The sun had sunk below the horizon and took the heat with it. They’d been watching it slowly abandon them as they made their way westward on an old highway that cut through a bushy mess of forest. Even in the thickness of his armor, August shivered, and he doubted he was alone. They marched with their face shields open to better hear each other while keeping their speech volume low in the quiet night. Had the comms been functioning, they could have used them to communicate with their shields closed. Instead, their helmets gaped, allowing a chilling breeze to flow in through their suits.
August eyed the multiple components that made up the firebox along the general’s belt with a longing for its heat. The cold disagreed with his throbbing leg. He’d overworked the wounded limb during the battle when it should have been healing. Wolf maintained his executive posture despite his wounds. A discomfort had taken root in the general’s lungs since the injury, and he periodically let free a string of coughs muffled by a fist. Even with the obstruction, the sound was like bombs in the dead air.
“You good, General?” Belmont asked after each bout of coughing.
She got the same nod every time.
The medic weaved between squadmates, splitting her attention between Wolf and Slupman, who lagged the party with his arm in a splint. His armor's detachable arm was removed and clipped to a fastener on his back, leaving a large hole in his armor for the breeze to enter through.
A dark mood hung over the squad like a cloud and followed them since the battle in town. No one spoke to August since leaving the gas station. He tried convincing himself that the squad was just trying to keep words at a minimum, but the hope never lasted long. No one even looked at him.
He met eyes with Sterling once and West twice. All three looks were cold. More than heat, food, comfort, or even safety, August just wanted a smile. He thought about looking back at Rosek a few times but didn’t think he could handle it if he got the same cold look from her.
Something shrieked in the woods. Everyone but Slupman jumped and aimed a gun in the sound’s direction. Slupman rushed to catch up to the rest of the group. They held their aim until a gangly bird emerged from the woods and flew past the face of the moon, repeating its cry. The squad relaxed and marched onward.
“This is crazy,” Sterling spoke in a harsh whisper. August was surprised the exterminator had been able to hold in his complaints as long as he had.
“Keep silent, Colonel,” Wolf said. “Don’t risk talking unless you need to. That goes for all of us.”
“We should find a place to camp,” Sterling said, ignoring the order.
“We’ll camp in the city,” Wolf said. “Dolo don’t nest in city ruins. It’s dangerous here in the middle of the woods.”
“Woods,” Sterling scoffed. “There are barely any trees. It’s only bushes and thorns. Dolo don’t nest in places like this.”
“The two-hundred that attacked us today seem to disagree with your statement, Colonel,” Wolf said. “We continue to the city. We’ll be safer with the shelter of the buildings than out here in the open with only an abandoned car here and there for cover.” Wolf let out a deep cough.
Sterling silenced, but his breathing whistled with frustration.
The exterminator caught August looking at him. That seemed to be the last thing he could handle as he took a heavy step toward the rookie. “This is all your fault, you little shit.” He shoved August hard with his left hand while the right held his pistol.
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August fell back a few steps but kept his feet. He made no effort to close the distance between them and simply continued at a leisurely pace keeping an eye on the furious colonel.
“Sterling’s right,” Dalton West said. “We’re making camp right here. Look at us. We’re losing our tempers. We’re cold, hungry, and tired. General, you can’t really expect us to march for over twenty-four hours and be worth a damn in combat.”
General Wolf stopped and turned to face his squad. The group halted. “You’re all colonels, yet you seem to forget how this all works.” He looked each one of them over. Only August was spared the wandering glare.
Belmont was seeing to Slupman’s arm while the general spoke.
“Stand at attention when I speak, colonels,” Wolf said, risking a bit of volume.
Belmont and Slupman stiffened their postures and stared ahead.
“I’ve been asked many times why I brought the rookie along on this mission,” Wolf said. “Sure, he’s done some stupid things, but he hasn’t once forgotten who his superiors are. I’ve been questioned and contradicted and doubted ever since our craft went down. You’re all colonels with wonderful careers, but I’m a fucking general. Do I need to remind you all what that means? It means I’m in charge, dammit. What I say goes. You can all voice your opinions. I encourage it. But at the end of the day, your opinions don’t mean shit unless I say they do, got it?”
A collective “yes Sir” burst from the squad. August was silent as it passed by, and he felt too foolish to repeat it while the others had already finished. He hoped no one noticed.
“I know it feels like we should camp here,” Wolf continued, staring at Sterling. “I’m human like the rest of you. I’m cold, tired, and all that shit.” His features lost their edge. “We were lucky to survive that today. I don’t want to risk anything like that happening again. If we camped here on the road with nothing but forest on either side of us, I don’t know what kind of chance we’d have if we got attacked again. If it weren’t for that gas station, we’d likely all be dead right now—nothing but bug shit like so many others before us.”
“Sorry, Sir,” Sterling said. “I haven’t been myself this mission. I’m letting my rage get the best of me. This isn’t how I got my promotions, and it isn’t how I’ll get more. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but it won’t happen again.” He fondled the cigarette pocket.
“I shouldn’t have spoken so matter-of-factly,” West said. “I think it’s just been so long that I’ve been out with someone higher than me on the food chain. I forgot my place.”
August couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There’d been so many grudges and so much entitlement during his training. To see this group of highly decorated soldiers be able to work out their issues with a few strong words gave him hope. It inspired him to be the best soldier he could be. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to gain the respect of the squad, even Sterling.
“I’m sorry, too,” August’s voice trembled nervously. “I acted aggressively back there without—”
“You shut up,” Sterling said. “You’re the reason we’re in this mess. You’re the reason the general has to make these difficult calls. Stop acting like you’re part of this squad. Shut your mouth, and don’t do anything until we need to send someone off into danger like a dog. Then we’ll talk to you.”
“Take it easy on the kid,” Slupman said. “I’d still be trapped under that slab if it wasn’t for him.”
Sterling punched at the air in frustration. “How many times do I have to say this? There wouldn’t have been a battle if not for him. I don’t care if the kid killed every single dolo with his bare hands. It would have been the least he could do after causing all that shit in the first place.”
“Oh, can it, Sterling,” Rosek said. “I was there in the northern farmlands a few years ago. Remember that?”
Sterling was silent.
“Let me remind you, then,” Rosek said. “You were a sergeant at the time. I was still a rookie. You’d snared a couple of hares and roasted them up to impress the two colonels that were with us. The smell attracted dolo.”
“It’s not the same thing,” Sterling interrupted.
Rosek continued, undeterred. “You killed the bugs with your poison, but some of that poison got on the meat. Both colonels were in intensive care, and one ended up dying.” She allowed the fact to simmer in the silence of the group. “If the MoShun board can forgive you for that, I’m sure you can forgive the rookie for his mistake. In fact, you weren’t even a rookie when you made it. You should have known better, even more than him.”
The general was about to say something but stalled when Slupman walked past him, wide-eyed. “What is it, Colonel?”
“That sign,” Slupman said. “I can’t read it, but I think it’s welcoming us to the city’s district. We aren’t far.”