The Dark Heart of War

The breeze whistled as it twisted its way through the stark tree branches, prompting a stray dried leaf to float towards the ground. Faint sunlight streamed down from the gray sky, bathing the forest floor in dappled shadows. As her wispy brunette hair whipped across her face, a small-framed girl crouched among the bushes, utilizing the thicket as cover. The world was cold and still, aside from the gusts of wind that would occasionally ravage the landscape around her. She had grown accustomed to this lonely reality.

Shouts suddenly filled the air, disrupting the tranquil scene that the girl had almost fooled herself into believing could last. Dread flooded her as the aggressive voices neared. Her muscles tensed, triggering a dull ache that stemmed from the exertion she had forced upon herself the day before.

“Raina!”

The girl’s eyes widened when a familiar voice reached her, but before she could react, a motorcycle crashed through the brush, skidding to a stop beside her.

“We need to go,” a dark-haired boy asserted, his intense eyes landing on her. He quickly glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the soldiers.

Without question, Raina hopped on to the back of the bike, clinging to him as the boy pulled away from her hiding place.

“Thanks, Luka,” she released a breath, relief washing over her as the angry shouting rapidly faded from behind them.

After several minutes of racing through the forest, the motorcycle emerged from the treeline and entered a large field bordered by snow-capped mountains that stretched into the sky. It was the most breathtaking scene Raina had witnessed since the day the incessant attacks began.

Luka allowed the motorcycle to slow to a stop before hopping off and whirling around to face Raina, his arms crossed over his chest. “Why the hell are they chasing you?” he demanded.

“I don’t know,” Raina blinked, slipping her hand into her pocket. Her fingers searched through the cloth lining until they brushed across the smooth surface of a gold locket. The corner of her mouth twitched in satisfaction as she twisted the piece of jewelry around in her hand.

“Stop lying to me, Raina,” Luka insisted. “I’m your brother. We tell each other everything.” He suddenly pressed his lips together in a tight line. After a moment, he trained his bright blue eyes on Raina’s darker sapphire ones, his expression soft, “You are the only thing I can count on. The neighboring nations have all but demolished our home.”

Her gaze dropped to the ground, guilt washing over her. She shouldn’t have dragged her brother into this situation.

“Raina, please. Tell me why the soldiers were targeting you. I heard them shouting about a small girl with brown hair that had something they wanted,” Luka stared down at her expectantly.

“Because…” she hesitated before fishing the locket out of her pocket and holding it up so that it dangled between them. “I stole this.”

The gold, heart-shaped locket slowly twirled in the air, reflecting the sunlight each time it rotated. There was a small engraving on the front, but it was written in a language that the siblings didn’t speak.

“Yes, you did,” a dark voice trickled out from behind them, causing Raina to whirl around. She felt Luka stiffen beside her, his hand instinctively dropping to the gun on his waist. “Now we want it back.”

Raina scrambled to grab anything she could use as a weapon, but the burly man before her was too quick. She stumbled back, keeping space between them. “Why do you even want this locket? It’s just a useless piece of jewelry.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” the man sneered, raising a shotgun until it was level with Raina’s eyes. “That locket is the reason we ruined your country. It contains something very important to us. It controls the micro-” he paused, “Just hand it over or you’re dead.”

A loud pang resonated through the air, accompanied by Raina squeezing her eyes closed. When no pain arrived, she cracked open one of her eyes to watch the man stumble forward and fall with a thud.

“Come on,” Luka called, lowering the gun he had just fired and extending his hand towards her. They jumped on the motorcycle and sped away towards the mountains across the meadow. He steered the bike towards a small ridge, bordered by a rocky wall on one side, and a steep drop off on the other. Raina began to notice the ground around them shuttering and the wind violently picking up, causing her to shield her eyes and glance upwards.

Just above them, a sleek helicopter was hovering in the air, its blades creating an ear-splitting thumping noise in their ears. Luka doubled their speed, tearing across the rugged terrain. “A tunnel,” he announced, though she could barely make out his low voice over the noise. She followed his gaze to the dark cavern ahead of them, fear gripping her heart.

“What if that’s a dead end?” she shrieked, digging her nails into his crumpled jacket as the cave quickly approached.

“Then it’s over,” Luka muttered just before the motorcycle was engulfed in darkness. The deafening sound of the chopper was replaced by echoes of the wheels spinning across the earth. After several minutes, he pulled into an open area of the tunnel and let out a sigh of relief.

“We made it,” Raina breathed, a humorless laugh escaping her lips.

“Now, I think it’s pretty clear what we need to do,” Luka raised his eyebrows, stepping off of the bike and falling back onto the cool ground. “We need to find out what secrets that locket holds.”

Raina sat across from him on the cave floor, pulling the piece of gold out and setting it down between them. “I only stole it because I assumed it was valuable,” she admitted, her voice bouncing off of the walls around her. “I spied on their campsite yesterday and noticed how much they all coveted the locket. They were treasuring it in a way that seemed absurd to me. So when their backs were turned, I snatched it.”

