Standing

by China Dennington

  “Stop speaking in hypotheticals. We have done our duty, now it is time for others to help,” the man retorted.

  “No! See, it is your duty. You can’t disregard it just because you tried once. If you won’t do it, then who will?”

  This exchange got the attention of the small number of people who were milling about in the dirty snow. Yes!

  She continued on, encouraged. “They have already destroyed all but two cities in the world! It won’t be long before they destroy each other and all of us! If we do not take action soon, then humanity will be in complete ruins. I know that it has been tried many times before, but that perseverance is what’s going to win!” At this point, Gale felt the words flowing out of her soul. She looked into the tired eyes of the people looking back at her. In them she could also see strength, hope, and a little flame that meant she was getting through. She raised her fist in the air, “Will you help us?”

  A second of silence passed, then a teenage boy in his older years stepped forward and said, “I will.”

  A few seconds later, a chorus of agreements and commitments rose into the crisp, freezing, edgy air.

  Gale beamed and said, “If you want to join, then come to the tent that is south of town at four o’clock! We will gather there and have a meeting! Spread the word!” She hopped down from the box.

  Force, Tivia, and Liam led Gale out of the camp, which was abuzz.

  When they had gone far enough that Zobar was just in sight, Force clapped Gale on the back and said, “You were awesome!”

  “Yeah!” agreed Tivia, “I have a feeling that it won’t take too long for the word to spread in this camp!”

  Force laughed. “You’re probably right!”

  At four o’clock, Force and Liam had the tent set up and people were starting to gather outside.

  About thirty minutes later, Gale stood up on the box and said, “We have a plan to infiltrate the city. If you join then we will assign you your part when we get there. If you can get in a line and sign in so that we know how many people we have, it will be very helpful. We will start traveling tomorrow, so pack food for yourselves and anything you need to take with you. Try to travel light.” She smiled at everyone and said, “Thank you! We will do this!” With that, she stepped off of the box. People began to get in line and sign their names to papers that Liam and Tivia were handing out.

  Force side-hugged Gale and said, “This is going pretty well!”

  “Yes, but we have so little time. How will we do it? Don’t forget that we need to go to Dellinia in addition to Draysok and Keesen. We have already used a week up. I just remembered! The message also said that Dellinia was destroyed. We need to get there after we take Draysok. After we go to Dellinia, we will take Keesen. Then we have to get back to Dellinia before the hole opens.”

  “I’ll admit that it’s a challenge, but we will succeed!” said Force lightly.

  That night at dinner Liam said, “Our rebellion needs a name!”

  “I agree!” answered Gale.

  “How about…The Hopen?” said Liam.

  “Really, Liam?” replied Tivia wrinkling up her nose.

  “I think that we should call it The Force!” joked Gale.

  “You know what? I actually like that! All in favor of The Force raise your hand!” answered Tivia. Liam, Gale, and Tivia raised their hands with smiles on their faces.

  Force looked slightly uncomfortable.

  “The Force it is then!” said Gale with a grin.

  CHAPTER SIX

  She was a guard. A terrible guard who witnessed terrible things every day, but didn’t try to stop them out of fear. Every day the conflict inside her grew. Forced calls of unjust war. She was being forced to guard something that wasn’t right on threat of death. Every day she watched Ginvay strut around cruelly and proudly like a peacock, her very presence sending tingles of fear up everyone’s spine. Forced calls of unjust war. If someone even looked at her resentfully, they could be thrown in jail with a life sentence. She was thankful for her helmet, which shielded her face from Ginvay’s watchful gaze. She could glare all she wanted to. Forced calls of unjust war. The girl of nineteen felt like a scared rabbit, she had to get out of here. She had to get out of here soon. So one day she just bolted. Out the gate she was guarding and through the forest. Forced calls of unjust war. She took off her helmet, tore off her black and gold insignia patch, and threw it to the ground. She would never wear any of Keesen’s symbols again as long as Ginvay ruled it. She had been born into it. But still, even in Ginvay’s domain, she heard whispered words of a better world. Her conscience knew that Ginvay wasn’t right. Forced calls of unjust war. It was intuitive. She fled through the foliage, her feet pushing her away from her fear. Then she was at a waterfall, an upside down waterfall with birds swimming in it. Then the girl forgot her fear as all of the birds disappeared and were replaced by a man. He also wore a uniform with a torn insignia. He said that he had escaped from being a guard in Draysok. He was her perfect match.

  Again Gale woke up. Her dreams had been strange lately.

  The party of eighteen set out the next day. They had about sixty miles to go before they reached Draysok. Liam estimated that it would take them three days. So they trudged on through the snow, and storm, and wind.

  On the morning of the second day, Gale woke up in the small grey and dirty tent that she’d set up the night before. The chill had settled into her bones and a headache pounded through her brain. She groaned as she sat up. In the black bag, Force had found the Dellinian equivalent of tylenol. Gale had no idea how it even worked at all, but it was a pill that was supposed to cure most basic human ailments and relieve pain. I could take it now, but I’d better save it in case we have a critical need for it. She slowly got up and stretched. Gale looked at her wrist, then realized that she had forgotten to take the extra watch from the black bag the day before. It must be early since no one has come to wake me up. She smoothed out her clothes. They were wrinkled from sleeping in them.

