Zion's Children Pt 2

As the mismatched threesome made their way across the landing field, Byrin was only vaguely aware of Bennett at his side. He liked the nurse and knew that, had certain things been different, they would have been sleeping with each other long before the trip out here had ended. However the blond woman was vehemently opposed to sex outside of marriage as she was a diehard Christian. When on a ship as small as the Solar Winds and on a trip as long as they were, you learned a lot about your shipmates. Not only was Bennett a Christian, the other two women with them were lovers and the captain of the ship had loud flatulence. Given the thin nature of the walls, it had been a long trip indeed.

The doctor sighed, wishing to banish all thoughts of the past trip from his mind. Glancing around, he took a deeper look at the area surrounding him. The landing pad was situated on top of a hill, and the valley below gave evidence of what used to be a prosperous village…city? At the edge of the inhabited area, he had no trouble spotting the ConFleet buildings. They were simply the most modern buildings present.

Also easy to spot were the body bags lining the field outside of a long building only a mile from the modern buildings. Piles of them. As they came down the winding path, Byrin watched as a mixture of ConFleet personnel and native colonists loading the filled bags onto the backs of old gasoline engine trucks. Their destination was as easy to spot as the bags. Off to the west of town, was the graveyard. The bare ground showed the new graves and the falling trees showed how the forest was being cleared to make room for more.

Other than that, there were few people to be seen. Byrin counted perhaps a dozen. He wondered if that meant the others in this area had run away, or if they were already dead. It was a disheartening thought, and he wondered if he had been sent to save only a dozen people.

He didn't have time now to ponder the source of the different spots of thick smoke on the far side of the valley, but he made note to find out what was going on there. He hoped they weren't burning bodies; the very thought was distasteful.

Freeman led the two past the first ConFleet building, and into a small clapboard building across the street. It looked no different than the buildings around it, right down to the faded whitewash. It was a one-story building resembling a box with windows and looked more suited to Earth’s American pioneer era.

“Why are we going in here?” Bennett asked.

“Because this is where the General keeps his office,” Freeman replied as he opened the door. He took the time to sign them in on an electronic notepad at the front desk.

“Are you serious?”

Byrin looked at the nurse with impatience. “So, the General's eccentric. Is it any of your concern?”

Freeman cleared his throat. “Follow me.” He led the way again, this time down a narrow hallway that caused them to walk in single file even though it was unnecessary. The office farthest back, indeed, at the very end of the hallway, had a dim gold plate attached to the door bearing the unlikely name and title of ‘General Archibald Hiawithus, III’. On this door, Freeman knocked firmly and awaited the barked command to enter.

The general’s aide opened the heavy door and announced, “I’ve brought them, sir.”