Wayward Soldiers

by Joshua P. Simon

  With too many supplies exposed and too many animals not safely secured in caves, naturally the artifact decided it was best to start its next sequence.

  CHAPTER 33

  The sky looked like the end of a sunset caught in a lightning storm, signaling the next wave of hell. Still tinged in orange, it pulsed like a beating heart. Bright, white, arcing flashes of lightning followed dull purples and reds.

  Black storm clouds materialized out of nothing. They swelled in size exponentially with each white bolt.

  People reacted as expected. Some dropped whatever they carried and ran from the valley to the caves without a glance back. Others had the wherewithal to bring what they already carried, or even to fill up their arms with a load of supplies first.

  People pushed in an effort to reach safety. Ankles turned and knees got skinned as a result of all the shoving. Incredulous looks and shouted curses followed each minor injury as people glimpsed the real person beside them, one acting scared and selfish.

  I realized how little our band of travelers actually resembled an army. In the military, there were some cowards, those that would bury their heads or duck and run at the first sign of trouble. However, most people stuck together and gutted it out to help the man next to them, even if that man had cheated them out of a month’s pay in a card game the night before.

  In the military, everyone was family.

  At the center of the valley, near a full wagon of supplies, I didn’t see family. I saw people who had banded together out of necessity and despite my best efforts with squads, drills, and missions, most never quite became anything more than acquaintances.

  Thankfully, not everyone had reverted to a selfish mentality. The people I was closest to helped others to safety. Sivan and Damaris, Nason, Ira, Dekar, and Reuma.

  I’d like to think that their behavior was the result of time spent with me. However, I knew that many were of better moral fiber than I could ever hope to ascribe to. I just think I gravitated toward a certain person. Selfishness and stupidity were never traits I found appealing.

  The sky flashed purples and whites with the occasional red or pink that danced through the blurry haze. Such colors became harder to see as the rain clouds continued to swell like a bloated corpse ready to burst.

  No sound other than panicky shouts filled the night. The lack of noise was different. The first two eruptions were as loud as they were devastating.

  I wondered if it would stay quiet throughout this cycle.

  I didn’t have to wonder long.

  Thunder came.

  It didn’t roll across the land so much as it barreled through like a getaway wagon over a rocky road. Like a thousand blacksmiths crafting armor for the military, the weight of the sound pounded my senses like hammer over anvil. It dropped me to my knees and I reached out to steady myself against the side of the nearest wagon.

  Lifting my head, I wasn’t alone in my reaction.

  While my ears rang, mouths silently moved as panicked faces swiveled in my direction. I tried to say something to them, but my lungs held no air. It was as if the artifact had sucked it away.

  The thunder came again, though this time I didn’t hear it so much as feel it, bowels shaking so hard I found myself clenching to avoid soiling myself.

  A free hand went to my chest. I had trouble drawing in air, like someone had punched me in the gut. I fell to all fours, wondering if this would finally be the end. I had little strength, but I found enough to curse Molak for what might be the last time.

  I had no idea where my kids were, or my sister, or my friends, in the havoc. I’d die alone.

  Something struck the earth not far from me. It kicked me into the air with dirt, rock, and flame. I landed some distance away in a great deal of pain.

  The pain brought a smile to my face as did the subsequent gasp for air. I was still alive.

  Blinking, the ringing in my ears had subsided to a dull annoyance.

  “Tyrus! Watch out!”

  The voice sounded like Damaris’s, but I had no time to verify that as a ball of fire fell toward me from the sky. I rolled, crawled, and dove as burning stone struck the ground, sending more earth into the air.

  I turned over. Red and orange dots originating from the rain clouds streaked the darkening sky. Three had already struck the valley with more on the way. Everyone still in the valley needed to get to cover.

  “Leave the supplies and get to the caves!” I shouted to those who were back on their feet and trying to unload the wagons again.

