ZERO

by Nicholas Dodge
Chapters 1 - 5

1.

Behind Every Tree (August 11th - 12th, 2025)

It was like watching brimstone walking casually, shaded in a golden red

fire and shifting in an armor of black wind. It was the strangest thing and also
the most apparent to his eyes as they searched; set and settled on the two
targets moving guiltily behind every tree. There was no sweat as he felt the
pressure of the string becoming stretched and hugged to his side, the wood
bluntly coiled in his stiff fingers.
The two were looking for something, that much was evident. You could
see it in their faces as they turned at all directions, their bodies moving like
lost children. They did not know these trees, this forest like he did as he kept
his eyes ever wide on their presence, sat in the comforting arms of a rattled
pine tree, needles guarding him like some enormous green sea urchin. As
they moved closer the pressure under his fingers kept growing slightly, by
fractions of inches.
Soon there was a clear opening to one of the duo and he could not
pass up the opportunity. The bow, with blunt blades forming at the ends and
turning small wheels within the composites structure, bent back, raised up to
the length of his sitting body, the center of his legs (the area of bend,
opposite his knees) grappling the strong arm of the pine, the arrow stretched
with the full pressure of the string. Looking down the sight of the bow, which
was invisible except in his eyes, he watched to see the movement of a hawk
feather stitched upside-down along the bow from the arrow rest. He was only
ten feet off the ground, the feather didnt even waver, it was a very still
midday.
And then, in a motion so graceful that dancers had only possessed it at
one time, he released, carefully letting his fingers fasten straight so that the
string could all at once recoil and release the arrow, which was something like
a tiny steal dagger on a rod and carried by a loon. In slow motion one would
witness the recoil, the bow gathering composure while the string swayed
from side to side as the arrow would wobble somewhat violently, depending
on the class of carbon fibers used in the making and the shot made by the
archer, with the amazement being that the archer would almost completely
stay motionless during the entire climax of the event.
And there he was, still grappled, stiff as a statue and eyes still marked
on his target, he was a living painting of Apollo. The arrow transversed, past
sound and leaves, flying through air and into flesh, the color red smearing
deep shades across brown dirt and grassy patches, rocks with mold and
background pines looking like gruesome hospital needles. As the target fell to
the ground the arrow jumped within him on impact, the steal lying intimately
inside of the mans heart, his last few beats sounding of lullabies putting the
arrow to sleep.

For a second, as a hunter in the trees, he rested and recovered as he

drew a second arrow, the sound of the others footsteps frantically running
over to the dead man resting with the Earth. Same path, different target,
more blood to spill, it was a harsh lifestyle. He pulled the arrow against the
string one more time, a hard kiss, and blew. He turned his head down to the
inside of his chest and shoulder the very second he heard the second mans
chest crack, the splitting sound of bones breaking, he couldnt bare to watch
again.
Then he felt something and raised his head, it spread between the
seams of his dirty blonde hair and running over the fur of his brown faux
leather jacket, it even sipped its way along the stitches of his faded jeans. He
looked down to the hawk feather and watched the wind blow a single, long
breathe against him, the feather fluttering slightly to his left. And then, from
the midst of nowhere fluttered a green darner, a dragonfly native to parts of
America but rarely ever seen (amongst most creatures of its kind, they were
on the verge of extinction). And as he reached out to it the darner drew back
and scattered into the east. He brought his hand back, a sense unlike other
senses drowning in him for no solid reason. Regaining composure he looked
to the ground.
Climbing from branch to branch until he was a mere five feet from the
earthly floor, bow wrapped around his chest and arrows kept quiet in a quiver
carried on his back, he jumped. Rolling his feet he moved from the tips of his
toes onto the ball barring of his knees and rolled from his head back to the
flat outstretch of his feet. He always remembered the times he fucked up, his
feet crippling the wrong way or going so straight that the top of his bow
would impale his body upon landing or crashing, depending on ones point of
view. It was a tricky act that took much practice, of landing precisely and
rolling at an angel so that everything rose in accordance. It was an act that
took many good failures before he had perfected it.
Walking over to the bodies, making certain no others were around,
watching him as he had them, he stopped with a mouth becoming agape.
Bent on knees over the dead he closed his mouth and brushed his hands
along one of the two mens shoulders. They were both military scouts,
patches on their left arms, patches with Americas Governing symbol
embroidered in fine linen and close knits, the Eye wrapped inside of the
Pyramid.
The map on the table was inked black and red, with spots, destinations
and points of interest encrypted all along the grayish white of the beaten
paper. Tommy marked down two new points on the map, in red pen, and left
the base camp to find his friends.
Josh, go check the map, I set up two more traps along the western

slope. He yelled, Josh from a distance counting their supplies, the way a
scribe usually works.
It took Josh a second, when recording he was always very focused, but
he finished, swiped the numbers from his pen and looked back to Tommy and
with a nod replied All right, what kind of traps this time?
People traps, theres a pitfall that took me all day yesterday to dig
out, and then a log trap that I finally finished.
You mean the log trap from last month? You finally fucking finished
that thing?
You try building one sometime. Josh laughed at his response, though
Tommy was somewhat more serious; but he didnt take anything more from it
than a light hearted expression and stern smile, especially around camp. Im
gonna go check on the snares, Ill be back before nightfall.
Hopefully with some food? Josh asked, between checking the bags of
rice and dried peas within the nearby shed.
Hopefully... Tommy said, walking out with a sack over his left
shoulder and a rifle, the XM2018 enhanced sniper rifle with a mounted scope
and modified 8-shot bolt-action clip designed for accuracy in urban areas,
strapped over his right shoulder. Tommy always looked back to see the rifle
folded, by design, the gun itself looking like two halves of a broken weapon
sewn together.
His canteen of water shuffled along his hip, his cargo pants carrying a
variety of tools and useful things that even a mechanic and a plumber would
argue against owning. A deep green turtleneck sweatshirt kept him cool in
the plummeting fall air, not a bead of sweat as he worked his way over and
up hills and jumping past rocks, loose cameo pants breaking a sort of light
current in the air. This forest was his home, had been his home for over a
year now, he knew its backends and forefronts like a tour guide knows the
words to a brochure. His living room, family room, kitchen, bathroom, was
made up into miles of outreaching land, land he never had the pleasure of
enjoying before his transition out from civilization almost a year ago.
He stopped at a cliff, one he used for vantage weekly, to outlook a
number of traps he had set. It took a few minutes, but his eyes would pick
apart details in the dirt and up the trees, then he would reach from the belly
of his back. His rifle was his friend, his companion, one he brought back from
the war, it held in his hand heavily, but with a firm palm it became a
welcoming handshake and the two sat atop of the cliff. Tommy viewed down
the barrel, the fine sharpness of the blackened steal balancing on the horizon
of the sight, he maneuvered through the woods from a distance.
Trap one still was untouched, what a shame he thought. Trap two,
which had been cleverly positioned between a friendly gap under the shade
of two tall spruces, was also still set, another downward step in a spiral of

survival. He didnt let this dampen his spirit for long, for as he looked across
the furthest point to the third trap, set in an area where he had seen rabbits
rest and gather, had a tempered movement and color that didnt match the
rest of the woods; the trap had been sprung.
There was a site, a natural staircase made of stones with underbellies
laid with mosses and insects, that glided down the cliff feet away from the
vantage point. He climbed down, each grasp on each rock rough and surging
in his muscles as power lines do. When at the bottom he would always look
up above, it was a trained habit, one he recalled from scattering around the
bunkers raised among the trenches to take out gunners; hed always imagine
those gatling machine guns firing from above, sparks and fireworks searing
lines in the sky.
He moved in and saw the poor animal struggling to be untied. He
never enjoyed killing innocent things, but for survival it was more than a
necessity, and from his belt he lifted his combat knife and kept it close to the
rabbits neck. The worst, which he usually avoided, was looking into any
creatures eyes, and in the rabbits, he knew from heart, were tears of panic.
He turned all of his emotions off, his brain shutting down into a singular path,
there was no rabbit or world around them. He was all that existed. Im
sorry. He told the small thing in apathy as it still scurried along the fallen
pine needles and broken bark on the ground. With one hand he grabbed the
rabbit by the back of its neck, a soft spot on animals that usually consisted of
extra skin and potentially harmless when grabbed, and with his other hand
shaved the knife across its throat. He only saw the rabbits neck as it drained,
he never looked near the eyes, those damn mirrors of life.
After placing the rabbit in his sack, the constant familiar sound of
falling objects against the flesh of plastic that lined the inside of his barrage
hydration pack, he lifted and heard the sound of something other than
himself straining upwards from the grains of the soil. Staying silent and
lifeless he looked to his side to find a deer in the not so far distance grazing
on a patch of tall grass. It was his lucky day.
The world stopped turning for minutes at a time, the deer did not see
him and he kept his sights on it, his hands moving slowly, drawing his rifle
forward as if it was a mine about to detonate with the slightest pulse of
movement. His body became a machine, each part from the top of his head
to the bones in his toes moved in conjunction. As his arms reached, pulling
the barrel from the bottom of the fore-stock and cocking it to the chamber, he
pressed the rifle to his forefront as his legs crept lower. His neck curling and
pressing his head past his chest and his feet clenching the inside of his boots.
Then, with the rifle positioned and his eyes down the sights, his pupil was a
bullet already igniting down the sight, hunched and bent perfectly over in the
shape of a human sphere, he waited for the right moment. The moment when

the world would turn again. And then it came, and the echoing of noise being
suppressed by a built-on compressor mounted onto the barrel. Yet the smell
of gunpowder flew upward in the canopy of trees to the birds, that much was
unavoidable.
The shed was a library, the bookshelves (so to speak) were stacked
with bags of dried rice, peas and corn, there were jugs of water on the second
level away from the ground and firewood at the base of the shelves. At the
top were rows of paper, pens and other assorted objects of interest that, at
one point in time, were dollar store garbage. Lines of vitamins and containers
of preserved fruits and vegetables were placed precisely in position, while
boxes of matches were cleverly sat in a plastic container away from anything
flammable or valuable.
Outside Josh opened the back of the trios jeep, containers of gasoline,
extra bulk sized packages of batteries and wires were neatly formed in
groups in the lowered back seats. Ill have to ask Tommy how were doing on
power. He spoke to himself, remembering all of the cords that ran through
their base camp and how many solar panels were stationed in the peaks of
trees and to the sides of some lighted cliffs. There were only two extra solar
panels left in the jeep, something they might need more of, in coming time.
Down by the stream they had set a hydraulic energy system that
worked off of the flow of current, the simple turning of wheels and the
production of low grade energy that continuously built within the battery,
wrapped in plastic beside the system. Give it another hour. . . he said, as if
speaking to the birds or the water, its little waves and soft ripples somehow
speaking a language no man or woman could comprehend, though perhaps a
child would hear more. But Josh was no child, in his time away from
civilization he was a man, he looked down to his hands, pen with paper and
how they did not fit entirely with his figured calluses and tough skin. He was
used to the steal, warm, configured to his fingers which guided the metals, he
was the current, he controlled the flow, he remembered the green afterwards.
Not the green of the forest, which he loved more than those dirty city streets,
but also the green that punched numbers inside of screens.
He scouted around the base, a weekender shed that Nick and him had
purchased before the move into the wild. Everything seemed all right, there
was a loose tile on the roof that might need some fixing soon, otherwise the
place was as fine as a well dressed valentine in mid February. It was small, if
you were a person who suffered from claustrophobia then this would be your
hell in a cage; otherwise it was comfortably convenient.
The bedroom contained one, king size plus bed for the three to share
at night, while the main room held a few cabinets that stored salted meats,
cut and tenderized and placed into boxed coated in wax, it made the boxes

