Silence.

They had reached the camp where their foes once laid. Collectively their voices were extinguished; no words were to be spoken. Loosing one was themselves was more than enough to hold such a silence. The air was thick with smoke, it was hard to breathe as they ventured through the desolate, silent lands just outside of Stragea.

He had almost forgotten what such an atmosphere was like. The memories of previous starry night played like an old recording through his mind, his ears replayed the voices he once heard and his nostrils burned at the smell of both the smoke, and the gunpowder that covered his body. His boots picked up the burnt dirt replacing the mud that he had marched through not long ago. The cold wind blew over the camp scattering smoke in the opposite direction giving way to sunlight and the deep blue sky.

To soon. He thought to himself as he stared at the shifting environment around him; this was no longer a walk in the woods, the road was long, and it waited for him as he led the pack, his brothers behind him. The silence was once a surprise, he assumed that the constant noise of life would remain unchanged and everlasting, yet as the countless soldiers that once occupied this camp simply vanished, he was left wondering if he himself were dead amongst the ashes and embers lining the path he walked.

Yet he was in a world not of his own, alive. He didn’t know why; his reality had finally cracked and the world around him seemingly came into fruition as contemplated what was the truth. A touch placed him back into reality. Staff Sergeant Baker was the one who always stood nearby in the event he needed someone to assist him in walking. He asked him what was wrong, yet the Staff Sergeant received an answer that would only make him curious about the state of his brother’s mind.

Sergeant Randall felt like he was in a dream. There was no peace, no games, no laughs, no jokes, no deaths, and no bloodshed. “Something’s not right.” He said to himself once again as he came to a stop at a nearby collapsed building running his uncovered fingers over the burnt surface.

“You think they’re all dead? That was a massive explosion.” Richard commented. He held his rifle upright standing over what was believed to be a small crater filled with ash and ember. “Yo princess.” He commented. “Do you know the fuckers we killed?”

Breathing in the ash filled air the wind around sang like a choir. Thick smoke emanated from small fires spread around the destroyed camp a red haze glowed through, providing light alongside the scattered rays of the sun. Dead leaves, mud, and brushed aside hay.

“Check it out.” Simon said as he picked up one of the enemy’s firearms from the ground. “Wooden stocks, bolt action.” He showed the rifle to Sergeant Randall, his eyes grew wide as he slung his rifle and held the new one in his hands. A thick layer of mud covered the weapon hiding the war-torn wood. Turning around and aiming down the sights of the rifle, he maneuvered his left hand around what appeared to be a cylindrical magazine and he looked down the metal sights.

“Germanic uniforms, American ALICE gear. Austrian weapons?” Mike muttered to himself gaining the attention of the princess. Looking beyond the destroyed lands, he stared at the few stone buildings around the camp that were desecrated by the explosions that happened at ground zero of the attack he and the others called in not several hours before.

Pools of blood. Piles of bodies. Barbed wire. Bayonets, bayonet lugs. Embers, ash, smoke.

“Do you think this shit is for real?” Richard asked as he knelt on the ground taking a look at one of the dead bodies. The attire itself was very reminiscent of the old Bundeswehr military uniforms from World War One and World War Two, yet they all had some form of ALICE harnesses or vests with miscellaneous poches attached to simple black belts. “How many did we just kill?” He asked with a nervous voice. “What the hell did we hit with that fucking artillery strike? That explosion was to large for it to be an ammo dump!”

“What are you saying?” Captain Thompson asked in a stern voice.

“Look at their skins!” Richard screamed.

She had finally received the answer to the question that had plagued her mind. It wasn’t the smell of the burning buildings, smoke, or dead bodies that stood out to her the most. Lecca turned around alongside Lieutenant Patterson and Sergeant Randall.

The smell of burning skin painted over their nostrils with a sickening stench.

The battle for Stratgea was over. The frontlines had been diminished into nothingness. Yet the looming threat of the Demon Lord persisted, and this new adversary threw all logic out the window. Standing on the lands belonging to the king of Yondel, the remaining seven stood silent. They had finally arrived at the detonation site. A large scar was placed upon the planet, a large sludge of blood and an unknown chemical laid at the bottom, the pulsing red heat made the princess shiver as a cold sweat ran down her face.

Sand picked up by the wind blew across the gazing sun. The fall air was cold, and it gracefully swept over the hills and forests both beyond, and behind where they stood, no man’s land. No life could ever be sustained here, in this wasteland created by the efforts of man.

“We probably just pissed off a lot of locals!” Richard announced as his “argument” with Captain Thompson continued. “We’re supposed to be “Holy Knights”, respectively sir. A whole damn settlement and all of its inhabitants were killed!”