  A man unhitching a mount gave me a questioning look at my order just as a red streak came at him from a sharp angle. I shouted a warning. He turned with just enough time to see the ball of flame strike him. Man, horse, and wagon exploded into pieces of flesh, bone, wood, and fire.

  I blinked rapidly, half in horror, half in shock. I’d seen my fair share of death, but rarely anything like that.

  Instincts kicked in and I ran to the nearest person lost in confusion. I pointed them toward the caves and pushed. “Go!”

  I scanned the area. “Myra! Zadok! Ava!” I shouted into a newly risen wind.

  No one turned. No one answered.

  But then again, how well could anyone hear?

  Thunder continued to rumble, though not quite as loud as before.

  I helped two more to their feet, both women. Sisters, if I remembered correctly, though their names escaped me.

  The women didn’t want to leave, both staring down in shock. They had knelt beside a body. A man. One of their husbands, I thought. I bent down to help him up, thinking him unconscious. Then I saw the gaping hole in his side.

  Dead.

  “He’s gone,” I said. “Go to the caves.”

  Both women looked at me blankly, not registering a word I said.

  I swore and took each by their arms, dragging them forward as fast as I could while continuing to shout for Myra, Zadok, and Ava.

  With no luck, I tried different names.

  “Ira! Dekar! Nason!” I took a deep breath. “Damaris! Sivan!”

  “Tyrus!”

  I spun quickly as Reuma ran toward me. Another ball of fire struck off to the left.

  “You need to get to the caves,” she said once closer, acting as if I were oblivious to the situation.

  “I know. But first I need to find the others. My kids, Ira, Dekar . . .”

  “They’re probably in the caves.”

  “Probably isn’t good enough. I’m not going to the caves until I know for sure no one I care about is out here.”

  “Why not check the caves first and then—”

  “It will take too long.” I yanked the sisters forward and handed them off. “Get them to safety. Then see if you can find Myra and Zadok.”

  Free from my burdens, I took off without waiting for a response, searching a valley bathed in fires from the flaming rocks. The dancing reds, oranges, and yellows sharply contrasted against the purple and black sky. Flashes of white intermittently bridged the two.

  I searched under overturned wagons, behind boulders, and around fallen trees amidst the destruction to no avail. I checked at least eight dead bodies, thankful each time that none were my children.

  Faint sobbing and loud begging caught my ear. I followed it around another overturned wagon where Abigail and the boy Ira saved pulled at a prone figure. I saw it was Dinah.

  I ran over.

  “You have to help her,” begged Abigail.

  I bobbed my head while I checked Dinah for wounds. I found only a large knot on the back of her head. My hand came away damp with blood, but she still breathed.

  I didn’t have time for this. Hell was raining down, and I still had to find my kids.

  Abigail sobbed. “Help her, Tyrus.”

  Of course I would.

  “Go the caves. I got her.”

  I got Dinah situated over my left shoulder. Standing up was hard and an increase in activity from the chaos above warranted a much faster pace than I could mus
ter. It took all I had just to keep placing one foot in front of the other.

  Head down, I followed Abigail toward the caves. With each step, my legs burned and my back ached.

  Fate, or the gods, likely Molak, felt that things had been far too easy.

  The ground by my feet began to light up. I paused and rotated, no easy task considering. The boy screamed a warning.

  A ball of fire headed directly toward us.

  “Run!” I shouted while willing my legs onward. They obeyed, but not well.

  Heat and a loud thud behind me preceded the force that launched me into the air again. I lost control of Dinah before descending. Half in a daze, I threw my hands out to soften my impact with the ground.

  CHAPTER 34

  I’ve been injured many times in my life. Broken ribs, concussions, dislocations, fractures, lacerations, burns, a broken nose. If you could name it, chances were I’ve had it.

  Oftentimes, I had it more than once.

  I was one of the lucky ones. In spite of my injuries from the military, I was still alive. And on top of that, I had always made a full recovery, albeit with a few extra aches or scars.

