by Daniel Evora
Thomas and Lily watched helplessly as the Silent Death carrier turned around and came to a stop and the face of it turned to them with hostility. Revealing its weapons were loaded and ready to ensure little to no resistance as the pilot spoke through a speaker inside.
“Step outta the vehicle with your hands up,” warned the pilot. “Now!”
Thomas and Lily glanced at each other with saddened faces. They followed the pilot’s orders and stepped out of the vehicle with the shame of defeat.
Again, Adam and Adrana deployed from the bottom of the carrier. But, the dust picking up from the carrier's propeller engines firing off made it hard for them to see at first. Eventually, the both of them emerged from the cloud and approached Thomas and Lily with caution. They’re weapons out, pointing directly at their center of mass.
“Drop all your weapons!” ordered Adrana. She was cold with that statement and readjusted her gun barrels to get them to do it faster.
They both pinned them to the ground--not without hurting them first to get them to comply--and were put into heavy cuffs. The two pilots also emerged from the carrier and ended up dragging Chris into the ship.
The second the carrier’s bay doors closed up it once again shot up into the air and sped across the desert. Not soon after, looking down on the wreckage that had gone down moments ago.
After finding a clear spot to land, the carrier descended from the skies as Adam and Adrana deployed down again while using the steel rope.
“Search everywhere, round up any possible survivors,” Adam ordered Adrana and the two pilots who brought out their own weapons as well.
The four split up into different directions. Adrana picked the nearest train car to search. While treading through the sand, there was one thing that she couldn’t get off of her mind at the moment. A sinking feeling in her stomach. Right when she witnessed the amount of destruction caused by the two trains. Survivors? She thought...Who could survive this?
As she approached the train car, Adrana peeked into the small crevice on the side where the metal door jammed itself. Luckily, the gap looked like she could fit through it to take a look inside. So, Adrana brought out both her pistols and switched on their lights right below the barrel. Especially, since the inside of the car looked quite dark from the intense shadow it drew.
Barely fitting through the gap, she tripped over, and noticed something right next to where she was. But, before she did anything to search the place, she stood back on her feet and dusted the sand off her clothing. Using both lights, she also noticed the sheer amount of damage done to the inside of the car.
“This car’s been torn to shreds,” Adrana whispered to herself. Inspecting all the holes and torn off pieces. Probably from miniature explosions from inside the car when the supplies and weapons ignited themselves in the midst of the wreckage.
While looking down her right side, she found nothing with the exception of a few dead corpses from the battle that took place.
However, when she looked down her left, she gasped at the sight of him.
In the corner of her vision he was present. There he was just outside the car, covered by debris. At least that’s what she’d thought.
Slowly she walked over to the pile of debris that was partially eaten up by the desert. The wind finally calmed down a bit to the point where Adrana could hear her own heart beating faster the closer she got to him. Having second thoughts about it every step of the way.
Little did Adrana know that Adam noticed her approaching the body. He was much too curious to resist the urge to follow and watch her.
“Adrana?” questioned Adam, raising his own voice so that she could hear. Adrana glared at him, and then checked out the body.
She quietly gasped to herself in shock of what had happened.
“Nate,” she muttered, looking at the blood on his face from where he was hit on the head by flying debris. Knocked out cold, while the debris acted as a protective, yet restrictive blanket. Covering the rest of his body.
“It’s Nate!” she shouted, going back to the cold tone. Trying to mask her surprise.
She stepped away from the body and walked back over Adam where he stood. Then, said words that she could never take back once he asked her the big question.
“Well?”
For the first time, since Nate left the Silents, she was stuck with a split decision that could go multiple ways. Too many to count. Too unpredictable to predict. The words were forced out of her mouth. She forced them out. Willingly.
“Dead,” confessed Adrana.
Adam stared for a quick second, and she stared back with the straightest look on her face. Lacking any sort of emotion. Not even a hint of it. So, he sighed and turned back to the carrier to gather up the others.
“Pity,” Adam replied, looking down upon Adrana. She was unsure who he was talking about when saying that word in the situation. “What a waste.”
Adrana followed Adam back, but turned to where Nate lay. For a second her body felt like it wanted to just run back. A part of her that she hid away as fast and as deep down in her thoughts as she could before Adam could ever have the slightest of suspicions. But, that was the problem; she wasn’t sure about that either.
What a lie it was.
Somewhere...
A few hours had passed. I tried to hoist myself to my feet, but I was too weak, and there were metal chunks lying on top of my back. I could feel the dry blood on my skin. Half of my face was covered in sand and I couldn’t even get it off. I could smell the smoke from the horrible accident as debris was scattered everywhere. The light from the blazing fire and the naked sun nearly blinded me. Nobody was around except for a few dead bodies. Everyone was gone. Thomas, Lily, Chris, Max, Matthews, Lyndale, and Matthews’ squad. All of them were taken away, and I was left alone. I took a deep breath, knowing that I was done for. Everything had gone to oblivion, the plan had failed, and I was weak and in no shape to fight. Trapped by sheets of metal.