easier to clean afterwards. There was a knife set for cooking, and a wood
oven stove for heat, along with a worn but softened sofa for lax times.
The final piece of the checklist was of course, savored for last, the
restroom, a large hand-dug hole with a board of wood and a hole cut out
placed over the hole. What was unique about their design was wooden
stakes, partially soaked in gasoline and dried, were buried into the hole, not
only to hold the board up, but also to burn the waste after its final use. Josh
held up the measuring stick, a long stick from an oak tree they had picked up
long before they even had the storage shed built, and shoved it through the
stink hole like a knife gutting the insides of a festering corpse. He pulled it up
and out, if the mark (there was always a mark) didnt reach the second stump
from the top of the stick the hole would be fine; and so it was.
As he recorded all of the statistics he saw the numbers, wanting to be
written out, they had a need to please him, so he continued with his work. He
went outside, it was getting cooler, the sun halfway towards the ending of the
mountains that surrounded them and he figured they had two hours before
dusk dreamt in. With a small nap sack and an old, heavy suit-coat he set
outward to gather plants and berries for the remainder of their August. But
before he even reached five feet beyond the base camp he saw Tommy, from
the corner of his eye, and a doe being carried in his hands and on his back,
tugged next to his rifle like two friends of solitude.
What the hell is that! Josh stated with utter excitement, his face
lighting up.
Dont just stand there, help me get this to the stump. What Tommy
meant by the stump was in actuality a large, flat-faced log from a very old
tree that had been cut down many years ago, which they used for cutting
their meat.
The two lugged the carcass over, near the jeep where the stump sat,
erupting from the ground like some angered plateau, stained in blood it gave
the dead wood a petrified wine-red coating. The animal laid there. Tommy
stretching his arms, twisting his joints as if extremely strained and tired from
the walk back.
This is great, Josh replied, astounded by Tommys catch today, this
is gonna make a great meal. All we had left in the cabinets were some
squirrel and crow, but this. . .shit. he was thrilled.
As long as we can get Nick to cook it. Tommy spoke, now honed to
thought and word instead to purely endure, Where is Nick anyhow? He
should be back by now.
And somehow Tommys words couldnt have arrived any sooner than
they did, as they heard the sound of something big being dragged through
the wilderness not too far from camp. They both leapt up and ran towards the
sound, Tommy retrieved his Colt 1911, along with Josh who followed behind

with a pair of sharpened thunderbolt throwing knives. Over a ridge they

prepared themselves, but quickly settled as they saw Nick hauling a body up
from the hillside. Nick looked up, his entire body struggling with the final feet
into camp, and he looked at the two with beads of sweat dribbling down and
said, I bet you cant beat my catch of the day. Somehow smiling at the two
as they came down to assist.

2.

Shotgun Reunion (August 12th - September 7th, 2025)

Soldiers, what the hell would the military be doing so far out here?
Josh asked, very well knowing that Nick or Tommy would have an answer. But
neither of them did and by the gesture of a shake that acted as a pendulum,
the answer became immediate, there was no reason why.
Theyre not from any of our battalions, I cant even read the rank on
the two but-
The two! Josh and Tommy spoke aloud and together, Nick had
forgotten to mention the other guy.
Yeah, well have to get the other guy in the morning, just so nobody
else finds him first. But the rank, Id guess he was just a normal soldier,
theres no insignia, no bars, stars or leveling symbols that suggest otherwise;
just the emblem. Nick looked to Tommy for support, they both had been the
same rank at one point. Josh looked to the two, hoping for something more to
emerge from this, but there was only a covert, lasting silence that held all
three of them in a grim, darkening grip.
The government doesnt send militants into the wild for no reason
Nick. Tommy responded, the thought sitting uneasy in his head.
So if the military has found us. . . Josh began to say.
If the military had found us already then thered be more than two
soldiers out here. Nick exclaimed
They must have an outpost nearby. Tommy rebutted, certain the
military tactics havent changed all too much in the past couple of years.
How far away were they again? Josh asked.
Nick looked and felt humiliated with himself, I forgot to mention. I was
in the middle of my weekly scout, I finally reached out into the three mile
marker, thats when I saw them from a distance, shuffling through the brush
and the trees. They were at least another quarter mile out from where I was,
though I probably wasnt at the three mile point exactly. . .seeing as these
two are infantry scouts at the least. Id say they travelled a relatively long
distance from where they were. I waited until they moved near my position
before I took the shots. . . He was concerned as ever, being a scout before,
he did his best to remember the trade.
So they crept in at about three miles out on the north-eastern corner,
past the fault line and outward toward the highway, which is what. . .like, ten
miles out? Tommy spoke.
Something like that. Josh replied, thinking in a variable of possibilities
that seemed to surround his head with ghosts.
Scouts wouldnt travel out more than five miles would they? Tommy
was more than disturbed by this news, hoping for answers so that actions
could be taken sooner.

It all really depends. They werent camouflaged and their gear wasnt
typical of light infantry, though I guess it doesnt matter, if the scouts dont
respond within a 24 hour period their superiors might respond otherwise.
Tommy looked at Nick and intently said, But these are the Rockies,
signals get lost in here all the time. He had the knowledge, a certain
detained comprehension for electronics and their capabilities.
In that case, theyll probably travel for a days time and nest
somewhere in the woods till morning and head back to the base camp by
then, wherever that might be. Id say we have a little more than a week to
act, since our location hasnt been relayed and neither has the information of
their deaths just yet. Their leaders will most likely assume theyre still
scouting the region, at least lets hope so. Tommy said, somewhat nervous
of the coming reaction from the two.
Well, what are the options? Josh began.
We fight or we flee, what else is there? Tommy answered, with an
apathetic grim flow of sentence structure caressing the inside of his mouth,
spoken like paste from his tongue.
We have the ammo and guns. . .I guess. But. . .we have no idea how
many more are out there. Josh spoke.
I suppose I could further my tracking on my way out into the northeastern section, though I know theres only the fault line and the side of
another mountain out there. If there is an army encampment it has to be set
on lower grounds, most likely near the highway for easy transport access.
Said Nick with a baritone of expressions.
Why? Josh asked, not much of an educated militant himself.
Because placing a base camp, or any camp for that matter, high
above the ground causes the camp to be susceptible to wind chill and
altitudes exceeding that of a lower level base camp. People think that cool air
plummets, and it does, but that coolness never exceeds the wind and altitude
conditions that I was talking about. Why do you think we set up camp in
between?
And nearby roads provide excellent transportation of supplies and
extra troops. Its perfect for a small military base. Tommy added.
Ok, ok, I dont know why I asked, Im a mathematician not a goddamn
geologist. He laughed, remembering a year ago, figuring out the camps
placement, allowing Nick to dictate the location. And now that Josh looked
back he saw that Nick probably had good a reason to do so.
I should be sorry Josh, I never really told you why either. I was just
happy you had assumed I was right. and the two laughed, the way very old
friends do before death greets them with open hands. They all sat, wood
burning in the stove, the only light was a reflection of the fire from all angles.
The flames were warm but the harsh warmth from their worried bodies filled

the room with heat, more so than the passionate charcoals from the stove. So
a window was open and they each listened to the bristle of leaves being
carried by winds outside.
It was easy to tell when winter was on its way, they already had
survived one winter, one more would just be another test. The wind always
picks up, flocks of birds form clouds in the skies and trees wither and wait for
the sun to befriend them with kind lights next season. Nick had noticed the
pines, a few, but enough of their needles turning to an orange and brown
state. Tommy watched the change in animal behavior set in the forest. Josh
could feel the fringed flow of water starting to freeze the tips of his fingers as
he would wash his face in the nearby stream. Signs were everywhere, usually
in nature and human instincts which were overlooked more often than not.
Were at a crossroads. Said Nick apathetically.
Tommy looked over in disdained overture, There is no crossroad, we
have to move.
We dont have enough room in the jeep to move so much material.
Josh replied, knowing very well, much better than the other two, what all they
had to keep in order to survive, knowing how much effort there would be in
transporting it all.
Tommy, I have crops for the winter growing, about ready to be
harvested, I cant just leave those, we need them. And Josh is right, we have
way too much shit to move at once. Proclaimed Nick, hoping for a better
option to their situation.
Then we do it over time, we have a week to move it all.
We cant move our farms and taking apart this camp will be enough
Hell. Nick spoke, somewhat angered that all of his work was becoming
ignored for some fantasy escape. Those stations cannot be moved without
damaging the plants roots and endangering their growth entirely, theres no
way. And we dont even have a location to move to, not one thats hidden like
ours.
Yeah, Nick and I worked on camouflaging this place months before
you even got back from service Tommy, theres no way of sacrificing that
work.
You guys arent listening! Tommy erupted, Nick knows as well as I
do, that if we dont leave were dead. And the silence suffocated the three
like a disease again. It was the silence that stuck to four walls and stayed
there, watching with huge eyes implanted in the paint, somehow listening for
signs of misdemeanor or underlining judgements and ready to become
outspoken and shut the mouths of anyone who dared utter against it. Locate
their base first, Tommy revived the three, a slight flutter of confidence in his
voice. We have traps all along the mile radius, maybe I could plant more
around the two mile markers and make sure all of our solar arrays are hidden

