by Greg Gotti
Schwarz ran towards where he figured John should have been, but found only dead Ristas. They were scattered around a small area, and Schwarz realized this had been where John must have first engaged them with the element of surprise on his side. He knew John was as good a tactician as there was, so he would have known to keep the Ristas moving and direct them away from the chopper. He tried to figure out where he would have gone as he took in his surroundings. An explosion went off somewhere behind him in the direction he had come from. That was Martinez and Williams, he thought; definitely a grenade. He hoped they were alright, but he knew all about Jose Martinez’s ability in battle. He was more worried about John being out here alone. If he could find him, the two of them could clear out the remaining Ristas on this side and go help the others. More of them could be coming anytime, as the destruction of Facility 4 would have everyone out on the manhunt rushing back to see what happened. He decided to head towards the chopper and go from there.
John winced and waited for death to come, but the gunshot he expected never came. He realized he’d turned himself to shield Maria, for what good that would do, but the soldier never fired. John’s rifle was still back up the hill, and Maria had set hers down as she had tried to help him up. John slowly rose to stand straight and kept himself between the Rista and Maria as he raised his hands. His mind spun wildly as he desperately tried to find a way out of this. He stopped in his mental tracks as the rifle was lowered. He got a good look at the face of the young boy he had held a knife to on that night when he, Maria and Williams had tried to make their escape. Maria realized who he was, and stepped out from behind John.
“You are a soldier now?’ she asked him in their native tongue as she shook her head sadly.
The boy nodded in answer to her question and Maria’s face showed genuine sadness as she shook her head again.
“Go home,” she told him. “This entire war is a lie. Don’t get yourself killed for nothing. Do you understand? It is all a lie.”
The boy stared back at her blankly. It was obvious to John this was his first time in actual combat. He felt a stab of sympathy as he realized the war had forced the Ristas to now start sending their sons off to die while they were still just children. He had spared this one’s life, but another Soona would take it sooner or later.
This has to stop, he thought.
The boy suddenly pointed at them both and said something in his language. He kept his finger pointing at them for a few seconds before turning and running away. John watched him go before heading back up the hill and retrieving his rifle.
“What did he say?” he asked Maria as she retrieved her own rifle and started following him through the trees again.
“He said, ‘We’re even now. Next time, someone dies.”
“Someone always does,” John said quietly.
Martinez and Williams waited in some bushes overlooking an open area within the woods where there was absolutely no cover. They had purposely left an easy trail of broken twigs and disturbed earth to follow, and waited for the inexperienced militiamen to arrive. They didn’t disappoint, as they approached cautiously from beyond where some trees had fallen.
“Here they come,” Martinez said. “Remember to throw yours past them as I throw mine in front of them. They’ll be caught in-between.”
Williams nodded as he held in the handle of his grenade, pin already pulled and ready to detonate a few seconds after the handle was released. They waited until the Ristas entered the clearing, moving right to left before them as they looked into the trees around them.
“Now!” hissed Martinez.
They threw their grenades and dove to the ground. Shouts went up from the Ristas followed a split second later by two deafening explosions. They jumped to their feet and scanned the area as dirt and debris rained down around them, but saw no one. As the air cleared, they saw all of them lying dead or dying on the ground.
“That’s it for our group,” Martinez said. “Let’s go find the others.”
“Wait,” said Williams. “Do you hear that? Listen.” The air carried a sound that grew progressively louder by the second, and they both suddenly realized what it was.
“It’s the chopper!” Williams exclaimed. “Let’s go!”
John and Maria had just fired the last of their bullets from where they had been holding off the Ristas when they heard the beating of the helicopter’s rotors behind them.
“Oh, thank you, GOD!” John exclaimed. “Time to go, Maria!”
They threw down their rifles, no longer of any use with their ammunition exhausted, and ran for the clearing where the helicopter waited to carry them to freedom. John ran only as fast as Maria could keep up with him. They were nearing the edge of the trees when he heard the first bullets fly by and smack into the trees ahead of them, splintering wood in all directions. He moved to directly behind Maria and hoped the trees they had to weave through would prevent the Ristas from getting a clean shot. A weapon opened up on full-automatic behind them, and then another. John tackled Maria from behind before the bullets began whizzing by a few feet over their heads. He knew they couldn’t stay here, and was urging Maria to crawl when the sound of heavy machine gun fire erupted from to their right. John turned to see Schwarz standing about 100 feet away sweeping the M60 from side to side as he cut down the Ristas. John pulled Maria to her feet, and they ran for the clearing. Schwarz saw them move and ran for the helicopter as well. John was about 100 feet from the clearing when he turned to check on Schwarz. He saw Schwarz running with the heavy M60 when a muzzle flashed behind him, and he fell to the ground.
