The Sons of Liberty

by James Tow

shoulders.

  “You’re ugly,” he muttered as Anna brought the camera to her face.

  “What’re you talking about? I’m cute,” I joked and we both chuckled. The flash of light briefly blinded me. Glad that’s over with.

  “Now everybody!” Anna said. Everybody groaned as they staggered around us.

  “Looking good Chris,” I said as he walked within the frame. His face was swollen, cut, and bruised from the rocket he took earlier.

  “Shut up,” he muttered.

  We all positioned ourselves, ready for the picture. From my right, Alyse intertwined her fingers with mine. She rested her head against my arm, and waited for the flash.

  “For the scrapbook,” she said and the flash blinded us.

  Screams and shrieks of terror tore through the woodland area. The reverberating sounds of gunfire soon followed. Gabriel ran inside the tent, and emerged with two pistols. He tossed me one and sprinted toward the disturbance. I started after him, but stopped. I turned back and looked at Alyse. We stared at each other, but I didn’t know what to say. I turned back around and ran after Gabriel.

  We passed clusters of people as they ran from trouble. Gabriel and I did not stop—we continued our way down the sister trail. Gunshots and screams became louder.

  Once onto the main trail, we saw the cause: a legion of military vehicles made its way up the trail—guns on top of trucks fired upon their fleeing prey. Gabriel and I stood in their path. We took aim at the first truck and fired on the enemies through the windshield. The truck swerved and crashed into a nearby tree. The horde of vehicles stopped, and the enemy showed themselves. Masses of soldiers, wearing grey uniforms, got of their trucks and aimed weapons at us. The red arm band, around their arms, with a black swastika caught my eye.

  Gabriel and I aimed, but knew it was no use. We dropped our weapons and waited for the cavalry. The area’s populace slowly appeared from behind the forest surrounding us. Chris, and the crew, appeared from the sister trail. Alyse, with her mother and father showed up soon after.

  The troops of darkness slowly advanced on our helpless position—they stopped ten feet in front of us. A lone Nazi walked up from his troops, and stood in front of us with a grim expression.

  “Vergil?!” I exclaimed. He smiled back at me. “…Is that even your name?” I asked glumly. He laughed aloud.

  He looked at us with a stern gaze and asked in a German accent, “Where is he?”

  “He’s dead,” I answered—assuming he was asking for Pollick.

  Vergil called something out in a deep Germanic language that I could not comprehend. “Alemannic,” Gabriel said to himself. A Nazi brought a laptop to Vergil—they exchanged a few words, and looked up at us.

  “Shit,” Gabriel spat. “Pollick had a transmitter,” he whispered to me. “The transmitter is showing them Pollick’s vital signs, but not his location.” Shit is right—I feel like a child who just got sent to the principal’s office.

  “Try again,” Vergil said and drew his gun—pointing it at us.

  “You just missed him,” I said. “We all watched as he got gang raped by a bunch of woodland critters…if you turn around and run you’re bound to catch him.”

  Vergil retorted with something in German. “Sorry, didn’t catch that,” I said.

  Gabriel then spat on Vergil’s boots. Uh oh.

  Vergil looked down at his feet, then up at Gabriel. He smiled, took aim to the group of people to our left, and fired twice.

  “NO!” Alyse cried as her mother collapsed.

  Instinctively, I leaped forward and grabbed Vergil’s throat, while Gabriel reach forward and clamped his hand around Vergil’s face. The mob of Nazis surrounded us—there was one weapon pointed at us for every pore on our bodies. We quickly backed off.

  I looked over to Alyse. She and her father cried over the tragedy.

  “Try again,” Vergil said smiling.

  We can’t have any more of this, I thought to myself as I watched Anna’s lifeless body. No more.

  “We’ll take you to him,” I said and hung my head in defeat. The soldiers backed off and went back to their vehicles. Vergil walked to the front truck, and waited for us.

  Gabriel stood in his spot, staring at the ground.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “For what?” he asked.

  “For giving up.”

  “You didn’t give up. You chose the option that will save the most lives. I would’ve said it sooner or later—but I would have been more stubborn about it.”

