Gasping, James came to as a bucket of water deluged his head. Next to him Miko sputtered as he was treated similarly. His eyes opened but his vision was blurry. The side of his head throbbed immensely from where he had been struck. He tried to move but found himself tied to a chair with his arms secured behind him.
“Who are you?” he heard someone ask.
He looked around with far less than his normal 20-20 vision, trying to see who spoke when a strap came from behind and struck him in the side, wrapping around his chest. He cried out from the pain inflicted and that was when he realized his shirt had been removed. An angry red welt formed across his skin from the strap.
When his eyes regained their focus, he saw the man with the patch over his eye step before him. The pain in his head exploded once more when the man grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. “Now,” the man asked, his gaze boring into James’ with his one good eye, “who are you?”
“James,” he gasped, “my name is James.” He faltered on the edge of consciousness from the pain, and started to feel like he was about to throw up.
The man let go of his hair and asked, “What were you doing at the window?”
Fighting back nausea, James tried to think of a good reply when Thwack! The strap again scored along his side, and created another red, swollen welt.
“We were casing the place!” Miko yelled out from the chair next to his.
Turning his attention toward Miko the man exclaimed, “You expect me to believe you are a couple of thieves?” He signaled the person behind Miko, and Miko cried out as the strap gave him a less than gentle caress.
“Well?”
“In all the confusion of everyone leaving town,” Miko explained, “we thought we could score big.”
Looking at Miko intently, the man considered what he said.
“When we saw that there were people in here, we decided to find another place with no one around and that’s when someone struck us from behind,” Miko continued, trying to sound sincere.
“Perhaps.”
He walked to a table upon which their bags lay. He reached into James’ backpack and pulled out the small amulet that James had picked up in Cardri. He dangled it in front of James and asked, “Then what are you doing with this?”
James had to squint in order to focus his eyes well enough to make out what was being shown. “I bought that from a street merchant some time ago,” he replied when he finally made it out.
Thwack! The strap hit him again, causing him to cry out.
“He’s telling the truth!” Miko exclaimed from the chair next to him. “He just bought it to get away from the merchant.”
Thwack! A red welt formed across Miko’s chest. “When I want you to talk,” the man said to him, “I will tell you.”
A side door opened and the man looked toward the door. Another walked in and came over, quietly talking with their interrogator. Whatever he was told didn’t make him very happy. After a few more moments of exchanging words, their interrogator said to their guards, “Keep an eye on them until I get back.” Angrily he turned and stalked out the door with the other man right behind.
James leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, trying to relax, hoping the pain in his head would go away.
“James,” Miko whispered, “you okay?”
Unable to answer, he just silently shook his head.
James sat there with his eyes closed for several minutes before he heard a door open and close, then the sound of footsteps coming toward him. Opening his eyes, he was afraid that it was ol’ One Eye again. When he saw who it was, he blinked a couple of times and decided he was either dreaming or having hallucinations. For there walking toward him was Mickey Mouse.
He looked to his guards and they appeared not to notice the new arrival, even when Mickey walked right past one of them. “I’ve gone crazy,” James moaned aloud.
“No,” Mickey replied as he reached up and removed his head, “you’ve not.” When the head came off, it revealed the little creature who already came to him twice before.
James laughed, though he was not sure why.
“Come on,” it said. “Let’s go.”
“You’re rescuing me?”
“No,” the little creature replied, “just borrowing you for a while.”
“Why?”
“You can’t stop asking questions can you?” the little creature said to him.
Unsure how to reply to that, he remained quiet.
“C’mon, get up,” the creature told him.
“I’m tied,” James said.
The little guy looked at him silently, impatiently tapping one foot.
To show the little guy he couldn’t get up, James tried to stand and before he realized it, he was standing.
Putting his Mickey head back on, the little guy turned and motioned for James to follow as he returned the way he came and exited through the door.
Following him outside, James stopped suddenly and stared in absolute dumbfounded silence. “I know this place.”
“You should,” the little guy replied. “You’ve been here often enough.”
“Mommy, mommy!” a little girl squealed with delight as she ran over to the little guy in costume. “It’s Mickey!” She gave Mickey a big hug and posed while her mother took their picture.
Mickey patted her on the head as she turned to him and said, “Bye, Mickey!”
“This is Disneyland!” James said incredulously, staring down Main Street USA, with Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at the end.
“Yeah,” the little guy said. “I love this place.” He walked toward the heart of Disneyland and kids came to him, giving him hugs and had their picture taken.
