Pillars of Glass Page 5

  He listened for a moment before he heard his voice take over on the loop. The white noise sounded scratchy as it hung within the domes of the bells above. For a moment the chorus above him was a peaceful requiem that drowned out the screams and gunfire from afar. After a moment, somewhere between the loop and his personal choir, Alex saw the invaders press forward. They moved towards the fleeing civilians quickly expanding the ground they held. Behind those on foot, Alex could see larger objects, rolling into positions half a block from the forward line. Ryan moved to stand next to his friend, and started looking out from the tower.

  “We have the two square blocks secured as best we can. I looked myself but there’s no quick path to get these people to the river Al. The best bet we may have is to check and see if the crypts somehow lead that way.”

  “The only chance for life is through death? Go ahead, take 3 or four guys with you from the south eastern part of the parameter, it’s the furthest from the action. Check the catacombs and crypt as swift as you can and if you find a path start the evac of the civilians right away, try and catch me on the radio if you can, but I’d rather they get out of here first, then my knowing about it. I’ll hold this place down as best I can, if nothing else, maybe we can find a better place to hide if they come through this area.” His tone was somber, but Alex’s heart was racing. There were no other options but to try and get the civilians, his sheep, out of harm’s way as best he could, and with the oath he would have taken on graduation day he knew where he stood, the life of the civilian before his.

  He had wondered from time to time how often people had kept their oath. His father once told him, the older you got; the more senile you get as well. That people no longer truly cared for anyone because at that age it would be nice just to get out of bed in the morning. Alex often hoped his father was wrong when it came to this, but he caught himself wondering about it again. The people of the world, all the people apparently, still saw the boundaries between the two countries as a fence instead of what they have tried to become. To Alex, the towers on either side of the bridge, ornate and decorated with art depicting the battle long ago, were a celebration of their humanity instead of a way to keep straight who was whom. The two countries were, after all, ancestors of one another. It was superficial to think otherwise, but apparently, the superficial was the only thing seen by the common eye. There were no markings on their bodies, nor any other identifying qualities to state where someone was from. The world had been explored and gotten to the point that on every level, Vanahei or not, all people were equal, and governed fairly by one congress.

  But the men a few hundred yards away, didn’t believe in that doctrine, they couldn’t, or else why would they fight their own neighbor and kill his classmates and the civilians of Aurorae. Then his heart had stopped. His next thought shut down his entire body making him frozen. Watching as those men loaded the artillery and fired, was this just here, or is this a global attack? He wasn’t stirred from this trans until the midair explosion made him focus and watch the napalm fall like rain onto those bottlenecked, trying to cross the great divide.

  The screams were so far away the bells above could not register their sound, but Alex and the men below knew it was the sound of suffering. Retrieving his rifle from his back, he quickly looked down the scope towards the enemy artillery and watched helplessly as they loaded another shell. Turning the scope to the people he could only bare but a moment to see the people, all of them, whaling as if the napalm was hellfire itself tormenting their souls. He heard the second shell leave and quickly turned away before he would see it airburst again.

  Before the third shell was loaded he knew what he would have to do. “Ryan come in.” His voice was cracked and shaky. “Ryan?” Just static responded. He hoped Ryan had started moving the people in the sanctuary below. “Guys on the Parameter, this is your unit commander. I need you all to come to the Church now, secure it and be ready for a skirmish.”

  As soon as he saw his classmates run from their positions, he heard the third shell launch, and as it floated through the air he found the man loading the forth in his sights. The crack was as if lightening had hit the campanile and sent the bells into a quick frenzy, as if there was a celebration, or the heavens themselves finally acknowledged the fight.

  The third shell had exploded at the same time as the shot from Alex’s rifle had impacted the chest of his target, dropping the shell and causing the men around him to look around quickly to see where the shot had came from. The troops pointed towards the tower but they had no way to see who was up there. For a moment Alex had hoped he was safe. Attempting to get on the radio with Ryan again, he could see his spot would not be hidden for long.

  “Ryan Come in, damnit!”

  “Alex I heard a shot, what happened?”

  “If we make it out of here alive, I’ll tell you, for now did you find a way out?”

  “Yeah we did, but it’s extremely narrow, we can only go single file. You want me to start moving people out?”

  “Yes, Get the kids and the elderly out of here first, then the women. Move them as quick as you can, and send my brother with them.”

  “Copy that.”

  Alex saw a long-range artillery cannon move to face the cathedral and waited till he could get a clean shot at the operator. He knew that if they hit missed him on the first shot that they would continue to shell the tower as long as they saw it standing. Knowing this he had decided to move a level lower and wait for them to shoot, if they missed he would aim for the operator and hopefully, hit him. He also knew if they hit the tower right away, they would shell if another shot was fired from that direction.

  Hearing the thud of the shell leaving he hoped they would miss badly enough where he could escape to the ground floor of the church and get everyone into the basement before a second shot. Hope however, doesn’t sway fate. The shell screeched louder until Alex saw it impact the square in front of the cathedral, spitting up dirt and rubble as the thud echoed above him.

