Read Online Dark Foundations by Chris Walley - Free Book Online

stared across the great valley. “And, Eliza, I say to God, isn’t it enough to set it going? Haven’t I done all I need to do? The last month has been bad enough and it’s going to get worse. Can’t I be spared?”
    â€œI can’t answer that. You can do the job. God will support you, if you let him.” She shrugged. “But these are easy words to say.”
    Nothing more was spoken between them for some time. The hum of insects, the whisper of the wind in the trees, and the calls of birds were heard, but there were no other sounds.
    â€œOdd,” Andreas suddenly said, his voice clear in the stillness. “Very odd.”
    â€œWhat?” Eliza called out. “What do you see?”
    â€œThe ground here. It’s not natural. See this ditch?” He gestured toward a long, rough linear depression broken up by trees. “These are man-made features.”
    Ethan noted the structure he was referring to and glimpsed something half buried at the near end. He walked over, wondering what might have once been there. A summer palace? Some ancient biblical feature?
    The object that caught his eye was next to a cluster of crimson cyclamens. It was just a slab of stone. Or was it?
    Ethan bent down and peered at the crumbling, rotting rock, then picked up a fragment and held it up to the light.
    â€œWhat is it?” Eliza asked.
    â€œConcrete. Badly weathered. Very old.” He looked at the view ahead, feeling a sudden sharp pang of realization. Of course. How appropriate .
    He called Andreas over.
    â€œI’m afraid all this is the remains of a fortification. Twentieth to mid-twenty-first century. We have ramparts, a trench, and a concrete bunker. A strategic site.”
    Andreas’s face twisted up as if he had just smelled something disagreeable.
    â€œThere were many wars here,” Eliza said, as if to herself.
    Ethan watched as Andreas wandered slowly around the floor of the ditch, shaking his head. He stopped to peer over the ruined ramparts, then walked back and squatted on the slab near Ethan and propped his thin face between his hands.
    Eventually, Andreas spoke in a voice thick with emotion. “It is surely no accident we are here this day. This, Ethan and Eliza, is what we want to bring back.” He tapped the concrete lightly as if he found it contaminating. “No, I do not seek to dissuade you. It must be done. But I can see this as it was.” His voice became quieter and taut. “I see ghosts.”
    Ethan saw Eliza’s face tighten as Andreas continued. “I can see them now: scared, pale-faced boys from farms firing bullets or lasers at other scared, pale-faced boys from farms.” Andreas motioned with his hand along the ditch. “All those thousands and thousands of years ago, lined up behind these bulwarks with camouflage jackets and body armor. All waiting for death to strike them at any moment. I can hear the firing, the screams, and hear the orders. I can see the wounded being attended, see the ground wet with blood as red as that cyclamen. I can smell the smoke, the burned flesh, and the fear. I can feel the hate.”
    Andreas stood. His face was blanched. “Friend Ethan, this has been a great help. There is a problem with language. We glibly use words without seeing their real meaning. We talk about war and we think about deaths and maybe injuries. But it’s more than just death. If it were that, it would be bad, but it would be manageable. After all, we all will die. But it isn’t just simply death, it is all the other bits—the blood, the torn flesh, and all the hatred and fear that goes with it.”
    Has he changed his mind? “So, Andreas, you are advising me not to put the Assembly on a war footing?”
    The answer was slow in coming. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. Ethan, war is like a very hot object—if you handle it for more than the briefest time, you will be burned. It