With everyone gathered beneath another tent, each soldier was sat with empty plated in front of them.
Minutes passed before a young woman walked around to everyone and scooped a portion, from the pot she carried around, into each empty plate.
When everyone got their food, that was when the little feast began.
Though the food wasn't anything special, to them it tasted like something remarkable.
The clanking of the cutlery echoed throughout the tent.
At one point, Claire looked up from her plate only to see Trina. Moments passed before she too lifted her gaze.
When their eyes met, Trina gave Claire a small, friendly smile. "How's the food?" she asked.
At first, Claire nodded. "It's good. I can't complain.".
"Mmmm, same here..." Trina responded. With that, silence dropped between the two. But Claire saw that there was more Trina wanted to ask. She noted the way Trina seemed to be in a dilemma as to whether she should say anything more or leave the conversation to where it stopped.
Letting a gentle, deep rush of air through her nose, Claire looked back down at her plate before scooping up the final forkful of her sauerkraut.
"Claire?" Trina began, spectating the way Claire pulled her fork clean out of her mouth.
Showing her she was listening while eating, she sent a nod her way.
"I-I am aware this might sound stupid but...". A pause followed. "What's the reason you are here? Why did you accept the call?".
It took a moment for Claire to consider all the possible reasons why. But not that there were many. When she swallowed, she said, "Well, if I am to be honest. My brother. My brother is the biggest reason as to why I am here right this moment.".
She noted the way Trina widened her eyes ever so slightly. "Was he invited too?".
"No, no he wasn't. He was already a part of the military prior to all of this happening.".
Trina responded with a nod before looking down at her plate.
"I-I mean... I guess my answer sounds a bit stupid, thinking back to it now..." Claire began, laughing at her words. Trina looked back at Claire, and it was as if that was her sign to continue from where she left off. "He knows these things more than I do. He was a part of this for way longer than me.". A pause. "I... I just want to find my brother and then go home with him once this is all over, you know?.... But imagine me doing such a thing. It sounds ridiculous. And maybe slightly offensive towards him. Offensive, because it would just mean that throughout all of these years. All the years he spent in the military, it would have all been futile if his younger sister was to have come to save him.".
Slight confusion rose within Claire when she noticed the sides of Trinas' lips move up ever so slightly. "Well... I don't think it's ridiculous, Claire. If anything, I can relate to you because I too am trying to find my brother...". A moment of silence followed.
Slowly, Claire's eyes dropped from Trina and to her empty plate. There was no doubt in the world she didn't empathize with her.
"He hasn't sent me a letter ever since that day when he wrote he'd be going to that one, big battle. He told me it was going to be a grave one. That was a few weeks ago," Trina paused when she felt a lump grow in her throat. "He's somewhere out there... he has to be. And I will find him.".
It was those words of Trina's that caused Claire to look back up at her. A slight smile evolved on Claire's lips as her eyes began to slowly fill with tears. Trina had hope.
"Y-yes..." was all she managed to respond with. The lump in Claire's throat too restricted her from further communication for the time being.
But that smile of her was short-lived. A frown was to replace it.
She felt pain in her chest. Upon Trina saying that her brother didn't make contact for a few weeks, it made her think the worse. And she had no doubt Trina thought the same.
She related to that feeling of dread, agony. Claire felt the same when Garrett made no contact for a few weeks.
Claire took in a deep breath before attempting to speak. "You will find your brother. I am sure of it.".
---
The next morning came around.
With them waking up, they all boarded a few buses, each soldier allocating themselves into their groups.
Not too long passed before they began their way towards another military establishment an hour away. Situated right by the border between Arittoria and Agut.
Gabriel was seated by the front with Claire right beside him.
Most of the bus ride was spent sleeping, most of the soldiers slept right before they entered the outskirts of the small town.
There it was.
Where their stopover was due.
"Alright..." Gabriel began, standing up, anchoring himself upright. He placed his knee on the seat, helping his stand become more rigid. Claire turned her head and looked his way. "We will be making a stopover here shortly. We have organized a dinner for us all. After that, we will extend the break before continuing our journey to the base. Is that understood?".
"Yes, Sir!" was everyone's reply.
With that, Gabriel sat back down. He turned to his right and looked at Claire as she looked back at him.
Almost as if he could have felt the fear she carried through her gaze, a small, reassuring smile grew on Gabriel's lips. "Don't worry, we are almost there. Besides, we won't be involved in any fighting, at least, not today. Okay?" he spoke softly.
At first, Claire replied with a small, sheepish smile. "Yes. Yes, Captain.".
With that, he let another small smile grow on his lips before turning around and looking out the window.
Slowly, more and more of the small town came into view. Dark clouds caught the eyes of many of the soldiers aboard the buses. Moments later, Gabriel noticed them too.
He reacted by furrowing his brows. "What the-...". Immediately, he stood up, scooted past Claire and stepped towards the bus driver. "What happened over there?..." Claire heard him ask.
"Looks like fire to me. Perhaps the town was bombed," the driver gave his assumptions, confusion audible in his voice too.
"Shit..." Gabriel muttered under his breath.
"Do you want me to continue heading towards the town?".
Gabriel nodded as a reply. "Yes, please. The least we can do is see if anyone needs help.".
Quickly, more and more buildings came into view as the columns of smoke only grew bigger the closer they got to the centre of the town.
Entering it, they drove by streets filled with debris. Most of the buildings close to where the smoke was emitted were near to totally destroyed. Anyone that was present was more than likely killed.
Now, it was clear that an attack occurred.
Claire didn't see, but a slight frown appeared across Gabriel's lips as he looked at the site out the window. "Looks like there's no rescue here..." he whispered to himself.
---
Soon, the buses made a right turn. They headed towards the Eastern part of the town.
