Korse, Ilsha, and Garet stand in front of a roughly oval shape in the snow, and Harran stands inside, right in the middle.
Korse: "Here was some boulder you say?"
Harran: "Ja."
"But it's gone?"
"Ja."
"So it just grew legs and walked away?"
"Probably, as you see."
Ilsha: "If I may, Siber is full of snow lizards, right? But they are bigger, and heavy… and furry… and-"
Garet waves his hand in front of Ilsha's face, and she stops talking.
"Sorry to interrupt, it's impossible for a lizard to do something like this."
He points at the snow oval.
"A normal lizard, maybe, but snow lizards are massive."
"Alright then, sure, are they hostile?"
"Not at all."
"Okay, everyone. We are fine, then… just a… fat lizard is in the area. All we have to worry about is Zurn dragging it to the camp and asking Ilsha to prepare it for him."
Korse and Harran are not paying attention to his proclamation.
They are busy examining the snow shape.
Both are standing in the middle of it.
Harran: "No, I am telling you again, my eye does NOT work like that."
Korse: "How can you know if you're not trying?"
"I tried like 5 times before you told me to."
"Nuh uh."
"Wha- how nuh uh?"
"…"
"What do you mean?"
"…"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NUH UH?!"
Harran grabs Korse by the left shoulder.
"Oh, sh- quit yelling at night you-"
Korse grabs Harran's left arm by the elbow.
Harran hisses like a bull and pushes Korse onto the ground, the snow crunches as he falls into it.
Garet: "Whoa whoa, cool down your engine, my guy."
Harran: "Fuck off, Garet."
With those words, he jumps at Korse.
Korse kicks him in the left shin in retaliation, and Harran splats himself into the snow by his right side.
As Harran reaches for Korse again, blue light suddenly illuminates the area.
Bzzzzt
Ilsha kneels near Harran's limp head.
Korse: "O-oh shit, did you kill him?"
"No, knocked his ass out."
"Where did you get a stunner?"
He stands up slowly, brushing snow off himself.
"Medic's personal defense equipment.
"Medicals have those?"
"Not sure, but I have it and love it."
Garet: "So nobody cares anymore about our unconscious ally?"
Korse: "Speaking of Harran, what happened to him?"
Ilsha lifts Harran slightly into a sitting stance, hugging him from behind, hands wrapped tightly around his chest.
"Sleep warder has possible side effects of minor aggression after use of amounts above recommended doses.
Korse: "That's uh… whatever, what is the dose?"
Ilsha: "Five cans."
Korse: "Well, that's not so-"
Ilsha: "For the entire week."
Garet: "So he took a week's dose in one go?"
Ilsha begins to drag Harran to the camp.
"Sleep deprivation also adds to aggression in some cases, he also said he had no sleep for six days before this deployment, too."
Garet: "I would die if I tried that."
———
Ilsha strapped unconscious Harran to the second cot by a piece of fabric that wrapped around his chest and the cot itself.
Korse: "That is standard issue?"
Ilsha: "No."
"So you requested it?"
"Yes."
"Smart."
"A girl away from civilization, in the wilderness with four men, a pretty and weak lady like me has to watch out, you know."
"That… sounded a little weird in the end, but also, we are not animals, excuse you."
"How can I know you did not overdose on something like this dumbass?"
"Well, uh-"
"Korse, I believe you are harmless."
"Well, thank y-"
"Because I saw how easily Harran got you to the ground."
She laughed to herself at her words.
"Alright, making fun of your captain is not fun."
"Except it is."
"Stop it, Ilsha."
"Fine."
"Will he be fine?"
"Should be."
She restrains Harran's hands and tightens the chest strap a little more.
"Is it safe?"
"For me at least, yeah."
"Do you not think it is a little too much?"
"Korse, I will be sleeping in this tent with a patient overdosed on something that invokes aggression. I would seal him in a crate if it would not mean me losing my role."
"Fair enough, and I have a question."
