Talent Storm (23 page)

We biked for several more hours until we heard the jingling of chainmail and the thuds of boots hitting the ground. Lilly and I leapt off our bikes and pulled them behind a bush. A Liberty patrol of four men exited the woods and peered down both sides of the long road. Lilly slid out her serrated dagger, but I held my hand up and shook my head. After a minute more of sitting in silence, the patrol marched into the woods again. We couldn’t risk being seen before our mission was completed.

In total, our journey lasted three harrowing days through the Wilds. We stopped a few miles from Liberty Kingdom and buried our bikes under some pine branches at the edge of the forest. We hiked the last few miles to Liberty, shrouded in a cloaking illusion before we reached the outer wall of the city. The wall was a huge mass of concrete that towered over our heads. A tall pole jutted up from it and held a massive flag that flapped in the wind. On it was the red fist of liberty over a field of black.

I looked down and squinted at something unusual hanging all over the wall, but couldn’t decipher what it was. Lilly looked at me uncertainly, and I shrugged. We approached cautiously until we could see more clearly. Lilly gasped, the nails of her fingers digging into my arm. I froze, my nose wrinkling in disgust. I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat.

Bodies... countless human bodies, naked and in various states of decay hung everywhere. Some hung armless or headless, tied by their feet. Other’s dangled with exposed ribs or crushed heads, their brains leaking out. Intestines stretched down like coils of rope next to eyeless faces with expressions of horror. Underneath the bodies lay piles of sun-bleached bones. The smell of rot and death blew by my nose on a gust of wind. I turned away, bile rising again and threw up, my body racking. When I recovered, I eyed Lilly, concerned. Her face was nearly the color of the bones. She covered her eyes with one hand and clenched her other one into a fist.

Goldwater was a monster. I wondered what other horror stories about him were true.

“Come on. We’ve got to get in there,” said Lilly, recovering before me.

I grimaced. It was the last place I wanted to go, but we had no choice. Eyeing the wall, I formulated a plan. She wouldn’t like it. I scooped up Lilly, threw her over my shoulder, and before she could protest, sprinted for the wall.

Lilly kicked her legs. “Put me down.”

I grunted as her shoe kicked my knee. “Relax. Just maintain the illusions. We’ll be over in a second.”

Just before stepping in bones, I launched over the wall, my talent flaring. We landed in an alley with a thump. A wall guard, in a steel breastplate and sporting a full red beard, turned at the sound. His eyes scanned the area, and I held my breath. After a moment, he lost interest and stared back out into the Wilds.

I released Lilly onto the ground, careful to make no noise. Even though her illusions could cover sounds, I didn’t want to risk it.

After we were out of earshot, she slapped me. “Don’t ever do that again.”

I rubbed my stubble-covered cheek. “I got us in, didn’t I?”

She rolled her eyes. “You could have warned me. Let’s find a staging area.”

We walked deeper into Liberty to find a base of operations, and I was disgusted at what I saw. Colorful graffiti was painted on dilapidated buildings with broken or boarded windows. Dirty, weed riddled roads crumbled. A gust of wind blew about the trash that was littered everywhere. Hordes of gaunt people, in frayed clothes, slept under ripped blankets. One hollow eyed boy chewed on an uncooked rat with apparent relish. A small, ragged girl darted out from the shadows of the now waning sunlight and snatched the rat from his hands. He sprinted after her, shouting obscenities. Lilly and I exchanged a horrified look.

I wished that I could help these people—feed and clothe them—but I had nothing to spare and couldn’t break cover. The decrepit state of the Liberty Kingdom shocked me and rattled my faith in humanity. More of the terrible stories I’d heard as a kid were true.

Despite being cloaked in illusions, we did our best to avoid people. I peeked around the edge of a building and hesitated, holding my hand up to Lilly. Three cheerful women chatted as they strolled down the street. They wore tattered dresses, exposing ample skin. Their hair was tangled and their faces dirty.

A man with a long beard and no arms begged for food as they passed by. “Please help me,” he said.

They didn’t even register him, as if he wasn’t there.

Suddenly, a gaunt man with wild hair ran across the street at the women, waving his arms. “It’s all an illusion. You’re not really happy. There’s nothing good in Liberty. Can’t you see? The bodies of our neighbors and children litter the streets. Are you blind?”

