Shadows of Before

by Ryan King

  “All the more reason we have to maintain what we have built here. The loss of the dam isn’t the loss of everything.”

  Nathan smiled. “I wish I could believe that, but I don’t think so. In all my travels, in those months it took to fight through to get here with the family, the only thing different about this place and those is what we’re standing on.”

  “Surely, it’s not just that.”

  “Yes, it is. We had electricity, and what goes with it, and they didn’t. Without that, I’m not sure what is going to happen to the JP. Hell, there may not even be a JP come spring.”

  “Just have a little faith,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “It isn’t all on you.”

  He put his hand over hers. “How did you get here anyway?”

  She pointed back the way she had come. “A group of us road up from the camp on bikes together. Everyone wanted to see the dam and Joshua let me know you were going to be here.”

  “Joshua. How’s he doing?”

  “I should ask you,” she replied. “You see him more than I do.”

  Nathan shook his head. “I don’t know how to read him anymore. It seems like just a few minutes ago he was a kid and now he’s this grown man with responsibly.”

  “I think everyone’s going to start growing up faster, just like in generations past. The concept of childhood is a luxury we may not have any longer.”

  That made him think of his baby daughter. “How’s River?”

  “Took you long enough to ask. She’s doing fine. Needs her father though. It would be good if you came around more often.”

  “Is Alexandra watching her?”

  “Yeah. I can’t decide if having the baby around is helping her get over her own loss or just making the pain fresher.”

  “How are you two getting along?”

  His mother smiled. “She still wants to kill me in my sleep, but we’re figuring things out. Having Joshua back for a bit helps, I think. They’re still trying to sort out how to be a family.”

  Nathan nodded, wondering what had become of his family. “I’m going to do all I can to keep us out of danger. When things go bad, they’ll go bad in a hurry. Stay close to him; he’ll know what to do.”

  “What do you think is going to happen?” she asked, putting her hand on his arm.

  “I don’t know,” he answered. “Maybe nothing, but I spend my nights thinking about worst case scenarios when I should be sleeping.”

  “You need a vacation.”

  He bent his head back and laughed. “What do you think this is? I’m neglecting my duties right now. A war is going on in the south, martial law just barely keeping hysteria at bay, and oh yeah, I now have a bunch of assholes calling themselves the Pirates of the Mississippi raiding up and down the river.”

  “Pirates of the Mississippi? I thought the JP destroyed them in the spring.”

  “Evidently not. Or maybe some other group is also a big Johnny Depp fan. Anyway, our western border is easy pickings along the river right now with everyone down south fighting that madman.”

  “It’s a shame about Reggie,” she said.

  Nathan turned back towards the river. “It’s a shame about a lot of things.”

  “Come on,” she said, pulling on his arm. “Come with me, see your daughter. It’s been too long.”

  “I can’t,” he protested. “I need to get back.”

  “Either be her father or don’t,” she shot back at him angrily. “If you’re not going to be there, then give her up to Joshua and Alexandra to raise her as their own, but make a decision soon. For the child’s sake.”

  He hung there indecisive and thought of Bethany. She was gone, but he still couldn’t bear to do anything that might make her ashamed of him.

  “Come on,” she said more gently, pulling him away from the destruction.

  He took one more look behind him at the ruin and followed her home to his family.

  Chapter 13 – Desperation

  “You haven’t been released from the hospital yet,” said General Carter, pointing a finger at him as he walked into the room.

  “Colonel McKraven reporting for duty, sir,” said Conrad, saluting.

  “No,” answered Carter, ignoring the salute. “You’re still recovering. Get back in bed.”

  “It’s only a flesh wound, as they used to call it in those old Monty Python movies,” Conrad answered, lowering his salute. “Besides, it’s so boring in the hospital tent. It’s full of sick people.”

  “I mean it,” said Carter, pointing at him again.

  “Sir,” interrupted a ruddy-faced aide to their side. “There’s a man approaching from Redstone under a white flag.”

  “Escort him in,” Carter said.

  “And make sure you search him first,” hollered Conrad after him. “Remember who we’re dealing with here.”

  “What do you think they want?” asked Carter.

  “To surrender, of course,” answered Conrad. “I told you we’d smoke them out.”

  “I like your optimism, but I doubt the smoke alone has worked. The wind has already changed direction and the weather looks like it’s going to dampen our beloved bonfires.”

  “We should still keep them going as long as possible. If nothing else, the smokescreen makes it easier for the sappers. They can drill vertical air shafts without fear of discovery.”

  “Good point,” Carter admitted.

  “Sir,” said the aide, walking back in with two guards and a middle-aged graying man. “Captain Harry Giles.”

  “We’ve met,” said General Carter. “Welcome back, Captain.”

  Giles inclined his head slightly. His eyes were hollowed and his skin looked stretched too thin. “General Vincent Lacert sends his greetings. He proposes a truce in order to discuss terms for an agreement.”

  “Surrender?” asked Conrad. “I guess that smoke got to them, after all.”

  The man shook his head. “No, although I will admit the smoke has become quite annoying.”

