The Forever Man: Betrayal

by Craig Zerf

  Nathaniel flashed into existence and quickly checked around to make sure that he was alone. Then he stood and stared at the Battle Stone. It wasn’t that impressive to look at. Perhaps six feet high, around four feet long and three feet wide. A rugged chunk of stone set into the ground. But it had been standing there since 1415, commemorating a battle where some four hundred English soldiers defeated a Scottish army of over four thousand men.

  ‘The poor sods,’ whispered Nathaniel to himself as he imagined the battle. The Marine knew that those were the days when the English archer was supreme and there was no viable answer to the longbow. Massed archers were the equivalent of a modern day machine gun emplacement and the highlanders would have charged again and again until the archers had totally decimated them. Killing them before they even got close to the English battle line.

  The Battle of Agincourt had taken place in the same year, in France, where, once again the English archer had proven his unassailability when a mere four thousand of them destroyed a French army of almost fifty thousand.

  ‘It’s all about fire power,’ said the marine to himself as he remembered the destruction of the Annihilators in the battle before the Fair-Folk betrayal.

  And then, his experiment successfully concluded, he felt for the place that he had come from, concentrated and reappeared in front of Kob.

  ‘That was quick,’ said the Orc.

  Nathaniel nodded. ‘Now we’ve got to try it together. Shouldn’t be a problem, same as before but I’ll just feed in a bit more power. Are you ready?’

  Kob nodded.

  ‘Okay,’ said Nathaniel. ‘Stand next to me, put your hand on my shoulder and relax.’

  The Orc complied and Nathaniel pulled in the power, concentrated and launched them into the flow.

  Kob spoke first. ‘Well there’s something that you don’t see every day.’

  Nathaniel cast his gaze around. A barren, rock strewn landscape painted in purples and grays. Three pale dwarf suns in a line across the sky like a string of fake pearls. The air was rank and smelled of sulfur. No plants and no visible life. ‘oops,’ he said. ‘Took a wrong turn somewhere.’

  ‘Where are we?’ Asked Kob.

  ‘No idea.’ Replied Nathaniel. ‘I must have radically overcompensated for the extra weight and used far too much power. Seems to be some sort of alien planet. Might be a different time zone, could even be a different dimension.’

  ‘I thought that you studied this for twelve years,’ quipped Kob.

  ‘No,’ denied the marine. ‘I studied for twelve years but that was all sorts of stuff. Actual travel I only studied for a few months. Probably should have done more time but I was getting impatient to get back.’

  ‘After twelve years you suddenly got impatient?’

  ‘Yeah well, it is what it is,’ answered Nathaniel. ‘Now quiet while I concentrate on getting us back.’

  Power surged, time split. The current took them away.

  The Battle Stone.

  ‘Impressive,’ said Kob as he looked around, confirming to himself that they were in the correct place. ‘How many beings do you think that you could shift at once?’

  ‘Not sure,’ admitted Nathaniel. ‘And I’m not sure that I’d like to risk many more. Who knows where we could all end up?’

  ‘Well, you have tested your capability,’ prompted Kob. ‘So what do we do now?’

  ‘Now, we head for more populated areas. I need to see where the humans are being kept imprisoned, where the bulk of the Orcs and rubber heads are, their supplies, weapons, everything.’

  ‘Then I suggest we get as close to London as we can,’ suggested Kob. ‘Maybe the Robin Hood standing stone outside Peterborough.’

  Nathaniel pulled out a hand drawn map and unrolled it. ‘Show me.’

  Kob pointed at the area where the stone was situated.

  ‘Good,’ agreed Nathaniel. ‘We’ll go there.’

  The two stood close together, Kob with his hand on the marine’s shoulder. Nathaniel shifted into an Orc in case there were observers when he arrived, then he worked his magiks and they disappeared.

  Chapter 40

  Nathaniel literally shook with rage.

  There were rows and rows of the simple wood and steel cages. Steel bars to the front and roof and sides of slats of raw wood. They provided minimal shelter and little else. Each had a shallow hole in the back corner for the humans’ toilet needs and every cage held between six and eight human beings

  The stench was unbelievable. The misery and suffering an almost palpable thing.

