New Zion

A large truck pulling a three story trailer sped towards the barricade. Mafia family members leapt out of the trucks path. The truck smashed through the barricade, continuing on to smash through the gang barricade on the other side. It never slowed as it passed and occasionally ran over gang members while racing out of town.

The truck made it to the city entrance and broke through the half-built roadblock that the gang members had hastily made. The truck stopped many miles down the road. Cole poked his head out the window, looking back at the smoke rising from the town he called home. Dropping out of the truck he walked around and inspected it for damage. Callum dropped out of the trailer and joined him.

“I guess Harry wasn’t lying when he said this thing could take a beating, huh?” he said. Cole nodded.

“Yeah. We’re going to have to stop and clean off the front of the truck at a lake or something.” Cole gestured towards the front of the truck. Callum rounded the vehicle, and once he saw the grill he turned around and vomited.

“No kidding.” He managed to say. Cole followed him to the front and analyzed the mess.

“Don’t worry about it. I threw up the first time I saw my first body. Although, the body I saw was still in one piece…” Cole looked down at Callum. “You still haven’t smelt your first battlefield, so this isn’t the last time you’ll lose your lunch. It only gets worse from here.” Cole said as he walked back towards the driver side door. Callum stood up and followed, pale.

“Yeah, well, I think it’s a little too late to go back now,” he said as Cole climbed into the truck’s cab. Cole looked back down at him.

“Ya don’t say,” he said, closing the door behind him. He watched Callum climb back into the trailer and started the engine. The truck whispered forwards. “Bloody thing isn’t intimidating through sound at all.” Cole muttered.

“I, for one, am glad that it doesn’t make any noise,” Cole looked behind himself in time to see Aria’s ears twitch. She was crouched in the umbilical tunnel between the truck and the trailer.

“Well, it doesn’t change much I suppose. Go get some rest. It’s a long drive,” Cole said. Aria tilted her head.

“Why did Callum throw up?” she asked.

“The front of the truck looks really nasty, and will start smelling terrible soon enough. I’m going to clean it off as soon as I get the chance. Until then I’m going to close the umbilical so the smell doesn’t get into the trailer,” Cole said. Aria nodded.

“Ok. But as soon as it’s night time, let me know. I’ll get someone to switch with you.” She offered. Cole shook his head.

“None of them know how to drive, never mind drive a truck this size,” Cole said. Aria shrugged.

“Then call me up and I’ll help keep you awake until you need to take a rest,” Aria said. Cole nodded.

“Ok. Until then, get some sleep. I’ll need you as awake as possible then,” Cole said. Aria didn’t move.

“You are going to wake me up when it’s night time, right?” she asked. Cole sighed.

“Yes. Now get back there. We’ll be reaching a body of water soon, so I’ll be able to clean the front before nightfall.” Aria nodded and returned to the trailer.

Cole looked down at the bucket and cloth in his gloved hands. He put them down and began the grisly work of cleaning the front of the truck. He started pulling out the pieces of people. The bars on the grill were spaced out far enough that limbs had gotten caught, and one whole person was stuck in it. Cole pulled off the person and dragged the body to the side of the water. The persons face was battered so badly that they were unrecognizable. He looked out at the crystal clear lake and the forest surrounding it.

Cole heard a gasp and the subsequent splats of vomit hitting the ground. Cole looked over to the group. Callum, Peter and Simon had gotten out of the trailer. They came over and wordlessly began helping Cole. They worked in silence, faces grim. Eventually, all of the body parts had been cleared and piled on the side of the road.

“You didn’t throw up?” Peter asked. Cole shook his head.

“No, I did not,” he said.

“How do you get used to this?” Simon muttered.

“You don’t. At least, you shouldn’t. Where we’re going, the crowd and I will be doing most of the dirty work. I’ll need you guys for everything else,” Cole said, tossing another bucket of water. He refilled the bucket, grabbed the cloth and finished wiping off the front of the truck. “Is there any more blood on any other part of the vehicle?” Callum shook his head.

“Naw, but there are pieces of wood from those roadblocks stuck in places. Want those pulled out?” Callum asked. Cole nodded. There was a sputtered gasp from the person that they’d assumed to be dead. Cole knelt next to him as the man started whispering. He leaned down and put his ear right above the man’s mouth. Cole slowly nodded and, pulling out his handle, he turned the weapon to its dagger setting and stabbed the man up through his side into his heart. He began the process of burning the body.

“Why are you giving him a burial? What did he do to deserve it?” Callum asked. Cole didn’t look at Peter, Simon and Callum when he spoke.

“He was born in Central. Just because he’s a gang member doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get a proper burial,” Cole said as he threw a match onto the body. The three got into the trailer and Cole got into the truck. The others didn’t need to know that he had run over a bystander.

“You didn’t wake me up,” Aria muttered as she climbed into the passenger seat.

“Sorry. It slipped my mind,” Cole said. They drove in silence for a while before Aria spoke up.

“So, the guys didn’t say anything about what had happened when they went to help you,” Aria started. Cole sighed, propping his elbow up on the window.

“It wasn’t an easy thing for them to see. I’m sure that you wouldn’t have wanted to talk about it either,” he said.

“So, what was it?” she asked.