“How do you know about it?”
“I get around,” Mickey replied. “Besides, those of us who gravitate to what you call good, are drawn to such focal points in the universe.”
“Disneyland is a focal point?” James asked, astonished.
“Think about it. What happens whenever someone mentions it? Those around them feel good, instantly. See a picture of it and you smile. That makes it a remarkable place, there are few like it anywhere.” He paused to have his picture taken with several children, their mother simply aglow with happiness.
“Everyone here on Earth knows of it and they continually direct good thoughts toward it. It’s almost a beacon in the night for those who can see it.”
“But why bring me here?”
The little guy paused and glanced back at James before more children requesting a photo op could appear. When they were done he asked, “Would you like me to send you back?”
“No, not right now,” James replied hastily. He was suddenly aware that his headache was gone as was the pain from the welts. Also, even though he was bruised, possibly bloody, and without a shirt, no one seemed to give him a second thought.
“Ah, look,” the little guy said as he bent over to pick up something lying on the ground. He showed it to James, “Someone’s lost their wallet.” He walked toward one of the many workers and handed it to her, saying, “My shift’s not over for a while, can you take this to Lost and Found?”
“Sure, not a problem,” the girl said as she put the wallet in her pocket and then walked away.
“Sad when something gets lost,” he said to James. “When you lose something, you always hope an honest person will find it and work to get it back to you. All too often though, you never see it again. Such is life.”
“I suppose it is,” agreed James, not sure where this was going.
From up ahead, a group of teenage boys came running around the corner, hell-bent on getting to the next ride before their Fast Pass expired.
“No running in the park,” the little guy yelled.
“Up yours, Mickey!” one of them hollered as he swung around him and plowed right into James.
Pain erupted in his head and when he moved to get up, realized he was back in the warehouse strapped to the chair. Though his headache had diminishe
d somewhat, the pain of the welts across his stomach and chest on the other hand still throbbed angrily with every beat of his heart.
“James, thank the gods you’re finally awake!” Miko whispered with relief. “I was afraid you weren’t going to.”
The room seemed darker and there were several lit torches in sconces around the room that weren’t there earlier. “How long was I out?”
“A couple of hours or so,” he replied. “I’m not entirely sure. Night has fallen.”
“Was it all a dream then?” he mused to himself.
“Was what a dream?”
“Never mind, I’ll tell you later.” Looking around he found there were still only the two guards that were there earlier. “We need to get out of here before ol’ One Eye returns,” he whispered to Miko.
“I think that would be a good idea too,” he agreed. “Magic?”
“I’ll try,” James said and then tried to concentrate but the throbbing in his head made it nigh on impossible. He tried something simple and concentrated on one of the torches on the wall that was situated over many old crates and broken containers. The area looked to have been the dumping spot for anything that broke or was unusable.
As James concentrated on the torch, it slowly rose from the sconce. He concentrated hard, focusing his will through the pain and inch by inch it continued to rise higher until the bottom was no longer within the sconce. Gasping from the effort, he had it move a little to the side and then released the magic, allowing it to fall amidst the crates and boxes below.
At first it looked like nothing was happening but then smoke started to rise from where the torch had fallen. “Now what?” Miko asked, watching as the smoke grew thicker and thicker.
“We wait,” he replied. Soon the flames rose above the broken wooden crates.
One of the guards took notice of the smoke. He turned toward the growing flames and yelled, “Fire!” The other guard saw the flames licking the sides of the wall and both ran over to try to prevent it from spreading.
James tried to wield the magic to break their bonds but his head was too muddled with pain to adequately concentrate. When he saw Miko look at him, he just shook his head no.
Miko, realizing that James had done all he could, began to rock his chair back and forth until he toppled over. He then squirmed around and eventually worked free of the ropes. Keeping an eye on the guards, who by now fought a roaring fire, he untied James. Once free, and with the guards preoccupied with the fire, they hurried to the table where their belongings were and retrieved them.
The door on the far side suddenly swung open and ol’ One Eye entered, coming to a surprised stop at seeing them with belongings in hand. “The prisoners!” he yelled, drawing his sword and racing toward James and Miko. The guards joined the chase, giving up on the fire which by this time burned out of control. It now covered most of the wall and had almost reached the rafters.
