The Fire Within a Ninjago Soldier

Chapter 35 - The Arrival at the Prison

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The last three chapters have been focused on Sam, but let us find out what has been happening to Kai. The chapter below takes place just a few days after the end of Chapter 31, when Kai and Jay were captured by the Purple Army...

Chapter 35 - The Arrival at the Prison

Late November...

Even though the winter season in southern Ninjago was known to be fairly mild, Jamanakai Village was experiencing one of the chilliest Novembers that any villager could remember. The cold wind added extra misery to the prisoners of war who had just arrived at the Purple Army's nearby Kryptarium Prison on the transport wagon after a bumpy three-day ride from Ouroborus. Their route took them across the battlefield on which the Yellows had received their first embarrassing defeat of the war back in the summer.

In the distance, Kai could see the wooded ridge from which he and the dozen or so men from Company C of the 5th Ninjago Cavalry spied on the Purples during that disastrous reconnaissance mission last summer, when Zane received a severe slash on his face from the sword of a Purple lieutenant.

Once the group of captured Yellow soldiers had disembarked from the wagon and had been herded through the main prison gate by Purple guards, they were instructed to line up in front of one of the several wooden buildings, then told to sit down on the chilly ground and wait until their name was called by a sentry. The prisoners, each wearing wrist shackles, were not allowed to speak with each other. A half dozen guards bearing rifles stood around nearby, ready to enforce that edict.

In spite of their grim circumstances, Kai couldn't help but smile at Jay's facial expression. The auburn-haired cowboy could talk a donkey's hind leg off, but now he was pressing his lips together tightly to make himself keep quiet. Kai was thankful that he and Jay were at least sitting next to each other, even if they could not verbally communicate.

One by one, each Yellow soldier in the line was summoned into the building as a sentry periodically opened the building door from the inside and called out each man's name. After a few minutes, one prisoner would exit the building without his shackles, accompanied by an armed guard, and be escorted through the interior stockade gate while the next man's name was called.

Kai and Jay watched as every other prisoner was processed, leaving them as the last two arrivals from Ouroborus to remain sitting outside the building. Jay idly drummed his fingers on the ground, attempting to relieve his nervous tension as he waited. Kai took a deep breath and sighed, trying not to worry that the news of his capture might distress his beloved Sam to the point of affecting her health or that of the child she now carried in her womb.

"You Jaunes seen much action?" The question startled both cowboys. The voice came from the lone Purple guard remaining outside to watch over them. The other guards had been assigned to other duties, now that most of the Yellow detainees had been placed in the stockade.

Kai and Jay looked up from their seated positions at the owner of the voice. The Purple soldier, who wore the insignia of a sergeant, maintained a strong grip on his rifle, but he seemed friendly. Perhaps that was due to the smile on his face, or the interesting dialect of his speech. The man appeared to be in his thirties.

Jay and Kai looked at each other, not knowing if it was safe for them to speak.

The man noted their hesitance. "Mo chagren," he apologized with a chuckle, thinking that maybe they didn't understand what he said. "Where I come from, we use the word jaune for yellow. You Yellows seen much action?"

At this point, the cowboys sensed it would be safe for them to reply, so Jay answered. "Yes, sir. We've been in the action ever since the Battle of Jamanakai."

The sergeant looked at Jay, then Kai, then back at Jay. "You Yellows know each other?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, we do," Kai now spoke, feeling more confident that this man was a good sort. "We're both from the 5th Cavalry." Figuring that information was a pretty general description, he didn't mind sharing it.

"The 5th Cavalry, huh? Ain't that from western Ninjago where cowboys pride themselves on rasslin' cows? Bracque! Cows ain't nothin'! Where I come from, we rassle cocodrils!"

The two prisoners looked at each other again, wondering what cocodrils were.

"Alligators!" the sergeant grinned.

Kai and Jay laughed for the first time in days at the soldier's light-hearted brag about wrestling 13-foot reptiles. "Where are you from, pardner?" Jay asked.

"I'm from a little bitty town on a bayou, near Paradise Beach on the south coast -"

His sentence was interrupted by the sentry hollering "Corporal James Walker!" from the building's doorway.

"My turn!" Jay exclaimed as he stood up, a somewhat awkward effort due to the restraints on his wrists. Nevertheless, he was happy to rise from the cold ground and stretch his legs.

"Allons," the sergeant said to Kai, indicating that he should get up as well. "I want to stand under the eaves of the roof and out of the wind."

The shackled Kai also awkwardly got to his feet, and the two Yellow soldiers - followed by their armed Purple guard - made their way to the door where the sentry was waiting. With a parting glance at Kai, Jay entered the building and the sentry closed the door behind him, leaving Kai and the sergeant to bide their time.

"Mo pele Brossette...er, my name is Brossette, by the way," the sergeant introduced himself.

Kai nodded. "Name's Smith," he replied, introducing himself in return. "I reckon you now know my friend's name is Walker."

"You and Walker are cowboys?"

Kai smiled. "Yep, we are. You may not think much of cowboys, but I don't mind sayin' we're some of the best in western Ninjago."

Brossette smirked. "So whatcha do with cows when you rassle 'em? You put 'em in gumbo? My mamere made the best gumbo on the whole bayou. She -"

The sentry opened the door once again, but Jay did not exit the building as expected.

"Bring Corporal Smith in now, Sergeant Brossette," the sentry instructed. "You come in, too."

Brossette was pleased at the opportunity to come inside from the cold. "Laissez les bons temps rouler," the Purple soldier muttered under his breath so that only Kai could hear. "Let the good times roll."

The room which the men entered was somewhat large and bare of furniture, except for two plain wooden chairs in one corner, one of which Jay sat upon. Sunlight from one small window, in addition to a fire burning in a simple fireplace, provided light. The fireplace also supplied welcome warmth from the cold outdoors.

"Stand in the corner and guard Corporal Walker," the sentry instructed Brossette.

Though he obeyed orders, Brossette hid his scowl at not being able to get closer to the fireplace to warm up. Kai wondered why Jay still wore his shackles.

A doorway off to the side of the room led to a small office.

The sentry took over the responsibility of overseeing Kai and guided him - via a rifle barrel thrust into his back - to the office doorway. Inside, Kai could see a burly older man sitting behind a desk flanked by two subordinates. He was busy looking at one of the many papers on the desktop.

"Smith is here, Colonel Doolverr!" the sentry announced.

Those two scalawags who bushwhacked Jay and me back near Ouroborus were yammerin' about a Doolverr! Kai remembered. They said he was cruel!