Broken Knowledge

Chapter 23

     Explosions. The intense explosions in the air made Alan's ears bleed, but he kept pushing, refusing to let his defensive line fall.
     "Sir we can't hold our lines for much longer!" Pvt. Miller cried.
     Alan's regiment was being pounded from ground and air assaults.
     The machine gun nests on the roofs if the buildings really helped, but they could only do so much.
     Bridgett and Vian were both doing a really good job defensivly. Alan had never seen anyone so accurate with a sniper rifle until he saw Bridgett. He knew she was going to be a skilled sniper when the time came. And Vian was really handy with the AK, aiming carefully and quickly and hitting his targets with deadly accuracy. Alan sensed some Ghost potential in him.(The Ghosts were a team of skilled soldiers meant to get in, complete a mission quickly, then haul ass out of there.)
     Then the attack began to weaken. Alan realized that the battle was won when enemy planes began to fly away.
     A yell of triumph arose from the Sky's soldiers. Alan was about to join in when he gasped in horror. The Bunker, which was full of innocent men, women, and children was going up in flames.
     Alan ran to the burning Bunker and sprinted into the building, ignoring the protests from soldiers and the searing heat.
     "HELLO!" He yelled."IS ANYONE HERE! I'M HERE TO HELP!"
     "Help!" A small voice cried. Alan ran to it to see Melody. The girls leg was pinned under a burning chunk of wood. Her mother's bottom half was under the wood.
     The woman looked up at Alan and said,"You're that boy from the plane that was with those weird... Things."
     "Yeah that was me." Alan said, trying to lift the wood off of them."
     Melody scrambled out from under the wood as soon as her leg was released.
     She grabbed her mother and said,"Mommy, c'mon let's go!"
     Melody's mother looked at her daughters face, tears running down her face, and said,"I'm sorry baby, but Mommy isn't going to make it."
     Melody began to cry, realizing what her mother meant.
     "NO! Please Mommy! Get up! Please, I don't want to leave you!"
     "I'm sorry baby, but go with Alan," Melody's mother said, putting her hand on her daughters cheek. Melody held her hand with both of her little hands and sobbed,"Please mommy!"
     Melody's mother shook her head sadly. She looked at Alan and said,"Take care of her for me. Please."
     "Ma'am, I won't have to because I'm not leaving you here!"
     "I'm not gonna make it," the woman said."Take her and go."
     She cupped Melody's face in her hands and took her final look at her daughter.
     "Beautiful," she said."You're going to be a beautiful woman one day sweetheart. I'm just sad I won't live to see it." The woman's hands slipped and landed on the ground as Melody's mother let put her final breath and went still.
     "MOMMY NOOOOOO!" Melody cried. She tried to lunge back to her mother, but Alan grabbed her and ran towards the exit as the building collapsed around him.
     Melody fought him the whole way, crying for her mother.
     Just as he scrambled out of the building, it collapsed completely.
     Alan put Melody down, and the girl fell to her knees and put her hands on her face, sobbing.
     Alan felt tears running down his face too. This young girl had just lost her mother. Just like he did, so he knew how she felt. Alan felt his heart fill with more hate for the Dictator and the cruelty he brought upon this land.
     Alan hugged Melody, trying to comfort her, but the young girl continued crying.

(I may or may not be wiping a tear off of my cheek right now.)
                     😖😢😭
     "WHAT!" Mara exclaimed.
     "They said no," Cap'n Cuttlefish said."They said any Inklings or Octolings that wanted to join you, could, but would be considered traitors and never be allowed to return."
     The crowd shifted uncomfortably.
     Mara sighed."Anyone," She began,"that wishes to join us will be provided food, shelter, and protection from the sick bastard that tortured for fun and considers killing a fun sport."
     Silence. Even though there were about 100 people (I'm just gonna say "people"so I'm not constantly having to be like, Inkling and Octolings and humans) there, or was so quiet a pin drop could be heard. The crowd of Inklings and Octolings processed this, conflicted looks on their faces. They were confused and scared. Forest, humans just showed up after being dead for 10,000 years, then they find out how was they are compared to them, then they find out a human was planning on killing them for fun, and now that were being offered to go live with the humans.
     An Inkling girl stepped up and said,"I wanna live, so I'm going."
     Then more announced that wanted to come. After so the Inklings and Octolings that wanted to go with them for safety, they're were about 32 in all.(10 Octolings and 22 Inklings, and one of those Inklings was Cap'n Cuttlefish)
     That's it!? Mara thought. Cod damn it!
     "Okay,"Jonas said, for those who want to come, go home and pack your belongings and be back in 1 hour."
     The crowd dispersed, mostly. Some that chose to stay, lingered to ask questions.
     This fucking sucks. Mara thought. I was hoping we could help more, but this will have to do.
     At least I'll be getting back to Alan soon.
 
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