Novels2Search

Chapter 4

The gunfire came from the road, far off in the distance but quickly coming closer. Just barely visible above the trees. an explosion sent a plume of flames and black smoke skyward somewhere up the road. The sky glowed red for a moment before the gunfire resumed. Noah could make out two pairs of headlights though the trees, moving down the mountain road at dizzying speed. Pinpricks of light, gunfire, burst from each vehicle.

Their camp was too close to the road. When they came around the bend in a few moments, there was a chance their headlights would spot them through the trees, and Cole was still crying. Noah doubted they would hear the baby cry over the gunfire, but there was still a chance. They could go deeper into the woods, but what if more creatures like the woman lurked in the trees?

The lights disappeared behind a line of trees. They were probably a mile or two away. Rapid fire resonated through the valley, nearly on them. Noah and his group pressed themselves against the trees when the lead pair of headlights came around the bend nearest to them on the road. Bullets sparked as they ricocheted off the pavement and the body of what Noah made out to be a military jeep. A soldier stood in the turret, firing to the rear as a second jeep screamed around the bend, hot on their tail.

The lead jeep gave a loud pop. Veering side to side on the road, it crashed into a large tree in front of the clearing. The soldier in the turret lurched from the impact, slamming against his turret’s ring and slumping into the jeep’s interior. The pursuing jeep threw on its brakes but it had too much momentum. It crashed into its prey’s rear. Fortunately for the pursuers, they bled off enough speed before the crash, and their jeep didn’t suffer nearly as much damage as the lead one. The engine purred away, but with a rattle now. Meanwhile, the jeep they’d been shooting at bellowed smoke from the engine block.

The leading driver rolled out of his seat onto the asphalt. His gunner did not emerge. The driver of the second jeep managed to amble out of his vehicle. He walked in a daze, limping as he stepped away from his jeep, but otherwise, he looked fine. The gunner with him climbed out of the turret and jumped down, helping his driver sit against their jeep. Once his driver settled, the gunner turned his attention to the lead jeep’s driver.

“Damnit, Julian, what the hell is wrong with you?”

Julian rolled onto his side, reaching for his sidearm, but the gunner beat him on the draw. He shot Julian in the arm and shook his head. “Don’t get brave on me, Corporal. It's time to take your punishment like a man. It didn’t have to be like this, you know?”

The gunner grabbed Julian by the collar of his uniform and yanked him to his feet. Julian spit in the gunner’s face, earning him a punch to the jaw. They were close enough for Noah to hear the hollow sound of bone on bone.

“Screw you, and screw Colonel Victoria,” the driver said. The gunner scowled and threw him back on the ground. He pulled some cuffs from his pocket and bound Julian’s wrists. “Hey, Sarg,” he said, “what do we do with him?”

Noah’s heart jumped at the colonel’s name. She led his parents’ unit.

The driver shook his head. “Leave him to me. You make sure the other kid is down. Colonel Victoria wants them both back, dead or alive.”

Noah looked at his aunt. At the sound of the colonel’s name, she’d aimed her gun at the soldiers from her prone position. Lily huddled over Cole, muffling his crying just enough that it wasn’t giving their position away, but still, it was loud. They were going to hear him over the sound of their engine if they focused.

The gunner peered into the wrecked jeep. Seemingly satisfied with what he saw, he returned to his jeep and frowned at the white smoke creeping out from under the hood. As he slid his hand under the hood, the engine belched and uttered a metallic clank.

“Aw crap,” he said. Sighing, he kicked the jeep, opened the hood, and leaned into the engine compartment. “Sarg, this might take a minute.”

“Just make it snappy. We’re due back by noon. It’s bad enough that we will have to explain how we lost two jeeps. You just had to shoot the tires out on the last one didn’t you?”

“Got the job done, though.” The gunner retrieved a toolbox from the jeep and started messing with something in the engine. At the same time, the sergeant caught his breath and guarded Julian. Noah racked his mind, trying to piece together everything. They all wore the same unit patch on their vests, a pair of lions around a single sword. His parents’ unit. Why was Julian in cuffs, and what possessed them to fire at each other in the first place?

As thoughts raced through his mind, one of the rear doors of the wrecked jeep slowly eased open. A bloodied soldier crawled out. With his good arm, the soldier fired at the man who should have been his brother-in-arms as he leaned into the engine block. Automatic fire riddled the soldier’s back and spine, and the soldier went limp, still half in the engine compartment.

The sergeant sprung to his feet, pistol in hand, but his shot went wide as Julian jumped and headbutt from below him. The sergeant managed to roll onto his back as he hit the ground, sending two rounds into Julian. One struck him in the chest, the vest eating the round, but the second round sent a pink mist of brain matter and blood into the air. Julian crumpled, and the sergeant aimed at the remaining soldier. The wounded gunner managed to crawl under the wrecked jeep but couldn’t fire from the position. He was helpless.

A single shot rang out, and the sergeant’s head snapped back. Smoke rose from Aunty Melisa’s rifle. She jumped to her feet, racing to the wrecked jeep. Noah followed close on her heels. Aunty Melisa checked the three soldiers out in the open. They were dead. Meanwhile, Noah ducked under the smoking jeep and found the gunner in a pool of blood. He was half-conscious and tried to reach for his gun, but he stopped when he saw how young Noah was. The soldier tried to say something, but blood seeped out of his mouth in place of words.

Noah and his aunt drug him out by his feet as gently as they could. He wasn’t wearing a vest and blood oozed from a pair of sucking wounds in his chest and gut. Noah helped prop him up against the jeep, trying to make his last moments as comfortable as possible. Though they were coated in blood, the name and rank on his uniform were clear.

Aunty Melisa cupped his face in her hands. “Hey, Private Robin, what are you doing out here?”

Robin’s eyes were glossy, and he struggled to focus on his aunt. “Sergeant Hernandez?”

Aunty Melisa smiled and wiped a tear from Robin. “No, that’s my sister. You know her?”

The soldier chuckled. “Sister? You single? Ah, never mind. Doesn't matter now anyway.”

“Sorry, soldier. What happened?”

Robin’s head lolled to the side. He croaked and pressed his hand to the wound on his gut. “Glad I found you, at least. The jeep, under the seat. I brought something for ya.”

There were so many questions Noah wanted to ask, but pressing him for information didn’t seem right. He looked so young, probably only eighteen. Noah wanted to say something, but words eluded him. All he could do was hold the man’s hand.

Robin’s eyelids lingered a little longer with each blink. He managed to focus on Noah for a moment. “You must be their kid. You look just like your dad. Good guy.”