extra carefully. Josh well need you to keep everything stocked to its
maximum amount each week.
Josh let out a gasp, I keep storage on everything every two weeks and
thats a pain in the ass as is. You know youll be hunting a lot more right? And
the batteries will need to be checked much more often than-
And youll have to help gather more. Nick replied, Well all have to
do a little more until I track down the camp. Then well decide what our next
move will be. Until that time we wait. It was almost like he could have been
a politician in another life.
Feels like the war again. Tommy said.
Just like the war, something like Okinawa?
I was thinking outside of Hong Kong, in Macau. a smile of misery
painted itself across his lips, beneath the beginning shag of ragged dark hairs
growing into a fiveoclock shade.
Sorry buddy, I never made it that far. Nick smiled back, clipping his
fingers together, his dry skin rubbing together, enough to start a fire on the
insides of his palms.
Sorry guys, but I never even made it. Josh joked and they all laughed
hard, with guts ready to burst from stress, laughter and the remaining
squirrel that they had eaten earlier. It became a lighter place, eyes on the
walls were closing and the three strolled into their bed where they slept with
the window still cracked and the sounds of the wind still humming.
Nick took to the north-east corner beyond the base camp, while Tommy
left with supplies to set a number of traps, Josh was in charge of the camp
and the nearby area and assigned to cover up any relevant appearances of
equipment (mostly their jeep).
It was another soft, quiet day, the air was filled with a subtle freshness
that sung a playful melody with the aid of swinging branches and filtered
sounds of wildlife striving around them. The wind was gentle, like the touch of
babys skin, hustling under the majesty of gloom-ridden clouds harvesting the
blue from the sky above.
As Nick reached, step by step, counting the paces he made out into the
bounds of the first mile, he could only imagine the war being brought to his
new home. No good soldier ever forgets the tragedies of war, the mishaps
and disfigurements of human morality and ethics. No good soldier ever
forgets what he leaves behind him for the sake of his country, for the sake of
fighting.
Plastering the jeep with woods and sticky muds, Josh felt ironically out
of place. Somehow he had moved down, once having everything and filtered
into a state of having just enough to stay alive. What was it, as he scraped

together more mud and leaves, that led him to follow such a strange and
utter downward spiral. Had the world somehow changed so much from the
outside or did it exist as it always had? He wiped a hand along the window,
his reflection blockaded by the mud which he had swept along the surface of
glass that acted as a windowpane into another life, one he could no longer
see.
Tommy, who had left the war for his friends and had never looked back,
kept his rifle close, unlocked and in its full length, wary of that the enemy
could be at any turn. Birds sang quivering songs of loss and happiness in
their trees, now shedding small amounts of leaves and needles to the ground.
He smelled it in the air, the tide, a changing of time, the grey world rising in
white and soon there would be snow and cold things to calm this existence
back into a florescent hibernation. But he would not sleep, the image of battle
still wrecked inside the subconscious of his mind, ever carried on like a purple
heart.
The second mile had been reached, it was a straight away path.
Sometimes focused on his watch, silver hands pointing in every direction, he
rarely kept calm during times of vigilance. Time passed, sometimes slowly
and sometimes at a quickening pace, but nevermore it passed on and was
thrown away like some childs plaything. He watched the trees, tired of
looking into the dirt and grass, tired of looking up to the dimming sky, Nick
looked at the trees skin. The ragged bark, barren, rugged from years of
torture and survival. The extra skin, the bark that protected the tree. Did we
as humans have the same protection surrounding us? Could we grow bark
like that of an oak or even an elder yew? Could we just leave what was once
us far away in our shadow? Then the misty room began to surround his
daydreams.
Daylight was passing, everything had been done and now Josh was
roaming the camp, content to find a use for himself. But what was there to
do? The water had been stocked, the base camp and all of its material
belongings, including the farming sites (which were under the cover of tarps
and babied by fences) had been sealed away by branches and sewn mosses.
Josh entered the shed, just to double check all belongings, he knew the layout
by heart. Everything was in its proper place, everything was straightened,
everything except for the firewood and a few herbs were stocked, but that
could be done tomorrow. Then he spotted it, an object he must have always
ignored, the crack in the memorial that would bring down its entire existence.
An object so small, in comparison to the shed, that it could hardly matter at
all. But as he unwrapped it from its brown paper bag he realized what had

been hiding from him all along.

There were a few squirrels caught in his traps, it wasnt much but
anything would do. Then Tommy, with his trained eyes, zoomed in on a far
away tree. It was a mere toddler among the forest and already had dried up
and died in the world it was born into. Tommy imagined the war, China and
their Goddamn infantry, so fucking many of them. In the trenches he spread
himself, wiggling through the rain and grime, mud and blood mixed to form a
foul liquid that smelled of a murderers basement and felt as though you were
driving your body in sewage. He stopped, drew his rifle with ease, kissed the
barrel gently and aimed, up on top of the short hill which the tree sat, like a
poor thing waiting to be buried.
They kept this from me, didnt they? Josh, with rippled eyes, gazed
into the shifting clearness inside of the bottle. Gin, fucking gin of all spirits!
he was enraged, but thoughtful as to why. Why was there this one, singular
bottle of liquor, stashed away in the crevasse of the shed, a place where all
three men looked but not one of them ever recalled nor questioned. He
tipped it back and forth, watching the movement of burning clarity, thinking
deeply to himself of what to do next. It was still cold, cold from the earth
filling the metal sheets of the shed with lingering fabrications of solitude.
This little bit, its the least of what I deserve. And he unscrewed the bottle
to take a sip. But suddenly stopped and thought longer, screwing the cap
back on and placing it back in the bag, Next time. . .
As the night came down, setting a curtain on the three, it was just
another day without folly nor fortune. As the morning drew in, the shed was
stale and bitter from last night. Black coffee brewed on the heated stove and
the three sat around, wondering what to do next; although they each knew
what they had to do.
In the morning the three sat along a newly made fire. Joshs mouth ran
with thickets of saliva, remembering that burning taste of botanical grains
rushing along his taste buds from years past, the fluid mindset and
movement just from one sip, one very large sip, he should have taken the
chance.
That damn tree, Im gonna go shoot that damn tree today. Tommy
said to the others.
What? Josh laughed softly, What are you talking about dude?
There was a dead tree out there in the forest, while I was hunting, I
need to go shoot it. Tommy knew he sounded a bit foolish, but he knew the
guys took him seriously enough to not take this remark so seriously (which
was very ironic).

Just dont waste too much time out there man. Nick spoke,
concentrating on the image of an empty house, the dust floating in the air as
it came sweeping through the open doorway, his fingers tapping the glass
face of his watch.
Days passed, Tommy had been very proud to track and catch a wild
coyote, but nothing more than crows otherwise. Josh had everything fully
stocked, Tommy and him had rewired some of the solar panels to maximize
incoming power earlier in the week. Nick had about a half mile along the
circular path of the second miles barrier scouted, but was afraid that he had
to travel even further out past the three mile mark to find what he was
looking for. Each day living in loneliness, he was seeing more of her.
Shoot that tree yet? Nick joked.
No, not yet...
One more day passed, as if it was any different. But it was different,
noticeably and for some unexpected reason the hours lengthened and
dragged like a lifeless body through the crematoria. If the new day had
actually of been different, however, the three might have enjoyed the change
of pace.
You ever miss your old life? How things used to be? Josh began, the
day was turned into night, the seeping flow of the day, as the sun had
seemingly risen earlier and disappeared in a memorys flash. The fire outside
was burning in a hypnotic state of chaos.
Sometimes, I suppose, how bout you two? Nick responded, trying to
keep his mind away from past events.
All the time actually. Jolted Josh with a reply, staring down into the
fire, remembering the taste of wines, the feel of fresh cold water smoothly
sliding down ones throat, the taste of cheese or at least of what he could
recall of the taste.
No, I never really cared to. Tommy replied in a tone that would have
been considered cynical if it wasnt said so honestly. You cant move onto
the future if your past is in the way.
The past is always existent though. Josh said, a curiosity in his eyes
as he looked over at Tommy, his dear friend shining his boots and making eye
contact on occasion.
Do you always wear collared shirts Tommy? Nick said jokingly.
Yeah, I do, they look nice. Besides, Ive always liked wearing them he
replied, finally looking up at the two.
Thats sort of like living in the past, isnt it?
Its nothing like it, Tommy rebutted with a stern look, Im talking
about when you cant let the past go.

If you let the past go then how do you learn from your past mistakes.
Nick challenged him.
Your past mistakes? You forget you ever had them.
Eventually the night passed, and Nick was further out then he
shouldve been, up to the four mile point. Positioned along the centre of the
northeastern slopes, the juxtaposition of the ominous mountain and the
diving entry, he sat in a tree. With the map in his hands he drew all details of
the scape beyond his vantage. For as far as he could see. The trees
transformed into broken arrows. Any hills or cliffs were noted by cracked,
continuing lines and their length made apparent by straight lines growing
from the fallout points like thin hairs. Any water became an ameba on the
map and large ranges of dirt were dotted in between all intertwining systems.
But there were three objects, three things turned into one that Nick could not
mark accordingly onto the map. He reached for the nob posted into the side
of his watch and began to turn it before refocusing on his targets.
He readied his bow, the blackened metal of the shortened C curving
menacingly in his hand, but before drawing an arrow, discerned, he put it all
away, back onto his person. He climbed down the tree, this time with no
jump, and made his way with as much courtesy as he could, into the view of
the three walking rebels, three men he remembered well, one which he hated
greatly. Back then they were nicknamed The Harbingers yet they were
nothing of the sort. Nick and the other two had enlisted their help for a
robbery more than a year ago, gave them a meet up point far away from
their base camp, so why the hell did they come back here? Nick grinned as
they raised their weapons.
Josh and Tommy had already started a fire outside, cooking what was
left of the deer meat for supper. The sun was settling at the brink of dusk and
sinking into the darkening mountains to the forefront. Where is he? they
asked, fearing the worst, fearing that military men might arrive to their camp
at any time now. Tommy kept his Colt 1911 loaded and locked inside his
hand, Josh started juggling his knives through the dry air, both ready to hide
their weapons in their coats if the time called for it. Creeping in, it had
become a cold night.
And a light flew, as missiles do, to the peaking in the sky and lit the
forest with a bright glowing, red lamp-like glow. Someone had let off a flare.
Then the two saw Nick in the approaching distance, three men holding guns
to his back, they were all too familiar. It was a shotgun reunion that the three
had yet to forget.

3.

