In the Desert

As the nine figures in tactical gear walked across the Saharan desert towards the setting sun, all but one of them felt the pain of loosing their teammate.

In the back Ethan, who was pulling their fallen friend across the sand dunes couldn't help but think of his best friend.

A few hours ago they were tasked to survey the area in response to a disturbance. Unfortunately the monster was very intelligent and sneaked up behind John who was resting.

They manage to kill and incinerate it but John had a hole in his chest and was loosing a lot of blood. Kellogg went near him and looked him in the eyes. John felt happy in some way, seeing his captain one more time before leaving this world was enough to make him happy.

Unlike the others, John worshiped Kellogg. He treated him with utmost respect and always stood by his side. Kellogg was a hero to him. As his cold eyes focused at John, he picked up his gun and used the last bullet to put him out of his misery.

It was the right thing to do but, well.. er, it looked like something else from a distance.

To the first Squad their leader was a bastard who only cares about efficiency . But the second in command, John was family to them. No matter how harsh the orders given by the leader were, John cheered them to do their best.

Kellogg didn't feel anything when he euthanised his trusted subordinate.

Now that John is no more how could they endure the good for nothing leader? Most of the squad would attempt to retire from the program but it wasn't possible since the higher ups wouldn't let their skills go to waste.

"You know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to spit in that fucker's face and beat the shit out of him." Edwin proclaimed.

Even though he heard what subordinate was saying this behind back he really didn't care. To him they were just work horses. He didn't care what they did as long as they followed his orders during mission.

"Then What?" Yuri asked."Are you going to wear a cast again?"

Edwin bit his tongue.

In reality the have been trying to hurt Kellogg for a long time. But the enhanced body and his control over his senses left him unharmed.

Edwin broke his arm while punching him in the chest last week.

Ethan gave deep sigh and looked at the sky.

"John. I hope you can see us. The No 1 Team." Ethan's speech became unsteady. The others quieted down after hearing him.

He took a deep breath. "You Bastard! Don't you dare pity us! We're gonna be even greater! Even grea.." his voice trailed off.

Words couldn't express the pain and sadness they experienced that day.

***

Kellogg had a habit of analyzing almost every disturbance he encountered to become more efficient in facing the next. He liked to think while walking. He felt like he was moving towards the answer.

'Something does not add up.' Kellogg's grey eyes twitched.

The energy signature given off by the target did not match the detected energy signature.

The target the encountered gave a stronger energy than detected. He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable when things didn't go the way he predicted.

'The satellites need to be checked. If this happens again it may lead to a disaster' he said to himself.

While his team members wept over John, he was criticizing his actions. 'He could have never survived especially with unnecessary communication with others' To him socializing with others was unnecessary. Why should you even socialize with others in this era?

While he was coldly analyzing John's flaw's, the corpse at the back started to give off a faint aura.

Since his senses were very sharp he sensed it and quickly turned around and dashed towards Ethan who was dragging the corpse and kicked it.

Everyone was surprised and shocked at his actions, Ethan lost his balance and fell into the sand.

But then they realized, now matter how much of a pain in the ass he is, he never acts without reason.

"Defense formation!" Yuri shouted and all of them armed their weapons and looked towards the dead body lying on the sand dune a few hundred meters away.

***

A few hours passed the aura had vanished and the sun had set. The desert was illuminated by a half moon and eight people were standing in a V-shaped formation and one was standing in front.

They were nearing the end of their patience. None of them were able to sense anything from the remains and the started to doubt their leader for the first time.

"Kellogg!" Edwin yelled. He was especially angry. Not only did he disgraced his best friend's remains but made fools out of them for a couple of hours.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? We didn't say anything when John died. But this! You crossed the line now. I don't care if I die I'm going to kill you now!" and he kicked Kellogg in the chest sending him flying.

The others didn't bother to stop Edwin. 'You get what you fucking deserve' they thought.

Edwin now proceeded to punch him in the face as he lay on the sand. "Dieeee!" he screamed.

***