by Daniel Evora
“You’re a rebel,” I pointed out to her. “I can see the old symbol on your outfit.”
“Maybe I took it from someone who was a rebel, and looted it of their corpse,” she replied. I didn’t believe her, but I went along with it.
“Maybe.”
The woman sighed. “I used to be, before the war, and before Phoenix fell into the hands of the Silents. Who are you? How did you get here?”
“Our team and I were trying to escape from the Silents. But, we didn’t get far. Train accident is the short version. It’s just me now.”
“Then you're very lucky to be alive,” she replied.
“Oh, and it’s Nate,” I added to that.
She started to check me for something, but I just lay there awkwardly.
“Do I remind you of someone?” I asked curiously.
She pointed a gun at me.
“What are you doing? ” I asked nervously, putting my hands up in the air.
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t kill you right now,” she said angrily, as her voice was full of vengeance.
“Look, I’m not a Silent. I’m working for the Resistance.”
“Liar! You’re just saying that to save your skin.”
“No!” I replied nervously. “Look, look!” I showed her my rebellion medal. “Is that enough for you?”
“You probably took that off someone’s corpse,” she answered back.
“Maybe I did,” I said sarcastically. “Are we gonna do this again?”
“Maybe you didn’t,” she said on accident. I got her with reverse psychology. She scoffed at me knowing that I did. So, she put her gun down.
“Thank you, er…”
“Sara,” she added to finish his sentence. “My name is Sara.”
“Thank you, Sara. For helping me.”
“Don’t mention it.” She smiled a bit.
“So, what now, Sara?” I asked her.
“I’ll take you to my group,” she replied, as she helped me stand up.
“There are more?! In the Phoenix area?”
“Yes, we’ve been hiding for a few years now.”
“Why didn’t you contact the rebellion?”
“Because we chose not to, and besides how are they gonna get us to the east without the Silents knowing? They’d have to send a huge number out here, which would start a war, and that’s a risk I’m not willing to take.”
She looked away from me, and felt ashamed, but I tried to talk to her. “I understand, to some extent.”
“I thought I was gonna bleed out in the desert. And die. I was ready to quit. I tried. You either act on your decisions, or not at all. There almost isn’t a place in between. You can’t just walk out on them without consequence.”
“Almost?” she asked.
“Take the war for example. I realize that trying is the best shot we have. Maybe it’s what we do to reach victory that really matters. Because without those steps we take towards the finish line, we will never complete our goal. A friend once told me that.”
“What about your group? Where did you say they were captured?”
“I didn’t say,” I answered. “They’ve been taken to Phoenix Post.”
She stopped. “I’m not going back there. None of us can, it’s a suicide run.”
“But I need to get them out.”
“Why?”
“Because Ben may carry something...important. I don’t know what the hell it is. But, the Silents can’t get it out of him first. That was our mission!”
“Ben…” she said, looking down towards the sand. “Ben who?…”
“You knew General Perez?”
“He was my husband,” Sara explained, with tears running down her face. “Ben’s alive?”
“Not for long. I assume we have until tomorrow at noon sharp to rescue my team, and Ben. Before they are killed.”
“How would you know?”
“Because that’s how they’ve always operated. Every public execution is held at twelve sharp.”
“It could be different this time.”
“Then we’d better hurry before it’s too late.”
...
The moon was full and bright, and the night time wind had been extremely tame for the most part. The quiet, dark desert was almost a scary sight. Luckily, Sara and I had reached the end of it quicker than expected. We had reached a dead end, but I didn’t understand. There was nothing here from what I could tell. Only more mountains and desert. However, Sara kept walking towards the face of the mountain.
“Is this where we’re supposed to be?”
“Yeah, this is it.”
A sudden noise almost scared me, but it was just Sara moving something. She pulled out a card, it looked like the one they gave to Silent Death Lieutenants on their promotion day. My suspicions were arising, and I never really knew what those cards had been used for until now. But why would they need it for something like this?
I felt the ground shake a bit as the small crevice appeared in the mountain. They were doors. Hidden, very large doors, at least twenty feet tall. The lighting inside was very dim, as Sara closed the doors once we walked in. There was old equipment and supplies everywhere and even some older electric vehicles collecting dust. I asked Sara to shine the light onto one of the equipment boxes. I couldn’t believe it.
“This is the original Silents symbol,” I exclaimed, but quietly. “Wait, this is an old fallout shelter that the Silents tried to use about thirty years back. From the old wars.”
I turned around to see that Sara wasn’t even near me anymore. She waved her hand to tell me to catch up. “C’mon, Nate, hurry.”
“Yeah. Right,” I jogged towards her. “How did you guys find one of these vaults?”
“We didn’t,” Sara replied. “The Resistance had already found the location a long time before. But, we didn’t bother with it. The hard part was getting this.” She held the card she used to open the entrance.
“This is Adrana’s old card.”
“You know that snake?”
“I thought I did. Now everyone I used to be friends with is turning on me relentlessly. I’ve seen a side of her that I've never seen before.”
