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The snow crunched under my feet as I plodded through the dense forest. The wind blew sending a cold shiver down my spine despite my environmental body armor. It had been two whole weeks since I had deserted my unit and set out on my own. After all that time walking alone, these quiet wildernesses still give me the chills.
My unit wasn't such a bad one. We were Buster Squad, part of the 235th Coalition Infantry. They were all great guys. Real sports. Dedicated to the Coalition's views and their way of life. Like them, I did our Emperor's bidding without hesitation and without remorse. It was for the good of humanity after all. Wasn't it? That was before the Tolkeen Campaign though. Tolkeen changed everything.
I stopped for a moment to catch my breath on the ridge of a large hill. Out before me, the forest dropped down and sped away from me in all directions. It looked like the entire land as far as the eye could see was carpeted with green and white. A lovely sight to see. But like with many things, the eyes can deceive. Carefully, I shouldered my rifle, taking comfort of it's presence.
There had been many times which I treated my rifle as my closest friend. We had come together a long ways and it has saved my life a number of times. Now that I look back on it though, that rifle is a source of hate and destruction. For with that rifle, I had smothered my life with one fatal pull of the trigger. With one shot it was all gone.
Buster Squad was being stationed in a small town far from the north-south battle lines and west of Tolkeen. It was a nice town. The people were very friendly. They housed us, fed us, and entertained us. Well, the ladies entertained us. The men kept their distance.
We were there at the time with 4 other squads. Our mission was to hold the area until more troops could be brought in to use the village as an undercover staging area.
Unfortunately, our superiors were unable to get the amount of troops they wanted into the area before winter set in. They were having a shortage of soldiers after a major Tolkeen offensive and not enough were able to be spared to send out our direction. Maybe some would have been sent once the outlying support forces moved in from the various bases in the south, but none would come immediately. That was fine though because the logistics would have been hell during the winter.
I was very unhappy about being stationed there for several weeks. I had wanted to be in the thick of things down south. I wanted to fight the evil forces of Tolkeen by my fellow coalition citizens, defending our race from those who wished to embrace the enemy. For a long time I was bitter.
Then I met Helen. Ahhh... Helen. She came to me in one of my days of depression. I was standing out in the snow under an old apple tree. My armor stood out like a sore thumb in the vast whiteness that was the land. I stood there with my hands resting on my hips searching... searching across the land hoping to find a glimmer of color in all this white and black. Then I felt a weight upon my arm as something slipped into the hole between my body and my elbow. I looked down and there was Helen.
She had said, "Well soldier... what do you see?"
I was speechless. It was almost as if she could read my mind. Almost as if she could tell I was searching for something. And the fact that this beautiful young girl was speaking me and was looping her arm around mine shocked me. I had never been one with the ladies. Maybe it was because I was too quiet, or maybe it was because I was part of the Military, I don't know. But, there I had a girl who walked out in the middle of the cold out to a lone soldier just to chat. It astounded me.
We became fast friends, Helen and I. As the days passed on and I began to know her better, I spent more and more of my off time with her. She was smart, funny, cheerful, energetic, and most of all, to me anyway, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Lord help me, I had fallen in love with this girl.
As our time spent together increased, she would often ask me, "Curt?".
And I would of course say "Yes."
"Curt?", she would begin again, "Would you ever hurt me?"
And of course I would say, "Of course not my dear."
Weeks passed on. We lived in relative peace in this small town. Out of the blue, though, in January a dreadful event happened. I and Buster Squad were spending our evening in the local bar. It was our night on guard duty, but our Captain really didn't take it seriously. C'mon. What would happen out here in the middle of nowhere in this sleepy little town?
As we sat there in the bar, a loud explosion erupted outside. It was quickly followed by two more. Quickly, the entire squad ran outside to see what the noise was all about. To our shame, someone had entered the village and bombed three buildings. It just so happened to be that these three buildings held our sleeping companions from the other three squads. Not a single soldier from those squads came out of that night alive.
Our Captain was quick. He surmised that there must have been a spy in the village working for Tolkeen. The spy did not strike until he had lulled our forces in a sense of false security, thus striking when all were not expecting it. That spy must be found at once.
Of course the villagers and our squad searched everywhere. We did not find anything. A week had passed. Nothing.
Then, upon the 9th day of searching, I stood with my Captain and a few others in the barracks discussing the new sentry changes. This short old wrinkly woman comes pounding on our door. When Private Mathers answered the door, she comes barging in. "Captain Wyne! Captain Wyne! I have found your traitor!"
We all stood in shock as she motioned to some people through the door. After a few moments, 3 gangly looking girls walked in dragging another by the arms. The girl that was dragged in wore a ragged dress and was slightly blue with cold. She appeared to be beaten quite severely. With a vicious snarl, they hurled the girl onto the wooden floor in front of the Captain. "This is your spy!", screeched the old crone. I gaped in astonishment. The girl on the ground was Helen!
