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Rush strained as he carried a box across the makeshift Arcian camp. Even though he had built up his muscles during his service aboard airships, he was still as skinny as ever. Why couldn’t Vance have assigned him to a different task?
After the battle, the Arcians roamed through the rebels’ base, carrying out their supplies, finding the last stragglers, treating the wounded, and establishing a camp. Food cooked over open flames. As Vance explained, they would stay there for a few days. The cleanup of such a battle was no quick feat.
The rebel ships had all been captured or incapacitated, and two of the Arcian warships were damaged beyond use. The Skycastle hung in the air, only a charred skeleton. Vance had said it wouldn’t start falling for another day. Grapeshot from collinades had ravaged another ship, most of the crew dead, the rest jumping overboard. One ship left to deliver the news to New Atlantis, while the three troopships filled up with supplies looted from the raiders.
Rush, breathing hard, dropped the crate next to a stack that was being loaded into a troopship. Other men, much more suited to heavy lifting, carried them aboard. On his way back to the cave mouth, he passed the row of blankets where injured men lay. He had watched Ward, but the man had always been asleep. Now he was awake, sitting up and drinking water from the medic who had saved his life during the battle.
Rush diverted toward the temporary hospital. Carrying boxes could wait. He had to talk to Ward.
When he approached, the medic smiled and pointed at Rush, who was behind Ward’s back. “Well, look who’s here.”
Ward turned, and his eyes widened as he spotted Rush. “You. I remember you now.”
Rush hesitated. Might he recall what he had done to Lewis?
“You tried to shoot me in the forest. At Hast. Didn’t you?”
Rush nodded. “And you punched me.”
Ward looked down. “You say I killed your brother. Why didn’t you shoot me in that cave, after I had killed him, when you tried to kill me in the woods before I ever pulled the trigger?”
Rush stumbled through his thoughts. How could he explain it to him? The man that had caused all his problems and brought him here? He couldn’t even verbalize the decision to himself, much less to another. So he only shrugged. “I forgave you.”
Ward shook his head. “Why?”
“Because it was right.”
Ward’s lips parted, and he stared. “You are…remarkable.”
Someone shouted from across the ravine, “Boy! Get back to work, you’re still under volantry authority!”
Rush exchanged a last glance with Ward before scampering off. He thought he saw regret in those eyes. But perhaps not.
Rush stared as the Pinnacles receded from view. It was four days after the battle, and he had helped the army clean everything and prepare to leave. They had loaded the prisoners and remaining soldiers and set out for New Atlantis.
Rush stood at the railing near the captain’s quarters at the stern, watching the mountains slip behind the horizon. This time, they no longer carried longing or anger. There was nothing left for him there. The rebels were gone, and Ward was sleeping somewhere on another ship.
But something else tugged at him. The fire of revenge had subsided, but hollowness persisted in his chest. Lewis was still dead. His family was still upended, his fellow townsmen still in their graves. He would never see Lewis again, and forgiveness wouldn’t change that. Did he have to carry this for the rest of his life? He stared at the rocky plains below. How long would this continue? How long would the pain drag him down?
No answer appeared. He sighed and plopped to the floor.
Six Months Later
The merchant ship Kookaburra groaned as it came to a stop in a docking tower. Rush had spent the last six months aboard this ship, helping the crew as they delivered cargo all over Arcia. On some missions, they had even crossed the sea, anchoring in unfamiliar lands where only fledgling colonies lived. It had been a rough time, but Rush had risen to the challenge, his shoulders widening and frame strengthening from the hard labor. He could lift the boxes without straining now. His family would hardly recognize him when he returned to Hast.
Rush bounced on his toes as the dock workers lashed the ship to the pier. He had anticipated this day for a long time.
The captain, Horace, walked up behind Rush and clapped him on the shoulder. “Today’s the day. You’re going home to your family.”
He grinned, then mellowed. “I wonder if they’ve forgotten about me. It’s been a long time.”
Horace shook his head. “Let me tell you, I think of my wife and kids every day I’m at sky in this tub. I know they think of me just as often. It’s lonely work, airship crewing. But I know they haven’t forgotten you, not after how often you’ve spoken of them during our time together.”
Rush nodded. “You’re right. I’m still nervous, though.”
At that, Horace grinned. “Now that’s only natural.”
Butterflies twisted in his stomach as a familiar voice reached his ears. He hadn’t heard that voice in six months. Not since the battle in the Pinnacles.
Captain Vance Hale came into view, stepping onto the pier alongside the crew of the Embark. Among the crowd were Thaddeus and Lieutenant Bridger. Rush stepped back. Were they all here to welcome him?
Vance paused his conversation and smiled at Rush. “Ah, there he is. Welcome back to New Atlantis.”
Rush darted across the gangplank and stepped close to the crew. “Why are you here?”
With exaggerated motions, Vance placed a palm on his chest. His jaw dropped. “That is some way to welcome an old friend.”
Rush sighed and shrugged. “Sorry. It’s good to see you, Captain. And the rest of you, too. But still, why are you here?”
Thaddeus wore something that approximated a smile. It looked entirely out of place on his face. What was going on? “We want to show you something.”