It Will Break (September 7th - September 9th, 2025)

They sat, around a campfire, it reminded them all of the past, back
when camping existed as a means of relaxation, back when ghost stories and
broken radios were saviors from boredom. Three across and three apart, Nick,
Josh and Tommy sat, watching their own ghosts from the past stare them in
the eyes.
So, hows it been? the leader of the group spoke, the trio had trouble
recalling the rebels name, but then it hit them, like a ball of lead through a
brick wall.
Jason, what the fuck do you want. It wasnt a question, it was a
statement, Nick and Jason had never agreed, it was an alpha male conflict
that was never settled.
Oh Nick, my favorite motherfucker and Tommy, we never really knew
each other, oh well. And Josh. . .Josh, whyd you leave us behind. Jason said
with a convenient grin.
Josh, with words made of silver and a desire to speak carved from lips
of gold, rose to the occasion and answered We didnt, we knew there
wouldnt be enough room for the six of us, and so-
We sent you away, Nick interrupted, Josh toggled between the
conversation in a denounced state as his friend continued we sent you far,
far away. You had no place with us here at this camp. Nonetheless, we sent
you somewhere safe, you ungrateful pricks.
You sent us to our deaths you bastards! Jason rose with his springloaded, fully automatic 5.56 caliber rifle positioned in both hands, raised to
Nicks face in complete rage, ready to pull the trigger at any point. Tommy
had rose to stop the two from arguing any longer and gave the clear for Josh
to speak as they all sat down. We sent you up to Utah, the safest state we
could think of, we left you with plenty of supplies. . . Josh was certain this
much was true, more concerned about Nicks temper.
Jason lowered his weapon, the three beginning to sit again in the wake
of Jasons words, Utah. . . Jason thought for a moment, the other two rebels
still watching with guns at hand, fingers flirting with the triggers, I forgot,
you three dont know a God damn thing about the outside world. He said
with each word contained in a steady, stern flow of reckoning.
What are you talking about? Tommy asked, agitated and quite pissed
off about the whole situation.
The US government. . .they issued a genocide on all of us. . .all of the
smaller, less significant states were juried under their penalties and made
into testing sites or graveyards. . .
The three all remained in shock, not sure what they were told was true
or if it even made sense. They saw a specific sadness in Jasons eyes, the

sadness that left the heart and tried to escape the body in any way possible,
but never could and never does. Jason sat and continued Back in June, after
we robbed that grocery store, we left for Utah, where you said youd meet
us, as he spoke Nick watched the background, the darkness of the night
morphing, When we reached Moab we waited, but we never saw you three.
We waited, held up in a city of useless ragged fucks and nothing but the news
of the war being streamed through our heads. Tommy gazed and saw the
shadows moving opposite the trees which stood tall, pointing down at what
the forest was attempting to hide.
In December. . .December, what happened in December? What the
fuck happened in December? The month seemed somehow extremely
important and relevant to Jason, as he stood and held his head, forcing
memories from the cracks in his skull, but he couldnt remember. We knew
we came here by orders, in July, but we didnt. . .I remember this camp. You
may have covered it up with grasses and wood but the layout still remains
and I. . .I mean we, we remember this place and the first time you showed it
to us. Josh saw something creeping behind Jason and the other two, there
was something or someone out there, watching. And Jasons pupils went
blank, hiding inside the green of his eyes, the fire dancing in the shining
reflection, Tommy looked over and recalled the feeling of his spine being
tapped, the information tunneling thoughts through the nervous system of
the brain, it was surreal.
Why? Jason asked out loud, It was there before the mountains, but it
seems as though this landscape has affected my signal. I only remember
Utah, then it all seems to cloud over. . . Tommy pointed three fingers to Nick
and Josh from down and against his thigh, along the log they sat on, the other
two nodded. That explains it, my Infinite system, its signal broke down and
then. . .then we found you, not by choice, but she somehow drove us here, to
you. and as the last word you translated to the three they all rose, in a
second on their feet and the next pulling handguns from the backs of their
jackets, secret pockets they had sewn months ago, and aimed at the rebel
group. Before Jason and the other two even had an expression developed on
their faces the three pulled the triggers and the trio of rebels fell from the
opposing log onto the ground behind them. Then, the three looked at one
another and ran to the darkness and they heard bullets flying like fireflies
lighting up the night air.
Bullets ricocheted from all angles, piercing the bark and corners of
trees and creating loud booms that rampaged through the once quiet,
sleeping giant of a forest. The three took different angles, all different
positions, soon the hunters would be surrounded and become their prey.
Tommy ran, jumping familiar hills and shoving past branches of trees.
The sounds of paced footsteps staggering through the rough, there were at

least three man chasing him, noted by the combusting gripes of boots lifting
past the leaves and dirt. Tommy turned around a dipping funnel in the earth,
waiting for the first to fall into a particular trap set for just this occasion.
There was a loud crunching sound of the trap caving in and next came the
yelps of a man, with large splinters impaling the flesh.
The other two stopped and carefully trotted around the area, looking
down at their comrade, this was Tommys chance. He ran and jumped, lifting
a knee into the air and slamming the strong fortified bone of his kneecap into
the mans face. The man, who was crouched and looking down before now
had his body sliding off the ground and to his back, Tommys foot landing
perplexingly on the surface of his cracking neck. A quick, inaccurate shot was
fired and Tommy ran still crouched, ducked and pushed the other through the
wild open space, pressure filling his abdomen. The body hit against the grains
hard and Tommy lifted his colt to the mans head, this was no different from
the war.
Josh felt two gunmen hounding him from behind, their footsteps deep
and grinding against the grain, he jumped and gripped the closest branch to
the nearest tree and climbed a few feet and waited for one of them to enter
the area. As soon as one of the armed men entered, barely three feet away
from Josh, he jumped, using his feet to propel him forth from the bark of the
pine and towards the man. His body leaping forward made one quick jab,
lasting less than a millisecond, Joshs palm cracking the ribs of his once
known attacker. With his other hand positioned in the air inches away from
where his other hand had hit, he grabbed the wounded man by the neck and
used his body to slide along the ground as a surfer would. He turned to face
the other attacker, who wasnt far away when the previous strike was made.
He then rose and realigned his body, still standing on the now freshly made
corpse, used his left hand to force the belly of the barrel, the attackers AK-47
pressed aiming at the clouds, giving him an ample chance to slam a right fist
into the attackers stomach. With his final strike and his attacker disabled, he
took a knife from his coat and pressed it through the soft bone on top of the
mans skull and then twisted it.
Nick ran, only one gunman tracing his steps, slid and rolled, the
gunman approaching, attempting to catch up to Nicks somewhat incredible
speed. With an ease of a leg Nick managed to trip the gunner to the ground,
hopped onto his back, grabbing him and raising his head by the neck and
asked do you want to die? He waited for an answer, but the man was
speechless, and as such, Nick put his Colt 1911 to the back of the mans
head. Lets make it simple, shall we, asshole. And released a bullet that dug
its way from bone and into brain, sliding through blood and bio with black
residue of bullet belongings shedding inside the mans skull, a metal cocoon
opening.

The three returned, together and let out a soft laugh.

The next morning Tommy returned to where one of the men had taken
a fall into his pitfall, surprisingly when he reached him the man was still alive,
bleeding out into the pit of rustled leaves and dirt. By the look of his pale blue
skin he was freezing cold.
Pl-plu-plu-ease. . .ha-halp me. His words were jittered and tongue
tied. Tommy looked down on him, soon digging the mans legs from the
spikes, his blood had frozen to the deep impalement overnight, it was a
miracle the man could still talk.
After a quick wash and a coating of blankets and furs, that the three
had skinned and collected over time, the man was somewhat warmer, though
the warmth through his bloodstream caused his blood to rush back through
him. The bandages wouldnt hold long before they would become flooded out
by red ink, pus and other unsatisfying innards. They had to act fast, it was
only a matter of time before the rebel reached his turning point for the worst.
He sat in a chair, cross-examined by the three, standing tall over him, it
almost felt like an old prison style electric chair execution.
Howd you find us? Tommy asked first, a mean, discerning look
across his face, his cheeks narrowed by bones and his lips disintegrated into
a frown of loss, knowing this man had to spend his last moments in
unfortunate conflict.
We-We found you bu-but, we werent looking for you. Some words
were long and slurred from the frostbite along the trails of his chapped
mouth.
Who were you looking for then? Nick was curious, the sort of
curiosity that is more confused than confident.
The Infinite system tol-told us to-uo, to come here for the-uh, the girl.
They wah-ant the girl. He wasnt making sense.
Whose the girl? Josh asked.
Infinite, Tommy, I didnt think about it till now...but dont you still have
an Infinite system implanted in you? Nick pointed to the back of Tommys
neck.
Tommy felt the emerging skin jutting from the backside of his neck,
along his spine, the wide rectangular formation stretching along the bottom
of his skull. Yeah he answered, somewhat reluctant, but certain there was a
purpose for asking, though it hasnt worked for some time now, since we
entered the campsite. The last time I remember using it was during our heist
and uploading the layout of the store, since then though theres been no
response from it.
The mountains bl-bl-block the signals. But she-ee is here. The mans
eyes, now rolling back, were filling with red veins and a white light that only

the dying received, like a grim invitation.

Hey! Nick screamed, tossing the man in his arms, stay awake, we
need you to tell us about this girl. Who is she? What does she want? And
what about the Infinite? Hey! The man was dragging in his hands like tears
rolling from an old mans wrinkled face.
Infinite is govern-ernment property, and. . .she. . .government
property. . .designed for control. He was riddled, fading into the deep coma
called death.
Nick let go, the rebel falling to the disease of the end at a quickening
pace. His final breathes were mere whispers of remembrance of a life, a ship
now sunk in a shallow sea of lifeless dark ocean. The three looked down at
him, mostly disappointed, further concerned about the girl who had
apparently been wandering the campgrounds.
Lets bury them all together, than we can search for the girl. Josh
said, feeling sorry for all of the lost lives.
Take a look in his pockets first. Nick reminded the two, mainly
gesturing to Tommy. And as the body grew cold again Josh removed the furs
and blankets so that Tommy could rummage through the mans pockets.
Fingers pickpocketing and consciously swiveling through linings, Tommy
searched, but there was nothing more than basic identification cards and old
U.S. Currency left on the man.
Nothing, he isnt a soldier, not even a scout or spy, he has no
markings or signs of being apart of the government. Tommy responded,
discerned at the least. Lets get to burying them all, I suppose. he said, not
very happy with the outcome, just more questions. During the dig and before
the burial he made sure to give Jason a few good kicks before setting him
inside of his mass grave, Nick looked over and thanked him in a sick sort of
way.
Later, during mid-day, the three were exhausted from not only the
action of the night before, but also after cleaning up the mess they had
made. Blood had to be swept up by rocks and mud, bodies buried in a
resourceful location and traps re-set. Their base-camp and entire location
became concealed once again.
Remember when we use to go camping here. It was so quiet, well,
besides those fucking assholes on the ATVs. Otherwise this was such a
perfect place to be, not too far but not too close to the so called civilized
world. Nick began, cooking some various vegetables together with spices
Josh had gathered from days before. Tommy didnt have a clue as to the past
times this place had held, only Nick and Josh had been here before, with
friends lost and missed.
Bear Creek Canyon, right? Tommy asked, needing the conversation

as much as the other two.