"What is it?"
"We have no lighters. How did you set up the wood?"
"Zurn helped me."
"Oh yes, makes sense, a Siberan knows how to make fire with nothing."
"He can use fire magic."
"He can what?"
"He has fire magic at his disposal?"
"So what? Is he going to start lobbing fireballs at whatever just rustled in the bushes?"
"No, he is not proficient with attacking spells. From what I understand, he has utility spells."
"Like?"
"The lighter, for example."
"Makes sense."
He leans against a beam in the middle of the tent.
"Did you not read any of the files we were given at the briefing?"
"Uh."
"Well, some kind of a captain you truly are."
Ilsha grabs the empty cot and places it into the far corner of the tent.
"For my defense, I was making sure we had all the necessary things loaded."
"Is that not the worry of operations management?"
"I do not trust them."
Ilsha lies down on her cot.
"Please now, I will get my rest."
"Very well."
He turns around and walks outside, closing the door behind him.
The camp is silent, not even the wind is whispering.
It seems everyone is asleep.
Korse walks outside the camp, two steps from the entrance.
Looking up at the black tree ahead, he can barely make it out.
It is almost as dark as the sky and water behind it.
He pulls out his notebook and opens the page with the tree from Ilsha.
In the drawing, it has fewer branches.
"Hm, I thought she drew more branches, it almost looks like... just a twig with branches."
He speaks to himself, then he sits in the snow and leans against the corner of Zurn's tent, which barely moves under his weight.
Sturdy construction.
His stomach growls.
"Oh yeah... no food today."
Looking around, he gets up slowly and puts the notebook in his pocket.
Then he makes his way to the storage tent.
He closes the door behind him. When he looks around the place, at the many crates (wooden and metal), there is a thin, tall, and rectangular-shaped can sitting at the top of the nearest crate.
He looks around his shoulder, confused.
"...what?"
Korse steps towards the can and grabs it, about 20 centimeters tall.
"Krakaras? We had them?"
He takes off the lid and slams the top of the can against his left palm.
A rectangular cookie, brown but close to white or grey, appears in his hand.
He lifts his mask, just enough to uncover his mouth and reveal his smile. He shoves the cookie in his mouth and fixes his mask, then he puts the can in his left pocket.
"At least something to ward off the hunger."
With those words, he exits the tent and walks back to the camp entrance.
As he looks to his right, there stands a figure.
He freezes, staring at it, right hand on his hip.
In the moonlight, he barely makes out its appearance.
Same clothes as his, same mask, helmet too.
It slowly raises its right hand and salutes Korse.
"You cannot fool me, you are not one of us... I can tell!"
Korse's voice echoes through the night.
It lowers its hand to the hip...
...it pulls out a knife.
As soon as he sees the weapon, he reaches into his boot for his knife.
"Come at me! You don't scare me a bit!"
And so it does, one slow step at a time.
Distance: 10 meters approximately
Korse holds his knife in his right hand, somewhat close to his torso, left hand stretched towards the foe.
He retreats slightly into the camp, keeping the thing in his view.
Distance: 6 meters
He breathes heavily, ready for a fight.
"I can take you… and I'll take you to the grave."
Distance 4 meters
It steps into the light.
Looking exactly like an ally.
It lunges at him with the knife up high.
It thrusts it at him from above.
Korse jumps out of the way.
Its movements are overdone, exaggerated, and inaccurate.
He wasted no time and stabbed it in the left side of its neck.
It smacks him in the face and pushes him away.
He falls on the ground, and it is stronger than he expected.
It pulls out the knife from its neck.
Black blood taints the snow.
Immediately, it charges at him mindlessly, wielding both knives now.
Korse stays on the ground, and the creature prepares for another reckless attack.
As the knives are flying at him, he kicks it in the face as he swings himself to his feet.
It dropped both weapons due to the impact.
"Can't do anything unarmed now, can you? HA?"