James and Miko raced for the far door and reached it before anyone could get close. Bolting through it, they quickly lost themselves in the crowd outside. They didn’t get far before people noticed the fire consuming the warehouse
“Fire!” they heard someone shout, after which it became total pandemonium. The crowd surged in panic as they tried to get away from the flames. People shouted, and those who fell were trampled by those behind.
James glanced back to the warehouse and saw ol’ One Eye standing at the door looking through the crowd for them. “Move!” he hollered when Miko paused in front of him to avoid being knocked off his feet by a group of frightened people in flight. Pushing him forward, they raced down the street away from the warehouse, dodging through the panicked crowd. After putting some distance between themselves and the fire, James grabbed Miko by the shirt and pulled him through a door into a dark and empty warehouse. They shut the door and sank down against the wall to rest as they listened for pursuit.
Miko scooted closer to James and whispered, “Maybe we should rest here for awhile, at least until you’re a little better.”
James nodded his head and leaned against the wall, trying to get comfortable. The adrenalin rush he experienced when they escaped from the warehouse was quickly wearing off.
“I’ll keep watch if you want to get some sleep.”
Closing his eyes, James lay down on the floor and soon soft snores told Miko that he’d fallen asleep.
Miko worried about his friend as he sat there in the dark. He listened to the noise outside, the sounds of people running and screaming. He remembered back to the times before he met James when he would sit in the dark, hoping not to be found by the constables or some street tough. He smiled at his memories, even though not all of them were good ones.
He sat in the dark for quite some time. The only light was from the fire that came in through the window. He went to it and peered. Several buildings adjacent to the flaming warehouse had caught fire; crews worked to put it out. Though it still raged, it looked as if they had managed to stop it from spreading.
Suddenly, horns sounded in the night, dozens and dozens of them. The people out in the streets stopped what they were doing and raised their heads for a moment, listening to the horns as they blared all over the city. Then all hell broke loose when people erupted into motion. They raced in different directions, bumping into each other. Some got knocked down and trampled by the panicked mob while others cried out in search of loved ones.
Feeling this may be too important to allow James to continue sleeping, he gently shook his friend, rousing him. “James!” he whispered urgently, trying to wake him up.
Consciousness was slow in returning. His head still throbbed and he was unable to shake sleep’s hold.
“What?” He asked groggily, trying to retain his tenuous hold onto consciousness.
“There were horns sounding,” Miko whispered to his friend.
“Horns?” James asked, slurring his speech.
“Yeah, lots of them. Then it got all weird outside.”
James looked at him, giggled a little and then lapsed back into unconsciousness.
“Damn!”
Realizing his friend would probably be out for some time, he made his mind up to get some food and find out what was going on. Making James as comfortable as possible, he slipped out the door and joined with the people outside.
He hailed one passerby. “What’s going on?”
Looking at him like he was addled, the man asked, “Didn’t you hear the horns?”
“Yeah, but what does that mean?”
“It means the Empire’s forces have been sighted nearing the city and the gates have been sealed and barred. The only way in or out is by ship but some idiot set fire to a warehouse near there and took out a good portion of the docks before it could be put out.”
“What are we to do?”
“What are you, stupid or something?” the man asked incredulously. “We’re under siege, boy! Not much to do but wait it out and hope for the best.” Shaking his head, the man walked away, mumbling about the idiots of the world.
Miko made his way to a market of sorts that sprung up near the docks. Merchants were selling all kinds of items including food. Miko purchased a loaf of bread for the exorbitant price of a silver and a half for one small loaf. When he tried to haggle, the man said, “Pay it or go away”. Knowing James would need it, he bought the loaf as well as a jug of ale for five silvers.
“Extortion, that’s what it is,” he muttered as he made his way back to the abandoned warehouse. To his relief, he found James exactly where he left him, undisturbed and still softly snoring. He sat next to him and ate a little of the bread for himself, drinking a small portion of the ale to wash it down. Then he settled in to keep watch for as long as needed.
He managed to stay awake through the night, keeping watch over his friend. When the morning sun lightened the sky, to his immense relief, James stirred.
Moaning with the pounding in his head, he sat up and laid his head in his hands in the hope of keeping it
from bursting apart. “Oh my god,” he moaned, “What I wouldn’t give for some aspirin right now.”
“We don’t have any of that,” replied Miko, wondering what an aspirin was. He offered the bread and ale to James. “But we do have this.”
James slowly nibbled on the loaf and drank most of the ale. “How long have I been out?” he asked between bites.
“All night,” Miko replied. “And I’ve got bad news.”
James looked at him questioningly as he ate the rest of the bread then finished the ale.
