The Zeros

Priscilla shook her head. "I've been around Misthill and the borders. Mostly Eldervein. They have a good medical program."

Richard nodded to show it was accurate. "Baywich hasn't recovered from the war yet. Cruderia hit hard there not daring to come into the capital."

"Especially now that the capital has Maya—an artificial aiming system."

"It wasn't that they feared to come to Misthill but maybe they thought that weakening our troops near the borders would leave an open ground to take Gavdos. That or they just felt like bombing the closest city."

Priscilla ate her food silently for a while before asking, "It's been years since the war yet things are still tense. Is it ever going to end?"

"I'm not sure but the government aren't making any efforts at all," Richard said with a snort. "The roads haven't been repaired yet and that just shows how incompetent they are!"

Throughout all of this, Lily kept picking on her food like a scared chicken. She was wondering if she should step in and steer the conversation another way or just sit there like a ghost. She sighed and decided to remain invisible.

"You don't sound very patriotic, soldier," Priscilla mocked slightly. "President Kingsley would take your uniform for that."

"Mr President knows the soldiers are an invaluable asset."

Richard reached out and scooped some more soup. He ate it and then stopped, giving Lily a heated look. "Lily, what sort of soup is this? It tastes weird!"

Priscilla fidgeted on her seat before calmly replying. "I made it."

Richard gave her a blank look. He looked at the soup again and then up at her before smiling brightly. "It wasn't that bad. I loved how the pepper and salt mixed together and the sour taste makes it even more…"

"Ahem!" Lily coughed to get his attention. "Are you done?"

Richard nodded not knowing what next to say. He subtly pushed the bowl of soup away and took the rice and ate silently. Priscilla was seriously in thought. 'I'm really a horrible cook. When I tasted it, it was a bit fine. How is it…sour?'

She pushed the thought aside and began eating again. She glanced at Richard and then she recalled something that she'd always hoped to ask him about. She cleared her throat. "What really happened to you back in Crotan? I hear the soldiers talk about it a lot but you never bring it up."

Richard's eyes darkened and he dropped his spoon on the table with his head lowered. His face tightened.

"You really don't want to go there." Lily tapped her arm slightly. That topic had somehow become a taboo topic in the house and especially when Richard was around. They only slightly talked about it whenever he had the nightmares. He was really a strong man and despite being tortured for weeks, he didn't break. She was sure that bringing up this topic would ruin the mood of the dinner but apparently Priscilla didn't know about that.

To her surprise, Richard cleared his throat and looked up with dim eyes. "It's alright. I can talk about it."

He shifted on his seat then began. "They call themselves The Zeros—a secretive and well equipped terrorist group. They wear all black uniform with a large circle at the chest and an inverted and overturned 'Z' at the centre serving as their symbol.

"Their uniform has blue stripes along the arms."

Priscilla froze a bit when she heard the name 'The Zeros'. She had definitely heard that name before. Those terrifying monsters! Her body trembled a bit as bits of her memory flashed back at her. It was only 15 years ago….

Richard paused and observed her reaction before continuing. "They ambushed us at the Crotan mountain range. It was a set-up. A trap and we walked right into it. I watched my men being slaughtered in the mine field while being stuck on one myself.

"I was helpless. They surrounded us and killed all my men but spared me. They knocked me out and took me with them.

"When I was rescued the whole team of Zeros were destroyed but I have a gut feeling that more are out there. They are silent and hide in the shadows. No one knows them or who their leader is but one thing is for sure."

Richard had unknowingly grabbed his spoon again with so much strength that the spoon bent and snapped. "I will hunt them down till the very last one!"

Priscilla understood his plight. The hurt and the guilt. The regret of leading your team into enemy territory. It was hard to deal with. What puzzled her, however, was why The Zeros had spared him. Why did they ambush them at Crotan?

She mostly began to suspect that The Zeros were somehow affiliated with the Cruderians after all; it would make sense why they wanted to wipe out the reinforcements but that left another question since Richard's team wasn't the only reinforcement sent to help out at the borders.

….

After that no one spoke at the table till they finished eating. Lily went to her room shortly after the two huddled up on the sofa to watch a late night sci-fi action series.

She, of course, did hide to take a few photos but the atmosphere wasn't suitable for romance so she decided it was a bad idea.

Richard had always avoided talking about that particular part of his life ever since he woke up from a coma after being rescued. He carried the scars within him and she partly blamed herself because she hadn't reacted fast enough to his distress signal. They arrived at the mine field only after most of it had gone off and Richard was nowhere to be seen. All that was left was a field of shattered limbs, broken bones, blackened blood and gore. Smoke and ashes filled the whole area.

She was sure they had at least two military exoskeleton suits with them.

Lily sighed and turned off her lights but didn't go to bed either. She knew her job well enough. She sat by the window, looking down at the street. Her eyes became distant.