  Gale sleepily walked out into the camp sunshine, her bones aching. People were starting to stir. She looked out to the horizon where the sun was rising with fiery colors.

  An old woman hobbled up to her. “It’s quite beautiful. Don’t worry, after another day of traveling, your bones won’t be as sore.” Her blue eyes twinkled as the bent-over women held out her hand. “My name is Lynn.”

  Gale held out her hand and smiled. She remembered that she had been surprised when such an old woman had signed up for The Force.

  “My name is Gale,” she replied.

  Lynn looked at her with an amused smile that wrinkled up her cheeks. “I am rather old for this type of thing, but I remember the days before Ginvay and Jaegear. It’s a fancy of mine to help bring them back.” Her face darkened. “Those scoundrels wrought havoc on a peaceful, unsuspecting world.” She sniffed the air. “They’re about to start making breakfast, I can smell it! I’d better go and help cook it, for it’s never as good when I don’t.” Lynn smiled and winked, “I have my secrets.” She started to totter away, but then she paused and turned back toward Gale, “And you, my dear, have even bigger secrets.” Her smooth, snow-white hair glistened as she laughed quietly. Then she turned away, using a rough wooden walking stick to help keep her balance as she walked toward the center of camp.

  Gale’s mouth was hanging open. She was completely startled. Does she know that we’re from the past? Who is this strange little woman? How could she know? Did Tivia or Liam tell her? I’ll have to tell Force about this later. Gale walked around pondering this for a little while as the camp woke up.

  Force and Junior jogged up to her about thirty minutes later. Junior was fluttering and hopping, trying to get off the ground. He was also in a hurry to show Gale how he had learned to write. Force was teaching him in his spare time. Junior was an incredibly fast student. He was already writing small words.

  “Hi Junior!” Gale said as she bent down to his level.

  The little
flamien smiled with joy as he leaned down and scratched Love you gale in the dirt in front of her.

  “Awww! I love you too,” she said as she rubbed his head, then quickly hopped back as his wings suddenly lit up with fire. Lately that had been happening to him. They had already put out four small fires caused by his wings. Junior was also growing rapidly. He grew an inch or two every day.

  Force scratched his head. Gale could tell that he was still sleepy.

  “What have you been doing, early riser?” he asked.

  “Mainly just walking around. But I did have a strange conversation with an old woman named Lynn. She seems to know that we’re from the past.”

  Force was instantly more awake. “What?”

  “Yeah, it was really weird.”

  Force gave a little laugh, “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. Maybe it’s my descendant this time!”

  Gale smiled. He’s right, it doesn’t matter if people know, besides, I have a feeling she’ll keep it a secret. I’m still curious how she found out though!

  They sat around swiftfires, which were small discs that could produce fire with the push of a button. Gale was surprised when the thin, watery porridge that they ate for breakfast was actually good. She smiled as a thought occurred to her, Maybe it wouldn’t be good without Lynn.

  The camp quickly packed up at ten o’clock, and then everyone started wading through the snow. About seven hours later, Gale squinted. She was facing the sun, so it was hard to see, but she could just make out some faint outlines. Huh. We’re not supposed to be able to see Draysok until late tomorrow morning. I wonder what it is. As they got closer, she could see that they were the skeletons of blackened buildings. Debris of all kinds jutted out from the snow; cracked weathered signs, ripped up electronics, and crumbled buildings. It was a city of ruins. Understanding washed over Gale as she walked past it. This city must have been bombed. I wonder which one it was.

  At that moment, Lynn sidled up to her. “It was the city of San Jose. A beautiful place. It was developed and improved after your time.”

  I’ve been there! Did she just read my thoughts? My time? She definitely knows! Gale stared at Lynn.

  Her wise face was sad as she struggled through the snow. “Remember, the best kind of leader is the one who cares more about the people than their own selfish gain.”

  “How did Ginvay and Jaegear destroy all of the cities in the world except two? How’s that even possible? And why aren’t Keesen and Draysok in ruins? It seems like they would be the main target, because if one of them killed the other, that person would be able to take total control.”

  “Well, they started with strategic bombings, trying to choose and wipe out each other’s resources.The problem was that they were using blueprints for weapons of mass destruction. These bombs flatten everything in a seventy mile radius. Unlike nuclear bombs, they don’t cause radiation poisoning, but they do cause much destruction. The vegetation takes several years to begin to grow again. Ginvay and Jaegear would bomb the city of their opponent’s headquarters often. Both escaped and moved many times, until finally they developed the technology to build force fields strong enough to protect them around the cities where they had relocated their headquarters. Those two cities are Keesen and Draysok. Of them both, Draysok has the better force field. It will let people in, but any kind of weaponry is shielded out unless Jaegear gives it permission to enter.