Bridger grinned and nodded. “You’ll love it.”
Rush glanced at Horace and then back to Vance. “But someone’s supposed to be escorting me home. I’m not released from my sentence until I’m dropped off in Hast.”
Vance waved his hand as if brushing the words away. “For once, the rules can be bent. Now come along before birds start nesting on your head.”
Mind swirling with questions, Rush followed the party down the never-ending spiral staircase. But before they reached the ground floor exit, stopped and clasped his hands behind his back. He nodded toward an archway leading to another pier. “Take a look.”
Rush crept forward, throwing glances between Vance and the entrance. Finally, he came close enough to see, and he froze. His breath caught in his throat.
There, in all its glory, floated the HMS Embark.
“But…but…I destroyed that ship!”
Vance smiled. “And we fixed it.”
“How did…?”
“It’s a long story for another time. But in summary, you no longer need feel guilty about what you did. It is done. It had been paid for. And the Embark will fly again.” He smiled. “As a matter of fact, we have been recruited to escort you home.”
Rush’s eyes widened and he beamed.
Thaddeus frowned. “With all respect, Captain, you volunteered. We weren’t recruited.”
“That’s beside the point. Rush, the ship had been prepared and the crew is all back together. I’ve already handled the paperwork. Please step aboard. We’ll have you home in mere hours.”
The Embark dropped anchors half a mile from the town, hiding behind the forest where Fort Hast was located. Rush had insisted on surprising everyone, rather than announcing his entrance with a massive airship. So they had halted over top Fort Hast, dropping ropes and ladders. Rush and Vance walked side-by-side as the others stayed behind.
The boy and the captain traced the same exact path he had walked with Olive and Lewis countless times before. The last time he had taken his walk, Lewis was still alive. He recalled their panic at the sound of distant gunshots. So much had changed since then. Nearly a year had passed.
That reminded Rush of the question he had wanted to ask Vance. He took a deep breath and worked up the courage to say it.
“Captain?”
“Yes?” The captain turned his head while walking.
“I know what you said about forgiveness is right. I knew it when you said it, but I didn’t want to accept it. And now I’ve forgiven, but I’m still sad whenever I think about Lewis. He’s still dead. Revenge wouldn’t have brought him back, but neither did forgiveness.”
The captain’s gaze went to the ground. They walked in silence for some time, and Rush let the captain think.
“You are correct. Nothing will bring Lewis to you. But someday, you will go to him.”
Rush cocked his head.
“Your family believes Christ, yes?”
“Right.”
“Lewis is not dead. His body is in a grave, yes, but there is no need to think you will never see him again. That’s false. Whether you die before the world is remade, or you escape the valley of death through His return, you will stand beside your brother again someday as much as you stand beside me.”
Rush drew his eyebrows together. His father had read and explained similar things many times before while reading their family Bible. But now they took on a new power. Verses that he once glossed over returned to mind as his greatest treasure. His eyes widened, the truth sinking in.
Vance grinned. “Death has no sting for you. The grave has no victory. Remember that.”
His heart swelled with hope. He would tell Olive as soon as he had a chance. And his parents. His steps quickened as a lull settled on their hike.
Before long, the forest fell away, and Hast stretched before them. Rush couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Once again, crops populated the fields that blanketed the plains. The setting midsummer sun caressed his face. A crisp breeze swayed the crops and rustled in the trees. During his stay in New Atlantis, he had almost forgotten what such tranquility was like. For the first time since he left, tension flooded from his body, and he inhaled deeply the fresh country air. Darting forward, he left Vance and made for the edge of town.
Something in the bell tower caught his eye. He spotted a figure moving, jumping away from the railing. Rush grinned. Though he couldn’t see, he knew who it was.
Corn rose on both sides of him as he found a path between the crops. But before he had even left it and come to the edge of Hast, a girl grinning ear to ear sprinted up the trail.
“Rush!”
He shot forward toward Olive, and they met halfway down the path, both breathing hard.
“You’re really back? For good? Is your sentence over? You’re so tall now…” She looked up at him, and Rush stepped back. They used to be eye level.
“Which question am I supposed to answer first?”
“Oh, I don’t know. All of them, eventually. Just come here.” She wrapped him in a hug, and for once, he didn’t fight it. He returned her embrace with a lump growing in his throat. This time, there was no sadness in it. Only joy. Joy of new beginnings and new life.
Eventually, they separated. “Your parents will want to know.”
“I know. That’s why I’m sneaking in. I have an idea of how to let them know.”
Olive raised an eyebrow, then a grin spread across her face. “Of course you do.”
“But we have to do it quick before someone else sees me.”
She nodded, the smile seemingly unable to leave her face. “Race you to town.”
Rush tensed his legs and wiggled his fingers. “You want to race someone who’s taller—”
But she was already gone, darting down the path.
Shaking his head, Rush shot forward, trailing behind her.
It was going to be a good day.
THE END
That concludes the novella Before the Fire Burns! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. While I won’t be posting any more of these weekly stories for some time, I’ll still be writing as much as ever. Want to keep up with my journey to publication? Subscribe to my email list here and be the first to know about new blog posts and happenings.
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