The fire roared as tall as an average man. Orange flames brightened the night-draped land better than the lidded fire-box ever could, and the warmth it provided trumped the general’s device as well. August could barely hear himself think with the commotion around the fire. The entire town was there. Dozens of different conversations melded into incoherent droning of familial human frequencies while one woman who August couldn’t spot hummed an innocent tune that somehow carried over the chatter.

He’d hoped to be seated next to squadmates, but they’d separated as the crowd rolled into the yard. Instead, he sat between two boys. One looked about thirteen, while the other was no older than ten. August had been sitting petrified in awkwardness for two long hours since the first spark had taken to the kindling.

He’d never been overly adept when it came to conversing with strangers, specifically children. Not to mention children from a society he thought extinct no more than a couple of days ago. Which commonly used platitude would be the best to break the ice with someone from a completely foreign world? They’d have nothing to talk about. They could never relate or empathize with each other. The conversation would never get past an exchange of ‘hellos’ and ‘how are yous’. Remaining silent was by far the best course of action as far as August was concerned.

He swept the area and was surprised to feel a bit of stiffness in his neck. How long had he been sitting motionless? The first thing he noticed was that the two boys were gone and that he’d been sitting between two empty chairs for who knows how long. A strange-looking man in his fifties sat two chairs down from him and stared at him as if August were pointing a gun at a kitten. August shifted awkwardly and looked away, pretending they’d never made eye contact.

The guns and armor had been left behind at Beth’s house, and they’d been provided with clothes to be more comfortable in the cool night air. August was grateful for the warmth, but he felt like one of those historical cosplayers one would find at certain conventions. Every other squad member had been given plaid and denim pants, but all they had for August was a blood-red woolen shirt and denim overalls. If Manny and the boys ever saw me like this… At least many of the locals were dressed similarly. At least he didn’t stand out. Standing out was always Manny’s specialty.

Every other member of the squad seemed to be mingling well with the locals. Belmont sat cross-legged on a blanket, almost knee to knee with the lady who’d poured refuse onto the compost heap earlier in the day. They were in deep conversation, and neither seemed to be conscious of anything or anyone else around them.

Sterling exchanged words with two rugged-looking men standing in a circle nearly out of firelight’s reach. He took a drag from both of their pipes and doubled over in a fit of coughing after sampling the second one. The men laughed throughout, and one patted the exterminator on the back in a mocking display of concern. Sterling straightened out and gave him a playful punch on the arm as if they’d been buddies for years. He even lit up the last cigarette before his last cigarette and shared it with them. Both men grimaced after their puff, and now it was Sterling’s turn to laugh at their choking.

General Wolf chatted with what looked like the town’s military. A comment from Beth not long ago suggested that the town didn’t have any designated full-time soldiers, but the men Wolf spoke with were clearly the physical leaders of the town. Each of them had legs and arms so muscular that they barely seemed to fit in their plaid and denim. One of them handed Wolf a vintage rifle, and the general moved it around, inspecting every inch of it, always conscious to avoid pointing the bore at anyone. He spoke a few indecipherable commentaries, and the men nodded in unison as the rifle changed hands back to its owner.

Almost every female in town was gathered around Dalton West or stared at him from across the fire. Beth was the only female who seemed uninterested as she was busy sitting beside Farscout. She’d been berating him for the better part of an hour while the scout simply nodded now and then while staring into the dancing flames. Dalton West lounged on his picnic table bench with his back to the table. His knees and arms spread wide, and one of the many women flocked around him found the courage to seat herself on a portion of the bench in front of the table where the movie star’s wrist and hand lay.

In the short amount of time that August had gotten to know Dalton West, he didn’t find him any funnier or wittier than the average man or woman, yet one might assume he was a seasoned comedian, according to the explosion of giggles after his every word. How could they be so enamored with an old man? Many of the girls there were August’s age and should have been talking with him instead. August shook his head and looked away. You aren’t jealous of an old man. You’re jealous of a movie star. Get over it.

Hilde Rosek was the only squad member other than himself who didn’t seem to be clicking with any of the locals. She sat alone with her back against the dark trunk of a maple, rubbing her bare forearms for warmth. She fixed her gaze on a group of young children playing in a portion of the field chilled by moonlight. It wasn’t the first time she’d looked upon the children of the town with an expression of sorrow on her healing face.