  Quickly he moved down the staircase to the next level, leaving the radio on loop behind him. He reached the terrace in time to hear the second shellfire. He decided to set for a shot if he was given the opportunity. The howling of the shell was met by the homes in front of the tower. This time shards of wood and clay shingles splashed up and towards him, clouding his vision, but the plume didn’t last that long and he aligned his shot. Seeing the man lean back to adjust the angle was just enough of a target for him to strike. The man’s body shot back and fell from its post, and before Alex could re position for another shot, he saw a group of enemy troops start moving towards his general direction, they were coming for him.

  Hastily Alex spoke on the radio. “Attention all units, we need to prepare for an assault, all sharp shooters move to the third floor everyone else move to the front and get a safe place to fire down the street to the north of the tower, unknown number of enemy foot units will be coming from that position.”

  Looking down the scope he could see as men argued back and forth about the artillery, it would be out of commission for the moment he thought.

  “Also those already inside the church, I need you all to move the civilians to the basement and get them moving faster through the tunnel towards the river.”

  He had guessed it would take three to five minutes for the men on foot to get close enough to the church to begin their siege, and In that time, hopefully they would find it empty as a Tuesday afternoon. Making his way down the staircase to the third floor he was met by seven of his men waiting for him, including his brother.

  “Aaron I gave an order that you make it through the tunnel. Now get-”

  “I’m staying to help you, even if its re-loading your rifle, you’ll needed me”

  The other men looked at the two brothers and Alex could tell that if he felt confident for his own flesh and blood to stay with them, they would all make it out of this alive.

  “Ryan meet me up here quickly.”

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p; He could hear the voice in the stair well. “Already here Al, He wouldn’t go I’m sorry.”

  Shaking his head Alex spoke with a degree of relief in his voice “I know its ok. Look I want you to go with the civilians, and when you get to the river front, find a boat and sail as far south with them as you can. Only take a few weapons with you and dump the military wear, You are going to want to be as inconspicuous as possible. We don’t know if this is only here, or if it is the whole world. We are going to by as much time as we can then follow through the tunnel and then find our own way down river. I only want ten of the men left with me. Whoever we are fighting will be here in the next few minutes.” He turned to those around him. “I’m not forcing any of you to stay with me, the smaller the force the better right now. I would like ten of you, but any number will do.”

  His classmates looked around at one another and a few chimed in on the radio. In all Six decided to stay.

  “Get going Ryan, and good luck.”

  “Don’t worry Al, I’ll see ya again. Just make sure you take out as many of them as you can.”

  The two friends embraced and patted each other on the back before Ryan gave the signal for the rest of the troop to follow him.

  “Are you sure you want to be here Aaron?”

  “You’re my big brother Al, just tell me when to reload.”

  After repositioning the other four men, Alex took his brother to the far side of the third floor terrace where he could get a decent shot off. He told his brother to stay away from the opening and as close to the wall as possible, there he would be out of the direct shot of anyone. Three other men were stationed on the ground floor with AR’s that Alex had brought from the hunting store. Each man had two with him while Alex and the only sharp shooter that stayed had two hunting rifles and an automatic rifle each, hoping that the stand would be a quick one firing off all the bullets they could, suppressing the forces to give them a clean get away. Alex ordered for everyone to take their first shot only after he did, hoping that maybe, just maybe he would be able to take out their commander in the rear and make them scatter in confusion.

  Slowly they pressed forward; they were sloppy and had little para-military training, looking like students from Alex’s class. There were about thirty who had made their way into the line of fire and Alex patently waited to see if there would be anymore coming. After he decided that there wouldn’t be any more men on foot moving to search the church, he took his shot at the furthest man in the squad. The firefight erupted quickly as both side exchanged a barrage of lead. Alex continued firing his rifle at the back group of men as his comrades downstairs slowed their advance taking a man here or there.

  That unmistakable high pitch noise was deafening right before impact. The entire cathedral shook as though the god’s themselves had laded from the heavens with such a force that they wanted to let the world know they had come. Looking up, Alex could see the mortar and brick of the tower fall down the open stairwell vanishing as it crashed around them and falling like brimstone through the ceiling itself.

  The shell was noticeably quicker from when it fired to when it impacted their location. Looking down the scope Alex could see why. A smaller artillery cannon, mounted on the back of a truck was nearly seven-hundred yards down the road from their position and he knew it was only a matter of time before they started to shell the building until the rubble was all that was left of it. Before he could contemplate what the next move was, there was an explosion on the wall to his right.

  A small entrance had been blown next to Aaron and Alex sung his rifle ready to fire. Three men came through quickly with their hand up pleading for no one to shoot.

  “Don’t shoot! We’re friendlies, we heard the radio broadcast and we are here to get you boys out of here.”

