CHAPTER 7:
Captives of the Void
Bubbles escaped from his throat to the non existent surface. He watched them indefinitely travel upwards, never to reach their destination. It was pitch black, no sight of anything, no sound either. He tried to swim up but only sank faster. He panicked as he looked around for any way to escape. A cold grasp plagued his leg and he sharply looked down to see a zombified soldier squeezing it. He screamed as more zombies pulled down at him. His mouth opened to shriek but nothing came out. Silence is all that came from his cries for help, no one was here to listen or help. He clenched his fist and focused before propelling himself forward with air and torpedoed upwards. The zombies lost their grips and sank as he floated away. Before he could celebrate a massive zombie grabbed him and pulled him back down. The zombie pulled him close and glared at him. The charred and familiar face eerily opened its mouth with blood flowing out of it. The blood moved like a gas through the liquid as it fogged the entire landscape. He felt more zombies grab him from behind and begin to surround him. They all advanced on him until a light from under them broke open, the dark red blood was now bright and illuminated. The light's appearance was accompanied by a high pitched ringing to the preferred silence. The zombies all paused and watched the light move towards them. It floated past all of them with ease, not bound to the weight of any liquid. It passed through all the zombies until it met with Geoffren. The light had no face, body, or identity but he knew who it was. The ringing rose in pitch and volume with the light getting brighter. It’s brightness erased the void before a loud bang was heard. It was dark again, silent again, Geoffren sank down as the blood from his forehead swam to the non-existent surface. The sounds of the night exploded in his ears as he woke in a cold sweat, exiting the void. It was like he could hear everything. The crickets perfectly harmonized as the moon danced to it. The leaves and twigs crunched under their feet with each step they took. The group’s heavy breaths echoed in his ears, he knew he was awake.
“General? Are you alright?” Raygal asked while carrying Geoffren on his back. The others walked in front of them led by Kelnick. His eyes held that strong green glow as he dodged branches and twigs the others couldn’t see.
“I’m fine.” Geoffren said.
“Bad dream?” Raygal asked.
“Usually.” Geoffren answered as he got off. He pulled out half of his cigar from his pocket seeing it was soaked. He felt back down and noticed his entire leg was wet. He slowly looked up at Raygal who was already cringing.
“Raygal, please don’t say anything.” Geoffren said as he walked past him. Raygal was visibly shaking in disgust.
“I-I wont, general…” Raygal said, stiffly following behind him and the others, trying to isolate his wet leg. Latrey and Evanglow hit their heads on branches they couldn’t see in the night.
“Branch on your left. Root on your right. Fly swarm, left.” Kelnick said as he dodged each one. The two resented being sucker-punched by the forest.
“Can we use Evanglow’s light? This is starting to piss me off.” Latrey said.
“No it’s too bright, the enemy will see us.” Kelnick answered.
“What enemy? We’re only a few miles from camp. Can’t you think?”
“Yes, I can. That’s why I didn’t recommend using the light.” Kelnick retorted. Latrey motioned for Evanglow to kindle his light. He reluctantly did, causing Kelnick to turn around and glare at them.
“She made me!” Evanglow shouted.
“Quit being an ass, Kelnick. This way we can all see.” Latrey said.
“Do what you want then.” Kelnick said as he swapped places with Evanglow. The aftermath from the last few days stuck with the group. Irritability and angst followed them all the way back. They fought amongst the enemy and themselves the entire time. There was not a moment of peace for most of them.
“Do you ever walk faster than a sleeping mule?” Latrey asked Geoffren as he struggled to keep up.
“What’s the rush, Latrey? There’s no need to move so quickly. There’s no one Geoffren and I have to save at camp.” Raygal fired back.
“Speaking of rushing, let’s hurry.” Geoffren said as he trotted in front of the others.
“I left Ephraim in Evanglow’s tent with enough food and water to last him a week. He’ll be healed and no one will suspect a thing. Once that’s taken care of, I need to see about the other soldiers who saw me.” He thought. Geoffren hurried next to Evanglow and matched his pace.
