Clouds of Tyranny (15 page)

For dinner everyone had partaken in chicken
legs, fried potatoes, and beans. However, the Returners had a
different menu, the soldiers were forced to eat fish, bananas,
peaches, and a few eggs so they would have sufficient vitamins and
protein for the following day. One-by-one the soldiers retired; the
last two being Terra, Ruthie, and Lars but Ruthie left after a few
minutes; she felt more like a third wheel rather than a contributor
to the conversation. “How long have you been here?” asked Terra.
“Four years; Locke was still in his first year and I had just
turned eighteen. I wanted to stop the empire’s tyranny, so did my
sister, but we had different plans to stop them. I found it best to
join a resistance group for safety and she thought going solo was
stealthier and lest chance of casualties.” “How long has it been
since you saw her?” “A year next month, but she promised when she
returned she would see me so I’d know she’s safe.” “You could
always go to the western continent,” smiled Terra. “Yeah, we
thought of that too. She told me that if I was ever on the western
continent to go to ‘where the lake’s meet’. Whatever that may
mean.” “Hmm, not sure. But she’s probably expecting that you’ll
know by the time you reach the shore.” “Yeah,” Lars laughed
hysterically, “She always likes talking in riddles, because she
knows it annoys the hell out of me.” Terra sat there listening to
every word that came out of his mouth till his mouth stopped moving
and they just looked at each other quietly enjoying the company in
the dark dining room. “Lars?” “Yes?” “Do you…have anyone?”
“Family?” “No.” Friends?” “No.” Lars’ eyes widened when he realized
what she meant, “Oh, um, no actually.” “Me neither.” They stared at
each other for several minutes before Lars broke the silence, “May
I walk you to your room?” “I’d love that.” Terra smiled and held
her hand out. Lars hesitated for a moment then wrapped his hand
around hers and walked her to the outside of the women’s dorm. “It
was nice talking to. It’s nice to have a friend,” said Terra
smiling at Lars. “It is. Be very safe tomorrow so I can see you
again.” “I promise,” said Terra opening her arms and hugging Lars
tight. She opened the door to the dorm and looked back at Lars just
to give him an extra smile to get him through the night and closed
the door.

Locke was just lying in bed when he heard a
knock at the door. He got up violently, “Damn women.” He jerked the
door open and was shocked to see Lars standing there; looking at
him. “Lars? What’s the matter?? Asked Locke. “I want you to make
sure Terra come home unscathed. Consider your debt paid in full if
she come back unharmed.” “Sounds fair,” said Locke extending a
hand. Lars shook his hand in agreement of their verbal contract.
“Smells like love,” joked Locke. Lars smiled and walked down the
hall to his room, which was the closest to the door leading to the
dining room.

The next morning Terra was awoken to someone
shaking her awake gently and whispering her name; “Terra, Terra?”
Terra opened her eyes to see Locke standing over here and looked
around to see that everyone else was sleeping except Ruthie who was
sitting on her bed rubbing her eyes. “What time-“ “The sun will be
up in about two hours, we leave in thirty minutes. Meet me by the
kitchen,” said Locke as he turned away and left the room. Terra
rolled out of bed and looked to the top bunk. Lucky bitch gets to
sleep, thought Terra angrily. “Morning Ter,” said Ruthie giddily.
“Mornin’” Ruthie sprung out of bed and picked up a bag she had
prepared the night before and went to the bathroom to change out of
respect for Terra. Terra figured if she’d hurry, no one would see
her change at her bed. Terra was scrambling under the covers to
change as quickly as possible. After pulling on her green cargo
pants she attempted to put on her shirt, but was stopped by the
image of her own torso; she felt fat as she envisioned the bodies
of her peers, Alex, Ruthie, Pearl, etc. How could anyone love some
like her? She frowned and depressingly pulled on her tank top and
emerged from under the blanket. She fastened the gun holster to her
side and slid in the gun. Ruthie emerged from the bathroom wearing
athletic style tennis shoes, red daisy duke shorts over black
leggings, a black skin tight shirt with a crimson ribbon
corkscrewing around her upper body, and the blue bandana concealed
her hair as it was tied in a helmet shape around her scalp.
Ruthie’s outfit showed off her body and made Terra just a little
bit more self-conscious. “Ready?” asked Ruthie. “Yeah, I guess,”
shrugged Terra. Ruthie slipped on her gloves and motioned for Terra
to follow.

