Kings and Crowns: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 2)

by Chris Yee

  “Do we have anything other than cannons?” Saul asked.

  “Of course. We have guns, but they’re not as threatening. We developed the cannons to match the impact of Simon’s bombs.”

  “But we can defend without them,” Vince said.

  “Yes, but it will be harder. I can’t imagine this attack will be bigger than the last, but you never know. He might have some tricks up his sleeves. He is, as you put it, a crafty son of a bitch.”

  They passed a sign displaying a large number two. Vince saw it as they dashed past. “One down, three to go.”

  Charlotte looked back at him. “Hope you don’t tire easily.”

  “Don’t worry about us,” Saul said. “We’ve got this vitality stuff, remember? Just make sure to keep up.” He dashed up next to her and took the lead.

  Vince smiled. “That’s the competitive Saul I remember.” He passed Charlotte as well, and pulled up next to Saul.

  Saul turned his head. “Oh, so it’s like old times, huh?”

  Vince nodded. “Like old times.” He flashed a smile and took the lead. Saul kept right on his tail.

  TWENTY

  AFTER THE LONG run, Vince and Saul reached the end of the wall, Post Five. They both hunched over to catch their breath.

  “You’ve still got it,” Saul said. “You’ve always been number one.”

  “With admirable competition. It was a very close second.” He looked back behind. “We must have lost Charlotte.”

  “I guess so.” Saul looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was around. “Honestly, what do you think of her? Can we trust her?”

  “She works for Greene. I don’t know if we can trust any of these people.”

  “But the way she talks about him…she’s different. When the time comes, I think we could get her to help us take down Greene.”

  “Weren’t you listening?” Vince asked, shaking his head. “She works for him. Why would she help us?”

  “She only works for him because she believes he’s the better choice, which is true, but once Simon is gone, that choice is gone too.”

  “She does seem unsure about him. Do you really think she would turn on him?”

  Saul nodded. “I do. If we can convince her, she will be very useful. She knows her way around the Spire and has access to places we don’t. And most importantly, Greene trusts her. She can get close to him.”

  “We might be able to turn her against Greene. Maybe free some test subjects. But there’s no way you could get her to kill Greene.”

  “I’m not saying she has to kill him, but she could spy on him. Sabotage his plans.”

  “And how do we convince her?”

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. Either way, now isn’t the time to think about it. Let’s focus on Simon. Once he’s gone, we can plan our next moves.”

  Charlotte trotted up behind them. “You two are fast,” she said as she panted. “Did I miss anything? Has he come yet?”

  “Not yet,” Vince said. “We still have time to set up the cannons.”

  “Great, come help me with this one. They’re too heavy for one person to move.”

  They crouched next to the cannon and pushed all at once. It moved only a few feet. “Christ! Why are these so heavy?” Saul asked.

  “It’s solid metal. It’s designed that way. Otherwise, when we fire, the thing would go flying off the wall. That’s what happened with some of the earlier models.”

  They pushed again and almost made it to the front barrier. “One more push should do it,” She said as she leaned into the metal and pushed off of the ground. The wheels locked into place. “Good, now let’s get it loaded.”

  Vince studied at the metal behemoth. “How do we do that?”

  She pointed to a brick sized cylinder at Saul’s feet. “Grab one of those and slide it in.”

  Saul bent down to pick it up. “What’s in this?”

  “That is full of black powder.”

  “Black powder?” he repeated as he pushed it through the opening at the front of the barrel.

  “It’s explosive.” She came around holding a large rod. “It’s similar to the stuff Simon uses to make his bombs.” She slid the rod into the hole and pushed the black powder further down. She pointed next to the cylinders. “Now hand me one of those cannonballs.”

  Saul bent down again and grabbed one with both hands. “Wow, this thing is heavy.”

  “That’s why it’s so effective. In a crowd of people, it can take out a good dozen in one shot.”