“Can I help you? General?” Evanglow sheepishly asked.
“I need your assistance when we arrive, very important.” Geoffren responded as he stared at the light. Completely enraptured by it, Geoffren’s eyes followed it’s seductive sways. Evanglow, feeling embarrassed, attempted to move it out of Geoffren’s direct line of sight, but his eyes only followed.
“Is it something to do with reporting to Zultor?” Evanglow asked. Geoffren snapped out of the trance and finally made eye contact.
“No, you’re under oath, I can’t know the details of your objective.” Geoffren said.
“You can’t but I was surprised Zultor would not include you in the oath, considering you played such a big part in the objective.”
“I was only ordered to extract you. I had no insight on being included in your mission there.” Geoffren said, intrigued.
“That begs the question, why aren’t you under oath? You were sent after our mission and had no clue we were even there. Why don’t you know anything?” Evanglow asked. Geoffren’s eyes slightly widened.
“That’s a good question.” He said, looking down.
“I was shocked you didn’t know.” Kelnick said, interrupting.
“You didn’t think to ask him why we were there?” He continued.
“I was told enough to toe the mark, so I did.” Geoffren said.
“Shirker my ass.” Kelnick responded.
“I think we’re overstepping boundaries now, Kelnick. We should do as we’re told, no questions asked, like the general. The objective was completed so it doesn’t matter anymore.” Evanglow said. Geoffren’s eyes widened even larger as he looked back to Evanglow.
“It wasn’t a failure? Did you complete it before I got there?” He asked. The two walked by his sides in silence not wanting to answer. They both stared straightforwardly, walking in perfect unison, like toy soldiers.
“No.” Kelnick answered. His posture and walk instantly changed to one of lax upon his response. Evanglow’s face turned shocked, the fact Kelnick could and did answer astounded him. He also exhibited a relaxed walk after looking back at Kelnick. The group walked a little further till smelling the camp downwind. The winds blew the scent of flame and body odor towards them. They finally made it and immediately walked to the mess hall. The chef was just packing things up for the night but made them some quick meals before heading to bed himself. The group ate like they never had before with blotches of food and crumbs flying everywhere. Geoffren didn’t eat all but watched Evanglow the entire time, waiting for him to finish. Raygal noticed but kept eating despite it.
“Never thought I’d be happy to eat this shit.” Latrey said with a mouth full of it.
“I’ll send your compliments to the chef.” The chef said as he began heading to his tent. As he walked he heard loud marching approach the mess hall. He quickly panicked and began trying to block off the entrance.
“What’s going on?” Raygal asked as he watched him frantically move. The blockade fell over as 20 men piled into the tent. They all spread around the tent and stared at the entrance as a small man slowly entered.
“Bull run! Bull run!” They all chanted as they began rummaging through all the food. The small man sat at the table with the others and waited as they all piled plates of food in front of him. He waited with a maniacal face before the stacks of food covered the view of it completely. He raised his hand and the chanting stopped, he took a deep breath, and began devouring all of it immediately. Cheers cried out from of all the men as the food disappeared in front of him. Empty plates rocketed towards the floor as he licked them clean. The small man grew in size after each plate he finished, growing from 5’6 to 6’8 in seconds. His muscles almost tore through his uniform as they grew to the size of watermelons. The others stared in confusion as more plates went flying. He licked the last one clean before standing to tower over everyone there.
“I am godddd—blerrgghhh” He said before vomiting everything he had ate.
“Bullus! You idiot you always do this!” The chef said from the back of the tent. Bullus shrank back to his normal size and fell to the ground. The other soldiers carried him laughing and cheering. They saw this as entertainment in dark times, the one thing that could make them laugh. Kelnick stood up with an unamused face and began exiting the tent.
“I’m going to report back to Zultor, he’s waiting on us.” He said as he exited. Evanglow finished his water and also got up to leave. Before he could, Geoffren grabbed him.
“Help me first.” He said.
“I can after I speak to Zultor, he wants a full report as soon as possible.”
