The next morning came about hours later.
The moon set, and its presence was switched by the blazing ball of fire that lit up the sky.
They had to be up before the sun managed to make its way to the top of the sky. And they managed to do just that.
After having breakfast, Claire, Gabriel and his group got themselves ready before embarking on a bus that awaited them outside the hotel. It was this bus that would take them back down the Veursau. Except, instead of heading to the capital, their destination was to the north of the capital, at quite a distance from the capital.
It was close to a city, much smaller than Verusau, called Veursir.
The journey consisted of two legs. The first stop was planned to be made a little bit after they've crossed the Veursian border. In a small town, far from the fighting took place.
And it was done just like this. Leaving at 7 in the morning from the capital of Failin, they managed to get to their place of rest in Veursau just as the sun was about to set over the horizon.
The subsequent day was more-less the same as the previous. Everyone boarded the bus by the break of dawn. They hit the road only minutes later.
The change from the scene of peace, of safety, slowly but slowly took its turn to something less tranquil, yet more sinister. Dangerous.
They were getting closer to where all the fighting took place. They were getting closer to the 'Battle of Veursir'.
Claire had her gaze out the window. The fields that seemed like were once used to grow crops, the land that seemed like it was once flat, now had slight sinkages scattered across the fields. Fighting.
In the distance, plumes of smoke were seen, rising into the sky.
Then, along with the indentations that were seen across the fields, the first of the decomposing corpses left on the ground, where all the fighting took place, was spotted. Claire saw them.
She couldn't help but widen her eyes. And then, a thought entered her mind. 'Is this what Gabriel has to witness on a day to day basis?...'. A pause. 'Was this what Garrett had to witness too?'.
She let out a gentle sigh, and when she had enough of the view from the other side of the glass pane, she let her head fall ever so slightly. Her gaze followed the direction of her head before she faced forward and allowed for her head to fall back against the headrest of her seat.
From there, she closed her eyes before trying to clear her head from her thoughts. The questions she just asked herself.
Again, she allowed for a gentle rush of air to run past her lips when all her attempts resulted in very little happening. So, slowly opening her eyes up, she looked to her right. Towards the person who sat beside her. Gabriel.
Just like her, he had his head resting against the headrest of his seat. Turning her head that bit more, she allowed for her gaze to be met by his face.
She saw his eyes, sealed closed. She also heard his calm breaths, an odd one or two being deeper than the rest. He was asleep.
She kept her eyes on him for a little bit. The more she looked at his face, the more she got reminded of all the conversations she had with him. And somewhere, throughout these thoughts, without her notice, a small smile appeared on her lips.
It was only when she felt the smile on her lips, that it caused it to recede.
Keeping her eyes on him, it wasn't long before another thought entered her mind. And it was this thought that caused her smile to vanish. That caused it to be replaced by a slight frown. 'This will be the final battle in which you'll be my Captain...'. A slight pause followed her train of thought. Slowly, she felt her chest grow with sadness as she let more of the reality that was to await her, get to her. 'After this battle... I'll be sent home. But... but I wonder, even so - after all this fighting... when everything settles down a bit, will I get to see you again?'.
She let her gaze fall as she let herself face forward once again. 'Who knows... maybe it'd be for the better. I'll be leaving all of this danger behind. I'll be going back to my parents.'. With that thought, she closed her eyes. She allowed for the slight flame of pain in her chest to slowly extinguish itself.
But then...
And then a slight lump formed in her throat. 'I'll be heading back home... but without Garrett.'. She took a deep breath. And then, for the first time since Garrett's passing, she thought to herself. 'What will I tell them?... How will I give them the news?...'. And then, her heart pumped a shot of sadness. 'What will I tell Meghan?'.
---
Some time passed when the bus had stopped by a town, on the outskirts of Veursir.
This town has been left abandoned. Although, it was more than obvious that the small place of inhabitance was in the way of the fighting, so all the houses, buildings. There were all destroyed. The scent of smoke and burning was patent upon the opening of the door of the bus. Not that long was needed to get used to it.
At least here they had a little bit of safety, the shelter they needed before they decided to make their move and head towards Veursir.
The first things heard when they all stepped off the bus were the gunshots - rapid-fire - and the explosions of bombs in the distance.