The next thing he sees is the thing jumping at him, without a moment to react, it tackles him on the ground, grabbing his neck with both hands, holding tighter and tighter.
He tries to resist, to get it off himself or lighten its grip... but to no result.
He tries kicking it, but it does not budge.
His mask's glasses are fogging up.
His ears are ringing.
His life is leaving him.
Suddenly...
...it lets go.
Then he sees it, hope, Zurn stands behind the monster, holding its head with one hand.
A wave of relief washes over Korse as Zurn yanks the monster from him.
He lifts it up above his head and smashes it into the ground.
The monster's body turns to smoke as it is thrown violently.
Zurn stands above half-dead Korse.
Korse: "Hey... th-"
Zurn: "If you want to die, please do it silent to not wake mi up."
"Th-thank you… wait, did your speaking get worse or something?"
"Noh."
Zurn turns away and heads back to his tent.
Korse looks at his hands, raising them in front of his face as he lies.
"I am not trusting myself for anything."
——————————————————
Night passed with no more events…
Everyone sits at the canteen table.
Harran and Garet on one side, Ilsha and Korse on the other, Zurn's seat is empty.
For breakfast is soup.
Only Harran is staring at it… not eating.
Meanwhile, others are halfway done.
Ilsha: "Are you not going to eat today?"
Harran says nothing.
Silence stretches for what seems like eternity, only the clanking of spoons against the metal cans pokes holes into it.
The silence is… close to uneasy.
Korse's voice breaks it after an agonizing wait.
"Communicator is busted."
Garet: "Nice joke."
"Wasn't."
"What happened to it?"
"So I just woke up, and I see smoke out of it."
Garet stares at him, speechless and in disbelief.
"Yeah, not a tech, but I think communicators and smoke are not a good duo."
"What did you do to it yesterday?"
"I wanted to call high command, but nobody answered."
"Yeah… and?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean to ask if you pressed anything differently this time."
"I didn't."
"How in all levels of disgrace is it broken then? This is high military grade gear we are talking about, not a civilian heater."
"There's a difference between these things?"
"Yeah, the military is better than civilian, and high military speaks for itself."
"Good to know."
"Better to know would be to know how to prevent steaming communicators."
"I was thinking you could fix that."
"It would be better if I hadn't."
Everyone finishes their soups, except for Harran.
Korse and Garet get up and walk out of the canteen.
Korse turns around in the doorway.
Korse: "Nice cooking as always, Ilsha."
With a bow to her, he closes the door.
Ilsha sits in front of Harran, who barely touched the food.
"Sweetie, I am not leaving until the food is inside you, and there are more ways than just one."
She said with a smile on her face.
After that, he hesitantly began to eat."
"Not that hard, is it?"
———
At that time, the other two are in Korse's tent.
Inside is a cot, a table with some machinery resembling a radio station (the communicator), three blocks of iron and wood slapped together with a few antennas on top. Grey smoke is coming out of it.
Garet: "What… did you do that? Poured your coffee on it?"
Korse: "No?"
"What's the last thing you did with it?"
He says, walking to the communicator station.
"Usual communication stuff, wanted to inform high command about the day's events and ask about further orders."
"To me, it seems like you pressed a button you shouldn't have."
"I think not, I'll go to others now, good luck fixing."
"Yes… I will need it."
Korse walks out of the tent, heading into the canteen.
———
"Hey, I have something to say."
He enters.
Harran is eating his food, and Ilsha is in front of him, watching as he eats.
"Anyone listening here?"
"Anyway, at night I was attacked by, I suppose, an inferior. Ilsha, do you have a way to check my mental state or something?"
Ilsha: "I am a medic, not a therapist. As for your request, I ain't got the tools for that here even if I was one."
Korse: "That's uh… fair enough, is he better at least?"
He says, pointing a finger at Harran.
"Better than yesterday for sure, well, you can see that."
"I wanted to ask, when you drew the tree, did you make it with fewer branches than the real one? To you know, make it look good."
