“A little over nine years ago, when the war had come to an end, it was the Crimson Strike Force’s job to enforce and implement the treaties and ensure that they were being followed. It was a lot of diplomacy. If the diplomacy did not work, they entered into aggressive negotiations. Many missions unfortunately resulted in assassinations. During this time, the Captain of the Strike Force was an Australian-American. He had fought in the war, but during the peace keeping time, he led this team on all of these diplomatic missions. On one of these missions he betrayed his team. No one knows why, but he took his life and his team was wiped out along with him.”
“If everyone died, how do they know he betrayed them?” Xavier asked.
“Not everyone died. There was one, a rookie recruit, who was thought to be dead. However, when she turned up, she told everyone what happened.”
“But that’s only one recruit, one war-scarred veteran. Why should there be such disdain for America as a whole?”
“You truly are ignorant, aren’t you?” the German woman Lena asked.
“Clearly,” Xavier retorted.
“Many countries blame America for the war starting in the first place. It wasn’t until a group of European scientists looked into the original bombings in America that they discovered the wrong countries were blamed and attacked. Had America done its due diligence in their forensics, they would have known to turn their attention to the terrorist organization referred to as the 9th Circle. Many countries would have joined them in their assault on terrorism. We would have never seen World War III. Three and a half billion men and women would not have had to die. Thirty years of destruction to cities and landmarks never would have had to happen. The world would still trust each other and peace would be at an all-time high.”
“And that is all somehow my fault?” Xavier asked.
“Are you not Australian-American?” Goma, from Kenya asked.
“My dad was born in Sydney and I lived there for four years, but I’m an American. That doesn’t make me a traitor.”
“No, but you represent everything the world hates.”
Xavier was distressed. David, with his giant smile and playful attitude, put his arm around Xavier’s neck. “But you are a cool and nice guy. You will win the trust of everyone before you know it. Now, it is well known that America has the best training in survival skills, whether they want to admit it or not. What is our plan?”
Xavier smirked, and then thought for a minute. The humidity grew almost unbearable, and it was getting harder to breathe. The rest of the group waited, growing uncomfortable and having no suggestions of their own.
“Well, first things first, we need to see what we have to work with. We need to find our bearings and read our terrain.”
Xavier looked around him. There were no paths to follow, and nothing that gave them a sense of direction. It was just forest, and they were surrounded by a wall of dark, viscid trees. Beads of sweat began to saturate Xavier and the group. As he looked behind him, he saw the remnants of a creek that had dried up. If they were going to survive in this humid forest, they were going to need water, and lots of it.
He walked toward the creek. His plan was to follow the evaporated streamline until he could find water. With this much plant life, there had to be enough water to support it. As he followed the creek line a light breeze blew over them, a thick soil aroma in the air. The deeper they went into the woods, the more vibrant the colors became. There were flowers and diverse plants all around them.
After a couple of miles of weaving, dodging, and climbing over the forest life, they found themselves exasperated. The minutes felt like hours and the hike grew more strenuous with every step. Everything seemed to get darker, and they began to feel as though the forest was closing in on them. Half the party grew anxious, beginning to question their decision to follow Xavier. Xavier began to question his decision to split off from Oscar. Should I really have tried to do this on my own? he wondered to himself.
David sensed the tension. He began to encourage everyone and make all sorts of jokes to bring the group’s spirits up. He seemed to have a supernatural ability to be full of joy and not let anything bring him down. As the hike continued, Xavier did not hear any running water, and he couldn’t smell any water over the soiled air. He began to wonder if there was any water at all. Xavier was getting ready to turn around when David exclaimed.
“We are almost there! I can just feel it!”
Xavier thought David was just being naive, but within a few minutes, the sound of running water penetrated the air waves. Xavier leapt with joy. His strained walking turned into a jog, and everyone was brought out of their daze, running to catch up to Xavier. As they burst out of the shadowy tunnel of trees, they were kissed with brilliant sunlight bouncing off the mouth of a waterfall. The humidity had taken its toll on Xavier and he was parched. He waited for the group to catch up before making a move. The water had a whitish tint to it, and Xavier’s gut told him not to drink it.
The body of water split off into two directions. The white water stretched northeast and ran into the Genesis Room’s boundary, and the brownish water extended to the south. They were as far northeast as they could go. Emily ran up and was about to immerse her face in the white water when Xavier caught her and stopped her.
“Something’s not right about this water.”
Emily shoved him off of her and shouted at him. She was about to throw herself into the water anyway when this time, David stopped her. “He is correct. In the forest, if the water has a thicker white color, it means there is thick sediment giving it the white color, meaning it produces much more bacteria. If it does not make you sick, it will likely dehydrate you even more. The browner the water the clearer it is, because the ground floor of the water is brown. It is the same as a crystal blue beach.”
