'K'

I doubted my ears. 

My head turned white as I watched the General walking towards the long window while he placed his hands behind his back. I tried to open my mouth to ask him if he could repeat his order again, but no words came out of my mouth. No, that will be an excuse. I was just afraid to confirm if I heard him right. 

The General seemed to notice my perturbation, so he turned his body towards me and sighed. “I know this is a sudden request, Corporal Artemio, but this is for the sake of our country.  If he is alive, our dream to become independent from Aspena will be nothing.” The voice of the General was calm, yet persuasive. I bit my lips and broke his intent stares, still unconvinced with my senior’s explanation.

“B-but, General, Isn’t it General Facio our comrade? I cannot understand why we need to assassinate him. He is also currently fighting against Aspena in the nearby town. I don't see any wrongdoings from his actions.” I replied, careful not to speak in an offending manner,  as I returned my gaze to him. I knew that the relationship between ‘the Sun’ and ‘the Stars’ divisions are like oil and water, but I did not expect it to be more than that. I thought as long as we will fight together to gain independence from Aspena, we can stay as comrades… or is it only I who thinks this way? 

The General furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head in disappointment. He probably thought that I was an obedient soldier who follows all the commands of his seniors without having second thoughts in his mind. Yes, I am that kind of soldier. I was--

I joined this secret society called ‘Freedom’ three years ago. The main objective of this society is to fight against Aspena, regain our freedom, and establish our own government. “Freedom” is divided into two divisions: `The Sun’ division, which consists of elite soldiers, and ‘the Stars’ division which consists of commoners. Though we are from the same race, the fact that both divisions receive different educational levels caused discrimination against each other. This is the reason behind the straining relationship between the two divisions. Because of that, there are times ‘the Sun’ could not trust ‘the Stars’ with their decisions, while ‘the Stars’ think that ‘the Sun’ is just a group of bookworm cowards. Since I am from an elite family, I was placed in ‘the Sun’ division. 

Regardless of the civil status, I treat ‘the Stars’ men as my brothers, my family. It was also the same with General Facio. Even though he is the general of ‘the Stars’ division, he showed his respect towards ‘the Sun’ members and cared for each member of the ‘Freedom’ soldiers. Because of his love towards his people and to his country, the majority of the members from both divisions respected him as their leader.

For the pursuit of freedom, no matter how risky the missions were, I obeyed and fulfilled all the orders I received from the generals. This is our country but why are the Aspenas are trying to rob it away from us? They have their own country, don’t they? Why aren’t they satisfied to have only one country? I could not understand that logic. 

Not only our countrymen, but thousands of their soldiers also died in countless wars just to invade other countries, believing that they are doing it for the sake of their country’s sovereignty. But in reality, those who ordered their men to go to wars are just a group of swine individuals who decorate themselves with unworthy diamonds and sapphires, enjoying themselves with glasses of wine without knowing, or caring their soldiers are sleeping in filthy trenches, hiding in fear that they might lose their lives in their next mission.

It does not mean that I feel sympathy towards my enemy, but I know their circumstances because I am currently standing in a similar scenario. I can feel my hands are trembling in fear and shedding cold sweat but I also did my best to appear nonchalant in front of the General. 

I averted my gaze again from the General and looked at the emblem of our society that is being stitched at the left side pocket of my uniform. 

Magnificent wings spread at both sides and in between, there is a letter ‘K’ written in an ancient alphabet form of our country which stands for ‘Freedom’. I know that my hands are already stained with the blood of my enemy country and I know that I am not exempted to be judged by heaven, but the fact that I need to include my precious comrade’s blood in my hands is something I cannot accept. I pledged before our flag that I will die for the bright future of our country, for our future generation, but what are these folks asking me to do? Do they have the same passion, the same resolution as I? 

The moment when I tried to ask the General if I could decline this mission, all of a sudden, two sergeants from ‘the Sun’ division entered the room without even knocking on the door. I immediately straighten my posture to show my respect, but the sergeants just passed by me as if I am not there in the first place. 

“How’s the situation over there?” the General inquired the two men. The sergeants did sly grins and nodded. 

“As expected, his group is being pushed by Aspena.” the first sergeant said.

“What?” 

“I think the best time will be at dawn, General.” the other one said. The General nodded, satisfied with their reports then the trio faced towards me.

Their cold, malicious stares gave me waves of goosebumps all over my body. Their strange vibe straggles my neck and pierces my consciousness. I had a gut feeling that I should get out of this room, but also at the same time, my feet were stuck on the wooden floor as if their silent threat prevents me to do so. 

The General then stepped forward from the pair and gave his nauseating grin to me. “You heard us, right, Corporal Artemio. At dawn, assassinate General Facio and leave fake evidence that shows that Aspena is the culprit behind the crime, understood?” 

Again, I couldn’t say another word. His words were too overwhelming for me to accept. Not because that his position was higher than mine, rather it is because I was too shocked that the person I believe into was just a piece of rubbish who only thinks of his position. 

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. Somewhere in my mind expected that one of the generals will be plotting this scheme against General Facio. Why? Even though General Facio is a commoner, his fame and influence in ‘Freedom’ society are great, so it was only a matter of time before he could become the leader of both divisions, and eventually become the president of our country. 

Thinking that I might die in suffocation if I stayed in this room any longer, I offered my short bow before my seniors in silence and left the room. For the first few moments, the corridor shone with the moonlight from the window, but as the rows of clouds passed by our natural light, the darkness returned and devoured the entire barrack. 

As I walked down the dim corridor, I can feel the cold air rubbing my rough skin, a signal that a storm is on its way coming towards our region. But I was glad because it somehow helped me to cool down my fury against the General and the sergeants. 

This was the reason why our country wasn’t able to regain freedom from Aspena for more than a century. This was the reason why our ancestors lost in many wars. This was the reason why our respected heroes were killed. 

‘Now I understand the reason why our ‘hero’ said that we are not yet prepared to gain independence from Aspena.’  

That same night, I burned my uniform and left the barrack.