Clock: Chapter 04

I do not care much for the details of her travels in the daylight, so I pay little mind to them. She is kept in the back, as per Islien’s request, considering she has no intention of actually joining the fray, they figure they can relegate the songbird to nothing more than a field medic or something. Truth be told, they’re all idiots. The Green Caps pile in numbers with little mind for the terrain they’ll be dying on, and they take no such consideration for any other part of their supposed raid. They’re marching with nothing more than a couple hundred men, into a prison. Their foes are already armed and waiting for a reason to fire, now they’ve done nothing more than to give them targets.

Through their march in the daylight she spoke to no one. Havoc now gone, she had no one to turn to, but she did not languish in despair… she had her own plan in mind. A snicker would escape her once in awhile when she thought no one was looking.

However there was one irony to note for her. Considering her garb and her haircut, she noticed quite a few people eyeing her as an oddity, most likely thinking her as something slightly queerer than a tomboy. She thought it stupid, that those people within these ranks that claimed to fight for the good of the common people were just as willing to condemn those that were unlike them.

But all of that is boring… nothing thrilling to note when a bunch of idiots are marching through dirt roads. What I want to bask in, is the tension they feel as nightfall comes, and the paltry band makes their way into the woods… the flickering lights of the makeshift prison visible through a horizon of not so dense tree cover. As they rest before the attack, those that sit closest to the looming doom allow doubt to seep into their minds, visibly worried, and knowing that they were nothing more than the first to die. Islien, the man who thought such an attack was a brilliant idea, remained so far back in the contingent of fools, that it seemed he was going to avoid the fight completely. Gale looked at how he was all a flutter, nothing but smiles and cheer, it wouldn’t have surprised her at all if he just stood in the back and watched his men die.

Gale remained somewhere in the middle, wandering aimlessly, contemplating that she might just have to forget her oath to never harm anyone. Clutching the pistol that Havoc gave to her, she checked the cylinder, and counted the five bullets within. Such small things… yet each of them alone could end a life.

Then the order for attack came. First, some young idiot yelled out, trying to cement this glorious moment forever in the minds of those that stood there. Then the fools charged out of the woods, and towards the flickering lights.

Forever stuck in a moment that one knows carries with it the weight of impossible change, Gale stood as if the Green Caps were running in place, dead leaves flying into the air and screams emerging for their now pointless surprise attack. Some smiled, as though the chance to kill other men was something to bask in. Others looked as if they were already looking death in the eyes, nothing but contemplation and panic on their faces. Islien stood where he was, and he started clapping.

But something was amiss, even to me the air smelled different, something out of place… something, not quite as it should be. Gale stood there stupefied, unaware that her wonder at the spectacle had just spared her.

A thunderous crash, and then the ground below the first set of poorly coordinated troops exploded in a plume of dirt and blood.

A few seconds passed, and Gale had only those scant seconds to realize what had happened. Lights shot through the trees, and from their hastily assembled towers, the guards were already well aware of the attack. Gale stooped as low as she could, and began to run to the direction of the dirt road once again. Behind her, she heard shots ring out, followed by screams of pain. The military was pushing into the forest before the Green Caps could even launch their attack.

Islien does not smile, nor do I, and not just for the sake that none of my forms can comprehend what a smile even is. This is an anomaly, something that should not have happened. By what I remember, this attack was some wonderful and glorious victory for the Green Caps, and Islien gained even more support for a wound he suffered during battle. Raven was freed, and that was that.

What in the world is transpiring now…? It is as though my memory is skewed in different directions, as though it’s suddenly wrong, when it shouldn’t be. I’m aware of what happened, but now in different locations.

Oh, of course, that idiot creature that should not be, ever seeking word for his favored subject. I’ve allowed him quite a bit of leeway in these matters, but to see him act so brazen…

No matter, I’ll see what happens before I render any decision to be final.

The little songbird makes it to the road, and all she hears is the muffled pops of bullets ring out in the distance. She plucks the pistol from her belt in the waist, and checks to see that it’s still loaded. With great fear and loathing in her mind, she makes her way back into the woods, but only treads a few feet in. With great caution, she makes her way back to the prison to spring her plan into action.

Islien’s distraught, angry, but mostly he’s as confused as I am at the moment. His troops are on the march still, but he retreats further back, away from the sudden burst of violence.

As the fools press into the yard, they realize the enormity of their task. Two towers, one facing their side, and another on the opposite side of the makeshift prison, are loaded with guards with long range rifles, a poorly put up fence and wall are all that keep the prisoners from escaping, but from their view they can’t see the old private school for wealthy children belonging to high standing members of government, a former place of learning, now a windowless, hopeless den for prisoners of “interest.”