They all looked at David with surprised looks on their faces. “What? I read. From time to time.”
Xavier laughed. “Well, there you have it.”
“I am very thirsty! We have been walking for hours!” Goma whined.
Abaigeal looked to the sky. “I know that this is a dome, and there is no way to know for sure what the time is, but if I am reading that correctly, it has only been an hour.”
“Well it feels like it’s been hours!” Goma retorted.
“Let’s go that way.” Xavier pointed towards the brown water, ignoring Goma’s complaining.
They walked along the river for a mile until all the water around them was brown. They were tired, hot, and dehydrated. Xavier insisted on letting Goma go first, and then let all the girls go after her. David was next. As the group was drinking their fill of water, Xavier was looking around for anything that resembled a flag. There were colors all over but nothing that looked like a flag. After a few more minutes of looking around, and once everyone got their fill of water, Xavier went. He finished and addressed the group.
“We need to come up with a game plan so we’re not out here wandering aimlessly.”
They all sat in a circle and began to brainstorm. Hours had passed and the forest grew dark. They had spent far too much time trying to come up with a plan. Frustration penetrated Xavier as he realized that the first day had passed and nothing was accomplished. They began to set up camp. Once everything had been set up, Xavier offered to take the first watch. In unison he received a resounding no; nobody trusted him to protect them. After much arguing, Emily was appointed to take the first watch.
Xavier reluctantly lay down and stared at the top of the dome. He couldn’t figure out the engineering of this facility. How did the sun even know to set? How did the sun shine through the top? After wrestling with his questions, he realized he didn’t really care. His thoughts went to the lone American that betrayed everyone. The mere thought of him sent a rage into Xavier’s innermost being. If he were alive, he would make him pay for the way he tainted the view of America. Things began to make more sense as he reflected on everything from his arrival in DC to now. He had never felt more alone tha
n he did in that moment. He missed his old unit. He felt alone there as well, but at least they respected him; this group here only hated him. He was going to show them all. He would prove all of them wrong.
Chapter 10
July 28th 2062 2 a.m. (Day Two) Genesis Room, Crimson Manor, Berlin, Germany
Xavier woke up to the rustling of Fina, who had risen to take her shift of watch from Goma. He lay there for another minute staring at the roof of the dome. He decided to get up—four hours was more than enough time. At first he was going to help Fina with the watch, but then decided it would be easier to trek forward on his own. He was not in the mood to deal with anymore unmerited hatred from people.
The forest was dark and Xavier was struggling to track his way through it. Within minutes the roaring of his stomach reminded him that he hadn’t eaten anything since the banquet. The lack of sounds assured him that there were no animals in the dome. He felt safe for a moment until he realized how difficult this challenge was going to be if they couldn’t hunt anything for meat. They would never find the flags if they had to go back to the island every single day to get food. This test was about survival—there had to be another way.
With every step he took he searched all around him for something that resembled a flag. A shine in the distance drew his eye, and his pace quickened as he approached the glimmer. He had hoped it would be a flag, but it turned out to be a spore of bioluminescent mushrooms. Filled with disappointment, he further investigated the mushrooms and was surprised to find several cashew plants and mung beans growing all around. He wondered if they were edible. He tried a bean and amazement filled him as he realized they were edible, and a bit filling, too. This would significantly decrease their need to have to return to the island on a daily basis.
For the next several hours, Xavier searched for berries, nuts, and fruit. He took a few minutes to create several small bags out of leaves in order to bring breakfast to everyone. Xavier made his way back to camp to find all the girls fuming and yelling at David.
“Is everything okay?” Xavier asked.
Goma lashed out at him. “And where have you been, American? Abandoning us? Plotting against us!”
Several of the girls chimed in, yelling all kinds of obscenities and accusations at Xavier. David was at a loss for words. Once they calmed down, Xavier apologized to everyone.
“If it’s any consolation…I brought everyone breakfast.”
Goma whined about eating berries and plants for breakfast, and to Xavier’s surprise, Abaigeal supported his decision, understanding that he was thinking ahead when the rest of them were reacting to their situation. David had a huge smile on his face.
“Thank you, Mr. Phillip,” Abaigeal said.
Xavier cringed. “Just call me Xavier.”
David elbowed him in the side with a smirk on his face as if to say, I told you so. They all sat down in a circle and ate their fill. As they were finishing up, the humidity began to rise. They all stood up and looked at Xavier.
“Well, I couldn’t find anything along the river…”
“So, southeast it is,” Emily suggested, and they all nodded in agreement and began their trek.
Within an hour, they all had sweat pouring down their faces. The ground was covered in mud and every step grew heavy as they trudged along. Several hours passed and they had searched every hole, tree, corner, and crevice to no avail. Goma continued her whining and complaining. After awhile they began to wander aimlessly with no hopes of finding a flag. They stopped for a moment when David let out a shout of joy.
