Trae sat at the table, anxiously waiting. He had, upon instinct called Alex minutes ago to tell him what happened, and Alex had then said he was sending people over. But Trae was not waiting for them. He was waiting for Zack and Lauren. Trae got to their house only two hours ago, and then he had put Charlotte to bed and started waiting at the table. He was worried something bad had happened to them. Had the Zodiacs caught them? Had the Black Riders killed them? Trae did not know, and that was what scared him. There came a knock to the door, swift and hard, making Trae jump slightly before he got to his feet, hurried down the hallway and then opened the door. Alex stood on the other side, looking incredibly considered as Trae sighed with frustration.
"They haven't come back yet?" he whispered, and Trae shook his head, feeling the same amount of dread as the Captain was surely feeling. "I have people watching the house and patrolling, so we needn't worry about unwanted visitors," Alex said hurriedly, and Trae nodded again, this time stepping aside to let Alex through. "Should we start organizing a place for Charlotte to go?" Alex asked, but to his surprise, Trae shook his head. "Just because they haven't come back doesn't mean they are dead. If they are captured, then it is possible we will have to find a permanent home for Charlotte. Until then, however, I am her protector." Alex looked shocked, and then he wiped the look from his face, "Very well. As you wish, my good man, as you wish," Alex said, patting Trae on the shoulder. "There's one other thing," Trae said loudly as Alex went to walk away.
"What is it, my boy?" Alex asked, turning around to face Trae, and Trae hesitated slightly before saying, "I want a contract." Now Alex did not wipe the look of surprise from his face. "You want to join us?" he asked, amazed, and this time Trae did not hesitate for a moment when he nodded. "Well then. I'm sure one can be delivered to your address in a couple of days," Alex said, still looking shocked at Trae's request. "Thank you," Trae said, bowing his head. Alex looked at him warmly, and even looked on the verge of speech, but then the front door banged open and a soldier marched inside, dragging a man with a bag over his head behind him. "Caught him approaching the window," the soldier said simply, and Alex sighed. "Take the bag from his head. I'm guessing he doesn't need to figure out where he is now considering he just tried breaking in."
The soldier nodded, reached toward the man's head, and pulled the bag away. "You idiot," Alex groaned, seeing Zack was the one under the bag. "Why did you try and break into your own house?" Zack seemed too out of breath to answer, and the soldier quickly undid his handcuffs and marched outside, returning to pull a woman inside. It was Lauren, Trae realised happily, although she had several cuts along her arms and a bruise on her cheek. "You may leave," Alex muttered, and the soldier saluted before leaving the house, letting the door swing closed behind him. "What the hell happened to you two?" Trae asked, and Zack shrugged, seeming to need a couple more moments to catch his breath. "We had to ditch our horse in the forest once we rode almost the whole way. The Black Riders almost killed us," Lauren explained.
Alex looked confused, but Trae looked overly joyful to see his friends before saying, "The Black Riders are rogue knights. They now work for the Zodiacs." Yet again, Alex sighed, but now he was sounding more exasperated than before. "We need to move you all permanently," he whispered, fear in his voice, but Zack stepped forward, looking angry. "No, we're not moving. My family has had to keep moving just because of me. I will not run and hide anymore." Trae, Lauren, and Alex all stared at Zack, not knowing what to say, and Zack made sure his message sank into each one of them. "It's time I made a stand. It's time I fought back!" Lauren stepped forward, looking weary as she said, "Zack, think about what you're doing. Do you really want to try and do this alone?" Zack looked down at his feet, realizing that Lauren was right. He could not do this alone.
"Who said he was alone?" Trae asked, and Zack looked up, looking amazed and shocked at the same time. "You're coming too?" Zack asked, and Trae, looking amused, nodded. "I will too," Lauren declared, but this time Zack shook his head, "No. I need you to stay here and look after Charlotte." Zack's tone did not leave room for argument. It was forceful and, to Lauren's surprise, demanding. "Alright," she said quietly, "I will stay with Charlotte. I want to help you but, clearly, you and Trae will be fine." Zack quickly hugged her, and then he turned to Alex, who was watching with interested eyes. "When do we leave?" Zack asked quickly, and Alex seemed even quicker to reply. "We can pick you up tomorrow. I know it seems really quick, but a battle is coming for the Army. We need to act quickly, so we need you to come as soon as you can."
