• Chapter 2: Can’t Run, Can’t Hide

    Rebecca came out of the mines on the other side of the Reglonia Range, into the Lazrik Plains. Here all the refugees of Reglon were gathering to reorganize. Food rations were being handed out to the children. All the men who were too old to stay behind were comforting the women who had likely lost loved ones in the battle. Rebecca felt cold; she began to realize there may not be any survivors of the battle.
    Crenrah’s army was massive. It was the main super power on the continent, followed by Innelia. Any small village army that went up against Crenrah would surely be obliterated. Rebecca collapsed under a nearby tree, watching all the families that shared her loss.
    She realized it was quite dry on this side of the mountains and she looked up at the sky, the sun was rising. The day was quiet, not even a cricket was chirping. She looked towards Reglon to her horror; a deep black smoke was rising from over the mountains. Crenrah had set fire to the village. She knew that must mean that the resistance forces must have been killed. She began to cry. Wil’s last words, “I promised…” floated in her mind.
    A shout came from the mines. “Wait! Don’t collapse the mine!” The men who were busy trying to cave in the roof stopped work immediately. Hector came rushing through the mines, along with a few other survivors. Axel and Elnar, close friends to Hector were with him. He was beaming, with a look of victory on his face.
    “We did it, we gave Crenrah a really good fight, didn’t we boys?” Hector stated.
    Elnar sort of shrugged and Axel replied “Yes sir.”
    Rebecca got to her feet and walked over to him, wiping her tears away as she went. “You did it? Did what? Set Reglon on fire?” she asked, pointing over his head.
    Hector turned around and looked surprised though he quickly hid his expression. “Ah, yes, sadly we had to retreat into the mines cause of Crenrah’s shear numbers. Umm… might want to collapse that now.” He replied.
    The diggers resumed their attempt to cave in the mine. “Then you’ve no reason to look like you just won a marathon, cause in reality we lost,” Rebecca stated, and she turned he back and marched off.
    “Oh, come now Rebecca! We didn’t lose. We still have me don’t we?” Hector reasoned.
    “Oh yes, we have you. The second Elder’s son, Hector the Mighty,” She laughed. “And where might Mighty Hector’s axe be I wonder.”
    The refugees looked at each other and whispered to this. They had overlooked the absence of Hector’s favorite axe. They thought it odd that he’d just leave it behind, even to escape.
    Hector looked flushed. “Well you see, it’s quite heavy, and when running from a bunch of angry Crenrah soldiers, you have to make sacrifices.”
    “Was sacrificing the village part of running from Crenrah soldiers, Hector?” Rebecca turned back around to face him. It was plainly obvious she was accusing him of running.
    It appeared that a nerve was pulsing in Hector’s temple. He didn’t reply to this but merely stomped away from her to rejoin a few people who actually believed his tale. He recounted his exploits to each of them. Rebecca was quite disgusted and returned to her tree.
    The mine finally collapsed and the diggers returned to their families. At around noon another ration of bread and water was given out to everyone. One of the Elders had been elected to lead the refugees rather than stay behind. He organized everyone and told them that they’d be marching to Lazrik.
    Everyone believed that it was a very good idea to do so, after all, the longer that they stayed put the more likely Crenrah was to find them. Rebecca however disagreed; she believed they should make way for Tisanish, the capitol of Innelia, straight away. However, she was at a loss for supporters and so followed the Elder to Lazrik.
    They made their way across the plains, which were devoid of trees, without too much trouble. Lazrik was on the horizon, they could see it lingering in the wake of the settling sun. They decided to make camp for the night outside of Lazrik and make the final trek the following day. Rebecca went to go converse to some of her friends, however instead she found Hector retelling his story for the eleventh time, no doubt trying to woo some poor girl. Instead she went to see Minerva.
    “Umm… Ms. Minerva? Are you there?” she opened the flap of the tent and peered inside.
    “Yes, yes I am…” she sounded quite tired. “Come in, don’t be shy… Oh, Rebecca, it’s you!”
    “Yes ma’am. I just wanted someone to talk to…” Rebecca whispered. “I’m sorry I bothered you, perhaps I should go?”
    “No, no, not at all. Come in. It’s about Wil isn’t it?” Minerva replied, looking up at Rebecca with wise eyes.
    “I… yes. You’re very good at reading people you know that?”
    Minerva laughed. “Yes, Wil used to say the very same. So what would you like to talk about then?”
    “Do you think Wil is… dead…” she managed to say, trying not to cry. Minerva could tell that she was struggling with herself and got up and gave her a hug.
    “Of course not, Dearie. He promised us didn’t he? He always keeps his promises, and I should hope so since he made it to his fiancé,” She smiled.
    Rebecca managed to smile, too. She was happy that Minerva approved of her engagement to Wil. It would have been almost too much to handle if Minerva had scorned the engagement, like her father Parry scorned it. She was also comforted by the thought that Wil might be alive still.
    “You know… My father, Parry… He hated Wil…” She frowned, looking at the floor.
    “Yes, I do know. He told me specifically he’d prefer you marry Hector. Its not too late you know?”
    “I don’t want to marry Hector though, he’s a fool and a liar. Wil is sweet and sensitive and considerate of others. I don’t know what my father saw in Hector that Wil didn’t have.”
    “Well, he saw money that’s obvious enough. Hector probably has more money than the rest of Reglon combined. Well, used to rather,” Minerva concluded.
    Rebecca agreed silently with a nod. She had wished her father had seen what a great man Wil was, rather than how poor he was.
    “Umm… Ms. Minerva. Do you hate me…? Like my father hates Wil?” She forced herself to ask.
    “No Dearie, not in the slightest. You’re a very sweet young lady,” smiled Minerva. Rebecca smiled back, this relieved her of a little bit of her stress, though she was still slightly worried for Wil.
    Suddenly a scream was heard; Rebecca and Minerva scrambled out of the tent in alarm. Hector was bellowing orders to Elnar and Axel, they had drawn their swords. Crenrah was attacking the camp. Some of the woman and children had attempted to run for Lazrik but were cut down on the spot like animals. Rebecca could hardly believe the cruelty of the Crenrah Army.
    “Don’t panic, Dearie…,” Minerva whispered to Rebecca. “They won’t harm you if you don’t run.”
    Rebecca did as was instructed of her and remained calm, though inside she was horrified by what she saw happening to those who had run. Crenrah had the camp completely surrounded; they set fire to the tents to force everyone who remained outside.
    “I am General Ultna!” cried the man who appeared to be in charge of the army. “If you come quietly, we won’t harm you! Would the leader of your camp please step forward?”
    At this the Elder stepped forward, but Hector stopped him and whispered something in his ear. It was his father, and Hector did not with to see him die. The Elder stepped back, leaving Hector the only one who was in front of Ultna.
    “I am the leader here,” stated Hector.
    Ultna smiled. “I see, so Boy, you intend to protect your Elder from death? Very well then. Men! Lead these refugees to Fort Lea. We’ll hold them prisoner there until further order.”
    “Right away, sir!” cried his troops. Everyone slowly filed northward. Hector remained up front, near the enemy general. It appeared they were having a conversation. Elnar and Axel still held their weapons. Rebecca found it strange that Crenrah would not remove such items from the possession of their enemies.

    ~Property of Colin Rose, author of this novel~