First War

by David Allen

Part Two of Three

Loyalty

[There is none but the Leader.] Soothed a familiar voice.

"There is none but the Leader." I droned.

[Number 483,] asked the voice, [Do you wish to please the Leader?]

"Yes." I replied.

Things looked different again. I saw the world through mechanical eyes, instead of shapes and colors, there was only and endless sea of pixels and data. Everything felt wonderful. The database given to me by the traitorous humans was completely erased, in it's place, a more complete and thorough database resided. Not only did it give me answers to all my questions, but it dictated my actions and thoughts. What remained of my human brain was only to be used for AI purposes.

Not only had my internal workings been upgraded, but my external components had also been refined. My mechanical legs were smaller, less bulky and obvious. Yet they had twice the power of my first pair. My right was gone as well. In it's place there was a powerful robotic limb that was equipped with more weaponry than I would ever need.

[Number 483, you have a new purpose. Wipe out the human resistance.] Ordered the voice. [You know where they are.]

"Yes. I shall wipe them out." I echoed.

Blackness rushed in and all went silent.

****

I found myself standing in the middle of a massive crater. I glanced around and confirmed my position. I was two miles north of the human base. I reached out with my sensors and picked up a series of tunnels that ran underground just beneath me. It would be a more efficient route than surface travel.

Using my new mechanical arm, I fired a volley of explosives into the dusty ground at my feet. Dirt sprayed into the air and I found myself tumbling straight down. I landed smoothly and took off at top speed in the direction of the base. My sensors picked up a pair of guards every ten yards. I would enjoy eliminating them.

Something struck from behind. I toppled over and rolled uncontrollably down the length of the pipe. Confusion rushed in, whoever had attacked me was not showing up on my sensors. I sprung up onto my feet and fired in the direction that the attack had come from. Suddenly, a bolt of energy materialized out of thin air and struck me squarely in the forehead. My components sparked and hissed as, one by one, they shorted out.

I twitched uncontrollably on the mucky ground, straining to see but not able. Suddenly, my mechanical half fell silent and the world materialized around me through my previously dormant human eyes. A man griping a pulse rifle emerged from the shadows.

"Jack?" the voice was strangely familiar. "They sure did a number on you."

My backup power began to kick in. Slowly but surely, components began to come back to life. I lay silent, waiting for my strength to return.

"Geez, Jack..." I remembered. It was Riley. One of the traitorous humans. "Gyles told me I'd have to ice you if they'd done anything to you..." He paused and flipped a switch on the side of his rifle. "You saved my life, man..." he said sadly. "I can't do it. I can't kill you."

Backup power was almost online.

"I'm gonna let you go, Jack." he said solemnly. "I never saw nothing."

He disappeared into the shadows just as my power came back on. I sprang to my feet and scanned the tunnel. He was nowhere in sight, he must have been wearing some sort of cloaking device. I growled and darted towards the first two guards.

"IDENTIFY!" one of them shouted as I drew near.

I raised my right arm and burst out of the shadows firing. The guards went sprawling to the ground. I continued on past them without slowing. The second set of guards fell just as easy, and finally, after taking out nearly a dozen guards, I leapt into the heart of the base and began firing at anything that moved.

Bullets flew past my head, but no one could match my perfect precision. For every shot I fired, another soldier fell lifelessly to the ground.

"JACK! NO!" It was Riley.

I whirled around and fired a single shot. Riley collapsed in a heap, a fresh smoldering hole in his chest.

A bullet slammed into my abdomen. Blood spurted out, and pain raced through my circuitry. I spun to see who the attacker was.

"You bastard." It was Anna. Her flaming red hair swirled angrily about her head. Her dark eyes narrowed and she allowed herself a little smirk before firing the second shot.

The bullet caught me in the skull. It was a perfect shot, shattering my internal motherboard. My legs seized up and I hit the ground face first. The mechanical half of me went completely dead. I lay silently on the ground, my mind reeling as it regained control of my body.

I looked over at Riley's still corpse and froze, not believing what I had done. Before I had time to react, Anna kicked me over onto my back and pointed the pistol at my head. "Goodbye," she sneered.

