The Ballad of PFC Pavel

Day 2

"Private First Class Alexander Pavel broadcasting on all channels. I require CASEVAC for myself to the Omekata Evac Site. I was trapped under a high rise and have only now freed myself. I repeat, I need any transport to Omekata Evac Site for CASEVAC."

I need to get out of here, only way that is happening is if I can get to the Omekata site. Apparently it was a cult that committed mass suicide, command thinks it is involved in what the hit squads were sent to kill. Some game I think, at least that is what I heard over the radio, kind of messed up that they died for a game. 

Ideally there is another transport that is running late and I can hitch a ride on it back to the nearest FOB. From the FOB I could probably get a ride out, or if we need to go straight to the GATE immediately and skip the FOB. Everything around me is gone, twisted steel and craters. The black orbs are still appearing and they seem to be getting bigger, consistently bigger.

Concerning.

Another cause for concern, there are no civilians nearby. Every time I think I hear something it is a wrecked car with he motor still running, or a collapsed building that's rubble hasn't settled yet. The number of dead bodies implies that we didn't clear everything fully so something else happened to get the survivors out, assuming there was survivors nearby. Every second I am here I doubt it more and more.

The radio is still silent, no point in dwelling on that, I turn a corner and the evacuation site should be right... here. 

Where is everyone?

There is one downed helicopter that seems to have been clipped by one of those orbs but that is it. The pilots are definitely dead based on the fact I can see their charred corpses, civilians didn't get it much better. I look around and ran over to the command tent and turned on a larger radio. I key the mic and make my second call for help, "Private First Class Alexander Pavel on all channels, requesting CASEVAC to the Omekata Evac Site. I am injured and require transport out of the area. How copy?" When I let go of the mic I assumed a response would come through, this radio should be able to broadcast across the world. At the very least I should have gotten a civilian or a police station. But nothing happened. 

No way that this thing is broken right? No it works, I got the message on my radio with no interference. Is it possible there is something jamming the signal? Reality is breaking down so maybe that messed with the radio waves and long distance communication is impossible. I might as well keep trying. "PFC Pavel on all channels, I need evacuation. I am at the Omekata evacuation site. Please respond." I sat for an hour giving that message on loop before I got static over the radio. 

Static is good. Static means someone tried to send a message. Even if it doesn't work someone is out there. "PFC Pavel to unknown broadcaster, please 10-9 prior message." I said, practically yelled, into the radio. "You have reached the realm of Deus, what do you need?" What is a "realm of Deus"? Doesn't matter, "I need CASEVAC immediately to the Omekata Evac Site. I have been injured in a collapse and need immediate airlift out. How copy?" Please, please, please, "I hear you but I am not able to help much, I just got this radio now. What is a "CASEVAC"?"

Well at least that is another person, probably insane, but a person nonetheless. I responded with  a simple explanation "Casualty Evacuation, I need to be rescued. CASEVAC means I need the nearest transport to help me get out of here." I hope whoever this is can fly a helicopter. "Sorry Pavel, I can't help out. Busy dealing with Deus." I asked what a normal person would here, "Who is Deus?" I was not prepared for the answer I got, "The god of space and time, he is dying which is leading to the collapsing world you see around you." 

Oh.

God is real.

And god is dying.

The millennials were right.

I could really do with some entertainment, especially with the girl on the radio not responding anymore. Might as well play music, I stand myself up and start to look for anything that I can use for that. Bingo, MP3 player. Now MP3 players aren't very common in 2176 but when I was younger my parents ran an antique music shop, in Dalnax(A/N: if you read Fractured Dawn or The Other Side you know why this isn't good) so I got to see a ton of this kind of thing. I also developed a love for old music.

I turned it on and picked out a decent song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." I never heard the original versions, or even the digital upload of them. It was some remake done as the 100th anniversary of the wreck. It is damn good, glad to hear this again. Last time was probably in '68

The fact this song is 200 years old amazes me. Now what next, I need a landing site for the helicopters and a visual marker. What could I use for that though... convenience is rare but always good. A New Orderian military logistics truck, to your average person a big green truck with a tarp covering where soldiers ride. This one however has crates of supplies, and at the back of the truck is a bunch of flares. So that is the marker handled, now I need to clear a landing site. The downed helicopter makes that difficult so I grabbed a broom and started to clean up whatever debris I could.

With the area clear I set up the flares and returned to my mayday call. The same thing as before, not even the girl responded to it. Hopefully she is alright, maybe a transport got to her first and that is why it isn't here yet. The military is pulling out so the transports units have limited numbers, I just need to wait for one to reach my area.

Honestly I should start keeping track of the days, so that command can gauge how long it is going. They probably have their own counter but on the off chance they don't I might as well pick up the slack. "Private First Class Alexander Pavel on all frequencies. It is day 2 of the incident. I require a transport to the Omekata Evacuation Site for CASEVAC. I have been injured in a collapse. The black spheres are increasing in size steadily."

Just need to wait for the transport.

They'll get here any minute.