  I should have been used to the feeling of having my entire body hurt, but no. Each injury, even if a repeated one, never hurt in quite the same way. There was always some new avenue of pain to discover and become acquainted with.

  Cracking an eyelid as consciousness returned to me, I knew I was in pretty bad shape. I lay on my stomach, naked with a blanket covering me from the waist down, leaving my torso exposed. My back and neck hurt badly. Some sort of burns, I presumed. The right side of my face throbbed, especially around my ear.

  A cut or laceration, I thought.

  I sucked in some air through my dry mouth and I nearly choked. A slight cough made my head throb and my eyes water. The skin on my back and neck ached.

  Definitely burns. And possibly a minor concussion.

  I tried to bring up my right hand to scratch my ear, but found my arm pinned to my side. The effort brought only more pain.

  Gods, I was a mess.

  I seemed to have so many injuries that I couldn’t really dwell on any one for too long because something new would hurt.

  Some scuffling drew my attention. It rose above what sounded like a terrible storm outside the cave. Then came a muffled voice. “You awake, Big Brother?”

  I tried focusing on the blurry image of my sister. Her face was covered in dirt. Her short, brown hair was nearly black with soot and grime. “What happened? The kids . . .” I croaked.

  “Zadok and Myra are fine. As is Abigail, the boy, and Dinah. She suffered some injuries, though not as bad as yours.” She sighed. “You had to be the hero again.”

  I snorted. It hurt less than the cough, though not by much.

  “Despite what you probably feel right now, consider yourself lucky. We got you to the caves before all the really bad stuff happened.”

  “It wasn’t bad before?”

  “Not nearly. You’ve been out for about a day and a half. You might have recovered sooner, but with the sorcerous effects, everyone had a hand on you to keep their wits about them. Not sure if that hurt your recovery or not. The High Mages could never figure out exactly how the resistance works.”

  I shrugged, or at least tried to, until gasping at the pull of skin on my shoulders. “Me . . . either.”

  “Careful,” Ava said. “Before things got worse outside, Reuma managed to save some of the healing potions and herbs we took from the apothecary in Denu Creek. It’s helped the burns on your back quite a bit, but you still probably don’t want to move for a while.” She paused. “Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do for your ear. It, uh, was ripped off on a rock when you fell.”

  Gods, what do you say to that? I thought of the ear Ira lost after our final battle in the military. He seemed not to dwell much on it and I barely noticed it anymore. At least the injury didn’t seem to affect my hearing.

  “There goes my good looks,” I muttered.

  Likely, when I had more of my wits about me and didn’t hurt quite so bad elsewhere, the loss would bother me more. I’d set aside some time to be depressed about it then.

  Ava chuckled.

  “Why is my arm pinned?”

  “Dislocated shoulder. We set it and did what we could to keep it in place. Hard to do with your burns. Your luck with injuries nearly ran out this time. Either that or age is starting to catch up and you can’t get away with all the stupid stuff you used to.”

  “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

  “Only now that I know you’re going to be all right.”

  I smiled. That was Ava’s way of saying she had been worried.

  “What else is wrong?” I asked.

  She knew what I meant. “Everything else is mostly bruises and cuts. Now, that you’re awake, I think you’ll be fine. You just need to rest.” She paused and looked around. “And if things continue as they are outside, you’ll have plenty of time for that. The hail is getting worse.”

  “Hail?”

  “Yeah, after the fire stopped dropping from the sky, we’ve had a steady mix of rain, lightning, and hail as large as a man’s fist. We tried to venture out once to check on those in the other cave, but it’s too dangerous. Boaz made it only a few steps before he collected half a dozen bruises from the hail and was nearly struck by lightning.”

  I swore at our situation, then swallowed, and choked again. “You going to offer me water or what?”

  “Reuma’s getting it now as well as something for the pain.”

  “I’ll be all right with just water.”

