Damnation

by Ken Barrett

“How will we get to their cages to release them?” Liam persisted. “Surely you must know; unless Adar is keeping secrets from you.”

  “No, Adar is honest in all things.” Matt seemed uneasy. “He said only that you will try, but to prevail you would have to destroy all of his acolytes, priests, and his army of the Scarred Faithful. In that, you will fail, and when you are gone the Stickman will reign over all things.”

  “Why does Adar hate us?” Rose asked.

  “You are a remnant of the old ways, corrupt, sinful, and inhuman; for our world to become pure, your kind must perish. Adar does not hate, he loves instead. He even loves you.”

  “No one wants that kind of love,” Rose said. “What about the innocent people you took from Steamboat? The children and the babies, what will be done to them?”

  “Young souls are easily shaped. They will be taught by the priests and brought into the new order.”

  “Maybe we should just leave,” Liam said in hopes of drawing a useful reaction from their captive. “Adar is going to kill his prisoners anyway, so if rescue is hopeless, I think we should pull back and form an army of demons. We’ll scrub the world of the human vermin, and take it for our own. Thanks to you Matt, Adar’s prophecy will never become true.”

  “But Adar has plans to draw you out,” Matt said urgently.

  “So what? We’ll be gone before he can do anything.”

  “The Stickman told Adar of your unholy couplings with our kind.” The old man shifted uneasily. “At sunrise today, Adar will sacrifice them to our God. They will scream as they burn, and you will come from your hiding place to save them, and then you will die.”

  Chapter 25: Rescue

  Matt pleaded for his life in the end. He struggled within Liam’s grasp and shouted in hopes of raising an alarm, but his efforts came to nothing. The darkness behind the boulders was absolute and his cries couldn’t be heard over the tumultuous roar of the river. The older man’s eyes widened in fear. “Please no, I don’t wanna die,” he implored. “Please don’t kill me. I won’t say nothin’ I promise!”

  Liam stripped the man of his uniform and sash without answering, then finally frowned and shook his head. “Why are you so afraid? Your faith promises eternal life with the Stickman, shouldn’t you be happy when that vow is about to be fulfilled?”

  Matt said nothing in reply.

  “I won’t kill you,” Liam stated. “Your God will decide your fate.” He lifted the old man high overhead and flung him far out into the river, then watched as the rapids carried him away.

  “Hurry and change your clothes,” Rose ordered. “There’s only an hour until sunrise. If we’re going to save our friends, it has to be done now.”

  He nodded while buttoning up Matt’s gray shirt, then slipped the red sash over his shoulder. “You’re right, let’s go.”

  They eased through the wall of boulders, then waited in the shadows for a gap between the patrols that was wide enough for them to sneak through. When it came, they raced up the embankment and by the guarded perimeter, then into the flickering shadows beyond. They paused with their backs pressed against the wall of the long stone structure at the southern edge of the camp, hoping that they hadn’t been seen. Wooden doors punctuated the building at regular intervals along its length, behind them the sound of raucous voices hinted that these were barracks for the Scarred Faithful. It was a dangerous place to linger, they needed to move on.

  Liam’s skin tingled as anxiety slipped within his chest and tightened its grip. What was he doing? He was a trickster and a planner, not a warrior. He hated violence and avoided direct conflict as much as possible. Angry people made him uneasy because their abandonment of reason made them erratic and unpredictable. Their loss of control was frightening in a vague sort of way, but perhaps his trepidation was due to the allure of giving in to that same madness. Letting go and yielding control to his base emotions was seductive; violence was a temptress that waited eternally for his surrender.

  “Are you ok Big Brother?”

  “Yeah,” he answered. “I just never thought I’d be in this situation.”

  “Well, here we are, and we’ll get through it,” Rose replied. “Now carry your rifle properly, and turn the power on so it’s ready to fire.”

  He did as his sister instructed, and felt the weapon vibrate slightly as the infinite battery charged the capacitors in preparation for use. The possible outcomes of their attempted rescue were narrowing, and violence was unavoidable. He sighed, knowing that he wasn’t well suited for this sort of operation.

