The Night Shadow Page 6

  One of the Ivan’s stood up intimidatingly and quickly returned to his seat when Boe let out a snarl. “Will, I do not wish for an altercation with you.” Mason said loudly with his hands up in the air in a surrendering style motion. “My friends merely travel with me to my meetings with the council amongst the Brotherhood. We go up there quite a bit to try and negotiate the possibility of our people returning to the surface. They merely ensure my safety, which is something…you might want to start thinking about yourself.” Mason said in a menacing yet nice sort of way. A silence fell across the room and I can see a smirk on one of the Ivan’s face. “Look here.” I said as I stood straight up on my feet without a flicker of a grimace. Puffing my chest out and throwing my shoulders back I started to speak in a louder more severe tone. Extending my hand out in a point straight at Mason’s face with my elbow tucked in, I continued with my rant. Boe started a low growl in the bottom of his belly as he eyed the Ivan’s. “I don’t think you realize who I am. Let me fix this for you. If you ever… in any sort of way… threaten my life again or disrespect me. I’ll beat you within an inch of your life…right where you stand. And Ivan…I’m about to have Boe rip that ridiculous smirk off your old saggy face. Don’t test me. Many have tried and many have failed. I accept your offer under one condition. Fuel… You have it I need it. I’ll hand you over the Uppers on your word that you will ensure I make it home as soon as the deal transpires.” Mason had a furious, surprised look of a man that had never been threatened before on his face. I could tell he was aside himself. Yet, through all this I can see a smile starting to appear at the corners of his mouth. A fake smile.

  “Absolutely…Sounds like a plan. Swell then. We have come up with different power sources over the years I am sure we can whip something up for you. But you will leave as soon as as you receive the fuel.” Mason spoke in a soft defeated voice. He turned heel and began to walk towards the door. “Mason.” I stopped him in his tracks. Slowly Mason turned around and looked at me clearly agitated. “Yes, Will.” Mason said disgusted. “What can you tell me about the Brotherhood?” “Oh Will, don’t you concern yourself with the Brotherhood. They are untouchable…Brilliant…you won’t be meeting any of them anytime soon. I assure you.” Mason said with a smirk on his face. Turning to leave for the last time I hit him with another one. “What about Tansa…does that name ring a bell? Man named Belver perhaps. Showed up here about twenty years ago on a ship like me.” I saw a flash of panic come across the Ivan’s faces and then immediately disappeared. Mason, whose face had not changed at all in the past forty five seconds remained solemnly straight.

  “The Brotherhood showed up about twenty years ago. I never heard of a man by that name. However, it was rumored they lost a guy on arrival. Terribly sick he was. As for the other…Ansa was it? Never heard of it. No bells ringing here…if you don’t mind.” Mason said clearly done with our conversation as he turned and rushed out the door. “Tell Cory I want to see him on your way out please.” I called out after him. Once the blonde Ivan slammed the door shut I collapsed down onto my chair and could feel the blood oozing out of my chest. Pain shot all throughout my body.

  Cory entered the room immediately after Mason made his exit from the house. “Cory, one thing sir…Why is there…shit on my chest? I just have to ask. I’m all for you healing me, but this is just uh, well it’s too much.” Cory started laughing. The first laugh I had seen since the base fell a few months back. We both couldn’t stop laughing, apparently we both needed it. “Not just poop, Will. It’s droppings from a bat called an Ambiguan. It’s only been physically seen a handful of times. Its home is located high up in the mountains. We take the droppings; mix it with a little herb, mud and spices. It’s a great healing agent, and I am afraid you have the last of it in your wound there.” Cory and I laughed for a few more moments and then he turned to leave me for the night. “Before you go, real quick. Can you bring me a cookie in the morning? I kind of have been craving one.” Cory looked at me bewildered. “What’s a Cookie?” He asked. “Never mind brother, I’ll see you in the morning. On his way out the door I called out, “Cory, I’m going to need soldiers. Let him know that. Good ones. Also, we’re going to need someone to lead them. I’m going to need him here first thing in the morning.” Cory grunted off in the back ground. I take that as an ‘ok’. I had a lot of planning to do and it was getting late. Even though I had been asleep for a week, I felt as if I hadn’t slept in a month.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Friends”

  The morning came sooner than I had expected and the knock on the door made me jump a good foot in the air. I didn’t hear this guy even come into the house and yet here he was knocking at my door. Either he was very sneaky or I was just getting old and have lost my touch. Maybe they actually sent me someone I could work with. The door opened and in walked the scrawniest guy I think I have ever seen; this was bad even for their standards. They must have obviously taken me as a joke.

  This was not a good start to a morning. Nerdy kid…no cookie. I don’t know why I keep expecting a cookie to waltz into my room, and dance on my bunk, but I do none the less. The scrawny man came in and introduced himself to me, “My name is Gerald, and I have been told I will be working with you on this new task.” He came in and sat down next to Boe, who was looking at him just as astonished as I was. He just sat there and stared at me with his legs crossed.

