by Ayman Ghalit
“I know …but, is it love that brought up the blame?”
Jack swiftly answered, “No… it is because you are not wisely thinking! What about planet earth, your parents, and your friends?”
“Who said that I will abandon them? I will tell her about my reality, and I will take her with us to Earth. Then, we will return to this planet after we take its coordinate.”
“With us!?” Gael wondered.
“Yes, with us… something wrong!?”
“I see that you took the liberty to decide all alone in this matter? No one is riding with us.”
“Then, you will have to go without me. I have promised that I will stay with her.”
“Do not let your emotion misguide you.” Carl advised.
“Is it bothering you that I love her?”
“No!” Bob yelled. “What bothers us is that you don’t use your brain in this issue. Do you really want to stay in this stinky planet, far, far away from home?”
Gael added, “I see you implosive and shortsighted. These dainty feelings of yours will fade with time, and when it does, only a dire regret will be awaiting you there. A man simply doesn’t bet on a girl whom he met a day ago!”
“Isn’t that enough for a man?”
“Your heedless tenacity will lead you to the grave.”
“Do You really want to stay in in here? All alone in this dreadful planet!” worryingly, Jack asked.
“You want to know what is truly a dreadful place, Jack?”
“…What is it?”
“The dreadful, is a place where there is no love.”
Gael sarcastically wowed, and slowly applauded, saying, “How delightful!”
“Anyway, I do believe that am not harming anyone with this decision of mine. And spare me the blames, for it I who will regret… and it will be I who will rejoice.”
Moments after, he overheard the train whistling and ringing in the distance. He turned, waved his hand, and before he says a word, roaming fighter jets silenced him. Clark and his rebels rained the sky with Anti-Aircraft rounds and tracking missiles to hunt what they could. They dropped two out of three, but one slipped through to reach its specific target which was Garamond Southern-Train. It dropped its bombs on the last six train trailers and successfully destroyed them all …sadly, Alma and her family were in the last one. And with widened denying eyes, Kaiser dropped on his knees as he beheld the incident. Everything went mute for him when the flames rose up as it devours the trailers. It didn’t take much for the bomb shockwave to reach and bring him back to reality. And as the tears starts gathering in his eyes, he staggeringly muttered, “No, no, Alma! No. Not now, not here. Not like this. No God damn you, no. no. *Then he denyingly cried loud* “Nooooooooooo!”
His friends were desperately calling and urging him to join the caller who directed them to a newly dug bunker to take shelter. He couldn’t move his legs, and kept gasping his rueful weep till Carl and Gael dragged him all the way in.
Volume 3
“Who else stares at your picture,
with sight blurred out by tears?”
The Woe of Thalapute
They entered the shabby, dim, and trembling bunker to find Thanker and some of his rebels sheltering inside. Kaiser was mournfully gasping in tears and was mumbling in discontinuous words, ‘I lost her. Oh, God, I lost her…’ His friends restlessly tried to calm and comfort him, even some of the sheltered Phugwaks who pitied his condition urged him so. One said, “Take it easy, man. It is inevitable fate, and we all shall face it one day.” Another added, “At least, she rests right now. No more pain.” And when the words didn’t heal Kais’s pain, a tall hunched-back old man came from amongst the mix. He was wearing a long white robe, and was leaning on a long thick bony cane. Crackling on his chest, a necklace that contain a palm-sized wooden skull. And with faint old man voice, he said, “Weep and whine, foolish man.”
Kaiser kept mournfully gasping.
“Why is it that you weep? Thou must know, tears won’t bring back the dead.”
“Get the fuck off.”
“Then, weep and wail, shout and cry, pull off your hair, and bang your head against the wall. And see if that will cure thine heart!”