Robin’s eyes closed and did not open again. His hand went limp and sank listlessly to his side. Noah helped his aunt lay him down. The sun rose on the scene of four Americans dead by each other’s hand. Whoever Colonel Victoria was, men who once fought and bled for each other committed the ultimate act of betrayal with her name on their lips.

He stared at Robin’s body. Darrel and the woman hadn’t been people in his eyes. They could only be described as monsters. Robin was the first real encounter with death he’d ever had. From the outside, Robin looked asleep, but something was missing. A certain warmth was gone from him. The invisible hue that life granted a person had extinguished, leaving a husk of what had once been a living, breathing person. Noah stared at his hands. Robin’s blood was still warm on them.

Aunty Melisa walked him back to where Lily and Cole were in the clearing. “I’ll be right back. Stay here for me, okay?”

Noah just stared at the ground. Lily hesitantly patted him on the back, startling him. “I’m sorry,” he said. Cole was quiet now. At least one of their group could rest and leave this night behind.

Aunty Melisa returned with a pouch with his father’s name scribbled on the front. “We’re not going into town. We need to get back to the cabin.”

Noah heard her but was gone in the depths of his thoughts. Her voice was distant and murky, as if traveling through water. Aunty Melisa squeezed his shoulder. “Noah, stay with me. We’re going now, kiddo.”

He finally registered what she was saying and dragged himself to his feet. Lily shifted uncomfortably with Cole, watching them pack up camp and check their weapons.

“Please, come with us,” Aunty Melisa said. Lily’s face lit up, and she bowed her head.

“Thank you so much.”

Aunty Melisa pulled something out of her jacket. “Oh, I found something of yours.”

A pale green pacifier sat in her hand. Cole reached for it immediately with his chubby hands, and relief washed over Lily. Noah watched her from a distance. He still saw her pointing the gun at him. The image seared into his eyelids, but Noah didn’t feel any resentment for her. Instead, his hands trembled when he looked at the young mother and her child, and he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes. She was right to do what she’d done.

Noah remembered every feeling from when he was under the green-eyed woman’s control. Every fiber in him, in that moment, wanted to make her happy. His trigger finger itched. He knew that if his aunt had been slower by mere seconds, he could have taken Cole’s mother away from him.

Before they left, Noah wanted to give Robin and Julian the respect they deserved. He couldn’t help but picture his parents in their place. His heart sank heavily into his core, and Noah wondered if these two had families they left behind. He pulled his aunt aside and pointed at the two men. “Aunty, can we move them out of the road?”

“Sure, kiddo,” she said. They moved Julian and Robin first. They had a collapsible shovel in their supplies. They set the two men side by side under a shady tree in shallow graves, arms folded over their chests. They couldn’t spare the time to dig deep graves with the risk of Colonel Victoria’s forces coming to look for the missing men. While Aunty Melisa dug, Noah gathered large rocks and layered them on the men, hopefully keeping the scavengers at bay for at least a short while. Lily joined him, giving him the slightest nod, and helped gather more rocks. When the graves were filled and covered with a mosaic of stones, they took the soldiers’ helmets and boots, placing them at the head of their makeshift graves propped up on their rifles. Lily whispered something and lowered her head to the graves while Noah and his aunt set down a pair of large stones to act as grave markers.

Noah remembered the other two soldiers still dead on the road. Anger bubbled through his veins. Robin and Julian knew his parents, but their attackers had ripped away the chance to learn more. He wanted to leave them on the road to rot in the summer heat, but his aunt returned to them and slid them into their jeep.

Noah watched her sweat in the blazing heat as she hoisted the sergeant and his soldier into the backseat.

Aunty Melisa poked around the jeeps’ cargo compartments for anything of use, but found nothing. She did, however, decide to take one of the spare tires. It was larger than the wheels on her truck, but not so much that it would not fit in the wheel well.

. Lily walked between them with his aunt at the front. Aunty Melisa had Noah roll the wheel beside him as they returned to the cabin. Lily walked between them with his aunt at the front. The walk back was uneventful. Noah’s mind was vacant during the trek. He surveyed their surroundings well enough but could not muster any thoughts of substance. His aunt tried to speak to him a few times, but all he could manage in response were grunts and one-word answers. Lily tried to make small talk. She asked him about his parents, what school was like, and other silly kid questions, but Noah could not give her an answer. Whenever he tried to make eye contact with her, he saw her holding the gun at him. Frear, mixed with guilt, dragged his eyes to the ground.

And then he saw the images of blood bursting from Julian’s head, and of life slowly fading from Robin’s eyes.

Noah felt unclean. He wanted to rip off his skin and burn it. He wondered if this was how his aunt had felt when Darrel was in the cabin that night. During their walk, Aunty Melisa remained silent. Noon came and went. The missing soldier's absence would definitely be noticed now if it hadn't already. Despite the heat draining his energy and sweat pooling in his shoes, Noah pressed on at his aunt's grueling pace.

Noah eyed the satchel that Aunty Melisa tied to her belt. She had yet to speak a word of what was in it. Part of him wanted to ask what was so important that four soldiers had laid down their lives for its contents, but curiosity disappeared as quickly as it emerged. It took all his focus just to carry on. He had no energy for questions.

Noah was surprised when they turned onto the service road to the cabin. The afternoon mosquitos were just starting to wake up for their evening feeding. Under his aunt's furious pace, they covered the trip that took them the better part of the day in half the time. Noah hardly realized how much time had passed, lost in the darkness of his thoughts. It was dark when the cabin finally appeared on the horizon. The cabin may as well be heaven's gate sitting up on its hill. All the bad memories aside, it was the closest thing to a home that Noah had.

He let the tire flop onto the ground next to the truck. Fixing it would be a problem for tomorrow. Aunty Melisa gave Lily the couch to sleep on and fetched her new clothes. Lily looked like she would break down in tears when Aunty Melisa offered her a warm shower and a hot plate of food.

"Melisa, Noah," Lily said, "thank you for all this. I don't know what to say."

Aunty Melisa smirked. "Mi casa es su casa. Get some rest. We'll figure out the rest tomorrow."

Noah felt Lily's eyes on him but still could not will himself to meet her gaze. He shuffled behind his aunt as she went to her room. She peeled off her filthy clothes and collapsed into her chair. "What a crap day," she said. She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Go take a shower, kiddo. You're stinking up the place."

Noah nodded, dragging his feet to the bathroom. When he returned, his aunt reviewed the video from when they'd been gone. The feeds had nothing significant, only the occasional deer and raccoons.

She pointed at his father's satchel. "Hand me that, will you?"