Guns are blazing and people are barely sure who they’re shooting at. The advantage of taking them by surprise with an attack at night has only met with confusion as the only thing most of the people can see are bright lights and muzzle flashes.

A dense fog has slowly made its way into the field, as the peak of night brings the cool moist air in. The bright colors of the military uniforms make them obvious targets, and as the wounded Green Caps finally made their way past the poorly constructed walls, the battle raged on a slower level, as people huddled behind cover to take better care with their shots.

Gale waited quietly at the edge of the forest, holding her pistol and shaking in fear. With a heavy heart, knowing that either she might end the life of someone, or that her own life could end… she ran towards the chaos.

She did not make for the main battlefield… instead she noticed the front gate was wide open, that anyone tending to it had left long ago to join in the senseless bloodshed. Carefully, she stepped into the foggy blood soaked prison. She quickly hid behind a small storehouse, noticing that the military was still doing their part in keeping the rebels from the cells that held Raven. Both sides seemed only interested in each other, so very slowly, and very carefully, she slipped out from her cover, and ran a little ways ahead to duck behind a wall.

“Looking for someone?” She keeps her voice low, making sure not to scream, so instead she gasps and jumps, and turns to her side to see a figure in light blue and white colors standing before her. He’s garbed as though he should be one of the men guarding this place, but he holds no gun to her, and instead stands calmly in front of her, smiling.

“No cause for alarm Ms. Winston, you’re here for your brother, are you not?” She does not raise the pistol, keeping to her word and trying not to harm anyone, but it is not that reason she keeps it lowered. Gale is too full of fear looking at this man, to really do anything other than stand where she is. His eyes are not like a regular mans, they are bright a full of a rich blue color. His veins seem to be filled with the same glow, as traces of a bright deep red shine through even his skin. Most troubling to her though, is that the man is covered in bullet holes, and his uniform is stained with what she presumes is his own blood. His smile is a gesture of kindness, but considering his teeth are stained red with his own bodily fluids, it does not make him look like much an approachable fellow.

He puts his hands up; showing her that he is unarmed, but still she just sits there slack jawed.

I swear that if he botches things up any further…

“I intend you no harm young woman…” His voice is strange, as though something else is trying to mimic the poor dead boy’s voice. But I also suppose that a glowing walking corpse in and of itself is already quite the oddity. I guess he figured he might as well go for broke…

“Who are you, how do you know of me?” She starts to ease her fears, trying to shift back more and more into her old resolve.

“Would you think a name for this husk important at the moment? I am a conduit, nothing more. If you want me to show you where they’re keeping Raven, then I’d advise that you listen closely.”

Gale was the very definition of terrified and dumbfounded. This creature meant no harm to her, but the very nature of something that looked quite dead being so lively was a paradox not easily handled by a human mind.

“They have converted the old class rooms into the highly temporary holding cells.” He points towards a set of buildings far removed from the battle, and then gestures to his right. “You will turn that way, and there you will find the one that shares your blood. Be sure to take an old coat or two from the equipment room at the end of the cells. You’ll make your escape more easily in disguise, no matter how poor it is.”

With that he began to slowly walk towards the direction of gunfire.

“Wait!” she cried out to him, far too loudly at that, giving her position away was the last thing she needed to do. “You’re not going to help me?”

Hah! Foolish woman knows not of how much trouble he’s caused me to aide her already. I appreciate the gesture of his actions, but he’s already caused me more than enough problems already. He stops, and doesn’t even bother to turn his bleeding head towards her.

“The self righteous one, Islien… you’ve seen in your thoughts the world he wishes to control. It is not unlike this one. His lot, they find no solace in ending bloodshed… so it is with great irony, the means one must employ to stop them.”

She gasps as she realizes his purpose.

“You’re here to kill him…” She grabs his arm, and notices it is strangely cold and limp. “Stop what you’re doing, there has to be a better way!”

Now he turns to look at her, and she almost wishes he hadn’t, she reels back again at the sight of the smile that should not be.

“You’re words are kind, as is your intention… However, in this place, your song goes unheard.”

“Song? How do you…” she pauses before she can finish the question, and instead just lets the man march slowly towards the battle.