Yeah, something like that, I dont even think its an actual canyon haha. Josh responded.
Its on a canyon, I think. Nick said, thinking back to their map and
noting the cliffs that rose above the highway and the inclining road that led
up to the actual campsite from the opposite end of the mountain scape.
Those were good times. Josh said, looking at Tommy, wondering how
it must feel to share an image with someone who had to envision the event
and outcome on their own, like a storyline being read but not completely
formed inside ones mind, a blurred picture.
You really think Utah is as bad as they said it is? Nick asked Tommy,
wondering and even obligated to rumor, knowing well that Utah was only so
many miles away to the west.
It sounds pretty farfetched, Tommy began but I guess weve all
been away for so long that, well. . . I guess we can hardly know the world
anymore. It's been away for so long. . . Or we have. I dont feel much like
finding out though. And Nick nodded his head in agreement. Josh laughed
and joked about heading out west, the other two got up and started smacking
him silly, what a stupid idea, they each thought.
Then all movement stopped and they all looked towards the forest, the
sound of breaking leaves like bones and the shuffle of silence conforming into
noise. There was something out there.
Tommy quietly moved, grabbing at his rifle folded along his backside,
Josh moved towards the trees with knives snuck in his palms, but before the
two even reached their full height rising Nick jumped and leapt into the forest
where the obscure sounds were originating. Tommy yelled after him, yet it
was too late and Nick was running, casing the sounds of another clasp of feet
charging past the trees. Josh hurriedly grabbed his knives and made his way
outward, Tommy snapped his rifle together, shaking his head in
disappointment.
Stop! Nick cried after the figure, reaching closer to the form, a body
full of curves and dressed in baggy sheets galloping ahead of him. He
pressed on, his feet gliding without effort against the flat tops and bumpy
narrows of the campground, the body contracting closer and closer to his
sights.
Sto- but before he could finish the body stopped, stayed in place and
in a motion so fast swiped Nick off the ground and into the air, colliding him
to the ground, his eyes wide and hands held around his aching abdominals.
He panted, the wind knocked straight out of him.
Next time Ill aim for your neck and it will break. the voice spoke, a
very soft, melancholy tone. The voice of a female, a girl no older than twenty,
her hair a blackened velvet silk falling across the reservoirs of her shaded

drapes of cloth wrapping white around her.

Josh called after Nick, seeing he was hurt and now kneeling halfway
into the dirt. Josh put a hand on his shoulder and asked if he was ok, Nick
nodded but pointed, the girl now turned and looking at the two. Somethings
wrong, watch out for her arm. he said, Josh postured and readied with his
knives.
The girl, her pale green eyes focused on Josh, stood at the ready to let
out a strike at any moment. A loud, recessive bang emerged from behind Josh
and travelled to the girl, a spark scrapping off of her arm and her body bent
at the moment of impact. Tommy was behind the wall of forestry firing from
his rifle, Next time I wont miss! he yelled over with malcontent, his rifle
readied with the remaining clip. Hold up, this is the girl. Josh said, Tommy
lowering his rifle slightly, yet his eyes widened and he yelled to Josh Watch
out!
She had moved with insane speed with an all-out sprint towards him, a
left palm lunging at him. Josh pushed Nick safely to the side, moved in a blink
(nearly being hit) and moved the butt of his knife into her back. Her body
clenched at the blunt force and began to recover. She rose and cracked her
back as if the hit was nothing. Her right arm made of metal, with a scratch
from the bullet imprinted like a scar on her shoulder, lifted like a feather and
pointed at Josh. She watched as all three of their expressions changed to
horror as panels lifted from the top of her forearm.
Tommy could no longer wait, taking a shot at a glance. The bullet
skidded along gravity and past lengths of time into her arm, which operated
as a shield against him and more sparks arose. With her vision obscured by
Tommys shot Nick took advantage, now recovered and jumping onto her
front, pushing her to the ground. Pushing away her arm he slammed an elbow
to the side of her face. It felt wrong, the smooth portrait of her skin colliding
against the hard, statured bone with such powerful force.
In an instant she was knocked out cold, a pretty face sleeping
underneath his eyes. He traced her figure, she was so beautiful and young,
yet so dangerous, a modern day black widow from one perspective and a
moth turned butterfly from another. Then he transitioned back onto his feet,
rising above her and scanning her arm, it wasnt of flesh and bone but rather
prosthetics and metals, the panels retracting back into their former positions.
Her entire arm was a piece of anatomy carved from steal and sections of
panels, metallic scales and polished plates that shone in the sun like silver.
What the hell is she? Josh asked the two.
Shes a MOHD, Tommy answered, a Modified Operational Hominid
Deterrent, shes government technology. And could be valuable to us.

4.

The Weather Changing (September 12th - October 2nd, 2025)

Her eyes blinked rapidly when she awoke, in the candle light and
warmth of the fire she sat up, feeling her arms tied together. It was at that
moment that her eyes started to widen from the dim squints and her body
shook in many motions against the ropes around her wrists and ankles. Calm
down. Tommy said from across the room, his colt grappled in his right hand,
Josh to her side with an empty syringe being placed down into a medical
supply kit. Nick was over in the darkness, away from them all but firmly
keeping his resonating deterrence upon them.
What. . .where am I? she said, a soft throat full of anger climbing and
biting from her dry lips. Her eyes were faded, full of crust around the corners
and hair was matted and oily from her long sleep within their base.
Youre with us and weve been wondering why youre even here.
Tommy said, firm and awaiting an answer.
Fuck you! she lashed, Tommy moved back into his seat in a sort of
defensive fashion, a stern look still cemented on his face, experienced
soldiers dont scare easily.
Nick was still in the corner of black, near the only entrance and exit,
still stuck in the darkness of the room and he saw her body restlessly trying
to function back to life, most of her bones must have stiffened during her
sleep. She was pretty for a danger. Josh lifted the medical supplies back into
the cabinets and walked over to Nick.
This was our idea? he asked.
Nick smiled and rose from the wall. Youll answer us or youll die. he
said, a look of surprise arose on Joshs face, though his friends eyes did not
leave the girl. Nick, he said, but Nick pressed a palm onto his shoulder and
assured him he knew what he was saying was for the greater good. You will
die or you will cooperate, because we were nice and cozy until you and your
prey showed up and now, he paused as he squatted to her level beside
Tommy and his Colt still raised now we have a problem. He waited.
She sat silent, the anger still rotating across the core of her spirit, full
of energy and heat, but she took a long breathe and shone her bright green
eyes at him. Fine.
Good, he responded, Tommy, you know better than I do what comes
next. and he walked back to his corner, gesturing.
Who are you? Tommy began, Josh sat beside him with a knife ready
at hand.
You supposed to be a threat? she grinned at Josh, watching the
blackened steal flip in the air with precision, cutting through the heavy air
with ease. Joshs eyes soon followed to hers.
Well, I was quite the threat in the forest, now wasnt I? Josh asked,

watching her face frown and she turned back to Tommy My name is Alicia, I
come from division two. This comment shook their heads, none of them
expecting an actual answer.
What is division two? Tommy followed.
Division two was the first government takeover site, located in the
heart of New York City. It was meant to turn the state into one big fortress,
the people were its soldiers...and slaves.
Tommy paused, How many of these divisions are there?
Across the United States, I think twelve.
What are these divisions for? Nick asked from the back.
These divisions are meant to institutionalize the American people, for
project Alpha.
And project Alpha is? Tommy asked, seeing the gleam in her eyes as
Alicia gave her full attention to the darkness smothering Nicks face, which
was glued to hers in bewilderment.
I never made it that far in the program. She looked up and smiled
cynically.
Youre a very funny girl too. Tommy scorned, looking back at Nick
and to his side at Josh. Josh over there injected you with some adrenaline,
before then you were put to sleep for a few days. Im fairly certain youll be
wide awake for at least a few hours. Until then well be keeping an eye on
you, Nick, Im sure, will be happy to make you something to eat. Josh is our
medical officer and will be watching over your health. Until then we dont
have any further questions.
And what if I run? she asked him, the three looked to her before
proceeding to gather outside near the fire pit and Tommy simply put it You
were already running when we found you. and the three left the room, Alicia
looking down at her binds.
They werent lying. Josh responded to the two, lighting the wood
gathered to the center of the pit.
Its weird, like, the world has been turning faster since we left. Nick
replied.
Or slower, Tommy spoke apathetically, the world never changes. We
just stopped it in its place and let its people destroy it faster. I guess theres
more to war than we imagined.
The next day arrived and Nick was the first one up around the ash pile
smoking with a single stream rising into the morning air, freshly grounded by
the wet smell of dew. He looked over the vacationer shed, still stretching and
peeling back his arms and legs, feeling his skin waking up and taking in the
morning. Then a sense of urgency developed and he snuck towards the
window of the shed and peaked past the droplets of water forming bars down

the glass.
There she was, wrapped tightly in a blanket, a blanket he always
remembered using but never fully recognizing as something intimate to his
well-being. Her face was turned away, but there she was in her cocoon, he
waited and watched hoping that something more would arise from this. But
nothing, she was as still as the trees surrounding them, clouds moving
inward. He entered the shed and walked close to her sleeping body, he was
amazed the adrenaline wore off so quickly. He took a knife from the shelves
behind him and cut her binds. He scanned the deep imprints of rope burns
along her skin and felt a kind of sympathy that had been dormant up until
now. As he felt the beating of his heart increase he decided it was time to
leave and removed himself, walking back to the fire pit and piling logs into an
architectural fold.
Whats up man? Josh said, waking from an obvious deep slumber.
Just starting breakfast, Alicia is still here, by the way. Nick said, the
words curled around his tongue.
Oh good, I guess. Its nice to have a girl around again. I had the
strangest dream. . . he wandered off.
Of what? Nick asked, semi-curious and somewhat negligent, thinking
about those green eyes, keeping him out of that room that somehow was
always slithering into the back of his mind these days. It must had been from
the stress, it had awakened something he had left in the city.
Well, there was this bar, not like a bar-bar, but one of those bars you
find in luxury hotels and shit. And I was there, sitting at the bar with a glass
of, um- and his words travelled off. Nick listened but couldnt stop thinking
about the white room full of mist and loneliness. a glass of vodka tonic. He
finished, looking at Nick and he spoke with waking excitement. And this girl
comes to me and gives me a kiss, like, from out of nowhere. Then we head to
her room and- but Nick struck a finger at him and paused.
Josh. . .Im pretty sure I know where-
And we fucked that entire night. It was too late, the bed was made
with satin sheets and felt like a fucking cloud man. And her body, oh God, it
was so warm and-
Josh, I get it, Ive been sexually active too. He said in quotes, the
image of the misty room disappearing. Could we please wake up Tommy and
discuss what the fuck were going to do next? he asked, a sign of anger
mixed with subtle laughter cushioning his cheeks.
Yeah sure, but Nick, do you ever wonder what we would have been if
we had stayed in the city and never came out here?
I do, sometimes. . .but were here and thats what matters, I think.
Reminiscing feels like murder some days, but Id rather live in the now I
suppose, rather than daydream about what could-have-been.