“I don’t really want to describe it either,” he said. Aria rolled her eyes.

“I watched you kill an entire building of people, prop up their bodies, and write Your Fault in their blood on the wall of it only to personally lead the head of the group to the building and show it to him! What, do you think I can’t handle the description of what the front of the truck used to look like?” she yelled. Cole held fast.

“And have I ever talked about that night?” he yelled back. He lowered his voice when one of Aria’s ears turned towards the umbilical and the other flattened. “The answer is no. This is the first time I have talked about that night,” Cole said as he looked back at the road.

“But you think about it all the time. You smell different now than you did before that night, and you can’t look me in the eye anymore without me forcing you to,” she said.

“That’s because I’m afraid!” Cole exclaimed. Aria’s ears twitched.

“Of what?” she asked.

“I’m afraid of becoming a monster,” he said. Aria shook her head.

“I already told you. I don’t care if people call you a monster,” she said. Cole didn’t look at her.

“That’s because you don’t think I’m a monster yet. What happens when my friends find out about that night? What happens when they see me do what I need to do to beat Namhaid? What happens when I actually become a monster?” Cole said. Aria was silent. “What happens if I do that again, and I end up hurting one of you this time?”

“What happened that night was because you were highly emotionally stressed. You wouldn’t hurt any of us,” she said. Cole shook his head.

“Nobody would do what I did. There is something inside of me that I can’t control sometimes. I don’t want you or anybody else I care about to be on the receiving end of that,” Cole said. Silence reigned in the cab.

“Well, we’re here,” Cole said over the intercom as he parked the vehicle and trailer inside an abandoned factory building. Aria woke up, yawning. She hopped out of the truck and looked around.

“We’re staying here?” she asked.

“Well, we’ll be sleeping in the trailer, so it doesn’t really matter what’s outside of it,” he said. He dropped down to the factory floor and saw Aria’s ears pivot towards a door. She let out a soft growl. Cole pulled out the sword handle and got ready. The door slowly opened and a group of twenty people walked in, all ready for a fight. Cole set the handle for the plasma blade. Droplets of plasma dripped towards the ground, evaporating before they hit. Arik Lorne came through the door last.

“Come on, Swordsman. Is this any way to treat your father’s friends?” Cole let out a long a breath he didn’t know he was holding and put the blade away.

“Aria, get the others and set up the trailer. I’ve got to talk with Arik,” He whispered to Aria. She nodded and got into the trailer. “So, my father put you in charge out here?” he asked. Arik shook his head.

“No. I’m here to act as your guide and as your father’s representative for the revolutionaries here, which are the people that you see before you. They’ve got something to tell you,” Arik said.

“We’ve got something to show you,” a Terra with orange and black striped hair said. “Come with me,” Cole nodded.

“I’ve got something for you guys as well. There are some boxes of equipment in the trailer armoury. They’re marked,” Cole said. He turned to Arik. “Would you help Peter get them out of the trailer. The rest of what’s in there stays,” Cole said. The tiger lead him outside.

“So, what is it that you wanted to show me?” Cole asked.

“A few things. First, we’ll be stopping by the census offices, then the mining camps, and finally a parade,” he said. “You will understand when you see,” the tiger said.

“What should I call you?” Cole asked.

“Just call me Scout,” Scout said.

“Are you a leader, or is your name your title?” he asked. Scout shook his head solemnly.

“The less you know about who we are, the better off we’ll be. After we take down Namhaid, then I’ll tell you my real name,” he said.

Cole looked up at the brick building in front of him. The sign above the door read Census Offices in flowing font. Scout and Cole entered through the front door. Scout walked up to the receptionist. “Hey Charlotte. My friend and I are here to see Jerry,” he said. Charlotte nodded. She pressed a button under her desk and a little old human came over with a walker.

“Come with me,” he said. They followed him into his office. He closed the door behind them. “So, who’s the kid?” he asked. Scout smiled.

“He’s the Crimson Swordsman,” he said. The old man smiled.

“Well, Swordsman, you can call me Geriatric,” he said. “Or, Jerry for short,” Cole blinked.

“Doesn’t Geriatric mean old?” he asked. Jerry smiled.

“Yes, well, not too many people know that. Anyways, I’m sure you’re here to see the census papers, yes?” he asked. Scout nodded.

“Please,” he said. Jerry stood up and pulled open the top track of a cabinet. He lifted out three folders and placed them on his desk. He put his hand on the first one.

“This one is the records of the population, the middle one holds deaths per year, and the last one holds records of everyone that has come and gone from the town in the last five years. And this,” Jerry pulled out a fat folder from his desk, each page inside covered in names, “is all the names of the people that have disappeared over the last decade. Now, obviously some people just go missing, and some would have been able to make it out without being recorded, but there are just too many names on this list,” he said. Cole scanned the folder of names before skimming the other folders.

“You’re not wrong. They have disappeared. But there are so many of them, how would nobody be freaking out about this?” he asked. Jerry shrugged.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember any of the people on that list, but if they’re in the censuses then they must have been here,” Jerry said. Cole slowly nodded.

“I wonder where they went,” Cole mused. “So, what else is there to show me?”

“The mines, and the parade,” Scout said. Cole stood up.

“Then let’s go see what there is to see,”

©2017