Of Lords and Rebels (Book 2)

Chapter 19

The rebels set up their encampment in the wide open field. They lit a fire in the centre to keep themselves warm and to keep the night from consuming them in darkness.

Ferdinand sat quietly after having his dinner still thinking about his mistake. How would everyone think of him now? They thought he'd be the hero, but after all that he's done, would they change their minds and view him as a traitor?

"Gather round, everybody!" Atlas announced. "I have a few things to say."

The rebels gathered around the fire making Ferdinand feel even more uncomfortable. His mind was already assuming the worst that Atlas would blame him for his failure and turn everyone against him too.

"First off..."

"Wait!" Ferdinand interrupted. Everyone's eyes were redirect towards him. "If there's anybody who's got anything to say, it's me." Everyone watched him intensely. "I'm sorry everyone. I'm sorry if I failed to help you all and ended up only making things worse. I know that some of you expect great things from me, but the truth is I'm just a screwup." He paused. "If it weren't for me, we would still have our base in Lathrion...."

"And if it weren't for you, we'd all be dead," Deimos interrupted. "If you're feeling guilty that we lost Lathrion, don't be. If you hadn't brought those demons, then we'd most likely be slaughtered during the siege. Even with the demons taking over, we're lucky that they didn't kill us. While we were being tied up, we agreed that even if we managed a counter attack and retake our base, it'll just be a matter of time before those angels gather reinforcements to strike us harder. But that's the demons' problem, now."

Ferdinand felt relief fill his chest as he exhaled. All that was really just fate pulling the strings for the greater good.

"As I was saying," Atlas continued. "Since Miranda has proven herself to be a formidable soldier and contributed much to our fight, I suppose that the test run is over and it's time to begin phase two. We all know it's coming to this. They say strength can be found in numbers, and we know that Miranda can't do it alone. We need more like her. All that's required now are a few brave volunteers who are actually willing to carry these seeds that will one day give us the fruit of freedom. Of course, I'm not forcing anyone to do this. So are there any volunteers here tonight?"

"My wife and I will." A couple stood up and the crowd awarded them with a round of applause.

Then another couple stood up, which inspired more and more people to take a stand, some of them were single women. Perhaps they just want a child without having to be married.

Atlas smiled. "One day, your children will set this world free from the grip of the angels and demons." Everybody sat down.

"So where do we go now?" Pandora asked. "Both our bases in the north are overtaken, and all the required insemination equipment are in a lab that only our bases provide. If we're to go south, it would be impossible to go through the border."

"Wait," Ferdinand said. "When I was travelling with the sisters, they told me of a narrow pass somewhere in the Central Mountains. Maybe we can go through there."

"Let's just hope those sisters weren't lying." Deimos stood up. "We'll be leaving seraphim grounds and into demon territories." He paused. "You all get some rest, we'll leave tommorow."

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We're not in Kansas anymore now, folks, so stick with us. I wanna thank you all for taking your time to read my story. Hope you enjoy. In the midst of this quarantine, may these tales take you to places while still being in your house. If you enjoy this story, hit that star button, that means a lot to me. If you want to give me feedback, be sure to leave them in the comments below!

I dedicate this chapter to KaitlynTeagan because I'm running out of people to dedicate my story to so... Yeah. Kaitlyn if you're reading this, then I hope you're writing is going well, although I haven't read a page of your book. But whatever it is your doing, keep doing it!

-Zyrofern