I guess. . .hey Tommy! Wake the fuck up dude! Josh yelled, Nick was
certain that Alicia would hear, but traced no signs of sound resonating from
the shed.
Way to be Josh. Tommy said in a mild tone of voice, one that was
washed away and stranded by the aptitude of dry tiredness.
We need to start discussing what were going to do, not only with
Alicia in there, but about the troops around this place. My guess is we dont
have too much time left to decide. Nicks mouth ran like a depleted riverbed,
straining on words and crooked with intent, as he was lost for a solution to
the threes problems.
Why dont we just hand her over? Tommy asked.
Theyll probably just kill us anyway. Josh replied in a sort of
malcontent.
Alicia seems important, at least important enough for the government
to send soldiers after. We need to know more about her and why shes here.
As well as why the government is moving so far inward into the mountains
and from the city. Answered Nick.
Talking about me I see. Came that same, soft voice, ripe with vigor
and strong with stance. Alicia walked from the front door of the shed to the
outside near the fire and sat beside Nick as the three watched over her like
hawks.
Who the fuck untied her? asked Josh, glancing at Nick.
We couldnt keep her tied up forever.
You could have at least told us. Tommy said with sternness.
Boys, please settle. I was startled at first but now. . .I dont mean to
hurt anyone, I was just a bit afraid. Her metallic arm waving in motions as
she spoke.
Ok, well, could you please explain to us what you are? Josh asked.
Im human, with some minor modifications.
Minor? Josh contradicted.
The setting went silent, as silent as the forest could ever seemingly
sound, aside from the wind and the rustle of leaves. The three waited, not
sure exactly what they were waiting for, maybe an explanation or the truth to
unfold. Yet it took some time as minutes passed, the three looking
consistently persistent while Alicia, with her long locks of hair, played with
strands between her human fingers, looking towards the ground. Was there
really nothing left to say? The three rose and left to gather, hunt and salvage
whatever they could once more.
Hey, Alicia called after them, can I come with one of you?
Go with Nick, you seem to like him best. Tommy said, apparently set
with his own opinion. At first she seemed a bit reluctant, but she didnt seem
to mind, figuring she didnt have much of a choice. In fact a smile arose on

her face and she walked over towards him, Josh watching every step with
envy.
Lets go. She said, a certain gleam lingering in her eyes.
The three moved onward. Tommy took to the North to see if anything
laid dormant within the barriers of the lifting mountains, while Josh took to
the original trails that laid across the old, camouflaged campsite, while Nick
and Alicia headed North-East in search of military sanctuary.
She stumbled along slick grasses and tripped over deep sets of
branches and thorny brush as the two proceeded, Nick couldnt help but let
out a slight giggle every now and again. These scrapes of hillsides and rocky
outcrops were all too familiar to him. They headed further, past the winding
river that flowed down from the nearby mountain ridges up north, past the
groves and flats of the forest to the four mile mark, the sky clear in the day.
Ive never breathed in such clean air before. Alicia spoke, as if with
the whispers of the forest.
Walking with her felt out of place, Nick could feel an uneasiness
coursing through him, although it did not stagger his ability to cope with the
moment. He was waiting for the worst to happen, yet after the first fifteen
minutes with her his muscles lost contraction and he rested his paranoia.
Sorry about. . .earlier, I guess.
You guess? this was the first time she had a serious look to her, that
sort of mother-bound disappointment.
I meant for, you know, that elbow to the face. for some reason he
had trouble talking. All those months without a single woman around must
have affected his brain he thought.
She laughed and told him Ive taken worse hits than that. They kept
on walking, a smile on both of their faces.
Nicks smile soon disappeared as he hesitated for a moment, straining
with his words, her damn eyes brought back a memory of the room and down
the hallway. It was a hallway thick with paint and long, although in reality it
only ran five feet out. And in the bedroom laid a woman, young and beautiful,
much as he had always remembered her. She was on her back, naked and
waiting, but not for him, a dying sparkle in her eyes. Whats it like on the
outside?
She laughed a bit, The outside eh? and she let out a smirk Im fairly
certain this is the outside. She spun and pointed all around her, the metal
plating around her right arm reminding him strangely of a windmill blade
spinning.
You know what I mean. He looked down with apathy.
She sighed, Its industry, guns and overcrowded rooms. Factories
pumping smog into the air and people with. . .with such sad looks stuck on

their faces. She moved forward, ahead of his step, We'll want to head
further east from here. She proclaimed.
Why?
Because thats where theyre setting up, in fact, theyre no doubt
looking for me now.
Remind me again why theyre after you? he had that sense of
curiosity strangled in his chest, like butterflies but more violent.
You really wanna know? she let out a smile. Then from the corner of
the forest, a great rustle of earth lifted the gentle scene of quietness into a
state of hostility. They each hid behind trees, barely apart from another and
staring at the other, making certain there was a sense of content in one of
their eyes. Nick took initiative and listened for a moment to the disrupting
sounds crawling closer, he bent down and peaked from the leg of the pine.
Three armored soldiers, wearing the same badges on their shoulders
as the others had had weeks ago, were walking in a tightly enclosed group.
Two of them had pure black armor with many strands of plating to protect
from bullets, heavy military grade gloves and boots and helmets with full
facial covering. The soldier that led the two, however, wore a US Woodland
camouflaged set of armor, with heavier plates and Advanced Dragon Skin
armor along the entirety of his chest and waist. The advanced heavy unit
carried two desert eagles to his sides, Nick remembered the slight details
etched along the design of the barrel, and carried on his back was a gun he
did not recognize.
Nick raised two fingers and pointed back to the base, Alicia nodded her
head and raised her body to the young oak. Nick watched, pulling his bow
from his chest and drawing an arrow as she placed her right hand against the
bark of the tree. Then he heard a large cracking sound and watched as Alicia
pushed the tree, bending and breaking it and with a bead of sweat forced the
tree down.
Nick looked again from around the large pine to the three, seeing the
oak collide on top of one soldier as the other two evaded and drew guns.
Look out! Nick yelled, watching the two aim straight for Alicia, but before
they fired she raised her arm into an L shaped to her front and waited. The
plating of her arm in a flash spread into a shield and the bullets from the
soldiers pistols bounced off. He was astounded, but saw the two in a haste
running at her. In the dawning of a few seconds he drew his bow back and let
off an arrow from the string, which impaled the heavy unit in the thin opening
in the joint of his left arm and shoulder.
The soldiers run was crippled, but not completely disrupted, as he
aimed a large weapon at Nick. The weapon had the shape of a modern
grenade launcher, yet it had large but narrowed rotating cylinder, an
elongated barrel and an extra grip near the beginning of the barrel. Nick

turned into the center of the tree as he heard the weapon fire, a huge
stalwart bang jutting through the forest, the pine he was hiding behind
splintering. Shards of wood reflecting from his body, he felt a few splinters
pinching their way into his arm, past the leather he had been wearing. He
looked down to the tree, an entire hole had been taken from it, teeth-like
stalagmites and stalactites sitting within the broken belly of the pine.
Nick ran, drew an arrow and shot. On impact the arrow left a scar along
the soldiers facial shield as another devastating shot was fired off by the
soldiers flailed body. A crater was created in a tree behind Nick as he ran to
the side, now sliding against the pallet of earth and flinging his body forward
towards the soldier. As the heavy unit recovered, his hand covering the
impact left stretched across his mask, he saw Nick and his bow flinging at his
head. The head of the bow cracked ridged lines through the soldiers helmet
and the unit stumbled downwards. Nick then used the head of the bow as a
spear and jabbed it into the soldiers center. Then, in a swift movement, he
took the bows upper limb and slammed it into the backside of the soldiers
head.
As the heavy unit was lying in a prayer position Nick skid across and to
the back of the soldier, wrapping the bowstring along the soldiers neck. With
one hand he stretched the bowstring into a choke and in the other hand he
held the soldiers head forward. Then in an incredible sweep of movement he
let the bows body go, forcing its way into the skull of the helmet and
knocking the heavy unit into the ground, unconscious and dented.
He then watched the soldiers lifeless body stand still in the sun dried
dirt, took his Colt and fired down. But from afar the echoing of more shots
could be heard. Nick hurried to Alicia, thinking she was in trouble. Though
when he found her she had the lesser soldier disarmed. Her arm transformed,
the plates moving forward, covering her hand and creating a blunt spear. She
pierced the soldier through the chest and Nick watched as the plates started
turning within the man, blood spilling through the gears of a winding clock, he
shuttered in motionless form.
Are you ok? she asked, the soldier was a bleeding black statue in the
midst of the open.
Not sure yet. He replied, looking outward.
The two travelled a short distance, where the grains and the grass and
the trees all slope downwards into the corridor of a valley. They looked on,
and spotted the highway about a mile out, along with a military fort,
complete with General Purpose (or GP) Tents and fencing complete with
barbed-wire frames from the top.
Well, we know where theyre coming from. Nick spoke almost to
himself, Alicia watching the designs that entangled the appearance of his
face, sifting and struggling with emotions. But Nick knew inside that if

something wasnt done in the nearest future they would all end up dead and
he suddenly reconciled with Tommys memories. The visions of Chinese
troops dropping with the shells of bullets.

5. The Berserks (October 3rd - October 7th, 2025)

The trees could have been buildings. Josh searched around, no longer
scavenging for berries or herbs, not checking the levels on the solar panels or
configuring the amount of water to be supplied. He was finally looking for
something that wasnt a part of the wilderness, it was something human,
something dangerous. There was a strong sense of overconfidence fulfilling
his inner ego, a sense of justice he wanted to keep secret. Inside he felt
undesirable by the other two, inside he felt alone, even if on the outside
everything seemed fine.
Back home, or what he called home once, he was led by soldiers to his
car and serviced by butlers and maids alike. The workforce was once his life
and after valiant efforts it became his kinghood. The factories, built along the
city streets and the outskirts invading urban life were under his command.
Money was a powerful object and his word was understood and followed.
Yet he chose to leave it all behind, for what?
He trusted Nick, now brushing his hands against the hollow bodies of
trees, feeling the bark cutting slivers into his flesh, feeling the small stretches
of blood carrying to the forests hard skin, he put all his trust into this. A halfass shelter in the middle of some forgotten campground, strained away from
all civilization and left to ponder what the fuck was left on the outside.
He removed his flask from his side and opened the lid, the which slid
across the beaten metal like a sewage cover being scraped along the street.
That smell, it stung like a headache from Hell, it brought back the crystal shot
glasses, masses of others dressed in fanciful colors. It brought him back to
the past.
Kill the American. Tommy spoke, silently to himself, hiding behind the
trees. Kill the American. He remembered the face of the lieutenant, chubby
and sweating with wealth of success. He was held up in their fortress, the
risen nature around him looking like hard iron bars of a torture cell. He
recalled the blood that followed.
Then a sound arose from the gravel, he bent down and turned his rifle
to his side and aimed, his eyes were a sight and his perception based on the
bones of the barrel. But there he was, Nick running with Alicia towards him, it
was hard to hide from friends in danger.
Nick, whatcha find? he reposed in a voice loud enough for Nick to
hear.
We have bad news man. Ill tell you back at camp. The three formed
and ran back to the site.
Josh heard the loud whistle, which only sounded as a light whisper