"Um, no? I drew it exactly as I saw, just as I was taught at the training."
"So the tree grew 5 more branches in the span of hours? Yeah, sounds great."
"Okay, so this tree grows branches rapidly, and that's not normal, but at home, we have trees that grow fully overnight are fine? Noted."
"Actually, a good point, forgot about those."
"As long as the tree doesn't bleed if you cut it, we are fine."
"I thought you're a medic, not a botanist."
"I am a medic, I merely opened a book once in my life, and it just so happened to be nature studies."
"Anyway… about that inferior, two people will have to be on night watch because I had to be saved by the brute."
"Tough luck."
"Great luck, you mean?"
"Whatever you think."
Korse turns around and walks out of the canteen, making his way to the camp entrance.
As he was passing Zurn's tent, it was empty, just as he expected.
He makes a step outside and looks around.
Staring at the ground, the snow, he sees footprints leading out, probably Zurn went on a side quest.
"Yup, he's gone for a few hours."
Korse sighs to himself.
Garet appears from behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"It's busted."
"What?"
"Communicator, it's busted."
"What do you mean?"
"It's broken beyond my abilities."
"Why are you a tech then if you can't fix it?"
"More of a factory repairman but still a technician." "And I say you broke it."
"Why are you the team's tech then?"
"You can try to fix everything yourself, if you want, but no matter what it is, I will do better than you."
Korse walks away, taking a walk around the camp from the outside.
Garet: "Well, someone's been insulted."
———
Harran and Ilsha still find themselves in the canteen.
"Okay, it's not that hard to eat, is it?"
"Hey, I am uh… sorry about the night."
"I should be sorry for knocking you out."
"But I won't, it was fun."
"So I thank you instead."
She says, leaning back into the chair.
"Aight-"
Harran stands up.
"Thank you for the food."
"Thank you for eating."
"Now, if you need me, after I clean it here, I'll be at my tent.
"Yes, ma'am."
"I am not… whatever."
He walks out as she pulls a piece of cloth from her pocket.
Harran begins to make his way out of the camp and passes by Garet.
"Hey… how's it today?"
"Our commander busted the communicator."
"So what does that mean?"
"You said you are a scout, aren't you supposed to know?"
"I wasn't the talker of the squad."
"Well then, if you ask, it means we might be fucked by the high command if we don't contact them."
"Damn, sounds rough."
"Rough? I don't want to lose my job, you rock licker."
Garet storms into the storage tent, Harran stands there watching him disappear behind the door. Then turns around and walks out of the camp and turns right… and right… until he is at the back.
…and sits in the snow, leaning against the tent.
Doesn't take long, and Korse appears from where Harran came.
Hands behind his back, looking down at his feet.
He's muttering something under his breath.
Harran: "Oh, hey, didn't expect you to-"
Korse does not acknowledge him and continues walking until he trips over Harran's feet.
Only when he slams his face into the snow does he come back to reality.
"Wha- what? Why are you here?"
He asks, looking up at Harran.
"I was about to ask the same."
"I asked first."
"And I second."
They both stare at each other silently for a while before Korse awkwardly picks himself up.
Harran: "What's with the walk?"
Korse: "Fresh air gathering."
"Uh… sure is plenty of it in every direction I bet."
"I hear you are fine again?"
"I guess."
"No more attacking?"
"Hopefully."
"What were you talking about under your lamp?"
"I saw recounting recent events in my head."
"And can I hear 'em?"
"Disappearing boulder, some weird tree, you, and I got attacked by an inferior."
"The more the merrier."
"I will show you merrier as I lock you in the storage, I swear."
Korse sighs.
"And you, why are you freezing your ass here?"
"Ilsha spanked me."
"Wait, really?"
"No, I'm joking."
"I wish for that tho."
"Acting inappropriately in uniform, I will beat your ass crimson if you wish."
Harran jumps up.