With all the strength I had left I attempted to lift the metal sheets off of my body just enough so I could slide through them and be free. The first attempt, I dropped the sheets and debris. It was really heavy. But, I tried and tried again.
On my fourth lift, I got one of my feet free and kicked the sheets off with some extra force as I rolled my way out onto the bare sand. It took me forever to get myself onto my feet. But, at least I was able to wipe off the sand now.
I checked my Interface watch, but the glass screen had shattered and the thing wouldn’t turn on even though I badly wanted it to.
“Gotta find something...to get rid...the pain.” I said to myself, gripping my leg.
I tried looking for something, but only saw bodies and debris. I did find my katanas, however, but that didn’t matter that much anymore.
I fell to the ground and punched it in anger. My right leg had pins and needles and my head was hurting like hell. I had to get to Phoenix somehow. But with no wheels, it could take days to recover and get there. I got up again slowly, limping down and away from the train tracks and the fire; with nothing but mountains, desert, my instincts, and katanas.
...
“Hey, Chris, wake up,” Lily whispered in his ear, shaking his arm. He woke up, shocked, and injured.
“What happened?” Chris asked under his breath as he fell back asleep.
“Lily, I think it’s best you leave him alone,” Thomas told her from the cell across from them. “He’s not well and needs to rest.”
“But--”
“Lily, please, that’s an order,” Thomas said. “I know you want to help, but now is just not the right time.”
She stood down. “I can’t believe Nate’s gone.”
Thomas sighed, and frowned. “He was a good guy, you know. There was a lot of potential to be had, but now he’s gone.”
Matthews interrupted. “That boy had it coming.”
Max had also joined the conversation now. “So I’m supposed to have it coming too?” he aske
d angrily.
“Matthews, how could you not have any pity for Nate at all. Ever!” Lily was getting aggravated.
“I never said that, but he’s a Silent Death soldier.”
“So was Max,” Thomas spoke back.
“Max has earned my trust at this point. That kid, however, hasn’t. Are you forgetting that he’s the one who got us all in this mess?”
“So?” Max asked.
“So?” Matthews repeated with a more howling tone. “So?! Let me remind you that it was him that left Ben behind. That it was him who snitched when Ben’s mission could've gone smoothly.”
“Bull. Shit.” Max denied angrily.
“C’mon, Max,” Matthews replied, nodding his head. “Even you know that isn’t bullshit.”
Max stared at Matthews ready to strike back, but his mind couldn’t search for the appropriate words. He opened up his mouth, prepared to say something back. An insult at least. However, instead he stood there. Annoyed.
“You’re scared aren’t you?” Thomas questioned Matthews. “You’re not afraid of the Silents, but of death.”
“Who wouldn’t be!” Matthews yelled aggressively. “Were about to be executed with no hope in sight of Nate showing up to say the day.”
“Well, I’d like to think otherwise,” Thomas enunciated. “What do you have against Nate?!”
“Answer,” Max added.
“I just told you, you bloody idiots!” Matthews yelled with a deafening tone. Everyone jumped for a second and fell silent for a moment to process Matthew’s sudden frustration. “He’s a Silent Death soldier!”
“Was,” Max interrupted.
“That doesn’t take away from what he’s done!”
Max sighed. “Look, Matt, I may not trust Nate with my life, but I’m willing to give him a chance like you gave me, Matthews.”
“Will you guys shut up for now,” Chris said with a weak voice. “My head is starting to hurt more from everyone’s back and forth debate.”
“Fine,” Matthews answered with an attitude. He pointed at Max. His eyes wide open. “To be continued.”
“Aye, aye asshole,” Max smirked.
Chapter 9
Nowhere
Here I was. Back where I started. Alone. The sun beaming down onto me, and the wind and sand had begun to pick up speed into a small storm. I winced as I stared at my injury. My knees were on fire, and the heat was beginning to intensify as the time approached noon. It felt like I was sitting in a big oven, called Arizona. To be met with nothing but mountains and desert didn’t bring a smile to my face. I had no water to suppress my dehydration, and had no chance of getting my team back from Phoenix Post. That place was worse than Nipton, since after the siege, the base had nearly doubled in size and defenses. Making it impossible for even a small army to get to the front entrance alive. An ambush required an entire legion--a full frontal assault.
“Gotta. Find. Water,” I said to myself. But I knew that there was no urban town in at least another hundred mile radius.
The heat was starting to get to my head. I could sense it as I started feeling queasy, and lightheaded. Even though the illusions hadn’t come on yet, I felt uncomfortable. I kept looking around thinking that there could be something out there; creating false hope for myself to keep on moving forward. It was no use though.
Then, I could see something along the horizon. It was hard to make out as the heat waves distorted its picture. I put my hand above my eyes to focus on it. A hole in the sand with huge stones stacked up around it and a rope tied to a wooden post. I gasped and rushed out towards the structure.
Trying to keep my breathing under control. I fell to the ground in front of the hole and looked down into it. Squinting my eyes I could barely make out anything. That’s when I began to look for something small and rigid like a rock.
I couldn’t find anything.
“Wait a minute,” I said to myself.
As quickly as possible I brought out my rifle from the holster on my back and checked the magazine.