Zack nodded, understanding the situation, and so did Trae. "I bid you farewell until tomorrow. The soldiers will watch the house until we pick you up," Alex added, and then he turned, marching down the hallway and then leaving through the front door. "I should go too. I need to prepare myself for tomorrow," Trae said, and without another word, he left the house. "I cannot believe you want to do this," Lauren murmured, and Zack gave her a quick kiss, assuring her everything would be ok. "What if you die?" she asked, and to that, Zack smirked, "I can't die, remember? My love for you is too strong." It was meant to sound cheesy, but Lauren did not care. It was clear his sense of humor did not evaporate easily. "Let's go to bed. I'm sure you need the rest after today's events," Zack said, holding her tightly, and Lauren nodded, following him through the house and into their bedroom.
***
Knock, knock, knock. Zack groaned as he opened his eyes, untangling himself from Lauren, putting on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and then hurrying out to find who was at the door. "I should have said we were arriving early," Alex began as soon as Zack opened the door, and Zack was temporarily speechless, probably because the bright sun also blinded him. "Yeah, great," Zack grumbled, blinking rapidly until his vision fully returned. "By the way, we brought you these," Alex added, holding out a set of camouflage shirts, pants, and boots. "You can get changed quickly here and grab a bag of things. We will wait for twenty minutes, and then you have to be out here ready to leave." Zack nodded when Alex finished, and then he took his things and shut the door, heading into the bathroom and then emerging fifteen minutes later in his gear.
Being changed had taken longer than he had imagined. "I got you a bag of stuff," Lauren said, surprising Zack with a camouflage bag that was heavy. "It has your clothes, a few notepads in case you want to write us letters, and, um, a pocket knife." Zack smirked, leaned forwards, and planted a firm kiss on her lips. "Thank you," he said against her mouth, and then he pulled away, smiling broadly. "Oh, you better get going," Lauren said, suddenly blushing furiously, and then she and Charlotte followed Zack to the front door and then onto the driveway. "I'll miss you daddy," Charlotte said, looking very upset, and Zack lifted her up into his arms, hugging her tightly. "I'll miss you more, Princess," he said, and then he set her down, now moving toward Lauren and giving her a quick hug.
"Alright, time to go," said Alex, and Zack looked over to see him climbing into the front of a large camouflage-colored truck. Zack waved goodbye to his wife and daughter, and then he climbed into the back of the truck, feeling it immediately jolt as it began to move forwards. "I see you said goodbye to everyone," said a man to Zack's right, and Zack realized it was Trae, smirking largely. "Yeah," Zack said, already imaging Charlotte's unhappy face and Lauren trying to wipe tears from her eyes. "How long do you think it is until we arrive there?" Trae asked anxiously, and Zack shrugged. "Well then, looks like it is going to be a long ride at any rate," Trae muttered, leaning back on his seat and letting his eyes close. Zack sighed, and then he did the same, letting his eyes drift peacefully shut as sleep already settled in.
***
"ON YOUR FEET, MAGGOT!" a voice screamed, startling Zack out of his sleep as he saw a face millimeters from his own. Zack jumped to his feet quickly, Trae already standing, and the man growled. "You may have been allowed to come here by our Captain, but trust me; if you cross me then I will make it my best interests to make your life LIVING HELL!" Zack already had a feeling he would not like this man, but all he did was not and stay silent. Opening his mouth would just get him into more and more trouble. "Fall out!" the man suddenly shouted, pointing to the back of the already-open truck, and the two quickly hurried out. "Your quarters are with the other soldiers, over there!" the man said loudly, pointing to a large hanger, and Zack and Trae rushed over, their bags slung over their shoulders in their panic. "Wish he would stop shouting," Trae mumbled quietly beside Zack, and Zack could not help but agree.
They entered the hanger, and already found an empty bunk bed closest to them, and Trae quickly said "I dibs top!" Zack chuckled; only now remembering how childish Trae could sometimes behave as he gently set his bag onto the bed. "Well, well, well," an unpleasant voice said from behind Zack, and he turned to find two boys slightly older than himself, both with metal tags on their necks and both with the same menacing leer. "It's the rat from the Orphanage," the second said gleefully, and Zack remembered, with a sinking feeling, that these were two of the boys who had attacked him. "What the hell is a stupid Spectre like you doing in the Army?" the first asked, shoving Zack back and into the frame of his bed. Zack clenched his fists, caught Trae's eye, and then turned, beginning to walk away as the other soldiers watched, intrigued.