"Man, chill, you're not serious, right?"
"We are far from the capital, we don't have to follow every rule."
"I am the captain, and I must do so."
He slams his fists together.
Harran gets into a defensive stance.
Suddenly, Korse eases up after a short stare-down.
"You know what, I am joking too."
"You dick."
———
Garet sits on the floor of Korse's tent.
Various parts and things all around him.
He stares at the now non-smoking communicator.
His hands under his chin.
Serious expression on his face.
"Garet, fix this."
"Garet, fix that."
"I can't even fix myself."
"People… let me retire."
He grabs his head.
Hands on his cheeks.
"Garet, you are doing well."
"Garet, you are awesome."
"Garet, can I help you?"
Then he leans forward and puts his elbows on his knees.
Garet stays silent for a while.
Ilsha appears at the door.
"Garet… are you alright?"
"I heard-"
"Yes."
"Yes, I am."
"Do you… need me to do something?"
"No, all is fine."
He speaks fast.
"No need."
"You alright?"
"Yes."
"I just need a while alone, that's all."
"I think you need the opposite."
"No, I am alright, really."
"That's what one of my patients said before they died in their room."
"I can be here if you need a listener."
"I just… miss my wife, is all."
"I am sure she is getting better."
"And I believe you will see her soon."
Her voice was calm, slow, and low."
Garet faintly smiles under his mask.
With a never-to-be-seen tear in his eye.
———
A few hours later…
Korse stands in front of his team.
"Well, everyone, the night is not as calm as I thought."
"On my night duty, I was attacked, if it wasn't for Zurn, I would be gone."
"Speaking of Zurn… where is he?"
Ilsha: "Haven't seen him since early morning."
Korse: "So he went to wander."
"Great."
"Back to the matter."
"On night duty, there must be two people at once."
"Speaking of which, it will be Ilsha and Garet."
Ilsha: "Do you want me to operate on you, sleep deprived?"
Korse: "Valid point, Ilsha, it will be Zurn and me."
"If he doesn't appear, I would appreciate a volunteer due to recent events."
Harran: "Why so formal about it?"
Korse: "Harran seems to have recovered, he will be Zurn's replacement."
Harran: "What? You can't do that!"
Garet: "And you can't shut your mouth."
Harran: "Democracy sucks."
Korse: "That's not democracy, but your mouth signing you up."
Harran: "Steaming trash either way."
Korse: "Anyway, now, Garet, you go with me to check the scanner."
Ilsha turns to leave.
"Whoa whoa, where are you going?"
Ilsha: "To make you lunch, you're welcome."
Korse stays silent for a few moments, staring in her direction.
"Alright… to the scanner we go."
Harran: "And I do what?"
"You sleep."
"Why?"
"So you don't have to chug down a bottle of sleep warder and attack me."
"You are… still angry about that?"
"Not angry, but you could say so."
"Now, time to go, Garet."
Garet sighed, the exhalation visibly escaping through his mask, where his cheeks are.
Then, they go out to the scanner, leaving Ilsha and Harran at the camp.
Harran: "So… why are we even here?"
Ilsha: "Am I the only one who read the introduction?"
Harran looks around, then at his feet.
"Well, maybe."
He shrugged.
"I'll uh, go in my tent."
"Yup, just as he said, sleep."
"Nah, I don't need sleep."
- "I'll put you to it if I have to." She said under her breath, barely to be heard.
"Sorry say what?"
"Nothing."
She tilts her head a bit to the side, it cannot be seen, but she smiles under her mask, and he knows, everyone would.
Ilsha walks into the canteen, he heads for the storage.
He walks in and stretches his arms out, then takes off his helmet and mask.
"Aughhhh, so annoying to wear this thing."
He throws the headwear onto the floor.
Dropping to his knees, he starts digging through the things in the first crate he sees.
"There's gotta be some good food, come on."
———
Meanwhile, Korse and Garet got to the scanner.
