Walickiah had frozen in shock. Even out of uniform, one does not poke one’s commanding officer. He didn’t know where that was written, but he was sure it had to be somewhere. There was no other option but to cancel the race and throw the corporal into confinement. What else could an officer do?
Apparently poke back, for starters.
Maybe if Walickiah hadn’t been so startled he would have reacted more quickly.
Shin squinted severely at his corporal and lunged to poke Zenos, who was bouncing erratically. The major missed and Walickiah caught the furious finger in his ribs instead. Shin tried to utter an apology as Zenos snorted a laugh, and Walickiah was starting to say, “Oh, not a problem, sir,” when he took another jab, this time from Zenos.
Survival instinct finally kicked in as Walickiah raised his hands and moved to the back of the office to watch from a safe distance.
Now the two grown men were punching each other’s shoulders like thirteen-year-olds, still trying to keep their eyes on the village towers.
Walickiah almost considered the situation amusing, if it weren’t so immature. The men acted more as brothers than as a commander and a mere enlisted man.
As he observed the major and his baby tender start slapping each other as they tried to cover the other man’s eyes, he had to agree—this was a most interesting assignment. Very little of what really was going on in the fort was known beyond Edge.
Yet he’d never heard of another fort where morale was so high. Every soldier was eagerly awaiting the race, stationed throughout Edge. Several unofficial bets had been placed as to the outcome, and there was even a rumor that cake would be served afterwards.
A flash of orange cloth unfurling in the distance caught Walickiah’s eye, followed immediately by a flash of blue just beyond it.
The two men scrambled over each other to be the first down the stairs. The Unk was first and leaped down the last six steps. He stumbled as he landed awkwardly, and the major rushed past him.
“Hey, no pushing, sir!” Zenos yelled.
Shin laughed. “You’re just clumsy, boy!” His voice faded away as he ran out to the compound.
Walickiah quickly stepped over to the window. By the time the men reached the gates they were running shoulder to shoulder.
Karna looked up to wave at Walickiah, and then he, Neeks, and Gizzada kicked their horses to follow the runners.
All alone Walickiah finally allowed himself to smile. This was a most unusual fort, and it certainly wasn’t going to be a boring assignment. In many ways, Major Shin almost seemed like a man worth getting to know.
It was almost too bad Walickiah was there to destroy him.
---
Perrin cut across a road littered with crunching red and yellow leaves on his sprint towards the orange banner. Shem had parted ways with him as they entered Edge, and he now raced towards the blue banner. They each knew the pattern of the colors they were to watch for. Which tower would hoist the next color—that was for them to discover.
Perrin saw the soldier standing at the base of the tower, the one closest to his home. He was smiling as he held out the small piece of paper.
“Major Shin,” the soldier yelled as Perrin approached. “Chief of enforcement needs help finding a lost child in the neighborhood. You need to go to this location for your next note!”
Perrin slowed to grab the note and jogged as he read the location. He groaned, shoved the paper in his front pocket, leaped over a low fence and sprinted through two gardens, to the cheers of his neighbors. Then he ran up the road to a house he knew all too well.
Mahrree stood on the front porch waving a piece of paper, Peto in her arms, and Jaytsy jumping up and down and clapping. As Perrin bounded up the stairs to snatch the note, she held it back.
“I understand there’s a story behind this ‘lost child’? Promise to tell me?”
“I will! Now hand it over!”
She grinned and gave it to him. “Go, Perrin!” she called as he ran out of their yard towards the next tower in the northeast section of Edge, which now showed a red banner.
Karna, don’t get too comfortable in that new captain’s jacket of yours, Perrin thought as he slowed his gait slightly to pace himself over the next several roads. True, he’d told only Shem not to mention anything about Peto’s wandering off, but . . . well, Brillen was shaping up to be a clever officer.
No wonder he’d sent Gizzada to follow him instead of accompanying the major himself. Initially, Perrin had thought it an intentional insult when realize his accompaniment would be hefty Gizzada, mounted on a massive plow horse with astonishing stamina. It wasn’t the swiftest animal, but it could certainly handle ten miles at a steady trot.