Uninvited Guest: As Their World Crashes in Around Them, Can Teenage Friends Find Hope to Survive? by Brandon Candee

Author:Brandon Candee [Candee, Brandon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen: Guerillas

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” the television announcer broke in. “We’re interrupting tonight’s Friday evening broadcast to bring you breaking news. You may want to sit down for this one. It appears Ashenah’s hope has survived. We’ve just learned that Prince Silverline has been discovered alive and is doing well, considering. For this, I turn you over to Bryson.”

“Thanks, Jennifer,” the news anchor said, as a timeline graphic tracing Dura’s path of destruction over the past several months popped up beside him on screen. “We’re standing by for live coverage and will cut immediately over to that once it becomes available. Before the enemy infiltrated Ashenah’s capitol Taur, reports of the Prince’s death surfaced. The reports, it appears, were not true.”

After several minutes of overdramatically telling and retelling the viewing audience everything they already knew about Dura’s campaign on Ashenah, his co-anchor cut in. “Sorry to interrupt, Bryson. We’re going live to an unknown location in Dura now.”

On the television was what appeared to be a live feed from somewhere in Dura. In reality, it was pre-recorded, edited, and fully vetted by Bolos’ staff from the 66th Psychological Operations before airing. Prince Silverline sat in an upright, stately chair next to Dura’s god-king Bolos. Bolos’ chair was similar, though, a tad taller than the prince’s of course.

Bolos expertly executed his lies with precision before the camera. He explained his false narrative about how Chad had attempted to kill the prince, but recently promoted Major General Hattat had rescued him during their raid on the city. Hattat, then a Colonel, had compassion on the young prince and was at that time secretly working with Bolos on plans to overthrow Chad. Bolos set before the world’s stage his propaganda. “Unfortunately, it was too late for Salem, who suffered the most grotesque horrors in Chad’s last days” lied the god-king.

But it was the next comments that would complete his greatest deception. Prince Silverline spoke. “I’m grateful for the treatment Dura has shown me during my captivity. They treated me well. I was fed and even allowed to be outdoors at times. While I missed my family and my fellow countrymen greatly, Bolos shared with me early on his ultimate goal for a coup d’état. I was never without hope. I only wish he’d have been able to overthrow that horrible dictator of a man sooner. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to do more for the great people of Ashenah or even for our closest allies in Salem. I hope you can forgive me for being captured and forced to remain in hiding until the time was right. It was the only recourse available.”

With that, Bolos continued the rest of his preplanned live conversation, continuing to set the stage for Silverline’s return. In closing he added, “I anticipate King Ohia and Queen Lehua would be amenable to caring for this heroic prince until we can work out a long-standing peace treaty between our nations. I look forward to diplomatic relations and to future talks on how best to rebuild relations in our newest territories.

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