“Karl!” John yelled as he stopped. He saw Maria slowing and pointed towards the clearing.
“Keep going! Tell Tex to have it ready to lift the second we get in!”
Maria nodded and took off as John headed back to where Schwarz had fallen. He reached his fallen friend and knelt down to help him up. He rolled him over and felt his heart sink like a stone in his chest when he saw the hole where Schwarz’s heart used to be. He lowered him back to the ground as a wave of sorrow washed over him, and he turned to the M60 lying nearby. He shot to his feet but froze when he saw a Rista approaching about ten paces to his right. He had John directly in his sights as he approached. All other gunfire had ceased, and as far as John knew, they were the only two left in the woods. He stopped less than ten feet from him and gave him a twisted sort of smile.
“John Wallace,” he said coldly. “My name is Diego Fuentes. When you wake up in hell, I wanted you to know who it was who had dispatched you there.”
He pulled the trigger.
Click.
Fuentes’s eyes grew wide as he realized his clip was empty, and he threw the rifle down and pulled his pistol from its holster. John slammed into him before he could raise it, and the two men tumbled to the ground as John tackled him. The pistol flew out of Fuentes’s hand and into a bed of small plants as John smashed his fist directly into Fuentes’s face. He brought it crashing down again, but Fuentes caught it and twisted. John felt his wrist threatening to snap and grabbed Fuentes’s forearm with his other hand. The two men struggled with each other as the helicopter reached a steady volume. Fuentes swept his leg over top John as John freed his wrist and punched him in the face again. He heard the sickening crunch of the Rista’s nose breaking even as Fuentes knocked him off and into the dirt. Fuentes scrambled towards where he’d seen his pistol fall, and John didn’t hesitate. He bounced to his feet and ran for the helicopter for all he was worth as Fuentes ran to find his pistol.
John ran as though the devil himself was chasing him. He didn’t bother weaving or evading; he just ran. As he neared the edge of the clearing, he saw Maria running from the helicopter with a rifle and Martinez chasing her shouting.
Fuentes found his pistol and took off after Wallace. He fired one shot as he ran, and then another; neither found its mark. He felt his hatred swell within him as he tore through the trees. He could not believe how fast Wallace ran, but
he could not run fast enough to escape him. They had wiped out his entire ragtag militia and were about to escape with Maria. Killing Wallace was all he had left, and he was not going to be denied.
John reached the edge of the woods and shot into the clearing. He knew Fuentes was right behind him and swerved to give Maria a clear line of sight.
Fuentes shot out of the woods and raised his pistol. Wallace was running for the chopper, but it was an easy shot at this range. He found Wallace in his sights just as a gunshot rang out to his right. Fuentes hit the ground sliding and popped to his knees; raising his gun in the direction of the gunfire. He froze as he saw Maria taking aim at him. A fraction of a second seemed like an eternity as he wondered if she would actually shoot at him, and then he saw the muzzle flash. He heard the bullet hit the ground behind him as he shot to his feet and ran for the woods. Maria fired three more shots before he reached the trees and disappeared into them. She fired wildly into the trees until she’d emptied the clip and stood screaming at the woods. Martinez pulled her back towards the helicopter.
“Maria, we have to go!”
They ran to the helicopter as Williams fired a pistol into the woods behind them where Fuentes had gone. John helped Maria inside and followed her in. Martinez jumped aboard and looked at John as Williams climbed into the front and shut the door behind him.
“Where is Schwarz?” Martinez yelled as he climbed in.
“Dead,” yelled John. “We gotta go!”
Martinez pulled the door shut as Tex increased the power and took off. They slowly climbed straight up until they were above tree level. Tex turned them to the southeast, and the chopper lurched forward; leaving it all behind them.
John held Maria as they took a final look back. He thought of Schwarz and how he had saved them at the end; only to have it cost him his life.
“Goodbye, old friend,” he whispered. “You have your redemption.” Tears formed in the corner of his eyes, and one got loose. Maria saw it stream down his cheek and reached out with one finger to wipe it away.
