Stargazing

He flew to close to the sun. His wings were clipped.

Daedalus warned Icarus to not fly to close to the sun, else his wax wings would melt. Malkovich had warned him not to die, yet he had taken a direct hit from what felt to be the sun. Almost as if he were Icarus descending into the ocean below, Mike felt light as he seemingly floated in a dark void that encapsulated his body. He couldn't hear, see, taste, or smell, yet the only constant were the memories that passed by him.

Three minutes in silence. In nothingness. That's how long it took before he found the strength to open his eyes. His vision remained blurry, yet his sense came back to him. A white haze set over the darkness, that was now being banished by the light the moon reflected. A pained sensation came from his chest, as it was immediately apparent that someone had token the time to remove his brunt plate carrier to bandage him up.

He flexed his fingers. They were in a small collection of mud. Glancing down, grime covered his entire body. Dried dirt and mud coated his exposed skin alongside the small coating of blood that made his lips dry. Struggling to look down his shirt, it seemed that his olive-drab undershirt had been removed and replaced by a crisp white bandage that circled his entire torso. Breathing was an issue, so he suspected that several ribs had been broken after the sudden attack.

Shifting his arm with immense pain running throughout his chest he brushed his fingers over the holster sitting on his thigh. It was empty. He took the same hand and brushed it over the only two remaining pistol magazine pouches that sat on his battle belt. They were empty as well. Not far away his carbine laid against the same wall he was leaned up against, the conclusion he had was that the princess had token his remain ammunition and had left with the others to reach the settlement, to reach safety.

"Mike."

Not thinking, the sergeant immediately dived for his carbine, and in the blink of an eye he aimed the holographic sight at the person standing over him. Groaning in pain, he lowered the weapon and attempted to use his remaining strength to sit himself upright. Falling to the ground, the person walked over to him under the moonlight.

"Please, let me help you." The woman spoke softly as she grasped his right arm and supported him as he laid against the broken wall.

Mike stared at the glowing red gem on the princess's necklace. He couldn't find the energy to speak as, but he strained his throat as he croaked out three words, "Where are we?"

"Stragea." She simply answered settling herself next to him.

Confused, he looked around. Burnt trees, ruined buildings, heavy mist, and the smell of death. It seemed that he and the princess were near the center of the formerly growing settlement. Less than one-hundred meters away was a destroyed fountain, bodies littering the inside. All around, where buildings once stood, embers and ruins remained.

"This was supposed to be a recon mission." Mike sounded defeated as he wheezed. "What the fuck are we doing here?" He asked forcibly.

Lecca remained silent. Her silver hair fell over her face concealing her distraught expression. The sergeant further pressed his questions of why he survived in the first place. His words echoed in the princess's mind. Her left palm faced upwards as the light of the moon shined upon the two. A sudden soft pain emanated from her forearm as the man next to her grabbed it forcibly to ask a question.

"How…" Mike coughed as he pushed through the pain, "How the hell did I survive something that would've melted my armor and clothing to my skin?"

"I-" Lecca chocked on her words as a single tear escaped her eye. She couldn't finish her sentence as her arm fell limp, making Mike let go. His anger was pushed aside. Her fear was displayed for the world to judge.

She truly did not know why she was breaking down. Her time in the military academy as a teenager, and her years building up her military career throughout her entire life trained her for direct combat. Yet she was used by the king as his hidden blade, used to eliminate any and all threats to the throne. Perhaps it was her sheltered life, perhaps not.

"It was magic?" Mike asked after some time of silence. His throat had fell numb providing a small amount of comfort, "If I remember correctly, you said you used nullification?"

Nodding, her silver hair fell to the side as the occasional call of nearby crickets and the quiet humming of nearby birds that feasted on the corpses scattered about filled the silence that had been left by the destroyed settlement. Were it not for the destroyed lands the two currently occupied and the heavy mist that circled the settlement, it would have been a perfect night for stargazing.

Straining his neck towards the sky, Mike watched the blanket of stars above glimmer and fade as clouds covered their light. The moon could not be masked by such clouds, yet its light was dampened when a large cluster passed by. It was this alone that reminded the sergeant that he was on the edge of the frontier and that he was long from home, as there wasn't enough light pollution to block out the heavenly lights.