“Okay, veterans, if you could please line up on the right side of the tunnel, that would be great. Rising stars on the left side here. Okay, let’s go, people—let’s go,” the staff member called out to everyone in the tunnel.
Pepper was standing in a line of other rising stars, many of whom openly shared their thoughts and dreams of one day being a Golem Master. He, however, was still amazed at this opportunity. The royal treatment was something he had never experienced before, and it wasn’t something he truly felt deserving of.
He caught sight of a long line of people arriving opposite him. The veterans staggered down the tunnel, a unique collection. Some were dressed to impress. Their service dress uniforms were finely pressed and tailored to every inch of their bodies. In stark contrast to them were the veterans who waddled down in blue jeans, a polo shirt, and a ball cap with the words “Rift Wars Veteran” embroidered across the top.
Pepper saw a man in a wheelchair being guided down, coming to a stop next to him. Another veteran was standing behind him and helping him from behind. The man behind the wheelchair turned and motioned to Pepper.
He turned towards him. “Yes?”
“Hey, are you, uhh …” The man paused and looked at a small note in his hand. “Pepper Walker?”
Pepper nodded. “That I am.”
A small smile came over the man’s face. “Okay, great. This is Staff Sergeant William McKay. He is who you are paired up with.” He looked back at his note and then turned to the person standing behind him. “You’re Angel Ramon?”
A warm and radiant voice came from behind him. It had a thick Puerto Rican accent. “Yes sir, that would be me.”
The veteran chuckled. “Okay, so you’re with me.” He turned back to Pepper. “All right, Pepper, if you feel comfortable enough, you can lead Staff Sergeant McKay down and then we’ll just line up in formation.”
Pepper felt his nerves take hold of him, but he did his best to stow them away. He looked into the eyes of the veteran standing next to him. The man peered into his own with nothing but sheer confidence—a poise that said no matter what happened in the next ten seconds, he was ready to meet it head on.
The expression on the man’s face seemed to transfer to Pepper. In that split second, Pepper knew he needed to accept this task and do it without letting anxiety ruin what the ceremony was supposed to represent.
“I got it. Don’t worry.” He finished with a nod.
“Great—sounds good.” The veteran gave him a fist bump and then looked back at Angel. “All right, Ramon, you ready for this?”
“I was born for this, sir,” the man said firmly.
“All right, everyone, we’re stepping off in ten, nine, eight, seven, six…”
Everyone stepped forward when the countdown finished. Pepper moved over and took hold of the wheelchair handles. The veteran looked sickly pale and his breathing was labored. Pepper began to roll the frail man forward, and soon they were bathed in the light of the grand arena.
Thousands of people cheered, their voices so loud that they practically drowned out his thoughts. A giant American flag was being held taut in the center of the field, which looked as if it had once served for football. The line walked until everyone arrived at their predetermined positions, and then they stood facing the giant crowd of fans.
“What’s going on, golem fans?” The voice was all too familiar. Pepper turned to see none other than JD Glasscock walking behind them into the center of the field.
JD had his orange-lensed sunglasses on, with a nice black suit, white dress shirt, and black tie. But he was also wearing what appeared to be a comfortable pair of blue jeans and black Chuck Taylors. He certainly looked far more like a celebrity than he did a golem league announcer. Before Pepper could finish mentally pondering whether or not his coanchor was there, he heard a familiar British voice following JD.
“Hello, and thank you for being with us today. We also want to extend a special thank-you to those you see lined up around the edge of the field. Won’t you please give a warm welcome to all the military veterans who made the journey to be with us here today,” Nick said. The crowd didn’t even wait for him to finish before they gave a loud roar of appreciation, claps and shrieking whistles all intermixed.
Nick cleared his throat briefly and then continued. “Additionally, it is a special day for Staff Sergeant William McKay, as he celebrates his fiftieth birthday!”
Fifty? But… he looks ancient. Pepper’s disbelief was now louder in his mind than the noise of the crowd. He looked down at the veteran, who was barely able to lift his arm and wave at the crowd. He isn’t even much older than my dad. Yet he practically could be knocking on death’s door at any moment.
The frail veteran’s hand and arm trembled as he tried to wave to the crowd in appreciation. It was then that a cluster of black specks in the sky caught Pepper’s attention. He glanced up and to his left and saw seven military fighter jets flying in a V formation. They hardly made a sound until they were directly overhead and then the aircraft activated their afterburners.