“What happened to taking orders, no questions asked?”
“Fine.” Evanglow said as he followed Geoffren outside. The two walked through the settlement of tents in the crisp moonlight. The crickets still sang their consistent harmony as they passed by. Evanglow recognized the area even in the dark of night. They were heading towards his tent out of all of them. He tried not to question it though as their pace halted and Geoffren turned to him. Geoffren’s face was still one of dry and flat nature while he opened the tent. The inside was brimming with an uninviting darkness accompanied with a revolting stench that punched him in the face. Every alarm in Evanglow’s head rang as he stared into the inhospitable void. Natural human instinct coupled with a childish and innate fear of the dark girdled his heart, causing him to step away from the tent.
“It’s ok.” Geoffren said. Evanglow rigidly entered the tent, taking his time with each step as the distasteful smell bludgeoned his brain. Geoffren creepily followed in and closed it behind him. His footsteps ceased when they pressed up against a meaty and firm object. His hand kindled into light revealing Ephraim laying on the ground, his face under a pillow. He slowly turned back to look at Geoffren in dread.
“Heal him.” He said slowly as he turned back around. Evanglow cautiously approached Ephraim with his beaming light, revealing more of his horrid condition. His body was bruised and pale, vomit sprinkled across the tent floor along with stains of urine and sweat. Evanglow’s hand closed in before Geoffren moved him aside. Geoffren pulled the pillow off of his face to see Ephraim with open, glazed over eyes and a mouth caked in dried blood and vomit. The ghastliness of such sight caused both to gaze in dissociation.
“Why is there a corpse…in my tent, general?” Evanglow asked.
“Eph–h-he…wasn’t” Geoffren stuttered. Evanglow waited for him to draw any kind of answer. Geoffren couldn’t look away, he gaped at the visual, his mind was gone. Evanglow noticed and turned his light off, hindering Geoffren’s sight of the corpse, snapping him back to reality.
“He wasn’t one when I left him here.” He answered.
“You left him in here? What happened to him?!” Evanglow shouted.
“Hold your goddamn horses. Quiet. You want everybody in camp to know Ephraim is dead?”
“That’s Ephraim? Oh God.”
“All he had to do was eat the food and drink the water I left him…we were only gone for a few days. How could this have happened?” Geoffren asked. He thought about all the possibilities that came with Ephraim’s death. His mind raced as everything around him slowed down.
“How did he die?”
“What will Evanglow think?”
“How can I cover this up?”
“People will notice he’s missing.”
“I was the one last seen with him.” He manically thought.
“General.” Evanglow said once again centering him.
“Th-The plan–was for you to heal him.” He answered. Evanglow stared at Geoffren, his face was more deceitful than ever.
“Plan? He agreed to this? Did you do this to him?” Evanglow asked with a serious face. Geoffren’s calm demeanor immediately dropped. His face now desperate and despair filled.
“Ehh…no…” He exhaled. His transparent insecurity floated across his answer to Evanglow.
“To which question, general?” Evanglow asked. He watched Geoffren, who was stiffer than the corpse, closer than ever. The sheet of moonlight that slipped through the tent’s opening was the only light granted to them. Geoffren’s eye’s glistened in the moonlight as they rapidly jumped from his dwindling excuses.
“Tell me now. How did this happen.” Evanglow asked one more time. Geoffren finally looked back at him like a child who had done something wrong. In the moment he had to think, Geoffren did what he did best.
“There was a battle, a small, but brutal battle. Ephraim was attacked up close by an enemy and sustained a stomach injury. I tried to bring him to you but you were gone.” Geoffren said. Evanglow’s face turned to one impatience, waiting to see if Geoffren had anything more to say.
Geoffren's brain worked to come up with anything, his final idea being what he with.
“W-We waited for you to heal him, we thought you would be here, b-but you were gone.” Geoffren stuttered out. Evanglow’s serious demeanor began to loosen, his eyebrows raising. Geoffren noticed the change and pressed on.
