The cacophony of sounds was overbearing, filling all surroundings with the music of war. Shouts, gunfire, painful screams, explosions, and even more shots imbued the air itself with panic, adrenaline, and fear, making it viscous and hard to breathe. Or it could be caused by a smell – an awful mixture of decomposing corpses, powder, burned flesh, and rubber. The familiar scent for any soldier on the frontlines, but it didn’t make it any easier to get used to it. However, Robert, his own heartbeat was much louder.
Almost trying to jump out from his chest, it was pushing him faster and faster across the field. His peripheral vision constantly was catching the sight of another fallen ally, but the pulses of fear were instantly suppressed by a will to live. And the single option of survival was ahead of him, right inside the enemy’s trench. Therefore, he just gritted his teeth and continued to run, jumping over any obstacles, be it a crater from a shell or his own dead comrade-in-arms.
The defense line appeared suddenly. Rob barely managed to stop himself from taking aim, as a rain of bullets started to fly around his motionless figure. Moving the barrel across the trench, he finally got an image of a soldier with a grenade in his hand. The loud shot resounded across the field. The tiny projectile that had left his rifle seemed to pause for a moment before disappearing only to create a hole directly in the eye of the rabbit’s ears owner. Dropping down after the hit, the enemy somehow managed to throw the grenade out of cover.
The raging explosion right above the fortified line had sent multiple fragments across the surroundings. Robert barely managed to cover himself with a giant shield, only to see how it turned into a flat version of a colander. Still, Rob didn’t feel any pain as if he was not wounded at all. This oddity was thrown away when he jumped inside the trench. Showing the rifle right into the face of the scared beastman, he pulled the trigger. The shot had blown away the back part of the head, scattering the remnants of the brain on the wall behind. Rob didn’t stop.
Pushing the corpse right on other enemies, he turned around only immediately ducked under the following gunshot. Shortening the distance before the enemy managed to reload, Rob had put forward his rifle. The moment later his bayonet impaled the enemy, raising him up in the air. The shock from the strike distorted the face of the beastman, but the latter still tried to pull it out from his chest. He died a few seconds later. However, the death grip appeared to be too strong, basically leaving Robert without a weapon among dozens of armed enemies.
Where the fuck are the others?
Creating a small axe and shield, Rob rushed in melee, not giving beastmen any opportunity to aim. The first strike had crushed the palm of the nearest enemy. The following hit with the edge of the shield aimed for the nose, but the height difference shifted the place of impact to the forehead. Not sparing a moment as a result of his attacks, Robert just continued to move, turning into a hitting machine. Beastfolks were slightly bigger and stronger than the average citizen of the Kingdom, who in most cases was a mixture of human and dwarf. However, in comparison to Rob, they had no advantage at all. Taking into account his combat experience, the situation was even worse for them, leaving tens of bodies in different states, but with a single similar characteristic – they all couldn’t get up. Still, despite losses, there were many more enemies that he could handle singlehandedly.
Reacting to a pointed revolver, Rob instantly remade his axe into another shield, basically changing hands. The bullet had ricocheted from a steel surface, leaving a dent. The moment later Robert had swung with his arm. The steel turned into a greyish liquid before solidifying into a long saber, the blade of which had left a deep cut on the neck of the shooter. Catching the palm with a gun, Rob had to release it immediately to avoid a torrent of bullets.
Roaring with anger, he dispersed the steel and grabbed the corpse of the officer by its clothes only to throw it immediately into a row of enemies. Too scared to approach, they wanted to shoot him from the distance, involuntary grouping in one place. The body-size projectile had crashed into their ranks, dropping everyone on the ground. Not wasting any time, Rob jumped over, landing with his boot on the head of a foxman. Under his weight the skull cracked, making its owner go limp. Conjuring the dagger, Robert wanted to continue his massacre when he noticed the grenade.
The hast pull had ignited the wick, creating a wave of panic among lying soldiers. However, he was already running to the nearest deepening, making an internal countdown. The dozens of corpses created a huge obstacle. Rob was barely keeping his balance, pushing himself forward with all his might. Still, the so-desired cover seemed to be only further and further away from him. The whole trench was already covered with dead. Immediately his legs started to fall through the bodies as if trying to keep him in one place.
Moreover, there were rats everywhere. Damn rodents that were constantly making life in the trench even worse than it could be, eating the soldier’s food or even the bodies of fallen. Sneaking everywhere in a search for what to gnaw, those filthy creatures just refused to disappear. And even now, they continued to run in insane numbers, creating almost a squeaking river from themselves. No wonder Robert tripped at some point, faceplanting right into the pile.