would to a hound, calling him back to camp. There was a bad feeling arising,
a strange aurora, a mysterious outcome unforeseen. As Josh turned there was
a voice that strangled the clarity of the thin air, much like the way a man
speaks through a megaphone distorts an empty room.
Halt, name and number. A soldier called out, coated in black and
stepping towards him.
Joshua Fenner, number 6-10-50. He repeated, surprised that number
was still encoded within the conscious thought process of his brain. He
watched as the soldier processed the information, knowing an Infinite chip
must have been implanted in him. He remembered the checks sent by the
government for orders by the thousands for the Infinite system, before now
he had only guessed why.
Joshua Fenner, number 6-10-50, youve. . . the soldier, typing into a
monitor located over his forearm, seemed somewhat shocked by his findings,
youve been missing from OBLONG for over a year, are you ok sir? the
soldier asked.
Josh felt the cold steal sealed along the inner stitching of his coat
pocket. He reached in and shone one in the vivid daylight. Im fine. He
spoke, retracting his arm and releasing the knife through the air, cutting
through molecules of oxygen and lunging into veins and fleshy barriers
penetrating past the soldiers femur and retracting the marrow from his bone.
The soldier fell to his knees, holding his leg with one hand while the other
struggled for his gun.
Josh had already started his sprint and brought the second knife into
the soldiers side, another specific weaker point surrounding the armor, as he
had known after laying eyes across the blueprints of so many various armor
designs. The soldier was bent on all fours like a beaten dog, set in a prayer
position. Josh took no mercy from him and struck his knee against the hard
glass of the soldiers helmet, cracking it like a breaking mirror.
With two hands he pushed the black, bleeding figure to the ground
onto his back, listening to his pitiful moans and aches, the voice of pain
glorified. Joshs fingers folded above his palm as he crashed and broke
through the glass shield and saw his enemys eyes. They were wide, building
with fear and a glimmer of tears folding between the lightly lined lids of his
eyes.
Josh felt the knife buried in his side, slid it out with a force that
reckoned for genocide and stuck the sharp metallic finger into the cornucopia
of the mans pupil.
He was becoming a broken mind guiding an unstable vessel.
Josh! Nick called after him.
Josh pulled the knife with great speed and turned to release it into
flight. But as he heard the voice was from Nick he panicked and paused,

grabbing the knife by the edge of the handle, the droplets of blood projecting
from the sharp end. Nick stopped and looked at Josh, seeing the adrenaline
built in his eyes, his chest compressing rapidly and his hand beginning to
shake lightly. He put the knife back into his coat and rose back up to Nicks
height.
Sorry... Josh was stunned to have almost hurt his best friend.
Josh, are you... Nick began, now searching over the familiar figure of
death. We should get back to the camp, Tommy and Alicia are already
there.
All right, Josh began lets hope Tommys still alive.
Alicia helped me fight off three soldiers not too long ago Josh, lets not
jump to conclusion yet.
Nick, how is it that youre the only one who trusts her? Because so far
Tommy and I have trouble understanding why government technology has
made its way this far into the wild. He argued, not too certain of his old
friends motives or particular decisions.
I trust her more than you two because so far Ive gotten to know her
the best, as for government technology...shes still human Josh. Im not sure
why but things happen for a reason, Ive told you that.
Yeah, but this isnt one of our philosophical discussions buddy, this is
turning into war.
You dont know a damn thing about war Josh. He spitefully yelled, not
thinking about the words leaving his mouth. They both paused, each
wondering what was happening to their companionship, trying to figure out
why everything was becoming so insane. Lets go. Nick said in a demeanor
of misery.
Tommy was looking across the map spread across the table inside of
the shed, Alicia guiding him through the scattered inked lines. She pointed to
a location up in the northeastern corner of the map, an area that had only
been partially covered by Nicks recent travels. He had taken an invisible
sense of pleasure in correctly guessing the location of the enemys
encampment, or the presumed location which seemed more real as the two
searched the paper pallet. Then, he naturally began to question, in opposition
to Alicias words, whether this was the truth or an escorted homicide.
Ambushed by three soldiers? And they just crawled out of the forest
and attacked you two, is that right? Tommy was a bit more bitter with his
response than usual.
What did you expect? You three would stay hidden here forever?
Alicia responded, not the least bit sorry.
We were doing fine until you-
Until I showed up? No, you three were doing fine until the world

caught up to you and now reality is setting a hand over your heads. And if
you dont get out of here fast its going to come down on all of our heads and
well all just be prints left in another empty forest. Unless you three make a
reasonable decision...together. She replied in angst, waiting for Tommy, who
was feeling an uneasy tide collide with his former ambition to stay safe and
away. Yet she made a good point, one he could no longer deny and hide from
everything that was becoming of them. After all, hiding was all they have
been doing for so long now, Tommy was worried it might be the only thing
theyve now known. The strength of the soldier in him was beginning to urn
for another fight.
How do I know we can trust you? How do we know this isnt your plan
to take us out? he asked, finally asking the question that had been haunting
his mind for the past day.
If you couldnt trust me Id probably be dead already. You three arent
stupid, if you were youd all be dead yourselves. I guess its strange how life
and death can relate to trust and lies. I dont think Ill ever be able to
convince you three completely that I am on your side. But I promise, if you
help me I can help you.
Help us with what?
Help you find your freedom again. This statement was a confusing
one.
There was a conduct of irony placed over his head like a black rain
cloud striking lightning, forming ideas and perceptions of what she meant and
what she wanted. Tommy didnt want to jump to any conclusions and so he
went with it. And what do you want in return? it was a clear statement,
spoken without emotion or any grandeur, he just wanted an answer.
She placed a hand on his from across the table, the sun reflecting into
light from the floating remnants of dust and dirt into a levitating mist within
the room, the subsiding ease of her soft skin somehow comforting in a way
he had forgotten before now. Rising from her chair she reached behind him
for a scrap of paper and a pen, Tommys eyes never leaving her persona. She
sat back down and started to draw, Tommy watching each line being etched
to the surface, imagining ripples like that in a cool pond forming with every
stroke of the pen.
I need to get back to The Rebellion, in Division twelve, California. She
passed over the scrap of paper, a drawing of a circled dragonfly, the symbol
of the Rebellion of America.
California, the Rebellion...youre with the Rebellion?
Is your image of me changing? she smiled at his shaken face.
Nick and Josh burst through the door, Josh seemingly hurried by the
current events rushed a simple, diplomatic sentence that would define their
futures more than they could have ever have guessed from the words that

would be spoken during this present time. We need to make a move now.
He was quite readied and willing, something setting him off more than usual.
Perhaps it was Nicks outburst still wavered in his mind, disturbing him.
Perhaps he was ready to make the sacrifice needed to prove himself to the
two, or maybe he just wanted this car on car collision to finally take effect.
I say we fight. Nick answered first, shooting his mouth without a
second thought, confident in his striking words. He no longer wanted to waste
time thinking it over, Tommy and him were the best, they killed troops by the
handful, their actions were the impacts to miniature bombs dropped over
Hiroshima and their weapons fired bullets that blew holes through Nagasaki.
Although that time it was on the other side of Japan and now with Josh and
Alicia teamed alongside them there was no backing out in the fight along the
homeland.
Tommy spoke in discontent, Nick, we need a strategy.
So you agree, we should attack?
I didnt say that, I said we need a strategy. Lets not just jump into
battle, lets think this over.
Im with Tommy. Josh said, ignoring Nicks sights, It would be in our
best interests to pinpoint and pursue the best options.
Which are? Nick asked, reluctantly.
Thats why were here, to think things through. Now that they know
were here and were with the girl there is no turning back. We have to make
a move. But what move well need to make is uncertain. Josh fluttered about
with his words, Alicia moving from her seat to the wall, observing the three in
action. Tommy gazed over at her, replying Maybe we...
Maybe what? asked Nick, clearly seeing Tommys looks scattered
along Alicias figure, standing quietly against the wall alongside them, waiting
for a decision from the three.
Maybe if we hand her over. Tommy didnt let the thought slip, he said
what was on his mind and probably what he wanted to happen with the girl.
Tommy was well aware this would not drive the soldiers away, not after all of
the dead bodies they buried, not after the blood had stained into their pores.
But perhaps it would buy them time, a universal relic that seemed to pass
much to quick.
No, we cant and even if we did that would never ensure our safety.
Shes in this as much as we are now.
Why are you defending her Nick? Josh asked, not only curious but
envious to the fact that an obvious connection must have formed between
the two, a connection that Josh feared would lead the group to their self
destruction.
Nick puts too much trust in me. Alicia said, careful with her words,
watching everyone walking to the edge with every other words spilled. And

you two are right to question me. But I would spend less time arguing over
me and instead come up with a solution to the bigger problem. Her hands
were wrapped across her torso such as a loosened straight-jacket.
The three looked over to one another, eyes shifting and mouths
opening, crevasses only, almost speaking before silencing themselves again.
They each were in their own heads, figuring out what was to come and what
to say at the present time. Tommy thought of the map and gathered his
thoughts together, If we do plan on attacking, then what is our strategy?
How do we go about this guys? he was mainly waiting on Nick, who
scattered himself throughout the forest, on top of trees. Nick ,who had fought
along his side until the day he left back for America, his partner in the war,
his friend in time.
We wait till nightfall... Nick began.
The darkness was, of course, a recurring phenomenon through the
forest. No streetlights or reflecting moon off the barriers of glass that stained
steal and cement structures. Just a very tangible dark that swept in, swerving
amongst trees and shading the inner linings of plants and animals. The three,
who were tracking their way into this dark were set, guns loaded, muscles
tensed and eyes widened. They had their plans set and it didnt really matter
whether it was a city, a suburb or a forest, the night was a pitch black shade
haunting the remainder of what was light and visible. Trees turned to solid
black strands, groups like lipids filling the spaces in between the night.
Footsteps sounded like bristles bundling together. There were tiny lights in
the distance, the dimmed tan shade of thick linen lightly illuminated in the
distance, up from The Peak, an old lookout point that the three had
nicknamed.
We havent been at The Peak for a while, its almost ironic to be here
once more in our time of need. Nick said in a soft, floating voice to the three.
Focus Nick. Said Tommys staggering voice, also quieted in the dead
of night.
I am focused, remembering the pieces we held dear to this place
helps me focus. Reminds me what were fighting for. he replied.
I miss this lookout as much as you Nick, but Tommy is right. Josh
said, his words bide.
Fine, lets get this over with. Somewhat resentful, Nick looked out to
the center of the camp, the sentry guard tower looking over the five tents.
One extra large tent was positioned in the back, with the four large tents
situated at the corners of the sentry tower. Four more towers of lesser size,
without roofing and a lower fencing, stood around the encampment,
connecting a wired fence. The shining of bright stars reflecting in the
disappearing moonlight were sure signs of razor wire at the tops of the

