Rise

Chapter Twelve: Breaking In

The air danced in waves in front of the grey building, causing the bodies of the armed guards to sway and shift. Matt watched with intent as a pair of armoured soldiers stepped from a truck, slinging rifles over their backs. The two guards that stood posted before what seemed to be the main entrance suddenly stiffened and stood at attention, their right hands rising to their foreheads in salute.

The duo of soldiers approached the entrance, the one with a red stripe of paint along his shoulder pauldron gave the men a short wave and they relaxed, making the chain of command very clear.

Matt watched the men for a time, studying their movements for he could not hear the conversation that was clearly going on. He noted the numerous times the men all stopped and held a finger to their ears, each looking as if they were intently listening to some disembodied voice speaking to them from the heavens. Matt imagined it must have been some sort of announcement over a radio but was confused as to why all stopped together. Was the announcement for all soldiers? Are orders not given to those they pertain to? Or is this some sort of special occasion? All questions Matt doubted he’d find the answer to.

“How are we getting in?” Emma whispered in Matt’s ear, shaking him from his thoughts, causing him to jerk slightly. Returning to his senses he contemplated her question from his prone position atop a small hill that overlooked the building. She lay next to him at his left and Flint had flattened himself against the ground to his right. The dog had stayed silent the entire time, watching the soldiers as they patrolled, his dark eyes rarely blinking. Matt wondered what the dog was thinking about, what was formulating in his head.

“I’m not sure yet. Obviously they aren’t going to let us in, even if we ask nicely, and a frontal assault is out of the question. We’ve been lucky but I doubt we’d make it two metres from this spot,” Matt replied, wracking his brain for their options.

“What about a side entrance, maybe somewhere we can sneak in?”

“It’s possible, but would require a bit more scouting. I guess we’ll have to try but we’ll have to move a bit further off again. We are too close to be mistaken for a mirage now,”

“Then let’s get going,”

 “Not so fast. I’d like to watch those soldiers for a little longer. The ones in the armour look exactly like the ones that took Rose. And it’s curious to see them next to normal ones in basic fatigues,” 

 “How so?” 

 “I’m not sure exactly,  I guess I just imagined they’d all be armoured in the same way. Faceless, alien. Seeing soldiers not much older than me makes me feel bad for them, it’ll make it harder if we have to fight. The men in their full helmets, with their dark visors and robotic voices, it makes it much easier,” 

 “And the fact that they took Rose,”

 Matt sighed, “Yes, that too,” 

 A silence grew between the two, as it often did when touching on such subjects. Matt knew Emma thought she had crossed a line, talking about his sister. Even though he had made it clear he didn’t mind talking about it, she still seemed to feel guilty. He wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her shoulder and turning his head so that he was looking straight at her. 

 “I’m alright, you know that right?” 

 “How Matt? How in the hell are you not curled up in a corner cursing the world and its cruel fates? I’ve watched you sleep, I know your mind is tormented with guilt. Or do you just cry out in the night for the hell of it? Wherever you go when you dream must be some hell on earth and yet, when you are awake you seem fine, level headed . . . it doesn’t make sense to me,” Emma shouted, even though her voice never rose above a whisper.