An Exercise in Fiction: Part 2
Part 2: Rising Action, conflict is escalated
It is recommended to read Part 1 before this.
There are nights when he simply ponders his choices. He chose to join the military, he chose the Urban Guards as his branch, he happily accepted his position in the Nemanade Garrison. His dream shimmered every night over the Propast Lake, the city of Nemanade. He was some twenty five miles away from that dream, a vast lake separating him from it. He shifts his gaze towards Sophia, her sturdy frame supported an innocent face with brilliant red hair and sea green eyes. She was a stark contrast to his own deep complexion, dark hair, brown eyes, slender frame, and shy personality. She had never heard his voice, he realizes, but not many people on the Nemanade Seafront Wall had. She respected his space, and occasionally would throw in a ‘Thank You’ or a ‘Hello’. He was thankful that she never saluted him with the ‘Hail Kraj,’ he never really liked the sound of it.
“Sir, I have a question,” he moves his gaze away from her quickly, her sweet voice remained calm, “Do you know what lies beyond this wall, out in the Besplatno Ocean?”
He shakes his head.
“There was a world there once, I think, the stories from home say so. But I do not know myself. Do you wonder what is out there?”
He stays silent, unmoving. His gaze once again shifts to the cold lights emanating from his dream. The frigid night passes quietly.
The two soldiers walk towards their sleeping quarters in the morning, “Sir, there is someone who wants to meet you,” she whispers. He keeps walking. She yanks his elbow, “Sir, come with me.”
Shallow breath. His heart gripped by tension. His throat tight. Where. Where is she dragging me. Who is watching me. Someone must have seen me. What. What do I do.
She knocks at an unassuming metallic door. He swallows. The door is cracked open towards him. She still gripping his elbow ducks most of her body behind the door.
“He is with me,” she whispers. He gasps as he is yanked inside.
“Ivan!”
“Peter?” In front of him stands his brother.
“Ivan, we will have to talk later but we have to move now.” Peter is just as slender as he always was, but he has a beard now. Peter climbs into a vent shaft in the ceiling.
“It’s your turn,” Sophia lifts him by the legs as he grabs onto the opening where the vent cover should be. He pulls himself inside the cramped space, he sees the slight figure of the feet of his brother ahead. “I will see you later,” he hears the soft voice of Sophia, followed by the closing of a door. His brother continues to crawl further. He does not know what is happening, but he has finally seen his brother after so long. Maybe. Maybe this is where his fortune changes. His wishes must be coming true.
The two brothers crawl through the metal shaft, they are slow. His brother had whispered to him to stay as silent as possible. He is good at silence, he has always been good at it. It is dark, cold, very much like his nightly shifts. Except. There are no shimmering lights from his dream. Telling time is impossible. He must have been in here for a few hours now, maybe more. Would someone notice that he is not there? Maybe, but he is always there and no one notices him. So maybe they will not know that he is not there. Sophia, she knows. Why did she bring him to Peter, and what did she mean? ‘I will see you later’, what did she mean by that? Focus. Focus on crawling. Focus on following Peter. He has been to the city, he has lived in the dream. Focus on him. He must be taking him to the city. Right. This is it. It has to be it. Fortune favors him once more.
He bumps his head into Peter’s feet. He has stopped. Why. A knock. Another knock. A moment passes. Another knock. Metallic sounds. Light and sound gush in.
“Let’s go Ivan. We are outside now.” He crawls out onto gravel and into the evening light. The sky is orange, the sun setting. It would be his turn to go relieve the current shift and begin his nightly duties. He looks at his gleaming brother, a smile gravitates to his face as well.
“Ivan we are going to blow it up! We are going to blow up that wall and drown this wretched city. We are going to end it all Ivan. Free the people of this land from that wretched city. We are going to blow it all up Ivan!” His brother is ecstatic.
Dread. His heartbeat quickens. His smile instantly disappears. His thoughts. He cannot think. He cannot breathe. He gapes at his brother. Dread.
“Peter. What. What. What are you,” his breathing speeds up, “Peter I do not understand. What are you doing!”
Part 3: Climax, will be written and published on October 5, 2020
Many names in this work are influenced by the Serbian language and Russian history.
