===
A war is something that the passerby will tell you is won by equipment, that the novice will say is carried by tactics, and the wayfarer will say is pivoted by strategy. In truth, it is all of these things and none of these things. A border skirmish might be won by daring junior officers, a critical battle carried by superior arms, a campaign ended by strategic genius. All of them, however, are products of history.
Superior arms cannot be sustained without factories and a strong materials supply. Tactics are useless without good leaders and indoctrination. Strategy, worthless without good communication and sturdy command systems. Logistics fail if presented with poor plans and understaffing. Individual soldiers must be equipped and trained well to be of any use. So on, so forth.
- Levendian Empress Riykeva XI, 1923. Of War, an Art to be Mastered and then Avoided.
===
The war was very far away. Our moms and dads went off to fight, and we went to the factories and farms.
Guns don’t shoot without you to feed them, as they said.
So, after someone accidentally started World War Two, things… Kind of remained normal, honestly. Every day I’d walk from my home circle to the train station, catch the 8:25 AM and ride down to the tank plant. Before I went in I’d put on my ear protection, helmet, high visibility vest, and eye protection.
‘Valmadi Armorworks, Plant 4.’ A short five minute walk from the train stop. I was luckier. Some people had to bike to get there!
I worked at endstage assembly, so we put the special armour cases on the tanks and bolted hatches on.
I’d always mutter a prayer over it. Silly, yeah. But every bit helped right?
After the war started… The pace sped up, and we started getting parts from the battlefield. You’d know because there was something about it. That grime, those scuff marks, those little scorings of bullets or bombs.
===
The air raid siren started one day, August 23rd. I was eating breakfast and then suddenly the sound filtered through the circle’s windows.
“ATTENTION! ATTENTION! PLEASE PROCEED TO SHELTERS IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REMAIN CALM! ATTENTION! ATTENTION!”
“Wordbreaker-!” I half fall out of my seat, then get up and run for my bedroom, banging into a wall with a muttered curse-
Shrugging on my backpack, I make a run for the shelter, pausing to grab my wallet out of the closet, fumbling it into a pocket.
Outside, everyone in the circle is lining up for roll call outside it’s hatch.
Two decades ago, there’d been this panic about potential atomic annihilation, so as a public works project, the government sent folks around to dig bunkers outside each circle. Five years ago they sent folks around to refresh them after people started throwing around long range cruise missiles and deep penetration bombers, potentially penetrating the missile defense.
As we stand in line, men and women hurrying into the shelter, I spot something in the distance. It’s like a shooting star, glowing brightly as it comes closer, closer, and then the sparkler streaks overhead, unimaginably high up, passing us by-
“CLOSE YOUR EYES!” I pull the hood of my jacket over my head and suddenly there’s a flash, the fission warheads annihilating each other. Even with my eyes closed and looking away, it’s like I’m looking into the distance on a bright summer day-
Some people are screaming, temporarily flash blinded, or worse, permanently blinded, but the light, at least, passes in the next moment and I feel someone grab me by the shoulder-
“IN! NOW!” Panic, probably-
“-save us-”
“-the fuck was that-”
“-ant to die oh circle below I don’t wan-”
People are definitely panicking, pushing and shoving, pulling their friends and family while nearly fighting strangers to get in first. I try and stay out of it, but that doesn’t work out so well because I see blur out of the corner of my eye-
WHACK! Someone hits me in the face. “Gah, shit-!”
I-I can’t see straight, as tears blur my eyes, stumbling into someone and taking a shove for my trouble. Still, I manage to move with the crowd, and end up being grabbed by the arms-
“Salkyr! Kayvai, what happened to your face?!”
I recognize that voice. We haven’t seen each other in a little while but my old Northerner friend’s voice is burned into my head. I feel a hand on my chin pulling my head up and I hear a little sympathetic groan. ‘Okay, nice way to meet your childhood crush.’
“Ahaha… Ohb, hey Savani. Uhb, som’one hib me in da nos. Elbo.” I wince at how ridiculous my voice sounds, but Savani doesn’t look like she notices, I think. Everything’s still blurry.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“C’mon, get up!” She hauls me to my feet, pulling me along as I try and blink the tears out of my eyes-
Someone shoves me- “FUCKING GO!”
Savani catches me, holding me by the side and shoulder. We nearly overbalance into the people in front of us, but she holds me steady. “Careful, stairs.”
We walk down the steps like that, through the second set of doors, to wait in a queue before we’re inside, being swept for radiation with someone’s detector.
“You two, come with me.” With that, a pair of militia troopers usher us off to medical.
I see a dozen blurry people shapes in the halls, some that look like they’re holding another, others standing to the side with things in their hands that I think are guns. Chatter is constant but quiet, a tense drone with the occasional hysterical outburst.
“C’mon Kayvai, just a little further. You’re going to be okay.” Her arm gives me a reassuring squeeze.
===
“Well, all said this is the second mildest injury I’ve seen today. In a couple days you should be fine.” The nurse pats me on the shoulder, stripping off her rubber gloves and throwing them in the trash. Given she recently shoved her fingers up my nose I really don’t blame her.
“I loohk redehculos.” The problem is the packing inside and splint outside, as well as all the tape holding it in place. It’s covered with cartoon characters why?
“Well, look at it this way. Nobody’s even going to know you broke it soon.” The nurse pumps some water out on her hands and then some hand sanitizer, cleaning up and then taking her clipboard.
