The city shrank behind them, now just a faint skyline behind obscuring blankets of humid air. As was usually the case after significant happenings, the squad marched along in silence. August had wanted to ask if anyone knew about the zombies and whether they should expect more in the future. He suppressed his curiosity. He’d only known his squadmates on a personal level for a few days now, but that was enough to know they weren’t a bunch to keep such things to themselves. If anyone had known about the zombies, they would have mentioned it.

They’d managed to escape the city without seeing any more of the creatures. A small part of August had wanted the others to at least get a glimpse of one. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the colonels didn’t believe him. Not that they thought he was outright lying, but maybe they figured his inexperienced mind interpreted a lesser danger as the monstrous things he’d seen or thought he’d seen. Lucky for August, Rosek had been there. What a horrible thing to think.

He glanced at the mech-pilot. Her face had only gotten worse. Everything looked about the same as before, but sunshine had made the swelling and redness more pronounced. It looked as if she could barely see through the raw, tender slits. The beginnings of purples and blues were forming around her wounded eyes. At least they were healing.

Rosek’s visor was still opened to air out the suit. August’s and everyone else’s had been closed since the city to protect against the crisp morning. He wished he could help her in some way. The colonel had to choose between freezing and breathing in the constant odor of death and rot. It seemed like an easy choice at first, but anytime a slight breeze found a way through the cracks of his suit, he shivered and decided the choice was a hard one after all.

“I hear a river,” Rosek said. Her voice made August jump. At first, he’d thought she’d been snapping at him for staring. “Permission to stop for a bit, General?”

“I’d rather we get as far from the city as possible before stopping,” Wolf said from the front of the company.

“General,” Rosek hesitated before finishing her thought. “I’d really like to bathe. I hear a river.”

Wolf stopped and turned. “Bathe? This isn’t a leisure trip, Colonel. You know that.”

“I understand that, General. However, I happen to be caked in the gunk of multiple dead vintage folk. Would you like to take a whiff of the air in my suit?”

The general nodded and almost cracked a smile. “Point taken, Colonel. Let’s find that river.”

They pushed through a thin layer of skinny trees and found the flowing water. It ran a gentle current and bent around a corner to flow out of sight deeper into the woods. Belmont and Rosek scouted around that corner for a secluded spot, leaving the men on the open, pebbly bank. “It’ll probably take them a while to get that grime out of her clothes,” Dalton West said, unclipping his armor. “We might as well take the opportunity to wash the sweat off, too.”

The others agreed. West, Sterling, and August stripped naked and plunged into the cold river. All three squealed and cried out like kids in a pool. Sterling even splashed water at August before they engaged in a playful wrestling match to see who could keep the other’s head underwater the longest. Sterling won more often than not, but August hadn’t been giving it his all.

West mostly kept to himself. He’d dunk himself underwater then emerge at a slow, almost comically sensual pace, scrubbing his thickly-haired scalp with rugged fingers, his eyes closed in bliss. Water dripped down the old chest that had made so many girls swoon in its firmer days on the silver screen.

General Wolf stayed armored and prepared. He paced the riverbank with his head on a swivel. Perhaps they were clear of the zombies, but they were back in dolo territory, which was arguably much worse. But despite all the dangers they’d seen, Slupman’s revelations, and the doomful nature of their quest, August allowed himself to have a bit of fun in the river. He and Sterling, who hadn’t seen eye to eye since the craft had gone down, splashed at each other and grappled like kids.

Their play-fighting had finally ceased long enough for August to scrub himself down. He could feel the layer of sweat and grime dissolve in the water, and his skin gained a wet, rubbery friction that only came with cleanliness. He wished now that he’d brought the fishing pole from the city.

Trent Sterling ripped the bandage from his brow and lightly touched his wound. “Scabbed pretty good,” he mumbled to himself and deposited the soiled bandage into the current. A bruised lump peaked by a small scab sat between his eyes. He stood in hip-deep water and few yards downriver, bending forward a bit and craning his neck. August froze. What did he see? Had the dolo already found them? Could they not even enjoy a single hour of peace?

Dalton West shouldered past August and threw a hard punch into the exterminator’s bicep. Sterling laughed and rubbed at the future site of a bruise. “What was that for?”

“You know damn well,” West said.

The ruckus caught General Wolf’s attention. “What’s going on?”

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August shrugged.

Dalton West kept his eyes on Sterling but started to explain. “This dirty bastard was trying to sneak a peek of the girls.”

August tilted his head like a disappointed mother. He hadn’t even thought of that.

“Oh, come on,” Sterling said. “I can’t be the only one who’s been wondering what she’s hiding under that mech suit, huh? And what about the other one? You can tell even in her armor. She’s packing a nice amount back there.”

Silence.

“Cut me some slack,” Sterling pleaded. “we’ve been out here for so long, and—”

“It’s been a little more than three days,” the old sniper said.

“Exactly!” Sterling shot his hands up and let them drop back into the water.

The general rolled his eyes and resumed his pacing.

“They’re probably doing the same right now,” Sterling continued. “I bet they’re wondering which of us is biggest downstairs and trying to get a peek of their own.”

