Chapter I :: Vistoruoe, Itil Dea-ath :: Literature :: Culture :: Vermandois

Vistoruoe, Itil Dea-ath
Chapter I - Gohn

---

Three knocks on the door, that is all what is needed to change life, personality from one edge to the other. Three knocks on the dry old wooden door giving an additional wood cracking sound was heard in Gohn Baskhiad's farmhouse. It wasn't frequent hearing someone coming to visit the farm. It laid outside the city of Feikey, north of the capital. Baskhiad was just taking seeds to plant when he heard there were people on the door, he shouted: "Just a minute!" and continued to sort his seeds. "Sorry for the wait, what do you want?" said Baskhiad as he opened the door, to his surprise, 2 soldiers wearing military uniforms and a yellow belt on their wrist stood at his door front. With rifles on their back they presented Baskhiad with a letter wearing the Vermandoisien Defence Forces symbol. Baskhiad was shocked with an open mouth, without even touching the letter he said "This can't be! I cannot just leave my family, my farm here!" He knew the letter was a recruitment letter to VDF, they wanted to take him to fight against the communists, the war raged for a few months now and already thousands lost their lives. "We're not asking questions. You are coming with us now." Said the soldier wearing many medals on his uniform unlike the other. Baskhiad sighed and replied with a weak voice: "Al-Al right, Just give me a day or two to pack my things", "No need, we care for you. VDF will provide you with everything you need.", "Then at least give me to first talk to my wife, she's at the field with the kids." Baskhiad had 2 kids with his wife, Naria. He went outside and started running through the tall wheat that reached his neck. He shouted "Naria! Naria!" and on the other side of the field was a woman, with a Sickle in her hand. She heard the shouts, stood up and looked at her husband running towards her. As he arrived he keeled down, Naria put her arm on his back and asked "What happened Gohn?" He answered "I have. I've been recruited to the army." Naria uttered a sound in shock and said "But who will take care of the farm?" "You will, until I return. Don't worry, I will return and if not. Know I'm forever yours." A tear when down Gohn's head and he hugged tightly Naria. "Goodbye Naria" he said silently. "Tell the kids Father went abroad and won't return soon" he continued. They stood up, and Naria watched as Gohn started running back to the house. Breathing heavily he stood in front of the soldiers and said "I'm ready." "Follow us." one said and the three walked towards the road. A truck stood there, with it's engines still running. They entered the back of the truck with others ordinary people wearing surprisingly not military uniforms but ordinary clothes.
As he climbed the truck and sat down he was surrounded by people but only one wore military uniforms. The one soon explained as the truck started driving: "Gentlemen, You all have been recruited to the VDF, to protect our own country from foreigners and traitors. We are now going to the military base in Brouge for training. All of you had previously trained there and it's just a refreshment." The ride took about 2 hours until they arrived. They gathered around and were assigned into a regiment lead by Colonel Guan Son Bird. Baskhiad's refreshment training has begun. Everyday Baskhiad ran 2 kilometres, done 100 push ups and studied 8 hours. His training was hard, but he was durable, durable until the second half of the training when he started to loose his mind. On the 92nd day of the training, 8 days before finishing, an incident occurred. In the shooting range while Baskhiad was practicing shooting down targets a gun shoot that came from non of those in the range was heard and suddenly. An officer was shoot in the heart and fell down on the ground. His blood started to fill the ground and silence filled the air. 2 medics ran quickly to the officer's aid dropping on their knees to try and save him. Colonel Guan was watching from a tower nearby aiming his rifle at everyone shouting "Everyone put your rifles down or you will get shot!". No one hesitated to drop their rifles on the dirt. The colonel ran down the stairs and once he reached the bottom he clarified to everyone: "Right now, each and every one of you is a suspect for a murder! No one is getting in or out of the base until we find out who is the one responsible!" His eyes looked into everyone's souls. Baskhiad was terrified to move or breath. He watched as the medics tried to revive the officers. He knew it wasn't him and he wanted to believe it wasn't him. The colonel started walking towards the entrance and on his way he told the guards: "Don't let anyone of these touch any guns or sharp objects." The guards nodded in agreement and started taking the rifles from the ground, making sure no one has access to any other weaponry. It wasn't long until the watch tower guards who weren't armed reported they saw nothing at the time of the incident and it was certain one of those in the shooting range was responsible.
