บท 9: Capitan
Gili, out of breath, was running desperately. The whole of her squadron hadn't shown up yet, some soldiers were still missing but she had assembled enough volunteers to assist Chloé's squadron in distress. Her experience had taught her that it was better to be numerous, strong and well equipped to face the dangers lurking outside. Around her, the entire city seemed to converge towards the central square and one could already hear the rumbling of the crowd that reverberated on the buildings of the adjacent streets.
The alarm bells which had started ringing a few moments earlier came as a bombshell. The crowd in the Worship Square was thrown into a panic and rushed in every direction. The third ceremony had just ended when the city guards in charge of the Gate had sounded the alarm. The specter of an attack by the No-Lights frightened even the most veteran citizens. A wave of panic washed over the frenzied crowd. The resulting chaos made things difficult for the authorities. Soldiers, city guards or Special Forces tried in vain to channel the throng.
Gili absolutely needed to cross the square to reach the ramparts and, caught by the crowd, away from her men, she lost some precious minutes fighting against the human flow almost till exhaustion. She wasn't trying to restore order, she just wanted to go out and find her friend. Chloé might still be in danger, Gili had no time to waste.
On the square, the craziest rumors were going around about the attack: the No-lights were going to storm the city, or the whole patrol was destroyed, or there were survivors, who went back to take additional equipment and they had discovered the slaughter of their companions. Everyone added his own gossips, all contradictory. The fear became almost tangible. Images of cannibalism and atrocious deaths emerged from the collective unconscious and spread like wildfire through the crowd.
Leaving the Worship Square, Gili resumed her frantic run towards the Gate, soon joined by her soldiers. Only a few latecomers still remained in the streets of this district and they were all rushing in the opposite direction, towards the square, to listen to the news. Gili had always disliked herd instinct and mob action. Had she not followed Chloé in the Elite Police, she would surely have devoted her life to Nukledeus, secluded in the solitude and peace of the monastery adjoining the temple. She had almost taken this step after Chloé's mishap during the last territorial patrol.
Since Nukledeus wished to repeat History, she hoped that he would save her friend once again. At that moment, she would have given anything to know that Chloé was alive and unharmed. She even got to the point where she was praying that, like the previous time, the Shadow Girls would watch over Daphné's twin, in remembrance of one of their own. Daphné was dead, and for a year, Gili had been fighting relentlessly to keep Chloé from joining her. This time, she felt she was no match for Destiny.
They finally arrived at the Western Gate. Gili shouted an order to open but the city guards did not move. Her soldiers then seized the controls and opened the gate for her. This display of strength gave her confidence. They were strong, numerous and well armed.
Once they were outside, her men could only rely on themselves without any support from the city or help from the ciy guards. But Gili didn't care about the dangers that were lying in wait for her, she wanted to find Chloé. Nothing else mattered to her at that moment.
They quickly reached the river, which they followed upstream towards the waterfall. Gili was pleased, though somewhat distressed, to see that there was only one section apart from her own men. She intended to lead the operation alone and had no intention of returning without the bodies of the unfortunate arkian soldiers. Provided, of course, that the city guards open the Gate for them.
Being denied access was quite a genuine possibility, the last terpa was proof of that. Gili remembered having fought like a lioness against those who prevented her from going out. She was by herself and only a private at the time, but it took an entire section to bring her under control. She had nothing but contempt for those cowardly city guards who crawled within the walls of Ark City. This time, they had at least learned their lesson and had stepped aside out of her way before sealing everything off.
The soldiers, who joined her when she went out of the city with her troop, were the most efficient, even better and faster than Gili's own men. Already on the scene, this additional section was busy gathering pieces of corpses scattered on the red bank. Their uniforms had also changed color and, tacky with blood, they were stuck to the soldiers' limbs, it was quite a grisly sight. The section chief and his second-in-command came to meet Gili and she thought she recognized the badge of Chloé's squadron. There was at least one surviving section.
– Section Chief Dolick reporting, Capitan.
The man saluted, his fist crisply hitting his chest twice. Gili felt confused for a moment. No one had ever given her the title "Capitan". It was an outdated rank that no longer existed in the Elite Police but some, such as Chloé's men,were still using it to show their dedication.
– Section Chief Dolick, I'm Commander Gili. I'm not a Capitan.
– With all due respect, Capitan Gili, you've just been promoted by your men.
Gili turned around and was almost shocked to see all the soldiers, who had followed her, mimic Dolick's gesture while shouting her name. This was hardly the time to discuss the honor of becoming a "Capitan". She didn't ask for anything, but she would use every means at her disposal to find Chloé. Thus she listened to the report while her squadron joined Dolick's section in their search for the bodies of the victims.
Some of the rumors heard in the city turned out to be true. Chloé had ordered Dolick and his section to go back and get some equipment to clear the Lichen that was polluting the river while she was leading the rest of the squadron to the dam. The latter had probably collapsed during the fighting.