fencing.
Ill be back. Nick ran out, Tommy switching modes, his body loosened
and eyes sharpened, pulling his rifle out, unfolding its exterior and loading
the clip. Josh moved after Nick and headed to the side of the camp. The three
did not sweat, shutter or hesitate, for them it was a game.
The sight of Tommys rifle was a cross rotated along shapes and figures
in the distance, it was the X to the treasure, the X in the eyes of a dead
cartoon character, it was the X that marked the coffins of ancient plague
victims and villains alike. Once it was set on a target, like it had when it
settled on the first right tower near the fenced gate, it remained on the target
like that of a history unforgotten. It was the mark of death that was the
grimmest part of every kill. He pulled the trigger, a small echo faded quickly
from the suppressed barrel, and over the high top of the cliff we waited to
watch the soldier turn to the gate and fall, shards of thermoplastics and blood
reaching the aluminum metallics of the inner tower fencing. He looked over
with his sight to see Josh and Nick moving in from both sides of the enemy
camp.
Josh, from his side, relieved the small bag of some weight, lifting a
steal rod, a pair of plastic gloves and some wire cutters from the insides of
the woven vessel. Knowing Nick was doing the same at this point, he
equipped the gloves and placed the metal rod against the wires of the fence.
As predicted earlier a spark sprung from the electric stitching. He steadily
kept the rod against the wire, watching the bright cast of a spark every other
second, while with his other hand carefully placing the wire cutters over the
body of the wire. Suddenly there was a clump, a sound nearby, it must have
been the other tower soldier falling.
Tommy kept his eyes open, now noticing the sentry tower responding
to the other two soldiers falling within the towers. He aimed, the moment
never greater. There were three of them and a stationed radio broadcasting
to the other towers as a walkie-talkie would, the radio relaying signals and
warning signs. Firing he watched the radio burst, a clutter of flames and
plastics exploding at the soldiers. Counting, five rounds remaining, he shot at
the three, starting with the nearest and ending with the furthest. In four shots
they fell, a stray bullet traveling somewhere in the distance.
Nick waited, readying his wire cutters along the fence. And as he
watched the wires grew darker and the scenery evaporating into the dark. He
looked up and saw the moon becoming coated by clouds, then, in a beauty of
that of a blooming butterfly, it started to rain. With droplets crying to the
ground he looked back to see sparks erupting in intervals from the wires, the
fence was electrocuted.
However, Nick stopped dead in his tracks for a minute, hearing the
voices of two soldiers emerging from a nearby tent. I swear I heard

something. One of the two said. Nick refocused on the wires, knowing that if
this task wasnt done soon theyd all be found out. But with the rain came an
array of tiny sparks glittering in the dark like fireworks all along the
parameter of the camp, the small flashes were nothing to his advantage. The
soldiers were beginning to stare upward into the clouds, perhaps waiting for
the thunder to strike.
We havent seen rain in. . .well, forever. One of the soldier spoke to
the other.
I think the last time was back in 2019, remember the Battle of
Boston? the other replied.
Nick was waiting, the wires still sparking, he focused on the single
large spark from the belly of the rod, his wire cutters stationed along the wire,
desperately trying not to touch the electric flow. If Tommy was right with his
earlier plan the fence would send shocks along the wires every other second,
apart of the typical design. He waited, seconds passing, a spark flew, this was
his second-long chance and the wire cutters clutched and broke the strand
that sparked from one end and no longer from the other. The current had
been broken, collapsed in a single section. He moved onto another wire and
another until there would be enough wires cut to break through and into the
encampment, he hoped the two soldiers would stay preoccupied by the rain
in the meantime.
Tommy aimed at the back towers. The soldiers either looking into the
distance or walking in circles along the barriers of their tower. This was much
easier than the Chinese invasion he thought, the American Army must have
gotten lazy. But suddenly from the shadows of the extra large leadership tent
emerged a man built of steal. He wore nothing but a pair of military issued
cargo pants, everything else was made of plates and sparkling black sheets
of machinery sealed in bits of flesh. Tommy felt a remembrance of Alicia
becoming conjured, he took aim, fired, like all of the rest he was sure this
man would fall to the dirt, the last of his shots being used. He watched as the
bullet narrowed a line along the mans chest, the man barely reacting to the
hit. Tommy removed the clip, reloading as his eyes watched down the sight
as the metallic man turned his sights on Tommy.
The wires were cut in a crooked circle and Nick ran through the surgical
gap. The two soldiers somehow responding to their superiors attack, their
eyes wide and gathering electronic information, Nick grabbed his bow and
with a single crushing swing broke through one soldiers skull. As the other
reacted he already had the opposing end of the bow steering upward into the
soldiers jaw. He heard the splitting sounds of the soldiers mandible, watched
the typical stun and shock take place and proceeded to taking one hand to
the inside of the soldiers mouth and ripping the broken jaw from his head.
Josh was the next one into the camp, quickly jutting to the opening flap

of the first barrack, looking up to the main tent to see the super soldier
focusing in the distance; Josh knew Tommy might be in trouble soon. He
wasted no time, taking the first soldier, dead asleep in his bunk, half covered
in sheets with a leg hanging off the bed, Josh covered his mouth gently and
raised a knife over his neck. In a flash taped his palm along the soldiers warm
breathe, his knife slicing past flesh and arteries with ease. The soldiers body
flickered and fluttered on the bedsprings, but as the blood ran to the dirt his
body fell still.
Tommy returned to his sight, focusing on his next shot. To his surprise
the soldiers eyes were centered on him, as if staring into a mirror, he felt a
sense of fear in himself, a fear he hadnt felt since his travels across the
North Pacific and the deep sea full of unknown. The metallic soldier raised his
right arm, pointed at Tommy in a fashion like that of a Nazi and began to
transform. His arm morphed, the plates and gears turning, in a matter of
seconds combining on top of his forearm into the resemblance of a small
cannon. Tommys eyes widened and he watched a bright flash occur from the
inside of the hand cannon. He ducked to the ground, his rifle held upward
much like that of a white flag as his body was hunched over to protect
himself from the collision of the shot. In an instance ground blew into the
wind, a loud crash shook the earth all around him, dirt and rocks were raining
over. Hopes that Nick and Josh were still all right were conjured and gave him
the strength to stand along the clattered cliff.
With the two bleeding, one mans jaw stranded a few feet away, Nick
made his way into the opposing barrack, noticing Josh had already cut his
way through to his own target. There was no one left in the barracks. Just
empty beds, Nick guessed the soldiers must have been his victims from his
fight with Alicia not to long before (this, aside from the two he had just killed).
He left from the flap and headed to the next tent, sure that it was a supply
tent of some sort, when he spotted the mech-soldier aimed at the cliffs, small
juts of smoke perpetrating from the barrel that was still formed over his arm.
Nick prepared his bow, the mech-soldier, from the corner of his eye, spotting
Nick in the near distance. They both aimed but only the soldier fired as Nick
flailed his bow back and jumped out of the way, a tear being blown through
the ground where he had stood.
Josh heard the explosion erupt from outside of the tent. The sound was
so loud that while the second soldier was bleeding in his bed the other two
soldiers awakened, startled and stared with their night-adapted eyes
concentrating on Josh with his knife levitating over their dear war barren
friend. Josh, with a flicker of his fingers sliding along the knife, the metal
skiing across his dry fingerprints looking like canyons up close, flew and
landed in the nest of the first soldiers shoulder, dropping him back to the
bed.

Tommys scope was aimed down, pressure building and anxiety filling
up his lungs instead of the cold air. Something about his friends life stranded
on the line unravelled him. The mech-soldier prepared another shot, Nick
beginning to recover from the recoil of the shot, Tommy held his breath,
stagnant, fired again at the hand cannon of the soldier. The mechs shot
missed, derived by Tommys bullet only barely, Nick ducking under debris as
he ran for some cover.
With an aloft of loud noises outside of the barracks tent Josh had little
time to waste. A soldier awoke in the barracks and turned his attention to the
unknown figure that was Josh without any weapons at hand, yet he held his
ground. As the soldier grew closer with a fist incoming Josh moved his body
down, bent and pushed the soldier from his abdomen foreword and over. The
soldier was spent in midair, backflipped over Joshs shoulder-blades and
landing violently on the opposite end of the room. With time to spare, Josh
grabbed for a knife and ended his enemys life efficiently. Running from out of
the tent he saw the cause of the explosion, the mech-soldier not giving up on
Nick or Tommy. He took one last throwing blade and lunged it at their
oppressor.
The mech shot, his arm being flinched by Joshs knife from afar. Nick
took the opportunity to grab for his bow. The familiar feeling of the string
hugging his side, the arrow narrowed into an invisible curve that flowed with
the wind blowing against the feather still breathing at the bottom of the
bows body. Like a dragonfly in pursuit the arrow swept through the night at
the berserker, whose eyes regained and watched as the sharp point hollowed
a cavern through his neck (some of the remaining flesh on the mech-soldiers
body). The soldier dropped to the ground. Nick watched, waited before
crawling closer, then noticed the mech-soldier glitching with strange
movements, as if his nerves were disabled from the inside. The soldier stood
and threw his arm up in Nicks direction, Nick stunned in amazement and
petrified fear.
From the scope, the cross along the sight, Tommy watched, waining in
solitude. But the mech did not fire, rather, sparks illuminated from his
cannon, Joshs knife still plunged inside of the soldiers mechanical design.
The plates of the soldiers arms moved and scraped against the knife, but it
was obvious the blackened metal was jammed between gears and staples of
tectonics. In watching the mech struggle he took a few shots before hearing
the breaking clash of the front gate being thrown through the camp. He
looked over with his rifle to discover Alicia arriving, something the three
originally did not plan on happening. Somehow he felt betrayed, but in
another way. . .
Alicia walked fearlessly up to the mech-soldier and looked at him with
pity. The soldier repealed in a megaphone like tone, the arrow still imbedded

in his neck, Stand down. She looked into his eyes and smiled. The soldier
grappled his broken arm against her, blocked by her own mechanics, she
grabbed at his deltoid and pulled. Wires and scraps sharpening in their fall,
the mech crippled. Still looking upon the soldier Alicia kneeled and spoke,
You did your best I suppose. And raveled her fingers around his head and
pressed, his head crushed, blood and bone dripping from her hands. The
other three stood now, in horror and in relief, wondering what was to come
next.