Chapter 2 - Barnhouse

The team picked up their weapons from the ground, with blood on them.

"My gun's almost out of ammo, 5 mags left. Those Evac bastards should've left some for us." Hans said. His anger, covered by his helmet, could still be felt.

"We wouldn't be saying that if you just didn't fire recklessly you bastard," Kleimer mockingly replied.

"And what? Let that fucker kill us?" Hans replied with an annoyed tone.

"Calm down men," Sneer said.

"There's no need for unnecessary arguments. We need to move now."

The team, in silence, nods their heads.

"Good."

...

They left the burning village as they left footsteps on the muddy ground.

The fire crackled in the background, hitting light all over their armor.

The air looked red and dark.

...

The corpses of those who were unfortunate were obstructing the road before them. Kleim, without any hint of hesitation, pushed the bodies away with his foot. He didn't bat an eye to the bloodied bodies and simply saw them as nothing more than statistics of the mission. Without any hint of guilt, he marched on.

Sneer followed suit, though with a hint of conscience. He followed Kleim behind as he was pushing away the corpses, though, unlike Kleim, he looked at them as he walked past. He gripped his weapon, out of guilt. He saw the body of a young girl on the ground and looked away immediately.

Jorgen followed behind them and prayed along the way, hoping that it would at least grant the people peace in these dark times. He saw Kleim push away the corpses like they were nothing and was angered by his lack of respect for the dead, but he marched forward, knowing that this was for the best.

Hans was the most sympathetic out of all of them. He was lagging behind them, as he attempted to at least put their bodies on the ground properly, though he thought what he did was useless, he still did it. He saw the body of a girl, clutching a toy bear in her hand. Kleim pushed the girl's body earlier, Hans walked towards the girl and laid her body properly, and put the toy on her chest, and he stood up to continue marching.

They continue marching forward, leaving behind a place that was once peaceful and teeming with life, now a place struck with tragedy, as a reminder of the grim fate countless places ended up with as well.

...

[Elios Space Station, Cordova]

The Station Captain, Bravan, continued to write on papers, reporting to HQ.

Secretary Vel entered the Captain's office.

"So far, 900,000 people have been evacuated and are now temporarily living in "Noah's Ark", sir."

The commander laughed, taking the situation lightly.

"Temporarily? That's what the higher-ups want you to believe."

Secretary Vel's eyes widen in shock, confused by the Commander's words.

"What do you mean, sir? The Prime Minister stated that by next week, the survivors would live in Elios' Refugee Camp..."

The Commander slapped his rotund belly and laughed.

"That was just the PM's way of calming down the riots, the refugees will live there permanently."

"B-But sir! They can't possibly live in that ship for a long time!"

"Unless Orm somehow manages to have no infected there, the refugees just have to live off their entire lives in that ship... Or! They can be workers in our country."

Secretary Vel gritted her teeth from frustration.

"I'll be going now, sir"

"Alright, you can go now."

...

Right as Secretary Vel exited the office, Bravan's face turned grim.

Bravan turned his swivel chair around and stared at the stars from his window.

"Mom..."

Bravan's mother lived on Orm.

The Commander's way of coping with his mother's death was just to joke his way out of it, and he clutched a wooden toy that was given to him by his mom years ago.

His eyes started to swell up, and he covered his face with his big hands and started sobbing... Like a kid whose mother left them in the grocery line when the cashier starts to speed up checking the items.

...

[Bravo 2]

The dusk was fading into dawn.

The team departed from the area to Ilsu, a place on the northeast of Heyman.

With 130 kilometers to walk, they are determined to go home.

They enter a thick jungle, akin to that of the Amazon forest of our Earth.

The stepping of the boots can be heard in the silence, as they were walking through the forest, with mud all over them, they were constantly scanning their surroundings, to be prepared whenever a threat appeared.

Hans was cautious, which was understandable.

"This planet's gone to shits," Kleim comments.

The team agrees in silence.

They continue marching towards their target destination.

...

"I wanna stop and sleep already..." Hans thought to himself.

"When are we gonna take a break...?" Kleim silently thought.

"Shit... These guys are monsters... I'm already tired as hell," Jorgen said in his mind.

"My feet are already giving up... When the hell are they gonna ask for a rest?" Sneer thought silently.

...

"No... I'll look like a bitch if I even mutter the idea of rest, I must push on..."

The team exactly thought at the same time.

....

As the team marches, they start to grow tired, but they do not stop.

After a few hours of walking with heavy equipment, they finally reached dry land.

...

It was already evening.

...

"It's getting dark here," Hans commented.

