Chapter Five
‘Order 6352’
Once was an accident, possibly a mistake, but twice was a pattern.
I waited for the lights to power back-up; and I waited, and I waited some more. Nothing.
During my earlier experience, the failure had been isolated to a small field; I could still see light from the surrounding areas. This time the power loss covered a far greater expanse. In every direction, I could only see darkness.
I turned to look at Zeal, but she was no longer standing in front of me. I was hit by a surprising surge of concern.
“Zeal?” I shouted. There was no response.
I scanned the landscape and spotted her a few paces away sitting on the ground; her knees drawn up, arms locked around her legs, hunched, chin against her knees. She was shaking; I speculated it had nothing to do with the declining temperature, but to a primal fear of the darkness that had overwhelmed her.
I stood, astounded. To see the powerful hunter reduced to a hunkering, terrified bundle on the ground made my stomach ache. I may not have been overly fond of the girl, but I took no pleasure in seeing her this way. Observing her fear seemed to ease my own deeply rooted alarm. My nearly overwhelming concern for her well-being surpassed that of my own.
I made my way over and knelt down by her side.
“Zeal, are you okay?”
“What’s happening?” she asked, her voice quivering.
“I’m not sure.”
“This doesn’t happen, Creyson Parthy. The lights don’t just go out.”
“It’s probably nothing to worry about.” I rubbed my hand up and down her back to calm her shivering. “Sometimes individual lights are powered down for maintenance.”
“But never like this, and never without warning.”
“Maybe it’s a glitch. I bet you anything, the lights will be back on before you know it.”
“I’ve got a bad feeling.” She pulled her knees in tighter.
Standing in the darkness, I was reminded of stories I’d heard as a boy, tales of life before ‘The Change’. My mother had told me how Valiros wasn’t always the bright and dazzling place that it was today; our world was little more than a black pit of emptiness. As a result of this unremitting darkness, its population, my ancestors, had developed certain abilities allowing them to survive and function in complete obscurity. Although these abilities were no longer required, each Valiron still possessed them. Our skin radiates a faint red luminosity that enables others to see us. Our eyes can adjust to complete darkness, like a form of night vision, and other senses are also heightened; smell, sound and touch. During these dark times, Valiros was ruled by one simple rule; survival of the fittest.
Tre Broter Penn, considered a visionary and legend among my people, secured himself a place in the history books when he invented the first artificial light source over sixty cycles ago. He was a prodigy at only half a cycle old. It was a small circular light that could be held in the palm of your hand. The small light lasted less than three seconds, but it would pave the way for the colossal lights that, for reasons unknown, were presently not working. How Tre Broter Penn designed and constructed the first light is something of another mystery. He had not invented anything prior to his historic discovery, and nor did he invent anything after.
“We should head into the village,” I suggested. “There may be something on the viewing terminals.”
“If you say so.”
I was finding her reaction to the darkness perplexing. Zeal was displaying a vulnerability that she’d worked so hard to conceal.
Clambering to her feet, she brushed grass and speckles of dirt from her clothes.
“Are you okay to walk?”
She looked at me and smiled, no arrogance, no aggression. “I’m fine.” Zeal linked her arm in mine and we began to walk down the hillside. I had gone from being her prey to her protector.
As we approached Danton, we heard raised voices emanating from the village. Panic was sweeping the town. I heard cries of confusion and alarm. I knew these cries were not only a reaction to the sudden darkness; for the lights provided far more than just light, they supplied heat, and we could already feel the temperature starting to plummet. The lights also dispensed valuable nutrients vital for the survival of plant life. As a farming community, the plants and vegetation were a lifeline to the village. Without them, the crops would surely wilt, and that would spell the end of Danton.
“You hear them?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“They don’t know what’s going on. Maybe it’s not just the lights that have lost power, maybe it’s everything. What can we do?” pleaded Zeal. I had no answer.
We stopped walking and remained still, unsure if we should continue, when a new sound began to replace the din of distress from the village.
For a moment, I thought Zeal was beginning to shake again but realised the deep rumble was vibrating through the ground.