Noah tossed her the bag. Whatever was inside felt like a brick. She fiddled with its contents, and Noah threw himself into bed and buried his face in the pillow. Noah only wanted to erase the night in the woods from his memory. His skin crawled when he remembered her long, spindly fingers caressing his face and the enticing feel of her voice echoing in his mind. When he closed his eyes, all that greeted him was the sight of Lily protecting her baby. His hands burned as he felt Robin's blood still on his skin. No matter how much he scrubbed them, the feeling did not go away.

The pillow became warm and moist under his face. Anger boiled his blood. Why was he such a crybaby? Crying solved nothing, and yet he shed more tears in the last few months than he had in his whole childhood. The bed shifted, and a warm hand rested on his back.

"Noah, nothing that happened was your fault."

Noah turned over and buried his face in his aunt's chest. He couldn't stand to look at her when he was in such a sad state.

"I almost killed her," he said. He clutched her clothes tight in his fists. "I almost gave Cole to that monster."

Aunty Melisa shushed him and rested her head on his hair. "None of that was you. I know how you felt. You couldn't control it."

"I'm sorry," he said. He was such an idiot for falling under that woman's trance. If only he hadn't looked into her eyes. Wasn't that what happened to his aunt? He replayed the events from Darral's attack. The first time his aunt groaned was upstairs when they braced themselves against the door. Nex was in the basement when Darral spoke to them before bursting through the door. It dawned on him that neither of those times had his aunt made eye contact with him, so how had he pulled her into his web?

The smell.

The sweet smell always came before his aunt started to lose control. The woman in the forest didn't give off any such smell.

Noah didn't want to think about this anymore. He clung to his aunt until he had no more tears left to shed. When he peeled himself off her, his aunt wiped his face. She opened his father's gift and slid the bag over to him.

The bulky phone inside was black with a gold plastic casing. A thick, stubby antenna stuck out from the top of the device. With thick buttons and a small green display. it looked more like a walkie-talkie than a regular phone . A pack of batteries and a slip of paper were nestled in the bag next to the device.

"It's a satellite phone. I used to have one here, but the thing broke ages ago," she said. She took the paper and punched in the long string of numbers written in his mother's neat handwriting.

Noah stared at the phone. He couldn't believe what he was holding.

"Are you ready?"

He nodded eagerly, and she hit the dial button. The screen lit up and began searching for a signal. Once the icon stopped blinking, the dial tone started. After what felt like an eternity, his mother's voice crackled through the speaker. Noah anticipated a happy greeting, but instead, she whispered and spoke quickly.

"Melisa, thank goodness you're okay. Are you with Robin and Julian? Did they take you to the meeting place?"

His aunt was taken off guard by her sister's directness. She stammered for a response.

"They're gone, sis. We're still at the cabin."

His mother took a breath. "Okay, we'll pick you up there."

"Pick us up? What do you mean? What's going on?"

"I can't talk much right now. They'll pick up the signal. We landed a few hours ago. Robin and Julian were supposed to grab you guys yesterday and get you out of there. Just wait for us and be ready to hit the road. We'll be there tomorrow. Don't trust anyone, especially if they say they're with Colonel Victoria."

Noah thought she was about to hang up. "Mom, are you guys okay?"

His mother choked up on the other end. "Noah, baby. Yes, we're okay. We'll be with you soon, but your Dad and I can't talk now. We love you. Just a little longer, okay?"

The phone went dead, and the signal icon went dark again. Noah's heart raced, and he nearly dropped the phone. It was all so fast, and his mother sounded scared, but still, it was her. His parents were alive, and better yet, they were coming here. Her voice breathed new life into him, and he could hardly contain himself.

Noah and his aunt wasted no time getting ready. They moved around the room like bees, hurriedly sorting their supplies. He finished packing one of their hiking backpacks when he stopped and shot to his feet.

"What about Lily?"

In the frenzy, he hadn't considered how Lily fit in. She had nothing to do with their family, and he doubted that she wanted to get involved with whatever was coming their way. Aunty Melisa grabbed the satellite phone and ran down to the living room.

Noah packed her gear while she was gone. She returned a few minutes later with a look of relief on her face. "Forget about this for now. I need your help with something."

Lily had managed to reach her parents. They were safe out on their tribe's reservation in the midwest and couldn't call her before the networks went down. Their reservation was nestled in the Rockies, so much like Noah and his aunt in their mountain cradle, it was mostly untouched by the chaos that tore the country apart. Her father didn't have enough fuel to drive out to Virginia. However, he had enough to meet her at the halfway point and escort her back.

She rushed them outside and, working by flashlight, they replaced the truck's busted tire. The jeep tire nearly didn't fit in the truck's wheel well, and by the time they were done, the truck leaned to one side, but it was sturdy enough to drive on so long as they didn't push it too hard. Noah stuffed the truck with all the food and fuel it could hold.

In the morning, his aunt's old truck was prepared for the journey. Lily was amazed by what she saw. Just yesterday, she wandered on empty roads with no possessions and no way to care for her baby. Now, she was being given nothing less than a blessing.

"I don't know what to say," Lily said.

Aunty Melisa shook Lily's hand and handed her the keys. "Please, don't thank me anymore. It's embarrassing. I don’t need this thing anymore, so take it. Just get your baby to his granddad safely."

Lily's eyes shimmered. She hugged his aunt and kissed her on the cheek. Noah stepped forward, holding out the pistol his aunt had picked out for Lily.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lily. I didn't mean what happened in the forest. Please forgive me."

The words tumbled out of his mouth, lifting a heavy weight from his heart. He couldn't let her go with the tension between them. She seemed like such a lovely woman, like his mother, and he wanted her and Cole to be safe.

Lily knelt down and wrapped Noah in a warm embrace as if he were her own child. "I'm so sorry for what I did, Noah. I know it was scary and confusing, but you were so brave. You're an incredible young man. Please take care of your aunt," she said. Her voice overflowed with warmth and sincerity. Noah felt like he had known her for his whole life in that instant.

As Lily held Noah, Baby Cole grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled, babbling away in his cute baby language. Noah smiled and shook the little one's chubby hand."You take care of your mom, buddy."

The old truck crawled down the long driveway, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake. It disappeared from sight as it made its way past the thick treeline. The morning had started off clear and warm, but now a sheet of gray clouds had blown in from the coast, casting a dreary shadow over the landscape. Noah stood there, letting the gentle raindrops fall over his face, grateful for their refreshing relief after a night of hard work and sweat. He couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and nervousness as he waited for his parents to arrive.

As hours crawled by, a gentle shower turned into a fierce rain. His aunt dug through the boxes of supplies, growing more and more frantic with each one she tore open. Noah pretended not to notice. Aunty Melisa's footsteps slowly and deliberately approached him, and she leaned close to his ear.

