by James Tow
with a group of family and friends, ran to Ebben and took the body he carried. They set the body on the ground, and mourned their beloved friend. I told Ebben to leave them be for he was watching them grieve over Justin.
All the Humvees’ headlights were on—illuminating the area. I set Chris down on the grass in front of the first truck I approached. Toni ran to us and fell to her knees.
“He’ll be alright,” I told her before she started bawling. “Just unconscious.”
A metal pole stuck into the ground in front of me. I looked up to see Alyse holding herself up with the flag. I stood up to greet her, but backed off when I saw her eyes were red and watery. Behind her stood her mother and father, along with the St. Andrews crew.
“Uh…er…I…When did you get here?” was all I could say. Which was obviously poor choice of words for Alyse brought her hand around and slapped me. I wasn’t going to say another word. I just stared back. She jumped forward and threw her arms around me.
“Phew…I was ready for round two,” I joked. She didn’t laugh.
She looked up at me, “I could only imagine the worse…” she breathed.
“I’m…”
“Just say goodbye, or promise me you’ll be back the next time you run off somewhere…” she said.
“But I…”
“Just promise me…”
“Ok…I promise.”
The people around us looked at the approaching figure behind me. I glanced back to see Gabriel, with Pollick thrown over his shoulder. He walked through the silent crowd and threw the unconscious Pollick on the hood of the Humvee. He then jumped up and sat on the hood next to the helpless body.
“What were you doing?” I asked him but he just stared at the ground.
Keith, Ebben, and several others of Chris’ friends circled around his body.
“He’ll be alright. Lucky for him, he didn’t have the same fate as Justin,” I said looking at the soldier’s mourning loved ones.
“Any other casualties?” I asked Toni. She shook her head. Almost a total victory.
“What happened to his nose?” a man asked as the crowd stepped closer to examine the general.
“I have a mean right hook,” Gabriel said.
After examining the conquered general, the crowd appeared disheartened.
“Do you not like the fact that we caught him?” Gabriel asked—beating me to the question.
“What now?” the man asked. “This doesn’t change that The Army is still everywhere in limitless numbers.”
“Plus there’s still another leader out there!” another man called out, and the crowd agreed.
“If this doesn’t please you, then I don’t know what will,” Gabriel said flatly.
I hopped onto the hood of the Humvee. The sight was intimidating for the watchful audience reached the perimeter of the field, and some in the street—I felt like a musician ready to perform at my first gig.
“Do you people realize what we’ve accomplished today?” They looked around to each other—shrugging. “We have announced our existence in this hellish world, and denounced there’s,” I bellowed through the air. “Take out one,” I said pointing at Pollick, “And threaten their entire being.” Finally, the mob seemed to be on the same page. They stood, nodding their heads with agreement.
“So you expect us to fight now? Just non-stop fighting?” a woman asked. “Because there is no way we can match their numbers.”
“I don’t expect you to do anything,” I told her. “But I will fight…and I will not stop. I will fight until my body leaves this plane, and I can only hope you will stand behind me.”
Alyse limped over to Gabriel with the flag, and handed it to him. He stood up, and passed the flag onto me.
“The symbol of hope,” I muttered to myself as I looked at the incomplete flag flutter with the breeze. “In a way…we brought this upon ourselves. We gave them their power, and we can take it back. We will take it back…” I said aloud.
“WE WILL TAKE IT BACK!” I roared and the crowd gave me cheers and shouts of approval. “Too long have we stood in their shadow of fear. It is time for us to shine bright, and bring hope to this broken world!” The crowd was building momentum as they listened to the powerful words echo through the night.
“We will transcend beyond their deepest nightmares! They will look up to the skies where we will reign supreme! Our kingdom is the sun in this blackened earth! Our kingdom…WHERE WE ARE KINGS!” I bellowed. I could hardly hear myself as the crowd transformed into a crazed mob. I could hardly hear my own pounding heart in my chest as the decibels reached ear splitting levels.
“THIS IS WHERE WE FIGHT!” Gabriel bellowed over the crowd.
“WE ARE THE SONS OF LIBERTY!” I yelled and held our flag up to the heavens.
I didn’t think it was possible, but the passionate crowd turned up their loudness as I waved our flag in the air.
