The Cheating Zone 07: The Test

The fortress loomed larger with each step forward and for a moment, I felt like sprinting to the tall stone building. But, I realized, I had to set the example for the men behind me. And the last thing I wanted was a broken formation fighting its own fatigue while fighting the enemy.

Yes, Hermes was the enemy. And he had to die, preferably at my hand. I kept my eyes straight ahead and focused on the goal.

Soon, we were at the fortress grounds. I gave the order: “Quick time, MARCH!” The formation quit running and quickly settled into a normal marching pattern. I saw a terraced garden ahead of us that faced the fortress. Good, I thought to myself. Two squads would occupy the upper terrace and the other two would use the lower terrace. It was as if the landscape was made just for us.

“Third and fourth squads, column right, MOVE!” I ordered, watching the two squads on the right of the formation peel off. “First and second squads, column right, MOVE!” The two remaining squads turned to the right to occupy the lower terrace. I held back and pointed to the spot where I wanted the howitzer crew to set up. I quickly made my way to a point in front and center of the company.

“Mark time, MARCH!” I ordered. Instantly, the company stopped its forward movement and marched in place. “Company, HALT!” Everyone stopped.

“Order, ARMS!” The men brought their rifles down to their right sides. “Left, FACE!” The entire company turned to its left and now faced the fortress. I positioned myself at the far right of the formation and placed my sword back into its scabbard. I pulled out my pistol.

“Firing positions, MOVE!” With a shout, the first two squads took kneeling positions with their rifles while the back squads assumed an offhand position with their rifles.

“Ready, aim, FIRE!” I ordered. All 50 rifles fired at once, and I got a shot off with my pistol. A number of the fortress guards, armed with single-shot muskets, fell, their blood soaking the ground.

“FIRE!” I ordered a second time. A second volley brought down many more men, who had foolishly come out to defend the fortress. I looked at the howitzer crew. “Battery crew, target that door,” I ordered.

The sailors loaded a shell in the small artillery piece. “Fire in the hole,” the crew chief yelled. A loud boom erupted from the howitzer, followed by a cloud of billowing smoke. Instantly, the large heavy wooden door exploded, splinters covering the men on the ground.

I placed my pistol in its holster and drew my sword. I looked at the men, who seemed ready to pounce.

“Charging positions, MOVE!” I ordered. The men shouted and assumed attack positions, their rifles facing forward, bayonets at the ready. I looked at the fortress and pointed the tip of my sword forward.

“CHARGE!!!” I yelled. Instantly, we all ran forward as fast as we could, the men yelling and growling as they went. A fortress guard suddenly appeared to my right. I slashed and he went down in a pool of blood. Another guard stood in front of me. I jabbed my sword and it went through his chest. Using my boot, I pushed him off while pulling the bloody blade back. Another guard, another slash, and he went down, blood gurgling out of his throat.

We went through the door, the men firing at guards as they tried to take aim. Guards went down all around us as my men ran them through with their bayonets. I kept moving forward, looking for my nemesis. Then I saw him at the far end of the front room, sitting in a luxurious chair watching the melee around him.

Behind him, standing in an archway, was Liz, wearing a transparent, floor-length gown. It was obvious that she was naked under the gown, her nipples poking through the gown, her shaved slit on display behind the thin material. The blinking pendant still hung around her neck and her face maintained a neutral expression.

The fighting died down as the guards had all been eliminated. I pointed my bloody sword at Hermes as I walked toward him.

“Release my wife, NOW!” I ordered. He laughed, stood up and walked toward me.

“Captain Jack, I presume,” he said sarcastically. “The test isn’t over with yet. Soon, I will fuck your lovely wife and she’ll beg for it. Perhaps you and your men would like to stay and watch,” he added, pointing to an hourglass, the top half quickly draining.

I was filled with rage. Using every ounce of strength in my arm, I raised the heavy blade of my sword behind my head and swung as hard as I could, aiming for his neck.

“AAAAAAAGHHHHHHH!” I yelled as I swung the bloody blade. The blade made contact with his neck and kept going, cleanly separating his head from his body. The head fell to the floor and I was surprised to see no blood. I just cut the man’s head off. Surely there should be blood, I thought.

