Fourth Vector Ch. 36

Jack found himself nodding in acknowledgment to them, thankful that they'd ceased contesting the control of the city. He kept moving until he joined up with Lindy, who was standing near a ruined building talking with another colonel.

"Jack, you have to meet this man," said Lindy as he gestured to the other colonel. "This is Colonel Bruce Potts and it's his regiment that was manning the front gate. Bruce and I grew up together, both of us being from Farso on the coast!"

Jack found himself quickly appraising the colonel and he offered his hand a moment later. "Colonel, your men put up one hell of a fight."

"Your Majesty, it really is you," whispered Bruce as he looked Jack up and down. "I can feel it in here. I can feel the bond." With those words, Bruce touched his chest.

"Tell me something, Bruce," said Jack. "What made you stop fighting? What made you raise the flag?"

Bruce's eyes hardened and he gestured toward the Castle in the center of the city. "It was him. The Regent. I'm fully convinced he's gone insane, Your Majesty. I just couldn't follow his orders, not at all."

"What orders?" asked Jack. "What did he ask you to do?"

Bruce gulped heavily. "Whathasn't he asked us to do is the better question. He seems to have lost all tactical sense of the situation. His general is one that never should have been raised above a captain's position. And he's now asking my men to attack in suicidal waves. He was commanding them to sacrifice themselves to your gunners to keep the city."

Jack blinked several times before he could even form a response. "We'd heard he was considering that but I had no idea he'd actually go through with it. To what purpose could that do anything? That would make your position worse off rather than better."

"That's what I tried to tell the general but no one would listen," said Bruce. "How could I look into the eyes of the men in my unit and tell them to sacrifice themselves for a hopeless cause? I couldn't do that. That's not how we fight. That's not how civilized people fight. Our lives are worth more than that to be sacrificed like mindless fodder. I wouldn't give the order and here I am. I figured that fighting on your side was a better solution."

"You picked the right side, Bruce," said Jack as he put his hand on the colonel's shoulder. "But we need to find Eric Rosdahl now. We need to get through to the Castle. How many defenders are left in the city?"

"Not many," answered Bruce. "A few thousand but all of them are low in morale, especially if they've been facing the same situation as we have. Rosdahl is locked up in the Castle. You're going to have to keep pushing up through the city to get there."

"A few thousand is still a lot of men, especially compared to our current numbers," said Jack. "If we let you fight for us, will you continue to stay in this battle? Will you join our side?"

"Your Majesty, I can say with total honesty that we will fight for you. I may not be able to hold a rifle but I do have my pistols," said Bruce as he gestured to the wound on his arm.

"Rifles are overrated anyway," said Lindy as he gestured to his shoulder wound from the last battle in Apulia. "Men like us can get away with our pistols just as well as the enlisted men can use their rifles."

That earned a smile from Bruce and in the next moment, he moved toward his men in an effort to get them fighting once more. It was a testament to his leadership ability that all of his men picked up their rifles and were ready to keep fighting, joining Jack's side and taking direction from Art on what section of the city to move towards.

Jack and Art weren't alone for very long. Jack wasn't surprised to see Greg catching up with them not far from the front gate, but it was seeing Kat's face alongside him that brought a questioning look to his own.

"I figured I should be here too," she said simply when she saw his face. "This was once my capital as well."

Knowing it was a fight he wasn't going to win, Jack nodded and gestured to his side. "Stay close to me. I don't want you getting out of my sight."

She gave her acknowledgment and the four of them continued to press into the city, following on the heels of their soldiers.

*****

While the front gates of the city were breached in a manner more peaceful than anyone could have expected, Eric Rosdahl sat in oblivious stupor. For someone that seemed so dedicated to keeping the rightful king from taking his throne, Eric felt entirely flippant about the fate of the capital city. Perhaps it was knowing that he had an escape plan should everything start to go south. Perhaps it was the fact that he didn't know just how quickly his situation was deteriorating.

Whatever the cause, Eric was quickly proving what everyone around him already knew--he wasn't the kind of leader who could get them through calamity.

