Third entry
#5 of The seven Days of Fire
Third entry
"The Torekmetians have overrun our camp. They came with two heavy troop transports. I'm guessing 70-80 heavily armed Dragoons. They just swept over them. Like locusts. We entrenched ourselves in the forest. Six days. Until they were gone again. They moved on. Probably attacking another position. Really, locusts. We searched our camp afterwards, saved what we could. There wasn't much left. We decided to make our way to Seruma. Not an easy task. 1,500 miles across enemy territory. Even the civilian population will be against us. Our chance is to flee in the opposite direction to everyone else. We have searched the village again and found a handcart and some suitable clothing, so we can disguise ourselves as refugees. From a distance, we will be indistinguishable from the other refugees. We don't think our chances are too bad as long as we don't get caught."
Hiredeki closes his diary and looks around. Everything is quiet. Two of his comrades are sleeping next to him, the third has just relieved him of his watch and climbed up into the gable of the barn. They made good progress today and found this barn towards evening. It's half burnt down and the smell of death hangs in the air everywhere. But it is a roof over their heads for the night and certainly safer than being outside. Everything is quiet, except for the occasional wind whistling through the countless holes and the rustling of mice and rats in the hay. They haven't seen anyone for days. No refugees, no soldiers, no one. But this is because they are deliberately staying away from the roads and villages that are still inhabited. He turns around quietly and tries to get some sleep. It doesn't take long and his exhausted body takes what it needs and demands.
...
He is woken early the next morning. The night has passed quietly. While searching the barn, one of the soldiers finds a still-sealed granary. With a little effort, the seal is easily broken. The soldier takes a handful of the grain and calls Hiredeki over.
"Hiredeki, I think our provisioning problems are over for now. There's enough here for several months."
Hiredeki comes over and examines the supply. It's a local variety of rye and there really is enough for a long time.
"OK. Find some sacks or something like that. We'll take some of it with us. We can't take everything. We'll leave the rest here in case other refugees come by. Seal the storage again carefully."
The soldiers do as they are told and fill a few sacks with the grain and tie them up so that none of the precious contents are lost. Just as they are about to seal the granary again, the lookout sounds the alarm.
"Hey down there. Everyone take cover. People are coming at three o'clock. ... Fugitives, it seems to me. No weapons are visible."
The soldiers look up. Nervousness can be seen on their faces.
"OK. Don't panic. Stay calm. Nobody shoots here without orders. Is that clear?"
The soldiers nod.
"Put the supplies on the wagon and stay calm. I'll talk to them."
Hiredeki throws his cloak around his shoulders and heads for the barn door. After a quick glance at the lookout, who signals to him the number of troops and the composition of the refugee train, Hiredeki waits until the other soldiers have finished and then opens the barn door. Outside, everything is still quiet. The refugees are still quite a distance away, but the priest at their head can still be easily recognized by his robe. Slowly, the refugees come closer and the lookout in the gable takes aim at the priest as the leader of this trek. Nervous and tense, he has his finger on the trigger. If Hiredeki fails with the negotiations, he will have to shoot and thus seal their doom. Hiredeki moves a little closer to the refugees, not to inspire confidence, but to give the others in the barn a better field of fire. The refugees stand at a distance and wait. Hiredeki raises his hands and calls out a Sepatan greeting to the refugees. It takes a moment, but then the priest and three other refugees break away from their group. They slowly approach Hiredeki. They also raise their hands in greeting. They appear to be unarmed and some of them are injured. Hiredeki puts his hands down again and begins to speak.
"Peace with you. We are deserters from the army of Ephtal. We have sought shelter from the night in this barn. We are heading east, to Seruma."
The priest listens quietly and patiently to what Hiredeki has to say before answering.
"Peace be with you too. We are going to the great lakes to continue our journey with the others."
Hiredeki is surprised by the calm and composure with which the priest responds to his speech.
"We found roe and took some of it. There was no one around who could own it. I suggest you take some too, for your long journey."
The priest's ears perk up.
"You say roe? Was the chamber sealed?"
Hiredeki becomes cautious, the priest has reacted somewhat strangely to this statement.
"Yes. The chamber was sealed. We broke the seal, but we were just about to close it again."
The priest's eyes widen.
"For God's sake, get the people out of there. These chambers are a trap. The grains are soaked with a chemical warfare agent. They should take out the invading troops."
It takes a while for Hiredeki to realize the implications of this statement and he turns abruptly and shouts to his comrades.
"OUT .... OUT OF THE BARN!"
His companions react quickly and come running out of the barn. The priest waves a few men from the refugees over and gives them instructions. Then he turns to Hiredeki again.
"They will take care of your men and render the poison ineffective. We will also get your equipment out."
As the men walk past them, Hiredeki nods to his men and they know and let the men go. Then Hiredeki turns to the priest with a somewhat dark look.
"Why are you helping us at all? We are the enemy. We have murdered and stolen. I have shot men and not spared women and children."
Hiredeki looks at his hands and remembers the faces of the children. The priest looks at him long and hard before answering.
"You have already received your punishment. You will have to live with what you have done for the rest of your life. Even if we killed you and the others now, the people would not come back to life. The fact that you have deserted is a sign to us that you are on the right path. Besides, I saw a different ending for you."
Hiredeki looks at the priest and sees him paint an old, used-up smile on his old furrowed face.
... to be Continued ...