A team of military experts and veterans slowly pushed back an endless tide. The chamber was reloaded when the magazines were empty. Amidst a heavy and tense atmosphere, despite the neverending horde, they WERE held at bay. When the extraction team returned, the mood was detrimentally infectious. Something had gone terribly. They became more serious, focus tightened, and made reserved and calculated decisions. The team reached the helicopter, got on, started the engine, and made their ascent. The ground team would hold on for now. They had enough supplies.

The situation ultimately improved a little. Since a few minutes ago, the horde had thinned down.

A few days after Team B was dropped off at the base, Dekadel was called into a private debriefing with Major Hsuzel and Second Lieutenant Hsuzel.

“Go on,” Hsuzel said with a smile.

“It’s too out there. You would never believe me,” Dekadel said, his voice lacking energy.

“You’d be surprised,” Hsuzel responded.

Dekadel looked up, staring into Hsuzel’s eyes. Considerate, trustworthy, camaraderie. Those were his feelings. Camaraderie was the most important. It was trust in whatever you said, regardless of how improbable. It was the foundation of the military, at least in front of Hsuzel.

Dekadel took a huge breath. Multiple. He wanted to convince himself it was true, or else others wouldn’t believe him no matter how he explained it.

“Hu.man-Zom.bie hy.br.id,” Dekadel muttered slowly.

“Actual zombies?” Hsuzel asked in a clarifying manner.

“No,” Dekadel muttered again.

(Silence)

“Human with half its body rotting, like a corpse,” Dekadel explained. “A corpse… is dead... How can it move unless it’s a zombie?”

“I can see how you made that jump. It’s reasonable,” Hsuzel said, intrigued.

“A living corpse isn’t. A zombie is,” Dekadal explained.

“What else? I heard we lost Joe?” Hsuzel said confidently.

Dekadel turned his gaze on Hsuzel, surprised.

“It’s tough losing someone you get to know, but if the entire military is like that, we’ll never advance. We can preserve his dignity and efforts if we figure out what happened. If he didn’t smash through that wall, would Shelton have found out about this zombie?” Hsuzel explained calmly. “If Shelton didn’t see it, and he didn’t live to describe it, wouldn’t we still be in the dark? It would’ve fallen into the flames as he described. It’s a clue. Also, he could be alive. The military raises resourceful people. We have to hope”.

Dekadel only nodded before asking, “The clue?”

“Besides the obvious experimental explanation? The question is, how funded was it? Which expert is researching this? I know of people who know people who are interested in such a thing,” Hsuzel said solemnly.

“Who?” Dekadel asked.

“This meeting was more to assess your current mental state. I mean it. You are all important to me. You’re my friends. You help make this country better. Also, they know if you know. Trust me, you would not want them coming after you. Get stronger. Then you’ll be safe even if you know. I’m telling you this because I know you want justice. I’m telling you this because I don’t want to see you die. If they want to kill you, I cannot stop them. I can’t protect you all the time,” Hsuzel explained.

“So I should train. Pretend like none of it happened and just train,” Dekadel muttered.

“Die, or train, and then be less concerned about dying. Rushing won’t kill them faster; it’ll just get you killed faster. Dead people are already dead. They’ll feel grateful as long as they’re avenged. If you’re having trouble bottling your rage until then, I can send you to where Cadet GodFiend is training. I heard he’s quite insightful,” Hsuzel said.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Aren’t you forgetting about the Supernatural capabilities of Cadet Sikhail GodFiend?” Trafola teased.

“Supernatural capabilities? Right. That fellow has a high affinity with Supernatural methods,” Hsuzel asked confusingly before laughing.

“His willpower and fortitude are extremely abnormal, and his perception is out of this world. He was subjected to extreme tests and exhibited extreme calmness despite the danger. He even resolved impossible scenarios,” Trafola added.

“He’s improved that much?” Dekadel asked in shock.

“Don’t worry. Explanations are typically exaggerated. However, they are based on some kind of truth. It’s just a little interesting to see your reaction,” Hsuzel explained.

Dekadel smiled, a little embarrassed.

“When can I see him? Does that mean I’m leaving the base for a while?”

“Well, we performed an assessment on all three of you. Amelia got an exemption since she had long gone. You snapped Shelton back to reality, but no one was there to help you, and your seniority didn’t work in your favor. So, we’re taking care of you,” Trafola smiled.