“He begged for you, but you botched your mission in South Carolina and you failed to make it back in time." Geoffren said with more confidence. Evanglow’s shoulders slowly dropped a level, his gamble was working.
“I did my best, left him food and water, tended to his wounds a bit but shit. I’m no sawbones. I tried to save him but he needed you.” Geoffren said, standing up to meet Evanglow eye-to-eye. Evanglow’s face screamed remorse with a guilt deeper than any void. His tears welled before jumping to their low destination. The ball in his throat pushed the words back down it while he choked up. The internal battle was presented through his face. A series of regretful smiles and aware frowns bounced in his expressions as he slowly peered away. The doubt of it working began to befall Geoffren as Evanglow put on a derisive smile. All his worries left shortly after though, as a single tear flowed into the crack in Evanglow’s mouth.
“ I can’t possibly be expected to save everyone. Right?”
“Of course you can't, you're not God. But you can at least act like you care can’t you?”
“Well... not even God saves everyone!”
“By his own choice, not negligence. How dare you compare yourself to the lord. Your hubris and carelessness to save to save lives are disgusting.”
“I was ordered–to I was told to go to South Carolina–”
“You were not ordered to get caught and fail to return when told. You failed him, Evanglow. Ephraim is dead because of you.” Geoffren said. Evanglow fell to his knees in repentance. His hands came to his face as his blonde hair draped it. He rapidly whispered prayers as he clenched his tear drenched hands. His lowered head felt a rough palm grip it and pull it upward. The thought of it being God’s own crossed his mind before he saw Geoffren stretching from it. He turned his head to focus on Ephraim’s rotting corpse, his eyes filled with tears.
“Apologize to him, not God.” Geoffren said sternly.
“I am sorry…Ephraim.” Evanglow said as he steadily bawled. He got up and walked over to Ephraim’s corpse, leaving wet footprints as he stepped. He kneeled next to him and clenched his palm. Geoffren watched the poor man cradle the corpse in a hysteria. A delusion brought upon by an outside force. Evanglow rocked back and forth holding Ephraim’s hand, in the movement Geoffren noticed Ephraim’s purple wrist. He walked over and moved Evanglow off to inspect it.
“This bruise looks like it’s from a struggle. Was it from our fight?” Geoffren thought before checking the other wrist.
“His other wrist isn’t bruised but his palm is? Was he squeezing something with this hand?” He thought.
“What’s wrong, general?” Evanglow asked, peering over.
“Did you squeeze his wrist when you held him?”
“No sir, his left palm.” Evanglow said as he rekindled his light. He waved it over Ephraim’s body and inspected it himself. Evanglow took a careful and assessed look at both arms as he wiped his nose. His mannerisms suggested suspicion and he began working his medical examination through the rest of the body.
“General, his neck is purple aswell. His bruises seem to be struggle marks and the stains around his mouth may have happened from a seizure.” He said as he shined the light on him. Geoffren gasped ran out of the tent and was followed by Evanglow. He stood with his hands on his head and breathed heavily, putting it together.
“General, I think–” Evanglow started.
“I know.”
“The seizure was caused by asphyxiation–”
“I told you I knew”
“Do you know why anyone would murder him?!”
“Fucking quiet. As far as we know, he died in battle a fortnight ago. Understood?” Geoffren whispered. He watched Evanglow spiral until shaking him hard enough to get his attention.
“If only I was here.” He responded. Geoffren dismantled Evanglow’s tent and flew it to the nearest lake. Ephraim's weight couldn't compare to that of the guilt, it was almost immeasurable. Geoffren hated every second he carried the tent and finally threw it into the lake and watched it sink, his long time acquaintance sinking to the bottom with many questions. The weight of the corpse and guilt took longer to leave despite discarding him already. An unnerving feeling of alarm joined at the bottom of soul with the benthic sack of secrets he discarded. He lit a cigar and tried to smoke away his stress though his tolerance and anxiety wouldn’t allow for that. With each inhale he took more weight on his shoulders.