"Does my favorite nephew know where my smokes went?"

Noah gulped. "I think I might have, you know, accidentally put them in the truck."

Aunty Melisa tugged hard on his ear. "You sneaky little rat. I knew you were messing with my stuff."

Noah winced as she tugged again. Her voice was smoldering, but right as he thought she would end him, she sighed and chuckled.

"I've been meaning to quit anyway. Don’t ever touch my stuff again, though, or I’ll make sure your dad finds out."

With nothing else to do, Aunty Melisa took the opportunity to catch a nap. A few more hours went by until finally, the camera signaled that it detected motion. Noah flew up the stairs and threw himself in the computer chair. A bulky military truck with thick armor turned onto the service road, struggling to make it through the mud but slowly forging ahead. Noting the traps still in the road, the truck slowed as his parents navigated slowly around them.

Noah's frantic movements stirred his aunt from her sleep. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up from the bed.

"They're here."

Aunty Melisa, still groggy, brushed him off. "Yeah, yeah. Let go of me." The rain, pounding against the windows, eased to a light mist, allowing a few sun rays to filter through.

Noah nearly exploded when the armored truck emerged from the treeline. The engine whined, and diesel fumes filled the air as his father pulled the hulking truck into the empty driveway. His mother jumped out of the vehicle first. A large bandage covered the side of her face, its edges stained with dry blood. Noah ran and threw himself at her. Her uniform smelled like gunpowder and grime, but beneath it all, he picked up that familiar smell of lilac and lavender.

"My baby," she said, squeezed him tight, and showered him with kisses. "I missed you so much."

She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked at him like she couldn't believe this was real. Noah smiled from ear to ear, eyes shining bright.

"You grew so much, baby," she said. She hugged him one more time, rubbing her forehead against his. A large, heavy hand cupped the top of his head.

"Noah, God, I missed you," his father said. His voice quivered as he struggled to reel in the surge rising within him. Noah was lifted off his feet and crushed in his father’s arms. The stubble on his face scratched against Noah’s face, and his hair was nearly as long as Noah’s. His father’s face was sunken, and dark bags hung under his eyes. Though the smell of sweat and gunpowder stung his eyes, Noah burrowed into his father’s neck and relished his warmth and strength.

Gone were the two crisp and trim soldiers that had said goodbye to him at the airport, replaced with these weathered and tired veterans, but Noah only cared that they were home again.

His mother and Aunty Melisa held each other with tears brimming in their eyes. They clung to each other like they had been separated for their whole lives and only now meeting for the first time. Noah’s father squeezed him like he was trying to absorb him into his body. Muffled barking came from the back of the troop carrier and Noah’s heart leaped. His father set him down, smiling, and threw open the heavy rear door to the carrier.

Stolen novel; please report.

A skinny dog bounded out and jumped onto Noah’s father, tail a whirlwind of joy and excitement. Ronin’s nose twitched and he bolted to Noah. They tumbled on the ground and Ronin showered Noah in licks.

Noah laughed and scratched the dog’s perky black ears. “Hey, boy. I missed you. How have you been?” Ronin barked and rubbed his broad head against Noah’s chest, rolling on the ground so Noah could rub his belly. Like his parents, the dog was a memory of his former self. His once sleek black fur was caked with dirt in some places and streaked with white scars. His ribs pressed against his skin. The wounds didn’t seem to slow the dog, however, and he ran about like a puppy.

The rain did nothing to stifle their reunion. Noah didn’t care that he was soaked to the bone. No one else seemed to care either. After everyone shared a long embrace, his parents' mood shifted.

“We need to get ready to move,” his father said. Noah’s family rushed inside to escape the rain. Noah’s mother and father moved with a swiftness. Inside, Noah sat on the ground beside Ronin as the famished dog inhaled a tall plate of food while his mother and father laid out a large map on the dinner table.

“First off, we need to load up the truck with supplies and whatever fuel you have, Mel. We left as part of a scouting party so the thing is light. Colonel Victoria is probably out looking for us now since we missed our check in this morning,” he said.

His aunt furrowed her brow. “What about the rest of your unit? Does anyone else know what you’re doing?”

His mother shook her head. “That woman has them on a tight leash. Julian and Robin were close with us. They landed in the states a day before we did and were supposed to take you part way along the road. We were planning to meet with you later on.” The room went silent at the mention of the two young soldiers.

HIs father took a breath and continued. He pointed at a red circle on the map in the middle of what seemed like nowhere out in the midwest. “They were good men. Grew up together. We were supposed to hole up on Robin’s family farm. We don’t have much of a choice, but we have to take the interstate for a good part of the trip. We keep as far as we can from any cities or big towns when we can.”

“What about the police, or the government? They TV told us to stay put.” Noah asked. They all turned to look at him and blood rushed to Noah’s head.

His mother bit her lip. “Noah, baby, all that is gone.”

“What?”

“DC is gone. Last intel report we got was months ago and it said that most of the big centers were flattened. Some with nukes, others fell apart from all the infighting. It’s a goddamn rats nest out there,” his father said. He hung his head and sighed. “Out on the front we ended up fighting friendlies more than the enemy. They fell apart too, I watched them tear each other apart.”

His father looked off into nowhere in a daze, something dark replaying in his eyes. His mother rested a hand on her back and let him rest. She went on to explain that the military was fractured into individual bands. There were rumors that the big leaders from DC and the Pentagon were holed up somewhere, but no one had heard from them in months. From what they saw in Europe, those countries were faring no better. When the front became a melee between every unit, friendly or not, the Colonel had taken it upon herself to lead the unit back to the States and get a grasp of what was going on. She managed to take control of a squad of transport planes.

His father banged his fist against the table. Everyone froze. “That bitch killed so many of

our own that we almost didn’t have any pilots. They were just kids, most of them.” He trailed off, and his face went red with rage. Neither of Noah’s parents spoke anymore of their Colonel.

“If we avoid major population centers, we should be able to steer clear of any rebels or fed forces. The real issue is the sick people.” His mother shuddered at the mention of those people.

Noah’s body went stiff. “The ones with the glowing eyes?”

Both his parents faced him again, this time with panic spread over them. His father’s tone changed, and he sounded like an interrogator. “You saw them? Here?”

His aunt stepped in to answer. “Yeah, we’ve run into two of them.” She filled his parents in on how they had come to learn about the sick people.

His father’s face went slack. “We ran into a few with red eyes out in the field. We damn near sawed one in half with a machine gun, but the thing got up and kept coming at us. A pack of them wiped out a whole squad, tanks and all. They only went down when we burned them.”

