“Gentlemen,” the President spoke, “take a seat.”

The room fell silent as the senators, politicians, and generals sat in their chairs, adjusted their masks and suits. Brown, grey, tan, and hell even white suits mixed with the harsh green of the generals. At the head of the table, nearly a hundred leagues underground, sat the President of the United States, or as united as they could be. He wore a fine black suit with a golden tie, had slicked back brown hair and sharp eyes to match. His skin was mostly smooth save for the blotches of charred flesh by fires blazing topside.

“Shall we begin?”

No one said a word.

“As we now know it, chaos has struck our nation. Our people are divided. Our people have turned against the government they entrusted to serve them as they have served it. Greed has taken root in our leaders. Corruption has rot truth and justice from prevailing. Nations are preparing for war. The Cold War is nearing the peak, almost boiling over this very moment, and fear runs rampant for the capability of our weapons. It only takes one button to wipe out a city. One button to erase centuries of history. One button to wipe the slate clean. To destroy a nation. To doom a region. This button has more power than we could ever imagine. More than we may even realize. Russia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Germany, France, these powers have these buttons. Maybe more than one. Perhaps a dozen. Who knows. Gentlemen, we need to save our people. We need to save our history. And we must save our nation from these buttons. From our rooted doom of the past, past mistakes and leader, to our doomed future.”

One of the generals hesitated to speak.

“Burks, what lingers on your mind? Speak up. We need all voices no matter their strength. Go on then.”

Burks spoke, “Our options are few, sir. Few but all of them costly.  Senator Charlie wants us to bow and give them what they want to get them back on our side. I mean no disrespect but that’s foolish. They would learn to keep asking because we would give. All due respect, Senator.”

“No harm, Burks, no harm.” Senator Charlie took heed. “To use our military power to put them in line will only strengthen their resolve. It will give them the drive to tear down what they see as a corrupt government. We allow all speech and thoughts. Other nations have egged on. They’ve supplied them with the means to kill every one of us in this room. Button or no, we need to win our people back.”

“What nations have given them the power? Is it their leaders or men bearing their country unwillingly?” The President sat back in his chair.

“Unknown, sir.” Burks looked at the numerous reports of bombs, arms, and plans for war. “Enough to destroy the White House. Enough to seize them to be executed as tyrants in this revolution led by young adults. The next generation fighting the old. Are we Germany and they the Resistance? Sometimes I wonder, sir. All due respect. I wonder.”

“In any mater, however you think, however you may feel, truth is important. Thank you, Burks. Thank you, Charlie. If I press this button then our nation will stop the influx of support, link broken, so they fend for themselves. We will have the people tell us what they want and efforts will be done to meet them in the middle where both gain. Diplomats will look into the foreign matter. We will win our nation. Or, we will do what must be done to secure it. Any gentlemen veto?”

None spoke.

“This meeting is adjourned. God bless the USA. Let us save the nation.”

I watched as the last bird flew away from the nest atop the Old Shore’s greenhouse. Nothing had stopped the bird from flying but itself yet, it flew.

I checked the birdseed bag in the garden and found it empty. So, I went back inside my house along the beach to the basement where I kept history, slowly fading away the longer I stayed, and the only rebirth of it came when that raven arrived. On its neck, tied neatly, was a letter. That letter called for the knight to ride out on one last journey to slay the Darkest Enemy that threatened the people outside this hidden paradise. It was more of a crow or vulture picking at the remains of a dead man. But it was signed by a dear friend.

For a moment, I had looked to my old sword and armor and nearly threw it on right then and there. Until I remembered why I came here. I crumbled the letter and threw it away. Now I was looking at the old blade, dull and beyond being what they needed.

There came a loud gust of wind outside; I rushed to see what the matter was. Sitting on a stool out on the porch was my mentor, the Great Guru.

“A beautiful garden, full of life and growth,” he said as he pulled at the hairs of his long white beard. “Yet, why are you here? Doing what your creation is not?”

“My days of fighting are over. It can’t be beat. Not then nor any other time I put it, the Wolves, the Snake, or the Fog down. It never stayed gone. I can’t change anything.”

The guru laughed.

“Look to your garden. Look to your friends. Look to those that look to you when the night begins. What do you see? Growth. Life. Trust. Love. Courage. Hope. All things that have changed from minor to major.”

“What use am I now? That was then!”

“Now? You hold your blade now, no?” He pointed to my hand, and I was carrying my old blade gripped tightly. “Typical you, is it not, that you look to the past to judge your today and tomorrow, where you were, not where you are going. Your blade never dulled, it was the wielder who gave up and lost faith in it, but the blade never surrendered.”

The clouds parted where I had not seen before and shone a bright sun.

“Even if lightning strikes a tree, it still grows.”

At this moment, I felt the courage of the bravest heroes of myth, legend, and story. I threw on my armor so bright, sheathed my blade so sharp, and mounted my horse so fast, riding off to my ship with sails so strong to make my voyage to the Darkest Enemy.

Nothing had stopped the bird from flying but itself yet, it flew.

Eden woke up face first in the mud.

“Eden, get on your feet,” Captain Raines grabbed him and yanked him up, “we’re about to move.” They sat in the trench as the fog rolled in. Most of them had seen this before. Veterans that fought and died over and over again to take down the tyrant. Grey vs that fog.

“One minute!” Captain Raines shouted.

Eden looked over the trench at No Man’s Land. He and the others got ready to charge. This would be it. Some fo the other men were weary of the battle. They were outnumbered, outgunned, outmatched by the odds.

“Hey Captain,” one of the men asked, “why didn’t we ask for help?”

“We can do this. The tyrant can only be toppled if we conquer it ourselves,” Raines told the young soldier. “Eden, you’re up.”

Eden prepared himself.

The sirens blared.

They charged. Bullets flew hight. Soldiers dropped. Raines charged high atop his horse into the colorless fog. Mortars screamed as they flew into the sky and came crashing down. Eden stumbled, tripping over a rock with the lights going out.

He woke up after the sirens ended.

The battle was over. Bodies littered the ground all around him. He could hear Captain Raines calling out to another garrison the same speech he gave Eden and the others. They charged. They failed. They kept fighting the colorless fog always unyielding.

This wasn’t enough.

Eden walked back to the trench. He found the communication bunker locked up by boxes and barriers installed by Captain Raines. They needed help. They were going to die. He couldn’t hold on. Their numbers lessened by the days.

“Private,” Raines approached with his gun ready, “what are you doing?”

“Getting help.”

“We don’t need it.”

“We do.”

“They don’t get it. They won’t. It’s just us. We have to pull through. We can change! We just have to keep pushing.”

“Then why haven’t we won?”

Raines handed Eden a key and a gun. “You can take the risk or a way out.”

Raines went over into Dead Man’s Land and didn’t come back.

Eden unlocked the bunker and stepped inside. He found the old radio, dusting it off and taking a seat. He put on the headset while preparing what he was going to broadcast. He went live.

“It’s time that I told you all that I can’t fight this. Guys, I won’t leave you in the dark anymore; I need help. This is me, calling out for help, because I’m barely. holding on and every small boost dies out. I can’t keep myself afloat. Please help…please.”

Eden stepped out and set off into No Man’s Land. The fog stood before him. He felt a hand grab his shoulder. He looked to see the fresh face of a yellow coated soldier. Then a red one, a green one, blue, and orange. They came.

“Ok. Let’s keep going.”