First entry
#3 of The seven Days of Fire
The 7 Days of Fire, Diary of a Warrior
First entry
"We survived the 6 days of the Titan. We are onky a small platoon, just eleven men led by Major Shirango. After the Torekmetians attacked the Titan last year and it destroyed itself, the world is no longer what it once was. The county were I lived before the war is no longer inhabitable. The Cities are flatened and the people... well who could fled, the rest perished in the fires of nuclear warfare. The earth itself if poisonous now. We are on our way to Sepata, a small electorate behind the lake district of Ephtal. We will take it, for the glory of the empire, in order to open up new living space for our people. Noone asked the Sepatians how they think about that."
With these thoughts, the young man sits in one of the countless troop transports on their way across the Lake District to Sepata. Driven by the Sages of Ephtal, an elite group of scientists, he and many hundreds of other young men and women are to occupy the neighboring country. Sepata is one of the few countries on this continent that has not been rendered uninhabitable by the contamination. But here, too, the 6 days of Titan have left their mark. Hardly a single city is still standing and the scattered villages are empty. A year has passed since the catastrophe. The radiation and the bio-chemical contamination have subsided just enough to make survival in the contaminated areas conceivable for a short time with appropriate protective clothing. The scientists, who do not want to rely on conquering uncontaminated areas, are working feverishly on another solution. The race for inhabitable land has begun and once again victory will be bought with blood.
"Prepare to land. I want to see an orderly exit. That you don't disappoint me!"
The platoon leader stands at the door of the troop carrier, holding on to a sling to compensate for the rough flight. He shouts at his men, he knows they are the best, but even the best are exhausted by now. They have been at war for too long and he knows that this will not change any time soon. As the lamp above the exit begins to glow red, he murmurs quietly.
"Come back alive. Good luck."
The soldiers rise and check their equipment one last time before gathering at the exit near the Major. He looks deep into everyone's eyes once more. There is not much will to live left in them. He knows that look, he has seen it often enough in his long career. At this moment, a siren sounds on board and the light switches to green. The major pulls the door open and shouts:
"CHAAAAARRRRRGE!"
The soldiers rush out of the transporter in a hurried but coordinated manner. Protected by the weapons on board, they advance the first few meters into enemy territory. The resistance is weak. Only a few farmers with their old shotguns and hunting rifles face them. They are overrun before they can react. The platoon secures the imidiate area and takes up position. The small village where they have landed is deserted. Not a soul to be seen, the houses are barricaded, the stables empty, no cattle to be seen in the pastures. The major comes running after his platoon. He turns to the young man:
"Private Hiredeki, what's the situation?"
"Sir, the position is secure for the moment. Practically no resistance. The village seems to have been evacuated."
The Major looks around. Everything is indeed quiet. Too quiet for his taste. He orders a thorough search of all the buildings and then heads back to his troop carrier to report back to the staff. Hiredeki takes two of his squadmates and begins the search operation. Meanwhile, the remaining eight soldiers begin to expand and fortify the position.
"I don't know what's wrong with the old man. There's no one here, they've all flown out. They must have seen us from afar and fled."
"Sshhh! Be quiet, damn it."
Hiredeki tells his companions to be quiet and points to the first house they come to.
"Something's moved in there!"
The two others are suddenly quiet. Rifles at the ready, they approach the house. Hiredeki leads the way and tries to remember the few bits of the language of this country that he knows. Just before they reach the entrance, Hiredeki stops and his companions do the same.
"Is anyone there?"
... Silence ...
"If you hear me, come out, nothing will happen to you if you don't resist!"
... Dead silence ...
Hiredeki thinks hard about whether he has said the right thing. Then he gives the two of them a signal and they get ready to storm the house. One of them positions himself next to the door and waits for Hiredeki's signal. Shortly afterwards, he knocks the door off its hinges with the butt of his rifle. Hiredeki and his companion storm the house and secure the entrance area, while the third follows and secures the next door. Quickly, professionally and safely, the three search the first floor of the house and stop at the stairs to the upper floor.
"OK, we know you're up there. Come down and we assure you a free escort!"
... again no response ...
They exchange a quick glance and then slowly climb the stairs. There are only two rooms upstairs. While Hiredeki guards the door to one, the others search the second room. Nothing. They sharpen their senses once more before Hiredeki kicks the door in hard, causing it to fly into the room and they storm the room. The room looks chaotic. Mattresses lie on the floor, some supplies are scattered in small piles all over the room and two children are huddled against the wall in the corner. Astonished and horrified at the same time, the men stop at the door.
"Shit man, now what? The Major told us to clear everything out."
Hiredeki looks around, stressed.
"Man, we're not child murderers!"
The three look at each other uncertainly. Then Hiredeki hands one of his companions his rifle and walks towards the two children. They press themselves even closer to the wall and fear is written in big red letters on their faces.
...
A short time later, Hiredeki and his two comrades return to the command post, dragging two totally terrified children with them.
"Sir, we found these two in this house, we assume they belong to the two farmers who resisted earlier."
The Major looks down at the two children. His gaze is as cold as ice.
"We have no use for prisoners of war and we can't feed the enemy's children either."
Although the two children have not understood the men, they know that the heavy swallowing of the man who has just taken them out of the room does not mean anything good. The soft whimpering gives away their knowledge of their fate.
"Sir, we are not here to murder children. We're here to secure living space and get ahead of the Torekmetian army."
Still turning, the Major draws his weapon and shoots the two children at his feet. A look that could kill bores into Hiredeki, sending a cold shiver down his spine.
"Soldier. If you dare to openly disobey my orders again, or expose me in front of the troops, I will have you shot for insubordination. Do you understand me soldier?"
The Major speaks softly, but Hiredeki has understood every syllable, and as if in a trance, his body responds while his mind is still busy processing the sight at his feet.
"Sir, I understand, sir, it won't happen again, sir!"
The Major nods and puts his gun back in its holster.
"Good, now put these away and finish the search!"
Hiredeki salutes, still standing beside himself. The three take the bodies of the children and bring them over to those of the farmers before continuing the search.
One of the other soldiers, a veteran of previous wars and a longtime companion of the Major, comes up to him.
"Was that necessary?"
With a deep sigh, the major leans against a console in the troop carrier and looks over at his comrade.
"It's for their own good. They'll see a whole other set of atrocities once Torekmetia realizes we're here. I'm almost glad they disobeyed my orders. It shows that they are still human."
A weary nod acknowledges the Major's statement, while muffled shots can be heard from the houses in the background.
... to be Continued ...