The army wasn’t that bad compared to bootcamp. Not at the beginning, at least. Every morning our platoon would do our traditional four mile run before starting out on our day.

We had our own dorms, which were a lot nicer compared to being stuck in the barracks. To me, it was just like moving into a different bedroom, this time with a mini fridge, a microwave, a separate bathroom, and a flat screen television. There was also a desk, where I kept Lulu’s new glass terrarium that I had brought for her from my paychecks. It was a nice upgrade from the milk cartoon I had used as a substitute, since she had a lot more space. The frog was growing fast and didn’t like staying in there. She jumped out to greet me whenever I came into my room.

* * * * * * *

Two days after my platoon and I had joined, we received our first mission and were immediately deployed to a city called Portia, which was located up north. It was a very hot morning, and I made sure that I had refilled my canteen with fresh water as we sat on top of the eight armored trucks that drove us down the road. All of the citizens of Jova cheered us on as we were passing by, and for the first time in seven years, I was finally leaving the city. It felt strange.

It was after a forty five mile drive through an uninhabited area did we approach Portia, or at least a heavy cloud of smoke in the distance over a vast green field, right by the city walls. It was barely visible from this view, but I could make out the faint shape of buildings.

The rapid sound of gunfire filled my ears as I jumped off the truck with the other guys and followed them near a clearing of trees right by the field, where a deep trench was dug out into a zig zag pattern. We climbed down the small bamboo ladders and headed past rows and rows of Red Mamba soldiers who were sitting close together, taking quick sips of whiskey and chewing tobacco.

“First wave attack,” a nearby general yelled.

Further down the trench, there was a small hideout where three other people of the same rank as him were looking at a map.The man’s dark brown skin glistened with sweat underneath the sun as the soldiers scrambled over the top of the trench, some getting shot instantly and falling over backwards.

I pried my eyes away from the sight and clutched my gun.The general approached us, squinting in the glaring sunlight. “How many of you are here?”

Another officer looked up from the map and peeked out at us. “Baldwin sent in sixteen hundred, Caleb.”

“Blast it all! Andrew, what’s wrong with you?! I need around two thousand guys surrounding the city. Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. Everyone split up into battalions of eight hundred people. One goes on the east side, the other on the west. I’ve already got the first wave of men covering north and south. We’ll try to overwhelm the Portians, but take cover, because they’re elevated above us. Then we can force our way through.”

“Yes, sir!” everyone shouted.

My arms were shaking so bad as I started to climb the ladders with the rest of the guys, but General Caleb motioned me to stay. The other two generals stepped away from the shack and approached us, holding the map in their arms. I felt powerless underneath their gaze. There was a heavy explosion from a nearby grenade, causing heavy clouds of dirt and gravel to fall on top of our helmets.

None of the generals even flinched.

“Second wave!”

The men in my platoon disappeared over the top of the trench, where more and more bodies were piling up. General Caleb pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth, fumbling in his pocket for a lighter. I wondered how he could get used this sight every single day. Smoke curled around his mouth as he pointed at the map.

“You know where we’re located, Private Mouse?”

I studied the coordinates on the paper. He sighed and drew his finger over the faded lines. “We’re right on the outskirts of town. Seven hundred yards from the city walls, give or take. On the left, from where we are, there is a lake in these woods, about half a mile away from Portia.”

“We’ve been scouting this area for weeks,” interjected General Andrew. He looked like he hadn’t slept in forever. “The lake is located southwest. If we can blow up one of these walls, that will allow us to get in. They have less resources and a smaller amount of troops. But the issue is that the city is so wide that our guys have to attack while being spread out, giving them the upper hand.”

“You want me to find the lake, sir?” I asked.

General Caleb nodded. “If you can find a way to eliminate the soldiers targeting us with the water, the better chance that we have. Here.” He handed me the wrinkled paper. “Hurry up, Mouse. We don’t have much time.”

“What...how do you suppose I should attack them, sir? I can only spike a certain amount of people. They’re so far away, I don’t know how to shoot from that distance to even—”

He pointed at his temple. “Do what you can handle.”

* * * * * *

I almost felt like a coward, sprinting through the trees behind the trenches. It felt so wrong to not be with my comrades. The branches were scratching at my face, and I tripped twice, falling down a steep hill. The map was torn at the edges and had beer stains on the surface, making it a little bit hard to figure out where I was. It took ten long minutes of running around before I spotted it, right near a clearing of trees.

Stray bullets whizzed by me as I dropped to my stomach, and crawled in the dirt, trying not to freak out. The ground kept shaking, and it was so hard to see through the smoke in the air because of the explosions. Some men were screaming as they stared at the bloodied stumps from which their feet or arms used to be. Others were dragging them backwards to get them back in the trenches, only to have their brains blown out, their helmets flying in the air.

