December 27th, 20—. Weather: warm for winter. Sun likely rose around 7:30am—like usual—and the sun has yet to set. Maybe today, the sun will never set. Right now, it's a cool 65ºF in the Liberation Alliance headquarters. Or at the very least, very close to it; I can't be sure. Likely reaching near 80ºF due to the sweating, anxious men and women populated in a single hall, but I can't be sure.
It's time. All the Liberalists are gathered in one spot as we wait for the Commander to come out to give out orders to disperse. Our weapons are already loaded, and we have enough ammo and water in our bags for days. Or hours. Or minutes. Or for a lifetime—I can't be sure. On one side of me, Phil was standing there, quiet as can be. On the other side, I could hear Dani trying to comfort Esmae before her nerves get the best of her.
"Mae, think of all the things that you'll do," she said, a hand on the other's back. "Think of all the things that you want to do. After this, you'll finally be able to do them. Just think about that and only that. Think about the freedom you'll have after today."
"Freedom, freedom, freedom..." the younger girl repeated, "I'll have freedom, freedom, freedom..."
"Yeah, yeah, keep thinking about that!" she said, her voice rushing. "Tell me—tell me all the things that you're going to do. Tell me your dreams, Esmae. Let it all out."
Taking a deep breath, with a shaking voice, she said, "I'm... I'm going to go to a university outside of Libentina—maybe in... I dunno...Xadille—and I'm going to study history. History. Yeah, 'cause I like history. I'm going to study there and get some... degree or whatever...and I'll come back. And it'll be great. I'll come back and... Libentina will be safe and happy again, and I'll start up a new Adair Foster Home. Teach kids there. They'll be happy...and safe. And get adopted by good families. They'll be really happy."
"That's good," Dani said, "you have plans for the future. You're going to live."
Suddenly, Esmae asked, "What about you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, what are you going to do? It's not like you're going to...today, right?" Frantically, she asked again, "Right, Dani?! You're not... you're not—"
"No, no, of course I won't!" she exclaimed a little too quickly. "I will settle down in Middle Libentina with some nice guy and start a family. I'll also have a music shop and I'll have all my recordings there and people can...listen to them. I'll spread the joy around. One record at a time."
Turning to the other side, Esmae then asked Luckas, "What about you, Luckas?"
"What about me, Adair?"
Repeating her previous question, she asked, "What are you going to do tomorrow? What's your dream? What do you want to have?"
He was silent for a moment. Looking at Esmae's face, his silence was obvious killing her moral. Thus, quietly and calmly, he replied, "I'll settle down in Lower Libentina and live a quiet life—that's what I'll do, Adair."
"That sounds great! So happy!" Frantically, she turned to the next person. And the next person.
"I don't have dreams," Axel said, "but I do hope that it will turn out okay."
"I... I just want to live until I make it to middle school," Chris said softly.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with the— a person that I love," Phillip murmured, "Anywhere is fine. As long as I'm with them, I'll be happy."
"I want everyone to win," Newvy said, particularly looking at me.
Finally, it was my turn. Everyone's eyes were on me. I gulped. What was my dream? What was it that I wanted after all of this was over and done?
Suddenly, my thoughts from yesterday came back. That's right, that's what I want. I knew exactly what I wanted.
I smiled. "My dream is for everyone to be happy."
Before anyone could say a word, the mic sounded and the Commander was on the stage. With her armor on, she looked like a force to be reckoned with—more so than usual. With her stance mirroring that of our late General.
"My friends, the day has finally arrived for us to overthrow the tyrant that has been ruling over us. For too long have we been under his hand, letting him wreck havoc on our friends, our families, our society. Today, we will finally take back what is ours: this country!"
Cheers.
Some men came on stage. They were rolling a board. Pointing at it, she commanded:
"Today, we will be storming the Ainsworth Castle in search of two people in particular: the King and Princess Evangeline. Our priority is to slay the King; our second is to retrieve the princess to end the virus that is the X.Q. virus."
Even more cheers.
"We will storm the castle in waves. First, we will send in Infantry VI to the frontlines to secure a path for Infantry V, who will not only clear the halls to the throne room, but also to the Princess' tower. From then on, the Vanguard will be assisted by the remaining members of Infantry V and VI and III to the Princess' tower while Infantry IV, II, and I, respectively, storm the throne room.
"I cannot promise that you will make it out alive, soldiers, but heed my words: although you may fall at the hands of our enemy, you have died for the betterment of our country, the great and beautiful Libentina!"
Stronger cheers.
"As we head out of these doors today, please stand on guard and leave no friend behind! We either succeed together or die together!"
Cheers again.
"For Libentina!"
"For Libentina!" the crowd cheered. Looking around, there were at least 500 of us—half of the entire army. Still, that was more than expected. The operation wasn't mandatory. No man could force another man to give up his life for something even they didn't know they could survive. Yet here were half of the men and women, willing to give up their lives for this cause. It was more than anyone could ask for. And they were all doing it willingly for the sake of our country: Libentina.
As we piled out of the room, heading for the outside world, the national anthem of Libentina could be heard:
Oh Libentina,
Meadows and fields aglow
Laced with cinn'mon and gentle winds
With mountains and chateaux
Oh Libentina,
In your bosom grow
A kingdom for all mankind
And rivers ever flow
Where man can gently rest
And children always sing
A country that is blessed
Whose anthem will always ring
Oh Libentina,
A kingdom blessed by God
Will reign with Aaron's Rod
For peace and wealth for all!
YOU ARE READING
Breathe
Adventure"It all started with me, and it'll all end with me." Alastair Adair, sixteen and somewhat suicidal, has decided to avenge his fallen friends by finding the cure for the X.Q. virus and overthrowing the government. With his friends, the Liberalists, b...
