《One In The Chamber》


 Chapter 1

    Bits of wood and white dust exploded above my head as I knelt over the polymer box. I kept low to the ground to avoid being shot. My ears rang and everything was muffled as I went back to pulling out the equipment I had left inside. Plate carrier, check; Bug out bag, check; Magazines, check; Pistol, check; Rifle... Shit!


    After I pulled out everything and put it on, the most important part was gone! I felt the bottom of the dark box as only a few dim rays of sunlight came from the bullet holes in the exterior wall behind me. I felt around again. Then again, but there wasn''t a rifle. "No! No! I should have-"


    I was suddenly pulled off the box by my carrier and came face to face with my brother. I could see his lips form words, but my ears rang and each word was muffled. Maybe he saw my lost eyes, but he figured out I couldn''t understand what he was barking about. He looked over me quickly as he made sure to keep checking the entrance to my room.


    Once he was done, he pointed to his rifle and pointed to my box. I quickly conveyed my confusion with my head and hands. I could see him bite back that stupid f.u.c.k.i.n.g snarl he always gave me when he knew I f.u.c.k.i.e.d up something really important. One that I would have gladly argued with him over, but more bullets tore through the wall again and he jerked me towards the door.


    I got to my hands and feet as my brother kept low by the doorway. He was fully geared up with his HK416, full package plate carrier with a few grenades, a screen on his forearm, and a large kevlar helmet on his head. He was going through his backpack and pulled out a device that was the carbon copy of the one on his arm, just white rather than the black casing.


    He did some voodoo jumbo stuff with it before he threw it to me. It bounced by my hands and he gestured to put it on. The device had four straps on each side of it that connected to each other. I slipped it on and left it tight. When I looked up again, my brother slid me over a large headset that crashed into my hand. I didn''t ask this time and put it on. The muffled noises around me became even more stifled by the headset. He pulled his pack onto his back and checked his rifle. He then got adjusted his grip and stepped into the hallway. The hallway flashed erratically as he let out a burst of fire in the hallway before he stepped back into gesture for me to follow.


    He slipped away and the dust swirled in his tracks.


    I quickly scrambled after him with a bit of effort as my limbs shook with fear and adrenaline. When I stepped into the hall, I saw the slightly obscured figures of my brother''s squad members peel of their positions on both sides of the staircase. That part of the house faced the neighbor''s home, no more than fifteen feet in distance from ours. When I got closer, I saw it was riddled with bullets and all the windows were shot out. The scent of gunpowder filled the air along with a heavy scent of iron and something else.


    Out of nowhere, my brother grabbed my arm and I yelped in surprise. My hearing had already begun to clear up with the help of the headset and I heard a slightly muffled. "What the f.u.c.k?" From one of his squadmates. "It''s nothing." My brother barked at him. "Your bro sounded -" He was cut off by my brother "If you have time to comment on Kian, you have time to secure the area." As the leader of the squad, my brother''s word was law.


    ["Don''t gotta be so protective, Jacob."]


    A voice popped over the headset''s speakers before my brother growled into his microphone. "The package is moving." Ooo, he''s pissed... I whispered in my heat as my brother led me to where my dust-covered boots were by the top of the staircase. I cleared away the hot brass at the top step and sat down. I reached into them, grabbed the socks inside and tried to put them but my nerves played hell on my motor functions. "Hurry up!" My brother yelled at me as he waited for me a few steps down. "I''m trying!" I squeaked back. "Why..." He was about to berate me, something he had usually done, but he stopped.


    I looked at him, glad of it and finally managed to finish with the boots. For once, I was glad I slept in my jeans. I got up and tried to hurry down the stairs, but Jacob was still there. He looked at me, with a sad tint somewhere in his eyes before he pulled my headset off and brushed my hair back before he replaced the headset. I felt a little weirded out at the sudden tender care he showed, but his scold returned back as he forcibly led me back down the stairs. Somehow, it felt like I might have imagined it.


    By the time we reached the first floor, my hearing returned and I could hear jets fly past overhead as well as distant explosions.


    I looked up at my brother who towered half a head over me as I waited for some sort of explanation, but none came and he led me through the kitchen to the backyard where his squad was. "This is Kian...?" One of the men posted by the large French doors said. He didn''t have a helmet on, just a headset like me. His confusion showed on his face as he sized me up, probably to compare me to my bear of a brother next to me. Jacob was wider, larger, and all-around ¨C much more of a bear than a human in my eyes than me. "I thought you had a sister for a moment." He chuckled before my brother grabbed one random piece of d¨¦cor and threw it at him. Ah... My iPad... It wasn''t a piece d¨¦cor; I reside that observation.


    The delicate piece of tech flew through the now windowless doors and landed in the grass beyond.


    I couldn''t fault my him though. I did look feminine, especially when placed side my side by my brother. My brother let me go. "Stay in the kitchen. Get some water. We need to secure a new route." He said as he let go of my arm and I took his suggestion. The communication line buzzed with activity as more and more people talked as they tried to formulate a new plan. Apparently, they were supposed to get me out of here by car, but since everything had gone to hell; They had to check their options.


    I looked back towards the front door and saw that it had been blown apart. A few other men were there on standby. I wanted to say something witty and edgy about this lonely shit hole of a house was finally going to come down, but I couldn''t. I felt sick and afraid. I ventured off to the bathroom beneath the staircase. I hung the headset on the towel rack and splashed as much water over myself as possible.


    I could still hear the buzz of activity on the comms while it was hung and I could only stare into the mirror as I took deep breaths.

 Chapter 2

    My soft feature face was more akin to a girl than a man. My shoulder-length brown hair had been swept back and pieces of drywall were still stuck in it. I pluck them out with my hands. In all, aside from my countenance, I was an average guy, aside from being a smaller build than the average guy. At 5''7" I was still in the acceptable height range. I had nice bright hazel eyes. I focused on the face in an attempt to ignore that armored plate carrier I wore. It was out of place with my features as the white t-shirt sleeves poked out. God, I look pitiful... Like a kicked puppy...


    suddenly hardened face, square-jawed with mean eyes appeared above me. "Hey!" He hissed. His eyes looked on my kicked puppy face and his expression cramped. I turned around. "Hey... Sorry... I just..." A myriad of emotions flickered through me. I wanted to complain about how he couldn''t just treat his abandoned kid brother with some sympathy when the house was literally raided. How that two high up career soldiers who were the literal guardians of one teen could not see a war coming to their own home town.


    But I couldn''t. I only felt the tears well up in my eyes and I began to hyperventilate. "Woah, Woah! Hey. I didn''t-" I only hugged him tight and kept all my words inside. We stood there for a few seconds before I felt the headset slide back over my head. "Sorry for the yelling, but we need to go." The touching moment was over, but I felt better. We both cleared our throats and I stayed on his tail. No one commented on my looks as we all filed with haste into the backyard.


    We crossed the large green yard and filed out the back gate my dad used for its stupid RV and came out in a large paved alleyway for backyard access. I looked back and saw the suburban McMansion I had grown up in, but I didn''t have time to reminisce or feel any heartbreak as two jets flew past us overhead; their guns roared violently the chaser tried to shoot down the front jet.


    A few gunshots rang out a few streets away, or maybe it was in a house down the street, but it was soon met with tens of gunshots in response before the world fell silently momentarily before more explosions.


    We quickly crossed the alleyway and came out near the border of the HOA. The main road leading to the guardhouse was empty aside from a few dead bodies. A few of my neighbors I could tell from their fancy clothes. We followed the road to the gated entry and exit ways where cars had piled up, into a heap of smoking mess. Blood splattered around the gates were the unlucky elderly folks had been gunned down by someone. The guardhouse had been completely blown apart, my best guess was an airstrike, but I wasn''t versed in whatever formal way they determined that.


    Both vehicle entryways were blocked by cars, we had to exit through the entry gate since it was open enough for us to walk through. It had been blocked from opening more, but it couldn''t close on one side with another car in its way.


    ["Bear One to Oracle Actual, over."] Jacob called out over the radio.


    There was a pause as he waited for a reply.


    ["This is Oracle Actual. What is your status? Over."] Shit. It was my dad.


    ["Little Willow retrieved. Roads are blocked. We''re hoofing it to his favorite supermarket to the east of the complex. Requesting pick up at that location, over.] Jacob said as we crossed the deserted four-lane road and the lot of the gas station. It was entirely empty, but it was the only cover since there were only open roads and parking lots all over.


    ["Acknowledged. Do not let him get hurt, over and out."] Dad replied over the radio


    The about of gunfire around the city was beginning to scale up, but most of it appeared to come from the west. Using the gas station as the center, the home was to the west. North led to the commercial side of town while if we kept east, we''ll stay mostly on the residential side. The main part of the city was south of us and housed most of the high-level figureheads of the state as well as plenty of very important civilians. I quickly got that we were in the middle of being invaded so I came to the conclusion that east would have been relatively safe.


    That was until a few bullets skipped off the concrete by my feet.


    Sparks jumped with bits of concrete and I quickly flung myself across the refill bays to the storefront. Everyone called out "Sniper!" as everyone followed after me.


    "You''re a f.u.c.k.i.n.g rabbit! Haha!" One of my brother''s men laughed, despite the situation. I couldn''t say anything back, as much as I wanted too. No one looked surprised by the sudden attack. We all rushed inside the station as ballistic cracks chased after us. Once inside, no further shots rang out.


    "Did anyone get a visual?" My brother asked everyone. Everyone shook their heads before he looked to me. "You okay?" I gave him the thumbs up, but I figured my pale face was enough to tell him my mental state may have been shot instead. I hid deep inside the store behind a rack of ch.i.p.s and candy while everyone else, but one guy, kept to the front. The stray cleared the backroom for another exit. I felt my heart slow down while took some deep breaths and I saw a Three musketeer bar to my right as I crouched down.


    "What the f.u.c.k are you doing...?" One of my brother''s men asked me. He was the closest to me and took cover by the checkout counter center of the room. He had turned to me when he heard me open the candy bar.


    "Stress eating." I muttered back as I chewed viciously at it like a starved rabbit. He looked at me in awe before he chuckled. He looked around and saw a mini-fridge by him; he pulled out a few Gatorades from it and rolled them at me with a thumbs up. What a bro. My brother was, along with two other men, were in the middle of locating the sniper when he popped on the radio.


    ["What the hell are you two doing back there?"] He said.


    ["Your little bro is stress eating back here."] The guy who rolled me the Gatorades responded back.


    ["Kian, how are you eating in this situation?"] Jacob asked and I heard the amused tone in his voice.


    I was surprised by how casual all of them were in this situation, but I only shrugged in response.


    ["He shrugged.] Gatorade man replied to my brother for me.


    ["Kian, there are three buttons on the right earpiece. Use the top one to talk."] Jacob said. For a trained Special Force Operative, he sure forgot that his little brother was not a soldier or a military geek.


    ["You rather I just have a freakout, or do you want me to stuff my face?"] I replied with a half-joke-half-serious tone while I chewed on another bar. To be honest, I would have much preferred the freak out rather than stress eating.


    ["Eat to your heart''s content, just don''t go overboard, or stick your head up."] Jacob replied with a sigh.


    ["Can''t you just, like, stick a pair of sunglasses out to trick him into shooting?"] I asked. Ah, he''ll probably regret that he showed me how to use the comms now.


