Project: "Tord"

Ch. 5 - Burning pile

The air was still thick with smoke from the explosion, the wind slowly extinguishing the flames on the rubble. The heat of a flame inches from me warmed my body.

I was lying unconscious on the lawn of the knoll.
I knew that hill well, it saw me grow up.
It saw us grow, all four of us.

Right here where my body is now fighting to regain its senses, years ago we would spread out a picnic blanket and between laughs we would spend our days.

The warm wind passed through my hair, caressing it.
My fingers began to feel the tickle of blades of grass on my skin.
A tear ran down my flayed face, burning from the salt on the open wound.

A whistle fills my head, caused by the loud explosion that had just occurred.
Slowly I manage to open one eye.
It was burning, a lot.
The other one I could not open, the blood with the heat had congealed all around it.

The strong light of day flooded my vision, then slowly shapes formed in front of me.
I saw the grass I was touching with my fingers, then fire burning on the remains of what had been my Robot, then again, in the distance, a fire...no, a house on fire...
The remains of a house, and three shapes... boys?
I strained to see better, they were hugging each other.

The whistle in my head slowly gave way to the crackling of the fire beside me, then another noise, a car approaching.

Slowly I tried to move my body, it hurt like hell, I could no longer feel my arm, the rest of my body was burning in pain.

Did I really want to try to get up?
Why not just lie here, dying on this hill wouldn't be bad, my body would have a nice view and a lot of memories to relive.

I was about to give up completely and let death take me, when something woke me up from sinking.
A burning on my cheek, I was tearing up again.

No.

I didn't want to die, I couldn't die.
I had too many things to do, plans to make.

With difficulty I opened my eyes again, people had flanked me, but my ears had not alerted me to their presence.
I looked up.

A boy in green, a blue boy, and a purple one were looking at me.
I opened my mouth and moved my lips as if to say something...

''I'm...''

...but made no sound.

I saw the boy's hand reach out to me.

I closed my eyes.

I opened them again.

Paul was in front of me, arms outstretched to reach for me and pull me up without hurting me.
He loaded me onto himself to move me toward the car, I searched with my eyes near the house burning in the distance, but the three figures were gone.

I lost consciousness again as soon as I was propped up on the car seat.

---

Near London
Year 2020, (4 years after The End)

A hand awakened me from my thoughts, it was Paul.

"We are almost there Sir"

I broke away from the back window of the car I had been attached to all the way and looked at the soldier who was sitting next to me.
Normally Paul prefers to be in the front with Patrick, but knowing that this trip might be emotionally disturbing to me, he had chosen to be in the back with me.

Without saying a word I went back to look outside.

"Let me guess-you had a flashback didn't you? We haven't been back to this place since that incident, it must stir strange emotions to come back here..."

I mumbled something, not wanting to be rude to them, but I was in no mood to talk at all, my mind was elsewhere.
Paul had obviously noticed, but he was trying not to let me drown in my thoughts and insisted.

"Sir... I don't want to question your principles, but... Are you sure about what you're going to do?
I mean... We've been trying to achieve our goals for years, I wouldn't want you to have some kind of... Well..."

"Of regrets?"

I finished the sentence for him, the sooner we got to the point, the sooner he would let me go.

"Maybe you've forgotten who you're talking to. I am the Red Leader, future undisputed ruler of the entire world.
If you are afraid that ghosts from the past might get in my way, then you don't know me at all"

Paul must have realized I didn't feel like talking from my tone, because he fell silent and turned away.

"...That's not what we're worried about, Sir..."

Said Patrick a little timidly to the guide.

''You see ... what Paul was trying to say is ... are we sure it is ... necessary?''

That sentence infuriated me, not because it was stupid, in fact, precisely because it struck a blow at my confidence.
I knew that trying to reason with Edd was futile, and hearing it repeated infuriated me.

''DARE YOU DEBATE AN ORDER?!"

I ranted without realizing it, silencing Patrick.

A long silence followed.

''Pull the car''

Patrick didn't take it back and stopped the car.

I let out a sigh and put my hands over my face, trying to swallow my anger, they did not deserve my sourness.

''I'm sorry...''

Paul put a hand on my shoulder.

''Don't worry, Sir. This moment can't be easy for you at all."

I looked out the window, we were only a few yards from a knoll that it didn't take me long to recognize.

Paul nodded to his companion, who started the car again.

''I'm sorry...''

I whispered, looking at the knoll.