For some time, they walked a bit from their bus before settling down in a building that seemed sturdy enough. And after, they let the evening run into the night.
In the meantime, another bus had arrived. It was further support. The extra force that Gabriel asked for.
Gabriel was on his feet walking around until his eyes came across Claire, alone. She had her gaze to her left, out a hole and towards an orange glow.
He approached her before kneeling beside her. Only then did he grab Claire's attention. Or that's what he thought.
She didn't know it was Gabriel.
Turning around, through the dark, her eyes managed to meet his. "C-Captain..." she greeted him in pure surprise.
He nodded his head at her. "Claire," he greeted her back. From there, silence ruled their conversation. That was until Gabriel decided to break the short-lived silence. "Are you okay? You're all alone here.".
Claire nodded her head. "Yeah. I'm okay. As okay as I can be.". A brief pause. "Thank you for checking in on me.".
For the orange luminosity, just enough was reflected off of Gabriel's face for Claire to make out a slight smile on his lips. Once more, he nodded. He nodded to her words of gratitude. "My pleasure.".
With that said, he stood up and turned on his heels. He was about to walk off when he stopped himself in his tracks.
He turned his head to Claire. "Claire...". He got her attention once more. Again, he ducked beside her. But this time a bit closer than only seconds ago. "If you need anything, I'll be here. Okay?".
"Okay," she responded. She couldn't help but smile at his words ever so slightly.
Again, he stood back up before turning around and walking off.
Claire's eyes remained on Gabriel for as long as she can see him. When he was out of her view, her gaze returned to looking out towards the relentless battling.
---
It wasn't too long before Gabriel decided to begin going towards Verusir. So, getting himself and his people ready, they all began their way towards the city.
The horizon to where the city was located was lit up, illuminated by the orange of the fire. Explosions were heard as plumes of orange rose into the sky.
Claire followed the crowd before she looked behind her. That was when she saw two familiar faces. Lieutenant Mason and Lieutenant Doyle. She felt relief flow through the pit of her stomach. Safety.
With that, she turned her gaze to look back in front of her. To look back towards the orange glow. Towards the city of Veursir.
---
Not too long had passed before the team reached a crossing. Keeping out of sight, Gabriel turned around, waiting for the rest of the group to catch up to the front.
When they did, that's when he walked back towards Shorty and Mason. Walking past Claire, that's where the two Lieutenants awaited him. He went over this with Lieutenant Mason, but never with Lieutenant Doyle. So he briefed him very quickly.
"Doyle, you'll be coming with me. Mason, you take your half and I'll take mine. We'll go according to plan. You go left and I'll head right.".
Mason nodded to Gabriel's words. "Yes, sir.".
With the group split up and with them setting off, they further headed towards the fiery remains of Veursir.
The gunshots did not cease and not long passed before the planes began to fly low. They headed straight towards Veursir. The smell of burning, of the gunpowder, only got stronger with every step they took.
And not too long passed before shouting was heard. Instantly, Gabriel stopped before leading his group to hide. With them hidden, Gabriel looked left and right, trying to spot where Claire was, but to no success.
Then, the revving of an engine was heard nearby.
Looking to his left, from where the sound was emitted, he saw a vehicle. But, luckily, it didn't head in the direction of Gabriel and his team. Quite frankly, it headed in the opposite direction to theirs.
It headed towards Veursir.
And just after Gabriel thought it was safe, another vehicle was heard coming. It was a truck.
It followed the same path that the previous vehicle took. And after it, another truck came. Closely following the truck that was in front of it.
Minutes later, after no further activity was detected, that was when they continued their way towards where all the dispute was.
---
Throughout the hours that followed, they tried to keep their presence to a bare minimum. They hid, stayed in their places. It wasn't time for an attack, not just yet.
"When the first rays of sun reach over the mountains, that's our mark to attack..." Gabriel said as he allowed his group and him to take a quick breather in an empty, abandoned room. "Sunrise should come in about an hour or so," Gabriel spoke out as he looked at his pocket watch. "I want everyone to listen... the chances of our cover blowing till then is pretty damn near high. So I want everyone to be on alert. If anyone enters the building and comes near this room, don't hesitate to take them out.". Gabriel paused for a moment, letting out a gentle sigh. "Ladies and gentlemen, it will be an honour to fight this final battle alongside you all.".