“How do we know these guys were invading!?” Thompson reported making the E-4 quiet. “They looked just confused as us, and it did not look like they were setting up for a siege!”

“That’s what I mean, sir!” Richard said confidently. “We should’ve attempted to contact them, sir!”

Releasing the anger that had built up in his face, Captain Thompson looked at the ground with a horrified and perplexed face before turning his direction to the princess and Sergeant Randall. “They attacked you two, correct?” Thompson asked

“Y-Yes.” Mike said. “Three of them attacked us. We killed the leader not too long ago.”

“It was a retaliatory strike then, they even attacked us before we arrived. It’s no more than self-defense.” Thompson quickly concluded. “Listen up! You’re ROE is changing: Do not fire unless fired upon! We need to establish some contact with theses forces, find out what the hell is going on, clear!”

“Yes sir!” The group said in unison.

“So, what now?” Lecca asked as she took the lead alongside the captain.

“You said we would go beyond.” The older man admitted as he stared ahead at the clearing smoke. “The orders you were provided; it was to help the kingdom, yet I don’t have a single idea what you mean. We can do so much within the walls, yet you want us to follow you into the unknown where some “Demon Lord” possibly waits.” He admitted releasing his pent-up frustration.

Partly flustered, Lecca resigned herself to lead the men, no, her Reclaimers, deeper into the Demon Lord’s domain. She could imagine what the world beyond would look like, much of it was obviously new to her due to her status as the First-Born Princess, yet even now she built up the fighting courage to take the first step forward, her boot making a clear mark in the mud. They were far from any “safe zone”, yet it was their duty to go beyond what any normal soldier could reach, and then some in the name of the king.

Even with the loss of Private First Class Jacob Green, his voice, much like the others, would remain with her for the foreseeable future. She could feel the tension in her bones. She assumed the same for the seven behind her. The enemies around had all been killed. Only the lucky ones escaped with their lives and the clothes on their backs; everything was destroyed and there would be no going back.

Staying clear of the scattered craters from what looked to be several smaller detonations, Mike walked behind Simon and Malkovich. The two dog-tags he had in his plate carrier shifted with every movement he took. Ramirez, Green, hell even Jackson the one he didn’t know wouldn’t be forgotten.

He bided his time gripping the vertical grip on his rifle tightly.

Falling behind, Lieutenant Patterson walked beside Mike. “Hey, you good?” He asked with a voice of empathy. It had been the only thing he could offer in these uncertain times, yet he felt it wasn’t enough. His anxiety was hidden behind the goggles he wore over his eyes. “I know what we saw in Stratgea was bad, but don’t let it get to you.”

“I’ll try.” Mike responded tired, and maybe somewhat frustrated.

Falling silent the ruined grounds of the base slowly gave way to small patches of grass. Both were focused on their thoughts, both wanting to solve a problem that effected the whole squadron, get home safe. Yet they had no home, no place where they belonged.

They served under no home. No army. No country. No flag.

They served no one.

Mike had before reached the point to where he could focus on his new COs voice, her voice, while watching the outside world as it passed by. Now he paid attention to the silence of her voice. The world played like choir, waiting for someone to release the dawn of time; thus, it would forever sing, now with Green’s, Ramirez’s and Jackson’s voices amongst them. Even know, Green still clutched both his own, and Ramirez’s rifle.

Both now sat, wasting away and being forgotten by time. Both now sat, now ashes. Both now sat, forgotten in the means of operational security.

It was soon afternoon. The group had walked under the sun in the remaining morning hours they had before even reaching the enemy camp. A fair amount of distance was placed between themselves and the first part of the lands of death. Lecca still led, now with Mike and Simon by her side.

There was a reason why the world called it “No Man’s Land”. It was called that for a good reason; between the mist, sun, mud, barbed wire, and craters that laid before them, the green fields so far off almost seemed like a dream. Being stuck in a place, a man-made place where hell was invited was something no one would want to be yet volunteered themselves to go through anyways.

It was part of a job. The job of being a soldier. In ancient times, more specifically during the first World War, The War to End All Wars, soldiers from both sides would wait. They would wait to die and die they did. It started as revenge, then it turned into survival. Such a place would return during the war in Africa in the year 2098, yet it would matter not, this was not their world.

To have such a place appear in a world of knights and magic, to see men in Germanic and American GI uniforms running around with what looked to be exotic bolt-action rifles spun many questions.

They were never answered in the moment.

“Is that a trench?” Malkovich said in his deep voice as he too raised his binoculars.

Flashing him a look of confusion, Thompson said “Trench?” as he took the binoculars out of his hands and looked across the mist-covered lands. It only took him a minute with the help of Malkovich, but he spotted several mud-covered wooden planks sticking out of the ground, and behind them laid a large ditch to which he could not see the inside of.

