NOWHERE TO GO, BUT SALVATION - Short Story from the Tenebrine War

 AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have decided to write something different for the series, aiming for a more tense atmosphere than the usual chaos of battle that dominates much of the short stories that has been published. Set during the Branworth Purge in 2336 of the early days of the Blackpowder War, this story focuses around a young couple that attempts to escape their city while Imperial soldiers are massacring the citizens. Enjoy reading!

Nowhere to Go,
But Salvation

David Eddington,
the City of Branworth,
Einsmore, Northern Grecca,
23^rd April 2336

“Hurry,” said Alice as she slung a small bag over her shoulder. It rustles with the sound of valuables within, identification cards, documents and a sum of money. “We are running out of time,”

“I know, I know,” David responded as he zipped his own bag and wore a pair of leather gloves. His heart raced as he quickly glanced over the curtained windows of his apartment, his eyes gazed upon the soldiers that gathered a group of individuals down the streets with their heads faced towards the wall.

Seven of them, he counted. Seven men and women captured by the Imperials as they failed to flee the city and from the massacre that occurred. He heard them begged for their lives, “Please! Don’t kill us, we have done nothing wrong!” one of them cried out.

Thunderous booms of the Imperial rifles silenced them and the noise that comes next is their lifeless bodies thumped on the ground. David felt the food he ate that evening climbed to his throat and pulled himself away from the windows.

He took a moment to recompose himself. He must leave Branworth as soon as possible or he will be the next body added to the pile of corpses in the city square.

He took deep breaths and shook his head. He finds his resolve. As David pulled himself up to stand, he nodded to Alice. The man walked towards the door and twists the doorknob, opening the door as slowly as he could.

David’s hands shook, he gulped as he composed himself. The Imperials are everywhere and the nearest escape point is a few dozen meters away. His heart thumped against his chest. He ducked behind a wall and he heard the stomping boots of troopers thud heavily against the pavement.

He heard them speak in their tongue, some shouting and barking orders in the middle of the night. But his ears caught the sound of distant gunfire and screaming, as they undoubtedly find more people to riddle their bodies with lead.

If it wasn’t for the dark night, illuminated only by the flickering street lights, he would undoubtedly be a part of the pile of bodies in the middle of the city. The Imperials have been rounding up civilians since they arrived two days ago, coming along wearing their usual dark grey uniform and rifles. The soldiers at Einsmore Fort have fallen and whichever city’s the closest to it is the Empire’s next target.

Now they are hunting for those that escaped their dreaded eyes.

He held Alice’s hand tightly, wrapping his fingers around hers. He won’t lose the love of his life, not after the troops have slaughtered the rest of his family in broad daylight and painted the streets red with the blood of innocents.

“Keep quiet,” he whispered to Alice. Even he felt the beating of his heart was too loud and the sound of his breathing was the same. He must be silent, or else the soldiers would come and take them both. What comes next is a thought that he would not dare to imagine.

His ears listened to their movements carefully, of how far the sounds of their boots were or their voices. He must find the most opportune moment to move and even a second of waiting felt like an eternity.

As the streets fell silent, he peaked over the wall and scanned his surroundings. It was eerily silent with the only sounds were the howling wind, the rustling of leaves as if the ghosts whispered in hushed tones and the flickering bulbs that struggled to stay illuminated. He saw the bodies of men and women scattered across the sideways, drenched in crimson nectar as they lie motionlessly and cold against the floor.

“Come, Alice. We must move,” David stood from his position and looked at the building on the other side of the road. It was a restaurant, with broken windows and snapped chair thrown across the area. “There,”

He was the first to cross the street. His eyes looked upwards to the rooftops, wary of any soldiers that patrolled with long barreled snipers that watched the night like an owl. Move at the wrong second and another dead body would flop to the ground.

But there were none, thankfully – or at least, in this moment. He walked inside through the broken door and gestured over to Alice as she hurriedly crosses the empty road. Each step she made taps loudly into the pavement and his heart dropped at every second.

His eyes watched his surroundings; his ears listened closely to the unusual sounds – the voices, the blowing of whistles and the sounds of gunfire from blocks away from them.

David caught her in his arms, hers wrapped around his body tightly. He could sense the fear in her. He could feel the coldness of her pale skin, the trembling of her fingers and the anxiousness in her icy eyes as he looked into them.

