Anti-assimilation army: A Flame

Chapter 1: Opportunity

Six-month-old Joax giggled as his father tickled his little feet. “Watch out! Here comes the tickle monster!” said Joel, much to his wife’s amusement. 

“Tickle monster, eh? You should talk! You’re quite ticklish yourself!” accused Alex.

Dismissing the outrageous idea, Joel snorted and pretended to be unsurprised that his wife knew his ticklish weakness. 

“Me, ticklish? Nonsense.” 

While he was preoccupied with Joax, he failed to notice Alex approaching him from behind. Tickling Joel’s neck with a feather while doing likewise under his arms, her husband yelped with surprise before squirming away laughing.

“I guess the tickle monster isn’t as tough as he seems, eh?” laughed Alex.

Shaking a finger at his wife, Joel went back to getting Joax ready for their afternoon walk. Having to take care of a little one less than a year old, they figured they would re-enter the workforce when Joax turned one, giving them some time off to spend together as a family.

“So, where’s your brother off to now? The Russians have left Canada and the Americans aren’t a threat anymore, surely there’s nothing left for the AAA to do?” asked Alex.

“I couldn’t agree all the more. He’s rarely home and when he is, it’s only for a short while. Last I heard he’s on a training mission in the North Shore Base, probably preparing for World War Three or such,” said Joel, shaking his head. “I can’t help but keep remembering that dark cell me and my brother were locked in while we were sent to the Canadian internment camp. It was the first time I had seen him looking so depressed, as if he was drowning in hopelessness.”

As they wrapped their bundle of joy in a plethora of clothes and blankets, the toddler was put into a stroller, and pushed out the front door into the warm Fall afternoon. They walked leisurely through the athletic park near their house in Cloverdale, and admired the rays of sunlight despite the fact the days were getting shorter and shorter as summer neared its end.

As Joax babbling quietly, Alex quickly fussed over his blankets and gave him back his pacifier, which he had promptly dropped from his mouth.

“I wonder what the little guy is saying. Perhaps thanking his doting parents for loving him so much,” said Joel hopefully.

“More likely complaining that he’s hungry and needs a diaper change,” chuckled Alex.

“A right old terror, spoiled to the bone, aren’t you?” Bringing his face close to the toddler and putting on a giant fake smile, he started singing a song complaining about his son while pretending to be nice.

We once had a son, our only firstborn,
Thinking parenting was like an afternoon sun,
Instead he was a frightening storm,
Caring for him was like lifting a tonne.
Waking us up in the middle of the night,
Depriving us of a good-night’s rest,
Sometimes he would give us a fright,
Climbing out of his crib and making a mess,
But no matter the wrong, it all was made right,
He is still our son, our pride and joy,
For sore eyes his affection is quite the sight,
Stay safe in your slumber, our little boy.

Joel smiled as he finished off the last line of his song and Joax had dozed off, snoring gently in his seat. Alex gave a thumbs up, once again impressed with her husband’s improvised singing. 

“Your singing is a real treat Joel, could you sing me a love song when we get home?” she said quietly.

Joel chuckled, “of course, but promise me you won’t laugh at me. I’m pretty sensitive about my singing abilities.”

As they walked back home before it got too dark, they then unbundled Joax and whisked him up to the nursery, where they placed the slumbering toddler in his cot.

After washing up and shutting off the bedside lamp, the entire family fell asleep, awaiting the next morning, and dreaming of what tomorrow would be like.

As the rays of sunlight crept into their room, Joel and Alex woke up groggily as they answered a call from Joel’s mother.

“Yes Joel, your brother’s back for a few hours. Thought you might want to say hello before he leaves again. Oh, and he also wants to see how big Joax has grown in the past few weeks.”

Joel rushed to pack all the essentials for travelling with a toddler, while Alex focused on making a quick make-shift breakfast on the go. She also made sure Joax was drinking his milk; a quick substitute for the puréed food he would usually be fed normally in the morning. After their son was finished, they got him in the car seat, strapped on the seat belts and drove to Brian and Samantha’s house, which was a mere five minutes away in Cloverdale.

Pulling up in the driveway, Chris’ iconic new truck confirmed the fact that Arthur was home, and as Joel shut off the engine, his brother opened the front door.

