The Crow (Part 5)

Chapter 5

i

Lieutenant Randy Burns and I sat in plush chairs in his office. We clinked our glasses (which were holding a beer) and stared out the window. “Those fucking rebels,” Randy muttered frustratedly. “Forming fucking clans, and why? For what purpose?” He took a sip of his drink and continued to stare out the window. I stared out the window, too. Randy swept his searching eyes to me and asked, “Have you heard what they do to people like us?” I nodded slowly. I heard rumors going around.

“They actually use nine-inch nails. How ‘bout that for crazy?”

I said nothing.

The Lieutenant continued. “And now, with all this fighting, who knows what will happen next? These clans are a problem, and what they do . . . that’s just fucking nonhuman shit!”

I said nothing.

“We need to get our shit together if we’re gonna survive,” Randy finished.

“What happens if they get a hold of one of ‘em A-bombs?”

“What can we do?” I point out.

“We’re in a small community.”

Randy thought about it. “We could leave. They threatened our community.”

“Where would we go? Don’t you think that everywhere this could be happening?”

Randy looked uncertain. “Well . . .”

I interrupted. I think we’ll be fine in the time being.” I paused, thinking for a moment. “We could use a little militia.”

Randy said, “We’re already using Martial Law. Why the fuck not?” Something exploded in the distance. Randy and I looked at each other in silence.

ii

“We need men; men willing to fight for our town!”

Randy looked around the courtroom at all the faces of the young and old. Rand called the meeting, and since I was officially a member of the New City community, I was invited to join the meeting. A hand hesitated in mid-air and then raised with a purpose. “I-I’d like to join.”

Randy looked pleased.

“Please come up here and join me.” We waited as a young man who was barely twenty-five from the look of it came up the aisle. Randy held his hand out. “What’s your name, lad?”

The young man said, “John. John Witman.”

Randy pumped John’s hand exactly three times and let go. “Glad you can join me, John.” He turned back to us. “Is there anyone else? No army is made of just one person.” Several hands went up immediately then at least two dozen more. Overall, at least forty hands went up. Myself included. Kelly tried to put my hand down.

“No!” she hissed. “You’ll get killed!”

“Honey, I have to protect you, and this is the best way.”

Randy looked at me sympathetically. “I can see you’ll probably need to talk about it between y'all some.”

Boy howdy. Kelly Morgan was like one of those burglary alarm signs that basically say ‘Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?’. Handle with caution. She might explode.

iii

Indeed she did explode. “No! You are not going, and that’s that. Good night.” She began to walk away, but I grabbed her arm and turned her toward me.

“Can’t we at least talk about this?” I asked.

“Why, so I can send the man I love off to go fight some clinically insane people and get shot? No!”

I countered, “If it’s the best way to keep you safe, then yes. I need to go.”

“And suppose you get caught and taken prisoner? What then? They’ll fucking crucify you, Ryan, don’t you see?”

I hugged her close to me. “I’ll be fine. I have to.” She hugged me back fiercely, finally giving in. “Promise me. Promise me you’ll come back. Promise!”

“I promise.”

Kelly looked up into my eyes. “I guess that’ll just have to be enough, huh?”

“Kelly—”

She held up a hand. “Let’s go to bed.”

Once we were in bed, and we turned out the light, I said, “Everything is going to be alright.”

Kelly looked at me with sad, solemn eyes. “I don't think it will be.” She shook her head. “Not for a long time.”

iv

We all stood in line with our backs straight and chests puffed out. Lieutenant Randy and General Elizik Vince were pacing in front of us. We went outside. The sun dropped its golden rays of light, puddling on the ground. The smell of flowers and Spring filled the air. Birds sang sweet tones, and the wind blew gentle breezes, stirring up the leaves that littered the ground.

“Today, gentlemen, we will be doing target practice getting you used to some real weapons,” General Elizik declared.

“Sir, yes sir!” We all yelled and then cracked up. It was like we were in a movie.

“Silence!” General Elizik bellowed. “This is serious!”

We all quieted. Elizik gave a note of satisfaction. Three tables lay in front of us covered from top to bottom with weapons. M16s, .50 Cals, heavy carbines, semi automatics, and more.

“Select your weapon!” Randy, yelled undertoned. I grabbed the M16, thinking it would be easier to carry. It was heavy even without the magazine it or the chamber rounded. Randy noticed this with some amusement.

“Once you have your pack and supplies, that weapon will seem like the lightest thing to carry. The day went on.

v

I was too exhausted to make love to Kelly that night. “Fuckin’ back aches,” I grumbled. So Kelly massaged it with quick and sharp jabs.

“When are you going?” Kelly asked in concern. I shrugged.

“Just waiting for the order.” I started to undress. “I just know I’m not lookin’ forward to it.”

“Then don’t go,” Kelly said.

