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After Earth Went Dark: Part III
Chapter 5
Elliot dozed well after the sun had risen. He would awaken and feel Tyr's strong arm wrapped protectively around his slender waist and feel none of the urgency or worry that had plagued him for days if not weeks. The warmth of knowing that everything would be ok caused him to stretch, yawn, snuggle closer to Tyr's chest, and promptly fall asleep once more.
It must have been past noon before a voice from outside the tent finally roused him. Elliot whined and tried to tune it out, but the voice was persistent and demanding.
"Tyr?" Someone was calling out repeatedly. It was not a voice that Elliot recognized, but whoever it was obviously was not going away.
Tyr grumbled and eventually rolled off the surprisingly comfortable padded cushion. He paused long enough to trace a hand gently down Elliot's spine before getting to his feet and pulling on a pair of pants. Elliot watched blearily, still not fully awake and squinting against the light of day.
"I'm sorry to disturb you." The voice said meekly when Tyr left the tent. Elliot could easily hear them even through the divide into the sleeping area. "There's a visitor here to see you, and Marcel said that I should ask if you'll..."
"There you are!" Another voice cut off the first man's. This one was vaguely familiar, but in his sleepy haze it took Elliot a while to place it. "Thank you, that will be all. Come, let's talk Tyr."
Elliot's eyes shot open as he suddenly remembered that the voice belonged to Ullr. Before he could try to slip out, the two were entering the small sitting area just on the other side of the divider. Elliot became keenly aware of his nakedness as he tried to search for his clothing without making much noise.
"Not like you to sleep in, Tyr." Ullr's deep voice rumbled. "Entertaining company, are you?"
"What do you want, Ullr?"
"Not Iduna either." The other man continued, ignoring Tyr's question. "I saw her on my way in. Of course, who wouldn't want to spend the night with the hero that just saved them all?"
"Enough. It's too early for your games." Tyr spoke sharply. "Say what you came to say and don't waste my time."
"Is that how you treat me after the wonderful gifts I left you? I understand you put them to good use. Fine, fine, as long as you don't mind whomever you've bedded eavesdropping on us..." the tempo of Ullr's speech slowed with the last few words as if something was dawning on him in real time. "The eavesdropper!" He declared triumphantly. "The boy behind the tent! Tyr you dog. I never had you pinned as a..."
"Enough!" Tyr's voice cracked like a whip, loud and thunderous. Elliot flinched back though still tried to avoid making noise. "This is not Aesir." Tyr spoke again, low and serious. "I have no reason to entertain this. What. Do. You. Want?" Tyr's tone made it abundantly clear that he was on his last thread of patience.
To Elliot's surprise, Ullr sighed. "Very well, who am I to judge I suppose. I came here to congratulate you on your victory, and to give you some information you might find useful."
"Information that you withheld during our first meeting?" Tyr asked dryly.
"You can't lay all your cards out at the same time." Ullr replied cheekily. "You know that. I may have... neglected to mention that before I came and found your little camp here that I had a meeting with the leader of this New State. Their President, or Governor, or whatever he's calling himself. A man named Killian Barnes."
Elliot shivered at the mention of the name. The man who was indirectly responsible for his father's death.
"They probably had better hospitality." Tyr remarked.
Ullr chuckled. "I'm beginning to like this new Tyr. I thought you would be interested to know that this man has begun to fear your movement. Of course, he would never admit as much, but it's easy to see if you know where to look. He can't afford to let this rebellion continue. That's why the attack came so soon."
"You knew about it already." Tyr's voice carried an accusation.
"Not entirely. I suspected though. And I did warn you that they were close. I just didn't know it was quite that close." Ullr countered. "However, this victory shows him that you're not going to be wiped out that easily."
"We still lost too many." Tyr insisted.
"You'll feel any loses more keenly than they will, to be sure." Ullr agreed. "But this battle was your Saratoga. All your little revolutionaries might be feeling scared and downtrodden now, but with the right words and some enthusiasm, they'll see that this means you can stand up to them."
"Saratoga brought the French into the war." Tyr reminded. "And I don't predict the Foreign Legion coming of the hills any time soon."
Ullr chuckled slightly at this. "True, though word of the victory will spread and bring even more recruits. And... well..." Ullr trailed off for a moment. "I suppose you may as well call me the Marquis de Lafayette."
Silence followed this statement, though Elliot had not the slightest clue what it meant. It was several long seconds before Tyr responded with a tone of surprise that Elliot had seldom heard from him before.
"Really?" The surprised was laced with skepticism.
"I know we've had our differences. But you always were one of my best students. I'll admit that when you ran off there was a time when I would have gladly cut your throat in your sleep. Aesir is getting worse though. For a long time, I thought that I could look past it for the sake of the greater end goal. The closer we get to that goal though, the less sure I am that it's been worth it."