Just one.
I held out my arms and as best I could, shot straight down into the depths below. I couldn’t hear anything that resembled a splashing noise. Maybe the bullet was too fast, so I checked myself for any other items. I glanced over onto my left wrist to find I still had my InterFace watch. I held it up to the sun and tried to turn it on.
Broken. The screen was shattered to shreds anyway.
As a last attempt, I unlocked the band on the watch and dangled it above the surface of the hole as I lay on my stomach. I dropped it and swiftly tilted my head so that my left ear was parallel to the ground. A few seconds passed, then...a splash in the water! I stood up next to the wooden post keeping up the rope as I chuckled in relief. I undid the knot around the plank and started pulling the rope from the hole.
“Finally,” I grinned. “Keep it coming. Come to papa.”
For some strange reason, pulling back on the rope felt quite easy. Probably because of the adrenaline in my body from the thought of getting some water to drink. The rope was unusually lengthy, but I didn’t give any thought to that. I just kept pulling as if there were no tomorrow.
A couple seconds passed by and I could see the container at the other end as I lifted it even faster with joy. Once it was in a close range I grabbed the container and opened my mouth.
A single drop left.
My heart sank and my happiness snapped itself away in less than half a second of realization.
“What?” I asked, puzzled, while examining the container.
I noticed a gaping hole in the bottom of it where the water drained itself out.
“No,” I muttered. “No-no. Are you kidding me?”
I looked up to the sky and nearly felt like breaking down into tears at the fact that I wasted my last bullet and a broken watch to get zero water. A rigged trade. All of a sudden a crashing wave of anger flooded my body and I threw the container straight to the ground. All I could think of was screaming. So I did. I screamed, shouted, and cursed to release all my frustration that had built up to this moment. Then, all I could think of was dying out here, and the raging yell turned into a painful cry.
On my knees, I glanced upwards at the blank, blue sky, and began to wince at the injury on the side of my torso. The pain was less sharp, and more sore than ever. It felt like someone was squeezing it with the pressure of a three hundred pounds on a dime. I grinded my teeth, as the waves of pain started rushing their way back to the shoreline.
After a while my eyes started to weigh a ton. The sunlight beaming down on my face, and its warmth made me lethargic. However, I fought the urge to fall asleep. I barely stood up on my feet and began to walk back out into the sea of sand. But, the heat was too much as it became more intense and the air became drier. My lips were beginning to bleed, and my throat was parched. I couldn’t take it anymore. So, I stopped in my tracks and fell to the ground.
Suddenly, an echoing voice came from the distance. “Nate. Get up!”
I opened my eyes slowly and sat up from the sand to look around. “Hello?! Is anybody there?” I asked the voice.
A figure appeared in front of me. I could not tell who it was at first, but then I could see them clear as day. It was Andrew.
“This isn’t real. It’s just a mirage,” I said to myself. “It’s all in my head.”
“Get up!” Andrew commanded.
“I can’t,” I responded miserably. My mouth was drier than the sand on the floor.
“Get up.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can!”
“No.”
“You can still fight.”
“There is no fight,” I told Andrew straightforwardly. “I’ve given up. There’s no reason for me to keep going anymore.”
“Yes there is!”
“What is it?!” I cursed. “Tell me.”
The voice was no longer there anymore. It had faded like everything else. But, I still was lost in my own mind. Ho
wever, I tried to get myself back on my feet, and with all the strength I had left, I got up and started limping. I could see a figure come up to me as I was starting to black out again from exhaustion. Another figure came up to me, but I thought it was another mirage. This couldn’t be happening, and it wasn’t.
I opened up my eyes again on the ground, unable to move for a second, as the wind started to pick up. A sandstorm was on its way, and I had to find some shelter. Luckily, there was a small cave a half kilometer away from me, so I headed towards that area as quickly as I could, walking against the wind, which fortunately didn’t intensify as much as when I got to the cave.
“Who’s there!” said a voice. It sounded like it was coming from a woman.
I put my hands up as she could hear me, but not see me yet. It was no use to try and yell since I was too weak to do so. I kept walking towards her, limping in pain when finally I had reached her position and cried out to her.
“Help me,” I cried with a dry mouth, as I fell to the floor unconscious.
...
The sandstorm had subsided, and the midnight was quiet and peaceful with the sound of crickets and some light wind. I woke up in spontaneous shock, full of energy and relief. The woman tried to get me to quiet down. I looked at her clothing as there was an old rebellion symbol on her shoulder. She looked somewhat older than me; about ten years give or take. Her black hair was tied back into a ponytail, with a few gray areas, and had green eyes mixed with tan skin. No wrinkles, and no sign of anyone else around me.
“Were you the one that was yelling like a maniac earlier?” questioned the woman.
“How?” I asked, puzzled, while still halfway asleep.
“That well is no use to you,” she continued.
“You think?” I huffed.
“Well, not unless you have the plug,” she insisted.
“You made that hole?”
She turned to me, and handed me a full container of water. I didn’t even stop to think about anything else and chugged the water so fast I almost coughed some of it up.
She eyed me chugging the container. “Have to keep the illusion.”
