Towers in the darkness: Chapter 3

"I am here on behave of the glorious all continental national emergency council", Martin announced loudly while coming to a halt some distance from the awaiting crowd. 
Exiting the car slowly he forwent any risky jumps as to not undermine his public authority. 
"Who is the reporting officer?!" he called out with all the gravitas he could muster. 
While the representative of the counsel had far reaching authority over life and sometimes death, on the ground things could go wrong rather quickly. 
Martin had heard of many colleagues being attacked or even killed in the line of duty buy a rampaging mob or distrustful servicemen. Martin could feel the tension in the air and could not allow anybody to see through the public mask of authority to see primal human fear. 
"That the flame that you are here!" a soldier screamed as he put down his rifle and moved towards Martin. Many of his comrades lowered their weapons, following his example. 
Although he is not a officer, he must have authority amount them, Martin though. Turning around he could see Alexus on the ready, standing upright behind the car. Rifle in hand Alexus positioned himself behind the car to presumably use it for cover. All the while Wallen rested himself forward on the wheel, displaying no apprehension. The local soldier had closed the distance and introduced himself. "Private Seran, of the engineer battalion, 3 division" he hurried. 
"Our division is perusing the enemy to the south and we have been left here to tend to the bridge. Things have become bad and you have to tell there crazy priestesses that they have to stop", he continued in a hushed tone. 
"Keep calm and tell me what happened" Martin answered in a authoritative tone. The soldier did not skip a beat as he began his report, with panic remaining hot in his green eyes. 
"At first we have been ordered to protect the bridge and to perform funeral rights for the fallen soldiers of our decision while we are immobile. None of us have done anything like this before, so we ordered fire priestesses from swamp-capital to conduct the ritual. 
As we felled trees and conducted related earthworks we found some of the old stuff and things went downhill fast. 
I don't know what to do the soldier stammered, as sweat dripped down his chin and nose. 
"Old stuff?!, Martin asked with intend. "Where and what?!", he asked as he stepped closer to the servicemen. 
"I think its part of a old railroad that passed over the bridge and was covered by a layer of earth", the soldier stammered, fearing that his life depended on these words.
"If you have found "old stuff" and you haven done everything in your power to communicate it to your superiors, this crowd is the least of your worries", Martin threatened, fearing as much for his life as the soldier feared for his. 
"I tried but, when the priestesses caught wind of it", they went insane. They screamed and threw stones on us. I don't even know what they want" Saran admitted with a defeated tone. 
As Martin was gathering information the spell of his unexpected arrival began to wear off. Murmurs from the crowd, gradually turned into screams. A woman, painted in bright red paints separated from the crown, moving towards Martin with a small entourage. As the leading woman moved approached Martin tried to make out her features. Of medium height, her dark colored hair glittered in the sun. She is naked Martin noticed with much disbelieve, as he realized that the red paint adhered to her body. Martin had seen many priestesses of the cult of the flame, but never a flame bride. As all woman in her position she was young, beautiful and strode confidently in her divine mission. Priestesses come in all ages but flame brides are always young woman, Martin pondered. He held little respect for the cult in his heart, but he had to respect its authority in public.

"Representative", the flame bride spoke up in a commanding voice. 
"You have arrived just in time to support our demands. These soldiers have discovered sinful remnants and refuse to destroy it. The metal beams that we have unearthed and the vaults need to be destroyed immediately", she commanded refraining from movement. Freezing her body language into a dignified frame ever since she had come to a close, her dark eyes focused on Martin in expectation of his compliance. 
"It is a honor to meet you in this unlikely place but I can not fulfill your demand. 
As you you are surely aware the council does not give up its prerogative too ancient technology. 
Not even to the cult of the flame" , he added putting steel in his voice. 
"They are abominations and will only continue to bring misery on humanity. I can not allow you to salvage them", she concluded as her entourage revealed stones in their hands. 
"It was a mistake to bring you here", Seran interjected. 
"This is why we are never allowed to let priestesses anywhere near the front. Give me the order and I can disperse them", the panicking servicemen demanded as he brought up his weapon. His soldiers followed suit, bringing the crowd back to a boiling point. 
