Red Rock

Chapter 28: The Only One (Part 1)

Chapter 28 The Only One

Daire opened his eyes to the commotion outside. His heart already felt like a fluttering butterfly struggling against the wind. His dark room was the perfect paradise for the intentional blissful ignorance he was trying to embrace. He exited the door. People from all over were up early to eat breakfast with the brave soldiers. Certain gratification was being shown to the men fighting. They were fighting for the good of the people of O'Connor. They were risking their lives for the community they loved and their fellow civilians that formed it.

Daire took a step outside and already felt light headed. 'Today's the day,' he thought with a yawn. Finding Luke was easy. Daire could see him in full military uniform, making last arrangements before giving the order to leave. Luke politely stopped the conversation he was having at the sight of Daire approaching him. "That's a nice uniform," Daire said honestly, admiring his commanding appearance.

"I brought it with me to Mars," Luke said proudly, looking at the three arrowed emblems on his left shoulder. "I knew I was going to use it again. You can never get too far away from war."

"Not until there's no one left to fight," Daire said.

"Then you fight amongst another," he countered. "And the cycle continues."

Daire didn't care about the difference of opinion, as long as Luke wasn't around at the end of the day to tell it. "It looks uncomfortable," he said, motioning toward the uniform's bulk.

"Proper performance has to be met with proper preparation. I have to look my part."

"Fair enough," Daire said, giving a fake smile. "Have you released Jacob from his imprisonment yet?"

"Let him go this morning. Last I saw, he was eating breakfast like the rest of us."

"Good."

"We should be on the move in the next thirty minutes. Do the cannibals know the plan?"

"Yes, they do," Daire confirmed. "They're expecting us."

"Excellent. Now all we need is the dried rations you buried. It might be a while until we're back here to eat again."

Daire's immediate instinct was to say 'no', the more Luke needed him, the better. But he had changed his mind. It would prove to be a hardship to everyone if there was no food, an unnecessary attrition that could cause severe problems. Daire knew it would also be an advantage to make Luke feel comfortable before falling into his trap. "I buried them behind my cabin," Daire admitted. The hiding spot was far from ideal, but at that time there had been too much chaos going on for Daire to hide the dried rations at a less obvious location.

Luke showed signs of regret in his facial expression. The place was so obvious that it was almost worth it for Daire not to say anything and let the dried rations turn up on their lonesome. "Behind your cabin, huh?" Luke asked to confirm, pressing his tongue in his cheek.

Daire enjoyed seeing Luke's discomfort at the obvious hiding place he had picked. "Yeah. It should be pretty obvious if you send a couple of people to dig it up. You can tell the ground had been altered as of late. They're only about a foot and a half underground too. Your men might not even need a shovel." Daire made sure his statement would put as much salt in Luke's wound as possible before leaving him. Their passive aggressive nature was a battle of wits. It was going to end soon.