Book 1: LIFE

Chapter 6:

THE WHISTLE

The Master was sitting in his chamber, the wall of fire burning behind him, though it was dimmer than usual. He sat with his arm propped up on the arm rest and his hand was tapping his forehead impatiently. It had been a year since Zhong's disappearance. A year behind schedule and Aitoku had already begun to fade in his power. Something had to be done.

Aitoku had merged back into the group, with a few privileges thrown in as well by the Master. He had unlimited access to the Master's house as well as extra portions during lunch. He had also been given a whistle, the first in the world and straight from Pathigo no less. He hung it around his neck and never took it off, even when to bathe. Sometimes he would play with it for fun, much to the annoyance of his bunk mates.

"Cut it out, Aitoku." One of his bunk mates shouted as he rolled off his bed from fright at the shrill sound.

"I'm sorry." Aitoku sputtered through his laughs. "It's just so much fun to break your little dreams up. Especially the one about the girl…"

"Shove out." The man shouted as he threw a pillow at Aitoku. Aitoku dodged it with more laughter and climbed up into his bunk and tossed the whistle around for a while between his hands.

"If you love it so much, why don't you marry it?" a man asked as he settled back into bed from all the commotion.

Aitoku didn't answer, then again he hadn't paid attention to the question long enough to understand it.

The day was dark the next day as another murder was reported, not three towns over from the army barracks.

The procedure was the same. The army invaded the town, set up shop in the main government building, questioned some villagers, and filed a lot of paperwork. "Thank you, miss. I'm sure your missing spool of wool is vital to our investigation." Aitoku moaned as he jotted down the useless information and the lady shuffled away.

Aitoku leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes as he set his brush down. "Could you take over for me for a while?" Aitoku asked a fellow soldier. The soldier took up the brush and began interviewing the other housewife in line while Aitoku moved outside to get some fresh air.

He threw himself into the grass and picked a large stalk to stick in his mouth. He sat there chewing it for a moment as he pondered where the man might be. There was no question about it. It had all of the markings of his craft. Zhong had killed the man, but where was he?

"He's probably long gone by now." Aitoku said to himself as he took the stalk of grass and twirled it in his hands. "Or maybe he isn't." Aitoku thought out loud. "I'm sure Zhong wouldn't have gone far from here. And if he is this close to the army barracks, he must have some agenda down here." A plan began to form in his mind and he settled himself to be on the barracks all night if need be.

Night fell heavily. Aitoku had been on the wall since dusk and was getting slightly cramped from having to sit in the same position since. He had been watching the barrack gate since that time too and was getting slightly bored of looking at a door too. He had not taken a light up with him either, opting for stealth and having night conditioned eyes than for comfort.

Near the morning, a strange noise was heard. Aitoku sprung up from his spot and leaned over the wall. "Who's there!" he shouted to the wind. Whatever it was took off and Aitoku's eyes had not yet adjusted to the heavy darkness and lost the person's trail long before he had darted into the woods.

Aitoku wasted much of the morning up on the wall as well. "Hey, you want anything to eat?" a comrade yelled up at him as he extended a loaf of bread with some soup in the middle.

"No thanks. I need to see him." Aitoku shouted down as he kept a weary eye on the woods, certain that the figure had disappeared into there.

"Well…alright then." The comrade said as he bit into the bread and walked away. Aitoku was certain he had seen him last night, but this night he had a different idea.

This night, Aitoku sat up here with a large cloth covered item at his feet. He was leaned over the wall, same as last time. He was canning intently, knowing that tonight would be the night he would find him again.

There was a small rustle in the brush on the outskirts of the barracks. Aitoku kept his mouth shut as opposed to his outburst the previous night. He slowly bent down and grabbed the bundle. He counted slowly in his head, his eyes adjusting to the darkness long enough to notice a figure making their way towards the wall and then off towards the barracks gate.

Aitoku threw the cloth off of the lantern and chucked it over the wall. It shattered over the ground, scaring the man and spreading light throughout the area. The blaze spread quickly as the man darted through it and away into the woods, blinded by the sudden light. Aitoku was over the wall quickly, a rope attached to his waist as he repelled downwards.

He untied himself and ran towards the woods, off near where the man had run as he heard the shouts of men from inside the barracks, no doubt reacting to the wildfire outside their gates. Aitoku raced through the dry brush and brambles, stopping every now and then to listen to where the sound of racing feet was heading away from him. He turned past an old, uprooted tree and began to hear the footsteps become muffled and fade away.

Aitoku sprinted now, determined to keep pace with the man and to not lose him. It was then that he took a misstep and found himself tumbling down a hole and into an underground room, filled full of candles and supplies. Aitoku sputtered to his feet. He heaved himself upwards and felt a sharp pain ring across the top of his head. He crumpled to the ground, clutching his head with all his might as he rolled on the floor.