  Alex felt the weight of the world fall from his shoulders. Someone heard his plea. “Where did you come from?” he asked, still in wonder from the preciseness of their entrance.

  “There isn’t time. We came across the river from Anderhill and will be able to take you boys back that way via boat. We had to come through the buildings. For now that’ll have to do until we can debrief you. Your transmission said something about civilians?”

  “They made it out through the tunnels to the river, its only the six of us left, we were about to follow their path.”

  Another shell collapsed the rear of the church as the main chapel was consumed with fire and brick.

  “Follow us back through here, we can escape this way.”

  Still apprehensive, Alex nodded and called down on his radio. “All units assemble on the third floor eastern wall, I have an escape route, we are leaving ASAP, I’ll provide the covering fire.” Alex turned to the man in all black tactical gear, “Take my brother now. I will fire a few more rounds and see if I can take out the cannon while the others make it through the doorway.”

  The stranger nodded and extended his hand down to help up Aaron. Once he grabbed the man’s hand, Aaron was thrown up to his feet and pulled through the door, Alex nodded and then took up his AR firing as many rounds as he could to help his friends escape. As the last of his friends made it through the doorway, the small bridge of wood they used to escape fell to the street level.

  “Hold on! We are going to get another plank for you to cross over.”

  Alex nodded and continued to fire until the AR clicked. Throwing the empty weapon away, Alex picked up his hunting rifle once again and looked to the cannon amid the bullets hitting the weak façade protecting him. The operator was mostly protected, except for a small area above his boot that was exposed, just enough to buy Alex the time he hoped he would need. He pulled the trigger and hit the shin, severing the leg from the rest of the body as it fell. And as he pulled back the pin to fire another round, he stopped before firing the trigger.

  He knew the face of the man, who stepped up to the cannon, Andrew Horatio Tillery.

  His teacher was with this faceless enemy. A man Alex thought he could count on for everything, a father figure had betrayed his son. Alex couldn’t take the clean shot he was given as Tillery was ordering from the perch. He could see the man, in full military dress about to fire on his location once again and he could only stare. He could see the cannon recoil and knew the shell was on its way. Looking to his right, Alex saw his brother looking frightened. Alex dropped his rifle. Put his index finger to his lips as one would a babe telling them to hush and that everything would be alight. Closing his eyes he saluted Aaron, and then was engulfed by brick and timber as the shell hit the fascia in front of his position knocking him backwards, out of the third floor choir loft.

  Aaron howled and nearly jumped out of the safety of the adjacent building to give aid to his brother. The man who had come to save them, grabbed Aaron before he could leap and attempted to calm him down.

  “Your brother would want you to live, that way is only death.” He picked Aaron up over his shoulder and motioned for the men to move out. “We’ll try and come back for his body later. But we must get back across the river.”

  “You promised me you’d never leave me Alex!” Aaron could not contain his grief. “You said we would make it home again, you told mom you’d look after me in school.”

  The men moved forward. They cut through back allies and side streets for three blocks until they made it to the river, where a transport was waiting. The man put Aaron down, still hysterical. “Look son, I promise you, the moment we can come back for the body we will. But for now keep yourself together. You’re a solider now, if you want to honor him, fight back.”

  Aaron looked in the man’s eyes. The tears in his own had a red hue with them, whipping them away Aaron spoke to the man. “I will.”

  The skiff backed away from the dock and the bridge was in clear view, the pillar reflecting the carnage above. Men and women still screaming for help as fire continued to drop from the sky. Running across the bridge they were met half way by barricade, and were allowed a narrow passage. Aaron went to t
he bow of the ship and could see men mobilizing on the far bank and beginning to march on the bridge. He knew his brother ended up saving countless lives that day. Sadly, Aaron thought, he would never know about it. Never see the bridge at night, never see the stars in the desert, and never have a family of his own. Closing his eyes, Aaron could only replay that last act of love his brother showed him before he was knocked backwards by the explosion, even to the last moment, he thought of others, He held true to the Oath.

  “Ok boys follow me this way to debriefing; we’ll get you patched up.” The man motioned the boys to board the dock and follow him to a small tent. Slowly, still in shock of the day, they walked to the tent, and once inside they found a place to sit, realizing finally, they were safe.

  “By the way boys, I’m Hawskins. Wait here a minute and I will be back.”

  The boys nodded and they were left alone. A few minutes had passed before they were met once again by a nameless face. In that time the boys had cried hugged one another, laughed and cried again. So much had been lost this day, and so much given by peaceful people.

  The new man that entered was in a formal military dress and was followed Hawskins. The man in formal attire sat in front of the boys and took a deep breath before speaking.

  “Which one of you sent the message?”

  They all sat quiet.

  “You aren’t in trouble now I just want to-”

  “Excuse me sir,” Hawkins interjected. “The young man who sent the message, he perished giving cover fire to let these boys and many others get to safety. That one there,” he said pointing to Aaron. “Is his younger brother, who was reloading the rifle for him before we extracted them all.”