After being ignored, a moment of sorrowful silence, disturbed only by brief moments of distant whizzing sound of some bullets, landed heavily upon the bunker. The old man, who tiresomely sighed while holding the brown skull on his chest, said to Kaiser, “Do you see this? This is the skull of my infant son. Forty-five years ago, when Edmond tightly sealed his grip on this planet, lots tried to rebel and revolt in hope to loosen it, but he quenched and smoldered them all. Then, it was payback time for him. I had witnessed what a Phugwak’s eyes must not see. Cadavers lying all over the streets upon pools of flowing water. I saw buildings falls upon the heads of its owner. I saw split women wombs with their fetuses hanging out by its cords. I saw a sea of dead bodies; infant, young, and old reaching the far horizon as their village were devoured by flames. I saw murder and rape, kidnaping and thievery. I saw a lot. Indeed, I did. May the damns of those who damn fall straightly upon Edmond and his gang.”
He paused for a bit as he sorrowfully inhaled, then went on, “In a delightful day, where the clouds did us a favor by blocking the burning sunray from us, I was with my wife Frida and my children, preparing for a barbeque in the backyard of my home in my former town Thalapute. My youngest son, Bradly, whom was two years old, were napping upstairs in his room. In peace and quiet he was. Oh! Bradly, ‘A peaceful day with joy it was… so, nap as long as its sinister is absent.’ But alas, it didn’t last for long, for we started to hear loud gunshots in the distant followed by screams and cries! It took us only minutes to behold Edmond’s mighty army marching toward our town! The myriad army made us think that an epic will take place in our town, but there was no foe to rebel, nor a soldier to fight. Little did we know, it was us the target. They started the killing without former warnings, nor distinguishing questions. They were forcibly dragging the families out of their home and shoot the parents in front of their kids. Dreadful moments after, they came to my home, and when confronted, they said that we are threatening the national security and disturbing the peace by sheltering terrorist groups! *faintly chuckled* By god I swear, I did not know what those words meant back then.
We swore to them that we know nothing, but little did they listened. They ignored me when I dropped on my knees imploring, as they pulled my wife by her hair and dragged her to the car. She was screaming and crying in fear while I stood there doing nothing. And what could I do? I was nailed down in fright and terror …but out of the blue, my eldest son, Carter, punched the one who was pulling his mother’s hair, and knocked him off instantly! ‘Oh, may the bearer of that hand be blessed in a peaceful paradise.’ Then, the soldiers went angry, and with frowning faces, they shot him in the leg and dropped him down while I started to beg them in hope for their mercy. They cared not about my hapless efforts, and fettered down Carter beside his frightened and gasping brother Smith. They vehemently started lashing them. Randomly, they were choosing where to lash, but the most chosen place were their faces. Moments after, the knocked off soldiers regained his conscious, and when they did tell him what had happen, he said to Carter that he will let him regret his stupid heroic move. He went to the car and brought up a red container with flammable-sign on it. The smell of gasoline swiftly pervaded the area when he poured it on my children. I wept loud, and cried for their mercy, I even kissed their rough dirty military boots as their mother also begged and told them to kill her instead of them. She wept in a sorrowful way that will tender the solid! But, little did they feel. That bastard lit up a matchstick and threw it on my children, setting them in a blazing flame! Their dreadful screams are still echoing in my head till this day. There is no awful feeling more than that when you hear and see your beloved suffer and cry out loud calling for your help while you helplessly stand there doing nothing! *he let out an angered heave* Terrifying feeling
that will follow you to the grave... Their mother, who couldn’t bear the sight, went unconscious and fell on the ground. I was on my knees gazing in denial at the flames that is devouring my children.
Moments after, they bundled my wife into the car. And till this day, I know nothing about her. What was the horrible fate she had faced, nor what did they do to her, I know not if she is still alive or dead, well or ill, sane or mad. *sighed* ‘Peace, upon peace, be upon your soul. O, my beloved Frida.’ ...If you are thinking that my story has come to an end, then, you are wrong! They pasted their gun in between my eyes, and somehow, a strange flow of feelings came to me that moment! Feelings I though not a gun might bring. I felt relief, I felt salvation when I was certain that I will follow my children! I won’t suffer and I won’t regret. But when the soldier was about to pull the trigger, a voice, piercing through all the sorrowful noises, stopped them all. It was an infant scream we heard coming from upstairs! It was Bradly!