“I highly doubt that,” West said. “Besides, if any of them ever watched Golden Dome 2475 winner: Monsters from Above, they’d know for a damn fact that I was packing the most out of this lot.” He grinned and floated away on his back as if to further emphasize his point.

“What are you looking at?” Sterling asked August. “Don’t look at me like that, like you’re some high and mighty saint. I see the way you look at the little miss rainbow hair. Wouldn’t you love to see her right now? Water dripping down her soft skin, little diamond-like droplets splashing up around her as her golden hair catches the sun and shines in all those brilliant colors.”

August left the river. He swiped his pile of clothes and brought it back to the river to wash. The others did the same while Wolf kept watch. They hung their clothes and loitered on the hot pebbles, naked as the day they were born.

Half-an-hour passed, and the general had never allowed himself to relax. Ace, West, and Sterling had been standing together discussing various topics, all pertaining to the mission, and most coming back to Slupman’s letter.

“Ace,” Wolf said.

“Yeah, General?”

Wolf nodded his chin in the direction of the women. “Go check on the ladies. They’ve been too quiet.”

August’s face burned red. “Can’t we just call out to them?”

Sterling laughed. “Hel, I’ll go check on them if you want.”

“No!” Wolf said it immediately. “I don’t want to start yelling back and forth out here. Just make a bit of noise to announce yourself before you see them. You don’t even have to get a visual on them. Just make sure you get audible confirmation that both are alive and alright, got it?”

“Yes, Sir.”

He pulled his clothes on. They were still a bit damp, but they could easily dry on his back under the sun. He left their little area on the beach and followed it downriver. Boots were the only part of his armor he had, and he carried his fully charged pistol in his left hand. He winced in pain as he landed on an awkward step. It was the same leg that the dead dolo had pierced. That bandage will need a change soon. It had only been changed once since the injury, and that was in the church over twenty-four hours ago.

He turned the corner and kept his eyes down toward his feet. The last thing he wanted was to catch the women sunbathing naked or something like that. “Ace here,” he spoke softly, hoping he wouldn’t have to make too much noise before finding them.

“Chin up, boy,” Luna Belmont’s voice came. “Come on down here. We’re decent.

He raised his eyes and turned beet red. Their definition of ‘decent’ differed. Belmont crouched in front of Rosek, who sat in a sunny patch of soft pebbles. Both were down to their tan, military smallclothes. Belmont’s were still a bit damp, and the material’s opacity was slightly affected. August averted his eyes. The medic noticed, shook her head, and laughed. “I’m guessing the general was getting worried about us?”

“That’s right,” August said. His eyes were pulled to Rosek’s hair with magnetic intensity. It was still damp as the sun bathed it, and the vivid colors were more prominent than what he’d seen to date.

“Figured,” Belmont said. Her lips pursed in heavy concentration as she coated Rosek’s swollen lids with a thick goop that August could smell from his distance of a few yards. It smelled earthy and almost spicy, like something MoShun district folk might cook with. “Figured we wouldn’t have much more alone time for the rest of the mission. Decided it’d be my best chance to use real medicine on this poor girl.”

“What is that?” August asked.

“Just a concoction I whipped up,” Belmont said. “Some crushed up sweet stem, which reminds me, we’re gonna have to change that bandage of yours up soon, and a little bit of fire-vine.”

“Fire-vine,” August said. “You find that in the city?”

“That’s right, honey,” Belmont said. “Passed by hundreds of pounds of it. All there. All free for the taking. Granny used to grow this stuff. I know it well. Shame to leave so much of it behind, but I took what I could, and it’s already paying off.”

“Won’t black eyes heal on their own?”

Belmont let out a jolly chuckle. “Do these look like your average black eyes to you?” She pointed to Rosek’s wounded face.

August let his chin drop. “No.”

“It’ll help the swelling go down, and most importantly, it’ll keep the wound from getting infected.” She got up, crouched by the river to rinse her hands, then returned to her medicine bag to pack up. “I know you’ll keep quiet about this to the general. You get it.”

“I guess I do,” August smiled.

He had no strong opinion on either side of this ongoing feud between the medic and the general. If modern medicine worked, great. If this stuff Belmont was finding worked, great. Why not just gather as much helpful stuff as they could? He thought it best to just stay out of it.

“Sit down here next to Colonel Rosek, honey,” Belmont said to him. “We’ll get that leg of yours cleaned up.”

He looked over his shoulder. “Maybe we should do that back with the others. The general will be waiting for me to confirm you guys are alright.”

“Just sit down,” Belmont said. “That curmudgeon could wait a bit. Besides, I’d rather take advantage of this privacy while I got it. I wanna clean you up with my medicine, not this over-expensive, synthetic crap.”

August shrugged and sat beside Rosek. It was nice in the sun. He waited while Belmont rummaged through her medic sack and made eye contact with Rosek, who sat just a breath’s blow away. He wanted to ask her how she was doing if there was anything he could do for her. He felt bad. She’d been alone with him twice, and already he’d started the car to attract the swarm and then the whole business with the zombies. A better soldier would have protected her more effectively. He stayed silent and simply smiled at her. He got nothing in return.

Belmont walked toward him in a crouch like a crab and went to work on his wound.