Page 75 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 2

“Guys, we need to move,” Victor cut in. “I promise I’ll spank her properly only after we’re not sitting ducks. This section hasn’t been cleared yet.”

Before I could protest, Victor scooped me up and charged off towards the training field I could see in the distance. When we arrived, Rick and Emmett were dumping two bodies where all the captured soldiers could see them. My guess was they were the two colonels we’d been looking for, based on their uniforms and how much older they were.

“Listen up!” Rick bellowed. “We have an offer to make all of you, one that includes you being able to see the rest of this day.”

“Why the fuck should we listen to rebel scum like you,” a man shouted.

The crowd of soldiers all started yelling in agreement, hurling insults and threats. Just when I thought they might try to rise up against us, even with their hands tied behind their backs, Lucian arrived. He looked regal, wearing all black with blood splatter on his face, scars in full view, and his hair pulled back. He stepped over the two dead bodies of his father’s supporters, and silence fell over the base.

“Do you all know who I am?” Lucian questioned. A majority nodded or murmured their answer, while a few looked confused at the response of the others. “For those of you who might not know me, I'm Lucian Bakal, heir to the Northern territory. I’m also the one who coordinated and executed this attack. That being said, if you’re still unsure as to why you should listen the fuck up, then there isn’t much hope for you surviving long in this world.”

Lucian took a moment to scan the crowd before him. I didn’t have a clue what he was looking for, although whatever it was he seemed satisfied.

“Now that I have your full attention, I’d like to offer you an alternative to becoming a casualty of war. It’s been brought to my attention that my father is trying to kill me, removing me from being his heir. My answer to that is I will systematically destroy his foundation and, ultimately, him as well. Once I’m in power, I aim to end this war with the South. It’s gone on long enough and all it’s doing is killing us as a nation. Soon there will be nothing left to fight over but the dust under our feet,” Lucian said as he grabbed a handful of dirt and let it slide through his fingers. “What if I told you there was another way? Would you be willing to fight for the chance to be free?”

No one spoke up for a moment then a man shot to his feet and spat. “You’re nothing but a traitor, turning your back on your people by aligning yourself with the rebels.”

“So you would rather starve to save your pride?” Lucian shot back. “Soon, there will be no food, no medicine, no supplies to keep fighting this war. Already we’ve been sent to the dark ages as they pull all the power we have to run the factories to make the weapons. Women are raped, children taken from their mothers and raised in group homes by people who fill their minds with lies. We have no hope of winning this war, but I can save you all if you let me.”

“What do you want from us?” a woman shouted.

Lucian swept out his hands in a pleading gesture. “Stand up for yourselves. Stop fighting to profit someone who doesn’t give a shit about you. Instead, join me in taking back our country, breathing life back into it, and finding a real life worth living. No more war, bloodshed, or death looming all around us. There can be hope once more in this place, the chance to dream of a better life where you can die from old age instead of on the battlefield. If you are sick to fucking death of clawing your way through life, join me in making a change.”

Slowly one by one, people stood and walked forward. Then more popped up until there were only about a hundred people left still kneeling. Those who refused the offer would be locked away for the day, and if they still held their allegiance to the General, they would be put to death. It was brutal and something I wished didn’t have to happen, but if we left them alive, they would only become enemies we’d have to kill later on. Better to deal with things now than to let the disease fester and spread.

As for those who chose to take a stand, they would be placed in one of the dorms under surveillance and processed by Rick and his fellow pack members. We all agreed it was best for those outside of the situation to give an honest judgment of the person. If they agreed the person was sincere and would be willing to fight, they’d be added to the mix of other units. That way, we could keep an eye on them and they would be the minority, for now at least.

“Time to face the music, Little Spark. We’re gonna have you looked at by Cris,” Victor said as we headed into the infirmary.

It took two seconds for Cris to spot us, then dropped what he was doing. “Why is she bleeding?”

“Seems our girl got herself shot, fucking shot, Cris,” Victor explained.

Cris took my arm and examined the wound, turning it this way and that without touching the wound, for which I was grateful. The thing throbbed with a dull ache and was getting worse the more I thought about it.

“Bring her over here,” Cris directed. “Fortunately it’s just a graze. Still, it will need to be cleaned and stitched up.”

“Shot is shot, Cris,” Victor muttered, setting me down on an exam table.

Ignoring the man, Cris gathered what he needed and cleaned up the wound. I hissed as he poured something over it that fizzed like crazy. Once he was sure it was clean, he put a topical numbing cream over it and had me wait a few minutes while he tended to other patients. It wasn’t long before the other three stormed into the infirmary, fuming.

“Danella,” Lucian said through clenched teeth. “What the hell happened?”

“Guys, this really isn’t that big of a deal,” I argued. “I’m not in any real danger, it just needs a few stitches and I’m good to return to helping.”

“The fuck you are,” Sorin snapped. “How did you get shot, and don’t you even think about downplaying this because Tru will tell me the whole story.”

I blew out a frustrated breath and explained the whole situation in enough detail to make them happy. None of them said anything right away as Cris returned to stitch me up. Ten stitches later, I was bandaged up and out the door so they could make room for those more severely injured. The guys didn’t lock me away in some room, but I was always glued to one of their sides, unable to lift even a finger to help.

Thankfully overall, our injured soldiers were few, and casualties had been minor. It was also determined that we would be staying at this base for the next two or three days, allowing us to get things under control with the new additions. Not every battle would go this smoothly, but this one was the most important because it would send a message loud and clear to the General. The war for the North had just begun, but in essence it had been a success. Now it was down to a battle of wills. How long would it take for General Rasvan to view us as a big enough threat that he would send his personal militia to deal with us? Only time would tell, and we were in this for the long haul—was he?