  Then they reached a stalemate. So they eradicated all of their opponents’ territory. Some people escaped, others didn’t. Because there are no more cities that they can decimate, they try to find camps and target them for bombing. Their only thought is to destroy all that belongs to their opponent. They don’t give a second thought to the lives of people. They don’t realize that if one of them defeats the other, then they will have nothing left to rule but one city and a scorched planet. The world lives in tents now, Gale. I fear that they may soon build a weapon powerful enough to break through each other’s force fields. If that is the case, then it could easily be more powerful than they think. If a weapon like that is fired, then I feel that the apocalypse will take place. Humanity will be completely wiped out.”

  She’s right, that’s what happened. Hopefully we will be able to change that. She turned to Lynn. “How do you know so much?”

  Lynn smiled with amusement. “I will tell you later, dearie. Right now we’re about to set up camp.”

  Gale looked around and realized that she was right. A man named Taynar, who was leading the party, had stopped and given the signal for rest. People were setting down their packs and clearing spaces in the snow for their tents. When she looked back towards Lynn, she was walking away.

  That night Gale lay awake in the complete darkness thinking about Lynn and what she had said. I can’t believe how self-centered Jaegear and Ginvay are! They have become so buried in their rivalry that they don’t see what they’re doing to the world. Slowly her eyelids closed and she fell into the blanket of sleep.

  The next morning, they set out at eight o’clock. It was eleven when Gale suddenly stopped in her tracks and stared. She had never seen any sight like the one that she was seeing before her. Spires rose into the space she couldn’t see, buildings reached to heights taller than the sky. Every shape, every color. It stretched out on the horizon like a painting. This would have been beautiful, but it couldn’t be. A cold, dark feeling reached out from the city. She could tell it had once been good and clean. Now it was dark. Evilness radiated out of it. She could feel the greed, selfishness, and jealousy. She shivered. Sometimes I wish I couldn’t feel the emotions of every single person I come into contact with so strongly! She remembered when she had first discovered her empathic ability.

  She was five years old. She was dancing in her white dress happily.

  “Time to go!” called her mother.

  Gale hurried to the car. This was the first wedding she had ever been to and she was the flower girl. Her parents were using a large map to get there. She could feel that her father was having doubts about whether the map was right as he gave directions.

  Finally, after awhile he said, “I don’t think this map is right.”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s the right one. You got it from the glove box, right?”

  No, I got it from the compartment under the seat.”

  Gale’s mother laughed. “No wonder we couldn’t find it!”

  Gale was confused. Her mother should have felt her father’s worry about it being the wrong map at the beginning. Then it hit her and her eyes opened in surprise. They couldn’t feel each other’s emotions.

  As she had gotten older and seen more human interaction her theory was confirmed.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Tivia as she paused and set down her bag.

  Apparently Gale’s stopping had been the signal that is was time for a rest since she was at the front.

  Gale hesitated, “Well, I can...kind of feel the emotions of other people...and there’s just so much pain coming out of Draysok.”

  Tivia gasped, her eyes were wide in wonder, “That’s so cool!”

  Gale smiled, but the pain coming from that place made her smile falter.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  That night they started formulating their exact plan. A man who had been working in Draysok before he joined the failed rebellion of the people of Zobar joined Liam, Tivia, Gale, Force, and of course Junior. The not-so-small flamien insisted on following Force almost everywhere. Gale smiled as she thought about how hard it would be to tear Junior away from Force when it was time for him to go on missions.

  The new man’s name was Taynar. His ebony skin glowed in the light of the warmth globe.

  “How many guards does Jaegear have?” Gale asked, as Junior froliced across her lap.

  “He has thirty actually loyal guards, but everyone in the city is charged with protecting him. Draysok has good defenses, but if one of the cities will be easier to overthrow, this is it. I worked in Keesen for a little while al
so, so I can tell you about it too. Keesen has even more advanced war technology. But Draysok is close behind.”

  He drew them a map of the palace. He pointed to a room in the center. “This is the Overseer Chamber, the room where Jaegear does everything except sleep. His guards are lined around the room,” Taynar said.

  “How are we going to get in there?” asked Gale.

  “One of you could pretend to be a general declaring that the city has been invaded by Ginvay. That might cause his guards to panic and leave. Jaegear has so many generals that he wouldn’t know that you were falsified. He used to be extremely sharp, but he has become a bit relaxed,” suggested Taynar.

  “Possibly. I think it would be safer for the fake general to not be in the actual room when he is giving the news to Jaegear. I think we should hack into their communications systems. What type of interface does he use to keep track of all his business and communicate with people?” asked Liam.

  “A large screen on the other side of the Overseer Chamber,” answered Taynar.

  “Okay, I think that I can hack into the line,” said Liam.

  “I agree that we should do it remotely,” said Gale. “Another thing, maybe three of us will have to get into the city, then when the guards leave we will storm the room and take Jaegear prisoner. What security systems does he have in place?”