“Apparently sometime last night the Empire’s forces were sighted nearing the City,” he explained, pausing a moment to see what effect his words were having.
“Go on,” James prompted him.
“And they’ve shut the gates, no one is allowed in or out. We’re under siege!”
“I was afraid of that. When I’m done we’ll look around the City and see if we can figure our way out of here.” He went to the bags and dumped everything out.
Miko looked oddly at what he was doing.
“We’re getting rid of everything but the most important stuff,” he explained. “One bag each.” They sorted through what they had and finally winnowed it down to just enough items to give each of them half a bag. James took the money and divided it equally between them.
When he handed Miko his half he said, “Just in case we either get separated or one of the bags gets lost.”
Miko understood and put the money pouch in his bag.
“Now,” James said as he got shakily to his feet, “let’s go see what’s happening.” He went to the door and peered out the small window next to it. Seeing no one in the vicinity he opened the door and they made their way quickly into the street. Smoke still rose from the charred remains of several buildings and about a third of the wharf area.
“Man what a mess,” James exclaimed, shaking his head.
“At least we’re alive.”
“True,” agreed James.
They walked down the street, away from the smoldering wreckage. They heard the sound of horns outside of the walls along with the whisk of arrows fired by the defenders atop the walls. All the townspeople were strangely absent, the streets vacant of the usual mass of people.
As they continued along a member of the city guard took notice of them and said, “No one is allowed on the streets. You will have to return to your homes.”
“Alright,” James responded, “we didn’t realize.”
The guard stood there and watched as they turned around and headed back the way they had come. After going a ways, they turned down a side street and James came to a stop. “Damn!” he swore. “I hadn’t figured on there being a curfew.” He stood for a moment before saying, “Makes sense though.”
“Should we go back to the warehouse?”
“Probably would be the best thing to do. I doubt if they are going to breach the walls anytime soon,” he reasoned. “So we’ll try again tonight when we are not so conspicuous.”
They returned through the streets to the warehouse where they discovered a stairway along one wall that led to the roof. Hoping to get a good view of what was happening in the city, they climbed to the roof.
They had a fair view of the city, the outer defensive walls rose higher than the warehouse’s roof. Several thousand men lined the walls as archers fired arrows down at the attackers. A crossbow bolt struck one of the archers and he plummeted off the wall, landing with a thud on the street below.
The roofs of many buildings throughout the city had a number of people upon them as well, others having the same idea as they. Looking toward the remaining docks, James saw a ship disembarking soldiers and supplies. With the curfew in effect, there was no longer a mob at the docks, fighting to board the approaching ships. However there were several squads stationed in and around the dockside just in case of trouble.
“James, look!” Miko said as he pointed to five wagons making their way toward the dockside. They saw that the wagons were loaded with many boxes and crates. An old man sat on the lead wagon, “I guess Ollinearn finally got his books packed. Glad he’s going to make it out of the city.”
“Maybe if we could get to him, he would take us with him?” Miko asked, looking hopeful.
James gazed out over the city at the many squads patrolling the streets between Ollinearn and them. Turning to Miko he said, “I doubt if we’d make it that far.”
Feeling disappointed and mad, Miko watched as Ollinearn trundled to the docks and began to load the last of his books on to one of the waiting ships.
The clash of swords drew their attention to a section of the wall close to where they stood. Several attackers managed to gain the wall and reinforcements were running to beat them back.
The fighting on the wall was fierce, but the attackers were outnumbered and it wasn’t long before the last one fell. A cheer rose from the defenders as the wall was once again secure.
“That was close.”
“I’d hate to be up there,” said James, as men removed the dead and wounded. They simply tossed the enemy soldiers over the side to land on their comrades below.
The rest of the day progressed pretty much the same. The Empire’s army stormed the walls and the defenders fought back. Occasionally the attackers gained a foothold on the wall only to have the defenders cut them down, securing the wall once again. There were two brief respites in which the attackers withdrew, regrouped and then commenced their assault all over again.
They took turns sleeping while the other kept watch and by the end of the day, James felt much improved.
As the sun sank toward the horizon, horns blared from the field as the attackers withdrew. When it became apparent that no attack was imminent, the men on the walls rotated off in shifts for meals and rest.
People emerged from their homes and the streets grew crowded. Many made their way to the Keep to see about loved ones who had manned the walls.
“It seems the curfew has been lifted while the assault has stopped,” observed James. “This may be a good time for us to see about getting out of here, if that’s even possible.”