"That's right! Go off and cry, you weak, pathetic Spectre!" yelled the first, and Zack suddenly stopped. He knew Trae had followed him most of the way, so he said, "Screw it," turned, and sprinted towards the two. Zack span on the spot as he ran, suddenly jumping up and using the momentum to spin himself through the air as he kicked out. His foot struck both of the boys across the face, and they both fell backward, hitting the ground with thuds and not moving, apparently unconscious. "Holy crap," said a soldier nearby, his eyebrows raised as Zack stood before the two bodies. "Wow, you really showed them up," Trae said from beside Zack, and then loud footfalls resounded off the walls of the hanger. The two stood side-by-side as they turned, easily hiding the two soldiers from the view of the man who entered the hanger.
"I have some news regarding our battle situation," he said loudly enough for them to all hear. "We are going out next week into the desert, where we will delay the Zodiacs from proceeding across the border. Train hard, otherwise you will die in the defense." With that, the man left as quickly as he came, "Some pep talk," murmured another soldier. The clouds grew stormy the following day, the first day of their training, and by the end of it, they were soaked to the skin. This dreadful weather continued for days on end until the final day of their training. This day was to test their newly found strengths, and if they completed the course, they would fight on the front lines. Each of the thirty soldiers stood in a straight line, their shoulders touching as the rain began its work on soaking them.
Zack was shivering, but he did his best not to let it show. He waited anxiously, and then heard the sound he had been waiting for. The bang of a gun and all thirty of the soldiers charged forward. Zack knew where they were headed, so he kept up with the group easily, jogging as they neared a set of bars that were suspended in the air. They were the only way they could cross the moat of water below. Several of the soldiers mistimed their jumps and fell straight into the freezing water, but Zack jumped up, gripped onto the wet bars, and used the momentum to swing himself across, his feet landing back onto the firm concrete ground. He ran forwards with those who remained, only twenty, and he even got ahead of the group that charged towards a high brick wall.
He jumped, his feet scraping the brick as he gripped the top and pulled himself up, balancing carefully and then leaping to the next one, and then the next until he jumped down. He was, by far, the fastest out of the group, and then he stopped. He got onto his hands and began doing push-ups, as did the others who stopped beside him. He had to do one hundred before he was allowed to continue, so he put every ounce of energy into each push-up. He completed one hundred in two minutes and thirty seconds, and then he scrambled to his feet and kept moving. He found a small brick shed-like obstacle, and he used the palms of his hands to set onto the top bricks and pull the rest of himself up. Trae was suddenly beside him as he jumped off the final brick roof and landed on the hard concrete, Trae landing beside him moments later.
"Now that's all over I think we can save the bloody world!" Trae wheezed, holding his side in pain, and Zack started laughing. "Yeah, no big deal," he said jokingly as the other soldiers arrived around them, all of them out of breath and red-faced. "Looks like we are about to end all of this," Zack muttered suddenly, "Looks like we are about to finally destroy this madness."
***
The soldiers ran alongside the tank that protected them from incoming fire, kicking up sand as they followed their Captain, Alex, across the desert plains and to the battlefield. Concrete walls and debris were all the cover they could take against the Zodiac Camp on the other side of the battlefield, and Zack gladly took the opportunity to crouch beside several other soldiers. "Hey," said the soldier closest, peering over the side of the stopped tank and looking at the Zodiac Camp. "Where are the Zodiacs? I...I don't see them!" Suddenly, many figures holding guns rose from a long trench, bullets now raining down on the battlefield as a mortar suddenly exploded. "INCOMING! LOOK OUT!" Zack shouted, looking to the sky as the explosive object hurtled towards them. He grabbed the soldier who had peered around the tank and dove to the ground. The tank behind them exploded, sending more debris and fire into the air.
"Thanks, man. You just saved my life!" the soldier said, grateful as Zack pulled him to his feet, "Don't thank me yet," Zack grunted, grabbing a discarded AK-12 off the ground and then running toward Trae, who was crouched behind a stone wall. Zack rolled along the ground and came to a stop beside Trae, who had his bag still strapped to his back. Zack flung his bag aside, lifted the rifle, and began firing over the wall as Trae began firing along its side. The firing lasted for minutes, but it felt like a lifetime for Zack's gun to click, and he threw it aside, ducking behind the wall again. "This is impossible!" Trae snarled as he reloaded his gun, coming beside Zack and resting against the wall. "Don't worry, I got your back," Zack said, wiping dust and smoke from his face, and Trae smiled warmly, "And I got yours."