Opening his eyes a moment later, Rob saw the forever-frozen expression of the cheeky brat from the truck that was mere centimeters from his own face. Before this oddity managed to raise a question inside his mind, the explosion raged. No, the EXPLOSION. It felt as whole world had collapsed. The earth had shaken, before simply breaking apart. Robert felt as if he was falling. Then the shockwave came. Throwing away him as if he were a simple leaf, pulled him in a huge whirlwind. Dark, sinister, it was rampaging in anger, trying to suck the whole world inside itself. Instead, it started to pull corpses. Hundreds of them. Thousands of motionless bodies in different states – some visually intact with tiny holes, but most had limbs torn, huge gruesome open wounds, or even could be barely identified as living beings.
Rob was rotating inside this huge pile, when each second another mask of death was literally shown inside his face. All air was forcefully taken from his lunges, slowly strangling him both physically and mentally. However, before the surroundings had darkened forever, Robert saw a huge figure of a soldier with a flamethrower. Towering above the whirlwind, he silently pointed his weapon before pulling the trigger, setting the whole world ablaze. The heat, the light, the pain – everything finally reached the deepest part of Rob’s soul, burning it to ashes only to ignite it once again a moment later. The terror gripped him in the hugs. And Robert screamed, not able to endure this torture anymore.
“Hey, big guy, calm down, everything is good. It is just a dream,” Beth’s voice slowly made it throw his panicked mind, while Rob tried to grasp the air. Breathing heavily, he felt he was drowning in fire. Hastily raising his head, he looked around in an attempt to confirm that it was just his imagination. The plain white walls of the small back room, where they both shared a bed, finally managed to calm him down.
“Just a nightmare…”, Beth repeated with a calming tone, gently touching Rob’s back.
“Awfully realistic, I need to say. It was more like memories at first that turned into a nightmare at some point,” he sighed, before turning his face to the girl. She didn’t change much from their first meeting a year ago.
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Tiny nose on a cute face, and big brown eyes with constant bags under them, she was looking at him with a worried expression. Her blonde loose hair was barely touching her shoulders. Small in comparison to a huge Robert, almost fragile with her thin arms and legs, she on the contrary had quite a character.
Beth wasn’t joking that this was the place where women were choosing. Rob, himself, thought of their first night as a single pleasant occasion, not having a single thought about any continuation. Being a soldier in the war who had died once and who had a connection to a Transcendent entity with god’s syndrome, it was a naïve dream to build any deep relations. He could die or be taken into another realm at any moment. However, the girl just simply grabbed his hand, before literally dragging him from the hospital bed to help her again with the wounded. The “payment” was made later. That was how she called their second night together.
During this year they didn’t have many occasions to meet. Less than a dozen in fact. Only critical losses in his company and Robert’s injuries allowed him to come back. On their fourth meeting, he was told that he didn’t need to be jealous and that he was the only one until Beth changed her mind. However, she never did even after so many months with so rare meetings.
“Do you know how it is convenient to have you as a shield? That stupid Roger stopped bothering me, literally fearing that you would break him in a fit of rage.”
“What? But why? I am very calm you know…”
“I know that but not everyone. You raised a truck for a bet in front of a whole hospital. And that only after a day I took a shrapnel from your arm… Moreover, the ogres are often described as strong and brutal barbarians without a single brain cell. What any sane man will think if such a person is going to become jealous? Obviously, they are done… which is precisely what I want.”
“But is it only that…,” Robert's gaze pointed to her nude body, which was currently lying on himself.
“Just a pleasant bonus,” he only smiled at that answer.
As time went on, both continued to pretend that it wasn’t serious. Or maybe it wasn’t. Rob, himself, didn’t have any prior experience and many times pondered about their relationships. He didn’t know if it was love. He indeed felt a connection, but it wasn’t like in the movies that he saw. There was no strong passion or drama. They always lacked the time together as circumstances were constantly interfering with something. He didn’t know even much about her or her family. Even Beth’s preferences or dislikes were mostly a mystery to him. They never discussed a possible future. Never imagined “what if”. Still, Robert felt a bond. And he cared about her, simultaneously noticing the same behavior coming from the girl.
“Are you okay?” Beth asked again, gently touching his bold head, “I still think it was better for you with long hair.”
“I am good now… And it is more convenient to wear a helmet in such a way,” answered Rob, finally throwing away all traces of the nightmare from his mind.
“With a short beard you really look like a human, and not an ogre,” she smiled, turning around and leaning onto him with her back. Hugging her without thinking, Robert felt her tiny fingers playing with his palm.
“But you are human according to your words… Nope, I don’t believe you, Rob… Your wounds are healing with unnatural speed. You don’t have any scars at all, even from the wounds I personally treated. Your strength suppresses any human by a good margin. And you do look like an ogre. I know what you are going to say but I don’t believe you, big guy,” she continued, interrupting him before he managed to open his mouth.
