Last Light Falling (28 page)

“My men were obliterated this morning by that poisonous demon.”

“Your behavior is unbecoming. If they were all obliterated as you say, then how do you know it was this girl?”

“Corporal, bring him in,” says the lieutenant, nodding.

“You better get to the point quickly, John. My patience with you is wearing thin.”

A man dressed in a torn uniform, with cuts on his face and bandages on his arm, enters the room. “This is one of my men who survived the ambush on the loading dock,” says the lieutenant.

“Private, surely you can tell me something of importance that doesn’t have anything to do with Hansel and Gretel,” states Iakov.

“Sir,” says the private, saluting.

“Please, speak freely and indulge me.”

“It was a massacre. No one knew what was happening. You couldn’t see them. They were like ghosts taking us out in all directions, and before you knew it, she appeared. Like Black Death slashing and dicing with those swords, cutting the men up into pieces. It all happened so fast. We were completely caught off guard,” he says, shaking as he recalls the nightmare.

“Thank you, private. You’re dismissed,” the lieutenant says to the young man.

“This is preposterous. You’re telling me a hundred well-trained soldiers were taken apart by Little Bo Peep and Little Boy Blue?”

“Sir, you heard his account. This is enough proof,” says the lieutenant.

“I hope you’re not here to postulate these irrational statements as truth, Lieutenant,” Iakov so callously questions, “because this conversation is begging for your competence to be re-evaluated. Look at him for God’s sake, he’s in total shock.”

“Which is why I believe him.”

“Are we to assume then that his testimony is the one all soldiers are expected to converge on, Lieutenant? Many soldiers experience this kind of delusion during battle. They are trained to kill and nothing else, and it’s people like you and me who make sure they have no conscience to decide otherwise. Of all the people, John, I expected you to have a modicum of discernment. It’s discomforting to know your intelligence is slipping.”

“Sir, if I may speak?” asks another gentleman standing in the back.

“Go ahead.”

“Let’s just assume what the private said was true, as irrational as it may seem. If there is even a shred of evidence that supports the private’s report, then it will surely benefit us to question the people who
were there to witness it. I think our only option right now is for us to go to the people to find out the truth.”

“And just how do you suppose we do that without conjuring up some erratic sympathy for this rebellion? Rumors can be just as dangerous as the truth itself,” says the lieutenant.

“Persuade them, whatever is necessary. The last thing we need in this country is another revolution,” says Iakov.

“You do remember, this nation was still standing before you came here. The people still have some social freedoms left.”

“Yes, well, we’re not here to practice the idea, we are only here to preserve it. Shall I remind you that it was you who called on us to resurrect your weakened nation,” argues Iakov.

Finnegan was right about the Russian government. This is becoming all too overwhelming for my emotions to handle. This well-orchestrated plan our government has been scheming up all these years has fooled us all.

Switching from camera to camera, Gabe follows General Iakov, Lieutenant John, and two other men as they walk into town. In the corner of the screen, Gabe sifts through all the store cameras and finds every shop to be empty. There’s not one patron to be seen until he finds a woman running inside a store about two blocks from where the men are walking.

Three men enter the store, while strangely General Iakov stands outside. Two women and a man try desperately to not look like they are hiding. One of the women is standing next to a stroller with a baby, while the other woman stands like a statue against the wall. The men begin to question the civilians about the dead soldiers and the giant hole in the ground. They reveal what they witnessed after the explosions, but nothing about Gabe or me.

“Did you see anyone attacking those soldiers or anyone firing upon the tanks outside the courtyard?” Lieutenant John asks.

“No, nobody, sir. We saw nothing until it was over,” says one woman.

Right then, Iakov comes bursting through the doors, overhearing the woman’s response. “If you saw nothing, then why are you hiding in here? You are obviously lying.”

“Sir,” Lieutenant John says.

Iakov points his finger in the lieutenant’s face, “Don’t undermine my authority, Lieutenant. You have much to learn.”

The woman with the baby glances over at the man to her left. He tries to avoid her eyes and shakes his head nonchalantly. The general readily notices the awkward exchange between the two and walks closer to the woman.

“My patience grows weary, so why don’t you just tell me who did this so we can all leave here in peace,” he says, pulling out his gun and pointing it to her head. Terrified, she shakes and cries.

“I’m going to count to three. One,” he says, staring directly into her eyes. “Two.” He cocks back the hammer on his gun. The woman realizes he isn’t bluffing, but before she can say a word, the man to her left leaps forward, attempting to disarm the general. Iakov, anticipating this move, quickly turns the gun and shoots the man dead. He returns the gun back at the woman’s head. “Shall we start again, or do we need an alternative persuasion?”

“I don’t know anything, please, I don’t know,” she says, crying hysterically.

“Sir, she knows nothing!” shouts Lieutenant John.

“I’ll decide who knows what, Lieutenant! Now stand down.” Iakov just notices the baby behind her and asks her to move over to the side.

“I understand the truth can be complicated for those who wish to hide it,” he says, as he lowers his gun down to his side. Her face relaxes and her tears stop flowing. The lieutenant takes a deep breath and sighs in relief. “But in your case, the truth is all you have and nothing more.” Iakov points the gun toward the baby stroller and fires into it.

