The War In His Mind

Chapter 13

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

***

Abraham stared out into the city, watching new houses and small businesses being built. He wondered what the lives of those inhabitants would be like fully freed from the looming threat of Thomas O'Neil. "I have seen the burden laid on men. Everything is beautiful in its time. Eternity has been placed into their hearts. It's why I stayed in the city. This is a country for men like myself... men who embrace the call of originality."

Both Abraham and Israel were standing in the command tower, in the same spot from ten months before when they took control of Uptown and rewrote the code.

"And when they die? What becomes of us if O'Neil takes all of this away? My fear, Abraham..." Israel took a deep breath"...Is that all of our great works could be wiped from this world with too little effort from the enemy."

Abraham bowed his head. "Does death pass over anyone? Even the great Roman Empire crumbled. They must have known it would happen. Yet they strived to make the most of every situation. "

Abraham pointed to the buildings and streets outside of the tower. In his eyes, they were far more beautiful than they had ever been before. "Do you know what I see? A better world. A place full of life. A city I can be proud of."

In the ten months since Abraham and Israel rewrote the code, Uptown became a center of commerce. Shops opened with their own products and parks sprang up between the buildings. The code had been programmed to spawn children and animals and all sorts of creatures. They lived, for the most part, in harmony together. It was the start of what Abraham had envisioned for the world. There were soldiers, doctors, school teachers, and every profession imaginable on the streets of the city.

"When I look out into this world, I see success where O'Neil failed," Abraham said.

"And what of our own failures?"

Abraham sighed. "There is a time for war... and a time for peace. A time to gather our resources, and a time to eliminate our enemies from this plane of existence."

Israel paced in circles around the tower, a familiar pattern Abraham noticed. "Our two sides of the city...Uptown and Downtown... can they ever be at peace?"

"We conquered Uptown- that was the easy part." Abraham pressed a button and a holographic map appeared before him. "O'Neil won't rest until we're defeated. Every few days we lose at least a family in a small skirmish somewhere in Uptown."

Isaiah suppressed a shudder. "All of this will come to pass... let's ensure that is passes in our favor."

A shadow popped up behind Abraham. He sensed something was behind him and peered over his shoulder to see a middle aged woman. He met her twice before yet recalled her name with ease. Natasha. She was part of the Wonder City reconstruction committee, which unsurprisingly contained only Abraham, Israel, and now her. It was on their shoulders to bring Uptown, and eventually Downtown, into a better version of themselves.

A wide skirt connected to a dress shirt and sport jacket swung around her slender legs. Her hair, at the bottom brown, had fading roots gave away she was really blonde. It reminded Abraham that everyone was struggling with identity.

No one knew who they were because they didn't have the life experience to discover it yet.

She struggled to keep eye contact with Abraham. He dreaded a dark haunting secret hid behind her red lips. "They're gone. All of 'em."

Abraham and Israel froze. "What?" they both said in unity.

"Those scouts we sent to Downtown? I can't find them. Early reports indicate that..."

"Were you able to recover any intel?" Abraham felt sick at the thought of losing his men.

"There's nothing significant..."

Abraham felt a churning in his stomach. "I... I personally sent our three greatest spies... and we lost them?"

Natasha bowed her head. "Sir, I know how you must feel..."

Abraham raised his hand in the air and cut her off. "First- never call me sir. We're on the same level. And second..." He turned towards the computer console and typed commands. "... those men were sons to me. I watched them grow. I treated them like family..."

His demeanor became dark and calloused. "I want both entrances to Downtown under heavy guard until this is resolved."

He stared into Natasha's eyes and felt a warmth flow through him. His skin tingled and desire flickered in his mind. No one had ever looked at him like she did. It was a look that said "I see your pain. I feel your pain. I want to fix your pain." It was the type of look that made him want to see her more often.