Wild Side [h.s au]

Chapter 1

Harry

I'm a survivor, I always have been.

Living the life of a soldier has never been easy. We have everything we need to survive in our base; food, clothes, weapons, medicines. The only thing we don't have is an actual certainty we will survive another day. You never know when the enemy might attack, throw their bombs at you or aim their rifles your way. We live in the middle of a war zone, explosions, death, and the constant awareness being a part of our everyday life.

There are four military bases in this region: Hazard, Rogue, Wildfire, and Vortex. The country has been divided into four parts; North, South, East, and West - people living on each side having protection from their base. Each has their own rules, but there's one that applies to all four: you cross into our territory, you die. The vast majority of soldiers in other bases are foreigners, mostly from other parts of Europe and from North America, wanting to occupy our land. That's simply how war works; everyone wants power.

My grunts and hard breathing are the only sounds filling the empty gym as my bare fists keep colliding with a punching bag hanging from the ceiling. My hair is damp from sweat, a bandana holding the messy curls from spilling over my forehead. My glistening torso is rising and falling heavily, my eyebrows furrowed in concentration. With every punch, I damage the skin of my knuckles a bit more, my blood already smeared over the bag.

The sun has almost set and it's time for my night's watch, third one this week. Our soldiers have been getting attacked continuously these past few days on their missions, so I've decided to personally guard the base during the night when it's most vulnerable.

The other threat are deserters, people who have either decided to abandon their bases or have been kicked out of them. A few dozens of groups living in the North; where our base is settled; deliver us our supplies in exchange for protection while the other groups avoid us at all costs, attacking when feeling threatened. I don't blame them. Their children are being taken away by soldiers, their parents either brutally murdered or beaten. Those innocent children are then raised to become emotionless soldiers and later fight for their base.

When I feel someone's touch on my back, I inhale sharply and quickly spin around, grabbing the person's wrist. My eyes drop on a familiar soldier, widened blue eyes meeting mine.

"Bloody hell, Niall, I've told you many times not to sneak up on me like that," I scold him, releasing his wrist, noticing the skin is slightly red from my firm grip.

"Sorry, H," Niall chuckles, shaking off the initial shock from my reaction. "Oi, why aren't you ready yet? The shift's about to start."

"I'm the head of the security, I think I can be a little late," I say, using the towel hanging around my neck to soak the sweat on my face.

"Condescending, as usual," he rolls his eyes.

"Have the teams returned yet?" I ask.

"No," he replies. "The last I heard from Liam, his team was about to attack Vortex soldiers. Unbelievable, he always gets all the fun."

I frown. "So, killing people is fun?"

"It is if they're assholes," he smirks, his blue eyes playful. "Hey, remember that girl I was telling you about?"

I roll my eyes. "Sex talk is allowed only off duty, soldier," I walk past him and I just know he's about to make a remark so I add, "I don't care, Niall."

"You do this every time! Buzzkill," he mumbles before I exit the gym, smiling.

. . . .

After taking a shower and putting on the black uniform; characteristic for our base; I descend into the enclosed patio, its wide expanse holding multiple buildings and warehouses. My fingers are firmly clenched around the handle of my handgun, my combat boots clanking on the concrete ground with each step I take. My eyes scan the high wall in front of me and soldiers lined along its width, each of them ready to give their life to protect our base and the North. When I reach the middle of the patio, I lift my hand and circle my index finger, signaling the soldiers to gather around me.