The soldiers were dismissed and sent back to the barracks while an investigation was held in the shooting range. Baskhiad couldn't sleep that night, even after a good shower. He just laid down on his bed thinking about what will happen if they blame him? How can he prove his innocence? He kept worrying about the same things over and over again unable to do anything. As the time passed he heard the footsteps of the soldiers going to and from night watches. Once his turn came he got out of bed before the previous guard could even get close to him. They exchange a small conversation with "Can't sleep either, eh?" "Yeah. To much stress and worrying." "Stay strong friend. I know it's not you." "You too." Baskhiad walked in the long halls and stairs up to the tower. He was assigned the same tower the Colonel stood on during the shooting practice. It had a nice view over the range and Baskhiad couldn't get his eyes off it. The officer's body was already taken for burial and the only thing that was left was a small stain of blood on the dirt and the officer's keys. Baskhiad shook his head and started looking towards the other side at the large forest. He knew over the forest laid the massive city of Brouge where there were no worries and the war was yet to reach. Brouge was somewhat excluded from the war. The poor and homeless possibly didn't even know there was a war going down south. The night was freezing cold and Baskhiad felt something bad is going to happen. He felt it in the cold wind blowing on his face, drying his lips. He couldn't resist looking again at the range. It was covered in darkness and only a few small dim lights lit the area. He thought to himself: How comes no one saw the shooter? Did it really came from one of the shooters? Maybe it was an evil plot from the colonel? He had so many questions but had answers to none of them. Late in his shift he heard a few boars running in the woods and started following them with his eyes. It was a small pack of 4 boars. They smelled the blood and started gathering around it looking for food but nothing was found. After their small pause they continued in their search and went through a surprisingly hole in the fence. Baskhiad wondered what created that hole. He tried to bring up his memories but couldn't remember the hole. He hmmed and decided to look there in dawn. Training was halted so anyway he didn't have much to do. He shift was coming to an end and indeed was started to get dead tired. He went back to bed and called the next one to his shift. The rest of the night actually went quite well and Baskhiad slept good.
As the sun dawned from the eastern sea the base started to wake up on the 93th day of Baskhiad's Training. It was quite and no one uttered a useless word. At most a simple "Morning" was heard. Baskhiad felt good as he woke from his warm blankets, He wore his shoes and went outside for briefing. He didn't talk with anyone nor anyone talked with him on the way. Outside the colonel was already waiting everyone. Baskhiad took his place and waited for the colonel to start. The colonel coughed a little and said: "A moment of silence for officer, Captain O-duoe Idinbúry." The colonel saluted and so everyone in the line followed. Even those who stood in the towers saluted for a brief moment. The silent wind blew on Baskhiad face cooling him down. 4 soldiers came from the entrance with flowers and went outside the base. The military graveyard was just outside and the officer was already buried. They put the flowers on the grave and a speech was given by the colonel about the officer's death and his life. After the ceremony the colonel continued with an updated on the investigation: "We have found the bullet that shot through Idinbúry and our wanted list shrunk. These are the current suspects..." Baskhiad was stressed more than ever and the wind only grew stronger and colder. Baskhiad's name hasn't appeared yet and already 3 people were named. 2 more were called and then the officer ended with:"Ghon Baskhiad. These are the current suspects. Now, all shooting training are halted and I've added more exercises for you to work on meanwhile. Now go back to your leaders and they'll tell you your schedule. Dismissed" Bashkiad's heart froze both from shock and cold. After everyone started walking he stayed for a minute or two until finally regaining ability to actually move. He went on the usual exercise and preformed worse than ever. He couldn't stop thinking about what if they declare him as the murderer? What will he do? He knew he shouldn't have drank that bottle of wine his friend smuggled. It went as far as actually believing he did it. The rest of the day was spent in the shooting range, looking for evidence. Baskhiad found nothing and he hoped that the case will never close. He went back to bed trying to sleep. The nightshift was silent and the days passed with nothing new happening other than worries, worries and more worries.
The 99th day came and Baskhiad's mood start to uplift. He knew they will never get the one responsible which wasn't really cheering but at least they didn't take him to prison. The day went as usual and as the night shift came he went up the usual watch tower, again unarmed. The delivery boy arrived late than before and Baskhiad had to go down to open the gate for him. "Here's today's report. The communists are getting closer and closer." The boy said as he gave the letter to Baskhiad and left running back. Baskhiad, out of curiosity opened the letter and started to read. It stated the communists have reached just a few kilometres of Brouge. Baskhiad fell to the knees. The communists are winning...Tomorrow could be the last battle, he thought to himself. What if tomorrow is the last day of his life? He was frightened. For the rest of the night Baskhiad opened his eyes as much as he could in case the communists arrive. He couldn't sleep knowing that every minute they could attack. No one but him and the colonel knew. The incident was already a small worry compared to the communist's victory. As the sun started to rise, the skies and the land were sill dark. Baskhiad heard a whistling sound from above. And after a few seconds a shell dropped and blew up the base. He fell down to the ground. A fragment hit him and he struggled to crawl for safety. Another 2 shells fell and he couldn't see anything but blur. He felt like someone was carrying him but he was hopeless about the coming battle.