With an evil smile on his face, that soldier rushed and brought him to me while Bradly was loudly crying in fear, for it was a strange person with unfamiliar face holding him. “This is your son?” he asked, as I begged him to let him live. I implored, saying, “kill me, and do whatever you want with me, but please, let him live.”
On my knees I was when he brought my son closer to me, pulled a silver knife, and slit apart his throat! My tongue got paralyzed as my gargling son’s water showered me. He chopped off my son’s head, threw it in my lap, and tossed his body in the flames.”
He sadly sighed, and went on, “I thought not that I might witness such thing. I thought all that horrible, unfortunate, and dreadful events were impossible to occur to me, and will only happen to someone else. But little did I know. Shooting, burning, and slicing an infant throat is not difficult tasks for a Phugwak to do. I had totally forgot that Evil vil still exist and roam this accursed land ... My Eyes were wide open in fear and denial, looking at my son’s head that was in my lap. And strangely, I smiled! I smiled, because I thought that they will kill me and ease my pain. But alas, someone said after seeing me smiling, ‘this man went crazy. Let him live to be a clear lesson and a plain sign for the other who might resist.’
They knocked me off by hitting me in the back of my head with his weapon. Couple of hours later, I woke up to see a sight that I will never forget even if I wanted to! I saw Hell itself. Our town went into blazing flames, and is surrounded by soaring pillars of blackened smokes! Fire devoured every home and scorched every farm. And lying all over the streets, were burnt cadavers of children, women, and elders! I didn’t realize the situation yet. I thought I am in Hell, but I questioned, “what is it that I did to deserve this” I started to recount my wrong and good deeds. And when I looked at my children’s charred bodies and my son’s head, I remembered that I am alive in this accursed and hellish world... Somehow, the instinct of survival rang hard inside of me, so I took my son’s head, and ran away. *he showed him the wooden skull he wears* This is the skull of my son, Bradly, and I do wear it just for the sake of remembrance...
I did not know where to go and why, but I wanted to escape that place. I heedlessly ran away through the hot burning air. Shortly after, not far from home, I overheard a crying baby in the distant. I said to myself ‘Run before it is too late,’ but something forced me to follow the sound. And when I did, I couldn’t help but to say, “Maternity is surly wonderful.” I found a cowering woman in a narrow street, sheltering her baby by clutching him to her chest. She was helplessly trying to prevent him from the flames. She was barely a live, with badly burnt and deformed facial features. She was blinded by the flames, and was gasping her last breaths. And when she felt my presence, she said, ‘If good is still glowing in thine heart, then please take my son, take Clark with you and let him live for another day.’ She died moments after. That baby was Clark the Blindson. I took him, and ran. And moments after, I again overheard another crying baby. I followed the sound to find an executed family of six, in their hole-full car. The baby, who miraculously survived the shooting, was amongst them. He was Canth, the Heavens-blood. Luckily for me, the car was in a good condition for a ride. I pulled out the dead family out of it, and with the babies, I fled. I was confused where to go at first, but I managed to figure my way later. I chose to run to Braden; a town near our village. I ran over lots of dead bodies, and was easily able to hear lots of squishing beneath. I forced myself to ignore that, and after a while, in a burning house, I somehow heard a crying baby sound. I thought it was my imagination this time, but something urged me to go and check it out. I went through the flames, and saw what my ears didn’t mistaken, a baby. I picked him up, and passed by his father’s ID. I wanted to know his father name, but it was almost burnt out except for the last three digits of his ID number. And due to that, I named him, Angus The 300son...