But now is not the time to admire her beauty, which can come later or else, the Imperials would come and took them away into the camps or sent to the front lines as fodders – or worse.

“Lead the way Dave,” Alice spoke in a hushed tone.

He remembers the path he needed to take in his mind. Through the dark alleyways, avoiding the massive patrol groups of Imperial soldiers then through the wide and open areas of the Thurvian Gardens – a place where most families would visit in times unlike these. “Do you remember where to go next after our favorite spot?”

She could not smile for in her mind, there is only the thought of surviving this hellhole. The Gardens were their place of spending great time together and now with the war raged in their lands, it is a desolate place.

“We have to find a way into the forests, the Red Rats are waiting for us,” she said with an air of uncertainty in her words.

David felt the same. It’s quite amazing to see a group of resistance fighters have been founded to fight the mad ideals of the Empire – or at least, that’s what the posters told them. ‘They shall rid the land of your kind,’ they say. Right now, it sounds as the most terrifying thing to them and it unfold so brutally before their eyes.

The sudden blast of a distant gunshot startled David as he regains his attention back to reality. He must keep moving and silently – like ghosts if he has to.

An uneasy chill wraps around his body like a blanket as they walked silently through the narrow paths between each building. They moved one by one, staying closely to the walls as they passed.

His eyes looked over his surroundings. He ponders over the silent air and the grim aura it emanates, gone were the days where they would celebrate festivals deep into the night and now, only fear conquers the city. Where he would hear the voices of friendly neighbors saying hi to one another and now, he hears nothing but their desperate begs for mercy.

All he could do is nothing. Nothing but to move on and hear them gasping their last breath of air as their souls left their bodies. Even then, he could feel the thump of his heavy heart. If he is brave and possesses powers like the fire eaters of Endregal or the strength of a thousand soldiers, he’d save them – but he is a mere man.

And he could not let life or Alice’s be in jeopardy.

Don’t be the hero. He told himself as he snuck past the streets and on their way to the gardens. So many times, he wanted to drive the knife he kept on his left side of his thigh down the throat of an Imperial soldier. Fucking Imps. He cursed at his powerlessness.

David wondered if these are the kind of situations that the soldiers of Grecca faced when dealing with their enemies. The rage that burned so iridescently, the sense of powerlessness in the face of danger and the lingering aura of dread that loomed over their heads.

“Your hands are cold David,” she murmured as she wrapped her fingers around the palm of his hand, tightly and firmly as they moved in the dark alleyways where the soldiers would not tread.

He could feel the ice on her touch as well, his pale skin, cold to the touch. Perhaps the night winds were frozen or perhaps it was his emotions. “Yours too,”

A pause as the two stopped, hiding behind a corner. The garden is close by, just a few more steps and a few more minutes of hiding, and then they’d be safe. Hopefully.

“Do you think we’ll make it out alive?” she asks. Her gaze locked onto him.

David turned and looked at her. His hands reached for her shoulders, his eyes stared into her own. He could not lose. He must not lose her. “We’ll get out of here love, we will. By God, I’ll get you both out of here alive,”

He rests his hand on her stomach where the faint signs of life reside. Only a few weeks old and that is more than enough for him to get them out of this occupied city safely. “Thank you,” she said, pressing her warm and soft lips against his forehead.

It was fear that drives him to enact this plan to escape the city. Slipping through heavily guarded areas requires the mental strength of a Tharkan Beast or the indomitable will of ancient Greccans. Yet, he must find that within him – for he is a son of Grecca, surrendering is not a part of their culture.

Then they stopped as they arrived a few blocks away from the gardens. But he hears them, speaking in the tongue of their forefathers. David could not understand them as fluently as his old teachers but he could comprehend a few words.

“…search…tunnels…” murmured one of them.

“…acknowledged, captain...” said another.

He heard the thud of footsteps departing immediately after. He estimated a full squad would search the sewers below. He could only hope that those that escaped through the tunnels would live to see tomorrow’s daylight.

His footsteps were silent and so do hers. Treading carefully, avoiding puddles of water where the sound of splashes may alert the nearby soldiers, staying close to the shadows and their eyes peeled for the enemies that conquers the streets with steel and blood. He kept his back against the wall, listening closely to their voices.