Garet: "So the scanner says nothing."
Korse: "Which means?"
"Means someone tampered with it, and it's just as broken as the communicator."
"I didn't break it on purpose."
"Broke it on stupidity."
"So what now, all our things are busted?"
"I might be able to get a reading from this thing before we throw it off the cliff."
"Throw it off the cliff?"
"Yeah, that's what I said."
"Why?"
"I am not dragging junk home, I am retiring as soon as possible, best if immediately when I get out of the car."
"Yeah… I could, too, maybe."
"Or at least a vacation, right?"
"I just want to- GOT IT!"
Garet yells victoriously as he rips a small box out of the device.
Korse starts clapping slowly.
"Well, good job on this one. Now you can fix the communicator."
"Kiss my ass kindly."
———
Ilsha puts more wood under the stove and leans against the crate next to her, then sighs.
"Oh wow, I miss a normal kitchen… who would have thought, this sucks."
The fire dies again to the random gust of wind as she stares at it in disbelief.
"…what?"
"This is stupid? Beyond that!"
Harran emerges from the storage, holding a metal can.
Ilsha is turned with her back to him, without looking, she speaks.
"I thought you went to your tent?"
"Eeh, I changed my mind."
He says while taking out another cracker from the can.
"Did you take the cookies?"
"No?"
He bites the cookie.
Ilsha turns around.
Harran, panicked, closes the can and hurls it towards his tent across the camp, then stands at attention.
Ilsha inspects him carefully from afar with a single look.
His helmet is on his head, but the mask rests on his shoulder.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I didn't take any krakaras."
"Did I say anything about the krakaras?"
"Do you have any proof?"
"Harran, I literally heard the can hit the ground."
"Uhh… nuh uh!"
"Do you not like my cooking?"
"You don't do anything with it, you just heat it up."
"You were with the scouts, were you not? You should love this."
"No matter, leave the krakaras for later.
"And put your mask back on."
"Why do we wear these things anyway? It's pressing on my face."
"What?"
"Yeah!"
"That is not supposed to be, mind you. Do you have the correct size?"
"There are sizes for these things? I thought these things were standard issue."
"Well, guess what, you thought wrong."
Harran begins to put his mask back on.
-
Just then, Korse and Garet return.
Garet: "I will go in my tent and… ah, Ilsha, are you done cooking?"
Harran: "Come on, guys, that's no cooking."
Korse: "Well, nobody really asked that one."
Ilsha: "It's almost done, you can go sit already."
"Also, has anyone seen Zurn?"
K&G: "Not a single trace."
———
The sky gets darker barely past noon.
Everyone sits at the table in the canteen, their masks on their rights, helmets on their lefts.
Garet: "Let's talk about this place. The cold sucks, the snow sucks, and even the daytime sucks.
Korse: "Stop complaining, please. Remember, you are a volunteer."
Ilsha: "Quiet at the table."
And like so, they eat their soups in silence.
…until Harran breaks it
"Zurn is still gone?"
Korse: "Seems like it?"
Harran: "Nobody concerned?"
K&G&I: "Not really."
Harran: "That's uhh, fair, I guess."
Ilsha: "There is not much that can happen to him."
Garet finishes his meal way before anyone else.
"I'll be in my tent, if I am needed, find me later, I will sleep after I am done."
Harran: "Well, someone seems to be eager to leave the table."
Ilsha: "I suppose he does not like my cooking."
Garet, standing at the door: "No, your cooking is good, but I would like to be done with that thing as soon as possible because I am in a mood that cannot get worse."
With those words, he exits the room.
Harran: "Yes, I agree, he is a hater of good dishes."
Ilsha: "I thought you disliked what I make also."
Harrah: "Uh-"
Korse sits there on his chair staring at his finished meal blankly.
Ilsha: "Korse, you alright?"
Korse does not respond, staying silent.
Suddenly, Garet bursts in, full of anger.
"IT'S FUCKING GONE!"