His body stood for a few seconds and appeared to shrug. It finally fell to the floor almost as an afterthought. I placed my sword back in its scabbard, its bloody job complete. Looking down, I saw Hermes’ head roll around on the floor, stop, then begin to roll back in the opposite direction. It stopped by my boots, then turned a full 180 degrees before looking up at me.

His eyebrows went up for a second, then assumed their normal position. He smiled a crooked smile before speaking.

“You win, Captain Jack,” the head said. “You have passed the test. Her heart is yours... for all time. You will never see nor hear from me again.” With that, his eyes glazed over as the pupils opened wide.

I looked at Liz. Immediately after Hermes spoke, the pendant exploded in a hundred pieces and the chain holding it around her neck fell to the floor. She blinked her eyes rapidly as though coming out of a trance and her face instantly changed.

Liz looked at me, her eyes wide. She smiled widely then began running toward me, her arms open wide. I saw a flash of light and looked down to see a heart-shaped medal hanging on my uniform jacket. By the time I looked back up, Liz had wrapped her arms and legs around me and was smothering my face with wet kisses.

I kissed her back, hard, my eyes closed. God, I missed her so much.

“My husband,” she moaned. “You came for me. You rescued me.”

“Of course, baby,” I said. “I’ll always be here for you.”

We kissed each other more, our tongues wresting. I opened my eyes for a moment and realized I was... back on our couch, in our living room. What the hell, I asked myself. Liz looked at me with tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong, babe?” I asked. She looked at me, tears running down her face.

“Jack, I almost did something horrible to you, to us,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked. She wiped her tears and looked at me.

“We finished our case today, and we won,” she said.

“Congratulations,” I said. “You deserve to celebrate.” She shook her head.

“No, I don’t,” she said. “John wanted to celebrate, but he also wanted me to spend the night with him. I’m ashamed to admit that I was tempted for a bit, but then your mother called.”

“Oh?” I asked. “You were tempted to sleep with John?”

“Yeah, I was, but only for a moment. I’m so sorry,” Liz said. “Anyway, your Mom said she had some of your Dad’s things and I needed to come get them. She said there was something in them I needed to give you. Something having to do with your great-grandfather. I can’t explain it, but I just felt like it was real important, like our marriage was at stake or something.”

“What did you do about John?” I asked.

“Well, that’s just it,” she said. “He kept following me around, said it would be just like old times and what you didn’t know wouldn’t hurt you. Then I remembered that I had missed your father’s funeral because of the case and I started feeling guilty.” She looked at me, more tears coming down her face.

“I realized that I’ve put you on the back burner these last several weeks,” she said. “I admit, I got so wrapped up in this case that nothing else mattered. Then John came along and for a moment, it felt like we were back in college. My God, Jack, I’m so sorry, you’ve been so patient with me and I put you off like you were nothing.” She dabbed her eyes with a Klennex.

“Then when I got that call from your mother, it was like a light bulb went on in my head,” she said. “I suddenly realized that I put my whole family off just for this case and I was this close to cheating on you,” she added, putting her thumb and forefinger close to each other.

“I told John I had to go see your mother and he got pissed at me, right on the courthouse steps,” she said. “He threatened to tell you that we had been having an affair if I didn’t go with him. He said that the pendant I wore was a reminder that I belonged to him.

“That really pissed me off, so I ripped it off my neck and threw it on the concrete,” she said. “It broke into a hundred pieces. I ran off and went to your mother’s house.”

I looked at the coffee table and noticed the cardboard box sitting there.

“Is that where you got this?” I asked. She nodded her head.

“Yes,” she said. “Your mother told me this wild story about your great-grandfather and how he supposedly rescued a woman from some sultan in north Africa at the turn of the 20^th century. Your mom said the woman was so taken by your great-grandfather’s bravery and elan that she fell instantly in love with him and married him. Your mom said she had a special medal made just for him and she suggested I read the inscription on the back and pin it on you.

“I thought she was being silly until she showed me this picture,” Liz said, pulling out the old leather scrapbook he remembered from his childhood. She opened the book and pointed to an old black and white photograph of a young man in a Marine Corps officer’s uniform, circa 1905. With the exception of a pencil-thin mustache, the man in the photo looked just like me. I remembered that picture, but the last time I saw it, I was just a young boy.

“Jack,” Liz said, “that man looks just like you.” I had to admit she was right. Next to that photo was another one of my great-grandfather standing with some of his Marines. I recognized Sgt. Carson and Cpl. Spivey.

