Crack!

If he was caught it would mean hours of non-stop working in the mines or torture, maybe even death. So Dexter did his best to stay silent and not move while the guard walked past with the torch. He had to get his message to General Yevgeny Navalny of the imperial army. The torch, which was in the guard's left hand while Dexter was only to the guard's left hidden behind a thin layer of stonewall, kept the guard's eyes near blind to much else behind the light that it created that cold fall night. It was almost like the guard wanted it to touch his face, like a kiss to the eye. The crack that seemed very loud to Dexter did not even seem to reach the guard's ears. The thin stonewall was filled with holes and covered with patches of green and gray moss. The holes in the wall allowed Dexter to hear and see why? The guard was slightly humming to himself while the torch was also making the snapping and cracking noises that Dexter would hear from a regular fireplace. The tree branch underneath fortunately made no other noises and the guard's men soon walked onward. Dexter let out an audible breath out in relief only to hold his breath again in fear due to how loud the sound was. When nothing happened he continued walking along the wall, opposite the way the guardsmen came from. Milletin town was asleep with only the guardsmen enforcing the curfew walking about. The large army outside its walls, barely even fences, seemed way to big to occupy the small town, however, it was its location, mill, and tin mines that made it valuable for the war effort. Milletin was located at a crossroads that was just after the Rubikhan river on the way to the capital. A capital that was about to be under siege by a general turned traitor.

The wind turned frosty as Dexter exited Milletin and reached the Rubikhan river downstream from the where last bits of General's Triunvo's army was crossing the river towards Milletin. He squinted and looked for areas of the river that shallow. The river was deeper and faster here due to the steepness of the hill. He looked again and again, and then turned to look back. Maybe life would not be that bad under

General Triunvo. Emperor Triunvo. He sat down and looked away from the dark river toward the town. He still felt like the black abyss of the river had dark eyes under the water watching him while .

Early that day when the general Triunvo had crossed the river first, he had promised that life in the empire was going to be better for everyone after he drained the swamp and hung all the traitors. Alice, Donald, and Mick all believed him. Even Dexter did, until that a few hours later when the hangings started. Mick complained after the first two, which was an older married couple charged with disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct. Mick was the third. "Questioning the peace" was the charge painted on the wooden board that hung from his neck. There were ten more hangings, and one beheading before there was a pause for the night. However, there were three more deaths during the hangings when some people bolted for the river after seeing Mick pass on. Each had three arrows in their backs before they reached further then 10 meters. From his spot that night, Dexter could still see the bodies handing from the trees and crosses erected along the road. The trees were limited in the area, so the army had quickly made crosses to handle the needed hangings. Each cross would hang three people, the army had already made and filled two during the day. There were four newly made ones since the pause for the night started and the army was still making more. More deaths to come. Dexter turned back to the water. He had never crossed the river before in his life, and the only time he had ever entered the water was seven years ago when he almost drowned after playing a dumb contest with Mick, and Donald.

"Take the message to General Yevgeny Navalny, he is stationed in Millingville across the Cherrywood mountains and three rivers. He is the nation's only hope. His army is the only one close enough and large enough to fight General Triunvo's army before it is too late." These words, his mother's from just two hours before repeated over and over in his head. Dexter caught himself saying them out loud. He walked to the river's edge. He could do it, he knew the basics of swimming, as much as he could learn never having actually been trained in the water. Also, he should still be tall enough for his feet to reach the bottom of the river if he stood tall. After the river, it was mostly a straight line past the mountains.

He put his left foot up to enter the water and was dead before it touched back down. The arrow went through his heart and just barely went through the skin on the other side. His small corpse fall into the river and went downstream where it would later meetup with a few more. Alice's would follow shortly after resisting the "affections" of an officer and cutting his throat.

Across the river Lieutenant Roger Baron commanded himself and laughed at his good shot. It was the third one that night for himself. He was proud of his work that was helping make the Vespuccion empire great and glorious again.

Three days later, on Enera 6th, the capitol fall after less than a day of siege, and the next day a new emperor was crowned.