The sun shined brilliantly in the clear blue sky. It hadn’t reached it’s peak but scorched desert lands below. It was a new day and AJ and Sev were fresh on the ride. The roars and rumbling of their spears echoed into the distance. Dust kicked up behind them like a storm, a wave flying outward. They rode at full speed not taking the road though it lied next to them.

AJ’s large steel sword glimmered in the light, acting like a beacon for any bandit nearby. Not that he was afraid of bandits. Though the lands belong to the United States, these lands were known as bad country. A lawless vast desert owned by anyone with a gun and willing to kill the next man next them.

Sev focused forward at the endless horizon. The waves of heat rose from the ground and had a rippling effect. Sweat beaded down his forehead. He wished he didn’t wear this turtle neck, though sleeveless it didn’t make it any less hotter. He wondered why East had the two of them heading all the way out here.

Just a few hours ago a reasonable sized town called Amdel, had sent out a distress call. A squad of US soldiers had reported Canadian scouts in the area. Two hours later the squad were reported KIA. In situations like this normal soldiers would have been sent in. But the distress call said the town was completely taken over by a group of fourteen or so soldiers. Along with them were two spectres known as twins.

AJ looked over at Sev who seemed to be in deep thought. “Hey Sev, so do you know anything about these spectres?”

Sev broke from his thought and looked over at AJ. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I said, do you know anything about these twins,” he repeated.

Sev nodded his head. “Yeah, they’re two powerful spectres for hire. They’re not affiliated to just one nation. Being powerful and being up for hire, they’ve become real popular with Russian and China who use them to fight us and Canada.”

“Why are they working with Canada then?”

“Canada’s probably paying them more than Russia and China.”

AJ focused forward, wondering what he’d be like if he became an spectre for hire. He didn’t like killing innocent people. That’s what most spectre’s for hire are used for. Because of their blink of an eye speed they’re mostly used for assassination missions or killing off entire villages or towns. Killing people who have done wrong...he thought it was disgusting.

“Do you know anything about the twins?” he asked.

Sev shook his head. “Not from experience. What commander East told us, is that they’re very quick. They use scythes and only attack together.”

“So when we fight them we should try to split them up?”

“I’m guess when they’re alone their fighting is total shit. So yeah, lets try and split the two up when we engage them.”

AJ glanced up at the sun, hovering his hand over his face. He then looked forward again. “Hey, do you think the reason proxy wars exist is because all the remaining countries are lack the resources to fight one another in all out war like before?”

“All the remaining countries are indamn. Sometimes I think all the country leaders are dead. That’s why we’re all still at war because the ones who can end the war are dead.”

“Maybe we just forgot why we’re fighting in the first place and just fight to fight.”

“Maybe.”

Sev and AJ stopped just two miles from the town they were suppose to be in. They parked their spears behind a hill and took position on the top. They lied on their stomachs and scouted the nearby area with binoculars. The town was built on a dried up waterbed that hadn’t seen water in decades. A wide road went through the heart of it. The buildings were made of sand brick that weren’t built to last. Some were crumbling and others had already collapsed. In the heart of the town was a spiraling tower. At the top, a Canadian flag fluttered in the dusty dry breeze.

The people were being herded to the center of town by armed soldiers. Dressed in brown camo, they wore black gasmask and prouded the Canadian patch on their shoulders. They people staggered, crying as they were forced to lie with their stomachs on the ground. Women, children, men were all taken hostage. Scouting the area yielded no result for the twins. Sev guessed they’re hiding in a nearby building that they were using as a makeshift command post.

“Hey!” a voice whispered.

AJ and Sev looked back and saw a platoon of soldiers behind them. AJ’s fingers began twitch as he reached for his sword but soon stopped. The soldiers wore US patches on their shoulders. He had thought he’d have to kill before the mission even commenced.

“Who are you guys?” Sev asked.

One the soldier stepped up. “My name’s lieutenant Andrew. We were the first responders when the distress signal was sent out earlier this morning.”

Sev rolled onto his back and lifted up. He reached out and shook Andrew’s hand. “I’m spectre N7 class Sev. The black guy behind me is spectre AJ. He’s an N3 class.”