He pondered whether there is an Imperial soldier willing to have mercy on them, a good man among millions of murderers – of soldiers told to slay thousands in the name of their Empire. What have we done to deserve death?

David’s eyes looked around and saw a grate that leads to the underground tunnels beneath the city. Yet, would it be wise to take this path? Patrols would be sent below, scouring the area for escapees such as him and Alice. Death seems certain.

As he peeked through the wall, he could see mounds of corpses piled on top one another. Its horrid stench fills the air, lifeless bodies scattered across the paved walkways of the garden. “Bloody hell,” he cursed.

It was heavily guarded as expected but with an entire platoon of troops, getting past them is no easy task – nearly impossible as one might say.

He gulped, feeling the sense of unease as he looked at the dead as if they stare at him with those cold, lifeless eyes. But there is no other way. He told himself.

David turned to Alice, his hand against her cheek. “Do you trust me?” he asked, brushing off the dust and dirt from her face.

 

 

Alice Marshall,
City of Branworth,
Einsmore, Northern Grecca,
23^rd April 2336

She trusted him, she trusts him with her life and of the child within. Even if it is a few weeks old, it is enough of a reason to enact this plan to escape the city.

David leads her wherever she needed to go, crouching behind the piles of corpses that littered the garden. Such horrendous sight has tainted the beauty of this once lovely place, where lovers such as them would sit at the benches with their eyes lifted to the heavens to gaze upon the stars, where families come every evening and children tossing coins into the fountain that is erected in the middle of it all, wishing for a prosperous life and future.

Now, Alice sees the same people dead, the families that were together in life now piled up in mounds of lifeless bodies waiting for scavenging birds to feast on their rotting flesh. “I’m sorry everyone,” she murmured as she passed by them.

She counted over a dozen soldiers in the compound, one of which carries a flamethrower unit on his bag and another, a can of gasoline. “David, we have to move quickly. They’re burning everyone, here,”

He nodded as he picks up the pace.

They took large steps, to avoid stepping onto the bodies that were clumsily tossed aside. The shadows were their only refuge, its dark veil were their only protector at the moment – for one wrong step into the dim light of the torches and flickering lamp posts, would be a huge mistake.

“Ugh…” Alice heard the sound of a faint painful moan nearby. Her eyes scanned her surroundings as she tread through the sea of blood and flesh that lies before her. ‘H…help,” the voice beckons once more.

She looked around. She hoped that she may find someone else who survived beneath the weight of bodies upon them or through the others that lay around. She looked for the slightest of movements among them all.

“Allie…” the voice spoke out again, weakly. It was an old woman’s, raspy and her words mixed with the gargling of her saliva down her throat. “Help…”

Alice rushed to her side, not far from where David is. “Alice, no!” he called out, but his grip on her forearm remained firm as he yanked her closer to him. “We can’t save her,”

“But she’s alive, David. Aunt Mary’s alive, we have to save –,” the sound of boots thudding against pavement alerted them. To her, every step felt like thunder even if it is a group of soldiers armed with weapons ready to kill.

David pulls her close, bringing her to his arms as he raised a hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry, Alice. We can’t do anything for her,” he whispered.

“Do you see anything, Gruber?” said one of the soldiers that approached. They held a bolt action rifle in hand, muddied and soiled – one would wonder why they haven’t had it cleaned since their last battle. Yet, their eyes watched closely at the shadows.

“I thought I saw – no, I heard something there Andros,” said another. Their mother tongue is difficult for the others to comprehend, if the Imperial spoke in the language of the Greccans, they would have butchered a few of their words.

“Please…don’t…” the voice spoke again, louder than it was before. “…leave me…”

“There it is, Gruber. We have a ‘stray’ corpse here,” the soldier fixed his bayonet with a resounding click on the end of the rifle. He turned to his comrade, nudging him with his elbow, “Go on and end her life, Captain Gawain would not like having unfinished businesses,”

“She’s going to die from blood loss in an hour or so anyway, Andros. I’ve had enough of this killing,” said Gruber. “Go and do it yourself,”

The other soldier groaned, “So you’re fine with her dying in agony and pain then? What a way of thinking, Gruber. Making them suffer a long and painful isn’t your way. But nonetheless, end her anyway. I would not want to hear her screaming once Frank douses everyone in blackwater soon,”

Gruber sighed and loaded his rifle. His footsteps grow louder as he approaches the groaning old lady that’s on the verge of dying. “Oh…”

“Il hei’ser,” Gruber murmured as he aimed his rifle to her head. His finger on the wall of the trigger, his firm grasp held his weapon in a steady stance.

