by Daniel Evora
“Mr. West,” a woman interrupted. “We have a rumor that the rebellion has sent troops into our territory. I don’t know what they are doing here, but we must stay vigilant, if the rumours are true. What are your orders, sir?”
“First, Lieutenant Adrana, knock first, please,” Adam replied, then his eyes widened a little bit. “The rebels are most likely here for Ben. Do we know of their exact whereabouts?
“No, sir. They could be anywhere on this side of the country.”
“The rebels are away on the eastern coast. They would’ve been smart enough to only send a small group of two squadrons, three tops. Let them come.”
“But, sir.”
“Adrana, Nipton is your base of operations. You’ve helped us win back certain, lost territories in the past before. I know you will destroy this small rebel insurgence. You will destroy them.”
“Yes, sir,” she answered as she tried not to frown, or show any negative emotion at that. “The rebellion will pay for taking Nathaniel away from us.”
“Yes,” Adam lied. “Nathaniel was a loyal soldier.”
“Nate was my best friend,” Adrana explained, closing her fists. She sighed. “I will do what I must, sir.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to.”
Adam visited Ben one more time. Again was silence as Ben slowly lifted his head. “What more do you want from me?”
“I’ve decided to skip the interrogation. After all, I know you won’t cooperate well with me. You’ll be back in Nipton by morning.”
“You force yourself to believe their lies?” Ben asked Adam angrily. “You and you’re Silent Death culture is revolting.”
“And your Rebellion isn’t? Fighting fire with fire only makes things worse. I intend to put an end to that. So, there is nothing you can do to change my mind,” Adam said as he stepped towards the exit. “Your fight for freedom makes no peace.”
“Freedom is peace.”
“Oh no, that’s where you’re very wrong,” yapped Adam, shaking his head. “It is only an invitation to chaos. And in order to correct that chaos, it requires order.”
“Under your control?” challenged Ben, squinting his eyes at Adam. “Please. The people made their choice.”
“The people chose nothing. The Rebellion chose to start this war. Order leads to security. Security guarantees safety. And that is what the people desire.”
“The people only suffer because you’ve made it so,” shot Ben.
“Oh really?” questioned Adam. “Let’s say you do come out the victor--which is highly unlikely--, what then?”
Ben, annoyed out of his mind from arguing with Adam, rolled his eyes. As if they’ve gone through this same conversation.
Adam stepped away from the front glass as Ben refused to give him any attention after that point. Literally, he had his head turned in a completely different direction.
“What about Nathan?” Ben asked at the last minute.
Adam stopped in his tracks, and without even turning to him, he asked gently. “What about him?”
“You and I both know his potential. If not me, then he’ll be capable of stopping the Silents,” Ben clearly stated, glaring at Adam several times. “I know you’re not afraid of him, but I know you fear your own. It’s why you’re still loyal to the Silents isn’t it?”
“Why would I fear the Silents? I command them,” Adam spoke silently. Trying to spin the conversation towards its inevitable end. Holding back his resentment.
“You try to block these things from your mind, but it never works. Sometimes, you’re just gonna have to deal with it. Accept the reality!”
“Then, by that logic, you’re just gonna have to deal with my decisions! I chose this path! But sometimes, all your options have shitty endings. One way or another will lead to disaster. I will get the info out of you,” Adam raised his voice back at Ben, as he deactivated the intercom once more and stepped out of the room. “It’s just a matter of time.”
...
The last stop was but a fine evening, however, turning into a scary nightmare as I jumped from my bed. Lily had woke me up, to get me ready to cross the river, of course, nothing else in particular. She gave me the same look she had given me when we first met.
“Some night,” Lily whispered. “After we cross the river it’s a straight walk to Nipton. No vehicles. No heavy weapons. Just us, and Matthews’ squadron.” She began to retie the shoelaces on her leather boots. We would all have to dress in the same camouflage uniform.
“How’s Thomas doing?” I asked her diligently.
“He’s fine, I guess,” Lily answered. “Most of the time he keeps talking to me about his family. I mean, it’s not a bad thing, but I wish he’d apply himself a bit more to the mission compared to what's going on back home.”
“I can’t blame him,” I added. “I think anyone in the military with a family would be worried sick about them. He seems like a really great person.”
She smiled a bit. “It wasn’t always like that, at least I heard before I started working under his supervision.”
“I’m listening...” I assured her..
“From what I heard from his former teacher, Ronin Diaz. Apparently, Thomas was one of the most difficult Agents to train. Ronin told me he found Thomas as a drunk, underage, reckless, and an overall loser. Complete failure, Ronin used to say,” Lily laughed a little, trying to make a voice impression of Ronin. “But, he thought he could change that man’s life around, and to use Thomas to sharpen, and to challenge his teaching, and leadership skills. Ronin told me he saw great potential in him, he could see what great works Thomas was capable of doing on his own. When Ronin left, two years later and there came me. Ready to become a real Agent under the guidance of a young and courageous Thomas Hunt Lamn.”