A shock of nerves rushed through August as he decided to lift himself from his hard chair and skirt the imposing bonfire to join Rosek beside her tree. She didn’t look at him until he was fully seated by her side. He smiled when their eyes met but got nothing in return. His face flushed. He was happy the cover of night was strong enough to hide his reddening cheeks, but hornets thrashed in his gut. What sort of stupid idea was that to come here. I was perfectly fine sitting awkwardly on my chair. Now I have to sit awkwardly beside someone who doesn’t even want me here.

“Do you want kids?” She asked him. “I guess you’re still pretty young, but in the future, I mean.”

The hornets fell dead at the sound of her voice, and he nearly failed to make out what she said in his bout of shock. He stammered a bit before answering. “I don’t know, really.”

She smiled. “Like I said. You’re still young. You’re not at that age yet where you think of things like that. Especially being a man. You’ve got a lot more time to decide than I do.”

He sat in silence, not knowing how to respond. What do you even say to something like that? ‘Oh, don’t worry, Hilde. You’re still young and pretty. I’m sure you’ll find a man to impregnate you.’ I should have just stayed on my chair.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Bit of a weird subject, huh? I don’t know why I’ve been thinking about this stuff lately. I’m still just twenty-seven. Military careers don’t leave much time for family life. It’s fine if you’re a man. You do your field service until your late thirties, then you settle down in an office job or become a drill sergeant or something. That’s when you start your family. That might be too late for me, though.”

“You’re a highly decorated colonel,” August said. “You’ve done your service as far as I’m concerned, especially once we finish torching this nest. When we get back to the dome, I don’t think anyone would think any less of you if you hung up the boots to focus on the rest of your life.”

She smiled at that, but only for a flash. “You’re forgetting the fucked up situation we’ll be returning to. I don’t know what part of Slupman’s letter was real, but I doubt he came up with all that weird stuff on the spot just as an excuse to bail on us. Something’s going on under the dome, and I don’t think we’re gonna be welcomed back. I don’t know if we’ll even make it back.” She stretched her back and rolled her neck around to loosen it up. “I don’t even know if we’ll survive the nest. The odds can’t be too high on that one.”

“Come on. Don’t talk like that,” August said, even though he’d thought the same thing for a while now. “This squad is one of the—”

“The most highly decorated squads ever put together, yeah yeah.” Rosek gazed down at the blades of grass between her denim-wrapped legs. “You sound just like the commercials. Give it a rest. It doesn’t matter how many medals we’ve got. We’re still just a group of humans wandering into a freakin’ dolo nest with nothing but a few guns and some armor that can’t even stop a direct stinger strike.”

“I don’t know what to say to that,” August admitted.

She chuckled. “There’s nothing to say. We’ve just got to go in there, put in the best work we’ve ever put in, and hope for the best. Maybe even pray. Why not?”

August looked around the fire, eyeing the locals mostly. They all prayed quite a bit, and where did that get them? Stranded outside the dome at the mercy of flesh-eating bugs with nothing but a wall to protect them against flying monsters.

Beth approached them, carrying a pitcher of what looked like beer and a couple of empty mugs. “You two look like you could use a bit of ale.”

August and Rosek exchanged a look. It was clear they both wanted it, but a silent agreement passed between them. “We probably shouldn’t,” August said. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think the general would be too happy if he heard—”

Rosek interrupted him with laughter.

He furrowed his brow and smiled. She pointed toward the fire.

August followed her finger to find General Wolf pounding back a mug of ale in one hand and holding another one overflowing with suds in the other. The muscular men around him cheered as he downed the first mug and roared in surprise when he brought the next one to his lips.

“Hopefully none of the women here wear dotted leggings,” Rosek said.

Rosek and August shared a laugh. Each grabbed a mug from Beth, who then proceeded to fill both up to the brim and then some. Rosek laughed harder as some of it spilled onto her lap, leaving a foamy wet spot on the denim. “Sorry about the pants,” she said to Beth.

Their host scoffed. “People wear those while shoveling manure, Dear,” Beth said. “I’m sure a little ale won’t cause too much harm.” She moved to return to the fire. “You kids have fun now.”