“Joel! It’s been a while!” said Arthur, rushing out of the house and hugging him the moment he got out of the car. Nodding to Alex his attention then focused on Joax, who was awake and starring at his uncle.

“And who do we have here? You’ve grown so much since I last saw you Bud! Can he talk yet Joel?” asked Arthur.

“Once in a while he’ll blurb out some baby talk, but it shouldn’t be long before he starts imitating our speech, or so the experts claim.”

Samantha came out and ushered everyone inside, before putting a kettle on boil to make coffee and tea for everyone. “The Hayes will be coming by to say hello later as well. It’s a rare treat to have you home Son.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be home more often. We’re really busy at the AAA, you know, preparing defences, building critical infrastructure, and not to mention training new recruits to strengthen our numbers,” said Arthur apologetically, shuffling his feet.

“Don’t worry Son, we couldn’t be prouder of you and what you do to keep everyone safe.” Brian assured, patting Arthur on the back.

Hearing the doorbell ring, Brian quickly opened the door to let Josh and Natalie inside. 

“Arthur! How goes it my man?” asked Josh enthusiastically. 

“Pretty good Mr. Hayes, keeping busy and staying out of trouble,” said Arthur smiling.

“I’ll bet you do, here, take this. It’s a gift from me and Natalie. I hope you like coffee.” Handing Arthur a gift card, Josh shook Arthur’s hand and gave him a quick hug.

“Thanks Mr. Hayes, actually we go to this coffee shop almost every week. Thanks a bunch!”

As Samantha gestured for the men and kids to sit in the living room, she worked with Natalie preparing a light brunch before Arthur leaves in the late afternoon. 

While Samantha cooked sausages, bacon and eggs in separate pans, Natalie went about making pancakes packed with blueberries and sprinkled with powder sugar. They also toasted several slices of bread to be served with peanut butter and strawberry jelly. 

As the food was being set on the table, everyone began to take their seats, eager to dig into the delicious meal. When the final dish was set, everyone dug in and no one enjoyed the food more than Arthur, who had gotten used to fast food joints or hastily put together meals at home.

Drowning his pancakes in syrup, it captured the scrutiny of his mother, much to the amusement of everyone present. “Arthur! Stop putting so much syrup on the pancakes! You’ll be drinking sugar!”

Arthur replied back cheekily to his doting mother, “I’m not sweet enough, so I’m compensating. Let me be!”

Samantha laughed along with everyone else, but replied back disapprovingly, “If you eat any more sugar you’ll be jumping off the walls!”

Hearing Arthur and Samantha politely arguing was too much for Alex, as she burst into laughter and couldn’t stop for a good few seconds. As the giggles died down, suddenly the tone of conversation became serious, as everyone realized how much they had missed meeting together over a meal like this. 

“So do you plan on staying with the AAA till you’re grey and old?” asked Joel, breaking the awkward silence that had stolen the spotlight. 

“That’s the plan, at least for now. The guys at AAA need me, and I’m literally Chris’ 

right-hand man. Would be detrimental to our members if I left the job. As I promised before, I’ll never leave without saying goodbye. You have my word.”

Soon the time to leave was upon them, and Arthur gave hugs all around before getting into Chris’ truck and driving back to where he and Chris lived.

As Chris heard Arthur pull up to the driveway, he opened the front door and greeted his apprentice, asking how the meeting went.

Arthur feinted a smile and simply gave a thumbs-up before rushing to his room as a tear threatened to drop down his cheek. Chris knew that Arthur missed his family dearly, and part of him felt bad that he had physically taken Arthur away from them. But Arthur’s contribution to the AAA could not be underrated, and Chris knew that when the day came, he would make a good successor to govern the Western Division of the AAA in his place.

But for the meantime, he left Arthur to think things though alone, knowing that intruding on him while he was emotional could be insensitive to Arthur and just make things worse. If he talked to Arthur too soon, he would just hide his feelings, burying them deeper in his heart, rather than letting it all out and sorting out the thoughts that made him emotional. 

While Chris never had children, nor did he have any experience taking care of children, he felt like a father to Arthur, as if he were his own skin and blood. But he also admitted, being a father figure to a young man was challenging to say the least, but in a way, he was glad that he wasn’t alone and that he could pass on all his knowledge and skill to an upcoming leader with tremendous potential.