“You have to shoot their glowing parts,” Noah said, “that keeps them down.”

“Alright, noted,” his mother said. “From what we gathered, whatever affects them doesn’t spread like a disease. People just turn into those things at random. One day, it was one of the supply boys who had never set foot on the frontlines. Another day, a teenager had been starving the day before. Those things are the real danger, so no one goes off anywhere alone, got it?”

Everyone nodded. As a team, they ferried supplies into the troop compartment of the truck and filled the tank with fuel. They had enough fuel to make most of the two-day trip, but they would need to travel on foot for a stretch near the end. The armor on the tan armored carrier was comforting. Still, it was heavy, and the truck didn’t have good fuel efficiency.

Mud and rain soaked Noah’s feet by the end of the loading. Everyone was sopping wet as the storm raged around them. Noah sat in the troop compartment as his father started the vehicle and watched as his aunt locked the cabin door for the last time. She paused at the doorway and rested her hand on the wood. This had been her home for most of her adult life, and now she would probably never see it again. Noah’s mother squeezed her shoulder and led her to the carrier.

His mother climbed behind her and shut the heavy metal door before climbing into the front with his father. They would be driving in shifts, with his father going first. Aunty Melisa offered to help, but his father said moving the hefty vehicle took finesse. She grumbled something but relented and flopped into one of the hard seats with Noah.

Rain pelted off the metal skin of the truck as his father took them down the service road and onto the main road beyond. He curled into the blankets his mother had laid out for him on the ground, and Ronin curled beside him. His mother had picked up on his exhaustion from the last two sleepless nights and insisted he rest. For a moment, Noah wanted to point out that she looked worse but bit his tongue.

The engine strained as it pushed through the mud but evened out when the heavy terrain tires caught the pavement on the main road. Combined with the pitter-patter of rain and the dull red lights that lined the troop compartment, Noah leisurely drifted off to sleep, catching a glimpse of his aunt nodding off during his final moments.

Late into the night, Noah awoke to the engine roaring at its max output and the troop carrier jerking as his mother yanked the steering wheel to the side. A loud warning tone blared through the compartment. His mother threw the carrier to the side, and Noah found himself thrown against his aunt’s legs. Aunty Melisa held the handles on her seat in a white knuckle grip, her face pale. The warning turned high-pitched as the carrier jerked to the opposite side. A second later, an explosion tore into the road to their side. The armored hide and bullet-proof glass on the gunports did their jobs, but the air was still sucked from his chest by the shockwave.

Ronin barked at the chaos, predatory eyes looking for something to sink his teeth into. From the front seat, the warning tone started blaring again. The engine protested as his mother pushed it hard again. Noah’s head spun, and his stomach somersaulted from all the sudden movements. He thought his father was reaching for him, but instead, he pushed Noah aside and pulled something long out of the storage space under the troop seats. Training guided his movements, precise and rapid, despite the carrier throwing them all to the side again.

His mother was not fast enough to dodge the next missile. The carrier took flight as another explosion stuck just off to the side of the vehicle's rear. Noah’s guts rose into his throat, like the drop on a rollercoaster, and he was airborne as the carrier rolled. The smell of fuel filled the interior as they rolled another two times before the carrier settled on its side. Noah landed hard against the row of seats, a sharp pain running up his side. His hand went to his head and came away warm and sticky with blood.

Everything happened in a blur next. A pair of hands dragged him out of the carrier, and the cool touch of wet grass hit his face.

His mother pulled him to his feet. “Are you okay?” A large gash spread over her forehead, blood spilling down over her face.

The voice was distant and distorted, but Noah managed to nod. The world rushed into clarity. The carrier's side was caved in and scorched, and fire crept up its sides. His father pulled his aunt out of the flaming carrier. She stumbled onto her feet, coughing but alive with Ronin at her heels. A drone, roughly the size of a small car, buzzed overhead, bobbing in the treeline behind them.

When his aunt was clear of the vehicle, Noah’s father retrieved a launcher from the troop compartment. A plume of fire shot out the back of the tube as his father took aim and fired at the drone. The helicopter burst in a cloud of flames and shrapnel.

His father shoved another missile into the launcher and strapped it to his back. He picked up a rifle and ran toward Noah. “Into the trees,” he said. His mother pulled Noah by the arm, pistol in her other hand, and they ran into the forest on the side of the road. Aunty Melisa limped alongside them, with his father bringing up the rear and Ronin sprinting at his side.

Noah’s eyes darted around, trying to piece together whatever had just happened. The night was dark, the moon hidden behind rain clouds, but the light from the carrier’s fire cast an eerie glow through the woods.

The rhythmic thump of blades echoed from somewhere above. Wind washed over them as the helicopter flew above them, skimming the treetops. It banked higher into the sky and settled into an orbit with a blinding spotlight on them. Noah shielded his face with his hand as his mother pulled him through a line of shrubs into a small, rocky clearing.

She stopped short and waved for them to turn back, but a line of gunfire strafed at their rear, shooting up rocks and dirt and cutting off their escape. Noah’s mother threw them to the ground behind a thick pine tree and shielded him with her body. Noah turned so his face wasn’t buried in mud, while his aunt, his father, and Ronin knelt behind some boulders. His father shouldered the launcher he’d brought again and fired up at the aircraft while his aunt shot out the spotlight.

The pilot turned hard, launching a flurry of flares and chaff that lit the night like fireworks. For a second, Noah thought the pilot acted too late. The missile streaked toward the helicopter, but at the last moment, it swerved and chased after one of the flares, exploding against the side of the mountain.

His father tossed aside the empty weapon and tore into the helicopter with his automatic rifle, sparks flying off its metal skin as the bullets bounced off harmlessly. It was a desperate act, but they had no other option. He shouted at Aunty Melisa as she fired up at the helicopter.

“The door, aim for the door.”

His father and aunt focused on the helicopter’s side door. A whining noise emerged from the aircraft, spinning up faster and faster before a screaming blur of gunfire riddled the boulders they hid behind. The minigun lit up the dark side door with its muzzle flash and sent shards of rock and sparks into the air as it whittled down the boulders Noah’s father and Aunty Melisa had taken cover behind. His father knelt down low, ready to spring up and fire. Beside him, his aunt lay prone as sparks and rock shards rained over them. Behind the flurry of gunfire, the helicopter sent out three small drones. Noah followed their tiny flashlights as they descended and trapped his family in a triangle.

The helicopter’s fire was purposefully aimed low, keeping them cornered. Noah tried reaching for his pistol. The small 9mm wouldn’t do much against the bird, but he had a better line of sight into the helicopter’s door than his father. A lucky shot might take out the gunner, but his mother slapped his hand away.