"Soldiers!!" the fire bride screamed, raising her hands towards the sky. Her sudden movement drew in all eyes as she turned to address the scene. 
"Any of you, who will lay hands on a priestesses of the fire will condemn himself to endless suffering in the achslands. Your ash will not return into this world as your souls will drift alone in all eternity. The things you have uncovered are evil and bring only suffering into this world. 
By protecting it you stain yourself for all eternity. Now arrest these man, while we cleanse the earth", she demanded, suddenly pointing towards Martin and Seran. 
Martin was in disbelieve, as the standoff spiral out of control. Several soldiers began gradually lowering their guns and with shaking hands raised them again towards him. Martin beating heart began racing as seconds, suddenly felt like a eternity. His senses heightened as he perceived him surrounding. The lush green grass, the small scar on the fire brides leg and the slightly bitter air overwhelmed his scenes. Behind him he could hear faint metallic scraping, letting him know that Alexus had prepared his weapon for combat. I cant believe that this is how I will die, Martin thought in the longest moment of his life. Seran was staring into his eyes waiting for permission to release the trigger and start of a skirmish that would spell death for most involved. 
Finally snapping himself back into action Martin hands moved by themselves. 
"Shoot if you wish" Martin bellowed as he pulled opened his jacked to reveal his stained shirt. He did not know why he had made such a ridicules gesture, but the raw conviction he had displayed in the face of death was captivating. 
"If you don't listen to me, most of us will die here", Martin addressed the flame bride. 
I will fail my mission for the council and you will not fulfill your duty to the flame by spreading your message. If you listen, we can make a deal and both of us will go out to do more good", he proposed as they were locked in a deadly battle of wills. Martin thought about speaking out load that we would not depart this life without taking her with him, but there was no need. 
Without words she could tell and a spark of human self-preservation pulled her back from the edge. "What do you propose?", she asked unshaken. 
"Is she speaking the truth about the vaults?", Martin asked Seran. 
"What?!", he stammered visibly trembling as a drop of sweat hit his gun on its way down. 
"Yes, yes, we have found a opening at the foot of the bridge. 
We dropped in a flame, so we know it's a room of sorts with stuff strewn about. I was just about to climb down when everything suddenly went to s**t", he uttered helplessly. 
"Let's make a deal" Martin proposed. I will destroy the vault myself. Nobody has seen what's berried in there and there is no paper trail. Then you will take all of your priestesses and leave. Everybody gets what they want and we can life to see another day." 
Silence hung in the air the flame bride intently studied the eyes of this curious new arrival. Martin could not venture to guess her thought, but knew one thing only: he wanted to live.
He had never been so desperate for life as he had been in this moment of approaching death. 
His duty, his mission and his believes moving into the depth of his mind as the animal mind emerged and fought for self-preservation. As faith had hung in the balance for the eternity of a few seconds, she had made a decision. Her hands slowly descended into a relaxed position and a simple nod communicated her halfhearted agreement. 
Guns all over the field slowly lowered as Martin approached Seran: "soldier I need a grenade". Drifting helplessly in the vortex of events the young man patted up and down his jacked to find the valuable weapon. 
As on of his hands slit into his internal chest pocket, his other hand struggled to contain the shaking rifle. After a frantic search a oval grenade emerged, and was anxious passed towards Martin. Taking the deadly device, Martin moved quickly towards the bridge less than a hundred meters from his position. He could feel the eyes of the crowd as he reached his final goal, with a brisk step. Endless thoughts run through Martins mind as he had gained some breathing space. Should he run? Should he give the command to engage in combat or should he simply jump into the channel to be saved by the gentle current. Regardless of his wild speculation, pressure and fear had locked him into this course of action. Martin knew that he was betraying his command, his mission and his oath by destroying untold ancient treasures. 
I'm not the man I thought I was he thought, as he forced a small elevation and looked into the dimly lit hole before him. 
