The Ballad of PFC Pavel

Day 7-9

Author's note: Yes this is a few days at once, Pavel is stuck inside an APC and that is boring so I will include day 8 to keep things entertaining.

"The 2129 Isla Numbar conflict was especially brutal in how fast New Orderian forces were overwhelmed. It was the military's first unconventional fight and their first without NATO support, because of this the abominations pushed our brave soldiers back and destroyed the facility they came from. Immediately the Navy formed a strike group and the Army loaded onto their vessels for a hard fought battle."

I wake up and look around the APC, nothing seems to be damaged and the battery is half charged. Considering I strained it yesterday I probably have another day of charge. I lvheck the camera feed and the ash appears to have settled. The volcano is still dumping out smoke but it calmed down, the fissure near me also calmed down. Lava is still coming out but in much slower amounts, some vents seem to have closed entirely. 

I could wait in here all day or I could get out and move around more. Considering the hazards with outside currently I will wait things out a bit longer. I eat an MRE and drink some water before listening to music on the MP3 player for the rest of the day. I go to sleep early and drift into unconsciousness.

The next day was the exact same thing, day 8 came and went and the ash had mostly settled I was simply waiting for the fires burning to fully go out. I can't exactly get evacuated if nobody can see me. It is a waste of filters to go out until all of that smoke clears. I had another MRE and went to sleep watching the sun set through the haze.

"Private Pavel! Are you fucking incompetent? Do you have some form of brain damage? I ask you to do one thing and not only do you fuck it up, you manage to make a fool of yourself in front of the fucking marshal! I have seen single cell amoeba display more complex thought than you! Drop and give me 200 you sorry excuse for a living thing!"

I wake up and the outside seems to be safe enough. Just in time as well because the battery is failing. I grab my gear, restock on any supplies I can, and put on my gas mask. I approach the door and push it, it's stuck. I go to the front of the APC and find the emergency exit above the center control console. I get that opened and climb on top of the APC. Mount Fuji is gone, the mountain tore itself apart with that blast. The crater is still dumping out smoke so it is best not to approach it. It is still dark out so I turn on my flashlight and clip it onto my rifle. I walk around looking for anything that could be of value.

With an extra foot of ash across the ground I am lucky to be alive. I need to reassess my objectives though. Food, water, evacuation site. I should probably contact Mur Mur, it is better to have company and to get anyone still alive out with me. I start to walk through the, I guess wasteland at this point, and head for the police station I saw. Dispatch had a list of every police station in the region, if I can figure out what precinct number it is I can get a transport immediately.

I wander through the sands, the sun is only getting hotter. The apocalypse probably destroyed the ozone layer, the sooner I get out of here the better. I never really liked this deployment to be honest, I think I already ranted about it but there are so many colder locations than Japan. I wouldn't call joining the army a mistake, but I would be living a peaceful life in Dalnax if I didn't sign up.

Another hour of walking later and I start to mess with the radio again. "Pavel to anyone, how are you today?" I ask, odds are they won't respond because of interference but I have nothing better to do. "Hi Pavel, it's Mur Mur. I'm pretty good. Do I say over now like in the movies?" I forgot that god employed civilians. "Not really, nothing is stopping you but the radio makes a chirp when you stop talking so it is just a waste of time. We don't say over anymore, I know some firefighters say Kay at the end of some transmissions though." I reply, I don't know why the fire department says that actually, I think it is just a confirmation like 10-4. "So Pavel, Pav man, the Pavelator. What is your home like?" Am I allowed to talk about it? 

I mean we evacuated people to R-1 so I think I can. Might as well, it's not like anyone else is talking right now. "Home was great, the cold was so nice. The pure white snow year round in my city was amazing, you could go out in summer and just bask in the sun while laying in the snow for the whole day." "Sounds annoying, I never liked the cold. And did you say summer?" I forgot, only New Orderia is in Antarctica, this world doesn't have an Antarctic nation. "Yeah, my country is at the South Pole, coldest nation on Earth. We have been there since 2008 and it is 2176 already." 

This is surreal honestly, back home being cold is expected and just a normal time. It is just a normal thing but here it would be insane to say this stuff. Even in my reality our behavior is odd because of how we deal with the cold. I remember meeting some marines from a US embassy when I first joined the army, they took their hats off and got laughed at because it is a sign of stupidity here. Meanwhile when some NO guys go to their embassy they have to make sure to take off their helmets and masks because they forget constantly.

"Why did you join the army Pavel? You clearly aren't enjoining it here because of the weather alone, so why sign up?" That is... a good question. "I don't know, it just seemed right. Seeing the soldiers marching through the streets after a deployment, the documentaries about Isla Numblar, how everyone just was in sync. It just seemed right to sign up, not much to it." "Oh really Pavel? There is nothing else? No benefits? No healthcare, your country is like the US right?" Oh god, not American healthcare. I heard they don't even get city ran ambulances for free. I feel bad for them honestly. "Oh no, we have healthcare. I didn't need benefits, the only other thing I was interested in I didn't need a degree for so I didn't need the military for college I really just wanted to join, it isn't something you can describe." Mur Mur was quick to respond with a, "Fair enough, but was it worth it?" Why is this so deep all of a sudden? "Currently, not what is signed up for. But it is better than the stories I heard from my superiors. Apparently a few guys found a mangled corpse of their buddy tied to a sign with a foreign language written in blood. It was some warning to the city's population not to help us or something."

"Interesting, that must be sup-" the radio went to static. Apparently even gods have to worry about garbage reception. Oh my god, how long was that conversation. The sun is already setting, I start to look for a place to sleep. I notice an abandoned and burned ambulance, the side is scorched but the doors should work. I force open the back and it is actually fine. I climb inside and go to sleep as the sun sets.