  She snorted. “Sure. You may be able to manage it now, but you’re going to have to turn to your good side in order to drink and eat. And you’ve probably got to relieve yourself too. Since you’re awake now, I’d rather you handle that yourself.”

  A small jolt struck my lower abdomen near my bladder. “Thanks for making me aware of that,” I said sarcastically. “Besides, it’s called payback considering I had to clean you up when you were in Boaz’s inn.”

  “If I recall, Myra took care of most of that. With you, I took care of the dirty work, though Ira and Boaz helped move you around.”

  “Glad I wasn’t conscious for that. Where are Myra and Zadok? Sleeping?”

  “Maybe. They’re in the other cave.”

  “What?” I turned my head fast and started to rise. The pain hit me and I forced myself to go still.

  “Be still, idiot,” she said, putting a hand on my arm to emphasize the point.

  “Explain,” I pushed through gritted teeth, eyes closed while trying to relax. Ava was right about needing the pain medicine. Now, I wondered what was taking Reuma so long.

  “You already knew we couldn’t fit everyone into the same cave,” Ava began. “We lost eleven people trying to just get to the caves, but still had too many to stay in one place. We had to split everyone up. Fast. Since you were out cold, Sivan took charge before anyone else made matters worse. He suggested that Zadok and Myra go into a different cave than you in case the sorcery made everyone sick like the last two times, which it did. So, that was a wise call not putting everyone with resistance in one place. Zadok agreed with Sivan and Myra followed him.”

  Sivan’s logic was sound, but I hated it all the same.

  “Can we get to them?”

  “No. Like I was getting at, there’s too much crazy stuff happening to risk going outside.”

  “You should have gone with them.”

  “And who was going to take care of you? I guess I could have let Damaris do it. I think she really wanted to.”

  She said the last part with a slight tease in her voice. I grumbled a curse at her to cut it out.

  “Besides,” she continued, “Sivan knew you’d be upset for putting the kids in a different cave than you so he, Damaris, and Dekar all agreed to go watch over them. Nason and his kids were already there. They’re in good hands.”

  I let out
a sigh. Sivan had done all he could. More than he needed to actually. “I still wish I was with them.”

  “I know.” She paused. “If it makes you feel better, both hated leaving you. Especially Myra.”

  A warm rush of happiness welled from my chest. “It does.” I paused “Who else is in this cave?”

  She rattled off some more names that included Chana.

  “That’s twenty-six. Not a lot.”

  “Our cave is smaller compared to the other one. There are more people there. Of course they may have lost several more who were injured.” She paused. “Depending how things shake out in the next couple days, our number may drop. A couple of the wounded are barely hanging on.”

  I looked away from Ava and saw the injured in another secluded part of the cave like myself. Four people surrounded by stalagmites moaned in their sleep.

  I felt like I was back in an infirmary. Not a memory I particularly wanted.

  I shivered as my heart began to race.

  “Cold?”

  “No,” I said trying to take a slow deep breath and block those images from my mind. “Just, thinking.”

  Reuma returned before Ava made me elaborate. She spoke to Ava. “Sorry I took so long. Chana won’t shut up. All she does is complain. I know she’s been through a lot, but no one except me and Ira wants to even acknowledge her because of her attitude. He took over watching her so I could sneak away.” She paused, and bent over so I could see her face. “How are you doing, sir?”

  I winced as I took in a deep breath. “About ready for that medicine.”

  “Got it right here. Also, got some more salve for your burns. I’ll wait to apply it until you take the medicine though. Do you need help turning over?”

  “I believe so,” I said with resignation.

  She started to put her hands on my arms where the fire hadn’t touched skin.

  “Before you start Reuma, I want to warn you that I’m likely to say more than a few choice words about each and every god I can think of. And although it isn’t likely, I’m guessing a whimper or two might slip out.” I chuckled softly. “I don’t want that to cloud your opinion of me.”

  She responded with a grin. “Don’t worry sir, I’m not religious. And anything I hear, I’ll forget immediately.”