Reddened Wasteland (19 page)

“So this means you have shut off the water?” Alerik
asked.

“We shut it off shortly after you stepped out of The
Den. Our men have a supply of water that we collected before turning it off, we
even have some for you and your partner. The rest of the settlement, however,
will surely be feeling it today.”

“I don’t like that this will affect the common people,
the ones that have nothing to do with this fight,” he sighed, “But, I suppose
it is a necessary evil, considering what’s happening…” he frowned, “You know,
we haven’t built the radio device yet. We ran into a few problems during our
scavenger hunt. We only just recovered the last piece.”

“It’s alright, dear. Have your android build it on the
way,” she smiled.

Over the last few days, Velar had learned that Alerik
was still alive. She was immeasurably happy about that news, but the guilt from
her make-out session with Thorin consumed her. She tried to reason with
herself, after all, what was she supposed to do? She thought Alerik was lost to
her, indoctrinated by The Union. But then, in an instant, she finds out that he
wasn’t part of them, but it didn’t matter because he was going to be executed.
He was as good as dead. Skirting a Union execution was thought to be
impossible… up until Alerik did it, that is. She was ashamed in her lack of
faith… she should have known better, should have known he would find a way out
of that. But now, she was in a mess. She cared about Thorin and Alerik, and had
loyalties to both. And she had so many questions, now. If he was a traitor to
The Union, and he wasn’t with Liberty’s Hammer, then who
was
he working
for? Just himself? Probably. That seemed like Alerik. She was a shaky bundle of
emotions as she walked through the halls of The Forge.

Everyone had been ready for days, but Thorin hadn’t
made his move yet. Velar wondered what was holding him back. Reports coming in
said that the settlement was on the verge of total anarchy, everybody was
unhappy and restless. It looked like their propaganda was paying off, after
all. The Union certainly had to be feeling the disruption that Liberty’s Hammer
had caused. Velar wondered if she had something to do with Thorin stalling the
attack, but then shook the thought away. What an ego she must have to think
Thorin’s feelings about her might influence his decisions as a leader of
thousands.

One thing that made her nervous was the fact that The
Union were actively hunting Alerik, now. They seemed to be even more focused on
him than on Liberty’s Hammer. He was all alone with no support, as far as she
knew. She wanted to get out of there and find him, and bring him back to The
Forge… but to leave the compound would be a death sentence for both of them.
Alerik had made it clear that he could hold his own, though. He’d proven that,
time and time again. He continued to impress her, even if miles away.

Thorin had been standoffish in the days following
their kiss, so she had no way of knowing where his head was at. She was
relieved he finally requested to speak with her alone, but was put-off that the
invitation came in the form of a summons carried by one of his underlings. She
reasoned that perhaps he felt just as embarrassed as she did, so she let it go.
The way she reacted to the broadcast about Alerik’s execution had to have hurt
his ego, but, maybe she wasn’t giving him enough credit. He was a good guy, and
probably understood that she had a life before coming there. If he didn’t, he
probably wasn’t the man she thought he was, and that would be a shame. All that
was left now was to wait until the time they were supposed to meet, and find
out straight from Thorin, himself.

She started towards the library to squeeze in the last
few hours of reading she may ever have. When she neared the entrance to the room,
a man stepped out into the hall, blocking her path.

“Velar, Thorin needs you to get ready,” the man said.

“Ready? For what?” She asked.

“For war. It is finally time. We are attacking the
Union building in the morning. Gather what you will need, tonight may be the
last time we ever see this place,” his tone was deathly serious.

Something about the man’s tone, and what he said,
resonated especially loud within her, clearing out the fog of all of her other
ridiculous, petty thoughts. She already knew this was going to be a
particularly dangerous outing, but the thought of never seeing the people she
had grown close to again suddenly hit home. It was real. It was happening. She,
and all the people she cared about, could be dead after tomorrow.

She nodded, then began to walk through the halls
towards her room, reminiscing of her first time in that place. The fear, the
uncertainty… all kinds of other emotions she had yet to learn the words for. It
was strange, the series of events that brought her to where she was in that
moment. When she arrived, she had all but given up hope, thinking she was
doomed to die. She wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else. Now, she felt
so comfortable in The Forge, and the thought of not returning weighed heavily
on her heart. She still might be doomed to die. That part hadn’t changed,
really. But, at least it would be a noble death, something worth dying for.