  Gerald stood about five nine and had a slight cross to his eyes. He had dark shaggy hair that covered his eyes which I was assuming were a dark brown. One word described this kid…goof ball. Gerald sat there for almost ten minutes as I looked him over, not saying a word, not looking uncomfortable at all. He acted like he does this every day. Like he just waltzes into random people’s houses and just stares at them for no reason at all. It’s kind of creepy actually now that I think of it. I broke the silence. “Ok, here is the deal, there is going to be a fight soon. And you are going to be in it. You are going to lead it with my help. I am not going to be up and around for probably another three weeks. So you have until then to finish the tasks at which I assign you. You will do what I say, when I say it, no questions asked. Do you understand?” He nodded in compliance. At least he didn’t complain. I wonder if knows how to talk. I wonder if he is mentally retarded…I would be so pissed if he was. Not that it would be this kids fault of course, but that being the guy they sent me…come on.

  I carried on firmly. “I am going to need twenty men. Twenty able men, that is. Not old man Johnson that lives down by the rock, selling pottery. I need strong men. All of your hunting party that remains, and possibly every kid that has ever beaten you up.” I gave him a second to take it in. I didn’t know if this kid was stupid or smart, he just stared at me. I took that as a ‘yes I got you’ and continued on. “I’m also going to need some maps, we need to know exactly where this man Q lives, how far it is from here, and how many people protect him. I will need a drawn out diagram of his land and the surrounding towns. I will need routes in and out of this place and I will need a group of ten men ready to go out on a reconnaissance party in three weeks. These men need to be able to run fast and be able to walk for days if the case calls for it. Can you do that for me Paco?” Gerald nodded, got up and left just as quickly and quietly as he came. I couldn’t tell you if he was tracking or not. I guess we will see in three weeks.

  Cory came in roughly two hours later with a plate of food and a bowl made just for Boe. “How do we know that you’re not going to run the first chance you get when you’re back up top, Will?” he asked me as he stood watching the two of us eat breakfast…which still consisted of NO cookie. “Well, buddy, you don’t. But I do say this. Doing this for you gets me home, and I assure you that I want to be gone just as soon, if not sooner, than you want me gone. Can I be up in running in three weeks?” I asked him. I was more so giving him a deadline and not looking for his recommendation. “Three weeks and you’re running again. Promise” he rep
lied. “So, what do we have for weaponry around here? I’m going to need supplies; can I count on you for that too?” I asked. He nodded and left the room. Apparently no one wants to just sit down and talk.

  All I wanted right now was for someone to come in and just talk for a while. Play some cards or something. Maybe someone to just ask me how I was feeling for a change. I knew that I couldn’t leave the bed for at least another week, but I was determined to not lose my sanity in someone’s shabby little hut in the middle of a cave. I found a small rubbery type ball under the bed that Boe had been chewing on. I played a good game of wall ball for about an hour until Boe and I both lost interest. Wall ball is a good game to pass the time. Trying to throw the ball and hit as many corners of the room as possible while still being able to catch it. There are many different variations of the game, but this one was my favorite.

  Well, it was my favorite…before I got gut stabbed and now can’t move around too much without bleeding. Boe gets a good kick out of it though, bringing the rock back to me when it hit the ground or fell outside of my reach. I guess Boe grew tiresome of fetching my balls and being forced to give it up. I threw the ball one last time, Boe jumped up, caught it in his mouth and went underneath my bunk. I yelled for Cory to come in, it was definitely story time. Play some marbles or something. I was going to go crazy here.

  Cory came in looking quite agitated at being at my beck and call. These people didn’t seem like bad people. I usually get a vibe off people and can read them very quickly. I can usually tell their intentions, whether they be good or bad.

  “Cory tell me about yourself sir, where are you from?” I asked in a caring manner. I wanted this man to know I can be trusted. If he trusts me then they will trust me. I know he reports to Mason most likely on a daily basis. Besides, I’m pretty bored. Cory sighed and answered. “I grew up quite a ways away from here actually. I was eleven when all the fighting started and we moved down here. Then my dad built this house and I have been here ever since.” Cory started to turn to walk away. “Look man, I know you have so many other things to do right now…but I really want to get to know you. You’re stuck here watching me, so you might as well get to know me. I’m not saying you have to like me…just know me.” Cory turned back around came in next to my bed and took a seat. “Look Will, My Mom and Dad died in this fight. It’s a losing game. I don’t see that you’re going to make a difference so I might as well not get to know you. You won’t be around for too much longer anyways.” Cory stared into my eyes with a whole heartedly look of sadness in his face.