  “Then what are we to discuss?” asked Carter.

  “The details of an agreement that would end the conflict between our two peoples.”

  “General Taylor presented you his terms the last time you were here,” said Carter.

  “Yes,” the man said. “General Lacert found those terms unacceptable, but he is a reasonable man and is amenable to compromise. He is willing to return half of the equipment and arms acquired at Milan Depot and agree to not infringe upon sovereignty of the Jackson Purchase again. He is also willing to accept a prisoner exchange, should you wish it. Captain Green and his soldiers are been treated well, but wish to return home.”

  “You expect us to believe any of that?” asked Carter.

  “I can’t speak to what you believe or do not believe, but I sincerely urge you to accept this offer. People are suffering on both sides.”

  “I believe you,” said Conrad, staring at the man intently. “This might come as a surprise to you, but I once worked for Vincent Lacert. I know what it means to fall under his authority. Always living in fear, not knowing when his displeasure could bring pain or shame to those you love. Wanting a way out but not daring to look for it.”

  “Then you know better than most why this must end,” said the man, his eyes shining. “He was always bad, but he’s gotten worse every day. He trusts no one and seizes anyone he suspects and tortures them until they confess to what he tells them to confess to. Just agree to the terms.”

  Carter stared at the man intently for nearly a minute. “I’m going to give you a way out, Captain.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Not so fast,” Carter said. “I’m rejecting this offer. Tell Lacert that the original terms still stand.”

  “Don’t you know what you’re doing to us?”

  “Here’s the way out of your dilemma; bring me Lacert alive or dead.”

  The man looked at him in shock. “You say that like it’s a real possibility.”

  “You
bring him to me and all is forgiven. We simply march away and leave your people in peace. Perhaps we’ll even be friends going forward.”

  “No punishments or reparations?”

  “No. Just an exchange of prisoners and everyone goes on with their lives as best they can. I think you will agree that will be an easier thing to do without Lacert around.”

  “Don’t think people haven’t thought about it, but no one dares. It’s like he can sense our thoughts.”

  “He can’t,” said Conrad. “He just suspects everyone equally. It’s your own guilt he sniffs out. He’s just a man.”

  “Do you really know what you’re asking of me? I’ve got a family.”

  “Then think of them,” said Carter, “because if you do not do this…when my soldiers finally breach your perimeter after weeks of frustrating siege…I’m going to turn them loose.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It means I’m going to let them ravage you and your families. We’ll burn everything to the ground, and those that survive, after my men are done with them, will be sold at the slave markets down south.”

  “You wouldn’t!” the man said.

  “Why wouldn’t I? You have the ability to end this. Do it or suffer the consequences.” Carter turned to the guards. “Escort Captain Giles back towards his lines.”

  The man stared at him in shock as he made his way out of the room.

  “Would you really do all of that?” asked Conrad after the man was gone.

  “I haven’t decided yet. Ask me again when we get there.”

  “I hope he’s more resourceful than he looks,” said Conrad.

  “Desperation is a resource,” added Carter turning to Conrad. “Better go tend to your fires.”

  Conrad saluted and left.

  Chapter 14 – Light of Release

  Vincent Lacert knew what his subordinates thought of him and it was just what he wanted. He had learned in his lifetime that fear is the chief tool to bend others to your will. This was one of the few things his abusive alcoholic father had taught him before sixteen-year-old Vinny had finally managed to kill the worthless bag of flesh.

  He didn’t necessarily wish others harm for harm’s sake; he simply didn’t believe they were the same as him. His thoughts, desires, feelings, and ideas were all superior to anyone else’s. It was right that they fear him, because he was the closest thing to God on earth that these people would ever experience. Even minor setbacks like the current JP siege couldn’t change that. He had experienced setbacks before and still came out on top. Vincent Lacert knew he would always win in the end. How could he not? He was more worthy than anyone else.

  Vincent opened his brilliant blue eyes and realized he had been dozing; for how long, he didn’t know. He stared through his office windows at the turbulent sky. That was right as well. The very weather matched his mood. His eyes drifted around the room that had previously belonged to the facility director. The walls and shelves were bare and clean; all the false mementoes and sentimental keepsakes from the old occupant had been tossed out somewhere.

  Now it was clean and bare. He had cleaned house, just like he did wherever he went.

  Perhaps that’s what I need to do now, he thought. Clean house again. They have failed me, after all.

  Yes, he smiled. I’ll start with the top down. Make an example of them and their families. That should serve to motivate others on what happens when they do not adequately serve me. They should know that I deserve more than just their best, I deserve their…everything.

  Vincent knew that his offer would not be accepted. When Harry Giles returned, he would carry valuable intelligence about his enemy and their mindset. He would also have planted a seed in the minds of others in the JP camp who were not so enthusiastic about the siege. There would be whispers of his offer and the fact that there was a way out, a way to go home. After all, hadn’t an entire regiment already tried to depart?

