Slaughter

"Still, I'm surprised you didn't desert, Nim."

The army was marching through a forest. The sunshine that reached down between the leaves gave it a somewhat calm and almost magical feeling. Everyone was in a good mood.

"I already told you, I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of running away like a coward and leaving you all to die. That's the only reason."

They suddenly stopped, and eeriness took the place of ease. Something was moving among the trees.

"I have a bad feeling about this"

As Nim said these words a group of undead appeared from the forest, and attacked the soldiers. The power of surprise was on their side. The soldiers tried to fight back.

"It's an ambush! How did they-"

"Group together and fight back!"

"Don't let them overwhelm you! There's only- Gah!"

It was all in vain. In the turmoil the undead made swift and deadly work. An aberrant weapon hit Nim, and he passed out.

When he woke up, the enemy was long gone.

"My head... " He mumbled some unprintable phrases as he stood up. "Looks like the undead are gone and everyone-" He just noticed, he was standing in a sea of corpses. Severed limbs, heads without a torso, bones and blood, a ton of blood. It flowed and swirled like it was alive.

"Everyone is... they all... I knew it was a suicide mission but... they... didn't deserve an end like thi-"

"Oh what's that? A status window? Niiiice!"

'It's quite dismal. I don't feel anything for them, I didn't know them well enough. The shock of seeing so many corpses wears off and only leaves emptiness. I knew this would happen, maybe that's why I don't feel sorrow or even guilt. A shame, really.'

Nim walked out of the forest. The sun was settling, and he felt like a hollow corpse himself. No emotions, just the grim and cold existence. He was scared of himself, of what he'd become.

'I don't want to lose my humanity.' He thought. 'I need a goal to pursue, otherwise I'll become an empty shell, a shade of my old self.'

With that in mind he walked off to the distance. To find his goal, to pursue it...