Mentions of blo0d and de@th. We couldn’t do it anymore. No more hiding, no more covert actions. No hiding behind better men and women as they sacrificed their lives for the sake of the rebellion. It was time to make good on the threat. To be free. To be safe. For my people. For my family. For my friends. We were not going to be slaves again, nor submissive servants. Slaves for now, perhaps, but slaves that would rise for a better life. And the rebellion would fix that. This was our last stand, one way or another. We would either win, or we would valiantly give up our lives for the cause. “Is this it, Niles?” My friend, Lisabet asked, looking at the crowd, all unaware that the fate of their world rested on the next few moments. Lisabet licked her lips nervously, a bad habit of hers. I took in a shuddering breath. “I hope not.” I got myself to whisper. “But if I must, I will. Better one man than thousands.” Suddenly Lisabet turned to me, angry. Splotches of red dotted her cheeks. “You’re not a man! You’re just a boy! You shouldn’t be doing this.” “Neither should you.” I reminded her. “But here we are. By some twist of fate, no less.” Lisabet closed her eyes and a single tear trickled down her cheek, but she didn’t seem to have the strength or the will to wipe it away. “I don’t want to lose anyone.” “Me neither.” I mumbled. “But martyrdom is necessary.” Lisabet turned to me again. “Niles, if... either one of us doesn’t make it, just... I want you to know-” “That’s the signal!” I interrupted. “We have to hurry!” We could see the men and women of our own crowd begin to walk to the front of the crowd. Going to the palace. The palace that once had been ours but had been used and disgraced by our conquerors. No longer. No longer. “People of Anisia!” Liar. We were not Anisians. We were Lirkians. We would stay that way. “My people.” The leader of the conquerors, Eoin Natas, general of the Anisians, spread his arms out wide from beneath a top of perfectly straight red hair, no doubt smirking from the scared looks on the faces of our people. No longer. We were in our positions now, nestled in strategic locations. I tried to avoid looking the direction of the rebellion’s leader, Haryn Cairya, who was hopefully prepared. She was thin, tough, and smart, perfect for the deadly mission in front of her. “You were once a desolate people, until we rescued you.” Murmurs of anger rustled up, some shaking fists at General Eoin. He obviously saw that it was the wrong thing, but he pressed on. “Quiet!” He snarled. The crowd instantly silenced, the few who wouldn’t being dragged away by guards. “You will join us, and we will be one, together!” “Who’s to say you won’t take advantage of us?” An old codger asked, shaking his wiry, old fist at the general. It wasn’t long before he was ‘quietly’ taken care of. Just another tragedy in this war of deceit and lies. No longer. “Peace, my people.” General Eoin said, waving his hands in a calming gesture now. “This is a confusing time for you. You will get used to it soon enough.” “We’ll die before we join you!” A rebellion member now screamed. “Fight! My people! The Lirkians! Fight for your land! Fight for your freedom! We must fight! Do not let these conquerors persuade you with their foul tongues coating in sweet lies!” What were they doing? That was not part of the plan! I watched anxiously as a skirmish quickly engaged between the lone rebellion member and the guards. We all wanted to help, but it was better one person than thousands. The skirmish quickly ended, as we all knew it would. Now General Eoin looked cold and calculating, cruel and cutting. “I appear to need to emphasize on something.” He gave a shark-like smile to the crowd that felt colder than an iceberg. “Try anything, anything at all, and face the consequences.” It was dead silent. Not a sound. But no longer. Not much longer. Then I caught the next signal. A faint beating. I began following suit, stomping my feet on the ground in unison with everyone else, following the beat of our hearts. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Slowly, ever so slowly, our people, not of the rebellion, began joining in. The general was obviously confused, and as such, thrown off his game. And when the first notes pierced the early morning air, I joined in. Our anthem. Not the anthem of the invaders. Ours. The battles fought, the battles won, Fight no more, my daughters and sons,
