Chapter Text
Jack lost count of the days he’d been captured at the enemy prison. Every day had been the same torture in that pitch black cell with his other inmates.. wake up, work for whatever the monsters had in store, eat whatever slop they gave, sleep, then repeat. It had to have been a month now. He didn’t know why he was even being kept alive - the work he did was minimal, and his waning muscle of being trapped did little to help. He never had much strength to begin with, for that matter. It’s half of the reason he chose to become a medic when he enlisted.
His blond hair fell over his light blue eyes in the darkness of the cell, his fragile hands fiddling with the chains around his wrists. There were probably around five other soldiers with him, but he long since gave up trying to communicate with them. It seems that they already lost touch with their own voice. So, he tucked his legs up to his chest as another coughing fit riddled his body. What time was it, the middle of the night? He never knew, but some muffled commotion sparked his interest through the heavy brick walls. Was that.. human shouting? Nah, there was no way. This camp was way too far into monster territory. No normal crew could liberate this place..
The hell could be goin on out there..? Did a cell guard monster get caught cheatin at playing cards by his buddies..?
A sudden bomb shock the building. Jack’s head jerked up in shock and fear as the cold concrete beneath him shook. Other soldiers were up now as well, also jolted awake from the commotion. A hope flickered in Jacks chest that made him subconsciously yank gently and the cuffs clasped to his wrists.
Is this finally it? Are we being liberated…? Am I being saved..?
That spark of hope was quickly blown out by the flames the orange light coming from underneath the prison cell door. This place was on fire!? Another loud bomb rattled the place, this time the very bricks from the other side of the cell and ceiling crumbled to the floor. It looked like it was one away from falling. And again, an authoritative female voice shouted faintly from outside the cell door.
“I TOLD YOU TO BLOW THE DOOR DOWN, NOT KILL EVERYONE IN THE DAMN BUILDING.”
Jack looked over at the door again, now able to feel some heat building up rather than the usually limb-numbing iciness that usually occupied the space. Using the light from the flames under the door to see, he realized that his comrades were seemingly crying tears of relief. One was praying. Another shouted words like “HEY! WE’RE IN HERE!” That was good, right? They knew better than he did. Jack was merely a rookie soldier at 18 years old. But he’d trust their judgement. God, all this action was giving him a killer headache.
Shortly after, another bomb strikes the opposite wall of the cell, causing it to collapse down, revealing outside. He gasped at the scene revealed to him, along with the gust of freezing air. There were flames everywhere now. Too close for comfort, but Jack still welcomed the warmth as they crawled closer. He was temperature sensitive, any cold was always too cold. Jack saw soldiers running, good soldiers, skilled soldiers beyond the flames. It looked like a fight was still on, he thought, as he watched a man spear a towering bat-humanoid monster. But that lost his attention, as did the gunshots and rumbling bombs as he stared up at the distant night sky. Since when were the stars so bright? How long had it been since he’s seen them..?
Perhaps that was all he needed to see. He’s snapped out of the daze once more at the sound of frantic boot steps and the sound of jingling tactical gear. His fellow inmates were being freed by soldiers, carried off quickly by a team of three over their shoulders. He was at the end of the line to be rescued, it seemed. Not before long, he was the only one left to be freed, and was waiting with bated breath and shaking knees for them to return. A mixture of fear and coldness was mixing within him, despite the growing heat. A piece of wooden pilling fell, and he yelped loudly as it lay tilted over the open point of entry that the bombing had created.
Oh no.. oh nononono.. I’m still here! They saw me, right? They’re coming back for me.. right?
By the longer part of 5 minutes or so, Jack had lost his hope completely as more debris fell over and around him. The most he could do was lay his head in his lap to protect himself, but his hyperventilating wasn’t doing much to save him either. At least, he thought, he wouldn’t be killed at any monsters hand. That was the main risk that his mother warned him over and over again when he brought up his urge to join the military. He wanted to help, to escape the monotony of living behind village walls for a greater good. An adventure worth the risk of sacrifice. Clearly he should have listened to her. Imagining her baker’s hands clutching his dog tags with a tear stained face..
“I’m sorry, ma.. I’m sorry… I’m sorry.. I should have stayed… should have listened.. I’m sorry…” He whispered, tears of his own falling into his lap. He didn’t realize the footsteps approaching him through the flames til they were right beside him.
He looked at the massive boots, his gaze following up to the owner’s face. He screamed and his red eyes widened in terror. Hands yanking at the chains holding him like he was ready for them to fall off just so he could run from whatever kind of monster he was facing.
SHE HAS FOUR ARMS OH MY GOD SHES AS TALL AS THE CEILING. SHE’S GOING TO KILL ME. IS THAT A TAIL!?
