XX
Everything started fine. We packed our gear the night before, as was commanded, for a first light departure. Dogo seemed rather jovial and outgoing – he even cracked a few jokes, though, they were mainly racist ones. And, he even wished us, “Good night unit, sleep well; you will need it.”
I lay in my bunk and stared at the mattress above me for a while. My gut feeling told me that he was up to something.
After getting to sleep and having one of my usual nightmares, I was awoken by Dogo’s call to get up and move out. We took our gear, and lined up outside. He gave us an inspection. When he got to me, he looked me over and told me, “Good work, Yoshi.” As he moved on, I saw he had a smirk, and his eyes held that fearsome glow they always had when something bad was to befall me.
We marched out of the barracks, to the point where we would get into our small groups to make our way to the camp for that night. He commanded us to line up.
“Conscript Yoshi; separate from rank and move before me,” he ordered immediately after it.
I gulped and marched out to him. I noticed his pronunciation of the word “Yoshi” – it was said in Yoshian, and it was not the personal name one, but the racial one. This was commonplace with him, but this time, it was forced.
“About face.”
I did so.
Dogo stood beside me. “Unit, this is the place where we separate the men from the boys. The men will move to the co-ordinates given when I give the order, while the boys…well, they can choose to return to the barracks at any time during this speech.”
As it went on, no-one did.
“I was here in this place two years ago, just as you are now. And there and then I decided that not only was I a man, but someone with a future. I was conscripted just like you –”
No surprises there, I thought.
“– and I, too,
thought it was unfair. I’m sure many of you thought the same way, because if
you really did want a career in the Pandoran Army,
you would have gone to
Here, he kicked me to the ground. I tried to get up but he placed his foot on my head. I struggled to free myself – I tried to move his leg with my hand, but no beating or pushing would move it.
“As I demonstrated to you a few weeks ago, here we have the prime example of such an invader. Of course, it has a mind and a heart just as you do, but I’m sure you notice a few major differences. You see, this particular invader is actually an animal. He just thinks that he’s an upright member of society. Upright is definitely the key word here. If any of you took Yamauchian Studies classes during your questionable high school education, I’m sure you would have been told about the Yoshi species – I wouldn’t call a collection of animals a race – and a history regarding them. But if not, I will spell it out for you right now.”
Here I tried throwing him off-guard by pulling his other foot out from beneath him with my tongue. He stamped on it and held it in place. My gasps of pain were drowned out by what he said next.
“About five hundred years ago on the planet Yamauchi, which we are connected to via the Matango warp, the Yoshi species was discovered by the sentient – that means thinking – races of the planet. Now, like any person, if you are given a resource, what do you do with it? Any answers? Yes?”
“You use it, syoro?” one of my fellow conscripts supplied.
“Precisely! You use it!”
Dogo let go of my tongue at last and I withdrew it, now pretty much useless for a while due to its soreness. It throbbed.
What came next was a clinking noise of metal against metal. I slowly brought my eyes up and saw what he was holding in his hand, produced from his Mana Storage.
It was a Yoshi bridle.
Now, those horrible things have been outlawed for at least a century on Yamauchi – those Yoshies who went to fight in the War gave up their services without one. He had to have got one via the black market. I fell silent and went rigid with fear. I knew what was coming.
“The motto of the Army of Pandora, as we know well, is ‘To Protect Peace to the Last with Duty and Honour’,” Dogo continued.
“It do’n’t seem ‘onour–” I muttered.
“SILENCE, PACK ANIMAL!” Dogo screamed at me. He regained his composure. “As I was about to say, peace can be protected without necessarily having to make war. This is one such way to do it.”
He knelt on my back. He was a big boy in his youth, and now, that weight had turned into muscle. He grabbed my head, forced open my mouth with one hand and slid the bit in – horrible tasting metal. Then, he secured everything else over my head, and grabbed the reins tightly in one hand. I looked to the rest of the unit. They were staring on either mortified, or amused.
“The Yoshies were used just this way, as a means of getting around. And this is where they should be,” he snarled at me. “They should not be killed, but used as mounts. I hope that we can start a bit of a farming business in the Army – they’re probably no good except for ceremonial purposes, but, boy, getting around with someone else walking for you sounds like a really good idea to me.”
He yanked the reins, pulling me to my feet as if I were a marionette.