They didn’t slow down. Gabriel and I stood at the heart, with the rumble of the ground sending chills of pride through our bodies. We tilted our heads back and breathed in the passion, the sound, and the atmosphere of this newfound kingdom…
Our kingdom.
27. One Last Sunrise
I couldn’t sleep.
We made it back to the tent several hours ago, but too much was on my mind for me to get any rest. I sat up to see everyone deep in their dream realms. Chris slept peacefully with bandages covering nearly his entire body. Ebben was snoring, and Keith was talking in his sleep—I chuckled when he started mumbling something about a pink troll. Alyse was in a deep sleep. I couldn’t stop watching her, but then I noticed Gabriel wasn’t beside her. I got to my feet, and examined the area to see he wasn’t in the tent. I walked outside to see him sitting in a plastic chair against the tent.
“I can’t sleep either,” I said and grabbed a chair of my own from the side of the tent. When I walked around to the front, I saw the finished flag hanging just above the entrance. Alyse added a white sun, with small rays, in the center, and ‘This is where we fight,’ just under the sun in small white letters.
“Nothing elaborate…but I like it,” I said and took my seat against the tent, opposite of Gabriel. He nodded in agreement. The shiny accessory around Gabriel’s neck caught my eye.
“I haven’t seen those in a long time…” I said, pointing at his dog tags.
“Neither have I,” he said.
Down by his feet, I noticed a plastic bag filled with oranges. And around the area he sat, were orange peels.
“Mind if I have one?” I asked. He took an orange from the bag and tossed it to me. I glanced over as he bit into the peel.
“You know, the peel breaks down the enamel on your teeth when you do that,” I informed him.
“I don’t care,” he said—peeling away at his orange. I looked down at mine, shrugged, and bit into the peel.
“I haven’t had one in a long time,” I said as I tore away at the peel.
“Savor it,” he said—breaking apart the wedges.
“So what’s the plan now?” I asked him as I tossed a slice of orange in my mouth.
He shrugged, “Haven’t given it too much thought,” he said with a mouthful of fruit.
“You never give anything too much thought…You just do things,” I said.
“So what’s the plan?” he asked me.
I shrugged, “Haven’t given it too much thought,” I said and he laughed.
Rays of light seeped through the trees as the sun began to rise. Gabriel dropped his orange, and got to his feet. In a trance, he started walking toward the tree line. I got up and followed him. I looked down, eating my orange, and watching my step for sticks and brush. Gabriel was absorbed by the light, and its source as it came clearer through the trees.
We approached a small clearing within the Hill Country and Gabriel stopped when we reached it. Standing at the edge of the tree line, he observed the orange sun as it rose from the horizon.
“Beautiful…isn’t it?” I asked lo
oking at him.
He stared, squinting at the sun, and said, “It hurts my eyes.”
I walked over to him, and put my hand on his shoulder. I turned him around, back toward the tent, and said, “C’mon.”
We made our way back through the trees, and saw everyone was up, standing, in front of the tent in formal rows—Alyse’s mother and father stood facing the group. Gabriel and I walked from the trees and into the clearing.
“Where have you been?” Alyse asked.
“Having an orange,” I replied and looked down at my hands—they were covered in juice and pulp.
“It’s too early for this Mrs. Hound,” Toni pouted. I looked to Anna, who was messing with the camera strapped around her neck.
“Let’s get the two of you next,” she said signaling Gabriel and I to position ourselves in front of the tent. We shuffled over and stood in front of the flag—Gabriel stood to my right.
“Say cheese,” Anna said. Seconds later there was no flash. Anna sighed and looked at us shaking her head. “It looks like you two have gippy tummies!” she exclaimed.
“Whatever that means,” I mumbled. Gabriel gave me a light elbow to my side.
I put on a fake smile that I wasn’t too enthused about, and Gabriel just glared at the camera. Anna just dropped her shoulders in defeat.
Jack, standing behind Anna, laughed at the sight. “America’s most wanted,” he chuckled pointing at Gabriel.
“Don’t mind him,” I told them. “He just knows how ugly he’ll make this picture look.”
A short burst of laughter escaped his mouth, and the corners of his mouth turned up.
“That’s more like it!” I said and wrapped my arm around his