  Giles would tell him what he needed to know, and then he would do a little house cleaning…starting with Giles. The man was a talented administrator and speaker, most lawyers were, but he still will have failed Vincent for the last time. He could not suffer such continued shortcomings. If the man could convince juries to let rapists and murderers to go free, why couldn’t he get the JP leaders to do what he wanted? It was obviously a lack of motivation, something that simply could not be borne.

  Looking at his watch, he realized that Giles should have returned hours ago.

  “Guards!” he yelled, and two soldiers obediently opened the double doors and stepped in. Each came to attention with a crisp salute. They were both familiar, but he had never bothered to learn their names. Why should he? Their very existence was meaningless outside of what they could do for him.

  “Both of you go find Captain Giles and bring him here, by force if need be.”

  “Yes, sir,” they both exclaimed and departed, pulling the doors shut behind them.

  He turned back to the window and looked at the sky. At least the wind had stopped. That confounded smoke was simply billowing straight up into the sky. As soon as the next rocket was completed, he would make them pay for what they had done.

  One of the prisoners they had captured and vigorously interrogated said the assault to lay the bonfires had been lead by Conrad McKraven himself. The sheer audacity of the man’s betrayal made Vincent shake when he thought of it.

  How dare he go against me. Conrad knows what I’m capable of. I’ll make him regret ever living.

  There was a sound of boots on the floor outside and he awaited the knock on his door. He was startled when it opened without his invitation. Vincent immediately leapt to his feet, his fury about to be unleashed, but it died in his throat in confusion.

  It was Harry Giles standing there, but his guards were gone, and he was accompanied by about a dozen other officers.

  Vincent’s hand dropped to the butt of the pistol at his waist.

  Several of the men with Giles raised their weapons and pointed them at Vincent.

  Vincent smiled. “I knew you all were stupid, but I never thought you were this stupid. What do you think is going to happen to your families? To your wives? Your little kids? I’ll make them scream until their little voices give out. I’ll peal the flesh from their bodies and make their mothers sew the skins into boots for me. I’ll whore out the whole damn lot of your women for all the world to see!” he screamed.

  “We already rescued our families,” said Giles, pulling a pistol from his own belt. “That’s the last time you’re going to threaten my family.”

  “Didn’t General Carter say we had to bring Lacert to him?” one of men behind him asked nervously.

  “He said alive or dead,” answered Giles. The small man then raised the pistol at the man and shot Vincent Lacert in the forehead.

  The body crashed back against the desk chair and then both fell into the floor. Giles walked around the desk to stand over Vincent and look down at his body. A look of stunned surprise was frozen on the man’s face.

  And his eyes were no longer as blue.

  *******

  Jason Green stared at the flame in his hand. It was beautiful. It brought light to his dark world. It was the release when he summoned enough courage to grasp it. He had lost track of time. Years would pass and then some extraterrestrial being would carve a hole in the sky and food and water would fall from heaven. Then they were gone.

  All of the universe was nothing more than the small container he occupied. The gasoline. And the lighter. The flame. He couldn’t even remember how he had gotten it.

  The flame. He stared at it. It cast a beautiful glow of light and warmth.

  Maybe I’m already dead, he wondered not for the first time. The thought was not as frightening as before. It would explain a great deal.

  There was a deafening noise in the sky, and Jason reached his arm up to shield his eyes. The hole appeared, and the brilliant heaven light appeared. A face looked down and stared at him.
>
  “Damn,” the voice said. “There’s another one in here. Looks almost dead.”

  “Well, you better get him out,” replied a voice from further away. “Giles was very specific. Don’t want anything to derail the truce with the JP.”

  Truce. JP. Memories began to flood back.

  “Captain Jason Green,” he croaked.

  The man in the sky hole grunted. “Hang in there, asshole. We’ll get you out.” He looked around the inside of the smooth container surface. “Although I don’t rightly know how.”

  “I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” whispered Green.

  He closed the lighter and dropped it into the gasoline around him.

  Chapter 15 – A Fresh Start

  There was a steady drum of voices in the USECO executive council room, but Nathan did his best to tune them all out.

  It’s almost over, he thought.

  He had been able to lift martial law several weeks previously after the JP forces’ victory in the south. The terms Carter had settled on hadn’t been popular; people wanted to punish them for destroying the dam, at the very least make them pay for the cost of the war, but Nathan wouldn’t second-guess Luke Carter who told him it was the best deal they were likely to get. To count their blessings it was over and to move forward. He had told the man to get it done and he had.

  Besides how could you ever put a monetary cost to the dam? Something the likes of which the world may not see again for centuries, if ever.

  True to his word, Nathan was overseeing elections. Each county was monitoring its own results and sending those results to the USECO facility for a final tally. Right now it looked like an even race between Ernest Givens and previous JP President Paul Thompson who had come out of solitude—and some would say disgrace—to run. The polls had closed hours before, and they were only waiting on the Paducah results to be able to declare a winner.

  Nathan looked up at the bright lights above him. A month ago, he would have fretted at the cost of such extravagance, but now knew it didn’t matter. If they didn’t run the generator, the fuel would soon be worthless anyway.