The roar of the crowd now melted into the reverberation from the aircraft that rippled across his body. His eyes turned towards the heavens, then witnessed a grand display of red, white, and blue fireworks. The pyrotechnics exploded in the sky above and were complemented by golden sparklers that erupted along the edges of the stadium. Pepper was amazed at the grand showcase. His heart pumped with excitement as he took it all in.
“Golem fans, let me hear you welcome your defending Golem Master, Brandon Benard, and his partner Rosario Romero!” JD informed them.
Pepper turned his attention to the famed gladiator standing in the center of the field alongside JD. The couple waved to the crowd, huge smiles on their faces. Pepper couldn’t help but notice the giant sparkle reflecting off the crest Brandon wore—the diamond-studded Golem Master crest that all previous champions wore.
This… this will not be the last time I experience a celebration of this magnitude. I will be a Golem Master, and I will one day be standing there as well. I can’t give up now. One day I will succeed. Pepper turned back to the crowd and smiled. He confidently shot his hand up and waved to the people before him, only this time he imagined he was the one standing in the center of the field. I promise you… all of you standing before me. This will not be the last time you see me here.
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“Kid … hey, kid.” Staff Sergeant McKay’s voice was finally loud enough for Pepper to hear it.
“Yes, sir?” He bent over and looked at the frail man seated in the wheelchair.
“Please wheel me out of the sun. My skin… my skin can’t take direct sunlight like it once could.” The trembling, frail voice was hardly audible.
Pepper bit his tongue. He wanted to stay within the moment. Yet seeing the veteran in his current state reminded him that this celebration wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for him and all those like him. “Sure thing, sir.”
He straightened up and gave a final wave to the crowd before pushing the staff sergeant back towards the tunnel entrance. A staff member quickly approached him with a curious expression. “Staff Sergeant McKay needed to get out of the sun,” Pepper explained.
The staff member leaned over. “You doing okay, Staff Sergeant? Do you need anything?”
The trembling voice of the veteran replied, “I could use some water. But please… not too cold. Tap water is fine.”
“Of course.” She straightened and looked at Pepper. “I’ll go get him some water, but you can just head directly into the ballroom. The social hour doesn’t start officially until the opening ceremony is over, but there’s no reason you two can’t head in early. It looks like he’ll appreciate the quiet anyways.”
Pepper nodded and waited for the worker to return. She handed Staff Sergeant McKay a small plastic cup and he gingerly drank what little was there. Pepper was then given a nod by the worker and leaned his head down. “All right, Sarge, we’ll head to the ballroom for you to relax.”
“Sounds good, Commander,” the vet replied.
Pepper navigated through the gathering of people. A few minutes later, he was finally directed to the room where the next event was to take place. The ballroom had red, white, and blue streamers, bows, and drapery scattered throughout. A white tablecloth and a large bouquet of colored flowers was on each table. There was some lively jazz music was playing softly overhead.
Pepper cautiously made his way around the tables, scanning the name tags at every seat. The more he searched, the more he realized there was a good chance they had been placed at the head table. His guess was confirmed when they arrived and he discovered they were seated at the round top table. James, Jeannette, JoeDan, Angela, Pepper, Angel, Captain Fin, Staff Sergeant McKay.
“Well, this looks like us,” Pepper said. He quickly removed the chair in the sergeant’s spot and wheeled him closer to the table. Pepper could see he was seated next to the veteran and sat down.
“Sorry about that.”
Pepper turned and looked at Staff Sergeant McKay. Now that they were at eye level and indoors, he could get a better look at him. His entire body looked like it was being sucked inward. The pale color of the man’s skin was eerie and made Pepper’s skin crawl. He was wrapped up in a warm coat and also had a large blanket wrapped around his legs.
Pepper gazed into the eyes of the veteran. They were a faded blue, yet a gray coloration seemed to have been blended in and slowly taking over. There was a sense within Pepper that those eyes had not always been this way. Deep behind the man’s gaze, however, was nothing but sorrow.
“Sorry for what?” Pepper asked.
The veteran gently closed his eyes. “I remember… what it was like to be at something you desired, and then ripped away from it.” He paused and took a deep, labored breath. “You… you should be out there, enjoying the ceremony.”