AJ glared at Sev.

“Well it’s nice to meet you two,” Andrew said. “It’s always good to have some spectres on our side.” He reached under his gasmask to scratch his beard. “Before we found you guys, we’ve been trying to devise a way to deal with the spectres.”

Sev glanced at the soldier crouched behind Andrews. He held a black beretta 50. cal sniper rifle in his hands.

“Have you guys thought about sniping them,” he suggested. “Even though we’re fast, we can’t dodge something if we don’t know it’s coming.”

“We’ve thought about that,” Andrews said. “But they stay inside and keep clear of the windows. If we want them outside, we’d have to cause a commotion. If we do that we could kill a few candies before their spectres wipe us out.”

“There’s no need for that man,” Sev said. “We also came here to take back the town. Just devise up a plan and we’ll go with it. Just make the plan relies on us fighting the twins.”

Andrew gave Sev a thumbs up. “Give me a moment while I talk with my sergeant about a new plan. Gonna teach these candies what happens when you stomp on US soil.”

Sev looked back over at AJ who was conversing with one of the soldiers. They laughed and joked before AJ turned to Sev and asked. “Hey man, this soldier wants to know why we don’t just run everywhere.”

“What do you mean?” Sev asked.

“If we’re so fast then how come we don't just run everywhere?”

Sev cocked an eyebrow and looked at the soldier lying beside AJ. The soldier just gave him an unsure shrug.

“Listen dude, we experience the world and move at a faster rate,” he explained. “For us hours could have past but for you guys it could have just been seconds. Just...just don’t think too hard about it.”

“See, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell him,” AJ added.

The soldier nodded his head, half heartedly. “So do you guys always move at such a fast speed or is it only sometimes?”

Sev groaned. For him there was always that one rookie soldier who asked all the questions that could have been looked up on the internet. But only if the internet still existed a a civilian commodity and not a military one. “No, only when we want to.”

Andrew tapped on Sev’s shoulder and got his attention. “My sergeant and I finished talking. We have a plan for dealing with the Canadian forces.”

“Yo man what’s the plan then?” Sev asked.

Andrew explained the plan to him. It would require that both AJ and him sneak into the base and assassinate their commander. After their commander is dead, the two will then fight against the twins while the soldiers move out to defeat the enemy forces and secure the town.

“Do you really think that’ll work?” AJ asked. “Seems unreasonable to try and assassinate the commander. The twins would notice us coming.”

“Not unless you’re going at top speed,” Andrew said.

“Not exactly. we can sense other spectres a mile away,” AJ said.

“That’s why we parked two miles away,” Sev added.

“Then what plan do you have in mind?” Andrew asked.

“Let us just take on the twins. You guys would have to kill the commander yourselves.”

Andrew nodded his head. “Alright then, let’s get a move on then.”

AJ and Sev took point on their spears, riding in front of the soldiers. The soldiers were piled into four pickup trucks. Each held 6 soldiers, two in the front four in the back and were mounted with light machine guns. The town rose in the distance as they drove closer. The buildings were worn and the dusty streets were dry, void of even sweat.

The enemy soldiers stood waiting at the entrance to the city, the same one the US soldiers were coming in from. They hid behind makeshift cover, wooden barrels, rusted crates and old rubber tires leaned against the buildings. Their readied their rifles, eying down the scope of their rifles and fingers jittering on the trigger.

“AJ, lets do it!” Sev said.

AJ nodded his head.

Their spears slowed down along with everything around them. The soldiers behind them seemed to be traveling at one mile every hour. The word seem blissful, even the sound was empty. At this point AJ and Sev both had to rely on using telepathy to speak to one another. They experienced the world faster than the sound of their voice. It would sound long and slurred.

AJ released the throttle and lifted up. “Hey Sev, you seeing what I’m seeing?”

Sev looked forward and saw the twins standing in the middle of the road. He then nodded his head. “Yeah, I see them.”

The twins held hands in the middle of the road. Their trench coats fluttered in the breeze. A type of breeze only those who experienced the world at a fast rate could feel or see. They stared at their opponents through small slits in their iron mask. The one on the left wore a mask shaped like a lion while the other wore a mask in the shape of a wolf.