  “We can’t stay here, and our people won’t rescue themselves,” Rose whispered. “Come on, let’s move before someone sees us.” She ran across the wide avenue between the Scarred Faithful barracks and the gallows, then paused in the shadows and waited for him to catch up.

  Seconds later he joined her, then turned to stare up at the gallows. The structure stretched nearly the entire width of the compound and consisted of a long pit below a stone platform that supported a row of metal stanchions. At the top of each post were worn hooks, intended to bind the hands of Adar’s victims. He glanced into the pit and saw charred sections of bones partially buried in the ashes. It appeared that the device was intended to suspend people above a bonfire, where they would burn to death or die of smoke inhalation. Either way, the fate of the executed would be lingering and terrible.

  “Will you come on!” Rose whispered urgently. “The cages are just beyond the guard housing units. Keep your head down and move fast.” His sister sprinted away, and he quickly followed.

  She stopped him about halfway to the cages. “Wait, someone’s coming. Keep your face hidden; remember, they have scars and we don’t.”

  They slipped deeper into the shadows and waited.

  “It’s just a small force from what I’ve heard,” a tall guard with a deep voice said. “Only a hundred or so of ‘em. They’ll be no problem for us.”

  “Demons with ‘em though, yeah? What’re we gonna do ‘bout that?” a second male guard asked. “What if they got magic powers?”

  “Our Prophet says they’re nothin’ special, ‘cept they don’t burn.” The large man stopped and tugged on his companion’s arm. “You know, I ain’t seen Jarod and Matt for a while. It’s kinda early for them to go off duty.”

  “Could the demons be here already? Maybe they took Matt and Jerod out, and are sneaking in to save their people.”

  “Nah. Those comin’ from Steamboat are at least two days out. Ain’t no way they could be here already.” The tall man chuckled. “You know Jarod’s gotta thing for Matt’s daughter, and the old man don’t much like the boy. I heard ‘em arguing yesterday, so maybe they got into it again.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably it,” the smaller man replied as the two guards continued on their way.

  Liam eased out into the street and watched until the men were out of sight. “It’s just a little farther to the prisoner enclosure,” he whispered. “They’re near the back of the camp.”

  “The Scarred Faithful barracks are on each side, so it’s completely surrounded,” Rose added. “This isn’t going to be easy.”

  Liam crept along the wall of the housing unit and peeked around the corner. Just across a narrow avenue, several guards patrolled the perimeter of a huge open area. At the center of the open space were metal cages so tightly packed that the people inside were pressed against the bars.

  “How are we going to get rid of the guards without waking everyone up?” Rose whispered by his shoulder.

  “We can’t shoot them,” he replied. “These rifles make a loud hissing sound when fired.”

  Rose slipped her weapon over her shoulders so it hung down her back. “We’ll have to take them out by hand then.”

  “I see six guards,” Liam stated. “I’ll take the three on the right, and you do the left.”

  She nodded. “We’ll need to check the whole area though, there could be others patrolling on the far side of the cages.”

&n
bsp; “Ok, first these guys, then we’ll keep moving and meet around back. Remember, don’t fire your weapon unless you have to; the light and sound will wake everyone, and we’re surrounded by an army.”

  *****

  Unconscious guards lay scattered by his feet as Liam broke the first lock. “Stay quiet,” he urged the people inside the cage. “We’ll get everyone out of here, but we need some volunteers to help.”

  A few younger captives stepped forward. “What can we do?” a brunette woman whispered.

  “There are sentries patrolling the east end of the camp. That’s our exit, so I need some of you to knock them out and take their place at the top of the embankment; that way everything will seem normal.” He looked over the volunteers. “Can you guys handle that?”

  “No sweat,” the woman said.

  Liam gripped her shoulder. “Hold on; listen up and pass this on to the rest. Our escape route is through the valley to the east. Follow the river upstream until it divides, that’s the Eagle River confluence. Turn north from there, and you’ll meet up with the rescue party from Steamboat. Make sure everyone knows the way, ok?”