Once in the kitchen, Terra felt different,
she no longer had the butterflies when she saw Locke. Locke was
waiting with a light meal for them; bread and some dried granola.
After they had their snack it was time to go. Locke led them
through a door just past the kitchen. As they walked down a dark
corridor Terra couldn’t help but ask, “Why aren’t we using the
entrance?” “There is a series of tunnels that can take us anywhere
we care to go,” answered Locke without looking at her, “We will be
in the swamp by noon.” They continued through the narrow corridor
for almost an hour before coming to a tunnel much larger than the
one they had been venturing through thus far; it had a small mine
car with a lever sticking up from it’s side and a coiled spring
behind it. “Get in,” ordered Locke, pointing into the mine car.
Terra got into the wood and steel vessel and looked around confused
as Locke checked the wheels for damages. “We get in and pull the
level and that spring over there,” said Ruthie pointing to the
coiled spring, “and it shoots us at a very alarming speed to our
destination. And, once we arrive we apply the brakes and we stop.
We’ll know where we are by the markers along the walls.” Terra
nodded in understanding as Locke jumped in and pulled the lever.
The three of them shot forward at an intense speed as Terra
screamed; some was fear and some was enjoyment of adventure. They
cut through the air; the sonic booms shooting past them were so
loud they had to yell to communicate. “Ruthie,” yelled Terra, “ I
could get used to this.” “Yeah, I love it!” screamed Ruthie with a
jack-o-lantern smile.

Alex awoke to Pearl
rubbing her back trying to ease her awake. “Alex,” whispered Pearl,
“We gotta go.” Alex sat up and threw the sheets from her body and
revealed her nightclothes to Pearl; half shirt barely covering her
perky breasts and tiny underwear hugging her pelvis. Pearl looked
at what she was wearing and gulped hard. “Meet me outside,” said
Pearl looking half away with her face as red as a roma tomato.
Pearl quickly walked through the room past the other women who were
starting to gradually get up and left the room. Alex was a little
confused.
Does she think I’m dressed too
revealing and dislikes it or does she love it?
Alex shrugged and grabbed some clothes from the corner near
Terra’s bed and changed into black fatigues, military boots, and an
army green tank top with her pendant of course. After rolling
several cigarettes for the day she grabbed her dragon blade and
exited the room.

“What if his worst fears are right?” said
Ray as Alex walked out. “What are you guys talking about?” asked
Alex. “Umm,” stuttered Ray. “Whether or not the town will be too
difficult to evacuate,” said Pearl glaring at Ray for speaking so
loud. “Yeah,” confirmed Ray. “I don’t think so,” started Alex,
“I’ve been there. Even if you can’t get them out in time, almost
every single house has an attic or basement for hiding.” “Hmm,”
thought Pearl. “So, we ready?” asked Ray. “I am, “ said Alex.

After grabbing a satchel with crackers,
bread, and water they headed out through the front entrance from
whence Alex had come a few nights earlier. As they closed the trap
door behind them and looked against the rising sun, Alex looked
into the distance at the bush where she had hidden her vehicle then
looked at her partners, “So, what are we waiting for?” “We are
waiting for our rides,” said Ray. “He’s late,” growled Pearl. “Who?
Asked Alex looking around. “Over there,” pointed Ray as Alex
followed his finger to see a man on horse back holding the reins of
two additional horses on either side of him. Alex would rather use
her own ride, the S250, but revealing the machine would cause more
problems than it would solve. The man arrived, about Terra’s age
wearing blue slacks and a blue shirt; the color of the merchant.
The man hoped off his horse and handed the reins to Pearl. Pearl
snatched them away and handed him a tiny drawstring bag that
jingled with the sound of coins when it dropped into his hand. The
man nodded a thank you and began jogging back into the direction he
came from. “Here!” said Pearl handing the reins to Ray and Alex.
“Did you buy them or rent?” asked Alex, pulling herself up on a
dark brown mare. “Smith rented them for us,” said Ray gleefully as
he leapfrogged onto the beige horse from behind it’s rear.. “How
did he reach somebody to request them?” inquired Alex. “You writin’
a book?” asked Pearl annoyingly as she positioned herself upright
on the black and white horse’s back, “Come on and try to keep up.
YA!” Pearl’s horse took off quickly followed by Ray. Alex heeled
the horse in the side forcing him to catch up. While she rode
across the countryside she thought about this so-called mission.
Why do they need three people to go ‘look’ at a town with no
imperials in sight? Did they somehow know of her last job? Was this
a trap? She would just have to wait and see, but hopefully she
wouldn’t have to kill these two. Even though Pearl was cold to her,
she didn’t want to have to kill her. The only thing she wanted to
kill now is imperials and beasts.