As he looked up at the dimly lit stairs, he shook his head and kept reading his magazine, holding it together but not without feeling sorry for his apprentice.

After a good hour of waiting, Chris went upstairs and knocked gently on Arthur’s room, asking if he was alright.

Arthur opened up the door quickly, smiled, and responded back, “Yeah! Everything’s fine, why?”

“Just asking, you know, just in case you were, feeling down after visiting your family. I would feel the same way too if I saw my relatives.”

“Sorry for worrying you old man. The more you worry the more wrinkles you’ll get,” said Arthur with a smirk.

Swatting at the cheeky apprentice, Chris reminded him of tomorrow’s agenda. “Don’t forget, we’ve got a full day of work tomorrow. We’re heading over to Abbotsford to fix some border-control fencing,” reminded Chris as he went back downstairs. “You know, if we get there early, we could try out he corn maze they have there. Maybe have a few corn on the cobs?”

Arthur’s eyes brightened up with the mention of a corn maze, like a child being told they were going to a theme park. “Really? You mean it? Awesome!” 

Chris laughed at the enthusiasm coming from Arthur, and shook his head before going downstairs, reminding him one last time to be ready on time tomorrow: “Remember, we have to get up early if we want to go have some fun first. Good night, Bud.”

As he closed the door, Chris headed for his room and sat on his bed, contemplating how ready Arthur would be for their next big mission.

Soon, both men were sleeping soundly, dreaming of eating sweet corn on the cob, and winding through the endless fields of corn in the famous corn mazes.

At the crack of dawn, the blaring ring of his alarm clock jolted Arthur awake, and he groggily shut it off before staggering to the washroom, where he splashed cold water on his face to wake himself up. 

“Finally up Bud? Breakfast’s on the counter whenever you’re ready to eat,” shouted Chris from the kitchen.

The blast of wintery mint freshness invigorated Arthur as he brushed his teeth, then he bounded downstairs while struggling to put his shirt on at the same time.

As Chris saw Arthur entering the kitchen, he helped him with his shirt and handed him a plate of hashbrowns and sausages with a few packets of ketchup saved from previous meals. 

Arthur yawned as he flicked away a piece of sand in his eye before accepting the breakfast plate and began eating with a voracious appetite. 

“Slow down there Bud, don’t want to get indigestion,” said Chris as he slid a roughly fried sunny-side-up egg onto his plate.

Arthur nodded his thanks and acknowledging the warning, he paced himself while eating, chewing as he seasoned his egg with salt and pepper. 

Chris meanwhile, sipped his cup of black coffee, having eaten his fill earlier in the morning. “If only your work-ethic was as strong as your appetite Bud, you’d be unstoppable,” lamented Chris. 

“A soldier marches on his stomach, or so the saying goes,” said Arthur with a smirk on his face.

Chris smiled mischievously with a glint in his eye as he responded, “I disagree. Personally I think a cattle prod would work just as well as the promise of a hot meal.”

“You start poking me with an electrical stick and I’ll call you Cattle Captain, or maybe Bovine Brigadier,” said Arthur as he finished chewing the last morsel and handed Chris his plate.

“You call me either of those and you’ll be utterly in trouble.”

Then they both laughed out loud after the corny pun and prepared to head off to Abbotsford on the eastern side of the Fraser Valley. 

They then got in their car and drove along the Number One Highway, watching as suburban sprawl gave way to farms and bushland, creating the illusion of a seemingly untamed rural environment. As they neared the city of Abbotsford, they paid a visit to a nearby farm which had advertised the return of the corn maze famous in that part of town. Unfortunately for them, the maze was still not open yet till late September, and they were forced to turn back empty handed.

Chris saw the dejected expression on Arthur’s face and laughed heartily, pounding his back to reassure him that they would return once the maze did open. “Patience Bud, patience. It’s an important lesson we all must learn in life. Not everything will be on time, but each will come when it’s ready. Speaking of time, I think it’s time for a coffee break. Gotta visit the restroom. Still got your gift card? We can use it while we’re there.”