  “Tell me about your dad, what was he like?” I asked Cory, I had to get through to this man somehow. “My dad was a fool, a good man nonetheless, but a fool. It never sat right with him that we had to stay in the caves while everyone else got to live happy and carefree up there. He grew angrier as the years passed. His brother was in the group of families that got banned. We would have been with him if it wasn’t for Mom, she always had a way of keeping Dad grounded to reality. He was strong, brave and a hell of a lot better cook than I was. I was fifteen when they died and had to tend to myself. Cooking vittles was no easy task when you haven’t done much but gone to school.” Cory stared into the ground and was fiddling with his moccasin shoe lace. “How did they die, Cory?” I asked in a soft concerned whisper. “Well, Dad got fed up one day after I got real sick. He took off to Mason and demanded that something be done. He figured fine if we can’t go outside here, why not move farther away. At least we would be outside there. He fought with mom for hours about it, and he promised he would be civil to Mason if he was granted the permission to talk to him. That was the last time I ever saw him. Mason held a town meeting a few days later and had said one of us had run out to the uppers to pick a fight. He didn’t make it and it had caused more ruckus for us and for his disobedience our food was cut off for a while. Mason said he was tired of people taking it upon themselves to get things done. All it did was cause grief and I got sicker. Mom couldn’t take it and she jumped…into the river outside our perimeter. It’s quite a fall and there is no way she would have survived it. She was mad with grief though, I can’t say I blame her.” Cory stopped fidgeting with his shoe lace and just stared at Boe, lost in his memories.

  “Look bud, your Dad was no fool. He was a patriot. Sometimes it takes those types of people to actually make things happen. In my world, we have many men like that. The problem is, when one man stands up for what is right it causes a small ruckus and gets shut down immediately. However, when many men stand up together for a common good…it causes change. It forces the people to look at what the problem is in the here and now, and do something about it. A revolution… An uprising if you will. It’s the same back home, everyone wants to sit and complain about how things are being run. They want to nag about how bad things have gotten. But no one wants to join hands together and stand up and say enough is enough.” Cory started to move his head upward and make eye contact with me. He didn’t look shocked that I had said this. He actually almost seemed relieved. Like he was reluctant but forced to say these things about the man who raised him.

  “My father…was another stubborn man. He had that same attitude. A patriot. He stood for what was right no matter the cost. He stood with a hundred men against unimaginable odds. He would travel the world all the time facing evil men, doing his best to right what was wronged. His theory was that someone had to stand on that wall to defend our nation. To defend our children…to defend me and my brothers. If he fought that fight away from home we wouldn’t see bloodshed in our streets. We were free to go to school and do as we please. Along the way he got shot multiple times and barely escaped with his life. That man may be a fool, but who isn’t Cory. That man is my ultimate hero and he always will be. If I could only live to be half the man he was, have half the bravery and courage that man possessed…I would be doing alright. If those men were fools bud, then I am quite the fool myself.” Now it was my turn to look down at the ground, remembering Dad coming and going all the time. I was always angry too. Cory said nothing. “You know, I was always mad at him too. We never got along to say the least. The guy was always gone, and when he would come home…he was ruthless. It took me becoming a soldier myself to understand why he was the way he was. The things he had to go through to protect me. It changes people you know. Now, I can’t believe I ever was mad at the man. Now, I won’t ever get the chance to tell him that I actually love him and that I’m proud for all that he has done and sacrificed.”

  There was a good ten minute moment of reflection in the room when Boe had let out a sigh that broke the silence. “Will, you’re not half bad you know. You have morals. That’s good.” Cory said with a sound of relief in his tone. “Well, you’re not half bad yourself. They have a saying where I come from. Freedom isn’t free. And how true is that saying. You and your people want freedom so bad but won’t stand up together in unison for it. I may be able to get you on the surface, but rest assured the time will come when you’re going to have to fight to stay there. Trust me, I don’t enjoy killing. It’s not really my thing. I would rather settle our differences over a drink. But the world doesn’t work that way. And it takes men like your father, mine and myself to make things happen. One day it might take you, Cory” Cory stood up and stretched his arms into the air. Looking at him now in better light I would have to say that he is around his mid-twenties. “You know Will, when that day comes…it will be a happy one.”

  Cory and I exchanged stories of us growing up for another two hours before he stood up and called it a night. “You know, class starts tomorrow for the kids. If you would like to, you can join me. I usually head down there and check on all the villagers. It would do you some good to get out and stretch your legs a little bit. I don’t feel like you are a major threat to our community. I feel like you would rather enjoy yourself. You might even be lucky enough to get some actual good chow instead of my own home cooking disaster. It would be nice for you t
o see what you’re going to be fighting for.” I nodded in reply and made him promise he would wake me up in time to leave. Cory walked out of the room, paused in front of Boe and scratched him behind his ears. Boe’s heavy tail started smashing and beating the wall making all kinds of noise. “Dumb dog… cute though. “ Cory whispered to him as he left the door with a smile on his face.

  After petting Boe for another hour, he finally grew weary, jumped off the bed and took up his post underneath my bunk. Now I was utterly alone again. Seeing as no one wanted to hang out any more, I decided I would go and take my nap. It has been forever since I was able to sleep with no worries. I was pretty excited about the next day’s little field trip. I felt like a kid getting ready for his first day of school, not knowing whether to be excited or fearful for the unknowing trials that lay ahead. I had been in my fair share of new schools and have somehow survived them all, so I decided to go with “excited,” and call it a night.