THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT, ELGIN
13TH JUNE 2050
The blindfold smelled of sweat, mildew and metals that clung to the fabric no matter how many times it was washed. Probably it was not even washed and reused many times. It smelled exactly like dried-out blood.
Nelson Green recognized the overwhelming scent immediately. He learned of it from his experience in overseeing multiple disaster zones and temporary morgues during the first year of the Armadian incursion, the sight of decapitated and broken limbs, even gushes of blood on the dirty hospital tiles.
The memories of these areas lingered around the back of his mind, waiting for the exact moment it would flood over his brain and cause him to panic or cry when his final moments arrived.
The stained-brown cloth was tied a little too tightly behind his head, pressing on his cranium and made his head hurt. The soldiers doing the knots probably did not care about his comfort anyway; what mattered the most was the fact that his captive had been captured without any hiccup. Nelson chuckled at the irony of it. He was always talking about being efficient with things and demanding that almost everything be handled efficiently. Now, in his final moments, his captors practiced their efficiency against him.
About an hour ago, a dozen armed soldiers rushed to the Southern District Office as Nelson had just stamped a contract proposal to build new refugee shelters in town. They dragged him and a few other officers, shoved them into the back of the military truck, blindfolded them and sped off to an unidentified location. They stayed in the truck for almost 45 minutes.
When the truck stopped, the soldiers dragged them out and laid each one of them on the ground. Nelson felt that the ground beneath his knees was cracked asphalt. The stinging smell of rotten flesh, metallic blood mixed with sandy soil, revealed their location. Desolate Hill.
At the start of the war, Desolate Hill was used as an emergency supply route. The invading Republic of Armadia started a war against Elgin two years ago. During the first year, the war was at a stalemate - thanks to the economic resilience of the country and military aid provided by the neighboring countries. As a result, almost two million invading soldiers perished on the battlefield against seventy thousand defenders.
The battlefield situation changed drastically when the new prime minister was elected to the office.
Once seated at the top of power, the new president pushed for ceasefire talks and accommodated various outrageous demands from the invaders. In return for peace, he agreed to surrender a large swathe of flat land to the Republic of Armadia.
Peace has finally returned. But it held for only two months. That was the time it took for the Elgin Armed Forces (EAF) to get complacent. They never knew what hit them.
A little break was what it took for the Republic of Armadia's Army (RoAA) to lick its wounds, recover and accumulate enough ammunition and soldiers to outrun the EAF at the land they just took over.
When the attack happened, it happened too fast. First, a barrage of overwhelming artillery fire struck the army camps and trenches. Then, precision glide bombs flew over the air defense system and blew big craters around the former command post and logistical hub. Finally, the infantry and armoured columns stormed through the plain battlefield with ferocity that shook all the EAF soldiers.
Many of them were captured, and most captured were so shocked by the RoAA assault that they just dropped their weapons and lifted their hands to surrender. In a single, most devastating fight, the entire front line collapsed. About twenty thousand EAF soldiers died, while fifty thousand were captured as prisoners of war.
Nelson knelt silently as the soldiers walked him by; they were lined up facing a long earthen ditch. Even when the blindfold was on, he could smell death coming from within the ditch. I bet there are dead bodies just dumped here recently. He heard someone beside him sobbing.
"Alan, is that you?" he whispered.
"Yes..Yes.. I don't want to die, Nelson. I didn't do anything wrong." Alan replied, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Quiet! Your time is up!" an officer yelled and immediately shot Alan in the head. The thumping sound of Alan dropping into the ditch came after the bang from a rifle. "Nice, instant death." Said the officer.
A rifle bolt sliding into place. Then, another click and boom. And another. Nobody dared to speak a word. Some were crying silently as the soldiers read out their charges, mostly for corruption and announced their crimes while pretending there was a process that they had to adhere to. Honestly, the soldiers knew that whatever objections they faced would be sidelined, and they were there as executioners.
Cold sweats slid from his temple, wetting the blindfold as one by one his colleagues fell to the ditch with a hole behind their heads. By this time, he was the only district officer left with the soldiers, ready to execute their orders.
The sound of military boots stopped right behind his back. An army officer unfolded a sheet of paper and began reciting the charges against him.
"Nelson Greene, former Southern District Officer. You have been found guilty of embezzling relief funds for the families of deceased soldiers, amounting to treason against the Republic of Elgin. Punishable by death. Any last words?"
Nelson straightened his back as much as his kneeling position allowed. His internal thoughts raced wildly. His younger, naïve self would have asked, "How did it all come to this?" but his older self knew well that this was coming. He had done his job well. A bit too well that he was deemed an enemy of the state. His weaknesses were that he was too kind, playing by the book without looking behind his back. He let his closet adversary stab him in the back.
When the ceasefire agreement was signed between the two governments, Nelson doubted that the Armadian would honor their ceasefire agreement with Elgin. He believed that they would breach the ceasefire once they replenished their supplies on the frontline. That they would likely target the supply hub to make the people suffer and turn against the government. He tried to warn his superiors to move all the supplies under the guise of darkness before the Armadian strike again, but to his utter disappointment, his superiors rejected his idea.
Nelson didn't say a word; instead, he and his other colleagues rerouted the food supplies to another location just one night before the massive bombing campaign started. He was right. The enemy's first target during the bombing was the warehouse. It burned down, but the supplies were safely secured in a secret warehouse.
He ordered civilian evacuations to different parts of the town when the military insisted that the front would hold. Frozen contracts when he discovered corruption among the lower officials that threatened to siphon relief funds away from civilians who had lost their houses to the bombing, much to the ire of many of his superiors.
Because of all he did, he made enemies from within the government. He knew the corrupt officials would try to bring him down, but he believed in a just system in which the good guys would prevail.
He thought wrong. In a collapsing state, losing in war. People will look for scapegoats for their failure. Franklin was the perfect scapegoat. To justify the military losses, the corrupt officials blamed him for his disobedience. Accused him of siphoning funds for civilian relief and even to conspire with the Armadian to subjugate Elgin. For once, he thought that human kindness and sincerity would soften even the hardest opponent. Right before his death, he realized that enemies should be shunned and not ignored. It was already too late now.
The military officer cleared his throat.
"Any last words?"
Nelson took a deep breath. He knew the end was coming. He calmed his mind, focusing on his breathing just like during an emergency coordination meeting when ten people were arguing at the same time while expecting him to decide which village would receive the highest emergency aid.
He muttered softly, "I had performed my duty well. This is how the people pay me."
The soldier shrugged.
"I have nothing against you, sir. But my order is to carry out your punishment."
He closed his eyes, ready to receive the hot lead into the back of his head. He thought of the files still sitting on his desk - the budget projections, evacuation reports, and coordination plans for rebuilding the town after the war.
He thought of the civilians who had believed him when he promised them that help was coming. He wondered how many of them were still alive after the strike.
"Ready?" the soldier said, followed by the sound of a rifle bolt clicking and being lifted higher into position. Nelson felt his chest tighten with the air. His body was desperate to plead or beg for mercy, but his mind was prepared for it. Stay. Don't beg. You are a man.
"Fire…"