"Aitoku?" the man asked as he bent down and pried his arms away from his face. Aitoku seemed to forget the pain for a split instant when he noticed the disheveled man now peering down at him.

"Zhong?" Aitoku asked as he tried to bring the pain in his head under control. Instantly he felt himself pulled into an embrace by his old friend and he returned the gesture. Zhong was laughing happily as he looked his friend over.

"Well, you seem to be doing well." Zhong examined.

"I wish I could say the same for you." Aitoku commented as he looked at the disheveled appearance of Zhong. He was covered in dirt and muck and his clothes were ripping and his beard had grown into a wild forest of tangled hair.

"Yeah…I know." Zhong said as he looked down at his unkempt self and quickly got back into his good spirits.

"Where have you been?" Aitoku asked Zhong as he got down to the point. "You left me back at the campsite a year ago and I haven't heard from you since. What's been going on?"

Zhong seemed hesitant to answer. He merely dropped his gaze and tried his best to avoid Aitoku's eyes. "I've been doing…stuff." Zhong replied silently. Aitoku didn't buy it.

"Zhong. You were my first friend." Aitoku began. "We all know about the new murder. Whatever's got you so up on this killing thing, you can tell me."

Zhong perked up at the words and turned to Aitoku, a puzzled expression on his face. "New murder? The last guy I killed was that one a year ago. And even then it was justified. The Master said it needed to be done and that I was a hero for doing so." Aitoku tried his best to get his bearings while Zhong seemed to be glaring at him for answers he didn't have.

"Okay." Aitoku began as he stumbled along his train of thought. "Then why were you running if the killing was justified?"

"The Master said that would be the best thing to do." Zhong said. "He told me to stay out of sight and mind until he could settle things with the rest of the troops about the situation."

"Wait…" Aitoku said as he grabbed his head. "But the Master never said…anything about you being innocent. Are you sure those were his orders?"

"Of course they were!" Zhong shouted. He noticed the alarm on Aitoku's face and caught himself. "Sorry…I'm just….frustrated."

"I am too." Aitoku replied. "I'm just trying to sort this all out just as much as you are."

"Okay then." Zhong responded.

"Now, then, if that is all true, why were you coming back here tonight and last night? If you had nothing to do with the new murder, then why come back here at all?"

"The Master called me back." Zhong answered. "He said he had something to tell me. New orders. He so said some of the guys still didn't quite understand the whole situation with the murder and that I should be careful about who I spoke with when I returned."

"Was I one of them?" Aitoku asked, afraid to meet Zhong's gaze.

Zhong pondered for a moment. "Thankfully, no."

Aitoku heaved a sigh of relief and continued. "So, you've been wandering around for a year just waiting for the Master to give you some orders?"

"That's about it."

"Well, okay then." Aitoku said happily as he clapped his hands together. "That settles it. There is still this business bout the new murder and I'm not quite sure…" Before Aitoku finished, he had already fumbled along the collar of his shirt and pulled out the Master's whistle and had given it a sharp blast.

Zhong covered his ears from the shrill sound as Aitoku let the whistle fall from his lips. "What was that about?" Zhong asked Aitoku angrily.

"I'm…not sure. Just felt like the natural thing to do." Aitoku answered. There was a quick pounding of feet before the soldiers entered the cave. Zhong barely had time to look left before he was on the ground and his hands were being tied tightly behind his back.

"What's going on?" Zhong demanded as he struggled. "I thought you guys…"

"Shut it, Zhong." His old captain shouted at him. Aitoku was in as much shock as Zhong was.

"Actually, what is going on?" Aitoku asked.

The captain looked at Aitoku awkwardly. "Exactly what the orders were. You were to blow the whistle when you had found Zhong and he was ready to be captured. That fire was a nice way to get us prepared by the way. Nice thinking."

Aitoku looked down at Zhong and their eyes met, Zhong's full of anger and disbelief. He was dragged to his feet and brought kicking and shouting back to the barracks. Aitoku slumped to the ground, amazed at what he had done. "But why did I do it?" Aitoku asked himself as he held the whistle in his hands. His frustration with the truth built to the point where, with a shaking hand, he chucked the whistle into a dusty corner of t cave and stormed out, heading straight for the head honcho.

Zhong's ankles were strapped to the chair as he heard the continued whispers from the onlookers. Many amazed at how bad Zhong looked after a year and even more at the disbelief that such a merited man would ever be found on this side of the law. A scout hurried into the tent and placed a letter down on the table, the Master's fresh seal on it.

"He wanted you to read it." The scout said as he turned and walked out of the tent. Zhong grabbed the scroll and broke the seal and read the note carefully. He smiled and then looked around shiftily. With a sly hand, he grabbed the hidden knife and snuck it into his shirt.

He tent opened again and the offers came to bring him to a cell on the barracks until he could be moved to the prison off in the north. Little did they know of Zhong's new task and little did Aitoku know the mission waiting him when he stepped into the Master's chamber.