A Bid Farewell - Episode 4

It was growing even darker now as we inched closer to midnight. The only consistent light we had was from the sparks emitted from the friction of the contraption I had made to get us down from the tracks scraping against the rails. We finally met the base of the decline, but thanks to our momentum didn't stop for a few hundred feet after reaching it. Our light disappeared as soon as we stopped, but up in the distance we could see an oil lamp burning against the night. How I respected the lamp-lighters, every evening spanning miles of road just to light our archaic road system. I turned to Oliver who now smiled as he rubbed his head and neck, a feeling that I am sure was all too foreign to him. I reached in my bag and grabbed a metal cup and my water and poured him a drink. He widened his smile as he placed the cold metal against his lip and began to raise the cup. After sipping for a moment he handed the cup back to me. He blasted words from his lips as he was used to from having to speak loud enough to be heard through the lid, "How can I ever repay you..." I stopped him short, again placing my finger to my lips as I heard something from behind us. I whispered, "There is no need to repay us, seeing you out of that helmet and alive is reward enough." We spoke to Oliver at length in a hushed tone. He explained to us how they had questioned him and wrote down everything he said in the concentration camp. He spoke of the interest that General Gutenwhilder had taken in him. He said that General Gutenwhilder had been an orphan also and had empathy for him because of his history. He spoke as if that empathy was the only thing that kept General Gutenwhilder from killing him. He told us of others that he knew were being held there, though he said he couldn't see how many people could survive the madness and disease caused by their encasing within those horrid helmets. He detailed how they had escaped after Hitler was assassinated by a bomb dropped by a secret US/British joint operation bombing run. Our world was forever altered on that day when the people of the world decided to implement a one world government or OWG. The OWG decided that technological advancements were a means for evil to propagate itself throughout the world. Therefore, they banned all new technology and most old technology as well, sending it all into smelters to be melted down and dismantled. Essentially they sent the world into a dark age. However, after those first few years of resistance and protest many began to adhere to their rules. The military of the OWG was enormous and carried the most technologically advanced weapons allowed; a single shot black powder rifle. People fashioned their own weapons for a while, but the agents of the OWG were so densely interweaved into society that they caught everyone who attempted to disobey. I paused again to listen to the sound I had heard behind me as the commuters and Oliver began to disperse, many of them heading toward the street lamp to await a passerby. I motioned to Lou as it was best for us to travel by night and we headed toward the sound. I began to familiarize the sound in my mind to horse hooves on the poorly paved road running opposite of the road with the street lamp. I motioned for Lou to pick up the pace and after running for a moment we came upon it. It was a horse-drawn cart, with a man sitting atop it looking neither alive nor dead. He simply sat lifeless; only swayed by the motion of the cart. The cart rode on the rails embedded in the old street so the driver had very little need for correction and was probably asleep. The cart was pulling full length stalks of corn, piled so high that when the cart made its turn to the south we could no longer see the driver or horse. I motioned again to Lou and we ran and jumped into the back of the cart and buried ourselves in the corn. It was now time for us to rest as well. I pulled two ears of the corn off and we washed them with some of my water before we ate them and then proceeded to shut our eyes for some much needed sleep. It had been a long night, though the action had only lasted a few hours.


I awoke with a start as my nightmare came to a ghoulish conclusion of which I prefer not to discuss. Lou was still asleep despite the fact that it was now morning and the carriage was likely close to its destination. The sky was still filled with clouds and had just begun to rain as I became more familiar with our surroundings. We were passing through a dense wood, the only sign of civilization being the rails that the cart still rode upon. Out of morbid curiosity I decided to see if our driver really was alive. From behind he still looked dead as he stayed slumped over the reins. I reached up only stifled by my fear of what I thought could be the cause of his demeanor. When I overcame my fear I grabbed his left shoulder with my right hand and pulled him around toward me. I was shocked and a little relieved to find that the driver was made entirely of straw and potato sacks. He was, of course, a scarecrow. No doubt this again sparked within me a desire to abandon our mode of transit and seek other means of arriving at our next destination. I woke Lou and we abandoned the cart taking a few ears of corn with us to tide us over until we found more food or some semblance of civilization.