A woman’s voice trumpeted through the helicopter’s speakers as the minigun went silent. “Lay down your weapons, now,” she said. The woman was calm, but there was a tinge of annoyance. When no one moved, the whir of the minigun started to ramp up again. The three small drones mimicked their larger cousin, their own weapons snapping to attention with laser aims dancing along the boulders.

She spoke like a disappointed parent addressing their child next. “This is your final warning.” The gun spat out a brief but vicious line of fire, sawing the tree shielding Noah and his mother in half. His mother scrambled to her feet, throwing Noah forward out of the falling tree’s path. The decimated tree hit the earth with a thunderous crash, shaking the ground.

Noah met his father’s eyes for a split moment. At that moment, his father looked more afraid than Noah had ever seen him. Without another moment of hesitation, his father threw his gun to the ground. He put one hand in the air while taking hold of Ronin’s collar with the other. His aunt trembled as she tossed down her gun and raised her hands.

“Stay close to me,” his mother said. She set down her rifle and tossed Noah’s pistol on the ground. The only member of his family with any fight left was Ronin, who barked and snarled at the helicopter overhead as he stood tight to his father’s side. The woman clearly didn’t think him a threat, though, and the aircraft sank until it hovered just above the cusps of the trees.

Noah squinted his eyes as the whipping wind from the rotor blades turned the forest into a whirlwind of pine needles and pebbles. The helicopter aimed some handheld lights down on his family. Two ropes unspooled from the helicopter’s door. Soldiers in ski masks rappelled down and rushed to surround them.

Two immediately went for his father. One tackled him to the ground while the other handled Ronin. The dog, furious that his master was being attacked, ducked the soldier’s hand and lunched at his arm, sinking his teeth into the kevlar plating on the man’s forearm. The soldier cursed and threw him hard against a tree. As Ronin recovered from the stunning impact, the soldier unholstered his sidearm and shot the dog in the chest, spitting on his body.

Noah yelled with a primal rage that he didn’t know he could produce. His world shrunk to a pinpoint centered on Ronin’s body. His mother held him down when he tried to bolt to Ronin. Noah strained against her, tears cutting through his muddy cheeks as he cried out. Another pair of soldiers rushed to him and his mother. When his mother resisted as they tried to pry them apart, one of the men struck her in the face with his rifle and threw her down while another yanked Noah by his collar. Like gasoline thrown into flames, Noah’s anger flared even brighter. He tried to lash at the soldier that held him, kicking and flailing his arms as hard as he could. Annoyed, the soldier pulling him away spun and hit Noah with a hard blow to the stomach. Noah’s vision swam with dark circles as he doubled over and the soldier forced him down onto his knees.

“Leave him alone.”

Noah turned his blurry sight to the shouting.

Auntie Melisa was struggling against the soldier, a woman based on her height and figure, holding her, desperately trying to reach Noah. The woman stood behind her and had her in a chokehold, trying to push her down. Auntie Melisa managed to kick her and bite her in the hand. Burning fury spilled from the soldier’s eyes, and she headbutted Auntie Melisa from behind with her helmet. Dazed, his aunt went limp, but the soldier was not satisfied that she was subdued. The thick, meaty sound of her steel-toe combat boots kicking his aunt in the side and head reverberated through the night, loud enough to be heard over the helicopter.

Noah couldn’t process what he was watching. His blood boiled, and every muscle in his body tightened so much he thought his bones would break. He shouted for them to leave his aunt and his mother alone, but instead of words, guttural shouts escaped his lips. A coppery taste rose in his throat as his voice cracked from rage. Annoyed with his noise, the soldier holding him down grabbed his hair and thrust his head down with so much force Noah nearly blacked out.

His father, holding himself back for his son’s sake up until now, shouted furiously. “You leave him alone.” He elbowed his captor hard enough to knock them back and lunged toward Noah. The soldier, however, recovered almost immediately from the blow and struck his father in the back of the skull with the butt of his rifle. His father fell onto his knees, catching himself momentarily before the man jumped onto his back.

To Noah’s side, his mother tried to shout something, but all she could muster were choked groans. Held up by the soldier behind her, her head lolled to the side as if she were falling asleep. Most of her face was red now, and her eyes were becoming glossy and unfocused. Noah felt like the earth was collapsing around him. Everyone he loved was being hurt, and he could do nothing to help or protect them.

His heart pounded with a mixture of fury and fear as he witnessed his family being beaten, tossed around like old toys. The anger burned hot in his chest, but beneath it lay a deep-seated dread, a primal instinct warning him of the danger they faced.

Caught between the urge to fight and the overwhelming desire to hide, Noah felt like he was being torn apart. The conflicting emotions churned within him like a turbulent storm, leaving him reeling and disoriented. All he could do was shout and cry, hoping to at least make himself some sort of distraction, praying that somehow his parents would find a way out of this.

A lone soldier descended from the sky like an angel of death.

She descended with such perfect balance that the rope barely quivered under her weight as she slid down. Every movement exuded both grace and power as she landed softly on the forest floor like a panther from a tree. When she hit the ground, the helicopter retreated farther into the sky at her signal.

The woman was tall, probably close to his father’s height, and her lithe, athletic build still shone through despite her urban camouflage and vest. Her long, glossy blond hair was neatly tied back in a ponytail under a vibrant red beret, every strand seemingly untouched by the chaos around her.

Unlike the rest of them, she did not wear a black face covering. She had smooth, light skin, marred only by scattered small scars on the side of her face, and green eyes like faded emeralds. They looked like once they had been bright, maybe even inviting, but now, hardened and tarnished by battles Noah couldn’t begin to fathom, they gazed out over everyone cold and calculating.

The silver eagle pin on her beret caught a ray of light, gleaming with an ominous brilliance. In that moment, Noah's heart sank like a stone. Instantly, he knew who this woman was, and any lingering hope of escape withered within him, crumbling like parched earth beneath a scorching sun.

Colonel Victoria's face remained stoic, a facade of composure that masked the whirlwind of calculations and schemes spinning behind her eyes. Like a queen presiding over her domain, she surveyed the assembly with a regal air, each glance a measured assessment.

All the soldiers who weren’t holding a captive stood at attention and saluted. She was stoic as she strode forward, two soldiers on either side, and had his parents brought up so they stood front and center to her. Colonel Victoria carried no rifle, only a sidearm, but she didn’t need anything more. With a subtle hand gesture, she drew the trio of drones closer and put the soldiers into a line behind her with effortless precision. She clasped her hands behind her and stood, cocking her head to where Noah lay, still shouting for them to leave his family alone.

