AJ lied in bed, listening to the sound of music on the radio. It was an smooth sung song from the 1950’s, a hundred years ago. He stared up at the ceiling fan that rotated at a slow place. Natural light came in through the open window and lit half of the dark room. Yesterday he suggested that stayed the night before heading out for their mission. This way they were able to get situated, but really he needed time to get his mentality in order. He wondered if what he did was right. Should he have left the kid in flash step? He was able to handle it so why should the kid? He also wondered how he could have gone about dealing with the domestic violence. The only thing that came across his mind was kill the man. That wasn’t the right idea, he knew.

There was a knock at the door and he looked over and saw Harlot walk into the room. She wore her combat gear and had her assault rifle strapped over her back and her helmet under her right arm.

“Sorry did I disturb you?” she asked.

“No, I’m just thinking about stuff that’s all,” he said.

“Oh and what are you thinking about?” she asked.

There was a brief pause between his next sentence. Then he smirked. “I’m thinking about sex that’s all.”

“...Um, that’s cool I guess.” She wasn’t too sure about his answer and noticed the brief pause before it. She looked to her right and saw AJ’s sword sitting in the corner under the shadows. She kneeled down in front of it and rubbed her hand against the smooth blade. The metal was dull and stained with red blood.

“Where did you get this sword from?” she asked.

“Standard issue given to all spectres,” he answered.

“Why don’t you use guns?”

“Gun’s don’t work well in flash step”

Throughout war countries have developed weapons designed to be used by, and to kill, spectres. They were made from highly dense microscopic artificial metal called, Alvoy. Most weapons came in shape of blades but others were gun designed. These weapons allowed spectres to condense and fire their hitek energy in a controlled manner.

After the war, the technology was lost and recreating it became impossible. These weapons soon became as valuable as oil, clean water and vegetation.

“So what did you come here for?” AJ asked.

Harlot looked back over her shoulder. “Just came to see if you were ready.” She turned back to look at the sword.

“I will in a second,” he said. “I just want to think about some stuff real quick.”

“Can’t you just flash step and speed it up?”

“That reminds me of something.”

“What?”

“There is this joke among spectres I know of. It talks about how this guy and girl would always have sex during combat. Spend hours doing it. But since they’d flash step, it would have only been a second.” AJ rolled out of bed and placed his feet on the floor. He smiled and looked at Harlot. “Eventually other spectres actually started doing this and even been so bold as to have sex with people. They’d never know it because it happened so fast.”

“That’s fuck up,” Harlot muttered.

He walked over to the door and glanced back at Harlot. “You have white stuff around your mouth.” He then left.

Harlot quickly wiped her dry mouth and looked down at her hand. There was nothing there. You bastard, she thought.

AJ walked down the hospital now turned into a makeshift operations base. Open wires hung from the ceiling and crept along the walls. The air was quiet except for the sound of his footsteps on the sand covered floor. A few walls had caved in leaving the hall open to the outside elements.

He stood still when Mike came walking out of a room in front of him. Mike didn’t look back and seemed to headed in the same direction as him. He remembered earlier when he first saw Mike. The man was whispering something to Carter, and staring back at him out the corner of his eye. The man was eyeing him and he felt something off about it ever since.

Staying close towards the wall, he skulked behind Mike, making sure to stay just far enough that he still had his line of sight. Mike turned the corner ahead and went up the stairs towards the east wing of the building.

AJ held it sword tight, not to fight but to kept it from jangling on his back. He walked up the stairs and slowed to a halt at the top. He peered over the top step and saw Miking walking down to a room at the end of the corridor. Mike looked back for a moment but didn’t seem to see AJ. He then turned back around and knocked on the door. Carter opened the door and stepped the side letting Mike in.

AJ saw a third man, tall but out of focus, in the room as well. When the door closed he stood up and tiptoed over to the door. He placed his ear against the cold metal door to listen in on what was going on. Ever since he met Carter, he’d always had his suspicious about him. He focused as the men on the other side of the door began to talk. There voices were muffled but he was able to make out what they were saying.

“So did you find it’s exact location?” Carter asked.

