Beyond Armageddon: Book 03 - Parallels (40 page)

Trevor stepped over those bodies with his bayonet pointed down, waiting to spot movement and eager to put an end to any Chaktaw that still breathed. He stopped his work to eye a soldier leading three unarmed enemies away.

"Hey! Whoa! What’s this?"

The soldier answered, "Prisoners, sir."

Stone pulled his side arm. "Prisoners?
Fuuuck
that."

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Trevor holstered his gun and tried to get back to work but Nina approached with a question. "What do we do with the bodies?"
            As Trevor answered, he made sure his voice carried to any within earshot.

"We take our dead home. No one gets left behind, understand?"

Trevor emphasized his point by making eye contact with as many of soldiers as he could.

She asked, "And the Chaktaw?"

He thought for a moment. He thought about how The Committee's ineptitude had taught the Chaktaw they could attack Thebes with impunity. He thought about humanity down to one last city; humanity trapped in a corner seemingly on the verge of total collapse.

Whatever mistakes his predecessor had made on this world, this Trevor would not do the same. It was time the Chaktaw and their ilk understood that Thebes would no longer be an easy target.

He told her, "I have an idea…"

…The men worked. They smashed the Chaktaw’s carts and wagons into wood beams and metal poles and found straps, rope, and cord to bind and secure. They hammered and built and hoisted as the afternoon grew long and as the sun dropped toward horizon. The sound of their construction echoed over the quarry walls.

All the while Reverend Johnny watched. He watched with an expression that morphed from disbelief into shock into horror. He could not even register a protest to Trevor, for he feared what the response might be.

As the last light of day turned orange and flickered away behind the horizon ray by ray, Trevor’s masterpiece was complete.

While the armored vehicles and buggies loaded supplies and people and bodies in preparation for the return trip, Trevor and Nina stood in the shadows of his creation.

"So, what is it?" She asked.

Trevor told her the truth.

"A warning."

His answer complete, he walked over to their buggy and climbed in the passenger’s seat. Reverend Johnny sat silent in the back.

Major
Forest took one last look at what Trevor had constructed, then drove them away in the direction of Thebes; in the direction home.

They left behind the bodies of the Chaktaw, eviscerated bodies hanging upside down in the twilight; blood and gore dripping; arms dangling toward the ground and secured to roughshod crucifixes made of wood and metal.

Hundreds of them, lined together row upon row along the ridges of the quarry. On display for all to see. For all to know.

For all to fear.

"The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the Red Death."

--
The Masque of the Red Death,
Edgar Allan Poe

Stone had expected a platoon of The Committee’s guards to arrest him at the city limits. Instead, his welcome-home party consisted of enthusiastic soldiers including many of the wounded who had survived the Chaktaw assault on the northern perimeter earlier that day.

While they represented only a tiny fraction of Thebes, the crowd would carry their enthusiasm across the city. This day's victory would join with the renewed spirit at the training facilities and the story of a destroyed Geryon Battleship to create a wave of momentum. More disillusioned, unfocused soldiers would change into willing warriors.

Of course, more people would wonder, who is this man? He resembles their Trevor Stone. Perhaps he would let them believe he was a resurrection, or maybe he would share the story of his own world to more than the select units Nina said knew his true origins. Only time would tell how to handle that thorny issue, but he would choose whatever solution would best serve the cause of victory.

After returning the armada of vehicles to the motor pool, Trevor, Nina, and Johnny slipped into a sedan to return to their dormitory. As they drove along the dimly-lit streets, Trevor's mind turned from the long term to more immediate concerns.

"I expect to hear from The Committee soon."

Nina, driving the car, answered, "We could hide you for a while. I know some places you could stay where they won't find you, at least until we think of something."

Trevor glanced at Reverend Johnny. His friend rode in silence, staring out at the passing scenery. Trevor felt him seethe with disapproval.

He ignored the Rev for the moment and said to Nina, "I'm not hiding. Let them come and get me. If they want a confrontation on this, I'll give it to them; nice and loud and for the whole city to hear."

"They're cowards, Trevor, but they're not stupid. I'd be surprised if they allow you any sort of platform. But honestly, they're probably so shocked at this that it'll take them a day or two to figure out what to do. "

He did not respond directly to her. Instead, he waved at the city around them and said, "Look at this. Everything is dark. It's like a big tomb around here."

"Regulations," she said. "After dark The Committee must authorize any external lighting. They don't want to attract attention."

"That has to change. No more defeatism. That's what today was about."

That finally drew Reverend Johnny into the conversation.

"Today was about reversing defeatism, is that what you are saying?"

Trevor replied, "I suppose you don’t approve of the warning I left behind. I did it for a reason."

"Yes, of course. I’m sure you have lots of reasons for all that you are doing here. Justification is in great supply, I see."

"I did what I had to do. What I always do. You see how things are here, Rev. You see these people with their backs against the wall. If we don’t strike back, we’ll be dead."

"No, Trevor. If THEY don’t strike back they will be dead. This is their world, not ours. We are interlopers. We should not be here."

Trevor ignored the substance of Johnny’s rebuttal and repeated, "I did what I had to do."

The other man seized on that idea. "You always do what you have to do, don’t you?"