If anybody finds out I'm done for the concluded as he ignited the grenade and dropped it into the dark. In an instance of realization, the severe consequences of his actions, evoked instant regret. Staring into the darkness for just a second, he could spot many glistening trinkets in this sanctum of the past, now irretrievably lost. Regaining his senses, Martin jumped away from the opening to avoid damage from the approaching detonation. A loud blast soon followed as Martin hit the ground, shaking the ground ferociously. Martin knew the explosions of grenades and could tell that something massive had detonated underground. Silence hung over the landscape now as the tremor subsided. Martin remained seated on the slope as the crowd began to move in his peripheral view. His fast breathing began to slow down as began to make sense of the events. Martin suddenly felt the heavy fatigue, that had accumulated from the events of these last days. His head sunk as he noticed the world beneath his feet. 
Grass formed a dense forest, casting stark shadows on the dry ground. Life was teeming beneath his feet. Ants where living, working, fighting and dying for their colony. Centipedes moved briskly though the grass, stirred into movement by the sudden convulsion. A new level of existence captivated presented itself and for the first time Martin was ready to be captivated by it. Martin was torn from his contemplation by a single shadow being cast over him. 
"I will keep my word", the flame bride spoke up as Martin raised his head. "I know it was not an easy choice to make, but you have placed yourself on the right side of history" Martin remained silent, unwilling to engage in conversation. "You have to understand", the fire priestesses expounded as she squatted down. Her face moved in close enough so Martin could feel the warmth of her breath, as her voice took on a soothing tone. "No good could have come from what you could have found down there. During our ancient past technology has brought our world to the brink of destruction. It destroyed the climate; it separated the nations of the world and caused the great collapse. This is why the flame was revealed to humanity. 
Technology divides, the flame united: one day you will understand". Smiling tenderly for just a moment, she stood up to rejoin her flock. The incantation of the priestesses became quieter as they traversed the channel bridge, spewing their disgust for the old contraption. 
Gradually the sound faded away as silence returned to the landscape. The crackling of the brightly burning pyres was audible again as the smoke danced in the wind. Martin stood up as Wallen drove the car up to him, with Alexus and Seran lodged in the backseat. Alexus vaulted over the car door and gave Martin a nice strong pat on the soldier. 
"Good job! I didn't think we would get out of this alive without holes", he admitted with some relieve. Wallen had exited the car and shimmed in: "and the way you tore open your vest was a nice dramatic touch". Wallen reached out to congratulate Martin, but before their hand touched, Martins feet gave out. 
"Yes, that's the post-stress black out" Alexus said as he moved in quickly to support Martins body. "Let's get out of here!" Martin declared as he regained control over his body and moved towards a seat. Leaning against the firm seat Martin addressed the local soldier awaiting his orders. "Seran! If you are smart you will keep your mouth shut about what happened here. 
Sort out your comrades and deal with the railway. Dig it out carefully and report to the army commend about recovery. Use the dirt on the vault, so nobody will find it if you value your life soldier. For the continent!", Seran affirmed as he internalized the orders. As the car carefully crossed the bridge, Martin was not in the mood to marvel at its construction. 
His mind drifted aimlessly, as the channel reminded of home, where the corosa river ran the length of the capital region not far from his home. The automobile had successfully arrived on the far side, and Wallen charted a course for the main road into the old capital. 
"So, are we going to ignore the fact, that the fire cult almost made us kill each other?" Wallen asked, after silence hung heavily for some time. "They have always been aggressive and arrogant but this must be a new low", he continued. "I fell that every year they want more power over everybody's life." 
Martin nodded his head. In his youth the cult of the fire just began spreading through the capital value and was viewed as a nuisance. A strange cult by foreigners, brought in from the old capital. But soon it spread as the union grew and newly conquered territories provided manpower for the cities. Now they are a majority of most cities and the cult of the flame reigns supreme, beyond reproach for even somebody in his position. Its bright red color sprinkled generously throughout any crowd of people. But here is the cults homeland and they will be even more brash in their actions, Martin concluded. 
"In moments like these I think back fondly of holly springs", Alexus added, expressing agreement with Wallens assertion.

As the group reached the main road, the dense stream of people did not elicit any strong reaction. Wallen swung onto the cleared lane, freed for wheeled military traffic to bypass the multitude. After several days of travel and gravely exhausted the representative of the council had reached the old capital as the towers shadow blurted out the sun at soon.