The Spirit Guardians Book 4: Liberated

Chapter 33

Conny's eyes widened in surprise as the gate's tall walls shut nearly as soon as they had opened. He had been marching down the hill with his comrades when he watched his friends--his brother--become trapped inside the headquarters. It took all his might not to run forward and cry out for them. The Preservers would take Cassie hostage most likely, but he was sure they would kill the others on sight.

"Keep advancing!" Commander Kane shouted to his squad.

Keep advancing? Conny wasn't sure how they were even going to enter the headquarters without being blown to bits. The only way into the headquarters was now sealed.

"Fire!" came an order behind Conny.

An army tank to his right was wheeling forward, beginning to shoot missiles at the wall in an attempt to break it down. Booming noises erupted alongside Conny. He placed his hands over his ears, watching as bits of rubble flew into the air.

"Do you think it's working?" Carly shouted beside Conny.

He narrowed his eyes. The missiles were continuously firing, though at this rate, it would take a few more tanks to truly open up a hole big enough for everyone to fit through, and even then, they would have to enter at a slow pace. Hearing the sound of something shifting above the sound of fired missiles, Conny noticed the large cannon attached to the gate begin to point downwards...and aim.

Conny's eyes watched in shock as the cannon began pointing directly downward to the marching tanks and the soldiers gathered below. He suddenly seized Carly around the waist, and threw his body away from the wall just as the cannon exploded. Conny hit the ground hard, a field of dust settling over the ground.

Conny could feel Carly coughing against him as the dust began to dissolve. His arm was still wrapped tightly around her waist, and when the visibility began to improve, he noticed the specks of dirt and rubble in her hair from the explosion. His hair hadn't fared much better.

A few soldiers were dazed, but they marched onward. It was then Conny noticed the silence of the tanks that had been attacking, and the absence of footsteps. He bit onto his lip, drawing blood, at the sight of a dozen or so bodies on the ground, a few belonging to his squad members. The first casualties...

"M-medic!" Conny heard someone shout.

Peering past the first sight of death, Conny noticed a small hole had been carved in the wall, large enough for a few people to go through. A few soldiers were already rushing towards its opening.

"Commander?" Conny asked, noticing him standing near them with his hands on his knees as he stared down at the destructive scene.

Commander Kane took in a deep breath. "What are you waiting for, soldier? Advance!"

Conny slowly let loose of Carly and extended his hand to help her up. She pushed it aside, rising to her feet on her own. Conny sucked in a deep breath and grasped ahold of Carly's hand, lurching forward toward the opening with her. He could hear the sound of the cannon above already reloading, but the tanks were marching forward, ready to make more holes.

We won't back down that easily, Conny thought as he raced forward, careful not to trip over any fallen soldiers as he went. He had a tight hold on Carly's hand, which he squeezed reassuringly as they came toward the entrance. The wall was slowly crumbling away, bits of rubble falling downward with each explosion. The sound of gunshots mixed with screams fired overhead. Conny could see the sunlight on the other side of the wall. He leapt forward, into the headquarters he had only seen once before when they had rescued Elijah those years before.

Soldiers were beginning to take off into their squads, already having taken care of the guards nearby. A few were still shooting here and there, but the large influx of people made it impossible for the guards to hit everyone. Conny lurched to the side, taking Carly with him. He needed to catch his breath, just for a quick second, before he took off into battle again.

"Conny, where are we going?!" Carly was shouting.

He rounded a corner, pausing at the edge of a building. Conny let go of her hand and placed his hands on his knees, catching his breath. As he built up oxygen again, he glanced around at the set-up of the headquarters, noting the perfectly plowed streets, wide sidewalks, and tall buildings. It didn't look like a place that harbored tyranny. In fact, it appeared like a tranquil city.

"Wh-what do we do now?" Carly asked, sounding scared for the first time since Conny had met her.

"We meet up with the others and carry out squad orders," Conny said, keeping a tight grasp on his gun as they spoke.

"We lost half our squad in that first explosion!" Carly gasped. "The others have probably gone off in separate directions. God, this is a mess! There's no clear plan anymore."

"We don't know that yet," Conny said. Out of the corner of his eye, he sensed movement. He turned his body sharply and fired, watching as a Preserver's body slunk to the ground, coating the sidewalk in blood. Conny pressed his back against the wall and caught his breath once more, trying to calm his beating heart. It was the first time he had killed someone, and he would never forget it.

There were rapid footsteps coming down the street now. Carly moved to his side, watching in awe as Preserver civilians—parents, the elderly, and children—began rushing out of buildings, tripping in the streets as they sought to escape. Carly shakily pointed a gun toward the crowd, trembling with each breath, until Conny placed a hand on the gun.

"Don't," he warned.

"But didn't they tell us to....these people supported—they supported tyranny!" Carly exclaimed. "I always told myself I'd get revenge, I always..." Her voice trailed off, and she lowered her gun slowly, her body now shaking with tears.

Conny gripped onto her shoulders, still careful to keep a lookout.

"Their ideals were poor. That's true. But we need to focus on the bigger picture. Killing the armless civilians won't do anything. We need to get to Lynch. We need to get the prisoners free," Conny told her.

Carly pressed her face into her hands as she held back a sob. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You're right!"

"It's okay. But we need to keep focus right now," Conny told her, even though he himself felt like he was going to split in half from anxiety. The soldiers were still piling in despite the constant deployments of the gate cannons. All he could hope was that another hole or two would allow more entry and lessen the threat of those entering from being harmed.

Conny quickly thought to Marc and Cassie and his other friends. He hoped they had been able to defend themselves in the few minutes they had been trapped inside the headquarters without the army.

"We can move in with the civilian crowd," Conny told Carly, "and get back closer to the others. We'll head off from there."

Carly sniffed slightly and nodded, beginning to run back down the street alongside him.

"Time to kick some Preserver ass!" Conny said enthusiastically, shooting her the best smile he could. Her lips only lifted slightly, but it was enough to calm Conny some and give him hope for the battle.