  I walked to Alyse, and crouched down next to her—putting my arm around her trembling body. I looked down at Anna’s body—she was shot twice in the chest. I reach over, and closed her eyes. I can imagine the loss their feeling now. It brings me back to when I first lost my family…a feeling I don’t ever want to experience again. And I feel the utmost pity for they have to endure it now.

  “I have to go now,” I whispered. She looked up at me sobbing and confused. Then she grabbed my face with her two cold hands, “No…No!” she cried.

  “I have to,” I said then grabbed her frustrated face with my hands. “Do not stop what we have started. Finish this…” I said and kissed her on the forehead. I got to my feet and walked toward Gabriel.

  “Promise me!” she cried out from behind me—I didn’t look back. I heard her fall to her knees, “Paul Reed, you promise me…now!” she cried more severely.

  Gabriel and I got into the large SUV, and sat in the middle row of seats. Vergil occupied the passenger seat—soldiers filled the back seat. We started turning around. I watched Alyse, on her knees, crying into her hands. Chris and the crew stared in horror as we drove off. Next to the truck, by my window, was the toddler, running, trying to keep up. Tears filled her eyes when I looked down at her. She reached for me, and I put my hand against the window. The driver sped up, and she was soon gone from sight.

  Is this it? Is this our end? We have been fighting for years, but it seems like a blur compared to this moment. Much like my life—a blur in the distant past. Too much has gone undone, but I cannot dwell on my failures. I glance over at Gabriel, and wonder what’s going through his mind as he stares at the cloud covered sun.

  My brother—my protective and loving brother—what are you thinking? I must know. I don’t know what to think of this moment. I begin to think of the past we have shared…

  My first day at kindergarten—I wore my favorite Ninja Turtles shoes. The fifth graders found it necessary to pick on me because my shoes had Velcro rather than shoelaces. They jumped me on my bathroom break. You walked behind them, just as they kicked me on the ground—punching each one of them to the ground. “Do not fuck with my brother,” I remember you saying in your child voice. I also remember being more shocked you said the ‘F’ word than the fact I got bullied. You weren’t afraid to defend me, even though they were years older than you.

  My first Easter Sunday, where I got to go egg hunting—I was ecstatic. You and Mary found all of the plastic eggs, and I only found one. I bawled my eyes out. But you gave me your eggs, and traded it for my one. Then opened the one egg I found—inside was a fifty dollar bill. You handed it to me and said, “Look past what others have, and be grateful for what you’ve found…a golden egg.” You left me with your eggs, and my golden egg. But did you have to be so smug about it?

  I remember when I wasn’t invited to one of my friend’s party in middle school, and you had a party of your own to go to. You ditched it, and said, “We’ll have a party of our own.” We went to the corner doughnut shop and found out who could eat the most doughnuts. Then we rented several movies, and tried to act out our favorite scenes. The best party I’ve ever been to.

  I remember the countless nights we laid out on the roof—trying to escape the world. The games of hide-and-seek we played when we were kids. The first time we rode a roller coaster. Our first fights with one another, and our first fights protecting each other—we always won.

  “The stadium,”
Gabriel told the driver when we made it to the campus.

  I wish I could thank you Gabriel. Thank you for helping me become the man that I am…there’s no way in hell I could’ve done it without you. These memories, embedded in me, these memories, what made me who I am, are all that matters. Will life flash before my eyes right before? Or was this the flash of life? Either way, one thing is for sure—my life is about to end.

  We got out of the trucks and walked into the stadium.

  There is so much I need to do.

  So much I want to do—but that isn’t important.

  We walked out onto the field from the south. The body, tied to the south-end goal post, was still moving. Gabriel and I walking into the end zone to get a good look at Pollick. He glared at us with a smile, as Vergil and his soldiers cut the ropes that bound him.

  “I told you,” Pollick said smugly. “You should have killed me when you had the chance.”

  Gabriel turned to me, smiling, “How many movies have we seen or books we have read that have that line?” I shrugged, smiling.

  “A lot.”

  “It’s so weird to hear it in reality,” he added.

  One of the Nazis walked forward, with a video camera to his face—aiming at us.

  “We will show your followers that you are no more,” Vergil explained and pointed a gun at my chest. A soldier handed Pollick a gun, who aimed it at Gabriel.

  “I will enjoy this,” Pollick said.

  “I’m sure you will, you sick bastard,” Gabriel said.

  “Any last words?” Pollick asked