"Quiet the boy. This is beneath us. You know better than to let civilians disrupt our operations." Her words were directed at Noah's soldier, who responded with a stuttered apology before silencing Noah with a rag.

She turned her gaze toward the soldier holding Noah's aunt. "And you, make sure the woman is restrained and put her with the boy. There's no need to involve civilians any further."

Noah flinched at the sound of her voice. It was devoid of any warmth or humanity, delivered with a chilling precision that sent shivers down his spine. Her words cut through the air with a measured cadence, each syllable enunciated with unwavering clarity. It was as if she were reciting a script, her tone so calculated that it bordered on robotic. Yet, despite its monotony, there was a strange allure to her voice—a hypnotic quality that commanded attention and respect. In her presence, the world seemed to shrink, leaving only her and the gravity of her words.

As the soldier placed Noah's unconscious aunt beside him, forcing him to watch helplessly as his aunt's breaths grew shallow and ragged, blood seeping from a wound on her head.

Colonel Victoria, content that all was in order, pulled a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket. “Staff Sergeant?”

The soldier closest to her stood stiffly. “Yes, Colonel?”

“Have our bird circle back and make sure no more surprises are waiting back in the troop carrier. It’s bad enough that we lost a drone back there. I’ll have to reprimand that operator when we return.”

“Yes, Colonel, right away.” The soldier spoke into the radio strapped to the back of one of the men and the helicopter overhead started toward the road.

Colonel Victoria nodded her approval and turned her attention to Noah’s parents. His father was still groggy but able to focus his attention on her, while his mother was on her knees now, dizzy from the blood loss. Noah tried to shout through his gag, but they couldn’t hear him and he knew that they wouldn’t care even if they could.

The Colonel unfolded the paper in her hand and shook her head. She paced in front of his parents. “Staff Sergeant Carlos Hernandez, Sergeant Kimberly Hernadez, why is my best explosive experts and my head communications operator out here tonight? Why am I wasting my time out here when my country is crumbing to ashes?”

If looks could cut through flesh, Noah would have cut the woman in two. Her tone infuriated him. She spoke to his parents like they were misbehaved children. His father glared at her with the same ferocity. His mother roused from her daze in a moment of clarity, staring up at the officer with utter disdain.

The Colonel stopped directly in the middle of the two. “You are in the presence of your superior officer. You two of all people should know that disrespect and insubordination will not be tolerated in my unit.” She snapped her fingers and two of her guards came up behind his parents, placing the barrel of their rifles against the back of their heads.

“You shall answer when I address you. Is that understood?”

Reluctantly, his parents nodded.

“I ask again, why am I here tonight?”

Noah watched amazed as, even with a gun to his head, his father leaned forward and growled an answer at her through gritted teeth.

“We wanted to see our son.” If he weren’t bound, Noah was sure his father would rip out her throat with his bare hands.

Colonel Victoria stood silent, face impassable. She sighed and fiddled with the paper in her hand. “Is that why you think I expended two of my few remaining missiles on you and lost one of my drones? Because two of my soldiers wanted to see their little boy?”

She did not wait for an answer before she continued, her tone elevating just enough to betray the annoyance she buried inside. “You, Staff Sergeant, coerced two of my corporals to desert their assigned posts. Furthermore, your wife provided them with a satellite phone stolen from the equipment that I entrusted her with. Because of your actions, four of my men are dead.”

His father opened his mouth to reply, but Noah’s mother sprung to her feet and spat at the Colonel’s feet. “What mission? There is no enemy left, Colonel. The only mission you’ve had us on is killing the people we served with on your say-so. Our leadership is dead. Everyone who sent us off to die is gone. None of this,” his mother looked down over her uniform, “none of this matters anymore.”

Colonel Victoria tapped her chin with her finger. When the gears in her mind produced a response she was content with, she grinned devilishly. “Why Sergeant, if you were so opposed to my orders, did you carry them out? It is well within your rights to disobey unlawful orders, and yet you and your husband helped me commandeer the planes we used to get here. Your husband personally killed three airmen who refused me, and you at least one, or have you forgotten this?”

Noah felt the pain his parents felt at her statement. Shame washed over him as much as it did them. His parents looked down at the ground, biting their tongues.

The Colonel pounced, tearing into them once more. “You obeyed me because I was of use to you. Without me, there was no coming home. As you made use of me, I as your commanding officer have the right to use you to carry out my mission. Your role is not to question, it is to obey. In the absence of higher authority, I am the law.”

Noah’s father turned to face her, braving her crushing gaze. “First you killed men in our unit because they refused to fight monsters, and then because they refused to turn on each other. When other units didn’t kiss your boots, you forced them too or put a bullet in them.”

His father looked around, searing the men behind the Colonel with a burning gaze. “How many of your friends did she have us kill to bring you into the fold? Do you think we wanted to listen? You know what she does to get her way. She’s a scheming bitch. She doesn’t care about any of you.”

Noah followed his father’s eyes and realized that a myriad of different unit patches and rank insignia adorned the shoulders of the men and women here. Some were from other Army units, some from Air Force units, and even some from a few Navy ships. How much blood had the Colonel spilled by her hand or by her command to bring all these men under her heel? Noah trembled, realizing just what breed of monster he faced.

His father’s insult bounced off the Colonel like specks of dust. “The units and squad that you speak of lacked leadership. I only carried out my obligation and relieved my fellow officers when they were failing. Peaceably if possible, but I did not sacrifice my mission when they faltered.”

Peaceably if possible.

The soldiers behind the Colonel flinched at the sting of those words. Those were their friends and leaders that she was talking about, the men they shared meals with and faced the horrors of the battlefield with.

Colonel Victoria cast her hand over the area. “You two fail to comprehend the larger picture, and that’s okay. That is not your job. Our society requires firm leadership. Without clear guidance and a heavy hand, we crumble to dirt. I will not stand by and let that happen. If I have to be that leader, to be the law, I will bear that cross. If I demand obedience and I demand sacrifices in the name of law, it’s because they are required and ensure stability. No one is above the rule of law, not even you two.”

Finally, Colonel Victoria read aloud the paper she’d kept between her fingers. Every word she spat out drove a knife into Noah’s heart.

“Staff Sergeant Carlos Hernandez and Sergeant Kimberly Hernandez, I find you guilty of the following violations of the code of military justice: theft, disclosure of classified information, dereliction of duty, failure to obey my lawful orders, and most serious of all, desertion in a time of war. For these offenses, in accordance with the authority vested in me as your senior officer, I hereby sentence you to death,” Colonel Victoria refolded the paper and held it between her fingers. “I do not do this lightly. You two truly were an asset, but I want to ensure that this society our predecessors built continues. Monsters will not bring us down, and people losing their senses will not either. We are bound to laws, and you will remind us what awaits if we stray from that. I suppose I should thank you for evading the missiles back there.” Colonel Victoria looked down her nose at his parents before turning to her men.