“I feel like I know those men,” I said. I turned the page and saw an old map, folded up and placed in a plastic bag. It was the map to the fortress. One corner of the map had been cut off. A chill went up and down my spine as I looked at the map. Jill sensed something was wrong.

“Are you alright, babe?” she asked. I shook my head.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I feel like I know these men. I remember cutting the corner off this map with my sword.” She looked at me, confused.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Maybe it was all just a dream,” I said.

“Well, this isn’t a dream,” she said, holding the medal. She turned it over and read the inscription on the back, tears falling down her cheeks. “My heart is yours... for all time,” she read. She looked at me with love in her eyes before pinning it on my shirt. She kissed me deeply and I held her close. “Forgive me?” she asked when we broke our kiss. I looked into her eyes. God, I loved this woman with all my heart.

I thought about her confession, her admission that she was tempted to sleep with John. Part of me was furious with her for that, but to be truthful, I had also been tempted many times over the years. I also realized that when the time came, she made the right decision, just as I had all those times I had been tempted. But I had concerns.

“What about next time?” I asked. “What if John comes on to you again? Or what if the company brings in some other hotshot lawyer who tries to sweep you off your feet?” She shook her head.

“Oh God, no,” she said. “That’ll never happen again, Jack. Please, I’ve gotten my wake up call.” I considered her words and wondered what my Dad would say. Could I really not forgive her for being tempted, especially after all the times I’d been tempted? I made my decision and bit the bullet, hoping it was the right thing to do.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” I said. We kissed again, holding each other for dear life. We stopped when the doorbell rang. Jill got up and answered the door.

“Debbie,” she said, “come in.” A shorter woman wearing a short dress came into the room. She was clearly upset about something. “Deb, this is my husband, Jack,” she added, introducing me to her. Debbie looked at me before speaking.

“Jack?” she asked. “That’s you? Your name is Jack?”

“Yes,” I said, wondering what was going on. Debbie looked at Liz before speaking.

“Liz, John is dead,” she said. Liz brought her hand to her mouth.

“What happened, Debbie?” she asked.

“Well, we all went to the club from the courthouse,” Debbie said. “John was upset that you weren’t there, but he danced with all of us anyway. I was dancing with him when he suddenly grabbed his head and fell down on the floor. He rolled around for a while like he was in pain. He said something about a Captain Jack winning something, then he died. We called 911 and the paramedics came. They said he could have died from a brain aneurysm, but they would have to do an autopsy before they could say for certain.”

“Oh my God,” Liz said.

“I tried calling you, but it went straight to your voicemail,” Debbie said. “Anyway, the senior partners said we could all take the next couple days off. I gotta go now, Liz. We’ll talk later.”

As I listened to Debbie, I had to wonder just how much of what I had experienced was real. Liz looked at me after Debbie left, concerned.

“Jack, you’ve been acting strange ever since I got home,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

“Honestly, babe, I can’t explain it,” I said. “Maybe it was all a dream, but it seemed so real. I’m afraid if I tell you that you’ll think I’m crazy.” She came over to me and wrapped her arms around me. I looked at her pretty face before speaking again. “You know, I’d do anything for you. I’d storm a fortress for you. I’d kill a hundred men if that’s what I had to do for you.” She smiled and kissed me.

“I know you would, babe,” she said. “And you’re not crazy. I’m the one who’s crazy. I should never have let that asshole John get to me and I should never have let my job come before our marriage. I promise you it’ll never happen again.” She touched the medal on my shirt. “Besides, I’m yours for all time, remember?” I smiled, then kissed her.

“I’ll never forget,” I said.

“Good, because I won’t let you,” she said. “Now, give me a couple minutes to get ready and come take my fortress.” She smiled on her way upstairs. “Just do me a favor and turn the TV off before you come up, please.”

“Sure,” I said, picking up the remote. I looked at the television, noticing that a Twilight Zone episode was ending. Suddenly, the scene shifted to a grim-faced man wearing a suit while holding a lit cigarette. The man looked right at me before speaking.

“Was it a dream? Was it reality? Or was it a mix of the two? You be the judge,” he said. “But this one truth is very real. A love that stands the test of time is a very rare commodity in... the Cheating Zone.” He smiled, winked, then took a drag off his cigarette, the smoke swirling around his head.

Fade to black...