    No response came, but I could hear his hushed curses from here about how that only worked in movies. A few of his men joked back with him. I heard one of them agree and said he''d do it. A few seconds later, a few bullets tore through the storefront window.

 Chapter 3

    "Holy shit!" One of the soldiers laughed "It really f.u.c.k.i.n.g worked!"


    The laughter was short-lived as a barrage of bullets began to cut through the store. I threw myself down just before the snacks around me exploded into mists of oranges, whites, and other colors that made my choke on the dustified snacks.


    Glass shattered, metal sang, and I heard pained screams as I quickly pulled myself across the store like a meth-fueled lizard. Gatorade man pulled by my vest''s back handle and pulled me out of the zone of fire.


    ["Tangos on the Wal-greens! Tangos-!"] My brother''s voice cut off as another hail of bullets tore through the storefront, forcing me and Gatorade man to retreat.


    Dadadadadada-!


    Gatorade man stuck up and returned fire from the back of the store, which, unfortunately, faced the wal-greens. The return fire was short-lived as I felt a weight slam into my back. I yelped at the and thought I had been hit, but the pressure kept pressing me down. I turned to see what it was and... Gatorade''s bloodied face looked back at me...


    I stared in shock, his nose was ripped in two and he was missing his right eye. Blood was gushing from his face and... his neck. It pooled on the floor amongst the scattered snacks and glass. It wasn''t like in the video games or movies; bits of other... things. mixed into the blood. A bit of pink was mixed in and... I threw up everything I had eaten just a few moments ago. Now I struggled through throw off the soldier as the blood and vomit mixed under my chest. The stench... God... The stench was indescribable.


    I cursed myself, my dad, my country, and every other entity I could think of as I struggled to even turn over. This man was in full gear too, which added hundred pounds onto this man who had nearly a hundred pounds over my. I was just an average pretty guy, not built like the bear the other men in the family were. In this moment, I had finally wished I had been.


    The weight finally lived and I was dragged forward across all the bodily fluids. I saw bloodied boots and felt a few hot casings hit the back of me. The world felt numb and I only heard the rapid thumping of automatic fire. Shell casings were dropping on my right, but it all felt¡­ Unreal.


    Free of the weight, I slowly heaved myself to my knees before I was pulled back down by my brother. Somehow, this felt like a deja vu moment as he yelled at me, but I couldn''t understand what he was saying. Rather than being deafened by gunshots, I think my mind was short-circuiting.


    I just stared back at him, my thoughts a haze as I tried to wipe Gatorade Man''s bloodied face from my mind.


    I just spoke to him¡­ We¡­ He was alive.. I thought as my brother only scowled and pushed me down. I wanted to get back up, but he kept me down effortlessly. The floor was covered in a mixture of sodas and water as the refrigerated section had been peppered with bullets. Blood swirled in the sugary mixture beneath me as.


    Just when I tried to get up again, I felt my whole body momentarily shudder. The liquid mixture on the floor also became disturbed, more than when the shells were landing in it. The floor shook and that was when I felt the world come out of its monotonous state.


    "Take that motherf.u.c.ker!" I heard my brother call out. "F.u.c.k yeah!" He hollered as he removed his hand from my back. I could hear distant shouting. I got up and realized I had been dragged away behind the large foot island where they heated their little shit rolls and shoved them into those little bags. From where we were, we had a perfect view of the building across from us. The Wal-greens that was just on the boundary of the HOA I lived in.


    The storefront sat on raised land, just like the guardhouse and the office for the HOA; Unlike the HOA, the storefront and its parking lot was smoking.


    Before I could register why my brother was howling, I saw the storefront be torn apart my several small explosions - Like those videos of Chinese people setting off a bundle of firecrackers, but much, much more violently.


    BURERERERERE - BRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTT!


    I recognized that iconic sound as an A-10 Warthog.


    BRRRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-!


    Followed by another pass seconds apart.


    "Good hit! Good hit!" My brother yelled over the radio.


    I heard the roar of the planes overhead as they circled around and my brother pulled me with him.


    "Let''s go!" He yelled.


    . . . . . .


    Run. The only thought that was in my head.


    That was all I could think as I hauled my little brother after me out of that godforsaken dead trap. With most of my squad down, we were practically f.u.c.k.i.n.g shrimps to any large enemy element. That didn''t help my friends though. Jackson had laid in his own blood. He was the first one to die and we hadn''t even noticed him drop on contact. I felt that sink to the pit in my stomach when I thought about that.


    Anderson and Kelmar also died but in the store. All that was left was Preacher, Hernadez, Kian, and I. We had already lost others when we tried to secure the house. I hadn''t expected that. I was more concerned with securing the last member of my family, my precious little brother. Though in hindsight, I hadn''t treated him so precious in the years previous.


    I don''t know if the house was a target for the forces, or they had just been canvassing the neighborhood, looking for anyone important. None of us would know, and the information wouldn''t stem the loss of my friends. But at least Kian was safe...


    We stopped in the hedges just off the old Home Depot lot, one of those large corporate home improvement stores that existed before the resources became scarce. Just beyond the hedges, a four-foot concrete wall sat. It offered us cover from that abandoned store and the hedges offered us concealment from the street. For once, I was happy that politicians loved their appearances more than they loved saving resources, or the whole damn street would have been baren.


    I looked back at my little brother. His body was much too small to be related to us... too... much like our mother. But I had to remember that it as pops and I that were the irregularities. We looked like walking tanks, muscular and "Manly." It took a lot to remember that. Even when crouched, Kian was much smaller than me.


    He had such a pretty face for a boy, and if I didn''t know he was a boy, and my brother; I could have more than certain take him as a young pretty girl. He had long disheveled hair. It wasn''t that he girly, but his looks were effeminate, or maybe the word was androgynous. With each passing year, he even began to look more and more like our mother. Not that he didn''t before...


    I had to pump the brakes on my wandering thoughts. It was a cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k of a situation. Whenever family became involved, one of the few things I learned to only care about, came under attack - I just wanted to blindly beat the issue into submission. I couldn''t take on a foreign army, and the rogue state to the north. No. I could only run and take my family away.


    In Kian''s hands was the HK416 that Anderson had used, along with two spare magazines I had shoved into Kian''s vest. I never wanted him to kill anyone, to have that taint his soul, but I would much rather turn my brother into a sinner than have him dead. Even if I had to die, I would get him away from here.


    The thoughts had only lasted a few seconds and Kian felt my stare. He looked up with those trusting eyes, those innocent lost eyes that had just seen someone die in front of him. I looked away, guilty for something I hadn''t even done, but I had a mission. A mission to get him out of here.


    I brought my Onboard Tactical Assistant Device, OTAD, and flicked through a few menu options before I found the updated situation map of the area. Should we have been in our full battle gear, we would have been wearing the latest battle armor with cool-ass helmets that had a heads-up display and use voice commands to do all of this. Yet, we were caught with our pants down. Pops should be securing our gear and inbound to us.


    On the small screen, I saw my squad on the screen - Zulu Squad, Coded Bear for today - and the surrounding DC area.


    God... It was a mess...

 Chapter 4 - 4

    On a battlefield, there would have been controlled areas were friendlies or combatants held ground. Then there would be contested ground, where the combat was. There was none of the first element, but there was only contested ground. The on-board AI was listening to the radio traffic, no longer trying to breach the enemy lines, but fully devoted to transcribing the plethora of friendly comms. With our friendlies, two other hostile elements attacked us at once, but from what was happening, they didn''t seem to be friendly to each other either.


    Everyone was fighting everyone and each street was being fought for control or having already been drenched in blood and those streets were about to be recontested by the other element. This was a resource race, we were trying to protect our supply depots or secure reinforcement routes, but everyone else wanted those depots, and they couldn''t just bomb us to hell if they were to get them.


    The silver lining in the situation was that all the fighting was going on in the south and north. Their area was marked contested, but with a notation that it was only being marked for transportation to the battles. The contested came from the forces running into each other on their way to the resources. That meant the ambush at the gas station wasn''t actually meant for them, but transport.


    That made him feel even angry about the situation. All that blood and it hadn''t even been meant for them.


    A message came over his headset, by the robotic voice of his AI.


    ["Oracle Actual is inbound and requests the landing zone be secured. All friendly fighters have been scrambled and will tie up the enemy jets. All friendly and civilian elements have been cleared into the air to hide our EVAC."] The program stated.


    The plan made him feel even sicker but on the other hand, he didn''t care if he had to spend the lives of strangers if it meant he wouldn''t lose any more friend or his family. He lamented on the monster he was and looked to his baby brother.


    I do this so you do not become one... He thought, but his brother didn''t feel his stare.


    The air came alive as tens of jets soared overhead, screaming towards the south. For once in the nation''s life, all those spend dollars and they were all finally being put to use.


    "Secure the parking lot," I said into the mic. "EVAC inbound. We''re only going to have one shot at this.


    ¡û ¡à ¡ú


    Twenty Minutes prior...


    "Jesus!" I screamed.


    The television mounted in the control room showed the chaos that was playing out above. Bodies in the streets, planes falling from above. Even the new chopper had been shot down by a fighter jet just a few minutes into their broadcast. However, my co-worker, Devan, only kept playing Candy Crush on his phone with the same indifferent expression as aways.


    Both of us were Nuclear key carriers. On a normal day, we wouldn''t even be in the same section of the bunker. The sudden break out of war changed that quickly though. They showed us both into the launch room before they closed the door. We can leave, but they can''t enter without one of us opening the door.


    "Do you think they''ll call us to..." I turned back to him. "Do you think this is it?"


    The broadcast showed the sudden arrival of an entire armada of jets. Helicopters were beginning to take up the lower air space and the jets had to move higher into the sky to fight each other; Or risk crashing into the slower helicopters. It was strange. I wouldn''t have done that. However, they must have some sort of plan. Hopefully.


    Something in me said I had to do something, but what? In the movies, they always called their loved ones. I didn''t have a family, aside from a small little chihuahua named Luke. He was an adorable little brown dog with big eyes. It was unfortunate that he didn''t have the ability to answer the house phone though. I would''ve liked to see him one last time. The fighting hadn''t reached where our home was, but no doubt it would within a few hours if the fighting continues to escalate. That was the requirement to be a Keyholder. No family.


    Since the nuclear scare that after the third Cold War, presidents were no longer allowed to be to call in the nukes. That was entirely left to the army, with no contest from the political body. They had fallen into a convoluted mess of infighting that never ceased. Hell, there were even whole websites dedicated to the congress brawls that almost always broke out every week.


    However, none of that mattered when the world above broke out into an all-out war. While both of them had different beliefs from their NCOs, they were still soldiers. Soldiers that would turn their keys and input their confirmation codes once that red phone rang. Though, I highly doubted they wanted to destroy whatever valuable resources were left.


    I heard the soft roll of Devan''s computer chair as he rolled away. I watched him curiously, but he only rolled into the station''s small kitchen with his phone. Most likely went to look into what goodies the higher-ups stocked for us. I turned back to the television, my eyes always looking at my neighborhood when the camera would pan past it.


    Nothing there this time...


    The newswoman began to shout, informing us that more and more people were jumping into the fight below. Political groups, cults. Anyone and everyone who had a weapon began to filter into the fighting. The camera panned a few more streets. Yeah, it became even more hectic down there.


    They kicked the proverbial hornet''s nest... I thought.


    Click.


    I heard something just behind me and turned. I came face to face with Devan, who pointed a pistol at me. My thoughts studdered for a few moments. I wondered if I was just not seeing it correctly, or if I was actually looking down the barrel of a gun.