As she approached her quarters and entered the room,
she pushed down the premature feelings of grief. They couldn’t win this thing
if she went into it assuming failure. Plus, if this was the last night she was
to see this place, she could rest easy knowing she would make a lasting
difference. Even if they failed, The Union would suffer.

And then there was the possibility that she wouldn’t
die, and they would succeed, and Liberty would be forever changed for the
better. She smiled to herself at the possibility.

She walked slowly towards her bed and grabbed her
armor and uniform. After she put it all on, she glanced around the room one
last time, burning every detail into her memory… just in case.

The armor fit perfectly and felt nice against her
skin, as if she were destined to wear it. It made her think that Thorin may
know her body a little better than she thought he did, which only made her sad
as thoughts of Alerik resurfaced. The feeling of dread returned as she
remembered that Thorin wanted to speak to her in private. She knew what he
wanted to talk about. He wanted to talk about the kiss, and what it meant. She
didn’t know if she could even give him a straight answer. She both regretted
it, and didn’t regret it. Her anxiety began to climb as she started out of the
room.

The halls were colder than ever and everyone was
inside their dorms, making their last preparations before the morning. Velar
deliberately walked slower than was necessary to get to Thorin. Even though a
war was about to be fought for the freedom of the settlement, she couldn’t put
it into perspective when he was nearby, couldn’t shake the discomfort of being
face-to-face with him. As she advanced closer to the door, she felt her stomach
twist into knots. She’d have to get this unpleasantness over with sooner or
later, and it would be better to clear things up before the battle. A
distraction like that could get her, and thousands of others, killed.

As she stepped inside the room, Thorin had his back
turned towards her. He had a tattered red cape draped across his back with the
Liberty’s Hammer symbol burned into it. His bright silver armor shined like the
sun as the light in his room danced off of it. He casually turned towards her,
“Hello, Velar. I wasn’t sure you’d make it,” he grinned.

“Oh, fuck off. You knew I’d come. Thanks for the heaps
of anxiety before the big day. Nothing like a clandestine meeting with the man
in charge to rattle your nerves,” she smiled back before she realized she had.
Good to know that she still couldn’t keep a straight face around him.

Thorin let out a hearty laugh as he took a few slow
strides and stopped in front of her. “Okay, I confess. I did have a hunch you
might come, seeing as I didn’t leave you with much choice.”

“More of that Thorin brand of charm,” her smile grew.

“Okay, well let’s get to business shall we?” he said,
pulling out a couple of metal chairs for them to sit in.

“Business?” she wrinkled her nose as she sat down,
“Was the kiss a transaction?”

He must not have expected that, because he stumbled
over his words in a very un-Thorin-like manner, “I… Uh… No… I mean yes. The
kiss,” he paused, taking a beat to find his words again after she threw him
off, “I wouldn’t say it was a transaction, as much as it was a mutual
agreement.”

“I knew this was coming, to be honest the whole thing
has me a bit freaked out. I assume you want to know where we go from here, what
it meant and so on. Truth is, I don’t know. It just kind of happened. I’m not
saying I regret it. I just don’t know what it all means. I have someone, you
know that,” she frowned.

“I know you keep saying that, but where is he? I am
the one that is here, protecting you, taking care of you, training you…” he
said with a sigh, “Look, I don’t want to be selected like something off of a
shelf or anything, and I don’t want to be a last option. I understand the kiss
was in the heat of the moment, we both had a lot going on emotionally. I didn’t
bring you here to force you to choose me or anything… I brought you here to
tell you that the kiss meant something to me. I just want to be able to explore
that in the future once this is all over without some absent boyfriend looming
over us,” he said as he placed his hand on her thigh.

“He isn’t absent, though. Everything we have heard
from the settlement says he is still out there, and have you forgotten the
reason he’s not with me is our fault. We intentionally allowed him to believe
that I was killed so he would lead the Union in circles, for the sake of the
mission and all the lives that are at stake. I know you don’t understand the
connection I have with him, I’m not sure I even understand it, if I’m being
honest. But he and I have each other. It’s all we ever had before now. Trust
me, I would love to explore these feelings with you. You’re an amazing man, and
anyone would be lucky to have you, including me. The truth is, however, if I
were to do what you ask, I wouldn’t be the kind of woman that deserves you or
Alerik. I already have enough explaining to do to him. Please don’t add to that
list,” she said as tears clouded her eyes.

