Aetheria's Enigma: The Lost Traveler

Chapter IX

"Each? So if someone did kill him or take him in, they'd get a million Aetheos?"

"If they could take him down. I don't think even the King's head guard could beat him. He has a blind rage, like he can't be hurt when something he cares about is threatened."

"I think I'd like this guy," I smirk. "Is there anything else about your past I should know?"

"No. I've just been keeping my head down here for the past few years since I left the village." She looks at me. "Your turn."

I told her I was ready but I'm not sure if I actually am. I know I can't hold it in forever, but is now the time to tell her.

"I'm waiting."

"Alright. I told you I was a soldier. I lead a lot of missions from recon to assault. Only one went bad, but that one changed me. We were doing recon to plan for an attack." I take a deep breath. "It happened while we were all resting. A grenade landed in the middle of our camp."

"GRENADE!" a soldier cries out. Everyone takes cover. Shots coming from all sides.

"I can't tell where all these shots are coming from." another soldier says.

I look around. "I'll try to get to the tree line. Give me cover fire."

They raise their rifles over the barricade and start shooting in the general direction of the incoming shots while I make a run for the trees. When I get to cover I get down and start scanning the area for the enemy. One stands out among all the rest. That one enemy takes the shot.

I yell to my squad, "RPG!" but it was too late.

The explosion knocked me back, my ears ringing. I stand up and see my allies, my friends, lifeless bodies. Limbs blown off. I run, not looking back. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I keep repeating those words to myself as I run.

I found a safe place to rest. I waited for a few hours before I began walking back towards our camp. I kept my guard up. The enemy had gotten the jump on me once already, I wasn't going to let that happen again. I can't be the only one. I have to get back.

When I got back to the camp it was nothing more than ash. The bodies lay scattered. One of the other squad leaders crawled towards me, his leg gone. "Make sure our men aren't forgotten." He said to me before collapsing. I collected the dog tags of all 29 soldiers that came with me. 3 squads and I was the only one left. All our equipment was torched, leaving no way for me to contact command. All I could do was walk to the nearest town.

Kaori grabs my arm. "Will, you're burning again."

I look at my hands. "Yeah." I let myself calm down before I continue.

"You don't have to tell me more."

"Yes I do. You need to understand exactly what happened."

"Just try to keep calm. Okay?"

I nod. "It took a few days to get to the town. I was able to find a shop that let me use their phone to call for evac."

"Phone?"

I forget they don't have tech like we do back home. I pull my cell out of my pocket. "This is a phone. It lets you talk to people far away. This one doesn't work since it has no charge and I doubt I'd get a signal here."

"Ok. Kind of like magic then."

"Yeah, I guess." I put my phone away. "I called command and told them what happened and where I was. They told me where and when they would pick me up. They couldn't get a safe pickup for three days. All I could do was wait, but then I saw someone from the attack. The one who fired the missile. The one who started the carnage. I couldn't control myself. I pulled out my weapon in the middle of the street and killed him. Then I ran. I broke into a house, stole some clothes to blend in, and started walking to the pickup location." I look her in the eyes. "That was the first time I lost control, and that night was the start of the nightmares. I didn't sleep until they picked me up. Even then I had trouble sleeping."