Chapter One
Gideon Walker crouched before his son and with tender hands brushed the long dark hair out of his eyes. In normal circumstances he was a man who despite his age looked young and lively; but now, the crow’s feet he’d developed from years of smiling had deepened from worry, and his warm welcoming smile had turned into a thin lipped grimace, and his dirty blonde hair, once spotless, had developed notable streaks of white.
“Allen,” he said “in the back of this closet there’s a secret door built for emergencies. As soon as I close this door, I want you and your brother to escape. Follow the passage and it’ll lead you to a street a couple of blocks from here; your suitcases are hidden by the exit. Go to the train station and take these Ids. You’re going to live with some relatives. Wait there a couple of years, and they can’t charge you with anything.” While gripping the hand of his little brother Sean tightly, Allen smiled bravely and nodded, in spite of the circumstances. Their father smiled and swooped both boys up in to a tight bear hug. Sean burst into tears and Gideon calmed him with another smile.
“Don’t worry son, be brave. You’ll always have your brother,” he said and held him close. Allen looked into his father’s eyes and saw that they had welled up and he was crying.
“And Allen you’re the man now, I need you to take care of your brother. It’s a tough world out there and as long as you have each other you’ll be okay.” Allen wanted to say sure, but it felt weird because he knew that if he did he’d want to take it back immediately.
Gideon gave his sons another hug and said one last thing before he shut the door “I love you boys; don’t ever forget that.” Right then Allen wanted to let it all out by saying: no we won’t be okay because a world with just us is a world without you, but instead all he could do was stare and by then he was too late; the door closed, and they were in darkness, and all that remained was the fading footsteps of their father, and the rim of light drawing a box around the door frame. Sean tugged Allen’s shirt towards the back of the closet where the secret door was but Allen resisted.
“Come on,” Sean said “dad said to go.”
“No, don’t you want to see what’s happening to dad?”
Sean paused, then nodded and let go of his brother’s sleeve. The closet was upstairs and they could hear everything going on below. They heard a loud bang and a terrible wrenching noise like someone had ripped open their front door. Raised voices, crashes, and footsteps echoed across the threshold. Allen opened the door a crack and saw several soldiers surround his father holding machine guns. The men with guns spread apart to make a path for their leader; a handsome man dressed impeccably in his military uniform. He had short raven hair and a demeanor so serious and formal that it made Arthur want to stand at attention; yet, his father didn’t budge or look scared, as a matter of fact his posture was relaxed and he even carried a confident smile as he stood casually with his hands in his pockets.
“Hello Krieger, looks like they made you Merlin after all, which is sad I’d hoped those idiots disguised as Generals would make a choice without having their own asses in mind for once.”
“You are to refer to him as Merlin Krieger now, in case you’ve forgotten your manners since General Walker.” Allen’s father looked to the right because the reply hadn’t come from Krieger it had actually came from the women next to him. She was pretty and had blonde hair and looked like someone who spent a lot of time at a desk.
“Hello, Lydia,” Allen’s dad said “Not surprised to see you here; although, Krieger you would look a bit strange without your shadow.” The woman named Lydia blushed but she did not reply; however, Krieger chuckled.
“Gideon, Clever Gideon,” he said “ not so clever now. You tried to keep me from attaining what’s rightfully mine and look you’ve failed.”
“Last I checked this country did not belong to you; it belongs to the people.”
“I am this country! As the new Merlin, I shall take Britta to a threshold that it’s never been. This land will flourish with me as its vine and it’s a shame you won’t be here to see it.”
“Nah, I’m busy that day,” Allen’s father replied. “Sorry.”
Krieger smirked, “Then it is my first decree as Merlin that you, Gideon Walker be sent to prison never to see the light of day again.”
“True if you were Merlin, you could do that, but I don’t recognize any Merlin’s here.”
Anger flashed on Krieger’s face but it was ripple across the surface. Calm again Krieger snapped his fingers and a small fountain of water sprang up from the ground, but the water droplets didn’t fall to the floor like they should; instead, they gather in the air above where his hand was forming three small balls that cycled about in a circle. After his display Krieger waved his hand and the three balls merged into a triton of ice that came all the way up to his shoulders, which he held like a staff.
“This is your last chance. If you do not recognize me as Merlin and bow down you will be executed on the spot. You and your family.” Then as if rehearsed, all of the soldiers raised their guns.
“I’ll kill you before you lay one hand on my family.”
Gideon clapped his hands and the earth beneath them turned to mush, in which all the surrounding soldiers sunk waist deep into the ground. Krieger responded quickly with a swing of his trident and a torrent of water shut up from the earth which drowned the trapped soldiers and would’ve done the same to Allen’s father had he not summoned a pillar of earth to elevate him above the flood. Lydia; however, was saved because she stood safely behind Krieger as he rode a wave that lifted him up to Gideon’s level, which put the two of them out of Allen’s view. The wave of water rose up to the top floor forcing Allen to shut the door; in spite of, a trickle of water which still managed to slip through.
“Okay, are you happy? Let’s go,” Sean said as he tugged on his brother once more.
Allen wanted to step out and see more of his father’s epic battle with Merlin Krieger but listened to Sean; it was time to go. Allen took his brother’s hand and led him through the trap door and into the tunnel beyond. The water had gotten worse by then and was waist deep by the time they reached the sewer. Allen took one final look back in the direction of his father before opening the port hole and letting in the grim light of the day…
The Grand Central train pulled into the station its engine pumping huge clouds of steam onto the platform. The Steward coughed as he took the tickets from the two grim looking boys in front of him. He checked their Ids and read their names, Erick Woodman age 11 and Sean Woodman age 9. He asked “You boys going to,” he checked their tickets again “Mill town?”
“Yes sir,” replied the older boy Erick. “We have family down there.” The steward nodded and permitted them entrance on to the train. Allen accepted their fake ideas when the steward handed them back as they we3re led into one of the compartments. The steward was nice enough to load their suitcases into the item storage for them. Before he left the steward informed them that if they needed anything all they had to do was ring the bell and someone would be there to help them. Allen thanked the man before he left.
When the compartment door shut, Allen and Sean both let out relieved sighs and Sean said “The way dad spoke, why did it sound like we’d never see him again?” For a moment, Allen didn’t say anything as the compartment shook and the train came to life pumping out more steam onto the platform outside. Arthur watched as the city scenery faded to green and the train left their father, and then their home behind.
“We don’t know if dad’s dead yet,” Allen said without looking back. “But if he is, our lives have to be for the sake of killing the man who broke our family.”
Sean’s face paled, but he didn’t say anything. Allen’s eyes were red and puffy and he felt as if he had no more tears left to cry. He kept hearing the last words that his father ringing over and over in head “I love you boys…”
End
*tear*
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