It was mid morning when
Terra, Locke, and Ruthie reached the forest southwest of HQ. Terra
paid close attention to her surrounding, Locke paid close attention
to her, and Ruthie didn’t have a single care; she was just happy to
be out in the world again away from the stone walls of
headquarters. Terra looked around at her wooded surroundings and
noticed this forest was darker and scarier than the one near her
cottage home. She could swear that the sharp, leafless branches
were trying to slit her throat and they seemed to get closer with
every step she took,
How could a tree be
alive and have dead leaves and branches?
“It feels so good to breathe real air again,” said Ruthie
taking in a deep breath, “Not musty or smelly or day old cooking.
Locke, can’t you talk to Smith and get me doing missions ‘before’
I’m sixteen? “ “If it was my choice you’d never be allowed to do a
mission, little girl,” sneered Locke. “Good thing you’re not in
charge then,” laughed Ruthie. “Hey Locke?” asked Terra. “Yes? What
is it?” “What do spies do?” “They SPY, what are you talking about?”
“I mean, is it dangerous or do the imperials never really know
there is a spy in their home?” “Usually, our spies get in, get
info, and get out. Unless we are planning an attack, then they give
the signal for the strike. All in all, no more dangerous than any
other mission Returners get put on. Why? You wanna be a spy?” “Just
curious,” said Terra casually. “Terra,” whispered Ruthie as she
pointed past the trees, “Over there.” Terra looked into the
distance beyond the trees and saw a saber wolf; a wolf the size of
a male lion. “This should be some good moving target practice for
you, Ter. Try to get him in the head or the heart.” “Terra drew her
pistol and carefully aimed in his direction as she kneeled down.
She slowly squeezed the trigger. The three of them saw the result
of her shot; the bullet went clean through the wolf’s neck and made
a smoke mark on the tree behind it. The wolf looked to their
direction and began to charge. Terra stood up straight and fired
wildly hitting the ground, trees, and the occasional rock. Locke
frantically pulled out a dagger and just when he was about to toss
it the wolf fell to the floor mere inches in front of Terra’s feet.
He looked over at Terra who was holding the smoking gun still
pointed downward at the saber wolf who was dripping blood from the
center of it’s forehead. “WooHoo! Good job, Ter!” screamed Ruthie
as she jumped up and down. Terra’s heart was pounding from the
adrenaline that took over her body; she was terrified but also felt
like she could do anything right now. “Next time,” said Locke
putting away his dagger, “Try to get it done in one or two
bullets.” “Sure,” smiled Terra. They continued through the forest
jumping over fallen logs hoping the swamp would come soon. Terra
stopped every so often when she saw a little lizard and a toad;
they reminded her of her lonely little cottage.
Will I ever be home again?