"Yeah, we can tell, genius," Kleim mockingly replied.

"Okay, that's it, buddy."

Hans turned around and pushed Kleim to the ground.

"Bastard!" Kleim exclaimed.

"Calm down you two!" Jorgen shouted as he put himself between the two to mitigate the fight.

"I'm the medic, you bastard, you better be careful, bitch," Kleim said, as he puts up two middle fingers at Hans.

"Tsk," Hans turned around and continued walking.

Sneer followed while Jorgen helped Kleim up.

....

They continue walking, but Sneer feels tired more after each step.

A few moments later, the team spots a small barn house and approaches it. The barn house was abandoned long before the infection began, as shown by the overgrown vines and broken planks.

They walked cautiously and aimed their guns at potential areas.

They found nothing.

"No one's here," Jorgen announced to their comms.

The team nods and closes the barn gates.

"We should set up cams," Kleim said.

The team agrees and set up many temporary surveillance cams around the perimeter of the barnhouse.

The evening turned into night.

"Turn off any light sources," Kleim said.

The team agreed and did so.

The four of them climbed the ladders to the second floor.

"Everyone, take a rest. I'll guard for the night," Hans said.

"Affirmative, thanks," the rest of the team replied, except for Kleim, who was still mad at Hans for what happened earlier.

Sneer, Kleim, and Jorgen sat down on the floor and rested their backs against the wall. Each of them maintained a decent distance. They all slept with armor on.

Hans turned on his night vision and remained vigilant for the night.

...

...

After hours of surveillance, no threat was seen.

Hans stopped standing and sat on the floor and rested his back against the wall.

The breeze was cold.

"Mom... Dad...

I might not be able to get there before your birthdays," Hans thought to himself.

Hans stares down at the floor and he starts to fidget his fingers.

Hans was nervous for the first time.

Hans came from a wealthy family from Elios and was cherished by his mother and father. His father was a veteran of the Great Interplanetary War and was quite famous himself.

"Fuck man, I don't wanna be here anymore..."

...

...

[10 years ago]

In a huge mansion, a boy and his father were sitting on a couch.

The man had brown hair and a mustache like a cowboy's, with wrinkles and scars all over his face.

The boy had black hair and pale skin, the direct opposite of his father's battle-worn appearance.

The dad was reading some news from his tablet, while the boy was fidgeting his fingers. The two sat in silence for a while, until the boy broke the silence and asked,

"Dad, how do I become cool like you?"

The boy looked as if the answer to that question was a necessity.

The man chuckled and sighed,

"Hans, you don't need to be as great as me."

The boy looked down at the table again and looked discouraged.

The father noticed his son's face and smiled, then he said,

"Do your own thing, something that makes you and others happy. I think that's my answer to your question."

The son nodded but the face he had was still there.

The father sighed.

"When I was young, I thought that by being a soldier, I would save my family from poverty, which was my only goal at the time.

Look at me now, I'm a hero of that war and now we're rich!

With a bit of luck, I think you'll be as cool as me," the father said proudly.

The son's face brightens and hoorayed.

"Aha! I finally know it!" the boy said proudly.

The father raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Tell me, Hans."

The boy smirks and proudly exclaims,

"I'm gonna be a soldier just like you!"

The father's face turned pale and drops his jaw.

"Hans, you will not be a soldier!"

The father shouted in concern.

The boy smiled teasingly and repeated his words again and again in an annoying tune.

"I'm gonna be a soldier~, I'm gonna be a soldier~"

The father sighed in defeat and smiled.

"Just prepare your outfit, today's your 8th birthday, my little soldier!"

The son smiled brightly and hugged his father.

The father's eyes started forming tears and hugs his son.

"Even if you might not actually do that, I'll be proud of whatever you'll achieve."

The father stopped hugging his son and guided him to the birthday party.

...

...

[Back to current time]

Hans shook his head to stop reminiscing about the past.

"Fuck, man... I should've listened to Dad...

I should've been an artist or something, but now I'm stuck here because of what I said..."

Hans said in an exasperated tone.

It was understandable.

Hans was only 18 years old, an age when people would start to hang out more often and unlock relationships with other beings, but instead, he chose to accept the draft instead of avoiding it, even though he came from a wealthy family.

Hans looked absent-mindedly at the ceiling and stood up.

He walked towards Jorgen and nudged on Jorgen.

"Hey, can you take my spot now?"

Jorgen stared for a while and nodded.

"Thank you."

Hans lay on the floor and slept.

Jorgen took Hans' spot and guarded the night.

...

Morning came, and the team exited the barn house and continued their journey.