  Heads nodded silently, and the young volunteers trotted away. “Ok, everyone, get into groups. Give our people five minutes to take the guard’s place, then move out one at a time. If our plan falls apart, everyone makes a run for it.”

  “Where are the kids?” Rose asked.

  Liam surveyed the crowd of prisoners; his sister was right, there were no children among them.

  “They took ‘em from us,” a woman in her forties said. “I saw ‘em being taken to the southwest barracks.”

  “They’re probably fine,” Rose said confidently. “But we’ll need help getting them out and back with us.”

  One of the unconscious sentries grunted and started to roll over, and Liam kicked him in the head. “Alright, let’s get the rest of the cages open, then I want these guards tied up and gagged.”

  “Are Keith and Denise here?” Rose asked.

  “No, they were taken into the caves,” a middle-aged dark-skinned man stated. “The guards that took them said Adar would use your lovers against you.”

  “How do I get in there?” Liam asked.

  “The cave entrance is in the cliff face at the rear of the camp, and it’s guarded by priests,” the man replied.

  Liam frowned, wondering how to save their former partners. “There’s no way to get them out without alerting the whole camp,” he said at last. “We’ll get the kids and everyone else out first, then I’ll come back for them.”

  “You mean, we’ll come back,” Rose stated.

  Liam quickly looked over the crowd of nervous captives. “Ok, some of you take the weapons of the guards we knocked out, and station yourself along our route out of the camp. The rest of you, start moving your groups out. Remember, head up the canyon to the east, and we’ll catch up with you later.” He nodded. “Let’s go!”

  *****

  There had been no shouts of alarm so far, so for the time being their rescue attempt was going almost too well. Liam knew that their good fortune wouldn’t last, that was the only certainty of their plan.

  He and Rose led a group of parents and concerned others toward the barracks where the kids had been taken. They swarmed through the dark streets, finally arriving outside the row of rooms that had been set aside for children. There were no guards waiting outside, which was peculiar and a little worrisome. The sun would rise within minutes though, and caution would take too much time.

  “Get ready at the doors,” he whispered. “We’ll take them all at once, that way no one can sound an alarm. There are too many kids inside for weapons fire, so try to take out the guards by hand. Afterward, be ready to run because all hell is about to break loose.”

  He pressed his shoulder against a barrack door, then waited until the others followed his example. Finally, he raised his hand and slowly counted to three, then drove through the door and rushed inside.

  Guards were seated at tables at both the front and rear of the long narrow room, and as the door shattered, they all started to rise. Liam charged down the center aisle between the rows of beds, then jumped toward the rear table and tackled all three of the elderly adults before they could stand up. In a matter of seconds, they lay unconscious on the floor. He turned then, ready to counter any defense, but stopped and smiled when he saw that the guards at the front of the room had been taken out by his team.

  Several of the children were crying and others had pulled their knees to their chests and shivered in fear. “You guys want to go home?” he asked. “We’re here to take you back to your parents.”

  “Liam?” A young teenage girl with auburn hair stood nearby. “I knew you would come for me.”

  A crowd of adults abruptly swarmed into the room, and a slim blonde woman swept the girl into her arms. “Oh, Jackie,” the woman said. “I was so afraid that I’d lost you.”

  “Liam saved me again,” Jackie responded.

  He smiled at the young girl they had rescued after the solar storm. She had lost her parents and brother but had adjusted well and seemed happy with her aunt. “I’m glad we found you,” he said. “But we need to get everyone out of here and up the canyon.”

  Other adults were entering the room. Initially, they hugged and comforted the kids, then began to urge them toward the exit. Liam was the last to leave, and as he closed the door, he made sure to break the lock so the adults left inside couldn’t escape and sound an alarm.

  Rose came alongside him as he considered escape routes. She was holding a baby tightly wrapped in a white blanket. “I found Keith and Denise’s baby.”

