Akeldama | lrh

twenty seven - Ready,

Caught between a strong mind and a fragile heart.

-Unknown

•••

Carlton Blake and the remaining North American troops are resting on Niihau, gathering their wits and examining the situation. Everyone is here except for the group that was dropped off at Kahoolawe, because they've gone radio silent and it seems to be relatively impossible to reach them. Being the soldiers that they are, nobody was stupid enough to go after them.

The first four islands are destroyed, and it appears that only one bomb was dropped, right in the center of Hawaii. Ash floats in the waves of the ocean and dead fish wash up onto the shore, but none of them are focusing on that right now. Everyone is trying to figure out why there has been North American boots on this ground and nobody knew about it.

"All of the troops that were in Asia at the time of the bombings were accounted for." Jackson states, his hands spread out on the table in front of him. He has taken up leadership at the expense of the late General Pauling. They've set up base in one of the farmhouses, which, like everything else, is empty. "So that means that there must have been some stationed here. But to my knowledge, there wasn't."

"Even if there was, where are they? Where did they go?" Carlton asks, exasperated. "This whole island is empty. It wasn't even touched by the bombs, and it's empty. No life. Something weird is going on."

"Then there is the issue of Kahoolawe." Jackson continues, ignoring his questions. "If nobody on that island is responding, it means something bad happened. They didn't just drop their radios in the ocean. We might have enemies closer than we think."

Silence. Nobody really knows what to say, and everybody seems to be thinking of ways to move forward. The silence probably would have continued on for several minutes had it not been for the loud booming off in the distance, which shakes the nerves of every person in the room.

"It sounds like canons." One soldier says, and everyone starts to flood out of the door.

At first, nothing happens, and the booming just gets louder. The sky is clear.

"Or guns. Big guns." Carlton swallows. "Guys, Nuke's don't have big guns."

Suddenly, off in the distance, a speck of black appears. No, it's red, which is apparent as it gets closer and closer, and the dark colors are coming from the smoke exuding out of every part of it. There's fire too, and as the thing spirals towards them, Carlton is so shocked that he doesn't even notice that the booming stopped.

"A hovercraft." He mutters, then yells it. "A hovercraft! TAKE COVER!"

Everyone rushes to hit the ground in front of the house, under the cover of its pavilion. The vehicle breaks through the clouds and comes barreling down, swerving to the other side of the island, and the soldiers can only watch as it crashes into the distant trees, sending ash and smoke flurrying up in its wake.

***

A few hours earlier

The night passes by slowly. Ivy is exhausted, the drag of sleep slowly pulling her under until her eyelids flutter every time she sits down. She's dozed off a few times in random places, but never for long.