.

  Taking both Nicholas and Jessica, Wesley gives his brother space to grieve, hopping the shock will recede and Alistair will find the capacity to comfort his children. As the last of the names are read out, nothing changes in him.

  “Finally, we bid farewell to Chairman Zhang Guozhi. A devoted father, a caring grandfather, who dedicated his life to saving, sheltering and improving the lives of all Chinese, here on Neo-Shanxi and on Earth,” Mẫu Thoải finally finished.

  No one applauds. An eerier silence fills the square. She walks down the steps and a young woman approaches the microphone. Though the young woman had performed almost every night in clubs and salons throughout the city before the occupation, never has she been this nervous. Unfolding a crumbled-up sheet of paper, she gives it one last glace.

  “Today has been a long day. The sun is setting behind the clouds and soon we will all be able to return to our homes, safe and without fear. Before we part, I would like to extend my eternal gratitude to the woman who saved my life. She was spirited and generous in a world that seemed so savage. You will forever be in my memories, Weishi,” the young woman said, then began to softly sing the poem ‘Song Bie’.

  After, no one else approaches the microphone and people leave in their own time. Alistair stands there with the same blank expression as the square empties, both Wesley and Oscar share their concern.

  Then, without turning to face his brother, Alistair speaks. “Wesley, will you come with me?”

  “Yes
…brother,” Wesley reluctantly agreed.

  He kneels besides Nicholas and Jessica and wipes away their tears. A dull look in Nicholas’ eyes leaves Wesley feeling apprehensive and considers that there is no easy way to address what Nicholas may have experienced with his brother. Never would there be an opportune time, but the sooner they can get him help, the better.

  “Go…with your Uncle…me and your…father will be…back soon. Your father just…needs a little…fresh air.”

  Jessica weeps uncontrollably, distressed by the proceeding of the day and confused by her father’s distance. She throws her arms around Wesley’s neck and refuses to let go. Between each sharp breath, she asks for her mother.

  “I will come…back for you,” he said, glancing at Alistair who does not flinch at his daughter’s grief.

  “Jessica,” Oscar intervened, lifting her up and carrying her away while she cries into his shoulder.

  The two brothers walk to the edge of the colony, initially Wesley attempted to speak with Alistair but quickly gave up and followed him in silence. Posters of the ‘Three Sons’ litter the streets and Alistair stamps his foot down, catching one before it escapes in the wind.

  “All those people,” Alistair said devastated.

  “We did…the best…we could.”

  “And it was not enough. Come we are almost there,” he said, walking to the outskirts of the city and to the red plains of Delta Nine.

  Not too far out of the city, Sun Ren and a group of Shanxi soldiers wait for them. A line of shallow graves has been dug, and most of them have already been filled by captured CERE soldiers. Four last captives remain, forced to their knees in front of four empty pits.