A Dance of Two Worlds

The Amulet and the Souls

Chapter Twenty

The Amulet and the Souls

Prayers are the most lethal weapons in hopeless situations

Elisium

The Fifth Loop, Year 491, 5th February (5L/491/2/5)

"Oh God, please, please. Don't let this world slip into despair again."

George ran out from the bushes, praying, shooting wildly. Nathan was behind him. Everything had happened so fast that they had no time to react. They hadn't expected the cornered enemy to pounce in such a lethal manner. By the time they understood Roger's intention, he had already reached Moses. They heard that shot. Their hearts sank. With one shot, Roger had sealed the war—and the destiny of this world.

Soldiers of David's army opened fire at Roger and his men. George and Nathan rushed to check on Moses. Their much-awaited savior was lying on the ground with a neat bullet wound in the center of his forehead.

More out of hope than logic, Nathan checked his pulse, then placed his hand on his chest searching for any signs of life. Nothing. The Savior can't be killed by a bullet. There had to be something—but there was nothing. His knees buckled and his mind and body went numb.

Moses, the Savior, was dead.

George sank to the ground near Moses's dead body. All he could see was darkness. He found it hard to breathe. He felt his world crumble around him. One little mistake and all the hopes of a better world had gone up in smoke. Destiny can't be such a tyrant.

Nathan got hold of himself. This wasn't the time for mourning. Enemy's reinforcements could reach there at any time. "Check on the looters. Leave no one alive. We want their masters to see the massacre but we don't want them to know about Moses."

Nathan noticed that Roger was still twitching. The Star-rock pellet hadn't pierced his body and had exploded around his legs. Nathan picked up a gun and aimed at Roger's head.

"Stop! He could be useful to us alive. He may have some vital information. And after this," George said pointing to Moses's dead body, "we will require every little bit of information we could get."

"Put him into a truck," Nathan ordered one of his lieutenants. "How many men did we lose?"

"Four, including Moses."

Nathan looked at George, sitting on the ground, his face buried in his palms. This mission would have been a roaring success—their troops had killed more than a hundred looters—if not for that one casualty that was worth thousands of lives and millions of hopes.

David's army placed their dead and injured inside the seized trucks and began their return journey. Their caravan got a huge reception when it reached the Refuge. People came out of their houses to welcome their brave soldiers. The caravan stopped near the headquarters of David's army.

Jacob walked out of the building humming a song. This was their first victory, and seeing all the monster trucks they had returned with, it looked like a commanding one. He wanted to hear every little detail of this battle. He hurried towards his friends George and Nathan.

"Well, where is Moses?"

George just stood there, frozen like a statue. He could feel every eye in the crowd fixed on him. He quietly looked at Nathan to help him out. Nathan signaled to his soldiers and they carried a body out of a truck. First, there was a ghostly silence when people realized whose body it was. Then there was a murmur followed by cries of despair and shrieks of agony as Elisians watched their last hope carried on shoulders—shattered and dead.