“Do you feel better?”
“Some,” James told him. “My headache is only a dull throbbing now.” He felt the bump on the side of his head. “I think the swelling’s gone down. Being able to rest for a day has done wonders.”
They came down off the roof, grabbed their bags and left the warehouse to merge with the people now back on the streets. They made their way toward the docks and found that the east side had been cordoned off, watched by several squads of the city guard. They were told that area was for unloading supplies and men.
James led them to the western side of the docks where a mass of people had gathered. A man stood upon a wagon addressing the crowd. “…are going to come and help evacuate the City. They will pull up to the dock and at that time, in an orderly fashion, those at the head of the line will board quickly. Anyone, and I do mean anyone, who causes trouble or becomes a nuisance will be dealt with severely.”
Looking behind him, the man on the wagon saw the first of the rescue boats pulling up to the docks. He raised his hands to get the crowds attention. When they’d quieted he said loudly, “The first boat is here and more are on the way.” He signaled to a squad of guards on the docks and said, “Start loading.”
When the crowd heard that, they surged toward the docks, pushing and shoving to be first on the boat. “Do not push!” the man said to the crowd, “the boats will be coming all night long and as long as needed to get everyone out.”
One man pushed an old lady down and ran for the boat. A guard saw him and moved to intercept. The man fought with the guard, but was soon clubbed senseless. “Take him away,” the man on the wagon yelled. Raising his voice even further he added, “He will be the last one allowed on the boats!”
When the people heard that they became a bit more orderly and soon a line formed as they waited for the first boat to fill. Other boats out on the Sea wai
ted their turn to approach the docks to aid in the evacuation.
“Let’s get in line,” James said. “Looks like we’ll make it out of here after all.”
The boats were those of private citizens from neighboring cities. None were able to carry a lot of people, but slowly and surely, the line continued to move.
The sun dropped behind the horizon and torches were lit to provide light for the people and the arriving boats. At one point a boat loaded with evacuees sailed from the docks and no new boat took its place. Several minutes passed and still no other boat approached to continue the evacuation. A low murmur developed within the waiting crowd.
The man got back up on the wagon and addressed the increasingly restless people. “Do not worry!” he yelled out over the crowd. “They will return when they have dropped off their passengers at a safe port. More boats than what you’ve already seen are on their way. They must travel from cities farther out, but they will come!”
The crowd quieted and settled in to wait. Several more hours passed and more boats appeared to take on passengers and then quickly set sail, making room for the next one in line.
Ta-TOOOOO Ta-TOOOOO
The sounds of many horns came from the eastern wall, as well as faint sounds of swords exchanging blows. The crowd around James and Miko grew restless and the look of fear was on many faces.
A rider approached at a gallop and halted near the man who addressed the crowd. “My lord!” the rider cried out to him, “the enemy has breached the city!”
“How?”
“Someone poisoned the men at the gate and released the lock!”
To the guards the man yelled, “To the east gate!” as he jumped from the wagon and broke into a run. The guards fell in behind.
When the crowd heard that the enemy was within the city, all thoughts of orderly evacuation vanished. As one, they surged forward toward the boat that was currently loading passengers. They swarmed over it, knocking each other out of the way and into the water. A knife flashed and a woman screamed as she fell into the sea. They overloaded the small pleasure craft past its limits. The mass of people upon the boat caused it to tip, spilling everyone into the water as it sunk to the bottom.
The other captains waiting in line to pick up refugees, after having witnessed what just happened, turned their boats around and sailed away. They were not willing to risk their boats or their lives with the panicked mob.
The people on the dock cried out for them to return but to no avail. Then absolute panic set in as they realized that rescue was no longer forthcoming. People jumped into the sea and tried to swim while the majority of the people just ran in every direction, trampling many of their neighbors.
James and Miko flowed with the mob until they could dart down a side alley. “What are we to do now?” Miko asked, fear evident in his voice.
“Maybe we can swim out around the walls and past the armies.”
Miko brightened at the idea. “Let’s go!”
They made their way through the press of the crowd until they came to the water’s edge. The sea was full of swimming bodies, many having the same idea as James. They got ready to enter when screams came from farther out in the water.
Crossbow bolts struck those in the water, killing all who tried to escape. James could barely make out dozens of enemy crossbowmen lining the shores, firing at the helpless people in the water.
“Not this way,” he said and they raced off into the city.
Chapter Twenty-Six
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