Pepper sighed. His heart did want to be out there. Yet he knew deep down that this was the right thing to do. He couldn’t help but think of what his father and late brother would have expected him to do. In that moment, he imagined how he would want his family treated by a stranger. “It’s okay… there will be many more like it.”
He felt a soft warmth in his chest when he saw the veteran smile slightly. The sergeant shook from a rough dry coughed. “Your eyes.”
Pepper waited half a second for him to continue. But when the Sergeant didn’t continue, he inquired. “What about them?”
“I remember my eyes having a rich color just like yours.” The veteran paused and struggled to breathe. “I can see the excitement and determination in them. It is the same I once had… before…”
“The war?” Pepper interjected to help him finish his thought while he still struggled to continue. The sergeant nodded and pressed his lips together. His gaze didn’t leave Pepper’s, and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. It looked like he was in considerable pain.
“I hope and pray that you will live far beyond my age and enjoy all that this life has to offer, kid.” The veteran finished with another round of dry coughs. He reached up and started to gently dig into a chest pocket of his jacket. He finally retrieved what looked like a throat lozenge. His fingers fumbled with the wrapper, but eventually he succeeded and placed it in his mouth.
Pepper knew better than to ask the question. But his curiosity was too great to suppress. “What was it like? The Rift Wars?” As soon as the question had left his mouth, he regretted it. For the man turned his gaze back towards him just as a tear spilled out and ran down his cheek.
The veteran shifted his gaze towards the flowers in the center of the table. Pepper noticed that he grabbed hold of the blanket around his legs, his hands and fingers trembling. “It was darker than the night itself.” A fresh set of tears ran down his face.
“I was in the Pacific Northwest. Washington, to be exact. The day the rift gate appeared, the portal opening up, the world was covered in darkness. We all remembered the stories of the day Mount St. Helens erupted—the giant volcano which billowed ash into the heavens and changed the very landscape of the earth. The day the portal appeared, I thought life itself was on the brink of extinction. Black billowing smoke poured out of the portals and veiled the waves of the demonic hoard it gave birth to. The only source of light was from life itself being consumed by fire. The rippling of flames is still something I cannot look at.”
The veteran took a pause and coughed. Pepper quickly grabbed a glass and filled it with water for him. He handed it to the sergeant, who took a small sip before setting it down on the table.
“For months we did not see the sun. The depth of the shadows was your closest friend as well as your greatest threat. The demons lurked in every void they could find. A hellion around every street corner. Once the day vanished and all you lived in was the bleakness of night, you soon found that sleep was a luxury rather than an option. Our enemies did not need rest as we did. Their attacks surged at every opportunity they found. But that was nothing compared to the screams.
“The sound of agonizing pain and suffering filled our ears continuously. For every inch of ground the demons secured, they found a new cluster of victims to devour. We had nowhere to go but back… we would retreat, dig in, and fortify our positions. But it was useless… eventually they would send another wave of hellspawn forward to the point we would be overrun. The process repeated itself all over again.
“Our guns seemed to do little against their armor. We fired volley after volley and bathed them in a wall of lead. Our weapons fired off until our barrels glowed red.” The veteran lifted his left hand up for Pepper to see. Though his palm and fingers were healed, the scars remained. “You know it’s bad when your flesh melts upon metal, but you don’t even feel the pain.
“Everyone I knew and loved is gone. Where, when, or how, I will never know. Their skeletons were scattered amongst the rest of humanity and buried in a mass grave for eternity. We retreated into the Great Plains states. There on the open ground was where we were able to finally hold them. There was nowhere for them to hide and no cover for them to seek. It was on that barren earth that we clashed for months at a standstill.
“It was then that the nations of the world realized that the greatest importance was humanity’s survival. Weapons and technology we had never seen before were distributed to those who remained. Our scientists took what little information they knew about our enemy and applied it to combating them. We leveled cities behind enemy lines, eliminating any potential areas they could use as shelter. A combined counterattack of air and ground forces surged us west. Our advance continued, and we celebrated every mile we reclaimed.”
The veteran took another sip of his water. “I don’t remember the day, the hour, or the minute when they retreated through the rift portal. All I remember was the arrival of the rain. The ground was a mixture of scorched earth and stained with the blood of the innocent. Our months of darkness were soon replaced with the bleakness of storm clouds. The rain began and didn’t stop; fields and valleys turned to raging rivers. The heavens wept for us, for our bodies were already past the point of tears.”