Chapter: Research

Getting discharged didn’t take that long as everyone knew that Erik had the two-week curse. With a prescription that would last longer than Erik was on mother Earth, they loaded up into Rugrat’s rental and headed for Colorado.

Erik worked the cellphone as they drove, first to find out the circumstances under which people disappeared, scouring the internet for information.

Symbols appeared around those that were cursed, An area of about A meter in diameter around the person. Lying down, standing up it didn’t matter the size was the same.

A magical circle appeared on the ground and in the sky, the bottom right under a person’s feet and the top at a height of four meters.

Only the cursed and inanimate objects disappeared in that area.

The cursed were locked into position once the ‘summoning’ happened. Others were forcefully ejected, an invisible barrier extended from the top and bottom magical circles, not allowing anyone else into the magical circle.

So, Erik and Rugrat, other than themselves had a cylindrical area four meters wide and five meters tall.

“Food, water for a month if possible, water filtration system. Clothes, toiletries,”

“Don’t forget the shit tickets!” Rugrat added, shifting his cowboy hat as the cruised up the interstate.

“Toilet paper, four ply,” Erik amended, looking to Rugrat.

“My ass cheeks love you already,” Rugrat grinned.

Erik sighed, but he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly.

“Guns, ammo and reloaders,” Erik paused looking at his completed list.

Erik looked at the list before tucking it away in his shorts.

He turned from what had happened when people were summoned, to their abilities.

There was limited information, as there was only about one hundred people disappearing each week. Many denied it all the way up to them disappearing, others kept it to themselves or panicked outright.

Still after a few hours of searching Erik was able to find some useful information Rugrat pulled into a gas station.

“I’ll be a minute,” Rugrat said, jumping out of the truck.

Erik barely acknowledge him as he surfaced from his research.

***

Rugrat drove, fueled on chocolate covered coffee beans as Erik slept in the passenger seat. Seeing his friend, his brother so weak, Rugrat couldn’t look on.

He was scared shitless thinking of what might happen when they disappeared. Rugrat looked at the lights around them on the highway, sinking deep into thought.

“All we can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Rugrat said, having a rare somber moment.

Erik woke up, looking around blearily, he raised his arm, not realizing the loss still.

Erik grimaced, laughing at the missing limb, Rugrat patted him on the shoulder, there was nothing he could do for his friend, the two-week curse gave him a chance base don what they had seen the impossible became real.

“Remember when we first met?” Rugrat asked.

“Damn, you make us sound like an old married couple,” Erik laughed half-heartedly, thinking on that first time.

“Yeah, I do, you were a brand new Marine Recon Sniper, all hardass and craziness, you were trying to grow the wispiest excuse for a mustache before deployment.”

“You had just rolled all the way down from Fort Collins and you smelt like beer, bad decisions and didn’t give a fuck,” Rugrat laughed as the memories came back, “You came in all fucked up, bag with shit half falling in it. All of us had been sober for a week as you knocked on the door, remember what you said?”

Erik couldn’t help but laugh.

“Fuck, you were a lot prettier when I saw you last night,” The said together.

“Staff Sergeant Hodgson nearly had a fucking fit!” Rugrat laughed.

“Dude can kiss my ass,” Erik said.

“Yeah, he fucking hated you till we got deployed,” Rugrat said.

“Good combat leader, just a dick about the regulations,” Erik admitted.

“Better than you fucking bone heads I had to teach, god I needed the fucking booze after that,” Erik shook his head.

“Three deployments, five bases, thirty-seven private contracts,” Rugrat said, those eight words encapsulating their history.

They settled into silence, thinking on it all.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Erik said, an unknown emotion holding over the truck cab.

“You know I’ve got your back no matter what right?” Rugrat asked.

“Yeah, I know, I’ve got yours brother,” Erik said.

Rugrat didn’t think about it before, but it was too true, his blood brothers had gone on their own lives, but he had been so deep with the military that he had become distant to his family. When he met them now, few of them understood what he had been through and could understand him.

He felt like an alien, a product of the military, fighting for freedom and all that shit, nah he fought for his buddies, for Erik, Dillion, Honcho, Keller, Rossy, Yoreck and the others.

“Brother,” Rugrat let out a snort. “Yeah, I guess I’m stuck with you, can’t even get away from you and this two-week curse shit!”

“Just another adventure waiting for us,” Erik said.

“Hmm,” Rugrat said noncommittally, taking a deep breath, it wouldn’t be their first time walking into the unknown. Before they’d at least known their damn destination.