Valen woke in the embrace of soft grass. The sky was a dark blue, but the sun wasn’t completely gone yet.

“54 people,” A feminine voice said from his right. “That’s how many died to ward that thing off.” Valen turned over, his sore body aching, to find an Asian woman who looked to be in her high thirties. She had long, silky black hair that was tied behind her head and a beige military uniform outfitted with magazines in her pockets and grenades on her belt. She carried a fearsome rifle in her hands. Her brown eyes investigated Valen’s steadily. “They died for you. I hope you don’t forget their sacrifice.”

Only after studying her did he come to his senses. He was still in the meadow, but it was war-torn now and hardly as beautiful as it was. Small craters and splatches of dirt replaced the pure field of green. Bodies in beige camouflage lay all around him. Pools of blood spilled over blades of grass. Dismembered body parts, no doubt cut by the vicious scythe-legs, were all over. Valen paled, breathing heavily, and slowly rose. He cast his eyes downward, and his body shuddered, clearly shaken up. Someone bumped into him.

“He’s awake,” a muscular, tall man said, glaring down into Valen’s eyes. He had a buzz cut, and, like the woman, was from the military. His skin was bronze, and he had bushy, black eyebrows. There were more people a dozen yards away also in the military.

“I already talked to him, Gomez,” the Asian woman said.

“Aye, Captain,” Gomez answered. Valen saw his huge back as he walked towards the captain, but not without another glare towards him. It was Valen’s fault. Valen got Gomez’s comrades killed. He stared at the ground.

“There are thirty of us now,” the captain said, “but there wasn’t a better way for them to go out saving like that. Nothing we can do but keep going.” She put her hand on Gomez’s shoulder. He grunted. The two talked more for a while, but Valen tuned it out. He stared at the torn remains. The result of his actions. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Was his family like that? Was Lancey like that?

“Lancey. Lancey!” Valen said. “A kid in the forest! He’s still there!” Valen approached Gomez and the captain.

“We just saved you and now you want more of us to die for you?” Gomez said, turning back to Valen and pointing his finger at him.

“He saved me too! I-I know where he is,” Valen cried, his eyes glassy. “He’s injured!”

“You - “

“Gomez,” the captain warned and then looked at Valen, who still had tears streaming down his face. “Where?”

Valen wiped his tears away and pointed. “I know the way.”

The captain sighed. All the soldiers that were left were treating the wounded and recovering from the battle. “We’ll separate. Gomez, you’re with me,” she ordered, then faced the rest of her command. “John!” She yelled. A calm man looked up from outside a beige tent. “You’re in command! Move the camp a mile north! I’ll be back in…” she turned to Valen and asked, “How long?”

“An hour at most,” Valen said. He wasn’t sure how long he had been running, but there was a physical limit to how long he had been escaping the beast. An hour for a round trip, and to make sure they found Lancey.

She nodded in understanding, then yelled out to John again, “An hour!” The three set off with Valen in the lead, but not before the captain got a stretcher. The two adults, carrying the stretcher, matched Valen’s slow pace. It was the fastest he could muster, though. He was extremely sore and had much shorter legs. He was barely able to keep standing.

Gomez was next to the captain, and many times Valen heard Gomez offer his disagreements with the situation, but he ignored it and kept moving. He recognized the paths he took and led them straight back on it. It was much easier to follow back where they came from because of the wake left by the monster. Trampled bushes and fallen trees left an almost clear and completely straight path back.

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Not long after, they reached the spot where Lancey had been. He was still there, but he was motionless. His body was still and face up. His eyes were closed, and his blonde hair fell still on his face. Valen rushed towards him and lightly pushed him side-to-side.

“Lancey,” Valen whispered in his ear. “Help’s here.” Lancey’s body rocked back and forth. Nothing happened. “Wake up.” Valen’s savior didn’t move. “Come on, Lancey.” Valen wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but a small sound seemed to have escaped Lancey. A small noise like a soft gasp. Valen quickly put his ear up to Lancey’s mouth.

“… stop moving me around,” Lancey said softly, grimacing in pain. Valen broke into a smile and backed away, letting the two adults approach him. Wordlessly, they set the stretcher on the ground and brought Lancey onto it.

“Other people?” Lancey muttered. “Thank you…Valen,” He trailed off as he lost consciousness again. Valen didn’t know if Lancey was sleeping, or if his injury was just that bad. The walk back was uneventful. The sun was beginning to set when they arrived back at the meadow. The dead were still there. Then they moved to where the camp was a mile away. The sky glowed a soft pink, and streaks of clouds spotted it beautifully.

As they moved, the captain, whose name Valen had found out to be Amelia Kang, explained that the monsters would likely move to feast on the remains there, which is why they had vacated it so fast. She also told him that they were the National Guard, or what was left of it. They had only survived by hiding as much as they could, and, originally, they were part of a much larger troop. She told Valen that they tried to fight the monsters at first. Anything was possible if you threw enough bodies at it. After she said that, it was silent the rest of the way, even Gomez too.

The camp was amid tall oak trees. There was a single medical, beige tent. There were no fires. Everyone focused on staying as quiet as possible. There were two people on guard, hiding among bushes and the like. When Valen arrived with Lancey, Gomez, and the captain, they brought him to John, the man left in charge of the camp, who was their medic.

“It’s hard for me to diagnose him like this,” John said, analyzing Lancey on a cot. Right before, he had asked Lancey a few questions about how he felt. “But I think he at least fractured a bone in his spine.” John had white, pale skin, greying black hair, and rectangular glasses. He looked at the captain. “He’s not going to be able to walk for a while and must deal with a tremendous amount of pain. I’m talking for months. And I’m not sure if he needs surgery, I’d need an X-ray for that, but I can make some sort of brace, maybe, if I have the right people and materials.”

The captain paused in thought, then nodded. “I’ll get you some,” she said. “We’ll talk more later.”

“Captain, can I talk to you?” Gomez asked. He had been in the corner of the tent, listening to the conversation. The captain walked out of the tent and Gomez followed. They were right outside, so it wasn’t hard for Valen to listen in from inside the tent. It was like Gomez didn’t even try to hide what he was saying. “He’s dead weight. Can’t walk. Can’t do anything.” Gomez's muffled voice came through. “We don’t have that type of luxury.”

“He’s a kid,” the captain said. “We protect him. What else did we join the military for?”

“My entire squad died. Thousands of our division died and we’re about all that’s left. Hundreds of thousands of people in the city. Who knows how much in the country? In the world? You have to face it. The kid, Lancey, and even the other one will take lives to save. Lives that we don’t have.” Valen didn’t hear anything for a moment or two. “I can’t have more friends die because of people they never met,” Gomez said quietly.

“What do you want me to do?” Captain Kang asked, her voice rising. “Leave them to die? We are with them, for better or worse. I will not abandon anyone, just like how I won’t ever abandon you.”

“Alright, Captain,” Gomez backed off, “but don’t forget what I said. The world has changed. We need to with it, or we won’t even make it to the capital.” Valen heard his footsteps receding from the tent. The captain sighed. John was busy tending to another wounded soldier. Valen took one last look at Laney, who was unconscious, and the tent suddenly seemed completely silent and empty; and the world too. Everything became simple and mundane and grey and quiet. And everything pained Valen’s heart.

Valen was standing next to Lancey, who was sleeping when a violent pain suddenly assaulted his mind. It felt like someone stuck a sharp needle into his head. He groaned softly. And then, after about a minute, it went away like it was never there. Valen didn’t pay it any mind; for maybe it was a sign for him to get some much-needed sleep.