Thalapute, once was a paradise with peaceful and charming Phugwaks. More than 60,000 were living in harmony and joy. But when the Phugwak cried, “Welladay! Welladay!” after Edmond ousted all of his foes, only eight survived to tell the tale. I Theodor, Clark, Thanker, Canth, Angus, Yelena the tall, Arthouse, and his father Judd the Perilous... I survived the killing to find myself cornered and trapped by sorrow and grief. Frightening nightmares were waking me up every night. Life became tasteless, colorless, and vacant. I wished Death would spare some time and pay me an urgent visit. I weep every time I remember the dreadful fate of my family, their begging, their screams, their cries, and their helpless voices that still echoing in my head! Regret, concern, and cracking-fear devour me every time I remember my dearly beloved one, Frida. Her unknown fate, and what have had they did to her chain me down with fear. I became imprisoned by relentless sorrow and burdening sadness for more than 10 years, till I realized it won’t push, nor pull anything. Repentance and regret won’t bring back the dead and the lost. I made up my mind, and chose to devote my existence to fight this evil empire. We agreed to seek vengeance for the sake of our dead, for the sake of the forgotten ones, for the sake of those who couldn’t, and for the sake of the generations to come...”
“And, why are you telling me this?” Kais asked.
“Because you are the only one whom I sense that his sorrow had surpassed mine. Thus, I don’t want you to be a foolish Phugwak like I was. I want to skip this pointless and useless phase of sadness that you are submerged in. Wipe out your tears, accept the past, and move on. It is the only right way.” And as Theodor gave Kaiser his back to leave, he added, “Tears won’t resurrect the dead.”
Doubtless Eyes
Theodor sat beside Thanker, who was resting against the bunker wall with his weapon in lap. Moments after, Clark entered the bunker, followed by Canth, whom his presence worryingly confounded Carl and Gael.
Thanker discontentedly asked, “How many lives must this mad war reap till it stop?”
After gulping down a whole blood from a bottle, Clark sat front of him, and replied, “Blame me not, Thanker. The true madness is yet to come.”
“What happen to the train?” someone asked.
“The last six trailers completely destroyed with no survivors. Lucky, the casualties weren’t that much, 300 or so, and the train had left to Zaimur after we had detached the trailers.”
“Luckily!” Thanker mumbled in confusion. “Woes upon us, for we will reach a point in this insanity-vortex where it will be the number of the dead that will shake our emotions!”
The bunker concerningly paused a mute for a while, then someone worryingly asked, “Now, what are we going to do?” Canth answered, “The fighter-jets they had sent to us were nothing but an outdated scrap. And that drives me to think that they only want to measure our strength, or to empty our ammunition!? Also, they did not start the artillery shelling yet! They are hiding something, something big, and am afraid that we might not stand that for too long.”
A moment of skin-creeping fear landed and forced them to silence. Clark broke it by sarcastically laughing loud, saying, “I see fear
is crippling you? Worry not, comrades. Our brothers in the south are coming to aid us. It will be only hours till the train arrive. Filled with mighty determined men. They will never manage to siege us if we work together, and strike them faster and harder… Trust me on this, victory is nigh.”
Slightly, Clark’s words eased some of the rebels’ anguish, but a messenger came saying that the Sothern Train will never come with its mighty men, because the empire bombed all its main rails, and they did target every bridge that connect them to the other side of the Great Canyon. He also reported that lots of Phugwaks witnessed a massive army heading toward the South to prevent any aid to the rebels. That messenger left them with crushed spirit and despairing atmosphere. Thanker sighed, and said, “I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.”
“Care not, brothers,” Clark urged. “Try and collect every shred of hope that ye might find. We will defeat them, I assure you this, and we will regain our stolen freedom. Just embrace patient!”
His words didn’t do much this time, rather an argument about the fate of those who remained in the subway and those who are trapped with them widely sparked. Canth, who was quietly observing the guys, impeded their argument by asking, “Theodor, don’t you find something strange in those?”
“Leave the Phugwak alone,” Thanker replied, “surly we are not in the mood for your nonsense.”
While keeping direct eye contact with Carl, he replied, “Nay! There is something odd about them. I don’t know what, but am dead sure of it.”
Canth’s behavior made them very anxious. They whisperingly talked with each other saying that they have to run before it’s too late, but ‘where’ kept them in fear. Gael volunteered to talk to Clark and ask him for directions. He went to him, and without arranging his thoughts, he stuttered, saying, “Listen, it is fate what gathered us.”
