Battleflag

“The twelve generals dubbed themselves The Forefathers, prophets
of a new era — the age of discipline and hard work. In reality, it was the
age of slavery. As people starved to death on the streets of our cities,
the tyrants poured everything worth a lick into the source of their
power — the army. We had no running water and no electricity while
the army spent our wages on newer and deadlier weapons — weapons
they would then turn back on us. The army became judge, jury, and
executioner. The Forefathers became gods.”
Wynn nodded but didn’t speak.
“Then came the first uprising.” The Captain slapped his bad leg with
the palm of his hand. “It was a long fight, a good fight, but in the end
the tyrants proved too strong and the whole thing went to hell.” He
wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his sleeve. “We’re four
years into the second uprising now. So many are dead, so many are
suffering...”
“But the Red Zone Offensive is coming — that’s why you’re here,
isn’t it? We’re gonna turn the tide now, I know it.” Wynn flung his arms
in the air and gestured toward the whole of the bunker. “We’ll fight our
way out of here soon, I... I just know it.”
The Captain breathed a heavy sigh and lowered his head, shaking.
“I don’t know why I’m telling you this... maybe I feel you have the right
to know, or maybe I just need to get it off my chest.”
Wynn studied the man’s smirk.
“There are spies here, Wynn,” the Captain mumbled, his face down-
cast and his eyes fixed on the floor. “There are spies in Bunker 13-A.”
“Spies?” Wynn snapped, stunned.
“Yes, informants for the tyrants.”
The boy shook his head. “No way! That... that’s not true.”
“It is,” the Captain whispered, not looking up.
“That’s impossible,” the boy protested. “I know everyone in here,
and there are no spies. All of us are...”
“The spies are here, Wynn,” the man interrupted. “We’ve confirmed it.”
“But... but...” Wynn struggled with his words. “But you told all
these people about the Red Zone Offensive. You told them that Battle-
flag is coming to save us, didn’t you? Why? Why did you say it in front
of the spies? Why would you do that?” The boy’s cheeks turned hot and
his voice cracked painfully.
The man shrugged his shoulders. “I asked you before if you would
give your life for the cause knowing it could help turn the tide. You
told me that you wouldn’t hesitate.”
The boy made no reply.
“You said that when the day came to make the sacrifice, you
wouldn’t think twice about laying down your life so that others may
live. Isn’t that right, Wynn?”
The boy leapt from his chair. “Of course I said it, and I meant it. I
would do anything for the cause! You don’t believe me?”
“No, that’s not it,” the man said, smiling a sickly smile. “What I
mean to say is that the day for sacrifice has arrived. Today is that day.”