Luka nodded pensively, “It turns out, this tiny locket is the key to their entire operation.” He shuffled his fingers for a moment before reaching out and retrieving the necklace. He studied the locket, turning it over in his palm numerous times.

“Why don’t you just open it?’ Raina suggested, her voice colored with sarcasm.

“It’s locked,” he shot a glare back at her before placing it back on the ground.

Frowning, Raina glanced around, her fingers skimming over the dirt as she searched for a tool to aid them. Finally, she found a sizable rock and grabbed it. “This might do the job,” she exclaimed, raising the stone and thrusting it down on the locket, crushing it beneath the force.

Though tattered and crumpled in on one corner, the heart-shaped locket was still intact. What could be so special about this piece of jewelry that an entire world could go to war over it?

“Stand back,” Luka ordered, climbing to his feet and slipping his gun out of its holster. He lined the barrel up with the locket on the ground, and pulled the trigger, releasing a bullet that shattered the air around them with a bang.

Raina had her palms pressed against her ears, wincing as the gunshot rang out around the cave. She was about to hurl an insult in his direction, poking at the fact that his idea was no better than hers, until she noticed a crack along the side of its face.

“It worked!” she realized, disbelief dripping from her words.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” her brother rolled his eyes and settled back on the ground. The motorcycle’s headlight was positioned so it was illuminating the small space as they stared down at the mysterious locket resting between them.

“I’m not sure I want to know what’s inside,” Raina’s rasped, her voice betraying her uncertainty.

“I don’t know if I want to either,” Luka swallowed, stretching his arm towards the small piece of gold. “Whatever is inside this locket will change everything.”

Silence draped over them as Luka carefully slid his thumbnail between the pieces of the locket. With one swift movement, he flicked his thumb upwards, unlatching the clasp and flinging the top of the locket open. He drew in a sharp breath of air, inciting panic within Raina. Her stomach began to churn as she impatiently awaited her brother’s verdict of what the locket contained.

His eyebrows pulled together with concern as he concentrated on the contents of the locket. He ran his thumb across the rim before finally meeting his sister’s curious gaze. “Raina, there are two buttons. One is blue and one is green. They’re tiny.”

Raina rested her fingers on her temple, her mind racing through the possibilities. “Buttons? There’s no way that they would have functions. This locket isn’t connected to anything. The most they could do is play some music, possibly.”

“Or,” Luka countered, “These buttons represent the two neighboring nations.”

Raina tilted her head, pursing her lips at his theory.

“Listen, it makes sense. Our country’s flag is covered in blue. The neighboring nation’s primary color is green. What if...these buttons are linked to us?” Luka explained, his voice beginning to rush through the sentences with anticipation.

Just then, a large engine revved through the tunnel, causing Luka and Raina to exchange an anxious look. The sound increased exponentially until a bright light flooded the tunnel leading up to them. Luka grabbed Raina’s wrist and pulled her towards the other side of the tunnel. They rounded a corner, only to nearly crash into a soldier’s chest. Luka stepped in front of Raina and his arm flashed backwards to usher her in the direction they had arrived from. More guards poured into view from behind the soldier until the siblings were surrounded. Raina gritted her teeth while assessing the hopeless situation. They were outnumbered with various weapons pointed at them from all angles.

Wordlessly, Luka slipped his hand into Raina’s and squeezed. Small tears threatened to spill over the lids of her eyes as they gathered silently.

“We are only going to ask one more time,” the soldier in front growled. “Where is the locket?”

“Go to hell,” Luka spat, releasing Raina’s hand and throwing his fist towards the soldier’s abdomen. The soldier doubled over in pain and a swarm of guards rushed around him, one slamming Luka into the wall. His assailant pressed his forearm into Luka’s chest as he struggled to escape his grip.

“Luka!” Raina cried, her fingers curling into tight fists. Suddenly, she realized a small item was tucked into her palm, digging into her skin. Luka must have given me the locket, she recalled. The soldiers were focused on her brother, shouting demands at him to give up the location of the locket. While they were distracted, she raised the small heart-shaped piece of jewelry and carefully flicked it open. Holding her breath, she placed her quivering thumb on top of the green button. The guard holding her brother slammed him against the wall once more, sparking a burst of rage within her. She pressed down, narrowing her eyes at the soldiers. Here goes nothing.

Disappointment consumed her as they continued to hurl threats at Luka. The soldier he had punched finally stepped forward, his eyes devoid of emotion. “Time to end this,” he drawled, lifting a handgun and pressing it against Luka’s forehead. Raina’s eyes widened with terror and she prepared to leap towards her brother’s assailant. Before she could act, the man suddenly began wheezing. All around, the soldiers stumbled and sputtered violently, until each of them crashed to the ground, leaving behind only lifeless corpses within the span of a few moments.

Luka’s shocked eyes met Raina’s. A single tear escaped as she croaked, “Did I just kill them all with the press of a button?”