  He handed it over to her. “Holy crap. I’m a little afraid to use this thing now.”

  She dropped the cannonball in the hole and pushed it down. “It’s not something to mess around with if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

  “Great,” Saul said. “We don’t know what we’re doing.”

  “But I do. I’m trained. Just let me operate the cannon. That’s not your job. Your job is to boost morale. Keep these people’s spirits up. It’s a little chaotic right now, but I’m sure they could use a few words of inspiration.”

  Vince looked at Saul, who nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I got this.”

  “You’re better at speaking than I am.”

  Saul stepped in front of the people, who were running back and forth with bricks of black powder and cannonballs in their hands. He stuck two fingers in his mouth and blew with force. A loud whistle echoed along the wall. The people stopped where they were, and looked up at Saul.

  “Everyone! Simon may have caught us off guard, and we may be a mess right now, but what I’ve seen come out of this is the shining example of why you are all so great. You have come together and conquered chaos. I haven’t been in the City long, but one thing I’ve learned is that Simon must be stopped. He is a mad man. Unpredictable. A danger to every single person in the City. Some of you may be scared as you set up those cannons, but your bravery is not only a service to Victor Greene or the Spire. It is a service to the City as a whole. Don’t let Simon take what isn’t his. Don’t let him spread his chaos even further. Conquer the chaos like you have done today and crush it into the ground. He thinks he can outsmart us, but he has no idea who he’s dealing with. Let’s show him!”

  People clapped and cheered. Saul smiled and turned back to Charlotte, who finished loading the cannon.

  “Good work,” she said. “Short, but sweet. It got the job done.” She looked off at the buildings. “Now we just wait for the Crowns.”

  Vince and Saul leaned against the front barrier, scanning the landscape for movement. There was nothing. Just the gentle breeze of a mild afternoon. Vince looked back. “How far are the sensors? Should it take this long?”

  “It usually isn’t this long, but it has happened before.”

  Another low horn blared from the speakers. This time just one.

  “They’re back at Post One,” Saul said.

  “It’s okay.” Charlotte kept her eyes fixed straight ahead. “We still have people posted there. It looks like they’re splitting in two.”

  The sound of hollers and cheers played through the speakers. Saul flinched, startled by the volume. “What is that?”

  “Artificial battle noise,” Charlotte said. “It gives the illusion of a massive army behind these walls. It’s one of Greene’s defense tactics.”

  “He’s a smart guy.”

  She nodded. “He’s always thinking of new ways to outsmart Simon.”

  There was movement in the distance. They leaned forward to see what it was. There was a child, a little boy no more than eight years old, walking towards them.

  “Hold your fire,” Charlotte commanded.

  The boy continued walking. Another appeared behind him. And then another. Soon there were several dozens, both boys and girls, approaching the wall.

  “What do we do?” Charlotte said.

  “Well, we’re not about to shoot a bunch of kids,” Saul said, “right?”

  “Hold on,” she said as she pressed her finger to h
er ear. A look of regret stretched across her face. She lifted her arm above her head. “Prepare to fire!”

  “What?” Saul shouted.

  “Those are Greene’s orders.”

  “We can’t kill a bunch of kids. Vince, we can’t let this happen.”

  Vince shook his head. “I agreed to follow Greene’s orders, but Saul is right. This is too much.”

  “The orders come directly from Greene. We must follow them. He knows what he’s doing.”

  “He knows he’s about to kill dozens of innocent kids,” Saul said. “You and him both know that’s not right.”

  “What I know, is that when we ignore orders, it invites chaos. In a time of battle, we need order. If he says fire, we fire.”

  “So you just follow him blindly? That’s exactly what those kids are doing down there. They’re following orders without thinking clearly. Everyone around here is insane.”

  She lit a torch and held it over the wick. “Ready!”

  “Wait!” Saul yelled. “Just listen to me!”

  “Aim!”