***
Wynn stood there for a moment, frozen. He felt a grueling chill creep
up his spine. A single drop of cold sweat shot down the nape of his neck
and dripped over his back. “What are you talking about, Captain?” he
said finally.
The man was perfectly calm. He looked up at Wynn, their eyes
meeting for the first time in what seemed like forever. “Battleflag has
the nuke. Did you know that?”
“I’ve heard rumors, sure.”
“Yes,” the man nodded with pride. “We snatched up a few warheads
last summer, from the Stadt Air Force Base.”
Wynn’s mouth flew open. “So it’s true, then?”
“Yes, it’s true. The tyrants don’t believe that we have the capability to
deploy them. But Wynn my boy, they’re wrong.”
“So then we’ll nuke them, right?”
The man shrugged again. “This war has gone on for far too long.
You weren’t here for all of it, but you can see the horror, can’t you? So
many are suffering — dying — every single day.”
“Yeah, but what are you getting at?” Wynn’s teeth rattled as he spoke.
The man was starting to bug him now — bug him profoundly — and
he clenched his fists almost instinctively.
“They think we’re attacking the Red Zone at dawn,” the Captain
said, grinning. “They’ve sent everything they’ve got to defend it. They
think they’re really gonna get us this time, Wynn, but they’re wrong.”
Wynn opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t.
The man wobbled his head back and forth, his arms shaking. “You
asked me if we’ll nuke them. We will. We’ll hit them where it’ll do the
most damage—we’ll nuke the Red Zone.”
“WHAT?” Wynn erupted, his eyes burning red. “You’re gonna nuke
here? You’re gonna nuke us?”
“We have no choice,” the man said, still shaking. “This is our chance
to save millions — our last chance. They’ve put all their eggs in one
basket — they’ve sent everything they’ve got right here. This is our
chance to take them out in one fell swoop — our chance to end the war!”
Wynn took a quick step forward. “So what then, you’re just gonna
kill us? You’re gonna kill all of these people?” He swung his out-
stretched arms across the bunker. “You can’t!”
Instantly, the Captain jumped from his chair and seized Wynn by
the collar. “Keep it down, son,” he whispered through clenched teeth.
“You’ll start a panic in here. Do you really think there’s another way —
any other way at all? I’m in the Red Zone too, Wynn, and I’m not going
anywhere. I’m here because I know the sacrifice I have to make — the
sacrifice that all of us have to make — here today in this bunker.”
Wynn stepped back, trembling. “You’re a liar, you hear? A dirty liar.
You... you...”
“Keep it down,” the Captain said and tightened his hold on the
boy. “You told me you were prepared to sacrifice your life for the cause,
didn’t you? You told me you would gladly die so that others may live,
didn’t you? That’s exactly what you’re going to do — what we’re all
going to do.”
“But what about these people, these innocent people? They deserve
to live, don’t they? Who’s gonna fight for them?” Wynn paused, hold-
ing back tears. “Who’s gonna fight for my sister?”
“We’re fighting for all the sisters and mothers and daughters. We’re
fighting for all the sons and fathers and brothers, too,” the man pressed,
the aging muscles in his face twitching. “We’re fighting for the future
of this world!”
Wynn laughed maniacally. “You’ve lost your mind, pal. You really
have!” He turned to the vast expanse of the bunker. “Dear God, I’ve got
to tell these people who — what — you really are!”
The man cocked his head to the side, his eyes scanning the length
of the bunker. “You can tell them if you’d like, but it’s too late. It’s
been too late since before I got here. Listen...” He pressed his ear to the
wall. “Do you hear it? Do you hear the roar of their armies? An endless
parade of tanks, batteries, harvesters, and infantry transports is thun-
dering above our heads at this very moment. They’ve sent everything
they’ve got at us. Tonight is the last night of their tyranny, the last night
of the war. ”
Wynn began to cough. It was a wet, whooping cough and when he
was done, he could taste blood in his mouth. “I... I have to tell them. I
have to tell these people. We have to do something!”
“There’s nothing we can do, son.” The man frowned and turned
away, releasing the boy from his grip. “Our sacrifice will end this war,
and that’s the way it has to be. If you ask me, these people are right to
celebrate.”
“Celebrate their deaths? How can you do this? You call yourselves
rebels? You’re nothing but murderers!” The boy’s voice was now a des-
perate screech.
“We didn’t have a choice, Wynn. Can’t you see that? They’ve got
spies everywhere. They’ve known about our plans to launch an offen-
sive in the Red Zone for months. What do you think would happen if
we went through with it? They would have slaughtered us.”
“So don’t go through with it. You don’t have to kill these people!”
Wynn cried, his palms cold and sweating.
“And what do you think will happen to all of you if we call it off?
Face it, Wynn, the location of this bunker is no secret. Not anymore.
The tyrants know exactly where you are and how to get to you. If we
call it off now, they’ll storm in here and butcher every single one of
you. Can you imagine what they’d do to you — what they’d do to your
sister?” He sighed deeply. “I’m sorry, son, I really am, but it’s the only
way.”
Wynn’s face twitched and the lower half of his body felt numb, distant.
“The only way? Death is the only way?” His lips trembled as he spoke.
The man nodded. “It’ll all be over in an instant. There will be no pain,
no suffering. Not anymore. When it happens, you won’t feel a thing.”
“We never had a chance... Dear God, we never had a chance!” Wynn
dropped to his knees, the world crumbling before his eyes. He fought
against the woozy darkness that clawed at the back of his eyes.
“Don’t pass out, son,” the man said and shook the boy by the shoul-
ders. “Look at this place. Take a good freakin’ look. We’re in hell al-
ready — this is hell — so how much worse can death be?”
Wynn was silent. Tears ran down his cheeks in steady streams,
oozing past his chin and dripping on the cement below.
“You’re really gonna kill us, aren’t you?” Wynn sobbed, his voice
now only a whimper. “We’re all gonna die here tonight.”
“No, son,” the Captain smiled, his face scarred by a lifetime of pain.
“Tyranny dies tonight! As for us, tonight we’re free — free forever.”
Wynn stopped listening. “I promised my sister... I promised I’d
read to her.”
“Now’s as good a time as any,” the Captain said and sat back down
in his chair.
Wynn turned away. He stumbled back through the concrete frame
of the bunker and toward the filth of the sewers. He felt lightheaded
and weak, his knees nearly folding under the pressure of his steps. To
the folks of the bunker, Wynn Caden looked like another kid with too
much gin in his system. They ignored the tortured expression on his
face, and the bloody terror in his eyes. Once in the sewers and out
of sight, Wynn felt his insides bubble up and he puked, half-digested
beans and blood jetting from his aching gut. Then he wept.

***
It was well past nightfall by the time Wynn pulled himself together.
He staggered slowly toward Nellie’s sleeping quarters — one step at
a time, one foot after the other. He passed Donny on the way, keeled
over on his side and hugging the garbage can. At that moment, Wynn
envied him.
Nellie was already in bed and waiting for her brother. Wynn em-
braced her and held her close, hiding his sorrow behind a smile. He
grabbed an old story book from beneath the mattress and flipped
through it until he came upon a tale they both loved. He was reading
about Peter Pan and the land where children never grow old when it hit.
They didn’t feel a thing.