by West, Shay
Regardless of decisions that had been made, there was still a job to do. There was no going back to change things, and no guarantee that even if such changes could be made, events would unfold any differently. The Jhinn held dear to the teachings of the Bible. Forka hadn’t studied that text while in Guardian training. It was only once he’d been living among the Jhinn that he had heard Robert’s sermons every Sunday morning. It was their belief in the teachings of Jesus that had enabled them to live a life much different than that of the Horde and the Cowboys.
The one thing Forka took from the weekly sermons was the idea of free will and how important this was to the deity of Earth. The people of Earth were free to choose their destinies; their God wouldn’t choose for them.
I can choose to give up or I can choose to keep fighting.
As they approached the river, Forka and Robert crept along the ground, trying to keep themselves hidden from the guards that would be in the watchtowers. Forka wanted to assess the situation before announcing their presence.
He could make out the figure of a man in the nearest watchtower, and the brush near the river had been cleared as was the custom. It was difficult to creep up on the river if there was no cover.
“Looks like things are normal, General,” Robert said, using the familiar form of addressing the man on this world.
“So it would appear. Shall we make our presence known?” Forka stood and sauntered down to the river as though he belonged.
In moments he heard shouting coming from the right and left. Several Protectors surrounded the trio, knives and bows raised.
“Who are you and why have you come?” asked one of the Protectors.
Forka smiled grimly. The stranger was every inch the Protector. His stance was poised and his blue gaze was steely and confident. Suddenly, the man’s blue eyes widened and he took a step back.
“It can’t be...” he shook his head.
One of the other Protectors came close to Forka, gazing hard into his blue eyes. The man squinted and walked slowly around Forka. “I don’t know. Looks like him, for sure.”
“Of course it’s me. Don’t be a fool,” Forka snapped, unwilling to submit to their scrutiny any longer.
“Beggin’ your pardon, General. You’ve been gone awhile,” the man said.
“You don’t look convinced. Take me to the encampment. There’s sure to be someone there who can recognize me.”
The man looked to the rest of the Protectors. When most simply shrugged, he sighed and beckoned the three newcomers to follow him. Forka took the lead as they made their way to the river. He was eager to see the state of the camp and to perhaps catch up with old friends. Mainly his old mare.
He knew horses could live twenty years, maybe a little more. As they ferried across the river, Forka tried to calculate how old No Name might be. Taking into account how long he had been with the camp, the time spent on Gentra, Kromin, and Astra, she was roughly twenty years old, give or take a few years. He wasn’t entirely sure how old she had been when he had first begun to ride her and call her his own. His heart skipped a beat with the realization that she could be alive. He willed the men to pole the ferry faster.
When the craft hit the opposite bank, he leapt off, eager to arrive at the encampment. Everything looked just as he remembered. The path was well worn and bordered by low brush. Aspen trees, their white bark shining in the sunlight, dominated the landscape a little further away from the path. Tall grass swayed in the gentle breeze.
Forka turned abruptly, ignoring the questions from those that followed him. His hands brushed the tops of the prairie grass as he walked to a stand of aspens. He closed his eyes and lifted his face to the sun, listening to the leaves dance in the wind.
As he opened his eyes to gaze at the clear blue sky, a tear trickled down one grizzled cheek. The soft grass would be trampled under their giant metal feet, the aspens would be crushed, the Jhinn would lose their lives. Every living thing would cease to exist once the Mekans finished mining.
How can we possibly stop them?
The task seemed impossible. With so many of their numbers dead or missing, Forka didn’t know if they had any hope of destroying the Mekans. Though he did not intend to give up, his heart was breaking over the loss of life he knew was coming.
Someone behind him cleared their throat, bringing him out of his despairing thoughts. He turned to meet the sympathetic gaze of Robert, his second-in-command. The fear and despair that threatened to overwhelm him was mirrored in the man’s brown eyes.
“Is there any hope, Reverend?” Forka asked.
Robert shook his head. “I wish I knew.”
“Can’t you find some verse or psalm to ease my pain? You were always so good at that.”
He snorted quietly. “I keep trying to remember something in the Bible that pertains to this but I’m not sure anything really does. Is this part of God’s plan? Is this something He never counted on? Is He still in control despite everything that’s happened?” Robert shook his head. “I don’t have the answers.”
“Does your heart say anything?” Forka asked, desperation causing his voice to crack.
Robert pursed his lips thoughtfully. “If I am to believe the Holy Word, I have to believe that God is in control and that no matter what happens, whether we live or die, his grand plan will still unfold. The Scriptures are full of examples of humans messing things up pretty badly and yet He can still bring good out of tragedy.”
“Gentrans don’t believe in any deities, let alone one single entity that controls everything. Is God only the overseer of this world or does He rule over all worlds?” Forka asked.
“I don’t know. Ever since finding out about other planets, alien beings, and the Gentran prophecy, I admit I’ve questioned what I’ve been taught my whole life. And yet when I read the Scriptures, I feel that same comfort and peace I have felt since I was a boy. That has to mean something, right?” Robert asked, looking as though he needed convincing.
