Eliot Strange and the Prince of the Apocalypse

52) This is How it Begins

On a war movie when the battle is over, the ones who survive are happy or at least relieved that it is all over. When good wins over evil in a movie, it feels great. There is back slapping and smiling and smoking cigarettes and swigging liquor. Though the good guys lose some friends and sidekicks, it all seems worth it somehow.

In real life, it does not feel like this at all. When I finally come awake later in the evening when it is dark, there is a sadness in the air that is suffocating. Sure, some of the survivors are eating what is left of a roasted pig, but there's no celebration. There's no - Look what we did. Or - We are the winners. There's no - Look, the underdogs won this time. 

Just sadness.

Many are dead. Mr. Newsome and about thirty townspeople, some of them children, were caught in the crossfire. I prop myself up on my sore elbows and look around camp. Of the Resistance, only Leia, Sarah, Adam, Clay, a wounded Hellman, and a lady I don't know survive. I look over beside me and see a wide awake Steven resting beside a sleeping Tommy, the Strikeout King.

By some miracle, Tommy is alive. He survived the explosion. He looks tumbled and bruised, and the side of his face is scraped like he slid head first into second base. I see his arm in a sling too. No more strikes for him, at least for now. I look closer and notice that Steven is holding Tommy's good hand. I raise one eyebrow the way friends do, and right back Steven answers my unasked question by shrugging his shoulders and smiling like he has a secret to tell.

I smile back. After all we've been through, my best friend deserves a hand to hold onto. "Where's Torin?

"He was resting. He's still weak. But some girls woke him up and enticed him away from your side." He points to where Torin sits with Cindy and Marla. It looks like there might be a tea party going on.

I look at Marla. I am happy she survived. She seems sweet and innocent, though I know she can shoot lights out. She blushes and smiles at my prince. She seems so young. She is fifteen, and I am only just now turned eighteen, but I feel ancient. Fifteen seems like a long time ago.

"What happened to me?" I ask Steven.

"Breath knocked out of you, exhausted, choked, blown up. All the above. Who knows? We just thought whatever it was, you needed to rest."

I look around, "Carli?"

"Last I saw, she was running across the field being chased by soldiers. They must have got her because we haven't found her." He points to bodies lined up on the homefield side.

I am relieved she's not dead, though I've been mad and jealous of her since she came back into my life. Now, I just want to see her and know for sure that a member of my family is still alive.

"Jack?"

"Same with him. Just gone. I saw him dragged off by the soldiers and Mr. Thomas before the fireworks began."

I look over to where Torin is playing and wave shyly. He smiles back at me and shrugs like he can't possibly get away. I start walking over to him and stop to speak to Hellman.

"Where's Sorenson?" I ask Hellman.

"He died before we even got started. The same guy that tried to get you, got him first. Knifed him in the back. Bastard."

"Oh, I wanted to thank him for saving me," I say now wondering who took my attacker out. It must have been Mr. Newsome. Then I realize that I need to thank Hellman too.

"Thank you for your shooting there at the end, you saved mine and Steven's life."

She blushes. "Wasn't me. Never fired a shot. My gun was busted. I was just holding it up to make them believe I had a working weapon. Old trick. Then, I got hit." She points to her bandaged hand. "Not much help at all after that."

"Wow, you are even braver than I thought. Protecting others with a fake gun. Wow."

Hellman blushes again. "We all gotta do what we gotta do sometimes." She looks over to where Torin is talking to Cindy and looking like he might be playing baby dolls and tea party. She adds with some pride this time, "We gotta do what we gotta do to save our prince."

"Yes," I say as I smile because now I do feel like there is cause for a celebration, "Anything to save our prince."

I walk over to the tea party where Torin holds his pinky up and drinks out of a pretend tea cup. When I sit down, he says, "Would my lady care for a spot of tea?"

Marla and Cindy both giggle.

"Yes," I say. "Certainly."

When the sun goes down and it is quiet because there are not many of us left, we meet in our usual spot around a campfire in the courtyard of the school where me and my friends used to eat lunch everyday before the world ended. I look around at those left. There are not many, but we are strong and brave and willing to die for our cause. We are a motley crew, a group of strangers from different backgrounds who under other circumstances would not know each other or be friends.

We are a rag-tag bunch for sure.

We are sad and beaten down, but we won a battle today. There is hope. We have a leader and we are ready for a fight. We are ready to make another stand.

The One Nation Army will not take our country without a fight.

And they can't have our prince either.