“Now I have this opportunity to teach these soldiers. In light of your honorable service up until now, I will grant you a dignified end.”

Death.

The word struck Noah harder than the soldier’s blow to the chest, sending shockwaves of disbelief coursing through his young body. Panic surged within him, a wild, instinctual fear that threatened to consume him whole. He wanted to scream, to rage against the injustice of it all, but the gag silenced any protest before it could escape his lips.

Noah felt utterly powerless as his parents stood before their Colonel, their faces a mask of defiance and resignation. Noah's heart hammered in his chest, each beat a frantic plea for freedom as he strained against the plastic zip-ties that bound him. His breath came in shallow gasps, the gag choking off any attempt to cry out as the Colonel's voice rang out through the stillness of the forest.

Tears welled up in Noah's eyes, blurring his vision as he watched his parents, helpless and bound, their eyes locked with his in a final, silent declaration of their love. Anguish twisted his gut into knots, a sickening wave of despair washing over him as he realized the gravity of their situation.

As the Colonel's voice faded into the distance, Noah felt as though he were drowning. He wanted Aunty Melisa to rise and free them from this nightmare as she had with Darrel and the woman in the woods, but she was still unconscious. Alone and abandoned, he clung to the flickering flame of hope deep within his heart, praying for some miracle to save them from Colonel Victoria.

His father spoke in a low, growling tone to the men behind the Colonel. “You’ll just let her do this? In front of a child, too? You know this isn’t right.”

Noah’s mother, with a new shot of adrenaline and fear pulling her from her stupor, lunged at the Colonel from her knees like a snake. “You’re an animal. What happened to you?”

The Colonel easily sidestepped his mother’s attack. “Again, Sergeant, you just fail to see the larger things at work.”

Noah’s world spun. Black splotches spread over his vision as he wasted his breath trying to yell. Eyes wide, he sought to make eye-contact with these masked men and women. Stop this, he said with his pleading, bloodshot eyes. The cuffs on his wrists dug so deep into his skin that he swore they touched bone.

Don’t let her take them from me.

But they did not break the military bearing that had been so deeply ingrained in them. They stood at attention, each staring off into nothing. No, Noah knew this couldn’t just be their training. They were people under those masks, weren’t they?

Sadness and fear mixed with hatred in his soul. In that moment, he hated them down to the core of his being. These bastards looked like they didn’t share a single thought or ounce of compassion between the lot of them. Noah wanted to beat them into the ground until there was nothing left. Most of all, he wanted to wipe that stoic look off the Colonel’s face and have her experience the tempest raging within him. He had never felt something like this before, but he knew this must be pure, sinful hate. They would not step in to stop this tragedy, and for that they deserved to die.

His parents did not beg. They did not cry, and they did not beg for their lives. Tears poured from Noah as he watched them share a somber, peaceful look. His father leaned close so his mother could use him as support to stand. It was a clumsy movement, but she managed to stand tall beside her husband. They leaned against one another and turned to Noah, the warmth and love of a lifetime condensed into their gentle smiles and tears brimming in their eyes. They did not want Noah’s last memory of them to be anything less than their smiles.

Noah crumbled to nothing under the power of their love. He cast one last hopeless look to Colonel Victoria but she refused to spare him a second of her time. Her reality was far removed from his own. To her, he was nothing. He did not serve her purposes or answer to her, and because of that he was dust.

A spark of hope sprung into the night as the soldier holding him down spoke up. Noah thought he would be the one sane man among these drones, but he had no such luck. “Colonel, may I take these two away?”

The Colonel answered without looking at him. “No, soldier. Actions have consequences. These two disobeyed me, and this is a consequence they must accept. You will stay where you are.”

“Be strong for us, Noah,” Noah’s mother said. She had no energy to fight against the fate racing toward her or her husband. Her voice cracked and a trickle of silent tears cut clear paths through the blood on her face. Noah’s father stood proudly before the Colonel, his pride rivaling her own. He would not grant her the satisfaction of seeing him break down or tremble before her.

Colonel Victoria took a single measured step back from his parents and addressed her troops. “These two were exemplary soldiers. You all should aspire to perform as they did, but learn from their mistakes. Do not cave to the same weaknesses or it will be you standing in their place.”

“Look away, son,” the soldier holding him down whispered. Noah did not hear him though. His vision went red. Her voice was revolting. Bile tickled the back of his tongue.

Then, with the peerless precision that had killed the men that once trusted her to lead them into battle, with the practiced hands that had killed her fellow officers when she deemed them lacking, she faced his parents and slid her pistol from its holster in one fluid motion.

With one hand, she shot Noah’s father in the head, and before he could hit the ground shot his mother.

Something deep inside Noah burst. The world went white. Sensation ceased and an endless void spread through him. Sounds became far away things, whispers off in the distance. Noah was vaguely aware that he was sobbing. His eyes locked onto his parents where they lay, willing them to move or give some other sign that they were alive. Noah did not care that the helicopter returned moments later. He did not care that the soldiers one by one were pulled back into their aircraft. Even when the soldier on his back cut the plastic cuffs and removed the gag he did not care. Not a muscle in his body moved.

This wasn’t real.

This wasn’t real.

None of this was real. It couldn’t be.

This was real, though. As much as he wanted that part of his brain that knew this was reality to shut up, it screamed in his mind that all this was true. Someone faraway asked what the Colonel wanted to do with the two civilians.

“Leave them. We don’t have the resources to care for them.”

“And the working dog? He’s still alive.”

“It’s useless to us now. Make sure it’s in the supply report.”

Noah watched as his parents’ killer clipped into the rope. She rose slowly on the winch, tossing the paper that called his parents criminals to the wind. It fluttered down and settled on the dirt. It was worthless to the Colonel now, just like everything else. It would rot into the dirt just as his parents would. Noah glared at her and, perhaps sensing his malice, she glanced down at him. The three drones she’d deployed climbed into the sky around her, but the lights hit her just right for the briefest moment.

In those soulless pits she called eyes, Noah swore there was a golden sheen. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, but he had no doubt. Colonel Victoria’s eyes shimmered like gold.

She disappeared into the belly of the helicopter and it climbed high into the clouds until Noah could no longer hear its presence.

He lay back down, desolate and broken, until the sun rose over the shattered remnants of his life.