Stand for freedom and stand for right, Stand in justice and stand in light. I closed my eyes as the chorus began. This was the earliest memory I had. Hearing this chorus sung by thousands of people, all together. Growing up in the rebellion, hearing it every night. But this was so. Much. Better. Remember the land of Lirkia, where the good and right died, In defense of the country, they would never stand aside! So, lift your banner high, and remember those who fought, For freedom and for justice, for the things so dearly bought. Lirkia, my country, faith and hope, ring loud and clear, Remember all the brave people whose blood was spilled here. So join in our loud call, for freedom and for right, Singing a song that can never be forgotten in the darkest of the night. Si-nging a song that can ne-ver be forgotten in the darkest of the ni-ght! Now part two of the plan began. The singing started over again. I felt for my sword, carefully hidden under a cloak. Now, I unclasped it and drew my sword. There would be no more hiding any more. No longer. From a distance, I saw Lisabet. She looked grim but determined as she prepped her pole-arm. Stand for freedom and stand for right, Stand in justice and stand in light! Then chaos ensued. Innocents. Running. Rebellion. Fighting. The guards. Drawing weapons. Lirkia, my country, faith and hope, ring loud and clear, I held my sword out warily as a guard ran at me. Waiting. Patience. Closer. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Still, the stamping of their feet continued. We met, our swords clashing fiercely as sparks flew, each other us trying to get the advantage on each other. But then I pulled back just as he pushed forward, and I seized that opportunity. I felt a tingle of guilt as the guard twitched, gasping as he struggled to breathe, and then died, a lake of blood already pooling around him. But then I shook it away. He would not have hesitated to do it to me, had he got the chance. I could afford no risks. Singing a song that can never be forgotten in the darkest of the night. “Niles!” Lisabet called, and we quickly met up. “Niles...be careful. Please.” “You too.” I said, attempting a half-grin, feeling plastered and fake on my face. “Otherwise how else will we exchange our epic tales of this battle?” Lisabet simply nodded, her pole-arm, I noted with a lurch, already stained with blood. And my sword wasn’t much better. “Never thought I’d do this.” Lisabet said. “Look out!” I tackled her as an arrow came whizzing past, barely missing us. Lisabet began thanking me, but froze from getting up. “NILES!” She yelled as I felt a strange sensation in my stomach. Fight no more, my daughters and sons, I dropped my eyes to my gut, where the tip of a sword protruded from. A sickening lurch as it was pulled out, and then...fire. It felt like it was on fire. I clutched my stomach where the sword had entered, watching as blood trickled down my fingers and onto the ground, staining my shirt a sickening shade of red. “No!” Lisabet shouted, as if from far away, and I vaguely watched her stab someone with her pole-arm. I felt so detached, my head buzzing, warm, sticky blood gushing out of my wound. Deep inside my brain, I knew I had minutes. Remember the land of Lirkia, where the good and right died, Maybe less. But I wouldn’t waste them. In defense of the country, they would never stand aside! I screamed as I managed to stand up, then fought, a whirling blur, too hard to see, to comprehend, pain, pain, fire, it was all on fire, I couldn’t breathe, crumpling, falling, covered in blood, not all my own, what had happened, and then- More pain. This time just below the first. A stray arrow had caught me. I screamed, an inhuman, feral scream, as everything began to go numb. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I sluggishly fell to the ground, barely able to see more than blobs of colors now. I blinked wearily, but even that cost me effort. Buzzing began filling my head, drowning out all other noise. “NILES!” A girl was holding me in her lap. She was so pretty. Had I seen her before? “Niles, you’re going to be okay! Just...you have to hold on! So we can tell our stories to each other after.” My cheeks felt wet, but I was not crying. Another drop hit my face. Why was the pretty girl crying? Why was she so sad? “Niles.” she said in a broken voice. Lisabet. Wasn’t that her name? “Lisabet.” I said with effort, barely whispering it. Her eyes widened, and she put a hand to her mouth. “Niles, you have to pull through! Please. For me.” Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. What was that noise? She shouldn’t be so sad. The pain was already fading. I could barely feel it anymore. She began drifting out of my vision, red fuzz slowly clouding my mind and eyes, but I managed to gasp out one last thing: “Goodbye.” I felt myself relax, and took my final, last labored breath. Better one man than thousands.