  Nathaniel started to draw in power, preparing to unleash a holocaust on those keeping the humans prisoner.

  Kob put his hand on The Forever Man’s shoulder.

  ‘Calm,’ he said. ‘Now is not the time.’

  Nathaniel shuddered with the effort as he slowly unclenched and let the power flow out.

  ‘Come,’ said Kob. ‘Follow me. Let us check where the main barracks are and see how many Fair-Folk stay here. Then we will leave. The next time we see these people they will be free.’

  Nathaniel nodded. ‘Thank you, Kob.’

  The two of them walked past the pens to the exterior of the camp. This was one of many situated on the outskirts of London. Like the others that they had now seen, it was loosely based on a military camp structure, although the walls were less defensive and more a simple demarcation of the camp boundaries. A wooden fence, six feet high and not that sturdy. There was no real chance of any of the humans making a run for it, they were shackled and far too weak to offer any serious resistance.

  As they got closer to London, some of the camps were slightly different in that they had a pen section that was separate to the masses. These pens were slightly better. They had fresh straw on the floors and basins of water to wash in. There were also slightly more sophisticated latrine facilities. These were the quarters for the human slaves that actually worked in the Fair-Folk residences. Personal slaves. So obviously they had to be a little cleaner. Dressed better. Less offensive to their alien masters.

  Nathaniel made a mental note of the approximate numbers in the labor camp and then he and Kob walked to a secluded spot and The Forever Man transported them to their next destination.

  Once again the current of power swept them along and, within seconds, they were standing in the area that Nathaniel had been concentrating on.

  Behind them was the River Thames. Unlike pre-pulse times, the river was now almost constantly choked with ice due to the change in weather patterns. To their left, in the distance, stood Tower Bridge. It was rusted and much of it was covered in creepers. Also it was unusable due to the fact that, when the pulse had struck, the bridge had been raised to let a ship through and it was now jammed in that position until it either rotted away or was destroyed.

  ‘We need to go this way,’ said Nathaniel as he walked down the road away from the river.

  ‘What are you looking for?’ Enquired Kob.

  ‘It’s called the London Stone,’ answered Nathaniel. ‘I know that it is here, close, because that’s how I got us here. However, I need to see exactly where it is.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘It’s powerful. Very, very powerful,’ said Nathaniel. ‘And it’s one of London’s best kept secrets. Fulcrum told me about it. A prehistoric standing stone, right here in the middle of the city.’

  Nathaniel turned right and then stopped, searching for some sort of landmark. ‘It’s close,’ he murmured. Then he pointed. ‘There.’ He jogged down the street and stopped in front of a ruined building, held together by creepers, no glass left in the windows, perhaps four stories high.

  He pulled at the creepers, exposing what looked like a fireplace in the wall, except it was protected by rusted iron bars. Behind was a block of limestone. Two feet high, one and a half wide and one foot deep.

  Kob looked distinctly unimpressed. ‘Doesn’t look like much,’ he said.

  ‘Well it is,’ said Nathaniel. ‘trust me, I can fe
el the power emanating from it and that’s good because I have a plan and I needed to check that this stone was as powerful as it was rumored to be.’

  ‘Hey, you two,’ called a stranger’s voice.

  Kob and Nathaniel turned to see an Orc patrol walking down the street towards them. An Orc sergeant and eight soldiers.

  ‘Quick,’ said Nathaniel. ‘Let’s smash them up before they sound the alarm.’

  ‘No,’ said Kob. ‘Let’s be a little more subtle, leave this to me. Greetings, sergeant,’ he continued. ‘How can we help?’

  ‘Why aren’t you in uniform?’

  ‘We are on leave,’ said Kob. ‘The master sergeant gave us some time off.’

  The strange Orc looked at Kob, his face a mask of incomprehension. ‘What is, “Time Off”?’ He asked.

  Kob shook his head. ‘Darn’ he said to Nathaniel. ‘I’ve been with you guys so long that I forgot, Orcs don’t get time off. Ever.’

