Chapter Text
Everything was a disaster.
Run. Run.
He could feel his heart in his throat, threatening to burst as sweat furiously trailed down his head and neck. His once pristine blue uniform caked with mud and the blood of his enemies. He didn't know where he was going. His mind went on an overdrive when the brutal attack happened. It was to be expected anyway. It was war. War fed on blood and hatred. If only he had listened to his gut.
He hadn't expected it. His unit hadn't. All he knew was that they were seperated from the main unit to achieve a special mission in the borders of Kairus. On the east of Kairus was a swamp that no one would dare cross if it means losing a life. Kairus didn't even bother to set guards there, believing in the threat the swamp posed to future intruders.
Good thing they were good at climbing through trees while using the connected branches as makeshift bridges. They continued back on the ground with the same formation and pace, weapons ready and raised to shoot any enemy threats. The first shot rang out through the silence.
Before the young cadet knew his buddy had already fallen. Taking cover, the unit quickly reloaded their rifles behind the defense of the trees as bullets grazed and flew everywhere. Orders rang out and helpless wails echoed in all directions.
One. Two. Three. The cadet's shots never missed a beat. Perhaps his livelihood as a young hunter had aided him in his peril. He just would never had guessed it was for fellow humans rather than animals. It didn't matter now, it was their lives or his. Survival of the fittest. The law of the jungle.
The unit screamed in victory when the last Kairus soldier fell. However, for the cadet, his gut was screaming at him that it was only the beginning.
Then the bullets came. Right from above. The trees, he realized. It went too fast. Once a cry of triumph now a sound of despair as comrade to comrade fell in a burst of red. They were purely and utterly surrounded. His Captain quickly ordered a retreat but by then it was already too late.
The cadet was one of the few who sprinted away from the crossfire but the distressed cries of the enemy troop were enough to speak that they had spotted him through the foliage. The chase had begun.
Flee. Go! Don't stop!
He felt around his pockets for the number of magazines he had left. He had about two left. Each magazine had six bullets. Twelve shots then. It was barely enough. As he ran his thoughts attacked on a million questions such as: How did they know they would come from the East? Intel told them that no guards were supposed to be stationed there. So how? Unless...
They were sold out. But who he does not know. Anger seeps into his soul. Thoughts of who said traitor was kept him going as he jumped over a fallen log before landing down in a crouch.
Because of them, his unit is dead. His grip on his gun tightened as he ran and kicked across the slithering vines and leaves. His priority now is to survive and report back to Kingston for his findings. If he could deliver this information, he might just save his Kingdom from destruction. By this, he could avenge his comrades.
There should be a Kingston camp about a mile north from here if only he could-
A shot rang out. Pain exploded in his shoulder. Another. It hit his back. Before the cadet knew it, water slammed onto his aching body as the liquid swallowed him whole.
All he remembered was drifting into the cold darkness.