Focus, focus.

Something cool and wet touched my face, causing me to look up at the giant explosion of mist. A Portian had thrown a grenade at the surface in the water in front of me, since there were no trees to cover me. I began to crawl, then run as more bullet holes in the earth appeared a couple feet from me. When I finally reached the edge of the lake, something struck me in the arm as I dove in with a heavy splash.

It was dark and cold and nice, especially after being in the sun for such a long time. Bubbles escaped from my mouth as I continued swimming down into the deep abyss of darkness, with only the company of a few fish. The M4 carbine strapped to my back floated up behind me. I held one hand out, causing the water to morph and create an underwater air pocket. I gasped for air and stuck my head through the surface, before finally breaking my way through. All around me, the action was silenced and muffled from above.

The mud at the bottom of the lake was soft and squishy underneath my boots, and my temples felt like they were about to explode. If I gave into the pain now, I knew I would drown, since I didn’t know how deep the water was. With my free hand I fumbled in my pocket, took out some aspirin, and swallowed the two capsules, praying that they would work in time. I bent down on one knee and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself down.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

The pain began to slowly subside, just enough so that my head didn’t feel like a pounding drum. I made sure to fold the soggy map neatly before shoving it in one of my boots. One of the straps on my helmet dangled loosely. I fumbled with it before holding my arms out forward, feeling an extreme wave of energy course through me. The cold, dark liquid began to swirl and gurgle, and the pressure in my head was so strong I felt like it was going to be crushed.

The water lifted my feet off the ground.

I had never felt so cold in my life, and the liquid enclosed around me. I felt like I was behind a veil almost, because below me were a blur of colors and shapes across the field. I didn’t understand how I had gotten out of the lake, but the flow pushed me forward. There were muffled screams, and bullets floated around me. In the corner of my eye, I could see people jumping off the city wall, plunging down to their deaths below.

Black dots began to cloud my vision.

* * * * *

Something was stuck in my neck. The damp grass surrounding me tickled my face. When I sat up, coughing and throwing up water, my throat was burning. Several black shapes surrounded me, but I couldn’t see them clearly. I started to rub my eyes.

“Everybody back away! Don’t crowd him.”

The voices were all dismembered, colliding in with each other. I could make out General Caleb’s face before I leaned forward again, throwing up more lake water. Someone began to furiously pound my back to make sure I wouldn’t choke on my own vomit. The shadows of the six soldiers surrounding me stretched out on the dirt from the setting sun.

“Are you okay, Mouse?” General Caleb asked. He fumbled around his waist before handing me his canteen. “Here. Drink. You look dehydrated.”

“Wha...” It hurt even to speak. “What...”

General Andrew pushed through the soldiers. He had a huge grin on his face. “Do you even know what happened, son? Got a message from one of my men that a huge wave blasted the southern city wall. It’s all blown up to bits. Portia is ours. We found you passed out at the edge of the field nearby. ”

“I....”

“You went way overboard,” General Caleb said. “Maybe I should’ve been more specific, but you need to know your limits. Work with what you can handle. There isn’t a lake anymore, just a damn hole in the ground. I wanted you to spike them with ice, not flood the whole city. You burnt yourself out. Goodness.”

I winced. “My head really hurts.”

“Give me your hand,” he said. He hoisted me up, and General Andrew supported me by allowing me to wrap my arm his neck. The other soldiers began to follow us. They said something else about my bleeding arm, but my eyelids felt too heavy to keep them open. I couldn’t stop shivering either.

* * * * *

My migraine lasted for three days before I could even get up from my sleeping pallet. A bullet had grazed my arm, but it was bandaged. I had really wished I had brought Lulu along, since sleeping in the woods at night was something that I had begun to enjoy. I wanted to watch the stars with her. But when the morning sun rose, the stench of the decaying bodies filled the air, and we spent half of the day digging holes in the earth to bury them in. A lot of us couldn’t stop puking, but General Andrew had told us it would get easier over time.

I truly hoped he was right.

When we entered Portia itself, rubble, trash, and small fires littered the streets. The sound of gunshots rang in the air as more of our guys barged into nearby apartments and shops, which looked a lot shabbier and smaller then what I was used to seeing at Jova. The sound of glass shattering filled the air, and water lapped around everyone’s ankles. The terrified Portians huddled against each other, trying to avoid the soldiers.

For the first time in my life, I saw the Khonie.

