"DAMN IT!"
Slinging my helmet off across the clearing and into the brush, I scream in frustration.
We couldn't save anyone.
They had left no one alive to save.
Suites walks swiftly over my way before stopping to vomit into the bushes. We had just finished taking care of the peoples remains that were massacred here.
No, massacred didn't adequately describe the horror that this village went through before they died.
No one was spared from here, no person, no pet, no elderly, no child....
Frustrated, disgusted, and torn at the thought of how we had found the remains of the children, I immediately go and grab my helmet out of the bush. I'm shocked when I find it easily, even though I'm blinded by rage and tears that I'm trying to keep from consuming me.
I radio HQ and inform them that we are done taking care of the remains here and will be there shortly. I head back to the village and Suites grabs my attention.
"What is it, Suites? We need to head back to HQ and get ahead of these bastards so we're saving people, not burying bodies." Tears stream down silently mimicking the ones on Suites face.
"I found this clutched in one of the little kids hands, wedged between a ring and their skin."
He hands over a small piece of dirty, crumpled paper and I motion for him to follow me to the rest of the team as I try to make out what it says. It's in Peruvian Spanish so I can only make out a few words.
"I'll have someone look at this later, I don't understand all of it. Thank you Suites." I turn and whistle making everyone gather and I do a head count.
"Everyone here?" I ask doing a checklist via my visor and the faces that it sees.
"Okay, we're going back to HQ. Let's go find out where these bastards are going. Lock arms!"
Everyone immediately grabs the person next to them and I clutch two of them on each side.
I snap us to HQ, do a visual check list and count before telling them to brush teeth, piss, and restock any supplies they need. They had 20 minutes before they were to be back and ready to snap to the next destination.
I grabbed a towel, wet it, and grabbed the soap bar working one side into a lather. I toss the soap to the troll, Tarkoas(Tar-coas), on our team who was about to use that sink.
"Good catch, Tarkoas."
I try to not focus on the images of that village running through my mind as I head to miss con, as the troops have dubbed mission commands control room. It was more of a giant theater, full of all the latest tech and second by second intelligence for the entire world right now. Large screens with clear marks in the sand showed where we were and the Erl's forces.
I walked over to the maps that focused on the Southern American continent, seeing the village we just came from already marked.
Every place that had been searched and scouted for survivors was marked, including the ones being scouted right now. I looked over the areas and pulled the overlay of the Erl's forces movements to make my decision on where we were to go to. Several others from John and my own forces are there as well either relaying information or picking their next destination.
As I'm discussing a few things with a few of the techs there about what we saw and how we would be going to the villages that we could save, I'm wiping the blood and other various liquids from my body and suit. I just finished using the soap free end to finished wiping me up when I hear some one clearing their throat behind me.
Turning around I sigh deeply.
"Hey. B. Something you want to tell me?" I look at Bavarthos, who seems irritated at the moment. I notice he has some blood on his own suit and offer him the towel.
"No thank you Sin. My team has rotated over to the next team. Akiyama will not let me join her team to go help. She's insisting I need rest, I'm fine."
He says that last part through gritted teeth and pinched lips as he continues.
"May I join your team? I'll be bringing two of my pets with me."
I'm about to refuse and tell him, we all need some rest eventually, when I stop.
"Two of your pets?" My sweet voice full of intrigue as the clogs and wheels begin moving in my head.
"Yes, the smaller breeds. The ones the size of a horse." He nods not seeing why I'd care.
"You're coming with me, no worries." I grab his arm and go back to the map and pull up the villages that we had marked as loss causes. I look at the time and immediately message my team.
-BACK TO MISS CON ASTAT. NOT HERE IN 3 MIN YOU STAY HERE-
Still pulling Bavarthos by his arm, I steer him to the area where teams meet up for quick briefings.
"Is this necessary?" He pulls his arm from my grasp as I see team members showing up already.
"Yes, B. OKAY."
Noticing majority of the team are arriving I quickly inform them of what we're doing.
"We are going to area of Oxapampa. If Erl's forces are not already moving into the area, they will be within the hour. We'll have two beasts to back us up as we try to save as many as we can. Everyone ready?"
Nods all around. "Lock Arms!"
I snap us all there, and quickly we scan and survey, several members protecting me while I down a blue bottle.
"Let's move!" I order as I sling my rifle into my hands and we head into the town. People are there, some running about loading things into vehicles, some are running around looking for people, some are staring off into the distance stunned.
I turn and look and see it. The Erl's forces making their way over the mountain off to the north and it was clearly visible.
"EVERYONE START GATHERING GROUPS NOW!" I order making everyone dash off in a different direction through town in groups of 4. Bavarthos , Suites and Turkoas were with me as we head for the people staring like statues.
"B, get your pets to guard the line behind us, make sure that they know to give us ample warning if they can't keep the majority of them from coming directly at us. We have to save as many as we can. If we start to get overwhelmed, you are to snap everyone, EXCEPT ME, back to base. While I give the Erl something to get just as pissed about."
The smirk that jerks the corner of my lips has no warmth in it, and Bavarthos looks at me knowingly.
"If you were caught by his men before coming to, you know you will never be the same if you survive." His grim reminder makes me shudder.
"Yeah, so let's not let it come to that."
He nods in agreement as we start waving catching the peoples attention.
"¡Vamos! ¡Ahora! ¡A la Iglesia de Miraflores!" (Go! NOW! To the Church of Flowers!) We shout to them!
We're rushing people to go, the ones trying to load things up, we have to tell them to go now, or their stuff will get them killed. Some run back into their homes and we have to run in and tell them to leave now. Some come out quickly after clutching their children to them, or slowly having to assist their elderly.
The ones we know that would never make it to the church in time, me and Bavarthos snap them immediately to the refugee community farther south in Argentina. Every time one of us clears a house or business our map clears that place off. We are halfway through the town when Bavarthos stops and looks toward where the Erl's forces are steadily making headway.
"Sin, do you trust me?" He asks.
"B, I don't like the sound of that question." I tell him as I motion the teenagers to run to the church after telling them that they will be killed if they don't go and only stop to help someone carry small children to the church faster.
"I'm going to snap some of my machines to help my pets. They are telling me they are seeing tanks moving with the forces. I have to go activate them quickly though." He tells me.
"B, hurry." I tell him moving towards the next street where there are some houses still lit on my map.
I'm drinking another blue bottle soon, making sure I don't run out of energy to keep snapping people to safety.
"Sin! I got a pair of elderly here and am in need of your assistance." Suites comes over my com and I locate him on my map.
Snapping to him, I see him assisting two elderly with walkers moving as fast as they can, which is still a slow walk for us.
"Yo te ayudaré, no te alarmes." ( I will help you, do not be alarmed.) I tell them before quickly snapping them to the refugee camp.
I grab Suites by the arm and snap us to the next area with unchecked houses. When we're on the fourth house to be checked is when we hear shots starting to go off.
"Shit. They're here." Suites looks at me and runs into house yelling to see if anyone is home, as he does the mad dash checking the rooms.
"B, how are you doing?" I check in with Bavarthos quickly.
"Shit!! YEAH WELL FUCK YOU!" I hear him yell over the com before a loud clicking and whirring can be heard.
"I'm coming Sin." He says before laughing like a maniac.