The War for Independence
Samantha pulled the pin on the grenade and let it fly out the window to the city square below. She faced the damp wall again and waited for the boom of exploding tanks. She didn’t even flinch when it came. She yawned and checked her watch: 19:30.
Suddenly there were footsteps on the stairs and by the time she could see a shadow of the intruder her gun was loaded and pointed straight at the first stair.
“Samantha? It’s Jason.”
She lowered her gun but kept silent.
He poked his head above the edge of the floor, his gun next to his head and peeked out at her. She smiled and waved. He climbed the rest of the stairs and took a spot across from her away from waning light on the wall from the window.
“How long have you been here?”
“I lost track of time,” she said.
“I just got an update, would you like to hear it? Or are you just going to keep dropping grenades until they figure out you’re here and shoot you?”
“Go ahead and report.”
“Apparently a compromise has been reached and they’re going to sign the papers officially tomorrow. But this is the last city standing that still belongs to them. Means two things for you: 1) they’re going to be fighting harder for this city and 2) if we capture this land before the compromise it’s null and we’ve won the war. The colonel is letting you decide.”
“Me? He’s lost his mind.”
“You’re the only woman left standing, Sam. Actually, I don’t know why he wants to ask you but he sent me on the fool’s mission of trying to find you.”
“The grenade gave me away, huh?”
“Just a bit. No one else uses primitive weapons like that anymore.”
“Whatever. They’re effective.”
Jason paused and leaned his head against the wall. Then he shifted his seat over and lay down on his stomach facing her.
“There’s a sniper facing the window. If I’m going to get out, I’d better know soon one way or another.”
“Do you have a sniper rifle on you?”
“Of course not. Even if I did it won’t be the kind with bullets.”
“You’re hopeless.”
“They’re impractical. By the time the bullet hits your target, you’re dead.”
“But you don’t have a five second recharging time.”
“You only have to recharge if you let go of the trigger. Otherwise you sweep the area.”
“You should let these guys know that.”
“Only if you decide we should take the city and end this war with a complete victory.”
“I think this is silly. We’re never going to get out of here alive and they’re going to give us hell if we continue fighting. The problem is, they’re going to shoot at us whether we fight back or not.”
She paused and turned towards the window. She reached her hand out with her gun and shot across the way bridging the gap. Jason cringed at the noise and then the following silence. They waited for a laser, but nothing came across the gap.
“Check now,” she said.
“No one there.”
She shrugged. “Colonists never win. Even if we let them have this city, what are they going to do? America would only have about 16 square miles of land.”
Jason stood up.
“Tell the General we’re going home and to stop shooting. Might as well let these boys live to be good upstanding citizens of England like they were before.”
“Is that you’re final decision?”
“Yes. And if you need me again, I’ll be here.”
“We’ll come and get you when we leave. Good luck.”
She let him walk back down the stairs and then watched him leave and sneak away down the street. She checked her watch, but she didn’t know why. She sighed and lay down under the window and watched the lighting in the room get darker and darker. She felt her eyes get heavy and she let them, keeping her ears open for the slightest noise even in sleep.