He had a point. Why
were
the women so happy?

Smiling widely, the three women stopped before slowly turning toward the distraught man. The woman in front tilted her head and frowned at the man. She looked around the streets blankly. “What are you talking about? There are no bodies.”

Couldn’t she see them?

“Besides, what’s there to be unhappy about?”

The other women continued to smile while nodding their heads.

The man huffed and pointed to a broken child who slumped against a crumbling brick wall. “Right there!”

The woman squinted at where he pointed. “Those are some nice flowers. I’ve always liked tulips.”

What was she talking about?

“Why can’t anyone see the horrors of our kingdom? Look at you... you’re wearing rags.”

The lead woman looked down and felt the fabric of her dress. She smiled, shrugging. “The Third Border War has been going on for years. We all have to make sacrifices. Why can’t you be happy like everyone else?”

Stomping, the man threw his arms up again. “The war has been over for years. It’s all lies, everything you see, everything you’re happy about. We’re all Goldwater’s slaves; we have no freedom.”

The woman shrugged again. “Sometimes you have to give up some freedom for security,” she said.

The man growled, stomping his foot. “Free yourselves from Goldwater, the Slave Master,” he yelled. “Free yourself. Can’t you all see? Nothing is real.”

“He’s crazy,” the lead woman said.

The other two bobbed their heads in agreement and then walked ahead.

Just then, a man wearing full leather armor and wielding a rifle ran around the corner. ‘Liberty Police’ was written on his chest above the red fist of Goldwater. “Ladies, step aside,” he said while motioning them away from the raving man.

Lightning quick, the man sprinted at the police officer. “You’re one of them. Die!”

He didn’t make it three steps before the officer leveled his rifle and fired. The wild man stumbled once, twice, and then collapsed. The lead woman didn’t flinch; her smile didn’t fade. She looked at the dead, scraggily man for a few seconds, then shrugged. She jogged to catch up with the other women, who strolled a few paces ahead. They resumed their conversation as if nothing had happened.

The officer smiled and waved as they walked by. “Good day ladies.”

They smiled and waved. “Good day officer.”

I darted back around the corner, not fully trusting Lilly’s illusions to cover us. Turning toward Lilly, I raised my finger to my lips and pointed. We reversed directions and jogged back down the litter-strewn alley.

☼☼☼

We eventually found an abandoned building for our headquarters, which proved to be simple because of the extensive number of ruined structures. Locke's Coalition was a paradise compared to this desolate rat hole. The front of the building was mostly collapsed, but the remaining rubble was sufficient cover. The roof was mostly intact, appearing to be safe. We cleared an area for the tent before setting it up. After unpacking our equipment, we worked to build a detection perimeter with a spool of thin wire and bells.

After we finished setting up, we sat down for a meal. I opened my pack, took out enough dried soy and dehydrated apricots for the two of us, and placed them on our camping table. Lilly looked up, her lips pressed together. I eyed her, frowning. I’d choose her over anything, but she chose the rule over me. What else was there to say? She opened her mouth.

I turned away. “I’m going to get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said.

She sighed and lowered her eyes.

☼☼☼

The next two nights, we scouted the section of the perimeter wall that we were responsible for. On the third day, we sat on the ground next to our tiny camping table, planning our attack.

Lilly shifted her position, looking restless. “Remember if we come across any ground troops, let’s sneak up and kill them silently. Don’t try to crush someone with your mace.”

“I’d like to spare lives if possible.”

Lilly nodded. “If possible, but our duty comes first. Our objectives will save lives.”

“It’s always duty with you.”

Her breath hissed through her teeth. “Not now. We need to plan.”

I shook my head, pursing my lips.

“Remember, if we’re captured, the Coalition will abandon us,” she said.

The thought of capture by Goldwater sent a shiver through me.

“We’re on our own here. Let’s try to work together.”

She was right, but I could hardly stand to be near her. “Fine. Let’s get this done.”

☼☼☼

Later that night, Lilly strapped on her weapons while I hefted Peacemaker over my shoulder into the harness on my back. I holstered my short sword onto my left thigh, then rolled my shoulders. The night’s sky was clear with a half-full moon lighting the way, a perfect night for sabotage.