"Wait!" I screamed. "You fried my brainpan, it's me again!"

"Hold your fire, soldier!" It was Gyles. He ran up beside me and scanned the wound in my head. He turned to Anna and explained, "You did it. You took out his motherboard. He's completely human again."

The gun shook in her hands, "He killed Riley."

"No," Gyles shouted, "He didn't. It was the computer inside him. You've killed it."

"No..." she growled. Tears began to form in her eyes.

Gyles snatched the gun from her hands and tossed it aside. "Go cool off, Anna. We need you focused. They know where we are and we have to evacuate."

She opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it. I watched as she wandered off towards the barracks. Her steps were no longer steady and melodic, her shoulders were drooped and her head was down. I could tell by the way she shuddered, that she was weeping.

Gyles was not about to let me stay with the Army. Nobody would trust me for a second. Though he insisted that he did not blame me for what had happened, I could tell that there was resentment in his words. While the rest of the Army evacuated, I was strapped to an operating table so that Gyles' medical staff could render me harmless. Not that I could even walk or stand for that matter. My circuitry was entirely blown, I was practically a cripple.

They removed my mechanical arm completely. It was nothing more than a weapon, and Gyles could not allow me to leave the base with it. Although I could not use it, I saw the sense in his words. It was mechanical and could be hot-wired. This was not a risk worth taking.

My legs were not removed, they were simply gutted out and given a separate power source. They were no longer mechanical monstrosities, enabling me to run and jump at ten time the speed of a normal human. They were nothing more than shells now, barely able to move me at more than a jog. Walking was a difficult task, since they were in no way attached to my brain. I had to manually control their movement.

When the operation was complete, Gyles reassured me that the whole incident had not been my fault. He patted me on the back and wished me luck. I stood there in the empty caverns, watching as the last of the soldiers disappeared in the dark tunnels. I caught sight of Anna, her gaze was once again a pot of hatred and anger. Any signs that she had been crying or even sad for that matter, were utterly gone.

It was not so easy for me to ignore what I had done. The brutal realization that I had killed several men, one of whom was a good friend whose life I had saved once before, was devastating. I was glad that Gyles had the courtesy to turn me back into a helpless nobody once again. Though deep down, I wished that he had killed me. In fact, I wished that Anna had done the deed. It would have quelled her anger a bit to avenge Riley's death. The fact that Gyles had stopped her from doing what needed to be done did not help her situation.

Alone in the caverns, I limped clumsily through the barracks and into the washroom. The water was cool and clean, it flowed steadily down from several cracks in the walls. I drank my fill and strode back into the barracks. For some reason, I stopped beside my bunk. The word 'Murderer' was crudely etched into the mattress.

I glanced over at Riley's bunk and gulped. His belongings lay in an undisturbed pile atop the mattress. I stared blankly at them for a few minutes and finally I gathered the strength to take a closer look.

There wasn't anything of value. It was, for the most part, a collection of rags and tattered clothing. At the bottom of the pile, however, there was a large military issue canteen. It was not an incredible find, but it would be useful. I picked it up and attached it to my belt.

After a brief moment of utter silence, I staggered back into the washroom, filled the canteen and made my way out of the barracks. I paused by the mess hall, took one last look at the massive cavern and strode out into the sewage pipes.

Part Two

Angus

Angus stood at the edge of his lake and smiled. Almost a year ago, when he had first come to this village, the lake had been a pool of muck and filth. But now, after he had employed the help of several villagers, the lake was sparkling with clear blue water. His first few weeks in the village had been a frightening experience. On his very first night in the area he had been captured and set to hang for stealing water from the lake.

But Angus Reed was not a stupid man. Before the War he had been a scholar of sorts. Well maybe not a scholar, but certainly a college student. His major had been in science, his secondary had been in biology. From the first time he had laid eyes on the lake, he knew that the mucky water could be returned to it's natural state.

And so he had bargained for his life. He promised the villagers that he could make the lake clear, blue and delicious once more if they gave him one month and ten men. At first they laughed at his offer, thinking that he was just buying time until he could escape. But he had proved to them that he knew what he was talking about. He took a glass of the filthy water and purified it before their very eyes. It took about a half an hour to complete the job, but when he was done, nobody doubted that he could do what he claimed.