With that, he looked around the room. Though it was dark, he managed to see the faces of his men and women.
He continued looking at his team, trying to make out where Claire was. It didn't take him long to spot her. When he did, he walked over to her.
"Claire..." he called out to her, quietly. Loud enough for her to hear him.
She responded by turning around and facing him.
He didn't continue until he ducked down beside her. "From when the attack begins and onwards, I want you to stay as close as you can to me, is that clear?".
She remembered his words from a few days back. He said something very similar to her back then. But unlike back then, his tone now was colder. His words were more concise. But she didn't mind it, she didn't mind it at all.
"I'll keep you safe. Stay by my side," he spoke up again, this time, a tad bit quieter. He didn't want others to hear what he wanted only Claire to know.
---
For the time that came and went, for when the sun's rays peered just above the horizon. For when, just as planned, the sound of the friendly planes was heard. That was their mark.
They were ready to attack. And they did.
Shots and explosions were heard everywhere as Gabriel's team headed into the fight.
Stealing guns and ammo from the fallen soldiers, they fought the enemies and shot them down. Claire was, at all times, behind Gabriel, just as he told her. At times, he'd look back, just to check if she was listening to him.
She carried all the necessary aid that was needed for those who for wounded.
Planes flew overhead, giving Gabriel and his force that extra support with the dropping of the bombs.
Lieutenant Mason with his group was on the other side of the town. Together, with the allies, they planned to meet in the centre of town, right by the city hall.
But little did they know that such a task would take them the whole day to complete.
They all hid, in shelters, peering out to shoot any enemies in sight before advancing a few more steps and repeating over and over again.
With the killing of the enemies, sadly, the allies also had to pay the toll. Slowly but surely, the allies reduced in power. More and more soldiers died from the fatal gun wounds.
Planes continued passing low, loading off bombs that exploded upon their contact with the ground. Sending plumes and plumes of smoke up into the sky, it didn't take long for the sunlight to be blocked out.
Slowly, the terrain began to become darker as more smoke and dust, from all the debris and rubble, littered the sky.
It was hours later, and after they've made quite a way into the city, that a big building came into view. It was the city hall.
"We're almost there!!" Gabriel shouted aloud.
Claire looked at the City Hall. It stood on pillars but she noticed that a few of them were cracked.
The closer they got to the building, that was when they saw the sheer damage the building sustained. The walls were cracked, as come parts of the building had even collapsed.
And then, they got close to the junction. The junction in which Gabriel spotted soldiers approach his team. The allies. And it didn't take long for him to notice Lieutenant Mason.
It was noticeable that the shooting had calmed down. Quietened.
'I-is this it?' Claire thought to herself as she looked at Gabriel.
But Gabriel has his gaze out towards the allies that were across from them, some waving their weapons in the air in celebration, while others looking around them.
And then, the sound of the planes. It came from behind Gabriel and his team. Looking back, they saw the planes flying over them in a straight line. The allies.
Flying a bit further out, each plane dropped several more bombs, in the attempt to wipe out any other enemy that remained. Plumes of smoke raised into the sky, but the wind blew the smoke in the direction opposite to the setting sun.
"We did it, Captain!!" Lieutenant exclaimed, approaching Gabriel before giving him a brotherly hug. After, he dispersed to the rest of his colleagues.
And then... the rays of the sun spread across the remnants of the burning city. The clearing of the dust and smoke allowed for the sun's light to bask upon Claire, Gabriel and the rest of the soldiers.
And then, Gabriel turned and faced Claire. "D-did we do it, Captain?" she asked him. 'I-is it finally... over?'.
But he didn't reply. He looked at her. And as he looked at her, he allowed a small smile to appear on his lips. That itself showed her the answer she was looking for.
She swallowed whatever was in her mouth before letting a smile grow on her lips too. 'V-victory?'.
She felt a sensation in her chest, in the pit of her stomach. It caused her eyes to well with tears.
Out of the blue, the peace was broken, abruptly, with the echo of four loud shots. All of which were aimed at the group of celebrating soldiers.