Trae returned to firing beside the wall as Zack fished around in his bag for a spare magazine. "GAH!" Trae suddenly screamed, and Zack looked over his shoulder to see his friend falling, blood splattering the sand. Zack leaped forwards, grabbing Trae's shoulders and pulling him back into cover, and then holding his friend's body with shaking hands, tears spilling down his face uncontrollably. "FALL BACK SOLDIERS!" Zack heard Alex scream from somewhere nearby. "THERE ARE TOO MANY OF THEM!" Zack rose from Trae's body, wiping the last of the tears from his face before firmly shouting, "No! We came here to protect our family and friends, so I am not giving up until every last one of them is dead, or until I am!" Zack was not sure if the others had heard him, nor did he care. A sudden memory flashed before his eyes, as clear as though it had merely been yesterday.
"Be strong," said his father, and then his mother said, "Always be strong. Zack shook the memory from his mind and then jumped over the concrete wall, sprinting towards the few Zodiacs that were brave enough to start approaching the defence. Zack knew the closest Zodiac was not expecting the attack, so he jumped forward and struck the Zodiac across the face, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Zack kept sprinting, jumping up and kicking through the air to knock out the next Zodiac, and then flipping the third opponent through the air. He drew closer and closer to the Zodiac Camp, rolling past several confused Zodiacs and then kicking another to the sand. He made quick work of his approach to the camp, rolling through the air and spin kicking several Zodiacs before picking up an unused grenade from the ground, pulling the pin, and then throwing it into the Zodiac Camp.
Zack saw the Zodiac's fearful expressions before they disappeared in an explosion, and then he burst through the smoke and leapt over the trench. Something hard pierced the back of his leg, and he fell down with a crash onto the sand. He looked around and found himself staring at a pair of feet. He looked up slowly; dread filling him, to see the General staring back at him. "You!" Zack spat, but the General raised his silver gun, pointed at Zack's head. Zack felt around desperately for something he could use to defend himself, and then his hand closed onto a grenade as he spotted a fuel tank close to the trench. "What a pleasure it is to meet you, the last Spectre," said the General, his voice enough to make Zack want to beg for mercy. "Any last words before I blow your brains out?"
Zack already felt his vision darkening, but he shook his head slightly and refocused upon the General, who seemed ready to pull the trigger at any moment. "Yeah," Zack grunted, lifting himself up slightly with his right hand still covering the grenade, only the safety lever stopping it from exploding. "Go to hell!" Zack suddenly threw the grenade forward, seeing it bounce off the fuel tank and land close to the General. The General did not fire, his eyes widening in horror, and then Zack's world went black.
***
Lauren was washing the breakfast bowls that she and Charlotte had used for breakfast, singing along to her music playlist. She had not felt happy until this morning, because she woke up and read the newspaper, which revealed that the battle Zack had been to was won and that the Zodiacs had retreated. She couldn't wait for Zack to get home! If the paper had published it that morning, she knew it had to have been at least a week after the battle. Probably the after-briefing and training have kept him from coming home, she assured herself. She was still singing when a loud knock came on the door, and she immediately left the kitchen, hurrying down the hallway and seeing the silhouette of her husband in the window of the front door! She wasted no time in unlocking the door and swinging it open and found not Zack, but another soldier standing there, his hat held in his hands.
He spoke, and it did not take many words for Lauren to fall to her knees, tears flowing down her face as she covered her eyes. This could not be! Zack could not be dead! "I am sorry," said a voice behind the soldier, and the soldier stepped aside to reveal Trae, who was in his Army uniform still, although with his left leg in a cast and he was using crutches. "My god," Lauren whispered, covering her mouth now with her hand, but grief still shaking throughout her body. Trae came forwards and leaned against the outside wall of the house while reaching into his pocket with his left hand, withdrawing a folded piece of white paper. "Mommy, what's going on?" Charlotte asked, coming outside, and Trae handed the paper to her instantly. "Your daddy left this." With trembling fingers, Charlotte took the paper and opened it, reading inside her head:
To my beautiful, brave daughter.
If you are reading this, things have not gone to plan. My greatest regret is to never see you grow up into the beautiful young woman you will become. Look after your mother for me, and when it is your time to leave, many years from now, I will be waiting in the stars. Life will be challenging at times and you may feel like giving up, but just remember one thing. Be strong. Always be strong.