The Hard Road by D.A.Sanford - HTML preview

Unknown loss

Both sides have taken heavy tolls on each other. The fallen are now littering the trails. Each side has more combatants going out. We have people coming in all the time and are mostly sent out in packs as replacements.

We now have seven packs and the rotation schedule is such that I have not seen my beloved in the two years of this war. My brother is the same. They are dead walking as I am. It is just hard to keep up hope.

I have seen my pack‘s own roster change so much that we few survivors don’t even get friendly with replacements until they live past a few months. The biggest problem is that we few are getting fewer.

I know that my time is coming. My guts tell me that I will only see my loved ones in the final life. I guess that is what Tartan explained to me at first. I fight as if I have nothing keeping me here. I am not suicidal, by no means, but I do not worry about dying. I lead in the front rather than from behind that my counterparts do. Some times they are not even on the field of battle.

My habit now is that I need to stay up late to take care of things we will need the next day. I wake early to prepare for the days battle. In short, I do not want to sleep. When I sleep, my mind torments me. Taunts me. I never have peaceful sleep. I sometimes regret leaving the royal family. I would be dead and my body disposed of before all this happened.

We rotate in for our stand down. We get news on how the conflict is going. We eat and drink. I get my next area that we will be on patrol in. We dread new locations because we come across the carnage of other battles. The horror about that is possibly finding a loved one’s body.

That is why I don’t want to sleep. I do find them in my dreams. The food in the hide is now getting rudimentary. Game and foraged plants. Most of us go without to make sure the children have enough to eat. We feel good when we can bring in a lot of game. They eat well and go to bed not hungry. This war needs to end.

At the counsel, I tell them, “We need to end this or our children will die of starvation. I propose that we concentrate on eliminating all the nobles. We also need to raid their supply depots and take their food. I am willing to take on that task.”

“We have lost too many of our own. Who here does not have questions about loved ones missing? This needs to end now or we need to flee to the unexplored regions of this world.”

I’m tired.

Little did we know that there was that the same unrest was festering among the human population. They now have a strong rebel force that is doing just that. Assassinating nobles and their families.

While I am asking for the assignment to do that, they have enough force built up that the humans now are in the final planning stage on an assault on the palace. They are now moving towards that goal.

While we are talking, they are moving.

We did not know that the human forces that were conscripted into the kings army is just as decimated as we are. When a conscription squad comes into a village, most of that squad are now killed.

He has almost no protection in the palace. Those who stay are actually ones that have lost family and now stay to gather information for the rebels. One day, one of our guards comes into the hide and he is followed by a human with a white flag. The hide is now on high alert.

He is here to warn us. “We would like you to pull out your packs. We humans are now going to capture the king and seize the government. All those who are involved with the starting and perpetuation of this war are going to be executed, We need to have the population to see that we are taking out our government.” He says that they know the atrocities committed against other races. They will outlaw slavery and punish those who have them.

I have had enough. “Too little too late. Those slave owners will simply dispose of their slaves. What are you going to do to prevent that? What about our dead? Our children are mostly orphans now. What about them? What about me? I was mated for a few days and now I have not seen her in two years. She has laid down her shell as with my brother. I have not heard of them. They are dead like me,” I stop and storm off. The need to scream is just as strong as the need to cry. How dare they imply that we would sully their victory. I run back into their meeting. I now am angry. “How dare you tell us that we should not interfere with your victory. We were the first to die! We were the first to fight back! You only started to fight when it became inconvenient for you. Counsel, I will take my pack and storm the palace. We have the right and obligation to our dead to avenge them.”

I turn to march when they restricted my ability to leave. “You will not do that. We will let the humans take care of their own. If we act, there will always be the ones that will call us the evil ones.”

“That is bull shit and you know it. If that is your decision, you will be held responsible for everything that these humans inflict on us. Responsible for everyone of those who are slaves. You have children that are missing. Each one of those slaves killed, because of their edict, are your children. I know from my own nightmares that you will curse sleep. I will obey your orders. I will stay in the hide but I will address my pack. Now let me leave. The Green Ghost is just that, dead ghosts. Our fallen are dishonored by your actions today.”

They let me leave and I call my pack together.

“We are being ordered to stand down. The humans want the privilege of taking down the king. We are not to interfere with them. Our counsel has decided to let them have the glory. I wanted to march now on the palace but I was ordered not to leave. They are going to outlaw slavery but they do not have measures in place to prevent those owner from disposing of them. As much as it goes against everything I believe in, we will obey our leaders. We stand down.”

There were no murmurs. It was outright shouting their disgust but all will comply. We all say that regardless of how this works out, we will remain dead for we know that this will never end until we win.

I tell them, “Even if my mate was to come back, I still will be dead. I will delight that she is alive but I do not have it in me to celebrate. I know, deep down my Ziva is in the final life.”

There is nothing left in me or any of my pack. We all go over to the drinking area and start to get drunk. One by one, as they hear, other packs come into the hide and join us in our constant drunken state.

When all the packs are in, everyone now knows the fate of their loved ones. My mate and brother have not returned. None of us that have lost ones, do not inquire about them. It is also a dishonor to seek out someone to tell them how their loved one died in battle. All know that it would result in the informer being beaten. We know they are dead. The rebels did take the palace. They caught Erik trying to escape along with his cronies. They all were executed. Public hanging. All the rebels were celebrating. They were taking all the accolades for ending their suffering.

In all that celebrating, there was still the occasional shouting about now taking revenge for all those the Green Ghost destroyed.

Nothing changes.