“That’s what happens when you cross the Silents, Nate,” we approached another, smaller door. “Alright, we’re here.”
She had to be wrong though. There had to be a way.
The door had a small visor hatch. Sara knocked and suddenly the hatch opened. I could see a figure inside, but I couldn’t quite make out who it was. They looked at me, and started to talk with Sara.
“Who’s this?” said a man’s voice, it was deep and scratchy.
“Nate,” Sara told the man. “Don’t worry, he's with us.”
The man looked again, staring at me this time. “Lemme see your badge.”
I showed him my shoulder patch, and then the hatch closed up. The man unlocked the airtight door as it swung open slowly with a hissing noise.
“Welcome to our little commune,” the man said. “The name’s Wilson, Pete Wilson.” Pete sat in a wheelchair; his lower legs completely gone. It kinds freaked me out.
“Pete,” Sara gained his attention. “Nate needs your help.”
“What would you need from us?” Pete asked, turning his wheelchair towards me.
...
Rebellion Headquarters...
Everyone was in panic mode, they haven’t heard from the group since, and it worried them greatly. Klara was attempting to calm the rebellion with an update on their location. That was her plan, at least, but it didn’t go the way she planned it. She kept updating herself with General Lyndale, but everyday she would keep receiving nothing in return.
Klara paced around to try and improvise. It was clear
“They’re still not communicating?!” she responded, as she received the terrible news from General Lyndale.
“I’m sorry, Klara, but there may be the possibility--”
“Don’t! Do it.” Klara yelled, but tr
ied to calm herself in the process. She was thinking of how she was ever going to deal with the situation, when she’s a wreck herself.
“You need to tell them,” Lyndale told Klara straightforwardly. “The only way they’ll get outta panic mode is if you tell them the truth.”
“But--”
“No, you need to tell them. Now.”
Klara groaned as she ended her call with Lyndale. She made her way towards the briefing hangar, where she gathered all the soldiers, pilots, engineers, and medics for a small meeting. Klara stood up on the pedestal and tapped her microphone so everyone would bring their attention to her. A deep breath, she took. Three actually; turning her back to the audience. Finally, she faced the rebellion and opened her mouth to speak.
“It has come to my attention that this rebellion is in a state of panic,” Klara thoroughly explained, raising her hand. “I’ve realized I need to come forward with the truth, and the truth is--”
She paused, with a hint of hesitation to speak.
“We still don’t know where they are, or what’s happened to Chris,”Klara said. The crowd began to grow louder with conversation. She could tell that no one was happy with that response. So, Klara sat there awkwardly.
“What are we gonna do without our Commander?!” One of the pilots howled from the masses. They were getting louder and louder until eventually, Klara’s stress levels went through the roof. She couldn’t take it anymore.
“Everyone! Quiet!” She screamed in frustration. “You all need to get it together!”
“How are we supposed to; in a time like this? Their whole team is missing.” A woman yelled.
“I promise you, we will find the Commander, and the rest of his group, soon; including Ben. Two more days, and I promise we will find them.”
Klara walked from the pedestal, to her quarters, to think about what to do next. She had no clue in her mind; the action she needed to take, for there was nothing, only stretching the truth to give the rebellion something to look forward to. Klara paced back and forth from and to each wall, thinking and thinking, since time was of the essence. Panic was not an option for her at this point. However, suddenly, a transmission had come in from Arizona; it had come from Nathaniel. Klara swiftly rushed to the communications sector to see what had happened to the group, their whereabouts, and whether brute force would be necessary to get them out of this horrible mess.
“This just came in, ma’am. A transmission from one of ours,” a radio man told Klara.
“Whoever is there, can you hear me? Do you copy?” Klara asked. She waited several seconds for a response.
“Loud and clear,” Nate answered. Everyone in the communications center was relieved to hear back from someone. “This is Nathaniel, I’m a few hundred klicks away from Qeles City.
“That’s a few clicks northeast of Phoenix Post,” Klara explained, looking at her map. “Where’s the rest of your group?”
“It’s just me,” Nate sighed. “Chris and the others have been captured; I repeat, they’ve been captured and have been taken to Phoenix Post.”
“Dammit!” Klara shouted, punching the table in frustration. She thought again of what to do, but she could only give him the safest option. “Come back immediately. We’ll come back for them another day.”
“What?!”
“That is an order, Nate. As your temporary commander, I order you to come back to the headquarters.”
“But, what about the mission? What about Ben?”
Terra sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let you risk it.”
“But--”
“No, Nate. You’re coming back. Now.”
“Alright.”
...
I looked at Sara. “I can’t believe it.”
“Look you tried, okay? There’s nothing we can do about it,” Pete told me explicitly, as I threw my walkie-talkie.
“No, we can still try,” Sara said back to him. “We can still finish Nate’s mission.”
“What do you expect us to do? Just barge our way into that place?” Pete asked.
“You’ll think of something, right?” I asked Pete.
“Of what?! Phoenix Post is a fortress!” Pete yelled. “Why risk it all for them?! I lost half of my soldiers that day and I’m not willing to go back to the nightmare I came from thirteen years ago!”