“The only problem is that, in this pose, they are pretty much useless as a riding animal. But if I do this…”
He grabbed my tail with one hand while with the other, still holding the reins, he pushed down on my shoulders while pulling my tail outwards. I groaned painfully as my bones readjusted themselves, my spine bending backwards. The front of my shirt lifted up, revealing my stomach.
“…Now, that problem is rectified,” he smiled. “You see, the Yoshi species is even evolutionarily asking to be rode upon,” he said, poking my saddle. “This growth on their back is soft and fleshy, providing a far more comfortable seat than the rest of its bony body.”
He climbed onto my back. I struggled under his weight, my knees bending, but I had to stand up otherwise the weight would have damaged them if I knelt.
“Now that you all have learnt something, my speech is over. Men, move out!”
We watched them go.
“Wha ah oo oh-een oo oo wi ee?” I asked him, nervously, after they left.
“Easy, Yoshi,” he explained with some sadistic mirth in his voice. “I’m going to ride you during the duration of this hike – I’ve done it twice and I find it to be very annoying. Saves my feet. Gee up, then.”
He twitched the reins, and I obeyed. What else could I have done? Well, yes, what I did came after a while, and I still regret it to this day.
Dogo was heavy. And needless to say, I was exhausted as the day went on. Of course, he did give me water from time to time. In a dish. As the afternoon wore on, though, I was sick and tired of his boasting and snide remarks, such as “My father says hello, except what he actually said –” is not worth repeating here due to the amount of swearing. I was being oppressed to the extreme. I had my hands, but I was too scared to use them.
We arrived at the campsite for that evening – everyone else had taken a longer route around. The conscripts were to set up everything. I was relieved of that duty – my bridle was tied to a tree, and my hands behind my back. Yes, it is an old trick to rub ropes against something to cut them, and I would have used it, but Dogo knew that too, so all sharp rocks were removed and I was not tied to or near any trees with bark or bits of branch.
Eventually I got fed – in a dish. I had to kneel and use my tongue to eat it.
Then, I had to sleep outside, tied up like I was. And I sobbed each time, not enough to wake anyone and have Dogo’s wrath come down upon me, though. It was extremely uncomfortable, and I did not get much needed sleep. Needless to say, I was virtually dead by the end of it. It was the same for the next five days. For the first three days, it rained on and off during the night. At least the others were clear.
If Drepatos is supposed to be the worst thing ever, I’d like to see it match up against that experience. The only problem was that it wasn’t over, yet, thanks to me.
The sixth day was just like the others – Dogo gave the orders and co-ordinates, and then he would untie me and we would make our way to the next campsite. It was just into the afternoon when it started.
“Since this little adventure is ending soon, and I’m going to have to be honourable again, I think I ought to tell you why I’m doing this to you,” he said.
“Itsh hor yor bru’ah an’ yor hah’er,” I spoke around the bit.
“Well done, Yoshi. You know, I love my father, and to see him in prison really gets to me. He’s been given the rough end of the stick thanks to you, and your family.”
“Arhon ish a cry-uhm,” I told him.
“Arson is a crime? He didn’t set anything alight!” Dogo said defensively. “Of course, had he done…well, it would have been ethnic cleansing, wouldn’t it? Here, look, I’ll be fair. You obviously have something to say, so…”
He pulled back on the reins so that I stopped. By this time, my lips were sore. He then got down and loosened the bit, pulling it out of my mouth. He still held the reins though.
“Your father lied,” I told him.
“Lied? About what?”
“I didn’t kill Ret, Dogo,” I snarled. “You did, and you know it.”
“That’s…that’s…”
“Think that it is all you like – you’re the one who told him to poke that insect. I would have warned him against it but you shut me up, like you always do. Your father fooled you, Dogo; can’t you see that?”
“It should have got you instead, Lich!” he growled.
“Maybe, and I wouldn’t be here being treated worse than a slave.” I was surprised, here. This was the first time he called me Lich since our time in the Army. However, I had been preparing for this moment. I took a deep breath. “That name doesn’t work on me anymore, Dogo.”
He cocked his head. “What?”
“I told you, it doesn’t work on me anymore. Childhood’s over. You want to call me Lich? That’s fine, because every time you do, it’s a victory for me. You want to drive me into the earth with that name? I’m not going. I’m over everything. It’s all in the past. Call me that, and you’re basically recognising the metaphor of my life – I ‘die’, and I come back even more powerful. This is it, Dogo. You know something, I may not be human, but this whole experience has made me a man. When we return, I’m going to report you for all you’ve done.”