“I suggest you turn back now,” the twins both said.

Sev tucked his hands into his pocket and started walking forward. “Sorry, but that won’t be possible. Not until we’ve defeated you and took back the city first.”

“Town,” AJ corrected.

“What ever bastard,” he muttered sarcastically.

“Whatever they’re paying you is not worth throwing your lives away,” the twins said.

Sev smirked. “Sorry but we’re not like you guys.” He reached into his shirt and took out his dog tag. “You see, we’re soldiers, US citizens who fight for freedom...or what’s left of it.”

The wolf twin nodded her head. She was a slick woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail the reached down to her waist. Her hands were rough and her brilliant white trenchcoat made the dust on it stand out more.

“Why would you waste your efforts fighting for a dead cause?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” AJ asked.

“You fight for your country and we fight for survival. The difference between our reasons to fight is that yours don’t exist anymore.”

“The USA still exist today,” AJ said. “It’s one of the twelve remaining countries left.”

“A quarter of your country is controlled by China, the lower part of it, where Texas use to be, is now controlled by the Japan. Countries don’t exist anymore...not how they use to. They’re nothing more than plots of dead land we humans kill over.”

During the war, the United States was the first to attack. As the war raged on, it slowly lost its fighting power. The longer the war dragged on, the more desperate its allies became. Like most other countries, Canada and Japan betrayed their ally and attacked US soil. Canada obtained nothing and lost most of it’s land to Russian but China and Japan managed to gain a bit from the attack.

Eventually the world’s countries became jumbled up plots of lands, jagged borders reaching inside other borders. Spots of Indian territory was slap dabbed in the middle of Canada’s. Russia’s territory extended right through the UK’s splitting it in half. Japan and China own islands that looked as if they were tossed around in a blender.

Only four percent of any territory a country controlled was usable.

“It doesn’t matter,” Sev said. “The reason we’re fighting for our country is because all our shits there. I’m not gonna let another country take over and pillage our shit.”

AJ nodded along to Sev’s words. “I agree with what he said. Besides, what are you guys fighting for anyways?”

“The only thing that matters in this world,” the lion twin said. She wore a black trenchcoat stained and bleached to look like camo. Her blond hair draped down over her shoulder like waves and she stood just a bit taller than her sister.

“And what would that be?” he asked.

“Survival…”

“Survival huh?” Sev smirked. “If you want survival why did you choose this kind of lifestyle. Most spectres for hire don’t live too long. Sound’s counter intuitive don’t you think?”

The lion twin shook her head. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Sev looked at AJ. “You ready to do this man?”

AJ’s fingers began to twitch once he reached for his sword. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Like we planned; split them up and fight them one on one.”

AJ and Sev unsheathed their swords and ran towards the twins. Once in range, they both swung their swords. The twins lept back, dodging their attack. They then unzipped their trench coats, revealing the row of silver pistols and black steel tipped knives hidden on the inside. The pulled out their guns, dual wielded, and fired at Sev and AJ.

Their gun’s didn’t make the traditional bang one would hear. Though their guns fired traditional bullets, they used their hitek to speed up the shot ten fold. AJ and Sev didn’t dare to try and deflect their shots. They dove to the side and rolled behind cover.

AJ flinched as the bullets tore through the wooden box above his head. The rounds, chipped away huge chunks of wood, and splitters went flying out from his head. He looked over at Sev who was behind a metal barrel.

“Hey, you have a plan or something?” he asked.

Sev nodded his head. “You can use fire right?”

“Of course!”

“Try to combust the area around them, get them split up.”

AJ went out from covered. With his arm extended outward, he snapped it fingers. Sparks of fire jumped from his hands and bursted forward in a seemingly straight line. The flames roared as they traveled like a spiraling wave towards the twins.

The twins jumped to the side in opposite directions to avoid the attack. With a raging wall of fire between the two, the twins were forced to fire separately.

“Nice job!” Sev said, running out from cover. “I’ll handle the lion chick, you take on the wolf girl.”

“Got it!” AJ said.