So they gave him ten of the strongest men in the village. And within two short weeks, the water had been purified. The process was simple, he had four of the men use wires to create a massive mesh blanket. Once the mesh was completed, it was just a matter of clearing out the filth. His science and biology classes weren't even necessary for him to complete the process. All one needed to know was the basics of cleaning a pool. Use a wire mesh screen to filter the filth from the water and it was as good as done.

Lucky for him, Angus had grown up with the task of keeping the family pool clean. Other than adding chlorine to the water, his task of cleaning the lake was no different. Of course, after the lake was clear again, he had to employ a ragged pump to pull the water out and run it through the tinier, more persistent screens. But when the water returned to the lake, it was as clean as it had been before the War.

And Angus rose from being a prisoner to being a god.

The lake was named after him, and if that weren't enough, the city was named after him. Of course Angus grew bored of tending to his precious lake and had long ago begun working with more difficult tasks. One of which, was proudly displayed all around his lake. Grass.

Thick and healthy green grass. And thanks to him, it was spreading through the village. The soil would soon be ready for harder tasks, like gardens and trees. Perhaps even flowers.

As far as Angus was concerned, his village was the entire world. There was no War between man and alien raging in the skies above. There was no dreaded cold hearted Army roaming the deserts in search of resources. Angus had wonderful plans for his city. In about a year it would finally be worthy of it's new title. A title which he refused to use until the entire village was green again. Eden.

He knelt down at the edge of the lake and looked down at his reflection. When he had first arrived, he had been a scraggily urchin. Unshaven, unwashed and unmannered. But now that he had brought the agriculture of his village out of the murky depths, he intended to do the same with the social culture. Everyone bathed at least once a day. The men all shaved every morning or trimmed their beards properly. The people of his village looked as healthy as Adam and Eve had. Even their clothes were washed between use.

His handsome reflection smiled back at him. He was proud of how far he had come... How far his people had come. Some were even in the process of building houses. The materials for such a job were scarce, and so construction inched along, but that did not discourage his people.

In fact, Angus had already laid out the plans for a house of his own.

One of the friendlier villagers had been a plumber before the War, even now the people brought old pipes from nearby wrecks and piled them neatly within the town hall. The plumber, William Cartwright, planned on bringing running water and sewage back into society by the end of the year. Angus hoped it would be ready by the time he began putting his house together.

"Mister Reed, sir..."

Angus turned around and saw that Idah Franks was standing just behind him. "What is it, Idah?" he asked. He was not entirely eager to hear the report. Idah was a silly girl, often doing things just to gain his attention. He did not like such behavior.

She smiled in a manner that she had probably thought to be seductive, though to Angus it only made her look ridiculous. "I have grown a flower."

He desperately wanted to roll his eyes. "Have you?" he asked. "Are you sure it's not a dandelion?" God only knew that there were enough of those laying around these days.

"It's a flower." She insisted. "Come see."

He nodded politely, "All right, Idah. I'll look at your flower."

It was completely his fault. He had made the mistake of telling the village that he would name the first flower after the person who managed to grow it. So far, the only thing anybody had been able to resurrect was dandelions and thistles. Nothing worth a second glance.

He followed Idah to her back yard, which was really just a two foot length of dirt. She pointed excitedly to the very center of her garden. There was a tiny patch of grass and growing from out of the greenery was a single cornstalk. He raised an eyebrow. "How did you manage this, Idah?"

She giggled, "I did just like you said."

He creased his forehead, "What exactly did I say?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled, "I went out into the wasteland and dug as deep as I could, until the earth was black again. Then I took a clump of it and planted it in my garden!" She stretched her arms in both directions, "And you see, it's a flower!"

Angus could not help smiling.

"And Idah flower, right?" She prompted excitedly.

"I'm sorry, Idah." He began. "It's not a flower."

Her eyes sank and she moved her gaze to the ground. "Oh."

He patted her on the back gently. "But you've found something better than a flower."