“And I’ll just select people loyal to me to stand up for me.”
“Not this time. Not only is this against military law, it’s also against civil. I believe this is called ‘torture’? I’m sure the other members of the unit want to see you locked up. And hey, what do you know, you’ll join your father and be happy on the inside. Of course, you’ll be happy, so long as you partake in ‘prison games’–”
“Shut up! Just shut up!”
“You’d like them, wouldn’t you?”
It felt good to have power flowing through my veins for once. Of course, the whole period was for about a minute. After that, it became really ugly.
He had a metal pole, about three feet long in his Mana Storage, used as a staff to keep his tent up. That became an “offensive item” there and then – it was used to break my arms. I screamed with pain.
“You shut up or I will make you,” he snarled. “I could easily leave you for dead here, but I can’t cover that over.”
He retrieved a syringe of anaesthetic and put them into my arms, telling me they would last one day. Then, the bit was replaced and we were on our way again. My arms hung limply by my side.
When we got to the last campsite, and I was tied up (including my useless hands), he said to the other conscripts, “Tonight we sleep in the open air. In the field of battle, you will not always have the ability to put up a tent. It is also vital that in battle you are always ready to go. Therefore, do not unpack any more from your equipment than you really need.”
After dinner, everyone went to bed – they were exhausted, but not as much as me, I bet. I managed some sleep.
When I awoke, it was oddly peaceful. There was no Dogo screaming at me. My ropes were untied – of course, I could not feel the bind on my wrist being removed. Then I saw what was wrong.
Everyone had left without me.
I was out in the forest with no map, food, or water. I had nothing except my clothes (thankfully) and a pair of legs. The only thing I could use for navigation was the sun.
Instinct told me to try and go upwards, as what Dogo had taught, so that I could get a view around and some bearings. Nothing but trees. I could not climb them to view over them, so all I could do was wander aimlessly. Naturally, Dogo had not told me where we were going, so I had no idea. I was truly lost.
I decided to go for the next course of action – downhill. If I went downhill, I would eventually get to water, which I needed. So, I did. Unfortunately, it was the wrong side of the ridge. I hit the sea. However, the coastline provided a guide – if the sea was to my left, I would be heading south, back towards Pandora’s port.
Forced into exhaustion by Dogo, and now suffering from malnutrition and lack of water, it was not long before I fainted.
The next thing I knew, I was in the barracks hospital again. A doctor told me that a search party had found me. I then asked to speak to someone high-ranking in the military police, but it was to be done in strictest confidence. I had to end up begging for it. They came to see me, and I told them everything that had happened.
Dogo could not be arrested at that time, since it was a home weekend and he had gone away, out of contact. However, when he returned, he would be.
What happened next I would find out later. Apparently, Dogo returned just then, which was during the middle of the night, so that he could keep an eye on things. He found out that he was going to be arrested and tried twice, once under military law, and the other time under civil for attempted murder, via radio he tapped into. He also found out that the other conscripts would be taken and “pried”. A professional Left Path trained person would read their minds, because they could not be trusted otherwise – only used when all else fails, on decree of the King, who had been woken up to sign the document. Knowing that he could not escape, Dogo did the next best thing.
I heard a cry of, “You’ll never get me, Yoshi” outside, and a bang. Two minutes later, he was being wheeled down the hallway outside, in a body bag.
In his last act, he deprived me of the justice I wanted dearly, for my school years, for that fight, and for the months of torture. Even though I would never have to deal with him anymore, even though I had overcome my hate of the name Lich, he won. I am ashamed to admit it, but he won.
A week later,
once my arms had healed, assisted by Mana, the legal proceedings started. I
finally got to see my parents for the first time in months – needless to say, they
were horrified by what had happened. They gave me support through the next two
weeks of the case – this was the time I first met the ferocious Pandoran media (though, I have to admit, they were
surprisingly gentle to me). The other conscripts testified. One thing that had
surprised me was that all the letters I had tried to send home ended up with Dogo – a taker had removed them from him – because anything
that was written out had to go up the chain to make sure we weren’t spreading
any secrets. Convinced that I had suffered what I had, the
I had been to Drepatos and back, and now, I was set for the next stage of my life, that which the Army had interrupted. The immigration documents were processed. Finally, I was going home.