"Yes."

"Today was no different. Brutal. But no different. Right?"

"That’s right, Rev," Stone looked out the window as if he wanted nothing more to do with the conversation he started. "I did what had to be done for the sake of all of us."

Nina jumped in, "Our boys needed to see something like that today, you know?"

Johnny ignored her. "And you feel no remorse over today’s carnage? Not a hint of guilt?"

"Why should I? They’re aliens."

"Yes, of course, they threatened humanity."
            "Yes."

"They could have overrun us."

"That’s right."

"So you had to hang their bodies from crosses."

A military vehicle passed going in the opposite direction. Its heavy engine rumbled through the cabin of the sedan as it trucked by.

"It was…it was a warning."

"Right. A warning to all those who would oppose Trevor Stone."

Trevor’s eyes grew wide and he shot, "How dare you! Those were alien bastards who were one good attack away from wiping mankind off this planet! Can’t you understand that?"

"I understand how much pleasure you took in your work today. Look at you; you’re still covered in blood. Your hands are red. You have not even paused to wash them. You enjoyed it, Trevor. You enjoyed killing them without mercy."

"How many of our enemies did you slaughter without mercy, Reverend? If I recall correctly, you’ve had your own uses for crucifixes in the past."

Johnny did not stumble. Nina’s eyes glanced in the rearview mirror and studied the Reverend apprehensively.

"Yes. I have taken great misery to my enemies. I have visited death to them in countless ways. I have been overcome with blood rage on many occasions."

"You see. No different."

"I agree, Trevor. No different. What I saw today was as horrific as the vengeance I visited upon those who killed my family. Congratulations, you were able to summon such darkness for your victims even without losing your wife and daughter. Why, it seemed second nature to you."

Trevor did not know how to answer Johnny. He did not know why he felt an overwhelming desire to find—

--justification—

--an answer.

"I did what I had to do."

"Yes, yes, I’ve heard that excuse already, Mr. Stone. Tell me, now that you have shown how far you feel you have to go, tell me how more than a year of retrospect has played on your conscience. Tell me how you feel about New Winnabow."

"How I…how I feel about…what does that have to do with anything?"

The Major asked, "Who’s New Winnabow?"

"Trevor Stone unleashed an army of his personal avenging demons onto a town that interfered with our military plans; a town of human beings who had refused passage to our forces on the grounds that they were pacifists. Trevor labored to reach an agreement, but when they showed their stubborn pride he visited great destruction unto them."

Trevor ringed his hands.

Nina said, "Sounds to me like it was justified. You have to do what needs to be done. It’s a war and all, you know?"

"I am not surprised by your opinion on the matter. And indeed, Ms. Forest, I share your evaluation to some degree. But for my friend Trevor Stone, it was a decision he did not make lightly. It was a decision that struck a blow to his very soul. He never—"

"They deserved it."

Silence for a moment, and then he went on, "They were stubborn. They were unreasonable."

Trevor stared out the window at the hiding city.

"You must feel a great burden lifted from your shoulders. In some ways, I am thankful for that," Reverend Johnny spoke soft to his friend and leader.

            "What? What do you mean by that?"

            "You have been absorbed in guilt ever since you made that decision. But now, now you are absolving yourself of that guilt. Throwing away your conscience makes things easier, of that I am sure."

            "You’re talking nonsense."

            "I second that," Nina added.

            The Reverend spoke in barely a whisper; a whisper laced with sadness, as if Johnny spoke of a deceased friend. "This world is having a strange effect on you, Trevor. It is bringing out a side of you that you had previously kept in a cage. I remember when you were saddened by the idea that your life would be one of killing and destruction. Now it seems as if you are embracing your fate with welcoming arms."

"Reverend, I’m trying to remember that we’re friends. I think—"

            "We’re here," Nina interrupted as she pulled the sedan to the curb outside the hotel.

            "Trevor," Nina turned in her seat to speak. Johnny grunted, opened the side door, and left his friend and the Major alone inside the car.

            "Here," Nina handed Stone a key card. "This is for the penthouse on the top floor. It was…it was your room at one time."

            "You mean
his
room. The other Trevor."

            She nodded. "It’s yours now. That is, for as long as you’re here. You’ll find some clothes that should fit you. Try them on."

"Clothes? I figured I’d shower and change into a new battle suit. Seems like that’s all I’ll be wearing for a long time."

            His tone suggested that perhaps the Reverend’s words had scored a hit or two in Trevor’s psyche. Nina did not seem comfortable with that.

            "Hey, no, we’re not all about fighting around here. Put something sharp on. After what happened today, well, it’s party time."

            "Party time? Is that your way of saying The Committee will be sending someone over to arrest me?"

            She shook her head. "I told you, they move real slow. And they’re cowards. I don’t know…after what happened today I don’t know if they’ll have the balls to stand up to you. The most they’ll do is send you a memo."

            "I guess I’m making more impressions, huh?"
            She smiled. "Just put something cool on. When you’re ready, c’mon down to the front entrance. I’ll have a car waiting for you."

            "A…party?" He was not sure she had been serious.

            "Yeah. I mean, I told you, the Trevor Stone I remember fought hard and partied hard. I got to believe you guys had a lot more in common."