    "Its nothing personal." Devan said as he lowered the barrel to my stomach. He pulled the trigger.


    I flinched at the bark of the gun. My ears rang from the powerful gunshot that echoed through the room. I felt something warm dribble down my leg... I looked down and saw a small circle of blood that stained my uniform on my stomach. I had also pissed myself. I looked back up to Devan, not sure what was going on. I only knew he had a gun and he shot me. We weren''t friends, but we usually saw each other during briefings and lunch...


    I thought we were cool...


    Devan''s lips moved and I knew he was talking, but only the ringing existed in my ears. He shook his head before he pulled out two small orange ear plugs from his ears. He gave me a weary smile before he pulled my keycard off my shirt. I wanted to stop him, but the blood... There was so much blood coming out of me.


    I tried to get up, but I didn''t have the strength to do it. Maybe I was just entering into a state of shock. I didn''t know, but what I did know, was that there was already a small puddle of blood beginning to form under my feet. Then Devan appeared before me again. He only slid me aside and went back to the launch station. There was another one in the room now and the blast door was wide open.


    I mumbled some words, a warning that this was illegal but they paid no mind. I called out again to tell them they didn''t have my code. Yet again... They ignored me as they inserted the keycards into the two different consoles on different sides of the room in unison. The room turned dark red and they both inputted codes and the room turned dark green.


    They... Didn''t need my code?


    That was odd, but not as odd as that I was bleeding to death here. Further exploration of the situation came up with a strange thing... I really didn''t care. I only cared about that stupid dog I was leaving behind. The world was shit, this place was shit, and only that innocent little pupper was worth living for. Pure and happy. The only living thing I cared about in this world.


    I fumbled for my phone and inputted the code. I was going to look at that those stupid videos I always took of him, but my phone was snatched away. The newcomer took it. He looked pissed, but I only wanted my phone. Before I could try and fight for it back, Devan had taken it from the man. He looked at me and I only said one word.


    "Superman." The name of that damn dog I had.


    The man nodded, tapped on my screen a few times before he handed me one the phone. It showed that little rut running in circles as I walked through the front door. It was a short video, and a pathetic one to want to see as I was dying, but Superman was my little guy and the only thing I had come to look forward to when I went home.


    The only regret was that he and I wouldn''t be moving to that nice house after my retirement in a few months.


    "Nuclear missile launched." A faint robotic voice broke the ringing in the distance.

 Chapter 5 - 5

    "They''re fighting again, Mom," I whined, half bored, half just... Tired. I sat on a chair I pulled up to her bed, and laid my head on its edge. I stared at my mother''s face, pale and sunken. One of the machines tied to her beeped in short, constant, intervals. Another helped her breathe. She looked so peaceful. In contrast, I could hear my older brother arguing with my dad in the hall. It was because of something Jacob said. Something that neither I or dad wanted to hear. That Mom was going to go away soon. We all knew it, but it was... It was something none of us wanted to think about.


    "You shouldn''t have opened your goddamn mouth!" I heard my dad scream at my brother. I wondered how long it would take for a nurse to stop them, or maybe everyone else was scared of the two bears clawing at each other in the hall. My eyes burned from the dried tears. I just wanted some peace. More than that, I wanted Mom to open her eyes. I wanted her to wake up and stop them from hurting each other.


    Without her here, we were tearing each other apart. Dad hadn''t slept in the house in months. Jacob stayed at his friends and I was left all alone in that big house. Just the other day, Jacob started yelling at me the moment he walked in when I tried to hug him. Because I was happy that, for a moment, I wouldn''t be all alone anymore. I didn''t understand anything anymore. The world was just... Broken.


    "I can''t wait to join the army, then you can''t say shit!" Jacob barked and I hear the two of them going at each other. I was scared deep down. That one of these days, they would hit me too. I wasn''t strong like them, and they were a lot bigger. Dad was twice my size and Jacob was right up there with him. Me? I was an average kid... Maybe just a little weaker.


    I remembered something and sat up. I pulled ruffled through my backpack and pulled out a sketchbook. "I drew something today!" I said to my mom. "Ms. Hensley says I''m a good drawer for a middle-schooler!" I beamed as I flipped through to the doodle I made in class today. I turned the book for her to see. Two hands holding a handful of California poppies; her favorite flower.


    "I suck at hands," I said with a small smile. "But I''m definitely good at flowers." The silence hung in the air for a few minutes. I knew she wouldn''t respond, yet, I had hoped she would. We weren''t whole without her. She had been like this for a month and we were already at each other''s throats. My uncles and aunts were already circling, asking about her will...


    I slumped back into the uncomfortable hospital chair, then I realized that I couldn''t hear the others anymore. I looked at the hospital door and strained my ears. Nothing.


    I turned to look out the window. It only took a few seconds for them to start arguing outside the hospital. I died a little inside at that. It seemed I was the only one who really loved her. None of them ever sat with her, and all they would do is argue when they saw each other. They rarely spoke with me, and recently, even began to avoid me. That was until Jacob and I had that little fight. That fight caused this fight, though I suspected it was just a good enough excuse to fight it out again.


    The few trees the hospital was allowed to have swayed side to side. I had a sudden inclination to find out if the breeze was nice. I got up and walked to the window. I unlatched it, slid it open, and a nice fresh breeze tickled me. It was colder than the hospital was. Mom was lucky that Dad dropped a lot of money on a VIP room with a real window that could be opened.


    I heard the guys screaming at each other, but I didn''t understand a word. Something else caught my attention.


    A woodpecker was going to town on one of the trees closest to the window. I was on the fourth floor, but the tree was almost trimmed bare. The thuds its beak made as it shredded the tree''s inside sounded eerily like machine gun fire. Then I looked down. A straight fall down. I looked to the woodpecker again, and it somehow seemed louder. I heard faint voices and I looked down again.


    "Get off the ledge, Kian!" Jacob screamed up at me, and I realized I was sitting on the window ledge, my legs swinging like it was just another day. Dad was gone, but I didn''t care. He was always gone. Always. Gone.


    I looked back to the bird, but this time, the tree was covered in blood. The bird''s attack roared just like a heavy machine gun. "Wake up!" I heard a different voice, and I fell forward.


    ? ? ?


    "Wake up, kid!" The scene was washed away and the sun was chased away by the darkness. The constant gunfire of the .50 Heavy Machine Gun, HMG, on the ramp lit the interior of the osprey like a strobe light. The man in front of me had blood smeared across his face. One eye was shut and bandaged; he looked like a monster for a moment...


    I almost screamed on reflex, but he covered my mouth with a bloodied hand. "Shut up!" He growled. After I had managed to regain myself, something that took a few seconds; he let go and handed me a rifle. "Get on the window and shoot those f.u.c.k.i.n.g shits!" He said. He quickly unbuckled me and pulled me up. He then guided me with haste towards the front of the helicopter before he stopped short of the final window. Where a dead marine was slumped over with an arrow in his head.


    "Take his place." He gave me a sharp tug before he disappeared down the hull, another rifle in hand. The concussive waves of the machine gun rattled me, but curiosity won over my fear. I could already tell we''ve crashed, and that there were a few people alive. From the man below, I could see that we''re in some deep shit. But not in the "We''re getting shot up" shit, but something stranger.


    I peaked out the gunner window and... Paled.


    Outside were hundreds of beady red eyes. They glowed in the distance, in between the trees of a forest slightly down. I pulled my head back, and just in time too. A few arrows clattered against the hull, and a few actually made it past the window. I slide myself into a small crevice as my heart finally began to race.


    "What the f.u.c.k!" I screamed internally. I was too scared to actually voice it. I wasn''t scared enough to not notice the sudden hellish situation we were in. I got pulled out of bed during an invasion, watched a few of my brother''s friends die; not to mention the city explode with nuclear fire. A small part of me wished that I was the Main Character in a show or something. I''ve had a good one-liner there.


    Or, maybe that was the shock talking.


    For once, since this all happened, I shook like a leaf in a storm. This was not a situation I had been prepped for. House assault? Yeah. People dying? Never seen it in person, but yeah. Nukes going off? Not really, but dad used to talk about it. Crash land somewhere and have hundreds of red-eyed monsters shoot arrows at you? No. F.u.c.k.i.n.g. Way.


    At least bullets would kill you before you knew what happened. I''ve seen enough TV to know that arrows hurt when you pull them out. I took a deep breath, pressed the rifle to my chest with its barrel up. I did not want to stick my head back out. I looked towards the ramp to see if I was even needed. Through the flashes, I could see a few marines pulled into the hull, unmoving. There were two other Marines, aside from the gunner, that had pulled whatever they could out to use as cover.


    One just used a pile of little green... kids? They looked like kids, but when I saw the face...


    "Goblins..." I muttered. Anyone who hadn''t lived under a rock knew about goblins. A few stories colored them nice, a few colored them pure evil. None of that mattered because they were the ones attacking us. Even though they were dead, their eyes still faintly glowed in the moonlight. They looked like little demons with their grotesque faces.


    "Okay, now or never, Kian..." I muttered as I pushed the rifle away. I hadn''t actually looked at what he handed me. I stared down at the rifle, it was an M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle or IAR. While I wasn''t versed with an M27, it was the same as a civilian AR; aside from the ability to be switched into fire modes.


    I racked the charging handle, with force. Something was sticking the handle. I didn''t want to think about what. A round flung out of the chamber and slapped my stomach before it fell; clattering against the floor. I gulped. Fear told me not to do it. Courage told me that I needed to fight. Sense told me either option would work and we''d all die - probably.

 Chapter 6 - 6

    Finally, another element won out. Pride. I was Kian Willow, the son of a prestigious General of the Army. My brother was a Special Operations Squad Leader, and I''ll be damned if I didn''t fight... The bravado was fake as hell, but... I had to do something, and it worked. I had gotten myself to calm down enough and I took a single deep breath.


    And I stepped back into the window and aimed.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The first shot went high and disappeared, but I wasn''t used to ACOGs so it was acceptable. The next shot ruptured the head of the first goblin was attempting to sneak through by crawling. Blood geyser''ed as it cut through the top of its skull. The third shot only kicked up the dirt by it. I got their attention though. I ducked behind the hull as another wave of arrows clattered against the helicopter.


    I waited for a second, nothing else came, and I shot back up. This time, I managed to place two shots into the second goblin as it tried to crawl back to the safety of its nearby rock. With the goblin''s side to me, the first shot skimmed the top of its head, but it seemed to only be a flesh wound as it continued its frantic crawl. The second shot landed center of its small neck and the goblin stopped. The third round kicked up the grass just behind it. The goblin began to thrash wildly, the rest of its small group deserted them in a mad sprint - only to turn into glittering crimson mists as the HMG turned on them.


    This time, I saw the attack before it came. A group of archers forty to fifty feet further from the group I just attacked. They were already drawing their bows and taking aim, but I dropped five rounds into their direction before I dropped down again. The whole length of the attack no more than twenty seconds.


    Click-Cl-Clic-Cl-Cl-Click


    There were fewer arrows this time. I jumped up to throw down more freedom, but a dull mechanical click responded to my trigger pull. I dropped down and brought the rifle up to my face.


    "F.u.c.k!" I screamed. The bolt was locked back, the breech open, and no round insight. I heard the clatter of arrows again and a few even managed to get through the window this time. "Sorry!" I muttered as I pulled the dead marine next to me onto his back. His carrier was drenched with fresh blood, and the strong whiff of it smacked me like I owed it money.