“Can anything ever go right for me? Is this karma for my past sins?” He thought as he smoked. His past watched over him like the eye God, tallying everything, and filing a suitable punishment. It stalked behind him like a shadow in the beating sun, just a darker reflection of himself and his actions.
“I come here to smoke too” Zultor said, startling Geoffren. He met Zultor’s small smile in fright. His usual welcoming personality towards his friend was nowhere to be found. Zultor pulled out his cigar and lit it in tandem with Geoffren’s, he watched as he blew the smoke into the night air.
“Just spoke with the others, glad to see they made it out alive.” Zultor said.
“Yes.” Geoffren responded tensely.
“From what I was told, Hastard the weak bastard was there?” Zultor asked with a smile. Despite all his attempts Geoffren failed to act normal for even a second.
“Oh, yes he was.”
“Was he the same old weak–”
“No.”
“Woah! He gave you trouble?”
“Of course not.” Geoffren replied with a fake smile.
“Hmph. Hope I didn’t offend you by thinking such a worthless chump would stress you. I always wondered what happened to him after he was shipped off. Guess I have my answer now. How’d you kill him?”
“Burned him to death.”
“Christ almighty, Geoffren! At least you’re consistent, always making him suffer haha!” Zultor laughed.
"Do you know why Evanglow has failed to report back to me?” He asked with a more serious tone. Geoffren’s stomach sank as he put together an answer.
“H-He was tired, I’ll have him report back to you the second I get back to camp.”
“Ok, other than losing a few deadbeats, it went alright?”
“It went fine.”
“Alright. I trust you. Consider ‘that’ your mission report, thanks for fixing my problem.”
“Thank you.” Geoffren said as he put down his cigar and began walking back to camp.
“Oh and go to my tent once you get back.” Zultor said without looking back. Geoffren fearfully awaited his reasoning.
“W-Why?”
“There’s something I want to talk to you about. I’d feel much safer in the walls of my office though. You understand?’’
“Yes, I understand.” Geoffren said before starting to walk away. The thought tethered his entire body to the area, almost like he was unable to leave if he didn’t ask. It relentlessly poked his brain and forced him into a half sense of transparency. With a deep breath, he leapt.
“What part did I play in their mission, other than their extraction?” He said. Zultor turned around with the cigar shining his straight face before immediately going back to an aloof silhouette. Despite being shrouded in darkness Zultor’s change in mood was clear as day. His calm and inviting model turned riled and annoyed.
“When did you start asking questions?" He gruffly asked. Geoffren’s Adam's apple rocketed to his chin as his sweat plunged to it. His jaw locked to stop him from answering but he thrusted the words out.
“I was– just curious, I would appreciate being privy to all missions or plans with respect to me…” He said, having to push each syllable out. Zultor’s outline slowly faded from his vision, hard blinks did their best to stop the trickery to his eyes, but nothing worked. He blended with the darkness behind him becoming an unseen voice reaching from an imperceptible place.
“When did you feel the need to know more than I told you?” The voice said. Geoffren looked to the darkness in silence, having no courage to continue speaking.
“Answer me.”
“Uhhhh–once I spoke with Evanglow and Kelnick, sir.”
“Who told you to pry at two soldiers under oath for information?”
“It was nothing of the sort, sir.” Geoffren said scaredly.
“Then why the need to know? Plans of mutiny?”
“Of course not, sir!”
“Can’t you just act when told? Why must you think?”
“I don’t know sir I was curious! I’m human…” Geoffren responded. The void began a low hum that vibrated Geoffren’s body.
“When under orders, you are not. You act as an agent of my word and you carry that message to every corner I send you. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir.” Geoffren said, sweating bullets. Zultor’s outline suddenly reappeared, the cigar still in his hand. Geoffren shivered with a straight face as he awaited Zultor’s next words.
“Go back to my tent, I will see you there.” He said as he turned around. Geoffren walked to the camp with each shivering step. His legs struggled to hold his body weight as he made his way back. He feared for Zultor’s plans in the tent and what would come next for him.
CHAPTER 7
END