  He frowned at the fat pale face with dark blue eyes that stared somberly at him. “Are you sure? All babies look alike to me.”

  “Very sure,” a tall blonde woman stated. “I was their neighbor, and was there when this little one came into the world.”

  He nodded while trying to figure out how he felt about seeing his former partner’s child. “That’s good,” he muttered, hoping that his response was appropriate. “Let’s get these kids out of here.”

  “We’ll be noticed if we all go at once.” Rose passed the baby to the blonde woman. “I’ll lead groups of twenty to the edge of the camp, then come back for more. My brother will stay here to keep everyone safe.” She quickly pointed to several adults with children and led them away.

  “How can I get into the caves?” Liam asked a dark man who held a boy of about ten.

  “Don’t know,” the man answered. “From the cages, I saw the priests come and go, but everyone else? Not so much. Lots of the Scarred Faithful are guarding the entrance, and if the rumors are true, there’s more of ‘em inside. I’ve seen a few civilians and guards go in, but I ain’t seen any of ‘em come back out.”

  “So, no one knows the layout or how deep the caverns are?”

  “Nope,” the man replied. “Must be awful big though, because the prophets and priests along with a bunch of the Scarred Faithful are livin’ down there.”

  How could he rescue Denise and Keith? He and Rose would have to breach the cave entrance, get past the guards, then somehow find them within the myriad of caverns below. Even if they could do that, it didn’t seem possible to get back out.

  Rose tugged at his arm as she returned. “The sun’s rising!”

  He looked up at the brightening sky and saw sunlight reflecting from the highest levels of the canyon walls. “Everyone, make a run for it, now!” He waved at the crowd of parents and children around him. “Go! We’ll cover you as best we can.”

  “Get your babies to safety,” Rose added.

  At the closest guard barracks, doors were opening. A shift change was likely at sunrise, why hadn’t he thought of that? He quickly leveled his laser rifle and fired. The hiss of the weapon ripped through the camp as its bright white flash collapsed the front of the building, sealing the freshly awoken sentries inside. More guards stormed out of their quarters; he couldn’t sto
p them all. “Hurry! Everyone run!”

  He trotted behind the fleeing parents and other survivors, occasionally firing back at the ground ahead of their pursuers, hoping to slow them down.

  Screams rang out at the front of their group as the doors to the Scarred Faithful barracks flew open. Rose quickly climbed to a vantage point on the gallows and blasted the military buildings with her L80. The structures blew apart under her weapon’s white-hot blaze. “Keep moving!” she shouted, then fired on the buildings on the other side of the compound.

  An alarm screamed, calling forth all the guards and Scarred Faithful not already buried within their housing units.

  “Go!” Liam ordered as he reached the top of the sharp downslope at the eastern edge of the camp. “Rose, I’ll hold them here until you get everyone behind the boulders.”

  His sister let her weapon drop to its straps then ran and caught up with the escaping prisoners. She scooped up two kids in their early teens and sprinted toward the line of massive rocks with them tucked under her arms.

  He turned back and again blasted the ground in front of the charging army. The guards hesitated, unwilling to run across the bubbling molten soil. An armed priest suddenly rushed into their stalled ranks; he pushed the guards aside, then stepped up on a tilted section of shattered earth and leaped high into the air, aiming his weapon toward him.

  Liam fired his laser, instantly converting the holy man into a pale cloud of superheated gas.

  Those behind the priest hesitated, surprised by the astounding power of his enhanced weapon. The pause in the action was all he needed to safely run down the slope toward the wall of rocks that hid his sister and the other survivors.

  *****

  “They’ll come after us as soon as they get over their shock,” Liam told the last of the captives that waited with them behind the boulders. “Get as far up the canyon as you can, while Rose and I hold them here.”

  Rose lightly touched the arm of the tall blonde woman carrying Denise and Keith’s child. “Your job is to protect that baby,” she said. “If it looks like we’ll get overrun, my brother and I will blow up the cliffs and bury the canyon.”