“I think I found one!”
They all ran to his side to see what he was looking at. They followed his gaze into the height of the forest. It was as if there was a second level several feet above their heads. At first they all were excited, but as they continued to stare, they became perplexed as to how they were going to climb thirty feet in the air. The group continued to gawk at the flag that felt so near, yet so far. While they looked up, Xavier began to rummage around.
He gathered three, very large vines and began to wind them together. He formed a thick braid and began to wrap it around the base of the tree and throw it over several limbs. He handed the vine rope to David, satisfied with his concoction.
“Don’t let me die,” Xavier joked.
Xavier jumped onto the tree and began to climb like a pro. He was bounding from branch to branch and jumping side to side as he scaled the tree. Once he reached the top, he realized he had climbed the wrong side. The branch that had the flag was directly across from him, and he was separated from it by a ten foot gap. The branch he was standing on was about seven feet long and eight inches wide. The branch containing the flag was equal in size. He looked all around him, hoping to see a way to cross the gap, but the only path was straight ahead.
He checked his vine to see if he could somehow lasso the flag, but he barely had enough length to get him to the flag. With a huge sigh he knew what he had to do. He was not going to be denied this victory, not after everything he had learned in the last 24 hours. The branch was about the size of a balancing beam. He untied the vine braid as he took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and focused solely on the flag that he had to get to. Maintaining his balance, he dashed across the branch like an explosion and blasted across the gap. The group held their breath as they watched him soar. He landed and tripped forward and the group gasped in unison. Xavier dropped to his stomach and clung to the branch for dear life.
A shockwave of pain seared inside of him. His heart was racing. Xavier exhaled a sigh of relief, stood up carefully, and found himself standing right in front of a red sequin flag. He tip toed across the branch and picked it up. Tucking the flag into the back of his pants, he announced that he had it in hand. The group cheered.
“Well that was epic, Xavier,” he said to himself. “Now, how am I going to get down?”
As if he heard him, David began to untie the vine braid and restructure it in order to create a rope that he could climb down. After a few minutes, the vines were rearranged in a way that Xavier could reach it with a jump. Going through the same motions, Xavier ran and jumped at the vine and caught it. As his grip tightened, the vine snapped from the base of the tree, causing him to freefall. David, Fina, and Abaigeal dove forward and caught the vine before it was too far out of reach. Xavier’s momentum drug them a couple of yards, but all three of them pulled back in one accord. They were able to steady the vine long enough for Xavier to scurry down. They ran out of vine about ten feet above the ground, and as the three of them pulled tighter, Xavier flipped off the vine.
The hearts of the four of them were racing. Once they had caught their breath, Xavier stood up straight, laughing.
“Well, that was fun.”
David exploded with excitement. “That was so cool! You have to teach me that!”
They laughed together. Fina stormed up to Xavier and punched him in the arm. “You have to be more careful!”
David laughed even harder as he teased her. “Were you worried about him, Fina?”
With a scowl on her face, she turned on her heel, and David elbowed Xavier in the side again. He nodded at him and they laughed together. Xavier insisted that they take a water break. They all sat in a circle on some nearby fallen branches. After a couple of minutes, Xavier stood up and rallied everyone.
“Okay. We have more flags to find. Let’s get to it.”
“You almost died back there! Are you sure you don’t need more time?” Emily asked with shock.
“I’m good. We’re soldiers. Our lives are always on the line. We have a job to do,” Xavier responded.
Full of respect and surprise, the group supported him. They scoured the area for several more hours and were unable to find anything. The sun had begun to set, and Xavier suggested they go back to the creek and set up camp. They agreed and followed him back.
Emily and David built a fire and the group huddled around it. After several minutes of silence, David shared a story. “
In Israel, we call Saturday Shabbat. It is a day of rest, a day where we do not create or exchange. Growing up, my family would sit around the coffee table, talk, and play board games. I miss those days. What about you, Emily? What was life like in England?”
Emily shared a story from her childhood. The entire group went around the circle sharing their memories. Xavier sat at the end of the circle, and when it came around to him, he remained silent for a long time. He looked at the ground, not ready to open up to them. He didn’t have too many memories of his family because they died when he was so young, and the ones he did have were precious to him. As the group stared at him for another minute or so, he finally broke the silence.
“We should get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.”
They seemed disappointed but were not going to fight against extra sleep. Carla was an Argentinean woman who took the first watch. She had been mostly quiet and to herself for the last couple of days, but Xavier’s act of bravery and dedication spurred her on to be more active in their mission. Emily and Fina left to go get some fruit and nuts for the morning meal.
Dawn of a New Era (Crimson Blue Book 1) Page 7