“Ready?” she asked.

I imagined everything that could go wrong causing my heart to race and my stomach to knot. This was going to be our first mission in service of the Coalition. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I was ready. Relaxing my shoulders, I breathed out slowly to quell my anxiety. “Let’s go.”

“I hope we can do this.”

I held my chin up to try to appear confident. “We’ve trained for a long time, we’ll be fine.” Even though we weren’t together, I still cared about her.

We pulled up the hoods of our cloaks, leaving our camp while hugging shadows. Most of an hour had passed before we reached a large brick building, sixty paces from our target. I nodded to her, and she nodded in return. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she focused on the six men who guarded the wall, planting illusions in their minds. I could feel the power surging from her as she invoked her talent. One of the guards turned toward us, scanning the area. I held my breath, unwilling to emit even the slightest sound. Would he break our cover? My palms felt sweaty as I readied my talent. Finally, he turned back to his comrade. I released a shaky breath.

“Let’s go,” said Lilly.

I paused holding her back, feeling that something was wrong.

“What is it?”

I scanned the area near the wall, looking for anything unusual. My eyes froze. What was that? A section of the wall, rippled. Another illusionist. I forced his talent from my mind. A tall, burly man crouched with his back to us.

“There’s someone at the wall. I can’t see what he’s doing though,” I said.

“Let’s wait here until he’s gone, then we’ll check it out.”

I nodded, and we waited. Eventually the man stood to his full height. Even though he was far away, I could tell he was even bigger than I thought. After he jogged away, we snuck up to where he worked. My eyes skimmed over the wall, looking for any disturbance... there. I crouched down to examine a small square carved into the wall. My talent wrapped about the square. It popped out and hovered next to me. A device with wires and lights sat in the carved out square.

“He planted explosives. Who do you think he was?” I asked.

“Could he have been one of the other sabotage teams?”

“No, this is our section of the wall. Besides he was working alone.”

She shrugged. “Whoever he was, he completed our mission. Let’s get back.”

After I removed the concrete glue from my pack, I reaffixed the square, hiding the explosives again. Our first sabotage was a success, with no loss of life. Maybe the missions would be easier than I thought.

☼☼☼

It wasn't until we were back at the tent that we spoke. I sighed to relieve my tension while relaxing my shoulders. “Well, we did it. Thanks to that man, whoever he was,” I said. “Two more missions before we can flee this wasteland.”

She smiled at me. “I’m all for that.”

I turned, annoyed and hurt by her smile as I thought about our circumstance. My shoulders sagged. I’ve never been so high, only to fall so far. I walked over to the window, then paced back and forth. On one step, my foot struck a sharp piece of metal. I grimaced. It hurt, but my shoe protected my foot. I stopped pacing to gaze out the window.

Footsteps approached me, but I didn’t turn around. “Hey, I don’t want you to be mad at me,” said Lilly.

A sudden burst of adrenaline, fueled by my emotional pain, sprinted through me. I whirled around, and my eyes drilled into her. “How can I not be? You chose the military over me.”

She flinched backward, frowning. “I’m just following the rules.”

“I know, but that’s not a good enough reason for me. I thought we had something,” I said, shaking my head.

“We did. We do... just not now.”

“Fine,” I said. “It sure seems like this is easy for you. I thought I meant more to you.”

She began to tear up. “It’s not easy; it’s the rule. It’s tearing me apart. Just please understand.”

I sagged, lowering my head. I needed her, just like I needed my parents when they left and Ben when he died. “I’ll try to. I’m going to bed.” I turned, feeling defeated before making my way into the tent.

After a little while, Lilly crawled in. She pulled up her covers, then shut her eyes without saying a word. My heart still pounded, as I thought about the situation. Lilly was already fast asleep before it began to slow. She looked beautiful despite our difficult mission and argument. Although she was lying next to me, I felt like we were a million miles apart. It was torture being alone. I longed to hug her and feel her arms around me. Feeling tears loom in my eyes, I blinked, but was unable to stem their flow. I had just lost too much in my life. I cried silently until sleep overtook me.