  ‘So what now?’ Asked Nathaniel.

  ‘Plan B.’

  ‘What’s plan B?’

  ‘Smash them up before they sound the alarm.’

  ‘That was my plan,’ said The Forever Man.

  ‘Whatever.’ Kob pulled out his sword, a dry rasp of metal on leather.

  But before he could attack, The Forever Man reverted to his human form and leapt past him. There was an explosion of movement and sound as Nathaniel struck blow after blow without pause, one following the other so fast as to sound almost like one continuous drum roll. Within seconds all of the Orcs lay on the floor, limbs at twisted angles, some bleeding, some merely broken.

  The marine had not even bothered to unsheathe his weapon.

  Kob looked at the fallen Orcs in disbelief. Finally he spoke. ‘Scary.’ He nudged one Orc with his foot. ‘Dead,’ he muttered. ‘All of them.’

  ‘Is that a problem?’ Asked Nathaniel.

  ‘No,’ answered Kob. ‘I too would have killed them. But I would have needed a sword to do so. I would not have thought it possible to kill warriors such as these with one’s bare hands. As I said before, it is…daunting.’ He looked at The Forever Man, his face a little wary but also full of a new level of respect. ‘You are not the same human that I knew twelve years ago.’

  Nathaniel shrugged. ‘We all change.’

  ‘You have not simply changed,’ said Kob. ‘You have totally transformed. You are now, truly, a demigod.’ The Orc went down on one knee. ‘My lord,’ he said. ‘I offer you my service for now and forever.’

  Nathaniel knew better than to make light of Kob’s offer of fealty. It was something that the Orc had never done anything like this before and, although he already did as Nathaniel commanded, The Forever Man perceived that this was more meaningful than simply swearing to follow his commands.

  Nathaniel placed his hand on Kob’s head. ‘Thank you, brave Kob,’ he said. ‘I humbly accept your offer and I name you Kob Kingsman. Now stand, my friend.’

  The Orc stood.

  ‘Now put your hand on my shoulder,’ said Nathaniel. ‘I think that it’s time we went home.’

  Light spun, time crunched and the torrent of power swept them onwards to their destination.

  Chapter 41

  The Free State army had gathered and they were encamped behind the Antonine Wall. As were the Vandals. Tad and Kob and the appointed officers had already told all of the task that lay ahead and the army had been split up into groups of fifty each.

  Seventeen thousand humans, the majority of them males under the age of eighteen. The rest, females and older men. Five thousand Vandals. Over three hundred groups of fifty.

  Humanity’s final hope.

  Master Marine Sergeant Nathaniel Hogan, King Arnthor of the Picts, sovereign of the Free State and The Forever Man stood on the wall, his axe on his shoulder. And he spoke, his voice enhanced by the power as it boomed and crackled through the air like a living thing.

  ‘Most of you know me,’ he said. ‘Although some of you were very young when I left. I am Nathaniel Hogan, The Forever Man and your king. I have died, and I have returned.

  Now, I have spent the last week travelling through the rubber head’s realm. Through the lands that were once ours. And I have seen things that would make a grown man weep. Our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, locked up in pens not fit for animals. Living in filth. Starving. Forced into slavery and subservience. Beaten to death for the slightest transgression.

  And I have seen the rubber heads, wallowing in luxury. Their slightest whim taken care of by the beaten, manacled human beings that they have enslaved.

  I have seen rich farmlands and game aplenty, natural recourses, rivers full of fish and fields of wheat.

  I have seen a land of great bounty. A cornucopia of delights.

  Our land. Our farmland. Our rivers and our fish and our wheat.

  And our people.

  All controlled by the so-called Fair-Folk. But no longer – for this is the day that we begin to take back our lands. Today we march for liberty. Today we march for humanity.

  Today we march for freedom.’

  As one the army took up the call.

  ‘Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!’

  The gate in the wall was opened and the last human army left the safety of the wall, spreading left and right as they got out into the open.