“Yeah, Victor and I found it just three clicks north of here,” Mike said. “Even found a way inside as well.”

“Alright then, I need you guys to move out now. We’re not sure how long all of that will be there. Also I don’t want the overlords finding out about this. God knows what they’ll do if they find out about it.”

“No problem Cart, Victor and I can handle it.”

“Sir, what about the spectre and that sergeant girl?” Victor asked.

“They’re only here to investigate the mysterious explosions,” Carter said. “They’ll be too busy to bother with us.”

“But what if they start snooping around?” Mike asked.

“Victor here has been in constant communication with the Gaia,” Carter said. “If that spectre snoops around too much we have access to spectres of our own. They’ll take care of him for us.”

They’re working with the Gaia? AJ thought. Who are they?

“Alright, lets hurry this.” Mike said. “I want to see pale rider take effect.”

The door suddenly swung wide open and Mike looked out into the hallway. AJ had flash stepped and hidden down the stairs out of view. Panting and out of breath, He lied against the stairs until he heard the door closed. The door’s sudden open caught him off guard. If these soldiers are really working against the United States, he’d have to tell East about it. High on his heels, he fled down the stairs and through the hallway back to his room.

He swung open his door and slammed it close behind him. Harlot who was lying in his bed, jumped up when he stormed into the room. She watched as he rushed over to the window to close it and then looked down at her.

“Harlot we have a problem,” he sternly said.

“What’s the problem?” she asked. “Did something happened?”

“Yeah, I was spying…” He stared at the door for a moment. Someone could have been listening on the otherside. He leaned close to Harlot and whispered the rest. “These group of soldiers are defecting against the United States.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I heard Carter and Mike and some other guy talking about it. Then I heard Mike mention something called pale rider.”

Pale rider was name from early christian bibles. It described the fourth horseman who brings death and was followed by Hades himself. Something with that name spelt death and had to be stopped. But did it matter?

“We have to tell commander East the new information we learned,” Harlot said. “If these Carter and his men are a threat to the United States we need to stop them.”

There was a knock on the door and AJ and Harlot quickly shifted their attention, their breaths were still and they didn’t make a move. For a moment there was silence and then another knock.

AJ walked went over to open the door. Standing outside in the hallway was Carter who had an assault rifle strapped over his shoulder. He greeted the two with a smile and asked if he could come in. AJ stepped to the side and allowed the man to make his room inside.

“I’m sorry if this is a bad time,” Carter said.

“Don’t be, we weren’t doing anything important,” Harlot said.

“Yeah, we were just about to have sex but whatever,” AJ said.

Harlot glared AJ while Carter cocked an eyebrow and gave him an amusing smirk.

Carter gripped the strap of his assault rifle and looked at AJ. “I take it you two are...fairly well rested. You two are going to be heading up to the mountains to investigate the strange noise coming from beyond it. I want to know if I could tag along with you.”

AJ glanced at Harlot and then looked back at Carter. “The place is highly radioactive. It doesn’t affect me and Harlot has a suit. If you come with us you’ll only get sick.”

“Well heres a fact, I’m already sick—been sick with the plague for a few days now so I don’t have much time to live.”

The plague has been ravaging human’s for years. It is a slow acting plague that inhabits the body for days and then explodes with dire effects. Bleeding from the eyes and total organ shutdown are some of the worst but effects always vary from person to person.

“That’s understandable, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” AJ said.

“Please allow me to come along. If there are hostiles in the area like we suspect then you’ll need someone who has a good eye to back you up.”

Carter may not have looked like it, but he was the kind of man to put others before himself. He’d give anything to save the people he swore an oath to protect. Even if it meant he had to sacrifice himself...or others. He would have continued fighting for others if he wasn’t stricken with the plague.

AJ didn’t want to bring Carter along with them. It meant they’d have to go on their mission instead of following Mike and Victor. But he had no choice.

“Alright, Harlot grab your gear. Sir, you can come along with us. But are you sure your sickness won’t affect you in battle?”

“You know how the plague works. I’m healthy until it kicks in. Then I die.” Carter said that half heartedly.