  “Don’t ignore me! Vince, do something!” Vince shrugged, not sure what to do.

  Charlotte looked at them and whispered, “Sorry guys.” The flame from her torch tickled the end of the wick. “Fire—”

  Saul charged into her with his full weight. She bumped into the side of the cannon, nudging its aim to the left, and dropped her torch. The flame bounced off the metal casing and landed directly on the wick. A single burst shot from the barrel and the cannonball launched into the distance. It veered off to the left and hit nothing but dirt.

  The others held their torches still, but did not fire. Instead, they stared at Saul, who lay on the ground next to Charlotte. Vince ran over to help him up.

  Saul stood before the others and projected his voice. “What we do up here on this wall is important. And it is important that we do the right thing. Greene may want you to kill these children, but they’re misguided. They’re not evil or dangerous—”

  A loud pop rumbled the wall. The ground shook beneath their feet as the smell of gunpowder rose from below.

  “Bombs!” Charlotte yelled. “They have bombs strapped to them! Shoot them down before they can get to the wall!”

  The children charged ahead, screaming at the top of their lungs. The cannonballs flew from the wall and tore through mobs of younglings. Patches of explosions sprinkled the battlefield as bombs ignited. More groups of children emerged from the buildings, running full force towards the Spire.

  “There are too many,” Charlotte said. “They’re getting through.”

  A small cluster reached the base of the wall and set off their charges. The wall rumbled again, this time more violently. Another explosion hit, and a crack ran up and over the wall.

  “It’s not going to hold!” She screamed to the others. “Move out of the way!”

  They scattered away from the crack, pushing the cannons along with them. Vince looked down and watched another cluster hit the wall. And then another. The crack grew with each hit, until finally, it crumbled. Chunks of wall toppled over, crushing the bodies below and setting off more explosions. Debris shot up in every direction as the children climbed over the rubble and into the newly formed gap in the wall. They poured through and ran towards the second wall.

  “They’ve broken through! Don’t let them reach the second wall!”

  But it was too late. They bombarded the second wall with a barrage of explosions.

  “What do we do?” Vince asked. “We have nothing over there. All of our firepower is here.”

  She turned to everyone else, on both sides of the gap. “There’s nothing we can do about those who get through. Focus your fire on the choke point.” She pointed down at the bottleneck forming around the small opening. “Let’s just hope the second wall can take a few hits.”

  They aimed their cannons downward and fired at the ground. Chunks of guts and debris flew into the air. Blood sprayed across the wall in a fine mist. Bodies piled up around the gap until there were no more. The last few explosions went off behind them, hitting the second wall and forming a crack. They turned around to see the final boy hurl himself into the stone. Flames engulfed him as he burst into a glorious ball of fire. The crack opened up and the stone crumbled in on itself. The second wall had fallen.

  “Crap!” Charlotte said. “Greene isn’t going to like that.”

  Vince and Saul looked down at the mess that was plastered about the ground. Mangled flesh and bones, twisting intestines, bloodied brains. They stared in awe at the aftermath of a ruthless massacre.

  Saul lowered his head. “What have we done?”

  “We did what we had to do,” Charlotte said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  He shook it off. “No.” His head jolted up, and he glared at her with piercing eyes. “No! This is not right. We’re not the good guys. We can’t be. Not after that.”

  Vince remained standing at the edge, staring down.

  “Calm down,” Charlotte said.

  “Calm down?” His eyes darted back and forth. “Calm down? How can I be calm when we just murdered dozens of children? How are all of you okay with this?”

  “We were following orders,” she answered. “It was Greene’s decision, not ours.”

  “Screw Greene. He doesn’t own me. I don’t have to follow his orders.” He shook his head in frustration. “You don’t just follow orders blindly. You think first. You have to think for yourself, and maybe recognize that what you just did is not okay.”