    I gagged and cringed. Another wave of arrows clattered above me, their aim becoming better with each volley.


    I pulled out all the magazines in his carrier, but he only had three forty round magazines full. The four were empty and one was bloodied to all hell. So I left those on the floor. I ejected the spent magazine and, purely on moonlight and luck, managed to load a fresh one in. I turned the rifle on its right side, felt the side up for the bolt-release and pressed it down. The bolt flew forward and the rifle jerked slightly. The feeling was euphoric, in an "I''m not going to die yet" kind of way.


    Another wave of arrows clattered against the hull, but they were almost too loud as the HMG fire stopped. I looked down the interior and saw them reloading it. I took this chance to pop back up and... A horde of red eyes began to close the distance between us as a sea of green began to encircle us...


    ? ? ?


    "F.u.c.k! F.u.c.k! F.u.c.k!" One of the marines cried out as a goblin managed to jump on him without hitting the roof of the Osprey. He fell down, and the disappearance of his suppressive fire allowed a few more to slip into the bird. Three... Then when we failed to kill one of the intruders, that one took down another marine. More began to slip in until only three of us were left standing. Somehow, I managed to keep calm. I didn''t feel... Scared. I kept the rifle on semi-auto and just pulled when I had a good shot.


    All I could do was keep my rifle trained on the window. The monsters swarmed us. We could hear them on the roof, jumping. Laughing. Even over the sound of gunshots. There was just so many. We managed to save one of the two marines that went down. But he was horribly wounded. His throat had been nicked when he fought off two of the little shits. The first one that went down... His head had been stabbed into a horrific caved bowl of brains and blood.


    Another goblin appeared in the gunner''s window.


    Bang!


    I didn''t think about it. I reacted on reflex now.The bullet hit the goblin''s chest. The monster was so light that the 5.556 NATO round actually propelled the goblin backward. It had a fifty-fifty chance falling on the ground, or off the cliff. Yeah. The nose of the bird was off the cliff and my window was on the cusp. I didn''t notice until I had seen the little green nightmares jumping on the windshield with rocks and sticks.


    I guess that was the only reason we had lasted this long. With only one direction of obvious attack, we had managed to hold them off. That was until the bolt of the M27 locked back and there weren''t any more magazines for me to grab.


    "I''m out!" I called out. I still had my XM17, but I didn''t know if the 9mm would be good enough to take them, at least, without mag-dumping. I only had a total of twenty magazines for my pistol, not including the one in the pistol itself. But it was all I had now.


    Before I could even bother to ditch the rifle, another goblin appeared in the window. The stars shined upon this one today because I only had a blunt weapon now. I bashed goblin with the butt of the rifle. My mistake, because the little shit grabbed the butt as it screamed an ear-piercing screech as it looked back. With such an ugly face, I was surprised I recognized fear on its face.


    I didn''t hesitate and let go of the rifle as I pushed again. The little green thing clung to the rifle as it screamed, disappearing below the edge of the window. I pulled my sidearm just as another one thought it was lucky today as well, but I gave him a welcome gift to the face. It was only a moment, but I saw its nose burst into a crimson flower as it fell back. This time, the window stayed empty.


    I turned my attention as I stepped further back until I fell back onto the c.o.c.kpit''s steps. The goblins charging in now. Two marines were standing and the others disappeared underneath the green murderous tidal wave.


    "Get up! Get up!" One of them screamed at me. I didn''t hesitate and scrambled further into the c.o.c.kpit until I was practically crouching on the instrument center console. The first marine went up the steps as the other one covered him, I kept my pistol trained, ready for him to move up... He never got a chance.


    The moment he turned, and neither of us could actually fire without mowing him down as well, several of the little murderous monkeys clung to his back and another knocked his legs from beneath him with an aimed stick to the back of his legs. He fell backward into the horde. We didn''t wait anymore as a goblin planted his bloodied feet on the first step.


    Bang!-


    Several holes emerged in the goblin''s chest as it flung back. Another goblin appeared. Then another, and another. Each one was mowed down until we began to alternate. He kept firing until he had to reload. Then I would cover him. That was until after the second reload, he was out and hand to use the rifle as a club. Without a beat, He went John Wick on one that got through as I tried to reload.


    It jumped at me, but the butt clubbed him in the mouth. I swear I saw teeth go flying, but it may have been my imagination. Now. Now, I was beginning to lose it again. I clamped down on a scream as another jumped at me before the marine could bring the rifle back around. I fell back on the instruments. I felt the windshield hit the top of my head, and I was thankful for the plate carrier I had one. I was sure I would have felt more than just that if I hadn''t.


    Without thinking, I kicked out. I saw a look of surprise just before my foot sent the goblin flying back into the next one before it could leap as well. There were only a few seconds before another would take its place, but it gave enough room for the last marine to swing again. Then I finally reloaded.


    And I cursed our luck...


    The next goblin wasn''t the strawberry shortcake doll variety. The butt of the rifle was caught in the hand of a human-sized goblin with big red eyes. Before I could react, a sword stabbed out and buried itself into the man''s stomach.

 Chapter 7 - 7

    ? Kian ? Willow ?


    P ? V


    The last marine stood on my right, in the small enclave that offered him protection against the horde. While the goblins had been focusing on me, as I perched onto the Osprey''s instrument console mid-reload; the Hobgoblin either knew he was there or mysteriously saw his attack coming. That I could have lived with, but it was the short rusty sword that been so effortlessly thrusted into the marine''s lower stomach that terrified me. The attack narrowly missed the plate''s protection and disappeared into the man.


    Instead of appearing out the other side, the back of his carrier bulged out. When the heavy material of the carrier ran out of the little amount of slack it had, the man rose up a few inches. It was as if only those two existed in the dark world that smelled of blood, filth, and gunpowder. The screams of the hungry horde that was so desperate to kill us died away, and in its place, a menacing cackle left the goblin''s sinister smile. The goblin jerked the sword side to side and the man''s eyes bulged, but he didn''t scream.


    Blood poured out like a pool that had just sprung a leak, along with the man''s organs. The wet plops as it spilled onto the floor and half onto the steps made my body run cold. Once the hobgoblin had its brief few seconds of sick fun, it pulled the sword out. The marine dropped to the creature''s feet and instantly crumbled. His hands slipped off the rifle''s handguard and the hobgoblin only threw it out the c.o.c.kpit. My vision became a tunnel as the monster''s focus was turned to me.


    Two large human-like eyes that burned red in the darkness, illuminated by the moonlight that poured through the window at my back, became upturned half-moons.


    "Girl." Its voice came out deep and raspy, almost a growl. "You''re going to be my prize for tonight." And then it smiled, with a different kind of sick look. He was undressing me with his eyes. I had seen plenty of men look at me like that. On a normal day, I would have happily mentioned I was a boy, but the words never came. Instead, my hands raced to open the magazine pouch.


    It seemed at that moment, the goblin also noticed I had a pistol in my hand. It must have known what it was because it lunged forward, grabbing the slide just as I slapped the magazine in. The goblin gripped the weapon before I could rack the slide.


    My hands shook as I raced to finish reloading. The vague self-defense training my brother nearly beat into me began to play as I kicked at the goblins hard and muscled chest. My boot softly thudded, yet it only seemed to excite the monster more. It began to laugh and an idea finally slipped into my head. Instead of pushing forward here, I jerked my arms forward and I felt the click rather than heard it. The lock had been disengaged.


    The goblin''s laughter died as it looked to its hand, also feeling the click. Its hand wasn''t over the chamber but on the front of the barrel. I took that moment to attack and drove the heel of my boot into its crotch. I didn''t know if the goblin had anything below, but it certainly didn''t wear anything above. Its ripped chest green was bare to the world, and as it turned out, so was its nether regions. I felt something hard, even through the hard rubber sole. I was all too aware of what I had just struck as the Hobgoblin roared in pain. His hand loosened and the slide rammed into battery on its own.


    Bang-Bang-Bang!


    The pistol''s bark was accompanied by several blossoms of fire and unspent gunpowder. One bullet struck its chest, off right. Another one grazed its left shoulder muscle. The last one punched through the roof of the Osprey and attacked the sky. The goblin roared and thrusted the short crimson sword at me. I tried to dodge and threw myself to my right into the pilot seat... The sword still found me but unlike the marine, the sword struck me center-chest.


    The force stole the air from my lungs and pummeled me into the seat. Thankfully, I hadn''t landed back to the seat. I could feel my back try to pivot on the joystick and the window against my head. I could feel my ribs bending in past the point I thought no ribs should have ever gone. I was sure a few broke. Yet, it made a mistake. Probably in its rage and desire to strike me down, but it didn''t grab my pistol again.


    I recovered before it could realize its costly mistake and blindly pointed the pistol toward its chest and fired off another four rounds that bite into its center chest as well. An eye for an eye. However, unlike what I thought would have happened, the hobgoblin reared back slightly in pain. Then it came forward, faster than I thought possible and grabbed both my wrists.


    Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!


    The goblin pointed the pistol away as the first shot went off and dug itself just above where I thought its heart should have been. The monster roared at me as it brought its face closer. I could smell rotten eat, iron, and something else foul. Its teeth were human, except it had four massive canines - like an orangutan. However, it didn''t try and kill me. After its quick bout of painful fury, it smiled even deeper now. Its eyes gleamed with primal sadism that made my heart skip with deep instinctual fear.


    "I''m going to enjoy raping you as I rip your limbs off!" His voice seemed almost loving, in a sick, and terrifying whisper.


    I let out a high pitch scream, something that I meant as a war cry, but I wasn''t known for my manly voice. I threw another kick to the goblin''s erect p.e.n.i.s. I struck with enough adrenaline-fueled strength that it bent, skimmed off and planted itself right into its sack. The moment I had made full contact, I watched all the Hobgoblin''s facial muscles contract with such monstrous strength, his eyes almost popped out. From the look at it, the attack must have done more damage than I thought I would have been able to inflict.


    I felt the sword ease up on me along with his death grip on my wrist. I aimed higher, planted my boot into his gut and sent its stumbling backward. I fired again, but he dodged and came up again to try and snag the weapon. I kicked him square in the face. It didn''t harm him, not from what I saw, but with my back against the proverbial wall - and a joystick on my back - I managed to steer him into the console beside me.


    "I''m going to kill you!" He roared as he grabbed his face. A dial had done me a favor and injured his eye. He clung to his left eye, blood seeping from between his green figures. His other eye looked less l.u.s.tful and more blood-l.u.s.tful. "I''m going to rip off your head and f.u.c.k your throat, little human!" It roared as it stood up. I hadn''t gotten a good view of the goblin before. Now I did.


    He stood close to my brother''s height, with more muscles than him. He could have been considered a handsome man, if not for the blood-covered face and snarling monkey teeth. In full light of the moon... Was his massive... I didn''t bother to finish my assessment. I already knew, alive or dead, that thing was not gonna go in me, not without a lot of blood.


    I brought the pistol up and in one smooth motion, pulled the trigger.

 Chapter 8 - 8

    Round after round jumped from the barrel, crossed the short distance between me and the enraged monster. The destination was the massive erect "limb." The first shot hit him high to the right, shy of an inch. The next round traveled down his barrel, shredding it as it cut through it. The next round was high left and afterward... I managed to drop the rest of the magazine into the shredded limb tree that was his groin.