A totally different story here.
Compared to the first half of the town, the second half was intact.
The buses stayed in transit for another minute or so before they slowed down and parked by the sides of the road.
"Looks like we need to make this break quick..." Gabriel commented to Claire as he walked back out to the aisle. With that, the door opened and one by one, the soldiers exited the bus.
Crossing the road, they all entered an establishment, a restaurant.
"Alright, you make all take your seats wherever you like. There is room for everyone," Gabriel spoke. With that, they all did as they were told. They all took their seats by the tables that stretched across the broad room that looked more like a hall.
"This place looks tiny from the outside!" Trina exclaimed as she took her place beside Claire.
Minutes passed before waiters walked out and placed bowls of bread on the table. Food was preordered, but the drinks were requested by each person on their own accord.
Then, after the bread, each person received their desired drink.
Both Claire and Trina took a sip of their drinks.
"You know..." Trina began right after swallowing her mouthful of drink. "Our brothers sound alike... judging from what you had told me.".
"Oh?" Claire replied.
"My brother is also a soldier..." Trina elaborated, a small, soft smile growing on her lips. "I just thought back to our conversation from last night... and I can't believe I didn't mention such a thing.".
"I mean, we did have an emotional exchange. Emotions tend to do that to you," Claire replied before taking another sip of her drink. "They tend to make you forget...".
Slowly, Trina rose her eyes up to Claire. "I wish there were more people like you in this world. You know that, Claire Emerson?".
Claire couldn't help but chuckle at Trina's words. "So I've been told before," she responded.
"Anyway..." Trina continued a few moments later. "My brother sent me all of these beautiful postcards from different parts of the kingdom. He even went across to Veursau!". A pause. "I have never been there, but from what I heard. From what he had told me and from the postcard he sent me, it looks beautiful. I'd love to go and visit Veursau one day.".
Claire nodded to her words. "You know, I too heard a lot of good things about Veursau. I heard from my brother too about the place when he was deployed there. I believe it was about... three or four years ago now. I'd like to go there too.".
"Maybe, once this shit is all over, we can go there together, with our brothers!".
"Where? To Veursau?" Claire inquired.
"Yeah!" Trina replied. A moment of silence came about. "Hey, I want to show you all the postcards he gave me. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to go to all the places he went.".
Claire was about to reply when she was interrupted by a buzzing sound. Around them both, everyone went quiet. Even the waiters went mute. They all stood still as if their feet were dug underground.
Slowly, the buzzing became louder and louder. It was a plane.
Everyone heard the plane fly over the establishment and continue its way somewhere. Somewhere where only the pilot of the plane knew.
That wasn't it tho. Another, far louder sound of buzzing became audible. This time, the plane sounded bigger but was also perceived as flying lower than the previous aircraft.
Both the Captain and the Lieutenant stood up from the table and cautiously walked to the door of the restaurant, looking for the planes.
The sheer power in the sound of the aircraft's engines sent vibrations upon vibrations through the building. As was noticed by Claire when she saw the surface of her drink began to ripple.
Passing over the restaurant, it too went its own way. And that was was when everyone let a slight sigh of relief as slowly, the chatter in the room began to rise. The waiters unfroze and continued serving the food and drinks.
"Okay, back to the question. Would you like to see the postcards?" Trina asked. "Might set a bar for all the places he visited," she added with a smirk.
At first, quiet. Then, she looked up at Trina. A smile too grew on Claire's lips. "Yeah, sure. I'd love to if you don't mind.".
Trina replied with a nod before she stood up. At first, Claire was confused, but within seconds she pieced the puzzle together and realised that they were all onboard her bus.
'She didn't have to go now! The food is almost ready,' Claire exclaimed to herself. She wanted to call out Trina's name, but she was already quite a distance away.
Trina hurried around the table, Claire's eyes following her, as she got closer to the front door of the local.
Claire saw Gabriel stopping her for a moment. With a few words exchange and with Gabriel nodding, Trina walked out the door.
Claire let out a gentle sigh before diverting her eyes down to the empty plate in front of her.
Minutes passed before she heard the clinging of the cutlery as the waiters placed the starter on the table. Soup.
Suddenly, the flickering of the lights caught everyone's attention, including Claire's. With that, the buzzing was heard again. The planes are back.
Claire looked up and around her. Trina's seat was still empty.
Slowly, she began to feel fear churn in the pit of her stomach. The soup in front of her that, to her only minutes ago, was appetizing now lost its interest. The smell of the broth nauseated her ever so slightly.
Once again, Claire felt the vibrations from the plane as it got closer to the establishment.
This time, this overpass of the planes seemed off. Different from the previous one.
Along with Claire, Gabriel felt this too.
So, once more, both himself and Mason walked back to the glass door. Upon seeing foreign vehicles drive up, they both widened their eyes.
They saw guns attached to the vehicles and that was when they saw their enemies. A person a vehicle quickly took their place behind the weapons.
"Take cover!!" both Gabriel and Mason roared before doing so themselves.
The shots came first before the bangs. And then the bangs came before the vibrations, which rocked the restaurant.
There were explosions upon explosions that only grew louder and louder. Mixed in was the sound of gunshots that lasted a mere few seconds.
The light began to flicker when Claire got under her table. She felt her heart pounding against her ribs. Before Claire got a chance to comprehend what was happening, everything went black.
What Claire didn't manage to comprehend was that an attack was underway. The second half of the town was bombed.
One of the bombs dropped was in very close proximity to the restaurant. The shockwave caused any glass that the surrounding buildings contained to break. The shockwave rippled through the establishment. Everything collapsed. Any food, cutlery, broken plates, mugs and cups, anything from an elevated, flat surface managed to find its way to the ground.
With another explosion, the electricity went out...