“We need to get over there. Occupied or not, staying here or going back to Stragea is out of the question.” Thompson said as he gave the binoculars to the sergeant. Spotting the princess nodding her head and attempting to leave towards the direction provided, the captain grabbed her by the shoulder, “Let the older one go first.” He calmly said making her step aside.

As he stepped forward in a low huddle, Thompson momentarily stopped and raised and moved his right hand downwards in a throat cutting motion. The other Rangers immediately tensed as each of them grabbed onto their weapons as they stepped into the second portion of no man’s land.

Finding a small portion of the grounds that was free of barbed wire, the seven slowly maneuvered through the death-trap. Lecca stared at the wet barbs that sat less than ten to twenty inches away from her, she kept hold on her white combat skirt as she followed at the rear of the group just behind Sergeant Malkovich.

“Try to find some cover.” Patterson whispered as they reached a clearing leading directly to the flat field. Trench is less than one-hundred meters.”

Maneuvering through small canals that had been appeared to have been dug for water collection, rather than craters created by warfare, the eight crawled slowly through the mud coming across several dead animal carcasses, primarily species that looked like wolves, that were all rotting.

Eventually having to climb up to have a direct path to the trench, Mike took point as he shouldered his now mud-covered and weathering carbine. He was having second thoughts about even going on the “special reconnaissance mission”.

Now just a simple walk away from the trench, Mike stayed firm as he and the others raised their weapons, waiting for anyone to pop out of the safety of their “home”. Before reaching the peak to enter the trench, Mike raised his fist head level, and the group came to a halt. Taking both arms and stretching them out, the group immediately formed a line with their weapons raised. Upon stepping forward, the rest moved in sync with Mike.

Richard took a sharp breath as he and the others stared at nothing but an empty trench. Extending his left arm horizontally, Thompson directed each member of his squadron to enter the trench in an orderly fashion. Moving at the front, PFC Simon took point as the others slowly, but smoothly moved behind him checking every nook and cranny within the trench. They moved fast, Lecca had a difficult time keeping up, until she was practically being dragged by Malkovich in the center of the formation.

No noise ever came from any of the soldiers, not even their princess CO who was freaking out about being in an unfamiliar environment. Seeing a barracks ahead, Patterson spotted several items that reminded him of cigarettes, cigars, and foodstuffs. “Possible contact.” He whispered in a near-inaudible voice that could only be captured by the ear-pros the Rangers had equipped.

With no way to see in the dark due to a lack of natural light, Thompson activated his IR light on his rifle as he activated the NODs. Entering the small corridor one by one the men walked into the barracks in pure darkness with only the Captain, Patterson, and Malkovich being able to see far ahead, thus Simon, Mike and Lecca stayed behind with a flashlight until they hear a single finger snap indicating the all clear. They proceeded to do this five times until they reached one last corridor.

“Concrete structures, wooden bed frames, comforters, quilts, food.” Simon said in a hushed voice as he and the others stood some-what calm at the exit of the trench. “These fuckers have it good.” His voice echoed loudly.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but what is this place?” Lecca questioned as she ran her hand across the concrete walls unfamiliar with the building material.

“It’s a place…” Simon paused as he attempted to find an answer. “It’s a place… of war.” His words carried weight as Malkovich added to his statement.

“A machine of death.” He said simply. “Trenches both serve as places for defense and attack. People will die if they are in such a place.”

“I see-”

“Shut it!” Thompson said sternly as he came out of the exit pathway turning of his goggles. “Get the hell out of this trench! One light source only!”

Walking throughout the cramped hallways was challenging. Maintaining stealth was another as Mike coughed up several times, his chest screaming in pain due to not receiving immediate treatment for his broken ribs. Soon enough though, the group exited the rear of the trench, they walk up a small slope to avoid the maze ahead and behind them.

Their boots crushed the dead grass, and their skins faced the cold wind. Rays of sunlight cut through the mist and illuminated small puddles of water along the ground, blue skies stared down upon them like a shroud. Fields of golden-green grass shined in the light and casted a heavenly gaze upon this god-forsaken world.

Standing up straight with the support of Staff Sergeant Baker, Mike was the first to step forward into this new world.

He suspected that he wouldn’t last another day.

Publicly Available Information: Trench Warfare:

Trench warfare is a type of combat in which both sides attack, counterattack, and defend from asymmetrical and symmetrical, near-permanent systems of trenches dug into the ground.

Reports recovered from the destruction of the settlement of Stratgea has provided information about this style of warfare to the Kingdom of Yondel and all surrounding nations. A new enemy has emerged; thus, it is critical that a new doctrine is formed to counter this threat alongside the Demon Lord.