  Vince finally pulled his view from the horrifying scene and turned around. He grabbed Saul’s arm. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Saul resisted. “I’m not going any—”

  Vince glared into his eyes with intense urgency and raised his voice. “I said, let’s go.”

  They turned and marched back towards Post One. Charlotte followed.

  TWENTY-ONE

  VINCE AND SAUL pushed through the front doors to find Greene, waiting for them in the lobby. He stared at them with piercing eyes. “Come with me,” he said, walking to the elevator. Charlotte jogged up behind. He held up his hand and shook his head. “You wait here. We’ll be back.”

  The three of them entered the elevator, waiting in silence. Vince stole a glance at Greene. His face was stone and his eyes held purpose. When the doors opened, they followed him out. His pace was fast, but calm.

  They followed him into a monitor room. Greene flipped the lights on, shut the door, and glared at Saul. “What the hell was that?” His tone was direct.

  Saul flinched at his sudden change. “That was me disobeying an order.”

  “We had a deal. You cooperate and help me get Simon.”

  “I never agreed to murder a bunch of kids.”

  “They were going to die anyway!” he said. His voice was just below a shout. “They had bombs strapped to their chests. They damaged our second wall because of you. You disobeyed a direct order in front of my people. You cannot do that. I will not let it happen again.”

  “I’m not going to blindly follow your orders. I don’t care what our deal was.”

  “If that’s the case, maybe I should kill you.”

  Vince and Saul exchanged a nervous look.

  “I know you’re here to kill me, so why would I keep you around if you’re not going to play by my rules?”

  “You can’t kill us,” Vince said. “The people look up to us. They think we’re heroes. We have just as much power as you do. You saw how they acted around Saul down there. They treated him like you, like their leader.”

  Greene grinned. “Everything you say is true. The people do look up to you. They would certainly be upset if you died. It looks like I’ve dug myself a hole, haven’t I? But that’s why I have insurance.” He flipped a switch to turn on the monitors.

  Vince looked up at the glowing screens. What he saw made his stomach turn. It was Snow Peak. Troops marched along the road. People lined up in a row, on their knees, with t
heir hands tied behind their backs. He saw Ella’s mom, Alan’s wife, Martha, Horace, and even Carl. “You can’t.”

  “I have no choice. You’ve forced my hand. I was going to give you a chance. I knew you were here to kill me, but I thought I could change your mind. Maybe you would finally understand what I’m trying to achieve with the tests. I’m only trying to help. I was hoping you would see that I’m not such a bad guy after all.” He looked to Saul. “But your little outburst makes it abundantly clear that that will never happen.” He tapped the glass monitor with his finger. “I can’t kill you, but I can kill them. I know you two don’t have too many people you care about, at least, not anymore.” He pointed to Vince. “But you seem to be quite fond of your little group from Snow Peak. I think Saul’s starting to warm up to them too. So I’ve taken their loved ones as collateral.”

  “You’re sick,” Saul said with disgust.

  “That may be true. I suppose it doesn’t matter. Either way, you’ll cooperate. If you don’t, every single one of them dies. If you disobey me, they’re dead. If you resist me in any way, they’re dead. And if you decide to kill me, if I can’t check in with my troops each morning, all of your friends are dead. Do you understand me?”

  They both stared with disbelief and lowered their heads. “So what now?” Vince asked.

  “We continue as planned. Nothing changes. You will rally the people and help us fight Simon.”

  “And after that?”

  “After that, I will let you free. You will leave the City and never come back.”

  “What about our friends?”

  “The same goes for them. I will pull my troops from Snow Peak and they will all be safe and sound.”

  “I guess we have no option,” Vince said. He looked sternly at Saul. “We will cooperate, right Saul?”

  Saul answered with a look of disdain. He wanted to scream, to tell Greene he was crazy, but he knew he couldn’t. He had never been to Snow Peak, had never met these people, but he saw Vince cared about them, and that was enough to keep him restrained. “Right, we will do what you say. We will follow your orders.”