Chapter 23: Execution
It went quiet once the fighting stopped. But I didn't care who won. Cutter was gone. Hornet was gone. Viking went mad, but was still alive - which I was thankful that at least one of my friends made it.
Any traitorous brother or sister were shot down right then and there. The others who survived were made prisoners. Now, the only thing left was for their immediate execution. They would be put up on pikes and left for the rest to see as a warning for those who wished to resist against our Queen. But I didn't care. It didn't matter to me anymore.
After the battle, Viking immediately went to sleep in the barracks. I don't know what happened to Cutter's body, but I assumed that Viking still held onto him. Unlike my other brothers and sisters who died in battle, I buried Hornet in a soft patch of land. It was a quick burial, but one that I had to do. I just couldn't leave her there like the others. I made sure that she still held onto her electric crossbow in her arms as I filled the hole with dirt.
I wished that it didn't happen. Sometimes, I think to myself that it must be a dream - that I'll wake up any second now. I blamed myself for not walking faster. I blamed myself for not being the one to die. If the arrow had been a little closer, it would have got me. I would have rather died than either Cutter or Hornet. I was quicker or stronger, then I could have saved them. If I was quick enough, I could have stopped Cutter from killing himself. If I was quick enough, I could have gotten Hornet to safety. It was my fault. All my fault. But it was too late now. And very little time to grieve.
I went back to my post as soon as I was finished. I marched to guard the executions. Most of the were dark elves. Not a single traitorous roach for the public to see. As I walked by I noticed that there were some children in the line-up. I thought that this was a mistake, so I went over to General Kull to verify.
"General," I called out as he was instructing KR-01 and some other roaches.
He was slightly annoyed, but replied, "What is it, Roach?"
That's when I noticed a finger missing on his right hand. His ring finger looked like it had been torn off. When he saw me staring at it, he said, "That pyromancer was stronger than I anticipated. I had to sacrifice another piece of my body in order to defeat her. I was lucky that I could preserve her body, though. I'm sure I could conduct many fruitful experiments on her. Anyways, what do you want?"
I went back to the matter at hand.
"There might be a mistake in the line-up," I said, "I noticed a couple of dark elf children amongst them."
There was a brief silence. "And?" he asked.
"Sir, I don't think there were any children involved with these terrorists."
"There were. We caught some young women and children trying to escape. It was too bad that they ran into our bugs. I don't know what they've been doing, but they were there helping them."
"Sir, they're just children. I don't think they're much of a threat."
"Children? Those children are older than you, Roach."
"Still... they aren't a threat. They can be molded. They are less resistant to change in comparison to the others. The Queen's Empire never executed children before."
"That you know of," he muttered to himself. General Kull turned my head to one of the children in the line. "Look at their eyes. Do you think that these children will want to join the Queen's Empire?"
When I looked at the little dark elf boy, I saw hate and anger in his eyes. I could see his furious stare directed specifically towards me. I didn't know why at first, but it didn't take long for me to recognize who that kid was. I remember killing a mother in her home when I was looking for their king. There was a child. I searched the house leaving the young boy with his dead mother. It was nothing personal. She came at me. And I had orders to complete.
It was there I knew that he would never be willing to be a part of the empire. All because of me - us.
When General Kull knew that I understood, he continued, "We took their homes and lives. We killed their fathers and mothers. They will grow up to resist us. We have to root it out now or be damned in the future. Our utopia requires us to stick our hands in the mud and blood. If we don't, then our empire falls. The dream falls. Everything falls into chaos and disorder."
As he spoke, I wondered about Cutter's words. I began to think about all the lives that were lost. Was it worth it? I didn't know. When I looked at those in the line-up and those that watched from their homes, all I could see was hate and fear. Everybody hated us. Nobody wanted us here. Many of my friends died. So many bodies on both sides. Yet, all I could think about was whether it was worth it. I had to believe that it had to be. Otherwise, all of my brothers and sisters who sacrificed themselves died for nothing.
I asked General Kull, "Sir, what will happen to us once the war is over? Once the world is united under our Queen, what then?"
He laughed. "I would order you to look up at the stars, but in this dark dome, I doubt you'd be able to see one. But they're there even if you can't see them. After we take this world, the Queen will set her sights on the heavens above. All those stars and worlds. All of it will become part of her great empire. Of course, we don't have the magic or technology for it quite yet, but we will. In the meantime, we must set our sights in conquering one world. And when it's done, you roaches must maintain order."
It was an acceptable answer, but there was something in his voice near the end that I couldn't quite pick up on. I had the feeling that we'd be replaced if something better came along. And once the war was over, I wasn't sure that the Queen would need such a large force of roaches. And what would happen if we happened to be replaced by a far better alternative. The trolls that were once in our army were reduced to food after the bronze giants were assimilated. Was there something out there that would replace us? And if so, what would be our purpose, then? Would we be turned into food? But I shook away those thoughts. I didn't want to believe that the Queen would abandon her children like that. But the mere thought of it just wouldn't go away. It would just creep up in the back of my mind.
