"The God Wars" - Chapter Thirty: Hopes and Frustrations

The God Wars

Chapter Thirty:

Hopes and Frustrations

By Dwayne MacInnes

Zeus studied the terrain below him as he sat astride Pegasus his winged steed. The white horse born from the gorgon's decapitated body tirelessly beat its wings to hold the king of the gods aloft high above the earth. Zeus in his wrath unleashed a storm of the likes he had never released before. For days on end, the skies from Fort Knopso to the Skalandos River about a thousand miles south, Zeus darkened with heavy clouds. Rain poured to the ground in torrents swelling rivers and flooding fields.

Occasionally Zeus would try to strike down a building either in Zakrostas or in Fort Knopso with a lightning bolt. However, the electrical charges always changed course and would expel themselves on the metal rods attached to the rooftops of the largest buildings. The god had to satisfy himself with the odd farmhouse or animal running through the wet fields.

Zeus also had hopes of the rivers overflowing their banks and washing away the human dwellings. Again, the mortals who had already built up levees and were now reinforcing them with sandbags foiled his plans. Zeus's anger grew and as result, the fury of the storm grew. Tall trees that had withstood centuries of wind and rain were up heaved and tossed into the air.

The army of beasts and mercenaries assaulted the thick concrete walls of Fort Knopso. The defenders easily repelled attack after attack; the forces of Ares could not force a breach and suffered heavy losses. The thick mud and lakes of rainwater also hindered the attack. Many a man and beast died drowning in the ubiquitous mud.

Theena watched the assaults. She was secure inside the concrete walls. She marveled at the wonder of the lightning rods the Otherworlders had constructed around the fort. The steel rods attracted the great blasts of static electricity and then dispersed the energy harmlessly to the ground.

Inside the fortification of Fort Knopso long tunnels ran from room to room so that the defenders could move about without exposing themselves to the enemy. There were pillboxes housing teams of machine gunners; as well as large rooms, where the artillery could open up on the exposed attackers. Many of the walls housed embrasures allowing the infantry to fire their rifles into the assaulting army below.

Fort Knopso had plenty of food, water, ammunition, and even fuel for the generators. Fortunately, the telegraph line to Zakrostas was still intact. General Crist would sometimes send off a message asking if the fort was still withstanding the assault. He alerted Theena that because of the storm, he would not be able to send reinforcements and that she had to hold the fort at all costs.

Theena reassured the general that everything was going well. It was just a diversionary force and that he should keep and eye on Ares' main army marching southward. This is exactly what General Crist was doing.

General Crist did not like what was going on. The remnant forces from Ares first two armies tied down the troops inside Fort Knopso. Even if the assaulting forces did not attack, the weather prevented Theena from sending any troops southward to help garrison Zakrostas.

The Alamo also alerted Crist that they had lost contact with their scout outside of Kalos in the Kingdom of Atlantis. The scout's last message warned that the army was massing outside the town and preparing to march. However, no one knew if Ares was aiming the attack at the city of Atlantis or Zakrostas itself.

Nonetheless, Crist ordered ten tanks onto the LST, all his forces save the garrison of Zakrostas into the RMS Olympus, and all ships to sea. They only awaited orders to steam south or to return to port and begin offloading again.

* * * * *

Hunter staggered along the dirt road. His shirt was torn and deep bloody gashes covered his torso underneath filthy bandages. The Indian had successfully killed the griffin with his hunting knife. A few of the terrible beast's claws and feathers Hunter had stuffed in his pockets as trophies.

Hunter had to resist the urge to scratch his wounds. He knew that gangrene very well could be setting in. He was lucky to find an old rotted log. The Indian used his native skills to break apart the fibrous remains of a long dead tree and extract some maggots. These he put on his wounds, they could keep him from dying so that he could communicate to headquarters about the direction of Ares' assault.

The scout had also hoped that he would have been able to catch up to his horse. However, the beast was either long gone or eaten for he could not locate it. The only things that Hunter did come across were the broken remnants of personal belongings that the fleeing refugees tossed aside along the road.

He passed a few broken and abandoned wagons and carts. There were more than a few dead bodies of horses, cattle, sheep, and humans littering the sides of the dirt road. The latter Hunter tried to burn from his memory. He could not take the time to give them the proper funeral rites. There was a more important task at hand.

The scout moved from the thick black columns of smoke rising into the heavens in the south marking the presence and success of Ares' march, towards the thick black columns of rain pouring down in the north noting Zeus's success with tying down the army in Zakrostas. Hunter was tired and he was hungry, he was in pain and ran a fever. However, he never gave up the effort to continue his march.

The Indian was not surprised that he did not see a single living human on his journey north. Sheer fear had propelled the refugees northward and they would clog and prevent anyone from moving south.

Hunter placed one footsore boot in front of the other. Hunter kept telling himself that he had to keep moving or he would die. He used the pain to his advantage, using it to focus his mind on his task. He hobbled along the debris-strewn road using a broken broom handle as a staff to steady him.

The sunlight was starting to fade as the Cherokee proceeded northward. His reserves of strength were nearly exhausted. But, he could not risk stopping even to rest for fear that he would not be able to regain his momentum. Hunter kept pressing on, gasping for breath, and dying of thirst. He had emptied his canteen long ago. However, he reasoned that if he could reach the Skalandos River he would have plenty to drink.

Hunter looked up the road ahead of him. The sunlight was rapidly fading and the progress northward would become even more daunting. A small shack sat on one side of the road, great piles of long squared wood sat stacked next to it. The Indian only gave it a cursory glance. He had passed many a farm structure on his way north.

Suddenly, Hunter stopped. There next to the shack stood a tall pole. A pole that had lines connecting it to the shack. This was no farm building; this was the outpost for surveying out the new railroad line. The pile of wood was railroad ties and the line from the pole meant that the shack contained a telegraph.

Hunter's heart leaped in his chest. New hope grew as he realized that with luck, the telegraph line could still be intact and he would be able to reach Zakrostas.