Instead of monitoring the progress of the battle, Eric left that to General Burke while he cleaned and packed his extensive hunting rifle collection. If he had to leave the city, it was one possession he wanted to come with him, hoping to take up his favorite pastime wherever he managed to land. He also entertained thoughts of being the one to shoot Jack Easterbrook in the chest on his own, the ultimate "big game" trophy. Eric even laughed out loud at the thought of mounting Easterbrook's head above his mantle next to the elk.

As his slip into insanity became more pronounced, Eric didn't even notice that the sounds of fighting seemed to be getting closer. In fact, it wasn't until General Burke came pounding on the door that he paid any attention to something outside the room.

"What is it, Burke? Has the king been killed yet?" he asked without looking at the general. "Or are my services finally needed?" With those final words, he brandished his hunting rifle like a man on a mission.

"Your Highness, the situation is most severe," said Burke with a worried tone in his voice. "The front gates are taken. The forces of the enemy are pouring into the city. We need to pull back the regiments that we have into a tighter ring of defense around the Castle."

"What about the suicide attacks I ordered?" yelled Eric, temporarily alarmed. "We can push them back if your men would just follow my orders!"

Burke hesitated and that was all the time that Eric needed to know that his orders hadn't been carried out. He took his rifle and aimed it directly at Burke's head, making the man's eyes go wide with alarm.

"I ought to shoot you right here and now," said Eric as he looked down the sights. "And find a general who knows what he's doing and how to fight."

Instead of doing that, Eric just shook his head and lowered his rifle, going back to packing it for the journey.

Burke took a moment to gather his courage before speaking again. "What do you want us to do? Our forces continue to bleed for this city."

"They need todie for this city," corrected Eric. "Everyone needs to die and no one is willing to sacrifice for their country! No one will sacrifice for me after all I've done for Galicia. My rule has been prodigious and beneficial for all Galicians and in my hour of need, my country deserts me!"

Eric stormed away from his rifle collection and made for the only window of the room, which happened to have an excellent view out toward the front gate. Through the smoke, confusion, and rifle bursts, he could ascertain that the general's words were correct--the walls of the city were breached and the enemy wasn't far from this spot.

But he also picked up the movements of a certain flag. The king's flag was flapping in the breeze over the gatehouse, something that enraged him to no end.

All was lost in Kalmar. The Galician people had lost their spines as well as their will to fight. And if they wouldn't fight for Eric, what use were they to him?

He would leave them to their fate.

"We must leave at once," said Eric as his tone turned serious. He gestured to his rifles. "Quick, let's get moving. The guard is waiting for us."

Burke blinked several times in confusion. "Your Highness, I'm not sure I understand--"

"The city has fallen, you dumbass," retorted Eric as he reached out to slap the other man. "It is time for us to make our escape. Let's move. You carry my rifles!"

It was the most queer sight to watch the general carrying the crate of rifles behind the dashing regent but that was only part of the scene of chaos that panned out within the Galician Castle. Eric shuffled along as quickly as his feet would move while brandishing one hunting rifle of his own slung on his shoulder. He planned to use it if needed, knowing his skills with the weapon could see him through any threat.

In the process, he had no idea how ridiculous he looked.

They made one stop before leaving the Castle and that was to the supply room where Eric had the guard hard at work with his final plan for the city of Kalmar. He took one look at the guardsman at the door and uttered the faithful order.

"Execute the plan. Make Kalmar burn."

The guardsman nodded and then saluted him. "At once, Your Highness."

"Burn, what do you mean burn?" asked Burke, an alarmed expression playing out on his face.

Eric shook his hand in front of the general's face. "Don't worry about that now. We're leaving at once! Let's go!"

Eric had barely gotten out of the room before he heard Burke's protest again. Behind them, the guardsmen were pouring out of the room to carry out Eric's orders.

"Your Highness, I will not help you burn this city down," said Burke as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "That's your plan, isn't it? That's what you want to do to Kalmar?"

"Of course, it's my plan!" snapped Eric. "This city doesn't deserve me and I'll be damned if I leave it to Easterbrook. If I can't have it, then no one will! The city will burn and with it, all those who wouldn't let me lead them to greatness!"