“It’s ok to cry,” Hsuzel said with a soft sigh.

Those words were equivalent to removing that one stick that caused a whole dam to fall apart. Dekadel slammed his palm on the table as he turned his head down, hoping no one would see his tears.

“I thought I was strong, but I froze, was helpless to do anything. I don’t care if I can’t stop the flames. I couldn’t even sense it before it happened. Are my senses dull?” Dekadel shouted.

“The flames came out suddenly, right? If it was a normal human, the punch would hurt Joe but wouldn’t kill him. You could deal with that. Can you stop a wildfire? Extraordinary methods require extraordinary strength,” Hsuzel asked, getting to the key point.

(Silence)

“When do I meet Cadet, brother GodFiend?” Dekadel asked weakly.

“Charging into danger is fine. Charging into danger without the skill to protect your own life is inadvisable. I’ll take you in a few days,” Hsuzel advised.

Dekadel only nodded.

“Get a good night’s rest. The emotional scarring you received during the mission is mild compared to the training Cadet GodFiend is going through, that you’ll go through,” Trafola added.

Dekadel nodded again. After he left the room, Hsuzel and Trafola faced each other.

“One site had malfunctioning sensors. The other had malfunctioning suits. Both had phantom crosstalk,” Hsuzel said grimly.

“The enemy?” Trafola commented.

“Made up to give motivation. I don’t have a damn clue on what’s going on,” Hsuzel confessed. “Surprised you went through it so smoothly.”

“Sir, we’ve been working together for a while now. Go to meetings together. It would be shocking if I didn’t pick it up,” Trafola smiled.

“That’s the suaveness that gets you a promotion,” Hsuzel replied.

“So, what’s your take on the situation?” Trafola asked as she continued to smile.

“Grim. Sophia hasn’t returned yet. Determined to still be in combat with the enemy. A tough one,” Hsuzel answered.

“The enemy?” Trafola asked.

“No. She is. Both teams got ambushed, but only her team made it out alive,” Hsuzel commented.

“She was a warrior before she ever discovered her innate trait. It makes sense,” Trafola replied.

“I put in a request for that Elder take a look. We tried sending reinforcements, but none of them could find the building. It’s right in front of us, but it’s like it disappeared. It’s like their sense of direction was removed. Have you ever heard of the *Path*, Trafola? Rumor has it that it allows the user to see through the truth of all things,” Hsuzel said as he stood up.

“Path, sir? Would you clarify this, please?” Trafola asked.

Under the protected gaze of the government, two additional branches of combat have found different ways to interact with these innate traits. The Path of the Warrior, the Path of the Magician, and the Path of the Rogue. They don’t command but allow themselves to be commanded. It’s a symbiotic merge. They aren’t immune to physics, so it’s balanced,” Hsuzel whispered loudly.

(Silence)

“Cadet GodFiend. Private Dekadel. One’s going to have heavy military training with some supernatural influences. The other one is balanced. I wonder how each will be affected?” Hsuzel thought out loud.

“What about the academies?” Trafola asked, curious.

“We’re united at the top, not so at the bottom,” Hsuzel said with a chuckle.

“So, the Elder going to interfere?” Trafola added.

“Interfere? No. He’s going to add his own perspective and deal with it according to how he sees fit. It affects the entire country, after all. She has her own ambitions. The military is her home,” Hsuzel responded.

“I hope she can hold until he gets there,” Trafola said in worry.

“Her life depends on it,” Hsuzel said with a sigh.

——|——|—|—|——|——

The day before.

Sophia stood, smiling. Her battle-suit had been damaged but was still operational. It was on the ground, coiled, screaming in pain as half of the world broke, its fragmented pieces funneling into the body of the figure on the ground.

“Big boy. You didn’t expect me to mechanically assimilate you, eh? These toys are quite fun!” Sophia said with a big laugh.

She unloaded her primary shotgun at the enemy, driving it further into the ground. After, she unloaded her dark gray shotgun at it, driving it deeper while breaking off pieces of it. She alternated, without reloading, successively. What was originally a hulking titan became a tiny shriveled thing, unrecognizable. She picked it up.

“What is this thing?” Sophia asked out loud.

Putting it away, she turned to look at the scene. She put both shotguns together, 2 becoming 1, watching as the damage to the room disappeared like nothing had happened. Then, she walked down from the 4th to the 1st floor.