They were dressed in some strange, colorful garments that did not look like it belonged in this time. The creatures did appear to look human, as Sergeant Mitchell had told me. They had the same skin tones as us; including arms, legs, and everything. Their heads were held low as they were escorted in long rows to the trucks that were waiting for them, towards the cages in the back.

A soldier shoved a woman to the ground in front of her home. A little girl watched from the doorstep, crying and wiping her eyes. Her mother scooted backwards, a horrified look on her face as he pointed the barrel of the gun at her. I couldn’t stop staring.

“I’m not playing any games. Where are they? Where are you hiding them?"

“Please, please!” she exclaimed. “I have a daughter.”

“Where are the Khonie?”

For a moment, the woman hesitated. I flinched as he kicked her in the side, causing her to grunt and double over. The little girl screamed again, and before I knew it I was stepping in front of her. The soldier glared at me, and slightly cocked his rifle to the left.

“Get out of the way.”

“What are you doing?” I said. “Don’t...don’t hit her!”

“I said move! Who the fuck are you, anyway?”

Before I could respond, several gunshots rang down the street. Some Portians were still refusing to surrender. The soldier, distracted by the noise, started running for cover, like everyone else was. I knelt down to help the woman up. She shied away from my touch and quickly scrambled to her feet. As she scooped up her daughter and disappeared between the piles of rubble, she kept glancing back at me, her round eyes full of fear. I stared after her helplessly.

When I ducked behind the remains of a concrete wall, a figure ran through the blown up street, making sure to keep low at all times. I began to follow it, hoping it wasn’t a Portian planning to throw a grenade in the midst of my comrades.

They stopped at the edge of the street, before pulling back the hood of their sweatshirt. I dove behind a pile of bricks to keep myself hidden. The glow of the afternoon sun caught in their blonde hair as they reassembled the AK47 they clutched in their hands. It was a bit hard to see through the dust, but it was a man. Though his face was lined with stubble and dirt, it was one that I could never erase from my memory, not even after all these years.

I felt that time had stopped as the man stood still, listening to the faint echo of gunfire in the distance. There was something about his eyes, the same blue ones I had thought were full of kindness as a child but actually hidden in deceit and malice. He was not in chains or in an orange jumpsuit, as I had imagined him to be.

A hot haze came over me, and I immediately pulled out my M4 carbine. This time, I loaded my magazine properly, even though my fingers were shaking so bad. And that was when I hated myself so much more when I realized that I couldn’t pull the fucking trigger, because he had already disappeared in the distance.

Rufus.

* * * * *

The name floated in my mind for the rest of the day as we ransacked the city, dragging out more Khonies out from the homes of the screaming civilians who tried to stop the soldiers. The worst part was when they ripped the families apart. It took three of our men to pry a female Khonie from her four children and get them onto the truck. Her howls sent chills down my spine, and I walked off to make her voice stop ringing in my ears.

General Caleb found me sitting in a dark alley, staring at my gun in my hand. He sighed and leaned against the wall.

“Why aren’t you with your platoon, Mouse?”

“I...” I sighed. “I don’t understand why you have to treat them like that.”

General Caleb scoffed. “Who? The Khonie?”

I looked away.

“Come on. Be reasonable. You should never underestimate these creatures. Ever. We are trying protect the citizens from them. They are dangerous to the people of the city.”

“Then...then why do the citizens look so upset..and scared when we try to take them away? They were crying. That soldier was trying to hurt a woman—“

“Because they don’t know what is good for them, Mouse. That’s why the Khonie are so dangerous. They plan to murder them in the middle of the night to steal their property and run off. They are manipulative, and is the best course of action. Now, I suggest you get up and follow the rest of the boys, since we have several more streets to recover. And then we need to inspect their water plant. There has been a contaminant that has been making people sick, and we want to see what you can do. “

I slowly got to my feet and dusted off my pants. “I’m burnt out. I can’t deal with any water right now, since my head was hurting so bad.”

“That’s no problem; we won’t rush you. Take your time, since we have about two more weeks to carry out the order. Are you coming?”

“Are we almost done...you know, clearing?”

General Caleb took off his helmet and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s going to take a while.”

“The Khonie...the Khonie will be alright, right? At the maximum security area?”

“Of course!” he exclaimed. “They go through a rehabilitation program to help them get back on track, so they won’t have that natural tendency to harass the civilians anymore. Think about it like taking a shard of glass from a baby. The child doesn’t know that it is dangerous, but the parent knows what’s better. We know what’s best, and just because they don’t like our method of helping them doesn’t mean we’re in the wrong.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

“Come along. There’s no time to waste.”

I nodded slowly, took a shaky breath, and followed him. All I could think about were the screams of the female Khonie, and the man who killed my mother.