The Enemy's Throne
1470 Words
The camp swallowed us whole.
I walked through the gates, my eyes scanning the chaos around me. Tents stretched in every direction, their canvas walls stained with dirt and blood. Soldiers moved through the narrow paths, their faces hard, their weapons ready. This was Percival's domain. His fortress. His throne.
Leander was beside me, his hand brushing against mine. I could feel the tension in his body, the fear he was trying to hide. He'd come so far. He'd survived so much. And now we were walking into the heart of the enemy's power.
"Stay close," I whispered. "No matter what happens."
"Always."
We were led through the camp, past rows of soldiers and supply depots. The guards flanked us, their weapons trained on our backs. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. Their presence was warning enough.
The command tent was at the center of the camp, its canvas walls reinforced with metal plating. The entrance was flanked by guards, their faces hidden behind masks. They parted as we approached, allowing us to enter.
The interior was vast, filled with maps and monitors. Percival was seated at the center, his hands folded in his lap. He looked relaxed, almost bored. Like this was just another day in his endless reign.
"Aldric." He smiled. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't come."
"You knew I would."
"Of course I did. You're predictable. That's your greatest weakness."
"Maybe." I stepped forward, my hand resting on my weapon. "But I'm also still standing. That's my greatest strength."
He laughed, a cold, hollow sound. "You think you're strong? You're nothing. A scavenger. A nobody. The only reason you're still alive is because I've allowed it."
"Then why am I still alive?"
"Because you amuse me." He stood, walking toward us. "You're like a bug that won't die. No matter how many times I step on you, you just keep crawling."
"I'm not a bug."
"No. You're worse." He stopped a few feet away, his eyes boring into mine. "You're a symbol. A rallying point for all the weaklings who think they can fight the system. And that makes you valuable."
"Valuable how?"
"Because when I crush you, I crush them too." He smiled again. "That's the plan, Aldric. I'm going to break you. Publicly. Brutally. And then I'm going to make an example of you."
"You won't break me."
"Everyone breaks. You just don't know it yet."
He turned and walked back to his chair, settling into it like a king on his throne. The monitors flickered around him, images of the Outlands shifting and changing.
"I have something to show you," he said. "Something I think you'll find interesting."
He pressed a button, and one of the monitors zoomed in. The image was of our settlement. Our home. The one we'd thought was hidden.
"Before you ask," Percival said, "yes, I know where your people are hiding. I've known all along. I've been waiting for the right moment."
"Don't touch them."
"I won't. Not yet." He leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. "But if you try anything, if you so much as breathe the wrong way, I'll destroy them all. Every last one."
"You're a monster."
"I'm a pragmatist." He smiled. "And you, Aldric, are a liability. So here's what's going to happen. You're going to walk out of here, back to your people, and you're going to tell them the fight is over. You're going to surrender."
"And if I don't?"
"Then they all die." He gestured to the monitor. "I have enough soldiers to wipe out the Outlands twenty times over. Your resistance is a joke. A nuisance. But it's a nuisance I'm tired of dealing with."
I stared at him, my mind racing. He was right. The resistance was small, outnumbered, outgunned. Fighting him directly would be suicide.
But surrendering wasn't an option either. If I gave up, everything we'd fought for would be meaningless. Dorian's sacrifice. Leander's courage. All of it.
"I need time," I said.
"Time for what?"
"To think. To talk to my people."
"You have until midnight." He stood, walking toward me. "After that, I'm going to burn the Outlands to the ground. You're either with me or you're with them. Choose wisely."
He walked away, leaving me standing in the middle of the room.
---
We were led to a small tent on the edge of the camp.
The guards left us there, their weapons trained on the entrance. Leander collapsed onto a cot, his face pale.
"What are we going to do?" he asked.
"I don't know yet."
"You always say that."
"Because I always mean it."
He was quiet for a moment. Then he sat up, his eyes fierce.
"We can't surrender. You know that."
"I know."
"Then we fight."
"How? We're surrounded. Outnumbered. Outgunned."
"Doesn't matter." He stood, walking toward me. "We've been surrounded before. We've been outnumbered before. And we're still standing."
I looked at him, this boy who'd been through so much. He was stronger than I'd ever been. Braver.
"You're right," I said. "We fight."
---
The plan came together over the next few hours.
Leander would create a distraction. I would find Percival and end this. It was simple. It was suicidal. But it was the only chance we had.
"Are you sure about this?" Leander asked.
"I'm sure."
"Then let's do it."
We moved through the camp, keeping to the shadows. The guards were scattered, their patrols disrupted. Leander moved to the eastern edge, his steps careful.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Ready."
"On my signal."
I watched him move into position. Then I gave the signal.
The explosion was deafening.
Leander had set a charge on the supply depot, and it went up in flames. The guards scrambled to contain the fire, their attention focused on the chaos.
I moved through the confusion, my knife in my hand. The command tent was ahead, its entrance unguarded.
I pushed through the canvas, stepping inside.
Percival was standing at the center, his back to me.
"I knew you'd come," he said without turning. "You're predictable, Aldric. That's your greatest weakness."
"I'm not here to play games." I raised my weapon. "This ends now."
He turned, a smile on his face. "You really think you can stop me?"
"I know I can."
"You're wrong." He pressed a button, and the monitors flickered to life. "The Protocol is already in motion. Even as we speak, the final phase is unfolding."
"Then I'll stop it."
"How? You're one man. One man against an army. What can you possibly do?"
I didn't answer. Because he was right. I was one man. One man against an army.
But I had something he didn't.
"I have hope," I said.
"Hope?" He laughed again. "Hope is for the weak. The desperate. The foolish."
"Maybe." I stepped forward. "But it's also what keeps me fighting."
He lunged at me, his weapon raised. I blocked, my knife catching his blade. We struggled, our movements desperate.
"You can't win," he hissed.
"Watch me."
I drove my knee into his stomach, and he doubled over. I followed up with a fist to his face, and he crumpled to the ground.
I stood over him, my chest heaving. "It's over."
"Not yet." He laughed, blood trickling from his mouth. "Even if you kill me, the Protocol continues. There are others. Others who will finish what I started."
"Then I'll stop them too."
"You can't stop us. We're everywhere. We're everyone."
"I don't care." I looked down at him. "As long as I'm alive, I'll fight. For my brother. For the people I lost. For everyone you've hurt."
I raised my knife.
"Aldric!"
I turned. Leander was standing in the doorway, his face pale.
"Don't," he said. "If you kill him, you're no better than he is."
"He killed Dorian. He killed our family."
"I know. But killing him won't bring them back."
I stared at him, the knife trembling in my hand. He was right. I knew he was right.
I lowered my weapon.
"Fine," I said. "We'll do this your way."
Percival laughed again. "Weak. Both of you."
"Maybe." I grabbed him, hauling him to his feet. "But we're alive. And you're not."
---
We found the purge button an hour later.
It was hidden behind a panel, marked with a red symbol. I pressed it without hesitation.
The monitors flickered, and the data streams vanished. The hum of the servers faded, replaced by silence.
"Let's go," I said.
We ran through the camp, the chaos surrounding us. The guards were scattered, their attention focused on the fire.
"This way!" Leander shouted.
We burst through the gates, emerging into the Outlands. The night sky stretched above us, vast and dark.
We'd made it. We were alive.
But the fight wasn't over.
- Writer