“Is it the Trojans?” I mused.
“No,” answered Zeal. “They’re not due to activate for another twenty minutes. Besides, it’s getting louder.”
“I don’t think it’s getting louder, I think it’s getting closer.”
Zeal and l both began to skim the horizon, searching for the source of this strange sound. I focused my eyes on the distant hill and could make out a large, cumbersome vehicle ploughing towards us.
“Over there.”
“What is it?” she asked, pulling away from me, her confidence returning. The vulnerability was being replaced by her usual self-reliance.
Zeal seemed to fear the dark; maybe because she couldn’t fight it. This approaching vehicle, however, presented a physical adversary she could fight.
I knew what it was.
“I’ve seen one of those vehicles before.”
“Where?”
“My grandfather used to take me on day trips; one of them was to the base of operations, just outside the city limits, on the border of Dorow.”
“The wastelands?”
“That’s right.”
“So you’re saying that it’s…”
“It’s the military.”
I was uneasy, not due to their approach, but because of their swift appearance. I knew there was no way of traveling from Dorow to Danton in the short time since the lights had failed.
“How did they get here so quickly?” Zeal was as sharp as the blade she carried, arriving at the same conclusion as I had. “Unless they knew it was going to happen.”
“Let’s not jump to any conclusions.”
A shiver ran down my spine for the second time that day. The notion that the military knew this was going to happen, but had failed to alert the general population, would open a can of worms that I felt should remain firmly sealed. I was pretty certain Zeal would harbour no such concerns.
The advancing vehicle was intimidating and powerful. Its large wheels made easy work of the rolling landscape and its solid metal frame appeared impenetrable. The machine looked combat ready; it made you wonder what sort of combat they were expecting.
“Do you think they have something to do with the lights?” Zeal’s earlier fear had been all but obliterated. She was once again the head strong, confident girl I knew all too well.
“I don’t see how.”
The vehicle came to a halt a few paces away from us. We were frozen to the spot, our gaze transfixed on the military machine.
“What are they doing here?” She asked defensively.
The driver’s door swung open.
“It looks like we’re about to find out.”
A large, heavy set soldier; at least one point six metres tall and probably the same in width, stepped out of the vehicle. He was dressed in a standard grey military uniform that was slightly padded ensuring extra protection. The insignia on his chest indicated his rank as a junior commander. His frame was solid; his face chiselled with a few days growth around his chin, his hair was shaven revealing
a scar across the top of his head. If I were honest, I felt slightly inadequate in the presence of such a formidable combatant.
I leaned into Zeal. “Don’t say anything to upset him.”
“Why would I upset him?” she replied in a mock attempt at a sweet voice.
The soldier approached us, striding with such vigour we both stepped back in trepidation.
“I’m Junior Commander Fray Tork,” he boomed. “Danton is now under military control.” His voice matched his appearance, deep and powerful, generating instant control and demanding obedience to whomever he spoke. “You will vacate your homes immediately. My soldiers will transport you and the residents of Danton to the emergency evacuation sites.”
I glanced at Zeal out of the corner of my eye, but her attention was focused on Commander Tork. I knew this was not going to end well. I followed the rules and did what I was told. Zeal, on the other hand, was not one to accept orders easily, especially from an ‘oversized male’.
Shoulders back, head held high, she marched towards the commander.
“Hello Junior Commander Fray Tork, my name is Zeal Lotzer. Care to explain what you think you’re doing?” I cringed.
“I believe I just did.”
“No, that was an instruction, not an explanation.”
“I’m following orders.”
“You can’t come rolling over the hill and tell us to leave our homes.”
Tork’s face changed from unwavering conviction to slight shock. It appeared no-one had ever confronted him or questioned his orders before. The commander would have to re-establish his authority; if he wavered, Zeal would take him down.
“Order six three five two, says I can,” responded Tork.
I prayed Zeal would let it go, accept his orders and abandon her home; but I knew she wasn’t going without a fight.
“What does order six three five two mean? Hmmm? I’ve never heard of it.”
This small, insolent girl questioning his orders was annoying the soldier.