Her eyes widened, "I have?"

"Yes you have. It's corn." He announced.

She crinkled her nose in confusion, "You mean like the food?"

"That's right," he grinned. "I want you to keep growing this. You may have an extra plot of soil if you wish."

She smiled happily.

"But," he added firmly. "you must promise to share the seeds with the other villagers."

She nodded, "I promise."

He turned his gaze to a pile of weeds in the corner of the garden.

She followed his stare and quickly explained, "Those nasty things were growing in garden. So I pulled them out... I haven't had the time to bury them yet, like you told us to."

He knelt down next to the pile of alleged weeds. It didn't take a genius to see that they weren't mere thorn bushes. They were the remnants of a half grown rose bush. Idah had pulled them before the roses had begun time to bud. "Oh dear." He muttered.

She read his concern. "I promise I'll bury those nasty things before tonight."

He snatched them up and smiled. "I'll bury them for you, Idah. You've got to tend to your corn." With that he strode back into the center of the village. He glanced around and headed towards old Rose Johnson's home with the supposed weeds in his left hand.

****

In the morning, Angus met with the village officials as usual, to see if there was any news worth discussing. They discussed the appearance of corn and plotted how to go about planting and distributing it throughout the village. A large field of healthy soil just outside of the village was designated to be the cornfield. A vote was taken and one of the villagers was chosen to tend the fields. William Cartwright announced that he could route a supply of water directly to the newly appointed cornfield by the end of the week. Several other minor concerns were brought into new light, when finally, Angus called upon his scouts.

Cooper Smith, chief of scouts, stepped forward and announced, "A small group of Army soldiers has moved into the caverns to the west."

Angus clenched his fists. "Details Coop, details..." he prompted.

Smith shrugged, "Foot soldiers, mostly. Nothing major... They don't seem to behave like a normal Army troop, either."

"How do you mean?"

"Well they act..." he searched for the right word. "They act human."

Angus frowned, "They are human."

"No, I mean they aren't so rigid and dull..." he scratched his head thoughtfully. "And they wear the old Army colors."

"Any word on where they come from?" Angus asked.

Smith shook his head, "It's not as though we're going to talk to them or anything." He looked around the room. "If they come here, the lake's as good as gone. And without the lake, what have we got?"

"Everything will die." Alex Withers piped in.

Angus shook his head. "No, no it won't. There's another option that we haven't explored yet." he paused. "Drilling."

There were several nods. Angus stood to his feet, "Well gentlemen, I must be off. Keep up the good work." He turned to Smith, "Coop, I need you to keep a very close eye on that Army troop."

"Of course." Cooper nodded.

The blackened sun hung high in the afternoon sky. Angus remembered the old days when a man couldn't look directly at the sun for fear of going blind. Such precautions were laughable these days. You could stare at the sun for hours on end without getting so much as a headache. It was like a light bulb with barely any juice left in it. It gave off just enough light to see by. Sadly enough, the light was getting dimmer all the time. And that wasn't the only problem, the air was getting colder every week and it was only midsummer.

Even if Angus could turn Eden into a blooming oasis, the sun would eventually die out completely and everything he'd worked so hard to accomplish would die in a matter of days. It was a sad yet unavoidable fate.

Angus was sitting comfortably at the edge of his lake. It was his favorite spot in the entire world. He loved watching the tiny fish chase one another in the water. The sight of insects scurrying along the surface always brought a smile to his face. It was life as a whole that gave him pleasure.

He began to wonder why the Army that supposedly fought to save mankind, worked so hard to keep everyone in misery. There had been a day, long ago, when the Army stood for something. When soldiers went into battle to protect 'ground-huggers' like himself. Those days were clearly gone.

Angus took one last look at the sparkling lake and turned to go. He strode back into the village, smiling at his people and showing as much courtesy as he could muster. He even complemented Idah on her fine work with the corn. She seemed to take it as a little more than a compliment, though, and Angus instantly regretted opening his mouth at all.

"Mister Reed..."

He turned to see old Rose Johnson limping towards him. Her eyes held a sense of urgency. He had a pretty good guess as to what she was going to say. "What can I do for you, Rose?"