Dolick and his men had already identified many comrades among the mutilated bodies. There were also many No-light victims who were in the same condition as the bodies of the arkians. Including the heads, Dolick estimated a ratio of one arkian soldier to five No-lights. The squadron of Capitan Chloé had fought to the end with bravery and honor. Gili was planning on bringing them back to the temple so they could join the Nukledeus' light for eternity.
Gili and Dolick walked side by side while their soldiers, a gloomy look on their faces and their hands so tensed they seemed contorted, gathered the bodies in a gigantic puzzle. It was not easy to separate the Arkians from the No-lights. The latter's bodies would be burned on site to prevent pests, plague and river pollution, whereas the Arkians would be brought back to Ark City. Then the disciples of the Temple would have the difficult task of sewing up the limbs and making the bodies of the arkians presentable for the Reunification ceremony, when the soldiers would become one with Nukledeus.
– Did you find Commander Chloé ? asked Gili, already fearing the answer.
– No, not yet. The Capitan may have been carried away by the river or by the No-lights.
Gili simply nodded her head. It was unlikely that the surviving No-lights would have bothered to take hostages. They had suffered heavy losses but were desperate and hungry enough to cut the muscles of their own dead before they left. The arkians didn't give them enough meat so they ate one another up.
Chloé had, in their eyes, no more value than any other mass of bloody flesh. Gili also noticed that the No-lights had not cooked or eaten on the spot and began to doubt that they were the same tribe that had prevailed during the last terpa. Systematic and organized, they had only taken edible food, mainly muscles. The heads had retained their eyelids, ears and tongues, which was a small relief for Gili.
The icy sweat dripping down her back each time they found a new corpse had gradually dried. Did she begin to get used to this horror vision where the piles of flesh and limbs that had been severed looked like a sinister set of dislocated and dismembered puppets? Gili sent three sections to carry the dead bodies into the city and led the rest of her troop, together with the Dolick section, to follow the river and search for more, and hopefully survivors. They had to move quickly, the night was about to fall and make the task even more difficult.
*
The evening went by and Gili was losing patience. No trace of Chloé. They had found several drowned bodies washed up on the bank. These had not been mutilated, so the No-lights had not taken the time to go downstream. If Chloé was alive, she must have gone through there and out of the water without the No-lights knowing. Maybe she had erased all traces to confuse any No-Light chasing after her.
The current was now too strong to swim across. The sunset left a whole part of the opposite bank in darkness. It was impossible for Gili to scan the ground at this distance. She and Dolick were sure that no one had come out of the water on the bank nearest Ark City. Their only hope was on the other side.
With a heavy heart, they decided to escort the last bodies into the city, reluctantly suspending their search. By nightfall, the Gates would be closed and the city guards wouldn't open them anymore until the next morning should the curfew be ordained at level one. If level three were reached, Ark City would be sealed for several weeks, surviving on the water reserves stored in the cisterns.
Gili refused to contemplate this dark prospect. She needed to pray to clear her head and find a way to rescue Chloé. Maybe Nukledeus would grant her the solution. She raised her head, the soldiers were a little down with fatigue but they were not the type to give up so easily. She then stared at the dome still illuminated by the divine light of Nukledeus.
The sun was dim at this late hour and Ark City seemed to shine even brighter. This vision of splendor invigorated Gili who urged her troop on to persevere. They managed to come back in Ark City shortly before the temple's dome closed. The darkness quickly enveloped the new Capitan. Gili had a twinge in her heart thinking that Chloé might be alone outside the city, in a hostile environment, without help or food.
As soon as they had finished handing over the bodies to the disciples of the Temple, the curfew siren sounded. Gili and all her soldiers froze. They felt tense while they waited for the signal at the end of the sequence. The number of repetitions indicated the alert level. Three ringing bells resounded and destroyed all their hopes of finding Chloé alive. A heavy silence fell inside the temple. Then, on Gili's order, everyone withdrew for a little rest. Now, it was impossible for them to leave Ark City.
In the temple now deserted by the disciples and soldiers, the young woman began to pray fervently to escape despair. Then, kneeling on the cold floor, she opened her mind and let her memories surface. She felt so much closer to Nukledeus in this trance-like state. An image appeared very clearly to her: Chloé sitting in the darkness of the Capitans' pub. Gili could almost hear her friend's words again: "Mona brought me back. She saved my life."
The idea that, in the past, the Shadow Girls had looked out for Chloé while she herself faced the inertia of the city guards and institutions, was running through her head from the beginning of the search. Mona's group could leave and enter the city freely and they also had equipment and at least a vehicle.
Gili was developing her plan. With Ark City under curfew, the Shadow Girls were her only hope. She absolutely had to find them and convince them to rescue Chloé but it was an arduous task. Finding the rebels could be long and difficult, if not impossible. For years, the Special Forces had been tracking them down with little success. Gili stood up to search for her aides and begin the investigation. Anything would be better than remaining idle and worrying herself sick.
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