“I’m not trying to give you extra stress, Velar, or
make you choose between us. I simply wanted to know where I stood, and if
anything was possible in the future once this whole mess is over. You have made
your point, and it was foolish of me to assume. I’m sorry I asked you to come
here. I see now that it was selfish,” he pouted.

“Please don’t be like that. Don’t make me feel like a
bad guy, here. I’ve never denied how I feel about Alerik. It was stupid of us
to kiss, and even worse to have any expectations of the future when there is a
war on the horizon. Sure, we thought he had turned to The Union’s side, and
might’ve been involved with his partner… but it was still too soon to move on.”

“I don’t think it was stupid. Just bad timing,
perhaps,” He said as he rested his head on his hands.

“I don’t know what the future holds for any of us,
Thorin… I am sure we were meant to meet. Let’s just stay focused on tomorrow,
and after that we will talk again, okay?” Velar stood from her chair and began
making her way over to the door.

“You’re right,” he looked up, a faint smile on his
lips, “I probably sound like a child right now. Thanks for talking to me.”

“Keep your chin up, boss,” she said, smiling back at
him before leaving the room.

***

The next morning, Velar opened her eyes to the sound
of a siren blaring. She could hear people scrambling in the halls, just outside
her door. She jolted up and moved at a brisk pace over to where Liberty’s Razor
was leaning against the wall. Picking it up, she secured it onto her back and
headed out the door.

Countless footsteps echoed through the halls as people
made their final preparations before reporting to the launch zones, the sound
was nearly as loud as the siren. People seemed to stare right past her as they
went by, oblivious to everything outside of their tasks. It was clear that
everyone’s mind was on the war at this point, determined and focused on
victory. Velar wondered where Thorin was, or if he had already left. She
decided to head out to the launch zones and see for herself. As she moved
briskly through the halls, she noticed that the air felt different, it felt
colder. She realized it was probably just in her head.

She almost made it to the launch zones when a man
barreled past her, screaming something unintelligible. She thought he might’ve
said something about water, but she wasn’t sure. The puzzled looks on the faces
of everyone around her showed that they had about as much information as she
did on the matter. Briefly subdued by the man’s excited outburst, the cold
feeling returned as she passed through the threshold of the hangar.

She looked on with wonder as she watched the armored
vehicles getting in formation. Men were lined up at the hangar doors, pulling
large chains down to pull the massive doors open. Off in the distance, Thorin
was waving his hands wildly, ordering the men into position. A smile formed on
her face when she saw the respect he commanded. He reminded her of the
legendary warriors from the books she had read. The light from outside reflected
off of his armor, and the wind from outside licked at his cape and beautiful
blonde hair. He was a stunning sight, and involuntarily her mind went to dark
places, again.

She shook the thought off quickly as she started
towards him, determined to not let him see her smile. She couldn’t let on that
he still affected her like that, he had a way of blowing things out of
proportion and she couldn’t risk a marriage proposal over a flirty smile. As
she got closer, a small crowd began forming around him so that he could speak
before the launch.

“Men, gather around!” He shouted as he unsheathed his
sword and started a deliberate pace across the elevated platform. “This is it.
I will not be giving a long speech. There is nothing left to say. We have made
it this far because of the sacrifices we have all made to be here. Some of us
will not return from this. Some of us will die and not be around to see the
world we created. That is the cost of a revolution. Revolutions are funded with
the blood of good men. Songs will be written about what we do here. Make sure
those songs speak of brave men. Make sure those songs tell a story of men
without fear, men who risked and sacrificed everything to fight against
oppressors of free will, against oppressors of humanity. Today, we ensure that
our children are the song writers, instead of the fighters. We ensure a world
where we are no longer forced into hiding from a system meant to keep us safe.
Today, your swords will be our pens, writing history the way we want to have
lived it,” he yelled and thrust his sword into the air as the crowd erupted
into wild cheers.