“You are the expert when it comes to such things. I suppose the presence of an all-knowing deity changes nothing. We still have a job to do and worlds to protect.”
“I will continue to pray to the God I know and ask for his protection and guidance in what is to come. That’s all I can do.”
Forka clapped Robert on the shoulder. “We need all the help we can get, my friend.”
He once again took the lead as the group made their way to the Jhinn encampment. Forka tried to dispel the melancholy thoughts but they clung to his heart and mind, refusing to give him peace. The Protectors whispered as they walked. Forka caught things like “lost his mind”, “where have they been”, and “is he really the General”. Forka blocked them out, certain there was someone at the encampment that would recognize both him and Robert.
The encampment bustled with activity. Men and boys were fixing roofs, mending fences, sealing up the homes and buildings against the impending winter. Women and girls worked in the gardens, scrubbed laundry and hung it on lines strung between trees. Chickens scuttled around the buildings, pecking at insects and running to avoid the children trying to sneak up on them.
The Jhinn stopped what they were doing to watch the procession through town. Strangers were rare, but seeing someone they had thought long dead walk down the thoroughfare was rarer still.
“It can’t be!”
Forka turned and found himself wrapped in the arms of Mistress Foster, the woman who ran the bathhouse. He grunted as her exuberant hug squeezed the air out of his lungs. She pulled back and looked into his face. “I never thought I’d see the day. When y’all lit outta here, I thought we’d seen the last of you for sure!” She frowned. “Last time you were here, the entire encampment needed saving. Are we in trouble again?”
Forka opened and closed his mouth, unsure how to proceed. When the portal had brought the Chosen to Earth despite being activated to take them to Gentra, they had still been under a shroud of secrecy, unable to tell the Jhinn the truth of
where they had been or why they had come. The people had been suspicious, knowing there was more to the story than what they were being told. But the Chosen had saved the Jhinn from the clutches of the Horde and the Cowboys so they hadn’t pushed them.
The Astrans know about the Mekans.
He glanced at Robert and when the man gave a barely perceptible nod, Forka sighed.
“Gather the Jhinn and meet at the bunkhouse. I will explain everything.”
Mistress Foster turned and shouted to those nearby, ordering them to run to the furthest reaches of the camp and spread the word that their General had returned and needed to address them all. She turned back to Forka. “If we’re in trouble again, it’s a good thing you’re here.”
Forka smiled grimly. “Thank you for the vote of confidence.” He looked at her face and noticed wrinkles that hadn’t been there last time he had seen her. Her eyes were sunken in dark pits. “Has there been a lot of fighting lately?”
Mistress Foster smiled but the emotion never reached her eyes. “Don’t you worry. Now that you’re here, everything will be fine.” She patted his arm absently, her eyes hooded and dark. “I’ll just see to getting everyone gathered.”
Forka walked toward the bunkhouse, trying to figure out what he was going to say to the people of the camp. He made his way to the horse coral, eyes searching for the one being he was the most anxious to see.
A young man rode a young mare around the coral, speaking in soothing tones, trying to keep control of the spirited animal. She tossed her head, snorting and fighting the bit. The Protector maintained his patience, letting her fight a little while still letting her know that he was in control.
She looks like No Name.
Forka looked into the horses eyes. The animal ignored the surprised yelp of the man on her back as she trotted to the General, making a beeline for him despite the human on her back yanking on the reins. Forka met her liquid brown eyes with his own icy blue ones and the intelligence he saw there took his breath away.
“Can I help you?”
Forka glanced up at the young man. He was no longer fighting to keep the mare from bolting.
“Where’d you get this mare?” Forka asked as he scratched her nose. He smiled as she closed her eyes.
“She was born right here. Her momma was sure a special animal. No one could come near this girl. But I’ve never been one to be told I can’t do something,” the young man said with a sideways grin.
“Her momma was special?” Forka repeated, stomach tightening.
“Yeah. She belonged to the old General who used to run this camp.”
“Where is she now?”
“Buried over yonder.” He pointed to a large tree just on the other side of the fence.
Forka hung his head, jaw muscles clenching, swallowing around the lump in his throat. He mumbled a curt “thank you” to the Protector and made his way slowly to the tree.
I don’t remember this ever being here.
The large elm was right next to the window of the room he used to share with Robert. He tried to remember if there had even been a sapling growing in this spot. There was a mound to one side of the tree and it was covered in a myriad of yellow and white flowers.
He knelt down and placed his hand on the grass, running his hand over it as he used to do to her soft hair. He closed his eyes and pulled her face to mind. The last time he’d been here, she had been the one that had led them to where the Jhinn were being held captive, by communicating with the telepath.
I never said a proper good-bye.
Though he tried to fight it, tears slipped down his wrinkled cheeks. He had wanted to see her so badly, to jump on her back and feel the power of her muscles under his legs as they galloped across the open plains. No Name knew what he wanted before he himself did, as though they were connected somehow, able to weave in and out of trees and between buildings without having to be led.
Someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned and smiled as Robert approached. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
Forka stood. “Not at all. Just saying good-bye.”
“I know you wanted to see her again.”
“Just another in a long line of deaths.”
Robert frowned. “That mare sure seems like the spitting image of her, even down to the spirited personality.”
Forka nodded grudgingly. “I suppose. But it’s not the same thing.”
“We all have our time. She had a good, long life and for that we should be grateful.”
“I suppose.” Forka shook his head. Losing himself in melancholy thoughts wasn’t going to help them fight the Mekans nor help him explain to the Jhinn about the threat that was coming.
“The folks have gathered in the main thoroughfare.” Robert said.
Forka turned to his friend. “Am I doing the right thing by telling them what’s coming? Would they be better off not knowing?”
“No, I don’t think so. They’ve been through a lot and deserve to know about this. If the Astrans can handle the news, so can they,” Robert said, pointing to the gathering crowd.
“Secrecy seems pointless now. Maybe we shouldn’t have ever kept any of it secret.”
“You think it would have changed how things have gone?”
“Who can say? The Masters may have set off a series of events that doomed us the minute they decided to send us Guardians to the Chosen early. Or events may be unfolding exactly as prophecy intended. Or there may be something in the prophecy that we are misinterpreting.” He shook his head. “I guess it makes no difference. What’s done is done. All we can do is move forward and keep fighting.”
“Agreed. I just wish we could have figured out a way to beat the machines before they came here. Seems like this world has suffered enough,” Robert said.
Forka clapped Robert on the shoulder. “We may yet keep the Mekans from the encampment. The Jhinn have survived against the Horde and the Cowboys. No reason to think the Mekan invasion will be any different.”
The townfolk waited in the thoroughfare, shuffling their feet, whispering to those standing closest to them, glancing at anyone who looked like they may have some inkling of what was going on.
Forka frowned. The Protectors situated themselves on the periphery of the gathering group, their weapons at the ready.
It’s like they are expecting an attack.
“Do you think they know what’s going on?” he asked Robert.
Robert shook his head. “No, but they are certainly on edge about something.”
“It’s no matter. The sooner we speak with the group and warn them the better.”
“I wish we knew if the Mekans were here. It’s going to be impossible to get the Jhinn to safety if we don’t know where the machines are or if they have even landed here yet.”
--Perhaps I can be of service--
Forka turned to his Kromin comrade. It was easy to forget it was around since it couldn’t speak and was content to stand to the side and let others lead.
--What do you mean?-- Forka answered with is mind. Robert was the only other person who knew of the telepaths’ unusual form of communication, and he didn’t want to appear to be talking to himself.
--If the Mekans are near any humans on this planet, they will undoubtedly be upset. I can sense that--
Forka nodded. While training back on Gentra, he had learned of the various people still living on Earth. Many were in the same state as the Jhinn, living as best they could. Others were like the Horde and Cowboys, who would rather take what they needed from others than work for it. There were some groups that possessed some of the old technology left over from before the Changes, mostly in the form of guns, bullets, and short wave radios.
But no one had the means of fighting the Mekans.
--The Mekans are in a region that was once called China--
Forka brought up a map of this world in his mind. China was quite far from the Unites States but the sheer size of the Mekans meant they could still reach t
he Jhinn in a rather short time.
--How many are there?--
The clone stood silently for a moment before answering. – It’s difficult to discern. The people there are in quite a panic. There could be dozens or perhaps just three or four--
--Any idea which direction they are moving in?--
--There’s no way to know. I will scan the planet periodically to see if I can figure out where the machines are going--
“Ummm, General, everyone is growing restless,” Robert said, nudging Forka.
Forka sighed. He still had no idea what he was going to say to the people. They already suspected there was something strange about their General and those he had taken away so long ago. Even now that he was back, he wasn’t sure how much they would believe.
“Just start at the beginning. If they don’t believe us, we’ll take the entire group to the portal. We’ll make them believe,” Robert said.
Just as he was about to speak, an alarm sounded from the right. Forka whipped his head toward the sound of shouts and screaming. He ran down the thoroughfare, drawing his blade from the sheath at his waist. It felt good in his hand.
He smelled the smoke before he saw the flames licking the side of a barn. The frightened squeals of trapped horses met his ears. He ran toward the barn, knowing even before he got close enough that he was too late. The entire structure was engulfed in flames.
Clanging bells sounded from ahead and to the left. He spun in a circle, trying to find someone, anyone to fight. He ran straight ahead, trying to ignore the groans of the dying animals. He spotted someone running behind a house.
“STOP!”
The man laughed and ran faster, outdistancing the older General easily. Forka growled but slowed his pace, heart and lungs complaining from the exertion.
I’m getting too old for this.
He jogged back to the bunkhouse and found Robert helping to put out a fire. Forka stopped short, his brain refusing to believe what his eyes were seeing. In all his years of living among the Jhinn, the enemy had never gotten close to the bunkhouse nor any other building at the center of town. The Protectors had always managed to keep the enemy at bay at the outskirts of town.
