War Paint

The Others

I yelp at the noise, standing from my squatting position. How can I defend myself against someone as large as Kade? Spotting a fallen tree branch nearby me, I grab a pointy part of it off the floor, facing the man who comes out of the morning shadows of the woods.

But it is only Camillo who emerges, worry written all over his face.

Why do we keep meeting like this?

Feeling stupid, I drop my stick weapon onto the floor and sit back down next to Kade, feeling his forehead to check for any signs of an oncoming fever. How was Kade hit in the head? Shrapnel? The butt of a gun? To my surprise, Camillo joins me on his knees, eyebrows furrowed in concern for his friend.

"I found you, brother." Camillo declares with a solemn tone. "I'm here, Kade."

As if I weren't even there, Camillo takes his friend's hand in his, rubbing it reassuringly.

The man himself has a smarting scratch on his face and some mud covering his clothes, but he doesn't seem to mind. He sighs, and finally turns to face me.

"What happened?"

How am I supposed to know?

"I don't know," I rule out, ripping a piece of medical tape between my teeth.

I really don't need any distractions right now, especially when all of our lives are in danger. Telling Kade to sit up, Camillo and I help push his back off of the floor in order to reassess his head.

The previously off-white patch of gauze is now soaked his red, spreading fast. There is too much free bleeding.

I'm going to have to take more time on it. I curse under my breath.

"What?" Camillo grits, his nostrils flaring at me.

"I'm - I'm going to need to stitch it up," I state shakily, trying to prepare myself for it.

I've done stitches before, but only in places where there was an abundance of flesh. If I get too close to Kade's skull or nerves, will I make something worse?

"Have you done this before?" Camillo asks uneasily.

He's skeptical, as he should be. Yet it does nothing to boost my confidence.

And I really need it right now.

"Yes?"

"Just don't kill me," coughs Kade from the ground.

Right.

I force a smile, "I'll try not to."

Raising up my trusty needle and thread, I thank the lord that I have always been good with working with my hands. The gash is large, but I have no trouble with the stitching procedure, nor does Kade seem to be fatally harmed afterwards.

The scare is over, and before I know it I am finished with only a small bit of discomfort from Kade.

"Are you sure you aren't feeling any pain? I think you were knocked out for a while," I comment, getting off of the ground.

"No, I'm sure. It's just a little headache now. Thank you, Adeline."

I glance at him, and he has this grateful look on his face that makes me uncomfortable. I give him a questioning look, but he just shakes his head. "You didn't have to come after me, but you did. Thank you."

"I-" I start talking, but am interrupted by the sound of running feet nearby.

What in the world...?

Closing my mouth immediately, I react quickly by coercing Camillo and Kade with me behind a tree to hide.

"Any more of them out here?" A gruff masculine voice says tensely.

I hold a delicate hand over Kade's mouth to stop his heavy breathing, in fear that it will give us away. And in order to compensate for the silence, I feel that my shoulders are shaking.

"I don't think so, Sir."

"Good. Set up camp, then. I told you they wouldn't make it till the evening."

Hearing the voices get closer, the three of us plan to make a beeline back to the main battlefield while
sharing a look.

I don't think Nation won this fight.

Which means we should leave here, and fast - before Other soldiers swarm and surround the place.

"This way." Camillo points to a couple of bushes that would cover us as we move.

With Camillo and I both half-carrying Kade, we shuffle through the garden of skeleton trees and bushes away from the two soldiers hunting for Nation men.

Did we really stray that far from camp? I wonder, eyeing the wooden path that seems to go on forever. The bare birch trees lining the dried up meadow make the clouds look gray, and even nature seems at a loss of what to do on this dreadful day. And how long did I spend helping Kade?

Time passes, and suddenly the sun is starting to set over the horizon. It seems impossible that a whole day has gone by already. Walking through the brush, the war sounds have mostly stopped, save for a few shouts that don't sound too violent.

Why has it stopped? Where are the sounds of a troop, retreating? I contemplate these questions, parting tree branches in the way of my path towards the camp. When reaching the place where our legion's makeshift hospital tent had originally been set up, I have my answer moments later.

The Others have taken control of the area, and our official army base is no where to be found. Stepping back into the safety of the trees, Camillo, Kade, and I watch with increasing anxiety the situation we are now in.

The enemy troops are everywhere, taking over the skeleton land. The soldiers and generals in their blue uniforms seem to radiate victory and power. Two opposite ends of the clearing are filled with brown tents and the only indication that there was a fight here in the first place is the lingering smell of ash.

In the middle of the entire expanse, there is a bonfire with sneering men clinking aluminum classes in the air, cheering over their victory. And in the distance, puff of smoke parts to reveal a vast space, an unguarded space, a morbid place.

A collection of dead corpses piled up like pennies, stacked up in a mountain taller than me. I squint, trying to make out what I see.

Something is moving next to the pile, near a tall post carrying an Other flag. The wooden base of it is thick and sturdy, but when I look harder, I see thirteen men in green suits tied to the post's circumference.

Camouflage uniforms.

Not blue.

They're holding hostages.

My stomach sinks.

"Come on," Camillo urges me, about to move away from the camp.

He's right - It's getting late and we need to get out of here.

But out of the corner of my eye, I see someone familiar hunched over the center pole, brutally beaten and barely conscious.

My body shakes as I try to figure out if that is who I think it is.

Brown curly hair.

Green camouflage uniform.

Broad shoulders and black boots just like mine.

I close my eyes, not wanting to believe the worst, meanwhile my heart knows the truth.

It's Andres.

My brother is over there, helpless.