“Do you have any family?” I asked. She answered but I expected something different.
“Ronin,” Lily replied. “He’s a close friend of mine, one of my best friends, but I still like to count him as family.”
“What about your parents?”
“I don’t want to talk about that,” she answered looking away. “Not right now, okay?”
I panicked. “Oh-Oh I’m sorry. Crap, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“You’re not making me uncomfortable. I like this, it feels peaceful.”
“Well, we gotta get some rest for tonight.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Max smirked. He sat next me as Lily escaped from him.
“Just stuff about life,” I explained to him. “Family and such.”
Max nodded his head and stared at the small fire. Watching as the tiny bits of ashes floated away and burnt into nothingness.
“Speaking of family,” Max suggested. “Got any folks still around?”
I froze for a quick moment. Max’s statement made me remember the orphanage. The questions and thoughts I had about my parents as a small child were brought back suddenly to the center stage of my brain.
“I don’t know,” I answered.
“What do you mean?” Max asked. The last thing I wanted him to say in response.
I paused for a second to recollect my thoughts, then replied, “I never knew my parents. As far back as I could remember, I only knew of the orphanage. I had so many questions for them. Then one day I-I told myself that I would never see them again. I left when I was sixteen to Kalo City, and the rest speaks for itself.”
Max took a second as he exhaled, and was surprised by my response.
“Wow…” he muttered, while slightly nodding his head. “That’s…that’s a lot. Well, I hope you find them someday.”
As I played with my fingers, awkwardly prolonging the instant silence after Max’s remarks, I noticed a mark on his chest, as if something was ripped off the cloth. The mark was in the shape of a rectangle. The same shape of a Silent Death emblem.
“About Thomas…”
I added.
Max turned to me, “What about him?”
“At the terminal, when he mentioned you as: one of them,” I clarified. “What exactly did he mean by that?”
Max sighed, “I...I used to be a pilot for the Silent Death,” he revealed to me.
My eyes widened and my jaw nearly dropped. “How’d y-you know…”
“Escape?” Max completed my sentence. “It was my first bomber run mission. Usually I would fly my own little fighter jet, but this time, we were on our way to a Rebel-controlled city. I was the only bomber that was able to make it through their tough defenses, along with another dozen attack planes. I was given orders to bomb the city. So, I armed the bombs as the entire company of fighters covered me. And I was gonna push the button to dispatch the small bombs. But, it was like I couldn’t do it...like my body wasn’t allowing me to press it. I never had the power to kill so many at once. It made me realize the real enemy. I didn’t press it, even though every pilot and general was shouting my name to do so. The whole fleet was shot down...including me. I should have died right then and there on the battlefield--”
“But you didn’t...you’re still here,” I responded. Max nodded and got up on his feet.
“Well, then,” Max blurted. “Suppose we should get some needed rest.”
“Yeah,” I said, while letting the fire die out. And just like that night fell silent, and the extra heat of the fire faded away into the evening sky.
...
Kalo City
“Adam, you need to think about this, sir!” Sam shouted, aggressively enunciating his words.
“Lieutenant Adrana has it covered,” Adam interrupted. The stress was intensifying within him as he tried to stay calm. Taking huge breaths at a slow pace.
“Adrana and her squad haven’t found anything! We have at most a full day to find them before we lose their tracks.”
“I know, General Kamarov!” Adam exclaimed frustratingly, as he took a deep breath. “The rebellion will not find Ben. Do you hear me, Samuel?”
“You can’t guarantee that,” Sam replied, shaking his head slowly. “But maybe I can.”
“Well, how about you try to be a leader?”
“Maybe I should be! Maybe I should be the leader, because if anyone is going to win this war, it’s with me in command!”
“Is that a threat?” Adam asked, squinting his eyes. He brought out his white blade and held it up to Sam.
“Well, clearly you’ve softened up.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I know Nathaniel’s been gone for almost eight months. I know that he betrayed you! And you don’t seem to care!” Sam shouted, but Adam turned away from him. “Are you even listening to me?!”
Adam smirked, but Sam could not see his face. “I know what this is about.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nate is a traitor, and you’re conflicted. You thought he was your friend, but he abandoned you during the mission,” Adam looked out into his office window, it had an entire view of the westbound hangar. “I don’t have time to deal with your unstable emotions right now. As you said, I only have a day at most to find the rebels and stop their sneaky schemes.”
“He’s probably confused; I just need to find him.”
“No. That is Adrana’s job. What you need to do is follow my instructions.”
“Did you get the codes out of Ben?”
“Not yet, but I’ll find a way.”
Sam smirked. “You’ll use Nate as a bargaining chip. That’s a clever move.”
“I’m assuming Nate’s with the rebel group. He has to be.”