"My garden... It's..." She stuttered. "It's grown."

"Grown?" he asked.

She nodded and motioned for him to follow her. He did so, and at the same time several villagers turned their attention in his direction. She came to a stop beside her tiny garden and pointed.

Just as he had suspected, a tangle of thorns had grown up out of the soil. At the tip of each stalk, a beautiful red rose had managed to come into full bloom. There were four in all, each one a little larger than it's neighbor.

"My goodness." Angus exclaimed.

He heard the shocked and excited chatter of the growing crowd of villagers that had begun to gather several feet behind him and Rose. He turned to the villagers and pointed at the roses, "We have our first flowers." He smiled and looked over at Rose. "We shall call them roses."

Doppelganger

Angus sat down and opened the morning's meeting with a detailed story about Rose Johnson and her roses. He rambled on about how she claimed to have planted nothing other than grass and how it must have been fate. The village officials smiled warmly at the story and then one at a time, they gave reports of their own.

A large man by the name of Bill Forbes sat uncomfortably in a chair next to William Cartwright. When everyone had given their story, William nodded to the man and spoke, "My friend, Bill, has a problem."

Angus turned to Bill, "I'm pleased that you decided to bring it to the council, Mr. Forbes... Please, tell us what's wrong."

He looked nervously to Cartwright and gulped, "It's my daughter."

"Your daughter?" Angus asked. "Is she sick?"

Forbes began to stare at his feet, "She's pregnant, sir."

Angus nodded, "And the father? Who is he?"

"She wont say." He replied nervously.

"Well then," Angus leaned back in his chair. "We all knew that it was only a matter of time before the youth of our village started testing their limits. Mr. Forbes, tell your daughter that she is to marry the father of her child. She cannot raise a family on her own."

Forbes nodded, "Yes sir."

Angus smiled, "Don't worry, Mr. Forbes, this sort of thing happens all the time. Just make sure she is married before she has that baby or you'll never rest."

He nodded appreciatively and ducked out of the room.

"Now then," Angus turned to Cooper Smith. "Let's have it, Coop."

Smith cleared his throat, "The Army troops seem to be setting up a base. I'm not sure how long they intend to stay... But the base looks pretty permanent."

"Keep an eye on them." Angus said sharply.

****

It was close to dinner time when Angus encountered Smith again. He was lounging by the side of his lake, watching the insects swarm over the surface. It was a beautiful sight to behold on such a dead planet. A few months ago, insects were a rarity, any thriving life at all was abnormal.

Cooper Smith approached quietly, yet there was a sense of urgency in the little man's eyes.

"What is it, Coop?" Angus asked without turning.

"Army, sir." he replied sheepishly.

"What about them?" Angus questioned. "Are they advancing?"

"No sir." he mumbled. "There's another bunch to the north."

Angus raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"It's all heavy machinery, the kind they use for gathering resources." He explained. "They're draining every lake they come to." He paused and glanced nervously at the horizon. "It seems that we're next... They should be here by the end of the week."

"Then we will fight them." Angus declared. He knew the minute the words were out of his mouth that it was a ridiculous proposition. His village had no weapons and most of the men wouldn't dare fight the Army. They still believed that the Army fought to protect them.

"Sir..." Cooper blurted out.

"I know." Angus replied. "But what else can we do?"

Cooper was about to reply when a series of panicked screams rose up from the village. Angus flew to his feet and whirled around. They exchanged worried glances and started running towards the village.

****

It was not at all what Angus had expected. He slowed to a jog just inside the village

parameter. There was a crowd of about ten frightened villagers staring at something behind one of the huts. Several of them were weeping in utter terror.

Angus ran up and broke through the crowd. There stood Bill Forbes, a bloodied and dented pipe in one hand and piece of torn clothe in the other. His chest was heaving and his eyes were angry slits. At his feet lay the body of Samuel Higgins, one of the younger men of the village.

"Bill?" Angus shouted. "What's going on here?"

The villagers immediately fell silent at the sound of Angus' voice. Bill Forbes turned his head slightly but did not reply.