“Aw, Kay, it ain’t…” I look at Savani and, to her credit and the strength of our friendship, she manages to hold back the laugh for five seconds. My ears turn back but I endure, maybe wilting a little bit.
“…”
The nurse hands me a sheet of some various ‘out processing’ information and we’re… More or less sent home. ‘Where in the world even is home around here anyways?’
Standing in the hallway, glancing around, I furiously rack my brain for anything, anything, anything! From the packets they handed out, I know I’m in… 38? Somewhere in the 30s. “Savani helb pls.”
“Oh circle below you look so lost.” I hear a snicker and then she wraps an arm around me, giving me a friendly hug. “I’ll show you to my place at least. You can leave your goods there and borrow one 'a my shirts, not stained with blood, yeah?”
“Sounbs goob.”
===
“Home sweet home!” By the time we actually get here, my vision’s cleared up mostly. There’s a plain 42 in black letters on a steel plate set into the door, secured by four…
“Areb these magnebs?” Savani blinks up, one ear twitching for a second as she keeps fiddling idly with the lock and key.
“I dunno. Probably. Though I dunno why, it ain’t like you’re removing these 'less you’re converting em to storage rooms or somethin.” She shrugs and gently pulls me through the doorway-
-and we stop short. The two in the living room on the couch also stop short. “Uh.”
“Oh.” It takes a second for my brain to realize what’s happening. Then I quietly turn around and march back out the door from the two people screwing in the couch and leave them to be embarrassed by themselves. Savani is right behind me, and weeeee can’t really look each other in the face right now.
“…This is why I hate having siblings. Kay, can we uh, agree to never remember this again?” Silence holds the floor a little while as I try and reset my head. Eventually something coherent comes up.
“…so, olber sister theb?”
“Yeah, she… Well, our parents are in the Navy so she’s kinda just…” She mimes someone diving off a board. “No supervision. I, uh, think she’s gone through a couple dozen by now.”
“Yeesh. Nob gomma sit on that counch.”
Savani shudders, grimacing. “Oh absolutely no. I lock my room and wear my shoes all the way until there for a reason, man.”
Silence holds for a little while longer. Then a little longer.
I’m almost glad for the bomb.
Almost.
===
I get off the ground, jerking away from where I’d dived for the floor as the roof groans a little. My tawny haired friend grimaces and shakes her head, patting me down. “Sheesh. You okay?”
I nod, not taking my eyes off some worrying new cracks in the concrete. The door behind us quietly slides open, and a man peeks out along with the very strong smell of… Things. “Ya’ll good out here?”
“…” Without fanfare Savani grabs my hand and practically pulls me into the air as we make best speed out of the apartments-
KRUM…! The earth shakes again, but we manage to not fall over though I do manage to accidentally elbow her in the side.
“Ow! Fucking shit, watch it!” She staggers as the world rumbles a few more times, and I hurry to support her. Then we almost fall into the wall.
“You ohkey?” She nods, giving me a half grin. “Yeah. Where were these elbows back when we were in elementary, dude? Woulda been great if we coulda taken Kyoki down a peg or two.”
“You still nob ober her? This som kinda funny crubsh or-” She holds up a fist at me warningly.
“I can and will throw your ass, Kayvai.”
“Okey, okey. Sore breakub.” I put up my hands and make peace. She accepts my surrender and flicks me on the forehead instead. We stand there for a moment, before her eyes snap wide and she grabs me by the hand, dragging me along.
"No time to explain, we're getting lunch!"
===
I figure out why she had us go so early, pretty quick. The cafeteria line’s really long.
Actually it spills out the cafeteria and into the hallway, then into a nearby side room. Some guards are around, probably just because there’s so many people in one place, but also because even as I watch, someone makes a break for it with several food packs in hand. He, uh, doesn’t make it further than a boot. ‘Ouch. Did they really have to hit him in the dick?’
“Some beoble, mam. Yo, did you figure out what you wamted, Kay?” Savani shakes her head before glancing over to me. I consider the menu again.
‘Amegava & grilled fish with cheese, pulled barbecue pork, and Emayan-style noodles with chicken? Huh.’
“I’ll blay it save. Bork. Dunno how goob the rest is but…” Savani nods.
“It’s all pretty okay. I mean, it ain’t the goods like you’d get off Milykr’s shop but…” She shrugs, and then her stomach growls. We both giggle a little at that; nobody makes food like that bookworm does.
The roof rumbles again; everyone looks up. Despite what movies told us, the lights don’t flicker, if anything it’s us being shaken slightly from the tremor.
“…how tough was this place built again?” I keep my voice low as if that’d keep the roof from falling in.
“I dunno. Probably fine as long as they don’t drop one on top of us.” Savani gives the ceiling a critical eye, but sighs, dropping her gaze back to me. One of her ears twitch for a second, the tell that’s always given away vague frustration.
‘She never figured that one out. I wonder if I can still win card games with it?’
===
I can’t.
She’s gotten way better or I’m just that rusty, but either way she wins three games in a row and I lose fifteen Lot in total. “Okay, fess ub. Who’ve you been bracticing wiff?”
Savani grins, and puts an arm around my shoulder. “Someone’s a sore loser.”
I punch her, and the both of us immediately go down in a grapple. By the time we’ve both exhausted ourselves and I accidentally smear blood across her shirt, we’re both laughing like the idiots we are.
The world feels alright again. Just for a while.