“Because it’s my fault they're in there!” I replied. “If I hadn’t been distracted with my own fear. If I could’ve saved Ben in my escape. If I hadn’t betrayed the Silents in the first place! If any of that wouldn’t have happened, they wouldn’t have to suffer because I didn’t have the courage; the bravery; the determination like they do!”
“You blame everything on your own betrayal?” Sara asked.
“Better to hide here, than to get killed out there!” Pete yelled again.
“You are a coward!” Sara shouted at Pete, explicitly.
“Well last time I checked I lost both my legs,” Pete added. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“You’re just afraid,” Sara interrupted.
“No!” I shouted angrily. My fists were tight. “Why does everyone think, just because I was the enemy, that I’m gonna screw them over because of it! That’s it! I’m done trying to help the rebellion; they can’t even help themselves! I’m only helping them because I was basically blackmailed.”
“You just said you betrayed the Silents, right?” Sara asked.
“Yeah, so!”
“Then what makes you think you don’t have the courage now, after all you’ve probably been through!” Sara replied. “Look, I may not be the person to talk about this. We gave up. But, if you keep fearing the way you do, then you might as well have been back with the Silents!”
“We need you, Nate,” Sara said. “You can lead us!”
“Leader? I’m no leader,” I walked away from both of them with dread.
“Nathan, wait!” Sara said, trying to stop me in my tracks. I kept walking forward, and at that point it was over for me; I had given up once again. “Look what you did, Pete!”
“The mission is over,” I said to her.
“I don’t have what it takes.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then, you don’t know me like I do.”
“Where will you go?”
“Away. I’m done with this whole thing.”
“You’ve made it a long way to get to this point. If you would’ve given up already you would’ve probably died.”
“It’s just my luck. I should be dead.”
“But you’re not,” Sara replied. “Someone once told me that, and we need that someone if we’re going to get your friends back. They need you now more than ever.”
I opened the exit. “They were never my words.”
I jumped onto one of the vehicles that were unused as I tried to hotwire it. After I attempted once I sparked it, but instead of starting the vehicle I shocked myself. Then I tried once more, until I heard something from behind me. I could feel their presence. However, I disregarded it.
After my second attempt to hotwire, I successfully started the vehicle, and slowly turned out to the exit door. I looked back as Sara was staring at me, I could see it in her eyes that she was begging me to stay, but I kept onward.
I kept driving off, without a destination. No end, nor a beginning. Just a drive in the desert, with nowhere in my thoughts. I sped up the vehicle, continuing my current path. There was no wind, no storm, not even the sound of a cricket or a cicada. Just me and the starry night filled the sky in an incredible awe. Then, I remember what Thomas asked me before about my life; what I wanted to do, and who I wanted to be in the future. But, those thoughts drifted from my mind as I started to question the very purpose of my existence once again. I found no answer.
Then, I let go of it. All of it. I closed my eyes and floored the accelerator pedal.
“Wake up,” said an echoing whisper in my ears, which woke me up suddenly.
I stomped
on the brakes in panic, breathing heavily. A figure of a man appeared in the desert a few meters ahead of me. Scared, yet shocked, as I opened the door of the car slowly to see who it was. With each step my curiosity spiked. I recognized his clothing.
“Andrew?” I asked the man.
“Hey, kid,” Andrew replied.
“Am I dead?”
“No. You’re not dead.”
I sighed in relief.
“Look over here.”
I stood next to him and watched the full moon surrounded by a sea of stars.
“Beautiful isn’t it?”
“Yeah...it is.”
“I know how you’re feeling right now. You thought your problems would be solved by siding with the Resistance,” Andrew explained. “But, instead you’ve only been in more of ‘em. Now you feel dragged into this mess and the cause of it all at the same time.”
I muttered to him, perplexed.
“Those people are counting on you.”
“But, my deeds just made things worse. My group’s been captured. They’re gonna be executed tomorrow. What they need is a miracle. A hero.”
“Then be a hero,” he suggested.
“Woah, n-n-no, you don’t understand. I’m not even supposed to be here.”
“That’s right, you came a long way looking for something that isn’t out here. Don’t you see? It’s not about you, it's about them.” Andrew began to walk away.
“But, I can’t go back,” I added, as Andrew stopped to turn around.
“You can’t or you won’t?”
“Sara,” I whispered.
He nodded.
“Is this real? Or is this all just inside my head?”
“Of course this is all inside your head,” Andrew replied with a subtle smirk. “Then again, why shouldn’t it be real?”
I watched as his image faded. Blowing itself away and blending into the moving sand. From the top of his head down to his feet he stood and became one with the wind. I stared at the moon again. Alone. Thinking about my options. Then, it hit me.
“I gotta go back,” I said to myself, averting my eyes to the vehicle I came in.
I rushed to it, swung open the door and slammed it shut. After hot wiring it once again, the engine roared as it awoke. The headlights beamed, and I swiftly placed my hands on the wheel. I started sweating a bit, and I had butterflies in my stomach.
