Beneath the Shadowlanders

Chapter Twenty-Three: Gabriel

When Orion said "town hall" I thought he meant something more... antique. What we stand in front of right now would be more accurately described as a military base. A heavily guarded one.

"You know, you might have mentioned the guns," I mutter in his general direction. This is suicide.

Then entire area is surrounded by a 7-foot electric barbed wire fence. A gate stands at the end of the road down which we currently walk. Two guard turrets – I swear to god, turrets – stand at either side of the gate, each containing two guards armed with automatic rifles. Two more guards stand inside an office to the left of the gate, checking identification. Each is armed with a pistol, and I'm sure there are more weapons with them behind the wall. Inside the fence sits an imposing gray stone building, two stories high, sprawling across the grounds. What appears to be an armory sits next to it. I watch as a garage door opens and three golf carts roll out, each carrying four soldiers. They roll up to the gate a moment before we do, and nearly run us over as they come out of the complex.

We step up to the guard's window. Orion has been nominated to do the talking, since this was his brilliant fucking idea.

"We're here to see the General," he states, exuding confidence.

Obviously, it's not enough. The guards start laughing, first a chuckle, then all at once. After a moment, one leans out the window and pats him on the head. "That's cute, kid. Go home."

"No. We're serious. We have some very important information to share with him." He stands his ground.

The guards break out into another fit of laughter. "Do you, now?" asks the second guard. "What, do you need him to beat up a bully for you?"

Orion is visibly angry. He slams his hands down onto the windowsill. "Look, you smug bastards."

This gets their attention.

"We have some very important information to share with the General. It involves the fate of all of human kind, and I think he's going to want to hear it. So I suggest you let us in."

Now the guards are angry. "Look, kid," answers the first, who is clearly in charge. "We get that you think whatever it is you have to say is oh, so important, but the General is a busy man, and we can't be wasting his time with every kid who comes up here and claims to know how the world is going to end. Go home. Write him a letter. Maybe in a week or two, he'll invite you back, if it's really so urgent. Until then, there's nothing we can do."

Orion is persistent. "This isn't about the end of the world. We know how to end the war." He takes a step back, joining the other three of us. "We're here to save the fucking world. Now, are you going to let us in or not?"

The guards are still skeptical. "Kid, if everyone with an idea about how to end this fucking war got into this complex, I'd be out of a job. The General isn't seeing anyone. Go home."

Orion stands his ground, folding his arms defiantly across his chest. "We're not leaving until we speak to the General."

The first guard sighs. "If it'll shut you up, we'll check." He signals to the other, who pulls out a radio and begins whispering into it. After a very, very long minute, he mutters something to the second guard, who presses a button on the back wall of the office. Immediately, the gate begins to open. As we step through, we hear one of them call after us, "This better be good, kid. The General's in a bad mood."