“And what about this?”
Conjuring a steel flower in his free hand, Robert asked with a grin. It was simple and looked like a drawing of a kid – crooked, disproportional, but made with diligence. However, such proof was once again disregarded. They had such a conversation before when he shared part of the truth about himself, but it didn’t lead to anything. Beth just refused to believe, and he never tried to persuade her.
“Ogrish trick, and not a magic. We all thought that flying was impossible until dirigibles were invented. I don’t know how you are doing it but there is a scientific answer somewhere. The lack of knowledge always makes people think about mythical explanations. That is what I was taught during my education. You just are afraid about telling the secret of the trick, leaving at least one part of you that I never seen,” answered Beth, biting his arm lightly.
“And have you seen everything else?”
“Oh, I bet I have,” turning around her head, she forcefully kissed Robert before returning to her previous position. The next few minutes went in silence before he broke it.
“I had a proposal…”
“What? Who is my competitor?!” Feigning an indignation, asked Beth immediately.
“Proposal from an officer…”
“Oh, of course, some random higher-up who had noticed my ogre. How can I compete with her?” Continuing her play, she once again bit his arm.
“I am serious, Beth. I’ve got a proposal… an offer to join a newly formed squad of what could be possible special forces... They don’t have a proper name currently and are only in the process of forming. If we manage to complete a task, I will be transferred from frontlines to this newly formed unit… Wanted to ask your opinion. It could be very dangerous, but instead can give opportunities. To get an easy leave at least. And more.”
The silence reigned in the room for even longer, before finally the girl started to talk. She never turned her head, speaking in a calm tone as if everything was fine.
“I think you should agree. This is not only a higher chance to survive, but a guaranteed possibility to get much more than just sitting in trenches for weeks in a single area. Moreover, I, myself, will be transferred to another hospital, far from the frontline. This is our last night, but…”.
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because why should I? This is my decision… And I don’t need your agreement for that. Never needed, never would,” hearing it, Robert pulled his body away from Beth in an attempt to understand. Maybe he couldn’t name them as a proper couple, but he indeed thought they were together and not just for night’s spending.
“We had a pleasant time, but in fact, you don’t know me, and I don’t know you. The war is not the best place to build anything serious. Both of us can die. And I don’t want such an outcome – to be heartbroken because of the loss of my beloved. Just no, I refuse to be in such a situation. Thus, I am going to a safer place, where I will try to build everything properly with a guarantee that nothing will break apart a few days later!”
Her calm voice was hammering Rob’s heart with the force of an electric sledgehammer. He couldn’t accurately describe his own feelings to her. Was it a nascent love or just an attachment with benefits, he knew it was only a matter of time before it would grow into something bigger. The main problem of the constant lack of time together would be solved by itself eventually. Or not, as her words had a crashing effect on his feelings. Even cooling one. Robert still tried to calm himself down, before speaking, in an attempt to find the correct words.
“I understand your fears, Beth, but we can work over them. I agree that to be devasted by a loss is quite scary, but…”
“No "but"! I made my decision already!”
Sighing heavily, Rob paused for a moment to organize his messy thoughts. Ten seconds later he stood up and started to dress up, despite haze, which covered all surroundings. He felt that his mind was captured by the very same whirlwind from a nightmare. Chaotic, destructive, and dark, it had put all his thoughts in a real mess.
“Why are going? We have a few more hours. Last chance to spend some time together.”
Those words didn’t halt Robert even for a moment, despite her deliberately calm tone. It wasn’t what she meant in reality. He could easily see that Beth was still hiding her face. He noticed small signs of trembling. He could hear how her voice started to break, and she had to make additional pauses between words as if she was barely able to breathe. He could observe all that but didn’t try to rush in an attempt to change her mind.
Rob was sure that there was a chance. Simple hugging, kissing her neck, or absolute confidence in his words might reverse the whole situation, but it would be an illusion. Nothing would really change – the war would still continue. Nobody could be sure about their future. Especially in his case. He didn’t want to hurt her even more, when he died or disappeared, being transferred to another realm. She didn’t deserve such fate and it was indeed better to end everything earlier. Otherwise, clinging to her would later lead a whole situation to the edge of the cliff, making a possible drop-down much more painful. Still, Robert couldn’t resist but ask.
“When the war ends and if we are both alive, do you want me to find you?”
“No…”
“Be happy, Beth,” a sad smile appeared on Robert’s face, before he walked out of the room, grabbing his rifle and backpack on the way. The closed door had hidden the silent cry of a girl, who didn’t find the courage to see his face until it was too late.