Eric thought his speech sounded majestic but Burke seemed to be looking at him like he was fit to be committed.

The general planted his feet firmly as if to stop but his bigger crime was dropping the crate of hunting rifles. It smashed to the floor, causing Eric to become further enraged.

"You fucking idiot!" he roared as he rolled the hunting rifle off his shoulder and took aim at Burke, who had by now realized the gravity of his mistake. Eric fired one shot into the face of General Burke, who quickly collapsed just as easily as the crate of rifles. Eric stood over his spasming body as his face gushed blood, the general having died instantly. Still enraged at the rifles, Eric stopped one of the guardsmen who had watched the scene with horror on his face.

"You there, take his spot," ordered Eric as he gestured to the crate. "You're with me now!"

The guardsman looked like he wanted to cry at such an order but he performed his task without protest, something that the deceased General Burke never learned. They raced through the Castle until emerging on the south side where the roar of battle became that much louder. From the sounds alone, it quickly became apparent that Eric's forces wouldn't be able to contest the city much longer, making his plan all the more useful. Meeting up with a small group of guardsmen, Eric saw the first fires rising on the horizon from the western end of the city, soon to be joined by others springing up in every direction.

His eyes blazed with satisfaction as he watched the inferno begin to consume the city. "Burn you bastards. Burn all of you!"

For their own sake, the guardsmen with him said nothing. They followed the preplanned exit route from the city, a route that took them through the lower levels until they could reach the secret gate, one that would lead them outside the walls, giving them their best attempt at escape to the south. More than once, the guardsmen had to intervene in local fighting, but Eric was nauseated to see his defending troops surrendering instead of continuing to fight.

All of it proved they didn't deserve his leadership after all. If they wouldn't sacrifice their lives for him, why should he do the same?

Eric and his men were almost to the gate when a hail of bullets greeted their direction, quickly followed by shouting from attacking soldiers.

"It's the Regent! Don't let him escape!"

*****

Not far away, Jack and Greg stood near the remains of a crumbled house, urging their men to continue to move forward. The fate of the battle had long since swung in their direction and reports were beginning to come in of surrendering soldiers from Eric Rosdahl's side. Many of them had no desire to fight their king in the first place, and now that the battle seemed to be a foregone conclusion, they had no wish to die for the hated regent.

Unfortunately, any excitement over the surrender of those soldiers was lost when the blaze began.

At first, Jack thought it was confined to one or two areas where smoldering flames had managed to ignite portions of the city however it quickly became apparent that the entire city was on fire with the flames visible from every direction. Jack had to keep a cloth over his mouth to prevent from inhaling the smoke, and at this point in the battle, most of the fighting turned toward trying to save the city.

But the blaze was out of control. It was so strong and so prevalent that even concentrated effort on their part made not a single difference.

Kalmar was going to burn to the core, of that Jack was almost certain.

With his soldiers reaching the Castle and the search for Eric Rosdahl on, Jack joined in with the men. Anywhere that water could be found, it was siphoned into any carrying bucket that they could reach. Citizens poured onto the streets to save their homes or their places of business, often joining forces with those same soldiers who'd been attacking the city only hours before.

As late afternoon melted into evening, keeping Kalmar standing became the highest priority for everyone in the city.

Well, almost everyone.

Jack, Greg, and even Kat were joining forces with a Galician squad to put out the flames of a house when he got the message. It came from an excitable corporal who quickly relayed that it was Lindy who had reached out.

"Someone matching the description of Eric Rosdahl was seen trying to leave the city," said the corporal, all but out of breath. "There were several members of the guard around him which only serves to confirm his identity."

Jack grabbed the man by the shoulders. "What part of the city? Can you take us there?"

The corporal nodded and with that last gesture, he led Jack, Greg, and Kat on a chase through the burning streets of Kalmar. Everywhere that Jack would look, he could see misery and destruction. Children were sitting in the middle of the streets screaming while covered in ashes, their homes having burned down just moments earlier.