The 100th day came. Baskhiad was lying on a bed with a medic extracting a small fragment that hit Baskhiad's chest. His vision started to come back and soon he tried to get up from the bed. "Relax! Lie down." Said the medic. "No, I must fight! For my country!" Baskhiad replied. "You must rest, now. to regain powers for the battle." Baskhiad fell back down on the bed in pain, And soon fell asleep. Noon arrived and the artillery fire stopped. Everyone were in positions and Baskhiad was just waking up. He ran to grab his rifle and stand in the guard post. An army of 100 men came from over the forest. Machine guns from the base started firing killing many of the communists. Few managed to enter the base. Baskhiad was standing near the entrance shooting everyone who tried to pass. One, and another one passed through. Baskhiad was tired and couldn't see anything. The pain overwhelmed him. "Baskhiad! Dammit!" The gunner said as he dropped the machine gun down and started shooting his rifle towards the passing enemies. "Wake up! Please, God!" He said as he shook Baskhiad's head. Eventually Baskhiad woke up, grabbed his rifle and rubbed his eyes. "We must get out of here, now!" He told Baskhiad, taking his hand and running to the other exit. They dropped on their stomach crawling behind a few sandbags heading to a small hole in the fence. After they reached the hole they started sprinting towards the forest, running for their lives. Baskhiad was starting to lose conciousness and the other held him saying "Stay with me! We're almost there." After a small drop they fell to the ground and laid down near a tree. Both breathed heavily trying to regain conciousness. An hour or two passed. Baskhiad got up, seeing the other has put down his backpack and wore civilian clothes. "Here, take these" He said as he threw casual clothes at Baskhiad. "The military can go to hell. From now on. We're normal civilians. Where's your family?" "My family? A few kilometres from Brouge." "Mind if I come as a guest?" "Sure, you can stay in the guests room."
After a long day of waking, wounded and exhausted the two finally found sunlight in the end of the forest. Beyond was a small farm, Baskhiad Farm is was. They crawled to the door and Gohn knocked on the door. His wife opened the door, surprised to see her husband in the house she hugged him tightly and cried. A few moments afterwards she said "Sweetheart! I thought you were a goner! The Communists arrived! VDF have been pushed to the north-west! I'm so glad to see you, you don't know how much." "Don't worry darling. We're going to come back to our normal life. And with a friend of mine!" He smiled and showed his friend "His name is Neln Dony-ein, we served together in the same base." "Nice to meet you, I'm Naria Baskhiad. Feel free to stay as long as you want." She smiles and showed him the house.
A few days have passed and Neln already settled in. As the morning dawned a truck arrived from the dirt path. Gohn looked out of the window. It looked just like the truck a few months ago when he was recruited. He didn't know what they were doing here and he hoped they were just passing by. It was unlikely someone passes through the farm and it is by mistake. The truck stopped near the house and 2 officers this time with the Communist army's emblem and knocked on the door. Gohn didn't have time to think and quickly took Naria and whispered her: "Tell them me and Neln aren't here! Tell them we died in Brouge!" Gohn then quickly ran with Neln to the basement to hide. Naria opened the door and greeted the officers: "Hello officer. Is there anything I can help you with?" "You own the farm?" Asked one of the officers "Yes I do, I run it by myself." "The Supreme Leader of the People's Republic orders all farms and private enterprise to become state-owned. You will be relocated to an apartment in Brouge and given a new job. May I see your old I.D card?" "I'm sorry?" said Naria surprisingly. "In what why can I put it? Your property has been confiscated and you'll be given a new I.D. card. May I see your existing one?" "Are you trying to rob me? What is the meaning of this?" The officer put his hand on his pistol and threatening Naria "Your I.D. now, or you will be put to jail!" Naria silently gave them her I.D. card and they walked away, driving back from where they came.
"They're gone" said Naria, worryingly. Baskhiad and Neln went out of the door. Baskhiad asked: "What they were looking for?" "I don't know. They took my old I.D." Baskhiad sighed and said: "At least we're safe for now." A week went by and the truck came back. Once again Neln and Baskhiad went to hiding and Naria opened the door. Naria never called for Baskhiad and Neln to come out. "It's been an hour now! Where's Naria?" asked Neln. "I don't know. Let's peak out." Baskhiad slowly opened the door looking out. Seeing as no one was there he went out and started to search around the house. "Naria is no where in the house! And the truck is gone!" Neln seemed to whisper something to himself before Baskhiad continued "I guess we'll stay and hope for the best. I will go to the market to buy supplies." "You might get caught. But I don't see a better option." "Better option is you go. But I don't trust you that much."
A few days have passed and supplies started to run low. Baskhiad decided it's time to go to the market and buy food, tools and such. He took the old car and started driving towards Brouge. When he arrived to saw a line of people near the stalls, they had papers they would trade for food and supplies. Baskhiad decided to ask a guard that was standing on post. "Excuse me soldier. From where can I get food?" "You first need to register in the city offices. Didn't you get called?" "I'm afraid I did not, sir." "May I see your old I.D?" "I, eh, Lost it a while ago." "Do you have any documents we can use to make a new I.D?" "I'm afraid I don't have any." "There's no way we can give you an I.D. without any documents. You may seek the offices for more help. Nothing I can do." "Thank you soldier. I'll be on my way then." Baskhiad walked back to his car and drove back home...