His response was clear and precise. “Order six three five two. ‘During any event that is deemed to be of a threatening nature, we are ordered to evacuate the appropriate area and place the affected zone under military control.’”
“The lights have gone out. Do you see anyone being threatened; apart from us by you, that is?”
While the altercation between Zeal and the Commander was transpiring I observed six more soldiers exiting the vehicle, each larger and more imposing than the last. There was a tension building in the air. If she weren’t careful, Zeal was going to be dragged to a correctional facility for her disrespectful behaviour.
“Zeal,” I said, keeping my tone calm as not to add to the already tense situation, “I think you should do what the commander says.”
“I think you’ll find it’s ‘Junior Commander.’” Her contempt was obvious and foolish.
I wasn’t going to get through to her, so I turned my attention to Tork. “We’re sorry about this. We were just...”
“No we’re not sorry!”
“Zeal…”
“We’re not going anywhere.” Her defensive tone was a typical ‘Zeal’ reaction that I had learnt to tolerate; I doubted the military commander, junior or not, was going to be quite so understanding.
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice. You will be transported to an evacuation site immediately.”
“You can keep saying it, doesn’t mean we’re going to do it. If you want to take Danton, you’ll have to go through me.”
“Step aside,” he said with a threatening attitude, moving to push her out of the way.
Either by intent or instinct, Zeal raised her dagger and took a defensive posture. That was a mistake. Tork wasted no time in reacting to the threat and used a rather extraordinary offensive move. Gripping her wrist, he procured the dagger from Zeal’s grip then flung her over his shoulder and slammed her to the ground. His lightening speed was impressive considering his size. Zeal floundered on the floor, her face red with fury.
“Take her away!” bellowed Tork to the other soldiers. Two stocky looking squaddies advanced towards her. Zeal was also quick to respond, leaping to her feet prepared to fight.
“Just you try it,” she spat. This was crazy. I had to do something quickly. Without thinking, I said the first thing that popped into my head.
“She doesn’t live in the village!” The soldiers stopped in their tracks uncertain if this confession made any difference to their commander’s order. They stared at Tork awaiting his guidance. Thankfully Zeal didn’t argue with my impulsive statement.
“Explain,” said Tork, apparently doubting my claim. I was making it up as I went along; it was times like this I was thankful for my vivid imagination.
I continued, “My name is Creyson Parthy; I work for The Public Representative, Minister Drake. This is my life partner Zeal Lotzer, we were bonded today. I have a small unit just outside Trans Central, she lives there with me.” Zeal appeared as surprised as I felt by my outburst.
There was an uncomfortable silence while the commanding officer pondered my sudden revelation. His gaze switched from Zeal back to me.
After a few moments, Tork spoke. “Minister Drake, you say?”
“Yes. I’m his new aid.”
“Then I suggest you return to your unit and take her with you before she gets you both into trouble.” I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
Zeal may have been stubborn, but she certainly wasn’t stupid, she kept her mouth shut.
Tork turned to his men; with a simple nod of his head, the soldiers piled back into the vehicle. He gave Zeal and I one last look of scepticism before climbing into the driver’s seat. The mighty machine rumbled to life and pulled away heading towards the village.
Zeal couldn’t contain herself any longer. “We can’t let them get away with this,” she squealed.
“We don’t have a choice.” We both stood powerless, watching the vehicle manoeuvre its way down the hillside towards our home.
“I could have taken him,” she boasted. I laughed aloud. She snapped her head and fixed me with a vicious glare.
“Sorry,” I said.
“If you weren’t such a coward, you could have backed me up.”
“I just…Did you see them?”
“Look.” Zeal pointed towards the other side of the village. Five more machines appeared on the skyline heading for Danton.
“This is wrong, Creyson Parthy.”
“There’s nothing we can do.”
In a patronising tone, she asked, “So what happens now?”
I’d gone to Danton to tell Zeal I wouldn’t be able to bond with her, but instead I found myself saying, “I suppose you come home with me.”
She smiled happily.
Creyson Parthy & The Trojan Attack Page 5