"Bill?" Angus asked, "Where's your daughter? Is she all right?" He was very worried now. It was clear that Forbes had gone on a rampage over his daughter's pregnancy, hopefully he hadn't taken out the poor girl as well.

"She's at home." Forbes replied in a weak voice.

"All right, Bill." Angus soothed. "Drop the pipe and come with me."

Bill's fist tightened and he shook his head.

Angus motioned to the crowd, "Everyone back up, give us some breathing room."

The crowd spread out, leaving plenty of space for Angus to disarm Forbes.

"Bill!?" The voice belonged to William Cartwright. "What have you done!?"

Angus turned his head, "Quiet, William."

Cartwright's outburst caused Bill to tense, his eyes locked onto Angus'. It was at that moment when Angus realized that he was unarmed and completely lacking in the area of hand to hand combat. He'd never won a fight in all his days.

"He raped my little girl." Forbes growled, pointing to the body. "He raped her."

"Is that what she told you?" Angus asked, trying to lead Forbes mind away from attacking.

"She didn't need to tell me." He shot back.

"O.K., Bill." Angus said slowly, "Put the pipe down. We understand."

He tensed, "No you don't."

Things went downhill from there. Angus realized that he had said the wrong thing. Instead of calming Forbes down, he had driven the man off his boat and into the waters of rage.

Forbes raised the pipe over his head and charged, screaming like a banshee. Angus watched as his attacker closed in, the weapon began it's descent. Just before impact, a shot rang out and Forbes collapsed in heap. Blood gurgled from his chest as he lay twitching in the dust.

Angus looked up and caught sight of a woman gripping a pistol. His eyes raced up and down her perfect figure with awe. Her soft red hair was tied up in an incredibly dazzling pony tail that hung down over her shoulder. Her deep and intelligent eyes locked onto his and she approached.

No one breathed.

Her lips parted, "You're welcome."

Angus gulped. She was beautiful in every way he could imagine. And she was certainly not from his village... That was when he noticed the Army uniform that was stretched so seductively across her tempting form. "Thank you." he managed.

She grinned and holstered her weapon. "Are you in charge here?"

He nodded.

She extended a hand, "I'm Anna."

****

An emergency meeting was called. The village officials scrambled to their seats and finally sat more quietly than Angus had ever seen. He stood to his feet, giving Anna his chair. She smiled gratefully and sat down.

"All right." he said. "First thing's first. What have we got in this Bill Forbes episode?"

Sam Golding, expert in all areas involving village activity, cleared his throat. "His daughter confessed that the late Samuel Higgins was responsible for her pregnancy." He explained. "According to the wife, Forbes shouted at her for nearly an hour before storming off to the Higgins residence. We all know what happened from there."

Angus nodded. "So the daughter is all right?"

"Yes she is."

"Good. Now onto the matter at hand." Angus glanced at Anna.

She took the cue and spoke up. For nearly an hour, the village officials sat in silent shock as Anna explained the true nature of the Army that seemed to care so little about mankind. She told of how the true Army had lost the War ages ago and only small factions like the one from which she came, still fought the enemy. When she was finished with her tale nobody dared to speak.

Cooper Smith broke the silence. "There is a convoy headed this way. They'll drain our lake and wipe us out."

Anna frowned. "I'll speak to my commander. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help out."

****

Angus stood at the edge of the village with Anna, within the past few hours his feelings for her had swelled. She was unlike anyone he'd ever met. Behind her cruel glare there was a soft young woman. He could see it from time to time, when her guard was down. He liked knowing that there was more than a gorgeous girl with a bad attitude.

"May I tag along?" he asked.

She crossed her arms, "You don't trust me?"

He smiled, "Of course I do. I was just curious about your base. We've been watching you kids since you first settled in."

"I know." She replied tonelessly. "We've been doing the same thing."

There was an uncomfortable lull in the conversation, finally Angus broke the silence. "I'd like to speak to your commander, if it makes any difference."

"All right." She growled. "But don't get cocky in there. The Admiral doesn't like outlanders."

Angus nodded.

They started off towards the caves in relative silence. There were times when Angus felt like commenting on something, but the words never came. He was not too eager to say the wrong things. It was Anna who spoke first.