Chapter 7
Silent Night
It was cold, dark, and silent; early in the morning. We had just made it to the border of California and no one would make even the slightest noise to draw attention from Fort Mohave. However, Chris had to abandon us since his risk of getting taken by the Silent Death is a risk he is not willing to share. Luckily, the basin still provided cover for us to sneak past as we got into position for rotations. Thomas and I were on watch to give the signal at the right time. There were many scouts in that area, and only in rotations would we have at least two minutes to run or die. Suddenly, three cargo vehicles rushed past us carrying dozens of soldiers. That was our time to make the call.
“You think we’ll have two minutes? They look like they're in a hurry,” Thomas asked me. He put down his scope.
“We’ll be fine,” I said, reassuring his confidence. “They shouldn’t know we’re here.”
“Shouldn’t?”
“Just relax, Thomas, everything will be fine--”
“Indeed,” said a woman’s voice.
When we try our hardest not to get caught, that’s when it happens. One light from a Death soldier’s weapon had blinded me for a second. But, as soon as I looked up I knew we were in for a heap of trouble.
“Adrana,” I said to her angrily, as we were all about to be handcuffed.
“You know her!?” Matthews questioned aloud with a springy tone, followed by a sigh. “Of course you do.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to be with this small group of rebel insurgents,” she snapped her fingers as all her soldiers surrounded us. Thomas lifted a pistol to her face, but he was quickly disarmed.
“Don’t even think about it,” said a Death soldier.
“Well if it isn’t the infamous Thomas Hunt,” Adrana said menacingly. “Mr.West has been searching for your people for years.”
“Try all you want! The location of our base will never be shared with monsters like you!”
“Is that so?”
“What are you going to do with us?” Matthews asked.
“It’s none of your business, you’re prisoners after all,” Adrana glared at her troopers. “Knock ‘em.”
I only had a few seconds to think about how to get us out of the situation. The Death soldiers surrounding us were closing in on our troops. Something had to be done, and there had to be some way out of this. Surrendering would only worsen the situation for us, and even worse if Chris would’ve stayed with us like he did in Denver. I was trying to wrap my head around all this, but that would take too long. So, I acted out of pure instinct.
I grabbed my weapon and yelled. “Everybody! Run!” I shot two soldiers dead within the blink of an eye. Thomas had surprisingly used a smoke screen to blind Adrana and her soldiers for just long enough to run across the river and into the Dead Mountains Reserve.
“Quick! Everyone get your asses moving!” Matthews screamed at the top of his lungs.
There were no lights, no talking, and not even the slightest sound of stepping. The Silent Death were onto us and the only way they're getting out alive is by splitting up into two groups to also spread Adrana soldiers. Thomas, Lily, Max, and I took our own as Matthews split with his squad. We got ourselves lost in the reserve, but we didn't get far.
"There!" One soldier shouted to his comrades, lifting his rifle as the light beamed on us. I held my weapon up towards him. "Drop it!"
Adrana stepped in front and walked towards Max. She punched him, as her eyes widened with rage. "Where are the others!? Tell me, now!"
Max glared at Adrana. "I'm not telling you shit."
"Very well then," she commanded the troops to fire in stun mode. Thomas, Lily, and Max remained unconscious as I stood alone. She did not order their fire on me, but why?
"C'mon Nate, you're coming back with us," she told me hastingly. But, I did not move.
“Did you hear me?"
"I’m not going back there."
"Excuse me?"
"I can't go back,” I repeated. “You know what they’ll do to me. You and Sam."
"I can't believe this. I’m giving you a second chance, and you just throw it away like it's nothing!"
"Don't you get it! I don't want that! I've changed Adrana, and maybe you should too."
She scoffed at me. “This is just like before! So stubborn.”
> “Maybe I am,” I replied calmly. “But you’re just as stubborn.”
Adrana got even angrier. “Just tell me where the rest of them are going?!” She kicked me in my gut as I collapsed to the floor. “Where are they?!”
“Like, you expect a response from me?” I said, grunting in mild pain.
“No, but that’s not gonna stop me from getting it out of you,” Adrana replied, knocking me out.
...
The Wen Springs Base
I was drenched with water, well I hope it was, to get me to wake up. Looking around, I quickly recognized this place. The Interrogation Chamber was not a good place to be if you pissed off the Silents just enough. My vision was clear as I was being yelled at from the person in front of me.
“Wake up!” someone shouted, as they slapped me across the face.
“Where are the others?” I asked Adrana.
“That is none of your business, Nate. In fact, I should be asking you that same question. So, if you want this the easy way, I would spill the beans before this has to get messy!”
“Wow, looks like someone’s angry,” I smirked, but Adrana punched me.
“You are a traitor, and I will treat you like one from now on!”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want to know where the rest of your group is heading!”
“”
“Well, then…” Adrana said as she ordered another soldier to do the dirty work. They punched me again and again. I couldn’t resist the pain anymore, so I broke.
“I’m...not...telling you anything,” I said, coughing in between my words.
“Fine...Bring in the young lady!” Adrana commanded.