He pushes himself as close as he can against the wall, chest heaving as he doesn’t dare take his eyes off her. As soon as she makes the move to lower herself to a crouching position beside him, he yelps.
“DON’T EAT ME PLEASE, MERCY! I’M SORRY.. IM JUST A MEDIC, PLEASE DON’T-“
“Relax.” Was all she said. Quiet, but authoritative. It seemed she was trying to dull it down for Jack’s sake, but her tone still screamed that there would be consequences if he didn’t listen to her intructions.
She calmly takes his wrists and unlatches the lock holding them with surprising ease using the tip of a claw. She was.. saving him? He looked down at her hands, which looked oddly human (besides her claws) and taken care of, unlike monster’s gross, hard hand. Then his gaze travels back up to her face as she worked away at the rest of the chains holding him. It took an effort with the smoke surrounding them now, but she seemed unaffected. She had a focused face.. defined features, freckles, flesh on her cheekbones. Golden blonde hair falling out of a helmet. Whoa.. what kind of ears are those? All pointed and thick skinned.. almost like the ones on the Vahiaex crest, the monster head emblem printed on every soldier’s back, the face of the army.
Wait.
He looked down at her uniform. Surely enough, the patch above her left breast pocket had the emboldened name “VAHAIEX” listed. He must have reacted of gasped in some way, because she snapped her head over to look at him, almost afraid she’d somehow injured him. She tossed his cuffs once the other was unlatched, knowing she was well past time to finish this rescue mission. A chunk of bricks fall over the two, and she uses a huge monstrous arm to shield them both and shove the debris away. Jack squints at the dust, then finds it easier not to reopen his eyes.
“Hey, no. Don’t fall under yet.” She commands, scooping her normal arms under his legs and back and lifting him up into a bridal carry. He lifts his eyelids, but as he’s leaned against her, his head falls limply against her chest. The most feared asset of strength all the military saving a measly medic like him? He’s long thought that he’d already died by now and was somehow being delivered to whatever afterlife was waiting for him.
She hauled him easily up and out of the destruction, sprinting with him out of the mess and into the colder, outside environment. Her regiment was waiting, tents and flags and horses, along with a crowd of busy soldiers running about with their tasks. Gunfire died down to little, if any. A group of three soldiers seem shocked to see her carrying a seemingly forgotten POW. She casts them a dirty look, knowing she’ll need to have a talk with them later for managing to miss a soldier. A medic at that, she thought, looking at the Red Cross armband on his uniform.
She brought him to the medical tent, having to duck to get under the large tent’s cover. Inside were already five stretchers holding the other liberated prisoners. An assistant was setting up another for Jack. She looked down at him to read his semi-torn uniform badge. “J. DAWSIA” read the tag that she committed to memory. His injuries were few compared to what she’s seen before, it wouldn’t take long for him to hopefully recover. He was young, but still close to her age. But she could tell by his weight that he was undernourished. And there was still a fresh scar from his cheek down to his jaw. The poor boy. A medic pats the stretcher once ready.
“This the last of em I hope, ma’am?” The medic says, adjusting her glasses as if the very presence of the general was enough to make her sweat.
She nods, lowering Jack gently down onto the stretcher. As he gets plopped down, she realizes with a slight lifted eyebrow that his hand was clutching the collar of her Trenchcoat uniform. This boy, the same one who just screamed when he saw her to not eat him, was holding onto her? She sighed softly, unclasping his limp hand and setting it beside him. She stood back up as the medic started to take measure of his vitals.
“Give this one a blanket. He’s smaller than the rest of them.” She says. The girl with the glasses nods.
“Of course, Ma’am.”
With that, the general walks out of the tent, ducking out into the open cold air again. She surveys the scene, her hunter’s eyes watching as the remains of the monster camp fall to ashes. Her messenger runs up to her.
“Any casualties?” She asks, not bothering to look down at him as she scans the scene.
“None to report, V.” The messenger reports smugly, standing tall despite being a whole head shorter. “You get to keep your perfect record for another day.”
She smirks slightly. “Thank you.” As if dispatched, the messenger runs off. Another successful raid against the evils that fight for our world. She then stares over at those three soldiers that were responsible for finding and freeing the prisoners, face hardening. Almost. The liberation was successful, but a soldier almost died because of those three. She wouldn’t know it, but her record would be stained, and even though Jack wasn’t technically under her command, the thought that a person had almost lost their life bristled her. Don’t forget the soldier who bombed the entire place without her instruction. She walked over to the squad, her work far from over tonight.
But for now, Jack slept soundly. (Save for having to be checked for other injuries while out, which made him grumble sleepily at his blanket being lifted.) It seems he wouldn’t die tonight, though, and little did he know that the adventure he yearned for was finally about to unfold.