Captain Wyne looked down upon the girl with arrogance and then turned to the old woman, "Why do you think this girl is the spy?"
The Old Woman stepped past Helen and got in the Captains face. "Don't you know... she's a Psychic! An abomination! She can read peoples minds and twist them to her own will. And then from that mind, she can glean all the information she wants!"
I stared at Helen. It couldn't be true. That was Helen! Not some unnatural freak!
Captain Wyne bent down to take a closer look at Helen. Suddenly, he seemed to have a glint of recognition in his eye. Straightening up slowly he turned to me. "Corporal Raines?".
I swallowed hard, "Yes sir?"
"Isn't this the girl who you have been spending much of your free time with?"
Sweat began to bead upon my forehead. "Y-yes sir." As soon as I said that, I saw a gleam in his eye. It was a gleam that I did not like.
Pointing to two random soldiers in the barracks, Captain Wyne said, "You two. Take this traitor out to the field in the back and make sure she doesn't leave." Then he pointed at me. "You Corporal. Come with me."
The two men dragged Helen out and I followed the Captain out the back door. I did not like the sound of his voice and I could feel myself trembling under my armor. On the way out, I grabbed my helmet and latched it onto my head to keep my head warm.
Right outside of the doorway, the Captain stopped and turned around. He also had his helmet on. "Look here Soldier. You have been in found in company with this spy. For that association, you could easily be charged with spying also. Do you understand me Raines?"
I nodded in fear. Sweat beaded down my forehead underneath my helmet and my environmental armor felt uncommonly hot.
Then the Captain gave me a sidelong glance and paused suspiciously. "Or are you really Raines?". I could feel the blood drain from my face as he said that. "How do I know you are not some puppet that this evil wench has just brainwashed and taken control over?"
I could hear the panic in my voice as I answered, "Sir... I am not under any sort of mind control."
Underneath the Captain's helmet an diabolical chuckle came forth. "Well then Raines. You're just going to have to prove that to me." Opening the back door slightly, he called in, "Thompson. Bring me Corporal Raines' rifle over to me... thanks."
Handing my own rifle over to me he said, "Here is your rifle. Follow me. "
I clutched my trusty rifle in my sweaty hands as I followed him. I soon realized that he was taking me to the field behind the makeshift barracks. He took me to Helen.
There sat Helen, crying and half frozen from the snow and inadequate clothing. Flanked on each side of her were the two soldiers that brought her out here.
At that moment, I realized why the Captain had given me my rifle and a sickening feeling began to twist through my gut. Silently I prayed that he would not tell me to do it. We finally reached Helen and her guards. "Corporal," the Captain said in a deep monotone voice, "I now order you to...". The Captain paused. I stood there watching Helen as my eyes began to burn. "I order you to execute this traitor!", the Captain cried out.
The command emotionally knocked me over and I stood there looking dumbly at Helen. The Captain was ordering me to shoot Helen! A huge claw grappled onto my heart as my blood pounded in my ears. MY Helen.
The Captain seemed to notice my hesitation. At the wave of his hand, the two guards drew their pistols. He then turned to me. "Corporal. You were given a direct order! Shoot this woman!" Slowly I raised my rifle and took aim at Helen. Through my helmet, our eyes made contact. She knew it was me. I could see tears rolling down her cheeks as she sat in the cold snow. Her eyes were pleading up to me not to do it. In the background, I could hear the Captain's voice, "Corporal! DO IT! Prove to me you are not under the mind control of this Witch! That you are still loyal to the Emperor and all he stands for! That you will not allow mankind to be taken over and enslaved by these demons! Fulfill your oath to the Emperor!" Tears began to form in my eyes as my own personal ideals collided with my heart. Her eyes were filled with fear and sadness. "DO IT!", screamed the Captain. I could feel my finger shaking on the trigger. "FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND RIGHT, SHOOT!" Tears cascaded down my face as I clamped my eyes shut. A slight hiss sliced through the air, followed by a cry of anguish, and all was quiet. I sank to my knees trembling. The voice of the Captain floated over to my ears, "Good job Raines. I knew you would do the right thing." A few moments later, the sound of Captain Wyne and the two guards tramping away towards the barracks could be heard.
Slowly I opened my eyes, and there 5 feet in front of me lay my Helen. Shot by my own hands. At that point, I broke. I could not take it any longer. I could not stay there.
As the talon that gripped onto my heart squeezed with all it's might, I rose to my feet. For one last time, I looked down upon my Helen. At her smoldering body where the laser had struck. And with a sob in my voice, I turned south east. Shouldering my rifle, I marched off across the frozen fields of white.
All in one shot, I destroyed my life. I destroyed my Helen, I destroyed my Rank, and I destroyed my heart. It was time to walk into oblivion.
I stood there looking across the forest. Off in the distance, I spotted a small wisp of smoke. From it's size, it looked to be a campfire of some sort. Either that, or smoke from a building.
Setting a grim face underneath my helmet, I strode down the hill towards my destiny.
End of Part 1.
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