"Why should I trust you?" Tyr demanded quietly.
Ullr laughed loudly. "Tyr, you and I know each other better than any two people have a right or a reason to. Better than Ida, better than your cute little boyfriend in there. We've fought together and against each other for more years than any man has lived. You mean to tell me that you still don't know when I'm telling the truth?"
Again, silence from Tyr followed. "If you're serious..." He eventually said. "Marcel needs to know immediately. It could change everything."
"Why are you following this `Marcel' character anyway?" Ullr asked dismissively. "You could lead this movement if you wanted to."
"The people trust him." Tyr replied. "He has a way with them. He leads in a way that I couldn't."
"You just haven't tried." Ullr countered, but left it at that. "I'll give... you two... some privacy and meet you outside. Just don't take too long, I don't think the people here like me that much."
A few seconds later, Tyr pushed the divider aside and offered Elliot a hand off the makeshift mattress. Elliot accepted the help up, momentarily embarrassed that he was still naked. Tyr took a moment to appreciate the sight though and that made Elliot feel better.
"Get dressed." Tyr ordered, giving Elliot a quick kiss on the cheek. "We've got to meet with Marcel."
"What's going on?" Elliot had to ask even though he was pretty sure he understood the gist of the conversation.
"He claims he wants to join us." Tyr told Elliot what he had already suspected.
"What do you think?" Elliot asked dubiously.
Tyr let out a breath before shaking his head. "I don't know. His help would be... invaluable, but..."
"Tyr!" This time Elliot recognized the voice immediately as Carlos. It still came as quite a shock though as it was from just outside the tent.
"What?" Tyr demanded testily, moving his body to shield Elliot from view in case Carlos should look inside the tent. Elliot quickly hurried about slipping his pants on.
"We've got more people approaching from the north. A large group!"
Tyr swore and yanked his shirt on along with the holsters for his two pistols. "Another attack?" He asked as he picked up the two metal disks that held some great wealth of technology and pinned them behind his ears.
"We're not sure. The sentry said they didn't look like New State, but he was panicked half stupid."
"Meet me at the northern edge of camp." Tyr called back before returning his attention to Elliot. "Never a dull moment."
Elliot nodded grimly, his heart already settling into that now-familiar drumming as the anticipation of combat washed over him.
At the north end of the camp, Tyr and Elliot found what could only be described as a rag-tag band of disheartened defenders. There were still so many tending the wounded or mourning their dead. Those that had rallied and picked up their arms again looked exhausted, scared, and close to the breaking point. Heads lifted however and spirits rose a bit when Tyr arrived, wearing his armored dark clothing and imposing array of weaponry.
"How long?" Tyr asked when they met Marcel. The lithe man was looking anything but. Dark circles around his eyes made him look older than he was.
Marcel shook his head. "Not long. Less than thirty minutes by my guess." It was disheartening to hear the fire gone from Marcel's voice.
"Do we know what we're up against?" Tyr looked out into the woods.
Again, Marcel shook his head. "The sentries were spread thin after the attack. And no one expected an attack from the north."
Tyr pondered for a moment. "Elliot, with me." He ordered then raised his voice. "Four good men. With me now."
Several hands, some of them hesitant went up. Tyr made a selection of four that looked the least drained and disheveled.
"What are you doing?" Marcel asked.
"Going to meet them." Tyr replied. "We'll figure out what this is, and thin them out if necessary."
"Forgetting something?" Ullr's suave voice drew the group's attention. Elliot was surprised to see him now dressed similarly to Tyr in some sort of flexible armor, with two pistols strapped to his body.
"He's still here?" Marcel noted dryly.
Tyr sighed then nodded. "We might end up being glad of that yet. Ullr, come with us too."
"Strange to be hearing you give the orders for a change." Ullr chuckled humorously.
Tyr did not respond but turned and led the group at a jog into the forest.
Tyr spread the little group in a small semicircle in the forest. Most of them were armed with bows and some sort of close up weapon. Tyr and Ullr had their pistols and Tyr's assortment of knives, and Elliot nervously twirled one of his own knives in his hand from behind the tree where he waited. Arrows were knocked, pistols were loaded, and they hid waiting for Tyr's command.
The adrenaline of impending combat pumped through Elliot's veins. He still felt scared but knowing that Tyr and Ullr were both there did a lot to calm his nerves. They waited and the minutes stretched on. All the sounds of the forest made Elliot swivel his head, afraid he would suddenly see a Carver lunging for him. Then he began to hear the ominous sound of twigs snapping and brush being pushed away, much the same way as he had in the last attack. It was still some distance out but getting closer.
Elliot also began to hear voices, the sound of a large crowd of people. Whoever it was, they didn't seem to be making much effort to hide themselves. Maybe they were just that confident. Elliot pressed his back up against the tree and tried to control his breathing. Even though he knew they were still a few dozen yards away, he felt like they were already on top of him. He gripped the hilt of his knife tightly.
