Battlefields

CHAPTER 6 – II

Across Seattle, bombs exploded. Fires raged. Breathing slowed, then ceased. The scale continued to escalate. As both sides heard rumors of troop recruitment by their adversaries, they increased their own ranks, thus driving the other side to ratchet up themselves. The cycle resulted in the evolution from clans to gangs to small armies consisting of family, friends, tribesmen, business associates, mercenaries, religious followers, ideologues, and those just looking for some adventure. Law enforcement was on the payroll of Geryman’s side, but they were offset by the labor recruitment of his siblings. Neighborhoods were divided, forced to take sides. Those who maintained neutrality found their homes, lives, and livelihoods threatened all the same.

The battle atop the hill
A stronghold to be held tight
Blind loyalties and sentimentalities
Bled the invaders white
The battle beneath the swamp
Pistols, knives, and teeth spill blood
Those unwounded yet exhausted
Lay drowning in the mud

In Portland, the efforts to find Urissa were extensive, excessive. As the patience of her pursuers diminished, so too did the median lifespan of the residents. Buildings went up in flames across the city in attempts to draw her out. The city’s inhabitants fought back against the transgressors, would-be oppressors. Seattle’s conflict had come to them. This scene would repeat itself again and again as Portland would repeatedly serve as the battlefield for outside forces in the years to come.

For a brief time a life may be considered innocent
Your Sunday best eventually becomes filthy
Injustice can turn anyone into a belligerent
How does one reasonably determine who’s guilty?