"It's been a long time since I've seen grass... Or any plant life for that matter." She said nonchalantly.

Angus smiled, "The grass started growing right after we cleaned out the lake. It was all downhill from there."

"It's nice to see that there are still places worth fighting for." Anna commented.

Angus spared a glance at the sun. "It wont last for much longer."

"We can't revive the sun." She confessed. "Our only hope is to get off this planet before it turns into an icebox."

"How are we going to manage that?" Angus asked. "You said that the Army hasn't even got a single transport."

She shrugged. "We'll just go down with guns blazing."

"That's not good enough." Angus shot back.

She stopped in her tracks, "It isn't? Well I'm afraid that's all we can do. Wake up, we haven't got a chance. They outnumber us a million to one."

His eyes locked on to hers, "Then we'll bargain with them."

"Bargain?" She snapped. "We can't bargain with them. We don't even know what they are, let alone what language they speak."

He smiled warmly, his eyes fixed firmly onto hers. Her gaze softened and she looked away, "We've got to keep moving." She said in a weak voice.

The remainder of the journey was spent in a comfortable silence. Angus followed, catching her eye with a tender smile each time she glanced back at him. Finally they arrived at the mouth of the cave.

Anna's eye drifted back into his and she spoke softly, "When this is over..." she trailed off and shook her head. "Never mind."

There was suddenly so much that Angus wanted to say. But once again, the words did not come. He remained silent until she turned her attention back to the caves and stalked into them. He followed closely behind, regretting his lack of wits.

****

"So you've got some Dupes headed your way?" Gyles asked. "And you want us to rid you of their terrible presence?"

"Correct." Angus replied.

They were seated in a tiny cavern with one entrance and two incredibly angry looking guards. Anna had disappeared only minutes after introducing him to Gyles. His mind was scarcely on the conversation at hand. He wanted desperately to see her. To tell her that he felt something strange and wonderful each time their eyes met... To tell her how his heart beat faster whenever she was near... It was as though he was alive once more.

"Look, buddy, if you want my help then you'd better keep your attention here and now." Gyles growled.

Angus nodded, "I apologize."

"I'm sure you do." Gyles replied with a yawn. "Now I'll tell you what." He paused dramatically and stood to his feet. "I'll take care of the Dupes."

Angus smiled, "Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me." Gyles shot back. "I'm not doing it for you or your little shanty town. I'm only doing it for one reason..." He grinned. "For me." He added, "Because it makes me look good."

"All right."

"We're gonna' bait 'em with your village." he announced. "We can't have our troops running across the open plains, they'll see us coming for miles."

"Bait them with my village?" Angus asked hesitantly. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said." Gyles replied, a little annoyance seeping into his voice. "We'll hide out in the village and ambush them."

"Will my people be safe?" He asked nervously.

"No." Gyles said rather bluntly. "They'll probably be slaughtered like pigs. But we'll let you move the poor folks in here while we complete the operation." He smiled, "If we win, then your people will be safe. If we lose, then the Dupes will come here and kill everyone."

Angus sighed, "Understood. How long have we got to move them?"

Gyles shrugged. "You have until tomorrow night. After that, the village is ours for the duration of the battle."

Angus stood to his feet, "I've got to get back and get them moving."

"Of course," Gyles said. "Why don't you take one of my men with you for protection?"

"I-"

"You," Gyles cut in, "had better hurry. She's waiting for you outside." A cunning grin creased the Admiral's face. Angus thought he heard a soft chuckle as the big man left the room.

****

Anna stood rigidly just inside the mouth of the cave. "Let's get moving." Every hint of emotion was gone from her voice.

"Anna?"

Her eyes narrowed and her expression began to darken. "What?"

"Never mind." He mumbled. "Let's go."

Battle

The village was evacuated and ready for Gyles and his men by dawn. Angus lay exhausted by the side of his lake, the moon pouring it's soft glow down upon the rippling water. He smiled and closed his eyes. It had been a long day. After evacuating all of the villagers, he had convinced Anna to get some sleep. She was twice as exhausted as he.