“I love you, John,” she said tenderly as she looked up into his eyes.
“I love you too, Maria. And I love our son.”
“He’s beautiful; isn’t he?”
“Just like his mother.”
Williams and Martinez were silent as the sun climbed slowly into the eastern sky before them. They sat back and Maria and John have their reunion. Everyone was totally exhausted. The chopper flew just over the trees, being careful to stay under the radar as they headed towards Texas and a new life. None of them had any idea what came next, and everyone was too wiped out to care. Whatever it was, good or bad; at least it wouldn’t be a lie. There was no celebration; no cheering or pats on the back. One of them lie dead on the floor of the woods; another senseless death in another corporate war being fought for people who had never stood a post in their lives. Their loyalty was no longer with a country or a people. Their loyalty was to each other and their common desire for freedom. John kissed Maria’s forehead as he squeezed her gently. He pulled her close to him, her chin resting in his chest as they flew into the light of the rising sun.
Epilogue
The wind rustled the leaves of the trees around them as John and Maria sat holding their son on the wooden swing hanging from a tall, thick tree. The breeze was warm and pleasant as it blew through their hair. It was summer here in the Texas Hill Country where they now lived. John had accepted a position as an intelligence analyst with the Texas government, which allowed him to be home with Maria and Juan most evenings and weekends. They were known as Johnathon and Maria Martel here. Very few people knew their true identity. John held Juan on his lap with his right arm as he kept his left arm wrapped around Maria. She wore a white and yellow sundress that hung loosely over her large belly as she was expecting their second child in a few months. They sat gently rocking as she laid her head on his shoulder, and Juan slept peacefully against his chest. They said nothing as they enjoyed the peacefulness of a lazy Sunday afternoon. Somewhere in the distance, a church bell rang three times to mark the hour as puffy, white clouds slowly floated by.
They didn’t worry about the events prior to their coming here. They hadn’t talked about their old lives in months. John left it all at the office when he came home. Texas was an independent state with its own secure borders and strong military that wasn’t owned by corporations. It had established a cease-fire with the Rista Federation, and considering it possessed its own nuclear weapons, everyone else knew better than to mess with Texas. They had found safety, and John was content to live out his days here with Maria and their children. Williams had joined the Texas Air Force (under his new identity) and was said to be building quite a reputation for himself. He was a regular visitor whenever he was in the area, for he and John had become very close. Tex still ran missions in the zones and stopped in to visit here and there. He had become a good friend during their time here. Martinez had been of great interest to the Texans. His knowledge and expertise had helped them advance their methods in many ways, and he sent John and Maria letters from time to time. Maria always wrote him back, and John grudgingly admitted the man wasn’t half bad. Texas was a place where people of all different races lived peacefully together. John and Maria’s different ancestry didn’t matter to anyone here in this land of freedom.
Things would never be the same, and that was fine with both of them. Their new life was full of love. The resistance had begun to spread awareness of what was really happening in the zones, and people all over were beginning to demand answers. The American press, despite its agenda-driven nature, was having a field day as scandal after scandal came to light and calls for congressional investigations grew to a roar. News began to spread through both the Rista Federation and the Soona Nation. People were asking questions, and that was a good thing as far as John was concerned. He had spent so much of life fighting for a lie. He was done fighting now. He sighed contentedly as Maria nestled against him and kissed the top of Juan’s head. He had spent his life consumed with fighting an enemy and depending on his hatred to fuel him, only to find out love gave him more strength than hatred ever had. He hugged his family tightly. He had everything he could ever want right here. If the world would leave him alone, he would be happy to live out his life with Maria and their children. He loved Maria. She’d saved him when he hadn’t known he was lost. She had shown him the power of love.
As it turned out… it was the greatest power of all.
About the Author
Royal Hues of Blue is the first book from author Greg Gotti. He is a native of northeastern Ohio and still makes his home there. He attended Kent State University where he graduated with honors in 2016. An avid fan of dystopian fiction, his single greatest influence in the genre is George Orwell’s 1984, which he credits for helping to broaden his worldview enough to conceive the RHOB series. He is the proud father of four and enjoys hiking, sports and reading.
Greg’s blog can be found at: https://wordpress.com/stats/insights/authorgreggotti.wordpress.com
Find Greg on Facebook @ Author Greg Gotti and check out the Royal Hues of Blue Facebook page.
You can contact Greg at: [email protected]
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
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