Arthur nodded his head and got out of the truck, entering the coffee shop with Chris who encouraged him to get in line while he went to relieve himself. After washing up, Chris was astonished to realize the line hadn’t moved an inch, and an impatient looking Arthur was still in the same spot where they first lined up. Ahead of them, one of the customers was taking her sweet time choosing a variety of drinks and baked goods, creating a backlog at the front, snaking around the counter and even past the door.

“C’mon lady, we don’t have all day!” shouted one man who kept looking at his watch.

“Oh, I’ll have an iced coffee, with a shot of expresso and with whipped cream, oh and don’t forget the chocolate drizzle and chopped peanuts on top. Um, and also I’d like half a dozen donuts…” Bang! The man had enough and slammed the door as he rushed out the building in a rage. After a few minutes, several other customers followed suit, shortening the line a bit for Arthur and Chris.

Thankfully, the lady finally stopped ordering and paid for her nearly endless requests, much to the relief of the staff as well as the rest of the customers. 

As they approached the counter, Arthur and Chris ordered a donut and a drink each and paid using the gift card Josh and Natalie had given to Arthur. They brought their purchases into the truck, taking care not to spill any coffee in the still fairly-new vehicle. Chris had just bought the truck a month ago, and they hoped to keep the pristine condition of the truck as long as they could. 

Arthur sunk his teeth into the soft sugary donut and grinned sheepishly as Chris indicated there was icing on his mouth. As they devoured their sugary snacks, they drove to the temporary AAA base located on the outskirts of downtown Abbotsford. 

“Hey Chris! Glad to see you!” said a middle-aged man, who instinctively gave Chris a hug.

“You haven’t changed a bit Wayne, how are things holding up here in Abbotsford?” asked Chris.

“Oh, nothing exciting to report. We’ve got some extra boots on the ground thanks to you guys, but I’m afraid there’s still a shortage of muscle around.” As he noticed Arthur beside Chris, Wayne immediately shook his hand. “And you must be Arthur! Chris’ wingman I presume?”

“Err…You can call me that, but I’m just an apprentice.”

“Not just an apprentice, the only apprentice Chris has ever taken in his whole time in the AAA. You’re one in a million Kid.”

Swelling up his chest in pride, Arthur smiled back and followed the two men into the board room, where the defences to protect the Eastern Fraser Valley were being discussed.

“Now obviously a wall across such a lengthy portion of the border is impossible, so we’re open to ideas on the floor. Germaine? Alan?”

“Perhaps we could do a retreat and burn strategy if the Yankees do attack. You know, let the Canadian winter do its thing.” All eyes turned on Arthur, who immediately was embarrassed; shocked even by himself at having the courage to put forth an idea.

“That is one option, thank you young man, but of course this would mean evacuating Abbotsford, which is a tough task to do. But, if the Russians could do it to Napoleon and Nazi Germany, I believe Canada can do the same,” said Wayne as he pulled out a topographical map of Abbotsford. “Now another problem we have is that the Americans can easily dam the rivers and streams near Sumas to essentially flood us out of our homes. The troubling problem is that we cannot prevent them to dam the rivers as it is under their territory and jurisdiction.”

“Then we could dam the rivers upstream before they flow into American territory. The tributaries all start on our side of the border, we could even block the Chilliwack River from where it diverges from the Fraser.” After Arthur spoke, there was much sage nodding of heads and agreement with the young man’s wisdom and knowledge.

“Most impressive Mr. Lee. It looks like you have a general in the making Chris,” laughed Wayne and the rest of the board. Even General Ping, who was visiting as well, gave Arthur a thumbs up after his interpreter relayed his suggestion.

After the meeting, Chris pounded Arthur on the back, praising him for his courage to speak up, but at the same time chastising him for risking ridicule if he had spoken foolishly. “You nearly gave me a heart attack Bud! It’s a good thing they liked your plans, otherwise I would have been embarrassed for life! Future general indeed! Humph! You’re still wet behind the ears!”

Arthur stuck out his tongue in defiance before chuckling and settling down, reminiscing about the meeting.

As he started the engine, Chris began the long drive back to Cloverdale, turning on the radio to one of the few channels that had reopened since the invasion. Listening to the classical music, it wasn’t long before Arthur dozed off, drooling as he usually did in peaceful slumber.