The Adventures of a Sword

Chapter 27

"So can you explain why exactly you didn't want to tell Carl this?" Olivia asked.
    "I barely even know Carl," replied Jordan. "While you guys are my best friends, Carl is some guy that I just met."
    "So I take it that you're not gonna kill Balthazar?" asked Arnie.
    "I can't," said Jordan. "I can spend all day and all night ripping Emperor Ginold and his men into shreds, but I won't do any of it to Balthazar."
    "Then what are you gonna do with him?" said Gary.
    "I'll try to recruit him," said Jordan.
    "No, you're kidding," said Olivia. "Balthazar killed Private Marcus, and he tried to kill us multiple times."
    "I know," Jordan said. "But he's--"
    "Guys! Come here!" Carl yelled from outside.
    Jordan, Arnie, Olivia, and Gary got out of their tent, and they went over to where Carl was standing.
    "Oh, my goodness," Olivia said.
    A soldier, Corporal Larkson, was lying on the ground with his throat slit.
    "Everyone! Get into position!" Jordan commanded. His soldiers got into position.
    "Corporal Larkson has been murdered!" he continued. "We don't know who murdered him, but all I can say is that there is a traitor among us! Traitor! If you are hearing this, you better come forward and speak for yourself! Otherwise, I will find you, and I will LOP YOUR PATHETIC HEAD OFF! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
    All of the soldiers started murmuring.
   
    "Who do you think did it?" Carl asked.
    "I wish I knew," said Jordan. "We, as an army, are fighting for Kornol the Great. I don't know why any pathetic and atheistic traitors would go behind our back like this."
    "Maybe it's that weird looking corporal dude," said Arnie.
    "You mean Corporal Larkson killed himself?" Gary inquired.
    "Yes, egghead," Arnie said sarcastically. "Totally."
    Olivia shook her head. "Morons," she said quietly.
    "No," Arnie continued. "I'm talking about that Corporal Pannots dude. He's been acting very suspicious ever since Olivia, Carl, Gary, and I joined this army."
    "Corporal Pannots is a high-ranking soldier," said Jordan. "I'll fail to see why anyone would think he's a traitor."
    "Well, I'm just following the rule of thumb," said Arnie. "Everyone's a suspect. Including me."
    Carl gasped. "You!" he said while pointing at Arnie. "You did it! You're the traitor."
    "Carl," said Olivia, rolling her eyes.
    "Captain!" Corporal Pannots yelled from outside. "We got another victim!"
    "See?" Arnie said. "I told you. It's definitely Corporal Pannots. Because, as you can see, the criminal is always at the scene of the crime."
    "Shut up, Arnie," said Gary as he followed everyone else to the crime scene.
    Jordan walked up to a body. It was Lieutenant Kane. He was stabbed through the chest.
    "You better speak up now," said Jordan. "Who's doing this? WHO'S THE TRAITOR?!"
    No one answered.
    "All right, then," said Jordan. "I'll have to figure out myself. Corporal Pannots? Go out there and grab some ammo. And make sure what happened to Private Marcus doesn't happen to you."
    "Yes, Captain," Corporal Pannots replied. He ran off. A few hours later, he returned with ammo.
    "Okay," said Jordan. "I'm taking out this gun, and the next time someone is murdered, I'LL HAVE TO GUESS WHO THE MURDERER IS, AND I'LL KILL ANYONE ON SI--"
    A gun cocked behind Jordan.
    "Not so fast, Captain."
    Jordan slowly turned around. It was Colonel Biorge.
    "Why, Colonel?" Jordan said. "Why would you betray us? You spent so many years fighting Emperor Ginold with us, and then you go ahead and backstab us."
    "I'm doing it for Northeast Planet," said Colonel Biorge. "When I was a kid, Emperor Ginold wiped out every single one of my friends and family. I have no one left. Ever since then, the only way I can take out Emperor Ginold is by murdering as many people as possible. Therefore, Ginold would find no reason to go out there and commit mass genocide, and he would give up and disappear."
    "You're sick," said Jordan. "You betrayed us. You betrayed us all."
    "Well, good for you," said Colonel Biorge. "You have no idea how to handle things properly. You can only battle Emperor Ginold in vain. You can't do anything properly."
    Jordan immediately turned around and shot Biorge in the shoulders. Colonel Biorge ran off.