Pearl, who was leading the other two stopped
to consult the position of the sun to see which way to head, she
didn’t want to admit it but she was lost. “Why’d we stop?” asked
Ray as he moseyed over to Pearl as Alex idled behind them lighting
a smoke. “She’s lost,” said Alex as she exhaled her first puff and
moaned in pleasure. “No!” said Pearl sternly. “Then which way?”
asked Ray as if she was bluffing. “It doesn’t matter! I’m not
lost!” yelled Pearl in Ray’s ear for doubting her as a traveler.
“Come on!” yelled Pearl sternly as she headed south. They rode for
another hour until they saw a huge grassy hill in the horizon.
“See!” yelled Pearl as they traveled fast and hard towards it.
“Kudos, my dear frien-“ Ray’s voice was cut off by an abrupt fall
into a pit disguised as tall grass. Ray’s horse fell head first
into the trap as Ray himself leaped over the horse’s head and
landed on his feet but got stumbled by his trench coat and fell
sloppily on his back. He leaned on his side to see his horse’s head
and front legs struggling to get out of the large pit as he heard
hissing growls and saw splatters of blood fly out of the pit and
claws coming up and swiping down against the horse’s throat. The
head of his beautiful beige horse rolled out of the hole and in
front of him. He quickly did a reverse crab walk to get himself
away from the removed horse head. Alex and Pearl stopped and looked
at the hole intently. Pearl dismounted in order to help her partner
in case he needed it, though they might not emerge if the horse was
enough of a meal. She was wrong. From the hole erupted five
Lizarros; green scaly flesh, a long mouth with sharp teeth, a long
slithering tongue, and claws that could cut through anything. They
crept slowly toward Ray and Pearl, they walked like men, only more
bent over like an ape. Alex turned her horse around ready to charge
when the time was right. Two of the man-lizards ran toward Pearl;
she drew the katana from her back and prepared for a fight. The
other three creeping up to Ray were slow, like they thought just
because he was floor bound he was injured and helpless. One of the
beasts bent his knees and jumped high into the air and came down on
Ray. Ray shot his arrows up at the dropping reptile and by the time
it fell on his body it was no longer among the living. The weight
of this muscular lizard trapped Ray; this prison of slimy flesh
would become his tomb if he didn’t act. He managed to get his arm
from under the fiend and fired at the two that stalked him, but he
could not aim correctly. They moved swiftly, dodging all
projectiles with ease. He watched as they got closer and closer; he
was sure he is going to die. Then, one of the beast’s head was
removed from it’s shoulders and the rest of it’s body fell to the
floor as Alex turned around yet again for a pass at the other one.
The beast’s lifeless body blocked Ray’s view, but to his side he
could see Pearl and he thought he could help her at least. He aimed
and fired an arrow into one of Pearl’s adversaries forcing his body
to inadvertently jolt forward as Pearl thrust her sword into its
stomach going all the way through his body. She jerked her blade to
the left and his waist was halfway cut through spilling crimson
blood on the bright green grass floor as she kicked him back so the
thing was lying on it’s back slowly dying. She stabbed her sword
into the ground and went into hand-to-hand combat stance now that
she was comfortable given the one-on-one situation. Alex was
rushing the beast that formally was preying on Ray, but the
intelligent lizard ran towards her and dove into the front legs of
her horse with claws out removing the animal’s legs from it’s
knees. Alex flew off the front of her animal as the horse writhed
in pain and flailed about as it bled. She had landed on her elbow
and was in pain, but rose to her feet nonetheless and unsheathed
her dragon blade and threw the scabbard to the floor. The lizard
charged and leaped for her upper body. Alex’s instinct forced her
to fall on her back and thrusts the sword in the air as the lizard
man fell on it ultimately committing suicide. Pearl was basically
challenging the Lizarro as it swiped at her with it’s dangerous
claws; she dodged every time, there was no doubt in her mind that
she was faster and smarter. Pearl knew that one connection and she
wouldn’t live to see tomorrow. The beast hissed loudly as it’s
tongue came out to smell the air around Pearl, then took a big
swipe at her face. Pearl lowered her head under the reptile’s large
muscular arm and snuck around him jumping on his back and yanked
his big slimy head hard to the left; she heard the neck snap in
half as it’s body dropped lightly to the floor like a dropped
feather. Alex and Pearl looked at each other panting and nodded in
congratulatory respect. “Hello? Said Ray sarcastically, “Little
help. This thing fuckin’ stinks!” Pearl laughed, “Let’s get him out
of there.” They dragged the beast off of Ray and Alex extended a
hand to help him to his feet, which he gladly accepted. “Alright,“
said Pearl, “Harmon is just a little ways past that hill. Be there
in less than an hour if we walk.” “What?” chuckled Ray, “I think we
can all sandwich on that horse.” “You’d love that wouldn’t you?”
said Pearl. “Of course he would, two beautiful women? Every man’s
dream scenario,” winked Alex. Pearl blushed and looked down then
quickly snapped out of it, “Let’s get going. We’ve got a job to
do.” “My horse,” said Alex looking to the maimed animal, “I can’t
let him suffer.” Ray and Pearl nodded as Alex walked to the horse
and pierced his heart with her dragon blade and sighed as she
walked away. On the way back to the other two soldiers she picked
up her scabbard and sheathed her sword. They began walking to the
hill and eventually over it to the town. “If they have horses in
town we can make it back home by dinner,” said Pearl.