I keep walking and look around. The further I went into the forest, the more frightened I got. The tall trees, which were masked by shadows and darkness towered over us, almost like they were watching every step we took. All was silent, no howl of the wind. I started to smell something as the smell was so strong that I got a headache.
I tighten the grip on my weapon as I try to focus on my step. I take a deep breath as I could each time as if it weren't enough, as if the whole world's oxygen could fit into my lungs.
Eventually, we crossed the border, the sense of relief mixed with the thrill of appearing in me. Everything here is no different than the other side. Still, tall trees, covered by darkness, the quietness. We keep walking until we notice a figure from the far.
I sign the team to stop and crouch on the ground. Could it be another commando's soldier? I ask myself, the fear of the commando's emerged in my head as if I would get ambushed again from behind, and this time I would be dead, no more miraculous from god that could save me from another ambush.
I slowly stood up and walked closer to the figure and hoped that it would be a noncombatant. Not as expected, it was a commando soldier. I sigh and hide behind a big tree, looks like he's on scouting and hasn't noticed us yet. I look at Mute hiding in a bush. He discerns my gaze and grabs the rod from his back as a ready sign for me.
I slowly look at the soldier and make sure there is no other soldier nearby. I look back at Mute and nod, ordering him to kill the soldier. Mute looks at me, he nods and slowly approaches the commando noiselessly. I hold my position and look at him.
Mute waited for a moment, and suddenly, he stood up, using his baton and hit the soldier's head. The soldier shrieks as he turns around to hit Mute, but he just gets beaten by Mute's rod again and again. The cry and pleas from the commando soldier did not make Mute be relieved and forgiven. Instead, he hit harder and harder. The commando soldier finally fell to his knees, but Mute didn't stop and kept beating until I saw that the soldier was no longer moving or breathing.
I looked at Mute and stood up, approaching him, he was still beating the soldier with his iron rod. I looked at the soldier. He's dead. Mute had beat him like a dog as his face was abnormally deformed while blood poured out from his brain incessantly. I could see a bruise on his cheeks, a protrusion on his forehead. Mute finally stopped when he crushed the skull into pieces.
I looked at him with eyes that tried to hide some of my fear and kept calm as he looked at me with a look of desire and anger. He was nothing more than a monster now, a monster behind the mask. Mute put his rod away and looked at the commando soldier with satisfaction, but not enough look.
He then looks at me with dark solemn and friendly eyes. I slowly nod as he turns around and keeps walking. Flatline and Ghast walking past me, Eyes looks at the soldier and speaks cooly:
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Eyes: "Skull, neck vertebrae and knee bones are mashed and became soup. Part of the brain is heavily damaged and becomes pig food. The face deformed that it's no longer counted as a human face. Mute seems to like beating people like a dog, huh?" I look at Eyes and nod, "It's been a long time since I've seen this kid beating people like this, commonly he doesn't hurt anyone like that."
-"Everyone has a demon inside them. Mute too," I said in a quiet tone but hoarsely as I started to walk. Eyes follow after.
Things like this are too common for us because it happens too much. Nevertheless doesn't mean we're not afraid of horror scenes, I'm still scared of Mute, it's not because he beat someone to death, but what after that. Mute looked at me with a different look from two minutes ago. The demon left after the torture, leaving a kind and innocent Aleksander behind. I don't know when the monster will return, but for sure, it will come back to massacre the entire enemy commando's force with his rod.
*
We made it to the enemy barracks. I used binoculars and observed the position. Four is the number I counted when I checked the watchtowers. They were not too high, probably high enough to see through Hajek hill without being detected.
Next is the tents, they are considerably small and arranged close together. I also noticed a green tent, larger than the rest, which could be the main building or the stockpile. The air force can bombard the barracks right in the barracks without encountering anti-aircraft defence:
Flatline: "I can't see the defenders," she said in a quiet, worry tone.
I didn't say anything and continued to observe with binoculars. Suddenly, I saw something moving toward the forest. Without saying I knew it was the defender force, they were in position and waited for me to order the attack. Or it could be a sign to check if we are there yet because we were ambushed and didn't get into position in time:
Odyn: "This is Odyn from defenders. Please update your status."
I wait for a bit while I keep looking at the barracks. But it took me a moment to find my voice:
-"Area identified. Sending bombardment requests to pilots," I whispered.
Odyn: "Got it. Sending requests. Request sent."
Flatline: "Are you going to bombard the barracks? We are in the middle of the forest!" She said quietly.
I look at her and slowly nods, "enemy defending forces are too strong for us to destroy. The security system is high. Entering the camp with stealth is impossible. Soldiers armed with Salvo and ASR. We are on the weakly defended side, but that doesn't mean we can attack easily. The tent placement allows soldiers to move around with no obstructions, which could kill us because of the one-way arrangement. Not to mention special commandos are patrolling the border," I said and coughed a bit.
Eyes: "Sounds like you just smoked a ton of cigarettes."
-"Like that'll ever happen."
Ghast: "So the only way is bombard?"
Eyes: "Yin."
Ghast: "Oh, okay then."
-"Making contact with the air force."
Sentino 5: "This is Sentino 5 and Alfa 1 from the air force. Request received."
-"Marked location sent."
Alfa 1: "... Location received. Five seconds."
The pilot just finished speaking when I heard the plane's engine coming. It arrived pretty quickly as the sound got louder and louder. I used binoculars to observe the tents. As I had presumed, the enemy is very confused and concerned. They ran out of the tent and looked up into the sky as a commando saw me. He looked me in the eye and was about to alarm me. But before he could react, a big, dazzling explosion fell down the barracks.
The eruption was so loud and powerful that I could feel a tremendous force on my face. I put away my binoculars and stood up, speak in a sharp, hoarse voice and snap my fingers:
-"181, attack!"