As Jack witnessed each nauseating scene of wretchedness, his resolve to catch Eric Rosdahl only hardened. Someone had to pay for all this. Rosdahl had to answer for what he'd done.

The corporal continued leading Jack through a section of the city where frequent gunshots could still be heard. It wasn't until they rounded the corner of an old building that Jack understood why.

He recognized the uniforms of the guard upon sight, and he instantly crouched behind a stone ledge to watch the fighting. His soldiers were making progress on the pinned down guard, who at this moment was trying to make forward progress to a spot contained inside an alleyway. Jack quickly saw why they were trying to reach the alley because a small door was there that opened up from the city wall to the outside.

It was now likely the only true escape route left in the city.

"We have to make sure no one gets through that door," Jack yelled to Greg.

Greg nodded. "You heard the King, men! Take down the guard and let no one escape!"

It became quickly obvious that the guard was full of well-trained men but they had neither numbers nor morale on their side. They were picked off in droves but it was mostly as they tried to create an avenue for the Regent to escape down the alleyway. Soon, their dead bodies created a noticeable buffer for this to occur but the only expense was that most of the guard died in the process.

When the last guardsman fell outside the alleyway, Jack and his men sprung forward to survey the carnage. That was when the soldier beside Jack noticed movement as soon as he tried to slip through the gate. The soldier raised his rifle and fired off one shot. Jack heard the cry from the afflicted as the shot entered his lower back, quickly sending the man toppling from the entryway to the outside of the city.

From that moment on, no one remained standing of those that tried to escape.

"Make sure no one was able to get out of the city," said Jack. "If the Regent is over there, I want to know. Bring the wounded to our own people for care."

As one, the Galicians soldiers moved forward to carry out Jack's orders. Jack, Greg, and Kat followed behind before coming across the bodies of the dead guardsmen. It was a nauseating sight to see them stacked on top of each other, used as a human shield so that others could go down the alleyway under cover.

Jack was still looking at the mass of bodies when one of the soldiers cried out closest to the gate in the wall. His frantic gesturing had all of them rushing to his spot. Jack moved down the narrow alleyway that had been the scene of so much bloodshed only minutes earlier until he arrived at the small door in the wall.

Peeking his head out of it, he could see the outside environs of the city but it was only as his gaze lowered that he saw two bodies directly below the door.

One was definitely dead. There was a small pool of blood under his head, no doubt from having gone headfirst through the door.

The other was still moaning. And the sounds of his voice were instantly familiar to Jack.

"It's him," he said to Greg and Kat. "It's Eric Rosdahl."

Greg didn't say much of anything. He was the first through the door to investigate but Kat gave Jack a hollow look as she surveyed the carnage. This would be the first time she'd seen her cousin since he deposed her, and Jack noticed she seemed to be steeling herself for the encounter.

Together, both of them moved outside of the gate, descending down the narrow staircase and finding Eric Rosdahl clawing at the ground.

He was the last one that had been wounded, taking the shot in the back as he tried to get through the door. Judging by the smeared blood down the steps, he'd managed to crawl his way to his current position but Jack could tell the wound would eventually kill him. He'd simply lost too much blood.

Eric Rosdahl was not long for this world.

Despite his pain, Eric's eyes blazed with fury the moment he saw Jack. "You fucking ingrate. You couldn't just leave me alone, could you?"

Jack didn't answer that directly. Instead, he scoped out Eric's immediate area, making sure he had no weapon to strike at them with. It appeared that he was holding nothing at the time of his wounding, making him all the more defenseless now.

"I hope you're happy with yourself," spat Eric as he tried to push himself up on his elbows. "Why couldn't you just die like you were supposed to?"

"Nobody wanted this outcome, Eric," said Jack quietly. "Least of all me. It would have never come to this if you knew your place. You're the one that drew first blood when you tried to attack me, tried to capture me, and tried to kill me. You brought us down this path, not me."

"I did what I could to preserve my family at the helm of Galicia," said Eric as he slapped his chest with a false sense of pride. "The Rosdahls rule in Galicia, not you!"

"How can you even say such things after what you did to me?" said Kat from behind Jack. "You put your family first and then forsake your own cousin?"