"That's far enough." Tyr's voice broke the silence suddenly and Elliot heard several cries of shock. It had surprised him as well. That was not the signal that they had agreed on. Something must have changed Tyr's mind.
Elliot prepared himself to whirl from his hiding spot and engage the enemy, but when no sound of fighting erupted, he waited.
"What is your business here?" Tyr demanded.
"We heard there was a refuge in the mountains." A male voice answered. "Some of these people are hurt, but we've got able bodies as well. Willing to help." Strange, Elliot almost felt like he recognized the voice.
"Where are you coming from?" Tyr asked.
"All over." The voice replied. "Groups from towns between here and the Adirondacks. All looking to get away from or get back at this `New State'."
"Tell your group to wait here." Tyr instructed. "We will return once we've had time to deliberate. Do not attempt to come farther."
"Please hurry." The other man implored. "This is the last hope for most of us."
Elliot wanted to get a look at the group of newcomers, but Tyr soon appeared around the trees and rounded up the scouting group to head back to the camp. Ullr and one other man stayed behind, still hidden, to keep an eye on the refugees.
When they emerged from the trees without a hostile force hot on their heels, the line of defenders seemed to collectively breathe a hesitant sigh of relief.
"Well?" Marcel asked worriedly, counting their numbers. "What is it?"
"A group of civilians." Tyr answered. "Looking for us. They want in."
Marcel exhaled visibly, letting go of some of the tension. "How many?"
"Around a hundred and twenty by my count. Some injured. Some infirm. But most look like they could be useful."
"Ida, how do our stocks look?" Marcel asked.
Ida frowned. "Stretched thin but we would have enough for maybe two months still with the extra numbers. Hopefully we'll be able to come up with a sustainable solution before then."
With a sigh, Marcel turned back to Tyr. "What do you think? We could use the reinforcements."
Tyr nodded. "It would be a morale boost as well. The movement can't be seen to be turning people away. We need to keep growing. We will figure out the food with time."
"I agree." Marcel said heavily. "Bring them in. I will make arrangements to have more tents put up."
Tyr brought Elliot and two others with him to help guide the new group in. Elliot was extremely relieved that they weren't going to have to fight but he was wary of newcomers. Ullr and the other scout emerged from the trees as Tyr and the others returned.
The large group was milling about restlessly with several people moving through the crowd distributing sips of water or encouraging words. Elliot was glad to see at least that they appeared to take care of their own. Maybe they would fit in well.
One of the girls carrying several waterskins stood from helping an elderly woman get a drink. When she turned and Elliot saw her, he felt the gears in his brain stall out. She locked eyes with him and froze in her tracks. It was the feeling of seeing a face so familiar, yet in a spot so unexpected, that Elliot could hardly process what he was seeing.
A lump formed in his throat. "Kara!" He screamed. His voice cracked as the tears began to fall.
"Elliot!" His sister cried as they rushed towards one another. Elliot threw his arms around her and they both sank to their knees sobbing.
"Elliot!?" Came another stunned voice thick with emotion and disbelief. Before Elliot knew it, his mother had joined them on the ground, hugging them both and kissing his cheek again and again as tears streamed down her face. "My baby..." She sobbed, pulling Elliot's head to her chest and cradling him tightly. "I missed you so much."
Elliot sniffled, barely trusting himself to speak. "I missed you too." He tried to hug both of them at once.
"We thought you were... gone..." Kara could barely talk as well.
Finally, Elliot sat back on his heels to catch his breath. He shook his head. "I just... couldn't stay. I'm sorry. I thought Tyr was dead, and I couldn't be on the farm anymore."
"You thought? So, Tyr is alive too?" Kara asked.
Tyr, who had been leaning against a tree watching the scene unfold took this opportunity to clear his throat pointedly.
"Whoa..." Kara said aloud when she looked up. She had not even noticed or recognized him with his hair trimmed and wearing his form-fitting armor-padded clothing.
"You... kept my baby safe all this time?" Elliot's mother managed. She still wept but had gotten control of her powerful sobs.
Tyr lifted one shoulder in half a shrug. "He has gotten pretty good at that himself."
An overblown grin split Elliot's face with Tyr's praise. His heart was so brimming with emotion he couldn't hold any of it back. A bolt of realization hit him suddenly when he remembered the voice that he had heard standing behind the tree. He now knew why he had recognized it.
"Where's Uncle Mark? I heard him earlier."
"He's here." His mother assured. "He's the one that's led this whole group." There was a note of pride in her voice. "Alice is here too. Along with someone you need to meet."
"Who?" Elliot asked with mounting excitement, even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
A beautiful smile lit Kara's face as she wiped away her tears. "Your cousin."