“No! God no!” the woman screams, throwing herself down to the floor, reaching into the stroller for her dead baby.

The other woman falls to her knees without any expression, accepting her death and knowing she has no chance to live. The woman with the baby digs into the stroller hysterically and finds that the baby is not in there. Everyone turns to see the baby crawling on the floor behind some shelves. The woman’s screaming stops momentarily as she picks up the baby and embraces him tightly on the floor, crying.

“I guess miracles do exist,” General Iakov says with a menacing smirk. He turns to the other woman on her knees. “Is there a miracle bullet left in my chamber for you?” He points the gun at the woman on her knees. He cocks back the hammer and just like before, he counts. “One, two …”

“There were two of them! A girl and a boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old. They did this! They killed your soldiers,” she shouts.

“Thank you for your cooperation.” Iakov pulls the trigger, shooting her in the head.

“Is this really necessary, sir? Lieutenant John shouts.

Iakov pulls John to the side. “I am beginning to question why I appointed you. We are the makers, we are the leaders, we decide what, how, and when. Yes, Lieutenant, it’s necessary to remind these people who is still in control. Perhaps you need reminding. Now take me to the loading dock.”

I almost can’t bear to watch any more of this. I want this man dead. Gabe sets up the feed from inside the loading dock. The men walk in and immediately cover their mouths and noses. From their reaction, the stench from the rotting flesh must be overwhelming. The pungent odor forces two of the men to put on masks to keep from vomiting.

General Iakov’s face grows increasingly worried as he observes the blood bath of dismembered bodies. His jaw clenches, and he loses it. “These are my men, this is my regime. I will not stand for this! She mocks me in my own domain. You have a new mission, Lieutenant, and I will not expect anything less than success, or you too will be one of these headless men. I want this girl, and I want her alive and unspoiled. I will break-in her body myself for every man that lies dead.”

“Turn it off!” I shout at Gabe. I pace back and forth, with my stomach tied in knots, and anger fanning my emotions.

“Calm down, Arena,” says Finnegan.

“Calm down? What part of that did you find comforting?”

“Look, we’re all pissed, but we will be better served if we keep our minds clear here. Emotions aside, we still have a mission.”

“Then what are we standing here for?”

The Louisiana State Prison can be seen a mile away as we travel down a back road, and shockingly, it’s much bigger than we anticipated. Judging by all the construction trucks outside the fence and the newly welded steel girders on the side of the prison, it appears they have been adding onto the compound to accommodate for more prisoners.

As we get closer, Finnegan stops the car and pauses for a moment. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” he asks, looking in the rearview mirror.

I say nothing as I look out the window toward the compound, wondering if Myra, Daniel, and Juliana are still alive in there. How will I feel if we have come this far to see our parents die again? I still can’t get Jacob out of my mind. I fear his memory will haunt me until I’m dead. I reach in my shirt and pull out his necklace he gave me on our first date. I nervously rub the corners of the cross until my fingers blister and wonder how things would be different if he was still alive. I turn my head just enough so no one can see the tears running down my cheeks.

“Arena,” says Finnegan, trying to get my attention, “are you okay?”

I slowly turn to him, breaking my silence. “Let’s go retrieve our lost sheep.”

Finnegan climbs up a tree high enough to get a closer viewpoint through his scope, while Gabe and I prepare ourselves for this rescue. Finnegan climbs back down and looks somewhat defeated.

“So what’s your plan,” Finnegan asks, “because there is only one way in down there. The compound is completely encircled with twenty-foot fencing, and there are guards everywhere on top of each corner of the facility. Standing in the middle of the compound is tall watchtower.”

“There is always more than one way into anything. I have a backdoor,” I say, pointing toward Gabe, who’s holding up a mini plasma cutter.

“I do not like this already,” says Finnegan.

“Gabe and I will go through the fence while you and Henry distract the guards and pull them in your direction.”

“Distract them?” Henry questions.

“It’s time to put that classic car to real use. Hope you’re ready for this, because you’re going through the front door … uninvited,” I say.

I tell them to give us about thirty minutes to get set into position before they go in. There is brief silence as everyone looks around. “This is it, guys, there’s no turning back now,” I say as I kneel to the ground. “Lord, give us strength, make us accurate, and let us not leave what is unfinished. Amen.”

Gabe and I set out on foot while Henry and Finnegan stay back, waiting for their move. We trek along the rocky slope down into the ravine below until we reach a flat grassy meadow. I hear Gabe panting a little as we walk closer to our destination, and by the time we get to the midpoint, he is sweating profusely.

I stop underneath a tree on the way to give him a little breather, since we are slightly ahead of schedule.

“Are you okay? You must be carrying a heavy load,” I say.

“It’s not too bad. I think I just ate too much fish this morning.” He holds his side, cramping. He turns a little pale and starts to lean over as if he is about to faint. I quickly hold him up to keep him from falling down.

“I’m okay; I just need to … need to …” Gabe says, swaying. I feel absolutely awful right now knowing he can’t possibly go on like this and that I will have to deal with this all alone. He pushes my arm away and stumbles behind a tree and vomits. Now I know he can’t possibly go on, and I promptly think of the alternative, but before I can come up with a solution, he walks back from behind the tree, wipes his mouth off, and grins.