    He didn''t roar but fell over backward silent as his nether region had been turned into a heap of ribbons by half a magazine of 9mm. His face was contorted in a silent scream, one that no longer registered my existence. I dropped the magazine and loaded another one, which turned out to be my second to last one. The empty magazine dropped into my lap, almost as warm as the beast''s blood that was now splattered across the c.o.c.kpit.


    I didn''t know what my expression was as I racked the slide back. All I knew was that if I was going to die, it would be in a pile of green bodies, un-r.a.p.ed. It didn''t occur to me that others could have been out there as well, but at this moment, it was me and him. The sick and twisted green monster that had enough force to do what he will. On the ground because of my last equalizer, the XM17. Its barrel still smoking from the last barrage I had unleashed upon the nightmare.


    Despite the pain, the hob heard the loud click of the slide and turned to me. Its face pale and its one good eye wide. And for the first time during the short fight, it reflected fear as I unleashed another barrage. The bullets tore through its nose, eye, and forehead.


    Bang-Bang-Bang-Bang-Bang-Bang-Bang---


    Even after his head fell limp, only jerking slightly with when a bullet made its home inside it, I didn''t stop. Not even when the slide locked back, and the chamber smoked.


    A harsh silence fell, only disturbed by a faint click.


    Click.


    Click.


    Click...


    ? Simon ? Erhn ?


    P ? V


    The pungent scent of death hung on the wind, accompanied by something that smelled like spent mana and sewer waste. Hundreds of dead goblins littered the ridge. Only a fraction of that scampered off to the east, the wrath of the Gods in their hearts.


    I surveyed the carnage, longsword in hand. It glimmered in the wake of the full moon; untouched by the filth of blood. It was not that I lacked the courage to face the monsters on the field of battle, but the adventurers attacked with such enthusiasm, none of the knights had a chance. I doubted most of the adventurers had ever worked together; they were B-Ranked teams. While they were just civilians, I had to admit; they were too effective at killing.


    I was sure the others Knights would see them in a new light, or at least, show more respect to them; but that did not matter right now. At most, the adventurers had killed less than a hundred goblins. I had a sinking feeling that they were not the reason they retreated. I turned around to the tune of my armor as it rustled and looked to the large dark maw of a metal contraption. This¡­ Thing¡­ Was the center of this carnage.


    It was only a week ago that I had stepped foot on this very ridge. Me and my wife, to settle our problems. It was beautiful then. The birds sang as the sun shone, and the wind danced across the grass. Now¡­


    Under the full moon, as if a spell had been cast over the ridge, the grass had been dyed red. Bodies were piled: two, three, and sometimes five high. Instead of the salty wind, there was only the smell of iron. The scent that drifted from the new addition on the ridge¡­ gave off an even stranger smell. Death, blood, and¡­ something similar to magic, but nothing of the sort. There were no signs of magic being used.


    As the adventurers were returning, I walked across the bloody field. The crush of grass was accompanied with a wet "splat". If anything, this was a massacre. Where the goblins willingly ran towards death and killed it. I passed a blood-splattered rock outcrop. Several dead goblins were torn apart by it. I wondered if it had been a melee weapon, or maybe- My thoughts froze when I saw the front of the rocks. It was pulverized, scarred, and pock-marked. I looked to the other rocks behind me. They were the same. I looked further back to the trees. They were the same.


    I turned in horror to the epicenter of the battle.


    "What''s wrong?" A lovely young woman, older than my wife, but younger than me, stopped beside me. She was dressed in a deep blue robe that went down to her ankles. While the b.r.e.a.s.tplate was the only visible piece of armor, I knew full well the rest was covered under the robe.


    "Mrs. Weichselbraun." I bowed my head politely, despite the circ.u.mstances. She only waved it off and I sheathed my sword. I pointed to the mangled goblin bodies beside the rock. "I''m afraid I do not know what kind of weapon, aside from magic, could do such damage." Before she could reply, I walked gestured to the rock face. "The rock is also badly damaged. I was here not but a week ago. I know that the rocks were not like this at that time."


    More adventurers walked up, led by Mr. Weichselbraun. He was slightly taller than his wife, but still shorter than I. He wore thin seeing glasses and held a clipboard in his hand. He and his wife were the Guild branch leader and vice leader respectively. While I made a point to treat others with respect, I took great care to treat these two with far more respect. I greeted him as I greeted his wife. I knew he would have been curious to our conversation, and I repeated my findings to him.


    His thoughts reflected mine. "I''m going to investigate the structure, would you like to come?" I asked.


    "Yes, but here." Mr. Weichselbraun pulled a spear from the hand of an adventurer next to him. He then held it out to me. "Confined space, use this."


    I took the spear and bowed my head with courtesy.


    I lead the way up the hill, flanked by adventurers while the other knights walked around the bodies; bored.

 Chapter 9 - 9

    In a few minutes, we quickly reached a strange structure and stood about a hundred feet from it. It was long and wide, tipped with a large metal barrel with small longer metal planks. The main body was grey while the smaller parts looked black. Strange symbols were painted onto the metal, symbols I could not translate. I circled the structure, careful for any living goblins. To my surprise, everything was dead. To an even greater surprise, there were other humans behind it, seven of them.


    A few were slumped over, pinned with several arrows to their heads and arms. The majority of them seemed to have been overrun by goblins; stabbed and beaten until they were bloodied. But they were still human. They wore strangely colored uniforms that had a blocky pattern. They also had cloth b.r.e.a.s.tplates with pouches attached to them. They also clung to metal staves and in between the bodies, hundreds of small bronze¡­ containers? It looked like it and they were sprawled across the ground around them.


    No one spoke, though I was sure we all had our own thoughts. I wanted to investigate the scene further, but something called to me. Like an itch. "Go to it." The feeling pulled me to the main structure. Without a word, I pulled away from the dead humans, and treaded carefully towards the large opening. There were nearly thirty feet of empty clean grass. Nothing stood between it and us. It wasn''t until we got within ten feet of the opening did we find more humans. Each one was surrounded by nearly thirty dead goblins.


    "A final stand." I muttered. I felt pride for them. It was apparent that these humans were strong warriors. From the wounds on the goblins, they fought like lions. I would honor them later for their courage. I looked around. There were at least three of the men, each dressed in the same attire as the others below. Each held their ground in front of the opening. The middle man defended the opening, where a strange metal object was attached to the floor. I couldn''t tell what the floor was made of as it was coated in bodies and blood, but it wasn''t something of this world.


    The walls were grey and inorganic. I peered inside and found it was dark until the end where the moonlight shone through a doorway and a few windows. In the moonlight, I could see a large pile of dead goblins and a single human. I kept the spear at the ready and a few of the adventurers moved forward. They cleared the goblin bodies by tossing them aside but treated the human warriors with the dignity befitting their sacrifices. Once they were moved, it became clear that it was a metal ramp and I moved forward, making sure that my steps held.


    Slowly, I proceeded through the dark hall. I waved the spear into around the dark floor. The head scratched against it a few times. My steps thudded hollowly against the floor as I stopped on the edge of the moonlight, the tip of the spear shimmered in the dark. I could hear the steps of the others behind me. Their steps as hollow as mine. The floor was not solid.


    My eyes scanned the doorway, saw no obvious movement and then I scanned the pile. None of them were mangled, but most of them had small puncture-like wounds to their heads and chests. I moved into the light, and I heard a small gasp¡­ Ahead of me.


    My eyes flung up to the doorway. The shadows moved frantically and I saw the shimmer of metal, something clatter through the doorway, and cursed. It was something small and elongated. It was a¡­ Silver device that held one of the brass items I saw littered around outside. Then I heard the fearful curses of a¡­ Girl? My heart skipped when I heard the despair, the loss of hope as she began to frantically move.


    "Mis-" Then the figure jumped at me. For a moment, I saw the flash of a slightly tanned, blood-splattered face of a girl leap from the shadow of the doorway. I almost brought the spear up to fight back, but I forced myself to let it slip from my grasp. It clattered onto the floor as my hands grabbed the frantic girl as she fought against me.


    "You''re not going to take me! I won''t let you have your way!" She roared like a fiery lion. Nothing but darkness filled my vision as I caught her. She struck at me, but her attacks had very little strength.


    "Shit!" I could hear the adventurers preparing to attack, but I wasn''t in a position to warn them that it wasn''t a goblin. I could only hope that they could hear what I heard and I forced myself forward into the light. My movements were limited in a full suit of armor, but I tried to be as delicate as I could with the girl. I could hear the anguish in her voice as she clawed at me, struck at my helm, and kicked at my groin. Each weak, but backed with the hopeless fight that any cornered lion could put up.


    Then she managed to get ahold of the edges of my cheek guard and began to claw at my face. It was then I saw the twisted face of someone pushed past the edge as I reeled back against the side of the structure. Her pretty face was splattered with blood, crazed empty eyes, and a twisted snarl on her thin lips. Between those lips, perfect white teeth¡­ Ah..


    "She must be a princess." Was the only thought I had as the shaft of a spear entered the corner of my vision. It struck the left side of her head and released me as she fell. She collapsed onto the floor, ontop the pile of dead bodies.


    "Holy shit!" A female adventurer stood on my left, wide eyes. "What the f.u.c.k was that?!" She looked at me, not believing what just happened.


    "Take her outside." I breathed. I noticed that I was breathing heavily. I was getting too old for this knightly work. The girl only looked at me then down to her before she slowly nodded.


    I could hear the commotion of the adventurers as they all tried to figure out what just happened. The adventurer dragged the girl out by hooking her arms under hers. She yelled at the rest to back out as she did. "Make f.u.c.k.i.n.g way, you stupid pricks!" She bellowed. Silence returned to the structure as I looked into the doorway. Curious, I stepped through the doorway and found a strange room. While there was plenty of interesting things to look at, the first thing that caught my attention was the man on my left.


    His organs were sprawled across the floor. I looked forward and saw the bloody rusted shortsword. I looked to my right and found a rather disfigured Hobgoblin. I stiffened at the sight. "Dear gods¡­" Had she fought this on her own and survived?! I looked back to the center, but there was only blood splatters. "Was that why she-" My thought was caught off as a voice interrupted my thoughts.


    "What happened?" It was Mr. Weichselbraun. I could not dignify her reasons with words and simply pointed to the Hobgoblin that laid mangled by the doorway. The Branch leader stepped forward and peered around the corner, only to gasp and jump back in shock. I nodded as he looked at me wide-eyed.

 Chapter 10 - 10

    ? Jacob ? Willow ?


    P O V


    Six Osprey helicopters flew into view, their rotors tilting upward as they came out of their plane-modes. They were flying in a Delta Formation as two broke off and the remaining four landed in the open parking lot, their left side to us. The beating of their propellers overpowered the distant fighting as an osprey circled overhead. Even at a glance, I could tell that it wasn''t an MV-22B Transport variant. It was a SAGS-22B, the Gunship variant our little operation had.


    SAGS models were a heavily modified version of an MV-22B. Outfitted with M230E1 Chain Gun, 38 Hellfire-70 missiles, and a rear .50 Caliber M2 machine gun. It was a Close Combat Attack heli on steroids. A normal Osprey didn''t have the capacity to operate as a gunship, mainly because it was designed for transport in mind. However, when a nation really wants people dead, money isn''t an issue. Unfortunately, each gunship had the cost of three Ospreys. Which was already a pretty penny compared to the conventional birds already in use, but they couldn''t keep up with an osprey.