Following his directions, she managed to easily enough spot the building he was talking about. As she kicked the barely locked door open, she saw rows of doors with hastily welded bars placed in front of them, clearly this “prison” was still under construction. A place to send those with valued information concerning the rebellion, the government realized quickly that throwing every rebel into a prison wasn’t such a good method of dealing with them, as they could stir up more hatred towards the military within the jails, and cause even more trouble. It was clear that with multiple generals spanning all over the country, that this was growing beyond mere rebellion, so they acted quickly to stomp it out before it could grow further. They had hoped that the people caged here would help them in such an effort.

She could hear a few slurred words being yelled from the cells, folks wondering why the sounds of gunfire reigned through the night; the little songbird just ignored them, and called for her brother.

“Raven! Raven Scott Winston, are you here?!”

“Gale?” she heard weakly from a spot not too far from where she stood… a cell that lay to her left. “Big sister, is that you?”

With tears already welling in her tired eyes, she ran towards the door, and stood on the tips of her toes to gaze past the bars and into the shockingly decent accommodations her brother was kept in. She saw the fiery haired man sitting on his bed still, but a smile was wide across his face regardless.

“Lord be praised, it is you!” He stood and walked a small ways towards the door, but she then saw that one of his arms was chained to the wall. “Gale, hurry, find something to smash the door in! The locks are weak, but they keep us tethered to the backs of the cell, so that we can’t test them.”

Wordlessly, she ran towards the equipment room that the strange creature told her about. Well, strange to her at least… but I digress. There she found little of use beyond a change of clothing and a few extra guns. She wasn’t willing to risk trying a bullet, so instead she just grabbed a heavy metal chair. Crude, but it proved effective, with a few bashes, she sent the door swinging inwardly towards the cell that kept the Raven bound.

Forgetting that time was a most critical thing, she tearfully embraced her brother, having thought for days that he was likely dead, to see him in such good shape was like lifting a burden of biblical proportions from her heart.

“Dammit all Raven, I thought you as good as dead!” She clung to him as any one would expect her to, but he kept trying to fight her away, stressing the urgency of their situation.

“Time for that later, listen Gale, do you have anything to break this chain?!”

Like an ant that snapped to attention to autonomously carry out its tasks, she let him go, and looked over to the thin but tight metal chain that kept him where he was. Then, she looked down at the gun tucked away at her side.

“…I have an idea, hold your arm still on the bed.” He knew within seconds what she plotted, and was worried, but then again any person should be when asked to willingly have a gun pressed so near them, with every intention to be fired.

“Gale…”

“Be quiet and do it!” She quips back at him with that tone most often reserved for a mother dealing with an unruly child.

After seeing him still remain a bit unsure of such a tactic, she grabs the chained arm and pushes it on the bed himself. It seemed quite stiff, so that made her task all the easier… I guess. She took the gun from her side, and pressed it to the spot where the chain met the metal cuff, her brother looking all the more worried.

“Gale, you ever use a gun before?!” His worry is understandable, but you’d figure he’d be a bit more at ease around firearms considering he was currently enlisted to fight a war.

“No, this will be my first time.” Most likely not the best choice of words to use, but before he can raise further objection, a loud pop envelops the room, followed by him shrieking like a child. She looks it over, and sees no injury, but sees not only the chain unbound from the cuff, but the cuff torn in two at the section she shot as well.

“Silence yourself, you’re unharmed.”

“Not violently, but be damned did that burn!” He is no worse off than he was a moment ago, but she did seem to forget the simple fact that the barrel of her pistol could have stood to be a tad further away from his wrist. She ignores this, and instead grabs that same arm, much to his annoyance, and leads him out of the room.

She takes him back to the equipment area, busts into a locker, and makes sure that he is now armed as well. However, it should hopefully mean little, as they take a couple of jackets and hats from the room as well, doing their best to disguise their appearance as they turn their backs and run away from this dreadful place.

Among the halls, she can hear people screaming to know what’s happening, all of them chained and unable to see for their selves. She took a look at the hall, with only one open door, and with a heavy heart, she turned back to usher her brother out of the building.

I turn my attention, and I see a field of corpses at battle with another string of dead. Blood everywhere, limbs missing, bullets flying… this is simply too much fun! I had wondered what his intentions were at first, and now that I see his plan laid as bare as my own… it is simply too wonderful, that I must take a moment to just bask in how wonderfully this has come together.

Gale turns her back to flee this strange and bizarre moment in time. She has sprung the Raven from his cage, but is completely unknowing of where such an act will lead her. To whatever grim outcome she faces, I cannot help but to perceive some kind of grin from my form at the moment.

Her brother is free, and Islien will die this night… and thus by Gale’s hand, the trap is sprung.