Yet, Alice looked away. She could not bear to see her close neighbor die once more. To her, they were nothing but monsters in the flesh of men. Then, the thunderous blast of gunfire from the soldier’s rifle that rang throughout the garden.

The young woman yelped at the deafening sound, muffled by David’s hand on her mouth. “Shh, keep it down!” he murmured to her. His hand reaches for the knife strapped to his thigh.

Gruber looked around, stepping closer to where David and Alice were. He pulled the handle backwards as he chambers another round to the weapon. He is close now, only a few paces away from the couple.

Alice regains her composure with deep breaths and touches David’s hand as he reached for the blade. “Don’t,” she whispered. She almost made a grievous mistake back there, one that would cost their lives and she would not let David do the same. “Please,”

Tensions rose as the air grew heavy as the soldier is mere inches away from them. Alice felt the man’s shadow loomed over them like a dreadful beast. She felt the cold hands of death grabbing her by the throat as she could see the edge of his boot from the sides and the end of the rifle poking out. Oh God, please…help us, please! She prayed.

As Gruber emerges from the side, the soldier looked around and sets their gaze upon the two. Alice could see the color of the man’s bright gold pupils from beneath the shadow of his helm, gleaming like coins by the pale lights.

“Please,” she mouthed.

David shook his head, his hands raised to his head. His fingers shook and trembled and his eyes stared into the man before him.

“Do you find anything, Gruber?” asked Andros as he stood from a distance.

There was silence in the tense air at the moment, Alice’s heart beats faster; sweat trickled down her forehead and tears down her cheek. She pictured of the terrible things that the soldiers might do to them – tie them to a steel pole and burn them like the others, or line them up with the rest of the civilians and end their lives with a bullet to the back of their heads. She heard of the atrocities that the Empire has done and Alice feared her life for it.

Gruber turned around and faced Andros, “Nothing. Just a cat sneaking around,” he said as he walked away. “Il hei’ser,”

 

 

David Eddington,
City of Branworth,
Einsmore, Northern Grecca,
23^rd April 2336

Ash rained from the sky like snow for it is a fiery winter; the stench of burning flesh pierced his nose as he is disgusted by it. It is unnerving that it resembled the smell of roasted beef but at the same time, it is not.

David and Alice were far away from the gardens but the smoke and embers from the bodies they burned rose to the dark skies above as black pillars. He thought of Aunt Martha, How many more that barely lived just like her? Burned to death? He pondered.

Yet, he must not dwell upon it. He had thought of the Imperials as monsters, nothing more than beasts and wolves masquerading as humans. But the soldier that spared their lives proved him wrong – they were following orders, no matter how grim it sounds.

As he and Alice reached the edge of the forests that borders with the city itself, he looked around and scanned through his surroundings. The shadows beneath the canopies made it hard for him to identify the silhouettes of the men that emerged from the darkness.

He heard the leaves rustled as a man dressed in ragged clothes and a rifle slung onto his back and a pistol held in his hand walked out from the tree line. “Are you both safe?” the man asks.

David nodded. The man had a shaved head and a scarred eye on his right, but even with this there is the expression of a fighter, of hope upon his face – one that the survivors needed to hold onto. “Yes, yes we are,” If it wasn’t for that one soldier, we wouldn’t be here.

“Are you the Red Rats?” asked Alice as she stood next to David. Her clothes were soiled by dirt and blood, the smell of the corpses latched onto her like a horrible fragrance – worse than the sewers, as one would say.

The man gestured for them to come into the woods and they followed. “They call us the Red Rats and to your eyes, we are just that – rats,” he said. “For now, we will be the refuge for those that seek sanctuary from the war,”

There are others nearby, hiding in the shadows – acting as if it were their guardian. To men and women like these, it is their only weapon where monster dwell in the light. “Where do we go from here then? Will you try and retake our city?”

The man sighed, “In time, we will. Greccans do not yield, we never will,”