  Nathaniel stood on the wall and watched them leave. It would be at least two days before the next part of his plan could be brought to fruition. Now the army had to simply get themselves into position.

  The Forever Man’s plan was both straightforward and unbelievably difficult at the same time. The initial part was simple; the groups of fifty had to spread out across the country, stretching from east to west. This would put each group between five hundred and one thousand yards apart, depending on where they were in the country. Basically a broken front marching across England, each group in line of sight of the next one, but no group large enough to do any serious harm to the massive Orc and goblin army. Above them would fly smaller groups of Vandals, armed with ground attack darts and crossbows.

  The group in the center would be larger by four times. Roughly two hundred warriors and, in that group would be Tad and Kob. Nathaniel had insisted that their group be larger to provide them more protection.

  And that was when Nathaniel’s plan became excessively complex.

  Before The Forever Man had put forward the plan to Tad and Kob he had gone into the mountains by himself and had done a small practice run. After a few false starts it had worked admirably. But he now had to replicate the same thing at almost three hundred times the size and scale.

  He hoped that he could do it.

  And so, the last hope of human freedom marched across the land, heading for London and confrontation with an army that would outnumber them at least sixty-to-one.

  Unless The Forever Man could be the lever that would shift the balance. The counterweight on the pulley that would move the world.

  He waited until the group in front of him was almost at the horizon, some two and a half miles away, then he concentrated, cleared his mind and let himself be swept up by the power.

  Almost instantly he appeared in front of the distant marching group, surrounded by a shimmer of light. He held up his hand and they stopped their forward march. They had already been told that he would materialize out of nowhere so, although some were obviously spooked, they weren’t actually surprised.

  ‘Form up in five rows of ten,’ commanded Nathaniel as he walked up to the squad leader.

  The squad leader saluted, fist to his chest. ‘My king.’

  ‘Thomas,’ responded Nathaniel. Then he greeted Tad and Kob with a nod. ‘Right, people,’ he continued as he addressed the rest of the group. ‘Up until now I have kept my plans secret. That is for two reasons, firstly, we do not want the rubber heads getting wind of what we are doing and, secondly, I didn’t want everyone to think that I had gone cuckoo.’

  There was a ripple of laughter in
the squad.

  Nathaniel smiled back. ‘Before I start, I want you all to know how very proud that I am of you all. I asked you to take to the field and march on an army that outnumbers you by over sixty-to-one and not one of you even hesitated. You truly are men of men and women of women. You are the best of the best and I thank you.’

  As one they responded. ‘Hoo-ah!’

  ‘Hoo-ah,’ agreed the marine. ‘Now all of you stand still, this requires a certain amount of concentration on my behalf so no movement and no noise.’

  The Forever Man drew in power. He folded the different colors together, melding them into a tangible force. All about him light crackled and spat as his magiks built and expanded.

  Then, with a gesture, he released them.

  And, standing next to the squad of two hundred human warriors was another similar squad. They cast shadows on the ground, they breathed, they shifted from foot to foot. But when Nathaniel went up to them and touched one, his hand simply passed through the image giving off a small sputter of energy as it did so.

  There was a collective gasp from the squad, apart from Tad and Kob who had been forewarned.

  Thomas cleared his throat.

  ‘Yes, Thomas,’ asked Nathaniel.

  ‘Sorry, my king,’ said Thomas. ‘But, what are those?’

  ‘They are simulacrums,’ answered Nathaniel. ‘More than a simple image but less than the reality. When you move they will move with you. I have imparted enough energy to ensure that they will flatten the grass, leave tracks and, most importantly, make a sound when they walk. But they cannot fight nor help in any way.’

  ‘Begging your pardon, sure,’ continued Thomas. ‘But what are they for?’

  Nathaniel smiled. ‘They are part of a ruse, good Thomas. But wait, I have not yet finished.’

  The Forever Man concentrated again. And another squad appeared. Then another, and another. Within minutes the original squad of two hundred human warriors were surrounded by a full two thousand simulacrums. Nathaniel gestured, opening his arms wide and the simulacrums started to march both left and right, spreading their ranks as they did so.