    And the only two in existence was owned by our unit.


    The SAGS began to circle the area, their state of the art detection systems were already scanning the streets for targets. The transports weren''t normal either, yet, not as modified as a SAG. They placed emphasis on survivability rather than transport. Better engines, better armor, and better systems. Hell, we could probably take a few AA Missiles in those if needed.


    The ramps of the ospreys were already down and their ramp gunners eyeing the area as they waited for us.


    ["Hurry up."] I heard my old man''s voice on the comms.


    "C''mon, Kian." I called over my shoulder as I stepped out of our spot. I climbed up and over the short concrete rise onto the lot. I turned around only to see Kian hadn''t actually followed and knelt there, gawking at the SAGS as they circled. Fortunately, Preacher brought him along and I pulled him up. I could already feel the fatigue of today setting in. With gear pushing close to a hundred pounds and the loss of several friends, I needed this day to end. I was just hoping the universe wouldn''t make it happen with a bullet, though.


    The powerful gusts the helicopters made was cool on my face. The fresh polluted suburban air mixed with exhaust never felt so good as we walked towards the birds. I was about to ask which one we''d go on, that was until four marines burst out of the far front osprey and began to charge like mad beasts towards us. Medbags in hand. The closest front osprey also came to life as more of them came out of there... Along with our Dad...


    I already knew what was up when I looked back at Kian who was being shepherded by Preacher behind me. He looked conflicted, unconfident, and... Well... He was covered in blood. I stopped and so did Preacher, but Kian walked until he was next to me again. His hand found my forearm and gripped it for assurance. His face was pale to the point that I began to wonder if he was wounded. He wasn''t, but the amount of blood that had soaked into his carrier and pants looked like he was wearing all his blood.


    I didn''t stop the medics as they began to comb over him, no hair left unchecked. They didn''t try to strip him, probably on the man''s orders too. He didn''t like seeing Kian without his clothes on, despite the few times the old man and I had been n.a.k.e.d in a few saunas in the past months discussing missions. The joy in the situation was the medics had to play charades with Kian over to the roar of the ospreys. It got to the point that he just stared at them blankly. Defeated over his inability to understand the medics.


    A few seconds later, the old General joined us. He stood in front of us, looked to me with a scowl before he looked to Kian. He still held the bloodied HK416 by the handguard as he held his arms up as the Medics felt him down, and boy, Dad did not look happy about that. He reached out and gingerly took the rifle from Kian. The kid looked confused before he took one of the medic''s rifles and switched them; handing the clean rifle to Kian.


    He leaned in and said something. It was loud enough for Kian to hear from what I could see. Our dad pointed to the rear osprey on the closest row. Once he was done, Kian bolted away like a scared rabbit and quickly boarded it. Dad only looked at me and gestured to follow like you would to a dog. His callused demeanor sucked whatever joy had been festering from being able to get out of this newly opened shit hole.


    He turned and walked back to his bird as Kian''s osprey took off and left with one of the SAGS escorting it. I watched it go for a moment then entered to see an almost loaded osprey. On the right-hand side, there were enough open seats for all of my team, not just the ones that had survived. When we sat, he only filled half of them. An even shittier situation was that I had to sit next to ole'' grumpy. I felt the cabin shudder and the familiar gut sinking motion of lift-off.


    I took my helmet off and rested it on my lap. The cool air that assaulted my matted head was godly, and again, Dad couldn''t give me a moment of bliss.


    "Private channel!" He yelled by my ear. I held back the urge to frown and simply put my helmet back on. My headset was apart of my kevlar helmet. It was a new design to limit the number of things that had to be thrown on in a rush. At this moment, I wished that they had been separate pieces.


    I brought up my OTAD, flicked through a few menus and found the channel my dad was on. It wasn''t hard. Our family only had one private channel that him and I used exclusively with the hardest, and expensive, encryptions.


    ["What?"] I said coldly into the microphone.


    ["What happened to Kian?"] He asked just as coldly.


    ["My guy died, fell on him, and bled on him. Why didn''t you bring Kian with us?"] I asked back.

 Chapter 11 - 11

    ["He''s going to a safe zone with my personal guards. How did he die?"] He just didn''t want to let that go did he? At least I knew Kian would be safe, or at the very minimum, someone would have to go through a lot of effort to get him. Small victories are better than none.


    ["Why didn''t you see that coming?"] He growled. I felt my anger boiling in response. As much as the man never saw my little brother, he was quite an unreasonable asshole when it came to his safety.


    ["How would-!"] He cut me off.


    ["Don''t give me your f.u.c.k.i.n.g excuses. You should have at the very least, expected that they would do something like that. He shouldn''t have had to go through that! What if he had been injured!? Worse, killed!?"] He fumed. I kept my eyes straight on the marine in front of me, who in turn, kept his newfound interest in his hands. I could feel my dad''s eyes burning holes into the side of my head and I wasn''t going to fight it this time. Because it was true. I was too focused on getting Kian out that I should have expected something to be placed on an intersection.


    We could have crossed somewhere else, but I had decided to go for the easiest route because Kian was not a soldier. Easy routes normally mean the deadliest in my profession.


    That still didn''t stop the anger from boiling over. ["You don''t have to care about my well being, nor that of my men. But I''ll tell you, I did not intend for him to die and he didn''t. We got him out. We got him here. I lost men to do that, and if I had to, I would have given myself too. Even if you don''t hold me in high regard, I hold my brother higher than my life."] I snarled back but kept myself from looking back at him. A staredown wasn''t what I needed.


    Silence fell over the comms for a few minutes and I felt odd about that. I finally gave in to my curiosity and found my dad just smiling at me. It was a warm smile, not one of those pleasant ones he gave when he knew he was right. He turned away and rested his head against the cabin wall.


    ["I hold you in high regard."] He confessed. ["And... I was just scared I was about to lose Kian."]


    My eyes went wide at that.


    I wanted to say something to that, but the warm feeling of knowing he did care was the most foreign feeling I had ever experienced. It was like a dog that chases cars. He wanted it, and he''d run and run until he got it, but the dog wouldn''t know what to do with the f.u.c.k.i.n.g thing if he got it. That was how I could best describe it.


    And just like everything else today, the universe deemed it not to last.


    The cabin brightened as if someone had installed flood lights inside. The color fell away, replaced with blinding white light and inky black shadows. The light died away half a second later, replaced with the most deafening explosion I had ever heard. Even with my state of the art headset that helmet had, it rattled my very being. My head swiveled around just in time to see the largest mushroom cloud I had ever seen, followed with a rippling shock wave that ripped across the land like a tidal wave.


    I felt the searing heat before I felt the concussive wave. I felt my skin prick and fizzle on contact, then I felt the heavyweight of the concussive wave hit us. There was no warning sounds or flashing lights like in the movies. Half of me hoped there would have been, but not even the sound of the rotors reached me. The only sound I heard was that of the atomic wind blowing.


    As if the sudden explosion of a nuke wasn''t enough, more mushroom clouds appeared in the distance. My mind stalled, as did everything else on the bird as we saw the fallout as the bright blue sky replaced it. And we all felt the shift in the G-forces.


    "Mayday! Mayday! We lost all power!" I could hear the pilots now without the assistance of radio, though those were gone too. I didn''t feel afraid. Not like when Kian had been in danger. I felt calm, composed. The whole situation was serene as none of the troops spoke. We only held onto our rifles and watched the sky grow larger through the open bay door.


    Black tendrils danced across the hull and I heard something like lightning. Then everything went black.


    Then light reappeared, but in the form of moonlight. We could see the glistening waves through the doorway and... that was it. We were so far up that the scene that we saw through it could have been some angelic painting.


    "What the-" I heard one of the pilots. I felt the serene atmosphere pop by their panicked voices. I''m sure the rest of the men felt the same as we all looked to the c.o.c.kpit entrance. "Doesn''t matter! Try and get the controls online!" The other screamed.


    Then I heard a soft humming in my ear. Not like static or when you get shell-shocked. Literal humming. A girl''s humming. Angelic and sweet. It followed a simple melody. It went on and it was oddly calming. "You guys hearing this?" I turned and asked Preacher.


    "Yeah." He nodded without breaking his glare on the pilots. "F.u.c.k.i.n.g fly boys can''t even keep calm." That answered that question.


    Then after a few more seconds, I recognized the melody. It was oddly like "Will the Circle Remain Unbroken." There weren''t any words so I couldn''t tell which version. I began to hum along to the tune, because why not? It was most likely that I had finally cracked and the humming was just a figment of my imagination.


    And it was alright.


    {"Ah, so you know that song?"} The voice asked sweetly and unrushed. I nodded my head and I was rewarded with a beautiful chorus of laughter.


    {"Since you can hear me, how are you?"} She asked.


    "Fine, despite the fact that me and the rest of us are falling to our deaths." I huffed out loud and everyone looked at me like I had gone crazy. To be honest, I was sure I had.


    {"Ah. That is true. I guess they''re finally messing with the world now..."} The girl sighed tiredly. {"I''ll fix that, no strings attached."}

 Chapter 12 - 12

    "Yeah, if you can fix it. Go for it." I said and everyone knew I had lost it. However, to my surprise, a thin wave of golden light washed over us. To be more specific, across the cabin walls and down the bird.


    {"Done!"} The sweet voice chirped. The rotors roared to life and I felt the G-forces shift again and I could hear cheering run through the cabin before it was drowned in the sweet, sweet, chorus of beating propellers. The radios came to life as the rest of the birds checked in. Everyone with us.


    ["System rebooted. Warning, cannot connect to Battlenet. System switching to localized mode."] And the joy was killed again. All the cheers died away as I was sure we all got the same warning. While our team were the only ones with OTADs, regular marines had a cheaper and simplified version that just helped with communications, calculations, and tracking. All of them were connected to the Battlenet. If none of us could connect to the largest and most advanced network in the world... We may not be in our world anymore.


    "Hey, you there?" I asked. No one responded. "The one who was just humming."


    {"Ah, me. Yes, sorry. Thought you were talking to someone else."} She giggled. {"How can I help you? Its been a while since I last talked to someone since.... Nevermind. What can I do you for?"}


    I had a bad feeling about this, but...


    "Could you tell me where I am?" I asked.


    {"Don''t know. The land changed while I''d been asleep."} She said just as chirpy.


    "I mean, am I on Earth?" I asked as I turned to the bay door just in time to see the sea began to shrink as it was replaced by sandy beaches and grasslands.


    {"Oh! You''re from Earth?! So - Wait, no. Question first."} She laughed. I felt whatever this voice was, it may not have been a stable one. {"You''re not on Earth. You''re on my world now. The names for it change a lot, so just think of it as ''Not-Earth''. Kay? Kay."} The voice chuckled before the humming returned.


    "So-" I was about to ask another question before she stopped.


    {"Oh, and you guys just disturbed a dragon. Annnnd-"} I didn''t get to hear the rest as a large roar filled the air as the osprey banked. Warnings blared from the c.o.c.kpit and as a large wall of bright red scales crossed the open bay. The pilots cursed loud and finally, the marines spurred themselves into action. Each put them rifles to the ready and the gunner on the ramp opened up on the HMG at whatever that was.


    Another roar sounded. Fire burned across the rear and the gunner was gone. The pilots cursed even louder as the osprey shuddered. There was a loud explosion. The bird rocked and shuddered before it I felt the G-forces shift again.