General Kull continued, "Now, let's get this execution on the way. Roach, I'm ordering you to -"
"Damn, bugs! Damn your Queen! Damn your empire!" one of the dark elves yelled.
As soon as he shouted those words, General Kull's entire attitude turned into anger. A skeletal arm rose from the ground and gripped the dark elf's neck.
"You dare interrupt me!" General Kull shouted angrily. It looked as though a blood vessel was about to pop off of his face. Yet, he calmed himself down. He smirked as his conjured arm turned to dust. The dark elf coughed and he gasped for air. "Fine, dark elf. I will give you a chance to speak," General Kull said with confidence, "It will be your last words, anyways. Let's hear it. I hope you say something good before your bodies are offered up."
"Damn you."
"C'mon. You can do better than that."
"We have lived peacefully on these lands before you came here. We lived in these lands just like our ancestors. We didn't interfere with the outside world. We didn't want to a part of the outside world's politics."
General Kull replied, "You play yourself like the victim. You say your kind have lived peacefully here for so long. But that's a lie. You didn't sprout up from the ground. Your kind conquered these lands from the local mushroomfolk and enslaved them. Your legacy is that of slavery and genocide. Now that we have come here to do the same, you play the victim. You're no better than us, dark elves. No better."
Before the dark elf could open his mouth once more, the general conjured a pike from the ground that pierced straight through the roof of that elf's mouth. General Kull sighed.
"Roach," he commanded, "I'm ordering you to execute the rest of these traitors."
"Sir?" I asked, "You're not going to do it yourself?"
"No. My undead bats saw you enter those sewers. You met with their leader. Your loyalty to the Queen is in question. To prove your loyalty, you and your siblings will kill them."
I didn't mind killing the men and women, but the children were a different matter. I still didn't fully believe that they needed to die. But as I was about to raise my objections, General Kull looked at me with dark eyes.
"If you will not, then I will put you on the line myself. And not just you, but - what was your friend's name - that big roach as well. I may have said those things about your kind maintaining order in the future, but you are still expendable. I have given you plenty of freedom, but I won't allow any more leeway."
I could see that his threats were sincere. I shivered as he towered above me. I knew that he could squash me like a bug without a second thought. And it wasn't just my life on the line. It was Viking's as well. I didn't want to blame myself for the loss of another friend.
I nodded my head and followed his orders. His orders were the Queen's orders, I thought to myself. I just had to keep thinking that. Those hollow orders. Whether it was from the Queen or not, I believed them to be wrong. But there was nothing I could do. I was just a soldier. My job is to follow orders. If I don't, then I'm no different than any other war criminal. Even if I believed my orders to be wrong, I had no choice but to follow.
I had my brothers and siblings form a line that mirrored the traitors'. Our crossbows pointed at one. Mine specifically pointed at the kid who kept giving me those hateful eyes. His eyes were wide open. I wished that he'd just close them, but I wouldn't get that satisfaction. I aimed my crossbow right at the child's head. I thought that it would at least be a quick death. It would have been much more quick than any death by General Kull's pikes.
"Ready your weapons," I ordered to the other roaches.
Everybody was ready. I just had to give the order as the general commanded. I didn't think it would have been so hard. They were traitors. They were responsible for so much death in this city. So much sadness. They were responsible for Cutter's and Hornet's death, but I could only blame myself.
As seconds passed, I knew that I had to give the order.
"Aim!"
Everybody was ready. Few more seconds passed. My heart beat faster. I looked straight at the child's eyes. So much anger. Tears overflowed from his eyes, but he kept looking straight back at me. I knew that he would never be willing to join our cause. He would grow up to resist us like the others. He may not have committed any crimes today, but he would in time.
It didn't matter what I believed in. Follow orders. Follow orders. Shoot the traitors. Kill them. They are enemies of the empire. Kill them. Follow orders.
"Fire!"
And with that, a loud wave of thunder came over the city. It echoed throughout the darkness. The beams of lightning lit up the city. And then there was silence. All of them dead. Every last one them. Men, women, and children dead. The traitors were no more. The stench of cooked meat filled the air. It was over. I looked at the kid, and his eyes turned gray. He was no longer angry. Just an empty shell like everybody else around him.
I looked back at General Kull who didn't care. "You are all dismissed. Go back to your posts."
He walked away without a care. I looked at my brothers and sisters, and they all seemed so distant. However, as soon as one of my brothers noticed a heavy look on my face, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Let's all get back to our patrols."
"Alright, Roach."
"Yeah."
I walked away without looking back. It was over.
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