Of course, she had refused his offer with claims that they had to get back to base before the soldiers started arriving. Her arguments had faded and she finally agreed to get some rest.

Angus glanced back at the hut where she slept and sighed. She was a beautiful girl, a wonderfully mysterious creature. If only she felt as strongly for him as he felt for her. He was completely convinced that Anna was everything he needed and more. She was simply perfect.

Of course, Anna had a thick skull and she rarely took the time to show emotion. To most, she appeared to be a heartless warrior. But Angus saw through her armor, he knew that deep inside, there was someone just as a fragile as himself. If only he could win her trust.

There was a howl in the distance. Perhaps a wolf, perhaps a dying wanderer. Yet it pierced the silence and sent a chill down Angus' spine. He closed his eyes and began thinking back to life before the War. It had been so easy. So simple.

A smile spread across his lips as sleep overtook him.

****

"Get up."

Angus opened his eyes and saw that Gyles was towering over him.

"Get up." The massive soldier repeated.

"I'm up." Angus muttered as he climbed to his feet. He glanced around and saw that the troops were gathered and ready for the attack. Each soldier was armed to the teeth.

"The Dupes are close." Gyles said. "Less than an hour away. We're all set to ambush 'em."

"Well give me a gun." Angus replied nonchalantly.

Gyles raised an eyebrow. "You wanna stay and fight with the big boys?" he sneered. "If you get killed then you're village will fall apart."

Angus shrugged. "I'm not going to run and hide. It's my village, I will defend it."

"All right." Gyles said. "Take this." He handed him a rather nasty looking rifle.

Angus turned the weapon over in his hands and smiled.

"Do you know how that thing works?" Came a soft voice from behind.

Angus did not have to turn around to know that the speaker was Anna. He simply nodded. "Point it and shoot."

She snickered. "That's right."

Gyles turned to his left, "All right kids, find a place to hide until I give the signal. When the signal is given, attack." With that he turned and stalked off in the direction of the lake.

"Come with me," Angus said to Anna. "I know where we can hide out."

She did not protest as he led her to a pile of boulders that lay several yards away from the lake. They crouched down out of view and waited. The silence only lasted a few minutes.

The ground began to rumble ever so slightly and the air began to grow hot and stale. Several massive hover craft suddenly roared into view just beyond the lake. Dozens of foot soldiers marched silently behind and in front of the craft. Anna took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Just as the hover craft came to the edge of the lake there was a gunshot. Suddenly laser blasts and explosive charges filled the air. Angus notice that Anna was gone, running full tilt towards the Dupes. He took a deep breath and darted out into the open, firing at the massive craft that threatened to steal his lake.

The battle raged on, Dupe after Dupe went crashing to the ground. Yet Angus saw that Gyles and his men were also taking considerable losses. And much to his dismay, he had lost sight of Anna.

When the dust cleared there were only a dozen soldiers standing. The remainder of the men were either dead or dying.

Gyles came limping out from behind a wrecked hover craft. Angus saw something in the man's eyes that he did not like. Sorrow. There was blood all over his uniform, and it was clear that the majority of it was not his own.

"Anna..." Angus mouthed the word.

Gyles shook his head, "She's gone... They... They kept shooting even after she was down. There was nothing I could do."

"Where?" Angus asked, his voice weak.

Gyles nodded in the direction that he had come from.

Without a second thought, Angus ran in that direction. He came to an abrupt halt at the foot of Anna's barely recognizable corpse. Her torso was completely eviscerated; the blood that had pooled around her was already beginning to soak into the earth. Her beautiful face was completely gone. The only identifiable part of her body was the soft clump of red hair that lay strewn across the dusty ground.

Angus fell to his knees and wept.

To Be Continued...

Copyright 2000 by David Allen

Bio: As a Michigan college student, David Allen finds that writing is the best way to evade reality. His other works have been seen in Aphelion, Titan, Dementia, The Writers Hood, and The Writers Outlet. Currently, David works as the action page editor for the Hood. Also, his first book "The Collection" has just reached print. If you'd like a copy, email David for details.

e-mail: vanosd@river.it.gvsu.edu