    "Hey, can you help us?!" I screamed.


    {"No."} She replied soft, but not with the mirth she had before. {"Not for free that is. The first time was to fix someone else''s f.u.c.k up."}


    "Fine!" I roared. "I''ll give you whatever or do whatever! Get us on the ground alive!"


    {"Deal accepted~!"} She sang. {"But just know you already have a lot of dead. The dragon just took out two of your fancy helicopters."} Accompanied with that heads up were explosions and the pilots calling out the loss of our gunship, and the MV by it.


    I could only see the starry night out the back and turned my eyes to the c.o.c.kpit where I could slightly see the incoming trees. The quickly incoming trees. I began to curse myself for putting my hopes on a voice inside my head just as the helicopter angled upward slightly and we hit the ground.


    I felt my stomach go through my asshole as metal screamed and the whole world jerked downward. Then it rolled as the metal of the hull protested as I saw the metal ripped away. I didn''t have the ability to see what was going on as I held onto my rifle and the harness as my body was being flung around within its grasp. I saw bark, bits of grass, but most of all; light. While the world was a blur, I was together enough to notice that dim light was all around us.


    After what seemed like an eternity, the osprey finally rolled to a stop on its belly. My vision was still blurred and I felt like I was still swaying. I was about to throw up when I felt a warm sensation wash over me and everything returned to normal.


    {"Done! Two fancy military helicopters landed, all souls onboard and not harvested by an angry dragon."} She laughed before adding. {"And I dealt with your bodily states while I was at it. Because I don''t like seeing people throw up. That''s disgusting. Consider it a free service."}


    Now that my vision was back, I could see the framework of the osprey bent and beaten. It was intact without most of its outer plates and its wings, but it was intact. I looked up and down, saw all the soldiers alive. Hell, even the door gunner stood frozen as he clutched onto his HMG on the, strangely, untouched ramp.


    {"I''ll leave you alone for a few."} The voice returned. {Things to do and things to seriously clean. Ciao."}


    I got out of my harness and seat and checked on the pilots. They were fine. Scared as hell, but they were unharmed. I checked on everyone else, and sure enough, they were all unharmed. I helped the gunner sit down and unhook himself from the safety cords. We filed out of the wreckage. I turned to look at the mangled Osprey...


    It all felt so surreal and... casual? I knew I had been in danger but I felt disconnected from it all. It was only now that I was feeling weak in my knees. I clutched my rifle and turned away with a deep, shuddering, breath. This was a lot. I probably did snap.


    "You okay?" I heard my dad. I turned around to see him looking at me with concern.


    "Yeah, why?" I felt that may have been downplaying the fact we just crash landed on a world that wasn''t Earth, after being attacked by a "dragon" but what the hell. It was the truth.


    "Same." He nodded. "And that''s exactly the problem here." He turned to look at the wreckage as he stood next to me. "We should have died. That was not a survivable crash landing. We all should have died." He pointed to the long scars that cut across a long field. It was then that I noticed that the other osprey had crashed not three hundred meters away.


    "And you were talking to yourself." He turned to me. "What happened? While I''d normally say you went crazy, but something did happen after you spoke. So, you going to fill me in?"


    His eyes weren''t hard, nor angry. If anything, they looked fearful. I feel him on that. This definitely was f.u.c.k.i.n.g crazy on all accounts.


    "I may have sold my soul to the devil." I sighed as I rolled my shoulders. All the emotions that had been suppressed in the air began to seep in. "I... Don''t know how to say it so give me some time, but... I think she''s the one who saved us." I looked at him, pleading not to ask. We just survived a crash that, in any scenario, would have left us in pieces.


    "Okay." He nodded. I noticed he was also slightly shaking. "Let me know when you want to talk about it." He walked away, fidgeting with his uniform as he spoke with the other soldiers. The pilots had fainted after they were pulled from their seats so they were laid out on the grass.


    I looked around. On the left and right were tall mountains that made up a valley with tall pine trees covering their faces. We crashed in a valley. Plains basked in the moonlight, but the night visibility was limited because of it. A better assessment would have to come on first light. I heard the rustling of gear and saw the other group jogging towards us with their gear. A quick headcount told me the voice had been right when she said all lives were saved. I felt stupid for not trusting the voice, then stupid for believing I should have believed what I thought was a figment of my imagination.


    I felt thoughts twist slightly and shook the thoughts away. It was going to be a long night.

 Chapter 13 - 13

    ? Kian ? Willow ?


    I awoke to the muffled sounds of metal striking metal. The ruckus had a cadence that, if it hadn''t been in such close proximity, it could have lulled me to sleep. In my drowsy stupper, I stared up at the dark ceiling. Listening. Agitation stewed in my gut as I could faintly guess that the disturbance must have been Ms. Agatha from across the street. She was the old mayor of DC. The corrupt hag had been ousted five years ago, she''d caught having an orgy with a couple of wealthy "investors" for her side business.


    Despite this, as politics always did, she had a sense of self that usually involved stepping over everyone around her. In that fashion, it''d been an open secret that she was sleeping with half the HOA board to get her way. This allowed her to call in "guests" at odd hours, or last the other week, in the middle of the night. If there ever was a disturbance on his street, it''d almost always been her f.u.c.kery.


    As my blood pressure rose, I stared up at the dark ceiling. Had I been in a clearer state of mind, I would have noticed that... Drastic changes in my bedroom. But, an odd fog had settled around my mind and the red flags fell away to my agitation. Flaring my nostrils with a single fed up huff, I decided to get up. I''d be giving that big-titted walking sack of shit a piece of my mind again.


    I tried to sit up, hell-bent on starting another fight with the neighbor... That was when it all came crashing down.


    Searing pain cut down my back, like tens of molten hot knives. The pain made my entire body stiffen, and I threw myself back down. That''d been my second mistake. From the sudden call, searing hot pain shot across my chest. The pain forced a loud cry from me that turned into a long whimper as I finally began to relax my muscles.


    ("Relax, keep calm, and breath. Slowly. No matter what, if you can do this. You can get through it.") Jacob''s words echoed in my head. Words that he''d always tell me whenever something had gone wrong. That was before he left me alone.


    My whimpers turned into staggered breaths as I inhaled through my nose. Exhaled through my mouth. My back continued to burn, but the edge was dulled. Slowly and methodically, I stretched one muscle one after another. I forced myself to focus on breathing and stretching to dull the burning. For the most part, it worked. That was when I noticed the red flags.


    As my eyes adjusted, I noticed that the roof overhead was not the neat drywalled ceiling I had seen day after day for my entire life. No. It was a material I could also call straw. Held up by large thick wooden beams that rose high into the air to meet the apex. I wasn''t in the McMansion anymore. I was in a cottage.


    On my left was a wall. Around the foot of the bed, there was a shuttered window. Closed and latched. That was where the next wall was. To my right, a bedside table with a wooden cup and a chair. Then the next wall. Across from the window, a closed plank door rested. Closed as well. I then noticed I have not clothed anymore. A roughly made thick blanket had been dr.a.p.ed over me.


    Everything rushed back in that moment...


    Ripped from my bed by my brother. The barking of gunfire in my house. The dead bodies. The barrage of gunfire that skipped around me. Watching someone die. Being evacuated and... The nuke. The rush of memories made my heart race as tears threatened to fall. My breath came faster, my heart rammed against my chest. Then the final pieces slipped into place. The roar of gunfire in the darkness. Illuminated by the moonlight, thousands of red beads in the forest. Their barbaric and guttural cries taunting us.


    The large goblin...


    I felt fear, confusion, and guilt seep in as I realized, I alone, had survived that slaughter. There couldn''t have been any other way. Unless... Was this a goblin village?! Just as that thought floated into my head, the door opened. More light poured into the room and a man appeared in the doorway.


    "Are you okay?" Was the first thing he asked as he briskly walked to the window and threw them open.


    The room came to life with light and crisp air poured into the room. The air had a certain stink to it, but sure enough, it was fresher than any city air I had smelled.


    "Call me Doc, everyone does," The old man said as he stepped over to me and sat on the chair beside the bed.


    He wore a grey robe, adorned with a tan apron that was speckled with what I assumed was dried blood. His face was slightly gaunt. His skin dropped slightly and he wore a kind smile. He looked over me with soft blue eyes, and he had long white hair that he''d tied back.


    "I heard you so I came as quick as I could," Healer said as he pulled at my blank.


    I quickly pulled them back up, more out some fickle sense of privacy I held than anything.


    "Calm, boy," Doc said with a tone as gentle as his eyes. "I am a doctor, tried by the Church of Saint Angelica. I''ve been tending to you for the last few days."


    "A few days?" My asked.


    My voice came out raspy and my tongue felt heavy with I tried to pronounce the words.


    "I see you speak our language," Doc chuckled. He handed me the cup from the table. I drank it greedily. "I was worried I had to get a translation spell from the Mayor when you woke up."


    "Spell? What do you mean?" Confused by what he meant, I looked at him exasperated. " And a few days? Do you mean I was--"


    "Hold up now," Doc held up his hand. "One question at a time. First off, yes. A spell from the Mayor. I don''t just have translation spells on hand, only the government keeps those. I could easily get one to talk with you since the Mayor is also interested in what you had to say."


    "And how long have I been here?" I asked with a heavy heart.


    "This is the fourth day," Doc answered. "Strange enough, you haven''t needed to be cleaned up or given medication. We couldn''t give you soup, as much as we tried, but just as strange, you didn''t die."


    "You tried?" I asked.


    "Mhm," Doc nodded. "We tried to pry your mouth up to give you both, but not even the smith could do it. We gave up after an hour. The Mayor was okay if you died."


    "What an asshole," I blurted out.


    "Maybe," Doc looked bemused by that.


    "So..." I trailed off, staring at the old man as I grappled with asking if anyone survived. I know that answer. However, I just needed to know... If I was the only one alive..


    "You''re the only one alive," Doc said softly before he patted my hand.


    His hands were soft and gentle. He reminded me of my grandpa in a way, just less sailor mouthed. The room fell quiet. I felt cold inside as the full weight of that pressed on my shoulders. I took a few staggered breathes to calm myself but to no avail. Hot tears began to stream down the side of my face.


    "It wasn''t supposed to be like this..." I muttered as I sobbed.


    "Soldiers die all the time in battle," Doc said, not realizing what he said. "They fought valiantly. Your comrades would have been proud."


    "They''re not my comrades..." I looked to him, hot tears clouding my vision. "I''m not a soldier... My brother is... Or was..."


    "And how did you come to be among them?" Doc asked. "They fought to keep you safe, so you must have been important, yes?"


    "My dad was their General," I said as I gained ground in the fight against the tears. "We were escaping the battle. My home... "


    But holding them in only made me feel sick with myself. That I, the person they fought to protect, was weeping like some stupid newborn. The sadness turned into guilt then into some primordial rage as my hands tightened. I wanted to kill the little monsters who killed them. They had fought to protect me. The least I could do was avenge them. That was what you were supposed to do, right?


    I felt Doc''s hand gripped over mine as he held it.


    "Calm yourself, they''re all dead," Doc said. "The joint assault force wiped them all out."


    "Who?" I asked.

 Chapter 14 - 14

    "The joint assault force," Doc smiled. "It was made up of Adventurers and Fourth Division soldiers. They went out when they saw the commotion going on the cliffs. They hadn''t gotten through in time to save your friends, but they got there in time to pull you out."