“But I have to, can’t you see? It’s the only way I can keep you safe! To keep all of us safe! These people are a threat!” And despite my aching back, I got up and started to pace.

Kelly hurriedly said, “Calm down.”

I barely heard her and ran my fingers through her hair. “I don’t know; I don’t know what‘s gonna happen here. I just don’t know.”

Kelly got up and guided me back to the bed. “It’s okay. We’ll be alright. Let’s go to bed.”

I stared at her. “I love you.”

She kissed me softly. “And I love you. Turn the light out.”

I did.

vi

Machine gun fire.

Explosions.

Screams of pain.

All of this was evident to me as I crouched behind a stalled car with my M16 blazing at everything that moved. It seemed without end. The black smell of cordite and vomit befell upon the battlefield. Men either lay on the blood-stained grass or were firing at their oppressors. When the rebels (that’s what we began to call them) moved in, we were ready. All hell broke loose. The New city’s town lay in rubble and soot. Everybody evacuated. Now, people lay disemboweled on the ground; an arm on a car, a head two feet away next to a burning corpse, indifferently on its side, a burnt torso on top of a roof.

Chaos.

Madness and Chaos.

“GET DOWN!”

I whipped my head around. Cole McMey, a thirty-year old man, was crouching next to me. A couple yards ahead of us, a grenade was lobbed. It landed within two feet in front of our only protection.

BOOM!!!

The explosion knocked me off of my feet and temporarily deafened me. The burning rage of warfare spread like wildfire, and I was given the mercyful gift of silence. Well, at least for a minute at most. I looked for Cole and found him gasping. His chest was open up like a cut open watermelon and everything inside of him spilled on the street.

“Dying. I’m dying.” The last of his words faded, and so did the light in his eyes. I grieved for maybe two seconds then went back to firing.

Or tried to, anyways.

Click!

Click! Click!

“Fuck,” I muttered. The clip was empty, and I used all my other ones. Suddenly, I thought about Kelly and about the conversation she and I had two days ago. “You will come back to me,” I remembered her saying with a lot of force. “You will not leave me!” I promised that I would. Now, I wasn’t sure if I could keep that promise.

The battle went on.

vii

“Wake up, Ryan.”

A rough hand shook me. I lifted my head. I was lying on the street covered from head to foot with soot. Randy Burns was beside me with his eyes bright.

“Randy?”

“We won, goddamn it! The bastards ran like bitches with shit drying on . . .” But I wasn’t listening. I slumped with relief. I could go home now.

Randy helped me up, and I limped to review the damage. It was bad. Bodies littered the floor. Some of the buildings were disintegrated. Fire everywhere. My throat choked with grief, but I continued.

“How will we ever recover?” I muttered to myself.

“We will survive.”

I turned to see General Eizik behind me. His eyes, usually hard, were soft. “You did good, Wallace. Damn good.”

I nodded my thanks and shook his hand. “Can I . . . ?”

“Go see your girl?”

“Yes.”

The general nodded.

“Thank you, sir.”

The general nodded again and left. I made the journey home.

viii

I let myself into our pink house. It was dark. Sobbing was coming from our bedroom.

“Kelly?”

The sobbing stopped. Footsteps came hesitantly down the hall.

“Ryan?”

“Yes, babe. It’s m—”

I didn’t have time to finish the sentence because suddenly Kelly materialized in front of me and flung herself into my arms.

“Ryan, Ryan! I thought you were dead! I thought—”

“It’s okay,” I said and stroked the back of her head. “We won.”

The realization came to me then. We had won but at a dearly cost. So many had died.

“We won,” I said again. “That’s all that matters now.

ix

“How bad was it?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think—”

Kelly grabbed me, “I need to know. How bad?”

I gave in. “Eighty seven dead. Forty wounded.”

Kelly gave a little gasp. “Dear God . . .”

“Wanda Lemoy is dead.”

This news just about smacked her in the face. Wanda Lemoy was one of the first people who took her in and befriended her.

“Jesus . . . what next?” she cried with tears beginning to spill down her flushed, freckled cheeks. “What next?”

I held her close. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

x

“Hello?” I called.

“Ryan.”

I looked around. I was in a room of mirrors.

“Over here.”

I looked forward in the direction of the sound of the voice.

“Show yourself!” I yelled.

Then I saw the plague doctor. “He jumped off the roof . . . the river . . . his home,” the plague doctor sang. “He jumped at the way . . . they loved to grind his bones.” Then, horrifyingly, he started to laugh. “Hahahahahahaha . . .”

xi

I woke up in a cold sweat. Kelly was still asleep beside me. I lay back down already feeling the pull back to sleep. But I didn’t go back to sleep–yet. Instead, I lie with my eyes closed wondering what was happening with the remaining rebels and what would happen now.

What would happen now.