"Morning honey" was a familiar sound Earn heard sitting up in his childhood room. Feeling himself move forward he looked around his room seeing the walls stretch as he was suddenly stood in front of the faceless bodies of his parents. Giving himself to the fantasy he went to hug them before stopping when he sees them kneel down and embrace a younger version of Kosi.
"We miss you honey, you need to wake up though" Kosi heard from the black blob covering his mom's face. "Yeah you need to get up they're coming" the younger version of Kosi said looking at present day Kosi.
Waking up in a cold sweat as the sun was still rising Kosi looked around and to notice everyone in his camp still asleep. Sitting up he noticed smoke coming from the distance. Still dressed in his fatigues he got up and made his way around the sleeping troops.
Following the smoke he heard voices as he approached a small tribe of villagers waking up and stepping out of their huts. "Ma! Soldier!" a young child shrieking at the top of his lungs when he saw Kosi. Startled by the child's screams he immediately got down on his knees holding his hands out.
"Sorry, sorry I'm just wandering around" Kosi said in a whispered tone trying to shrink himself to not look like a threat to the children. "Oh your one of those" a portly man with glasses and curly hair wearing nothing but a grass skirt said looking down at Kosi.
"We don't associate or want any soldiers near us so can you go kill each other somewhere else please and thank you" he said in a monotonous tone. "I understand" Kosi said nodding as he slowly rose to his feet.
"Well no you don't, if you did you wouldn't be here wearing that trying to take our home" the man said eyeing up Kosi skeptically. "James don't" a curly haired portly woman said holding the now soothed child.
"No Liz, they need to actually know they can't play this game with people's lives and think it's okay" James said walking towards Kosi. "Babe come on look at him he's a kid what do you want him to do" Liz replied looking at Kosi backing away as James continued to walk towards him.
"I want him to sit down with us and explain why didn't just leave all of this alone. They run out of soldiers and people willing to do this guess what war ends sooner. So why are you all here this time. I'll be a bigger person and try understanding the other side" James said standing over Kosi before gesturing to nearby rocks near the fire.
Sitting on a large rock by the campfire Kosi was surrounded by James, Liz and a woman holding an old rifle. Looking at it Kosi realized it wasn't old but instead rusted. From listening to Rue read out facts to him when she first got a smartphone and learn to use search engines he remembered her doing on a deep dive on the ocean and salt water.
"Because salt is a powerful electrolyte, it contains a large number of dissociated ions, which greatly accelerates corrosion in salt water. Salt, or more particularly, salt solution, can hasten the rusting process by acting as an electrolyte, allowing the metal to lose electrons more quickly" was what she told him excitedly to his complete confusion.
In simpler terms salt water rusts metal quicker meaning the guns probably weren't old at all but rather rusted. Not wanting to do his own work on gun maintenance but rather have everyone together in their hotel room and have Rue and Jenny read and explain it to them he learned from that group session that the slightest bit of an issue with with a gun can make it completely useless.
"So why are you here?" James asked with his arms crossed. "Oh I finally get to talk huh? Well just so you know I don't want to be here. I'm actually sick to mu stomach to be here but I'm here because this war has taken everything from me. My freedom my family the childhood. Who looks at a teenager strapped up with weapons going into a war zone and assumes he's choosing to be there" Kosi said looking at James who lowered his gaze.
"My name is Kosi Blue, I'm a Jaran working for the Lux military. The day I signed up people stopped looking at me like some creature that crawled out from the sea. They started treating me and my girlfriend like people and they let us just have whatever we wanted. We were finally free and living it up so I'm here so she gets to keep doing that. I'm here so she gets to keep being treated properly, I hate this war it took everything from me but now I'm getting something back for her so hate me all you want just know I hate me too. But as much as I hate myself for this I love Rue even more and another thing-" *BOOM* Kosi said before being interrupted by a large explosion off to the south.
"Shit!" he said bolting to his feet before immediately having the rifle pointed at him. "Don't make any sudden movements" the armed woman said pointing the gun at him. "Your coming with us, move" she said prodding him with the barrel.
"That gun doesn't work" Kosi said hoping Rue was right as always. Looking at the wide pupils of the woman pointing it at him he remembered what Brodie always said. "If the black thingys in their eyes get smaller they're mad if it gets bigger they're scared" he thought to himself as he reached over and lowered the gun.
"I'm going to go fight for a country I hate you stay here and keep being mad at everything" he said as he ran off to the explosion at his camp.