    "Ah..." I said. I felt better knowing those little shits were dead. It didn''t absolve the guilt I felt in surviving, though. "Could you help me up? I tried but my muscles aren''t agreeing with what I want to do."


    "Haha!" Doc gave out a hearty laugh. "Of course they won''t. You nearly shredded the muscles in your shoulders. You fought a Hobgoblin and lived to tell about it, I''m surprised your wounds weren''t worse. Here, let me help you up."


    Doc slid his arm under my back and helped me sit up. As the blanket slid down, I saw what he meant. My skin had turned a light purple over my chest. There also was a large purple mark in the shape of a hand on my right wrist.


    "They were worst when they brought you in," Doc said as he began to examine the purple marks. "They''re good enough to lightly use, but try not to move them quickly or lift heavy objects. I don''t want to have to use a lot of mana on them. With the state, they''re in now, a few more days with a mixture of light healing spells and natural bodily healing with fix this."


    "That''s good..." I was curious about this magic the man spoke of, but in the current unknown climate, I figured adopting a passive stance would bring fewer headaches. People loved to talk from my experience. I could piece it together later.


    ("If you can''t trust the people around you, and you have the time, just take in information passively. That''s how we did it overseas.") Jacob''s voice echoed once again in my head.


    "So what do we call you?" Doc asked. "We can''t keep calling you Boy, but everyone thought you were a girl at first. Well, only me and the important folk around here know you''re a man.


    "Name''s Kian, Kian Willow." I gave him a weak smile.


    ? ? ?


    I leaned in the wooden rocking chair Doc had on his porch. Much to my surprise, the old man''s cottage sat in quite the spot. His cottage rest on the mountainside, and by the mountainside, not a rocky slope. The village, or "Settlement" as Doc called it, had been built upon a ridge. From where Doc''s home was, I could see the dancing waves shimmer in the midday sky. I could see tens of thatched roofs, tightly packed together along the ridgeside before it ended abruptly. From there, a tall palisade had been erected.


    Beyond was densely packed trees. Maybe oaks, or beech trees, or maybe a different kind I''ve never heard of. The view would have been astounding, if not for the large swath of land on the border of land and sea. There, I could see the crashed Osprey - broken and burned. I could not see the bodies of the soldiers. I didn''t see the dead monsters who''d terrorized us.


    A few colorful birds glided across the air, and a cool ocean breeze caressed me. It was peaceful. Terribly peaceful... That was until I noticed that everything had gone silent. The hammering had stilled. The birds in the sky remained suspended mid-turn. The ocean waves still reached forward. The trees still slightly rustled. The world around me had stopped.


    "Welcome to the land of the living," A sweet voice spoke up beside me.


    I stiffened at the words. Slowly, I swiveled my neck to see who said that. To my left, sitting in an identical wooden chair, was a beautiful woman. She looked no older than me - two years younger at most. She had flawless porcelain skin, topped with silky white hair. This framed the two pools of gold, cut by ink-black pupils that stared back at me. A lovely small nose with pursed lips that seemed to repress a smile.


    She only wore a black dress, adorned with a golden paw above her heart. Nothing else as she brushed her hair over her ear - while holding a bottle of Coke.


    "Kept me waiting much." She said, and a smile bloomed across her lips. Her pupils narrowed slowly, and I felt a snake was posing to strike me. "You do sleep quite a lot. Though, they did give you sleeping drugs. You might not want to trust those doctors. Much up a bunch of plants and all, crazy stuff."


    She took a sip of the drink. The entire scene felt out of place as she did it. A mix of fantasy, myth, and modern jumbled into one beautiful mess.


    "Who are you...?" I asked cautiously. I had a sudden feeling of n.a.k.e.dness wash over me. It reminded me that I no longer how my ballistic vest or pistol. I had a nagging feeling that I needed it now.


    "Relax," The girl sang as another bottle of coke appeared in her free hand. She leaned towards me, extending the bottle over. "If I wanted to hurt you, I''d have done it already."


    Timidly, I took it from her; more alert because of her words. As if reading my thoughts, verbatim.


    "Chill," She rolled her eyes and kicked up her feet onto thin air. They stayed there as if there was a table or something. "I came to extend you the best deal of your life. Greatest deal. Magical deal."


    "You still haven''t answered my question," I said. "Who are you?"

 Chapter 15 - 15

    "So stuck up~" She groaned, rocking back and forth irritably. "I ain''t a lot of time, you want my deal or not?"


    "First off, you haven''t even told me what this deal is," I said with matching irritability. "Second, who the f.u.c.k are you?"


    She glared at me, and I glared back. It was bravado stemming from somewhere. It was a bravado I felt would kill me if I said the wrong thing as well. For a few moments, we stared each other down before the woman rolled her eyes.


    "Questions questions questions~" The girl sang before she sprung to her feet and wagged her finger at me - laughing. "You''re a hard nut. Name''s Cyril. Creator of this fine dysfunctional world - You''ll hate it here."


    The words took me off guard. Hate it here? Was this woman off her rocker-


    "Got you there!" She laughed "Yes. I am indeed off my rocker."


    "Are you reading my thoughts?" I blurted out.


    "Indeed," She smiled. "Thanks for compliments about my body, I like it too."


    Jesus f.u.c.k is this woman cr--


    "Not crazy," She hummed. "Maybe sad; Maybe Malevolent; Maybe a tad, itty bitty f.u.c.k.i.n.g pissed. But not crazy."


    The smile she gave me screamed crazy, but I made sure not to think that anymore. Because her eyes were glowing slightly brighter now. I didn''t want to know if they were power gauges, or she was going to punch me. Honestly, anything was on the table at this point. And when I didn''t say or think anything else, she continued.


    "Since we got that settles, I guess I could explain this deal~" She cooed and threw herself back into the chair. "Anyways, I guess I''ll go through the list of questions the others keep asking. No, you''re not on earth anymore - you''re on my world. Yes, there are ways to go back. No, you don''t want to go back. Your world is dead, killed with nuclear fire! Now, interested in that deal?"


    She tossed the bottle away. It crashed somewhere around the smith''s house. She then leaned forward and looked to me with expectant eyes.


    "I-I''ll hear it out..." I gulped, feeling that this woman was definitely not all there.


    "So, here''s the deal, I will make you my Champion. In return, I''ll give you cool-ass powers." She winked and sat back. "In return, you do my bidding~"


    "That sounds like slavery," I said.


    "Only if slaves got world-altering powers that could change the face of the entire geopolitical scale. Then sure." She shrugged.


    "That doesn''t sound like a good deal at all!" Exasperated by her go-lucky demeanor, I yelled.


    "Hey, hey!" She pointed her finger at me. "I''m only giving you this deal as repayment!"


    "Repayment my ass!" I pointed back. "The hell kind of repayment is this, and for what?!"


    "Psh, it''s repayment." She huffed. "You landed in some deep shit, and I didn''t clean it up in time. Thus, you are here, and I am offering you this deal."


    "Wait, what do you mean ''didn''t clean it up in time''?" I asked, feeling a disconnect.


    "Ah, right... " She looked at me and muttered before sitting back. "Forgot that part - duh. Anyways, long story short. Some new gods down south wanted to summon some Heros to go kill some demons they really hated. Your world nuked itself at the same time they opened a portal to kidnap some poor folks. Amazing luck you know? The odds for that has to be f.u.c.k.i.n.g smaller than a mana atom."


    "Wait, wait -" I jumped in. "What does that have to do with me?"


    "Don''t interrupt a girl when she''s speaking, "The girl glared at me and I just sat back and zipped my mouth. "Anywho - the nukes supercharged the spell, and kinda ripped a lot more people than it was supposed to. Literally blew up the summoning chamber. Thankfully, the nuke''s blast didn''t reach into this world because I sealed it in time. For f.u.c.k''s sake, had I not woken in time, they would have wiped their country off the map."


    "And I was one of them," I couldn''t help but say as she wasn''t actually answering my question. However, I figured she couldn''t actually keep a thought straight enough to answer. So I had the idea to slowly nudge her towards the answers I needed.


    "Ah, yes. You were one of them along with a few hundred others." She confirmed while her head bobbed softly.


    "So... That means all those people died... For nothing?" I asked, feeling anger well up in my stomach. Not at this girl, no, at whoever f.u.c.k.i.n.g did this.


    "In the context of what you''re asking? Totally - no meaning what so ever," She no longer smiled. "But that''s the grand thing. You survived. Despite being dropped in the middle of a large goblin raiding host, you survived; even if by the skin of your teeth. That''s some serious luck - and something I could get behind."


    I''d given her the benefit of the doubt and didn''t blame her. However, her nonchalant attitude towards them was seriously pissing him off.


    "Don''t take it the wrong way," She added. "What happened down there was horrible. Through and through. However, that''s why I''m handing you this deal. Yeah, sounds shitty, but you might like where I''m heading with this."


    I took a deep breath and took a few moments to simmer down to hear it.


    "Okay, shoot," I said.


    "I''m aiming to humiliate those f.u.c.k.i.n.g idiot upstarts for wrecking my world," The woman said. "And I''ll give you power. I saw you had some guns and armor. Gave me some ideas about what I''d do for you. However, should I do this for you, I want you to go after those assholes. With some conditions."


    "The people who pulled me into this world?" I asked.


    "Mmm~hmm~" She hummed.


    I paused for a moment. I hadn''t done much in my life that amounted to anything. Neither had I have people die to protect me nor almost die. I delved deep in myself. I lurked and tried to find what I wanted. Did I want revenge? Did I feel a need to kill the f.u.c.ker who did this?


    A moment later, the answer came - but I had one last question.


    "Can''t I take the down without this deal?" I asked.


    "How strong are you?" The woman eyed my, admittedly, slender frame.


    I had muscle, and I could do anything a guy my age could do. Effeminate looks aside.


    "Average guy stuff," I said.


    "Your world average?" She asked.


    I felt the question was a trap.


    "Yes...?" I said.


    "You''re gonna die out there." She pointed out into the forests beyond the village. "You''d probably survive in the village if you sell yourself.


    "How so?" I said, feeling offended.


    "No offense, but men from earth, on average, are weaker than men here." She stated. "Men here are mostly farmers, knights, soldiers, or other heavy labor types. That is if they''re not rich or powerful. All the same, that also doesn''t account for the monsters and other hostile forces that roam the land."


    "Isn''t that--" She waved me off.


    "Not like your world. Safety here is far and inbetween. Wars are constant. Death is normalcy. Your days aren''t guaranteed. My world is twisted, malformed. Of the utmost degree, it is violent. The best person to have in your corner is a powerful figure - and whos more powerful than gods?"


    "I see..." I said. "And will this require me to sacrifice unborn children or v.i.r.g.i.n girls?"


    The serious expression that''d formed on the girl''s face twitched.


    "No," She said with a very, very deadly tone. "And if you do try it, I''ll make sure your soul burns in the deepest f.u.c.k.i.n.g pits I can find. Up for the deal now?"


    "Y-Yeah, I''ll take it," I said. I felt slightly cold now.


    "Good!" She beamed," Cross your heart and hope to die~"


    She made an "x" over her heart, and I followed suit subconsciously. The skin above my heart began to sear for a moment, and I yelped. Before I could try and figure out what happened, a familiar object was shoved into my hands.


    "Gotta go," The girl said. "We''ll talk later.


    "Wait!" I said." You never told me your name!"


    "Names Cyril, Creator of the World." She smiled mischievously.