by Pirateaba
It took some doing for Ken to smooth ruffled scales—and explain to Quexa why the Humans were upset that a bunch of cute animals had been butchered before their eyes. Quexa and the other Lizardfolk didn’t really understand—they were used to killing livestock themselves, and they regarded Beriats as a pest that ate grain and stole food, for all they weren’t a physical threat.
They were a pest. But they were cute. Ken felt that should have saved the Beriats as he watched the Lizardfolk happily skin them and roast them over a fire. They had brightened up everyone’s day, and now they were dead, made into hot food the Lizardfolk did indeed share around.
It was fitting of Baleros, of this place with as many horrors as marvels. Ken just wished the Beriats didn’t taste so good. He tactfully did not eat his portion anywhere around Aiko, but he was too hungry for hot meat to turn it down when Quexa offered. Not to mention that it would have offended the Lizardgirl to have refused.
—-
That night, Quallet mustered Gravetender’s Fist and gave them a short speech before sending them out. They would no longer be working near the Centaur’s camp he promised, but they were still expected to do their jobs. He didn’t address Luan especially, but everyone knew Luan had been saved by a [Doctor]. Luan’s group was also assigned to an area close to where Quallet planted the company banner, with less corpses and danger overall.
It still didn’t make picking up bits of dead bodies easier, but at least Ken could detach his conscious mind to do it. He only paid attention to make sure Luan was fine, but the healing potion had restored the young man’s strength, and Luan was in better physical shape than Ken. He was still jumpy and kept watching the shadows, but he was alright.
However, trouble started as dawn began to break. Luan pulled Ken aside as Aiko stabbed a few bodies, looking for undead.
“Hey Ken, have you seen any of the Americans?”
“No.”
Ken immediately felt worried, remembering the argument of a few moments ago. Luan hadn’t seen them either, and it turned out no one had.
“I don’t know where they are. Neither does Daly or anyone else. They’re not where they were supposed to be assigned. Xor’s kicking up a fuss looking for them. Let’s get back to camp. I’ll tell you if something happens.”
Worried, Ken finished his duties. Quallet heard about the missing Americans and would have gone looking, but it was too close to dawn. Furious, the commander ordered the company back and they reached their camp. Ken tried to stay awake as he heard Quallet interrogating Daly and the others about where Johanas and the others had gone, but he was exhausted. He hadn’t slept since Luan had been shot, so he laid his head down…
“Ken. Ken! Wake up!”
It felt like a moment had passed. Ken groaned as he felt someone shake him. He protested, but the hand came again, shaking him roughly.
“Get up!”
“Just a moment Luan…”
A hand dragged Ken out of his bedroll. Ken heard Luan’s voice as he woke up a bit more, and only now registered the tension in it.
“Ken, wake up. It’s the Americans.”
There was something in Luan’s tone that took the exhaustion right out of Ken’s mind. He got up at once, blinking around.
It was just past dawn. He hadn’t slept an hour. But the instant Ken saw Luan’s face, any thoughts of sleep fled.
“What is it?”
“Follow me.”
Luan stepped out of the tent without explaining. Ken followed. There was something hollow in his stomach, a terrible foreboding. He was not filled with dread so much as a…certainty. He didn’t want to be right.
Ken stopped when he reached the edge of the neutral zone, a place where he could look down into the valley. He expected to see the soldiers fighting, but neither side had begun. Instead, in front of the Dullahan army there were a group of eight kneeling figures. Ken’s heart stopped when he recognized them.
Johanas knelt beside five girls and two guys, all American. They were lined up in front of a Dullahan. A Dullahan with an axe.
Ken didn’t need any more context. He stared, white-faced at Luan. Aiko was there, trembling. So were the other Humans and the rest of Gravetender’s Fist.
“They got caught sneaking through the forest last night. They’re—they’re going to be executed.”
Executed. Ken stared down at the kneeling group of Humans as the Dullahan with the axe shouted something and the soldiers behind him roared. He felt a ringing in his ears.
“We have to stop them.”
“How?”
Luan looked at him. Ken had no answer. The Dullahan stepped forwards and Aiko made a sound. Ken didn’t realize he was next to her until he was putting his hands over her eyes.
“見ないで,愛子.”
She didn’t protest. Ken stared down at the bodies, feeling sick, horrified. The axe came up—someone stepped in front of him. Ken saw black skin. He stared at Luan’s back.
“Luan—”
“You don’t need to see it.”
Luan’s voice was low. He blocked Ken’s view. Ken opened his mouth, and then heard the scream. It came from Paige. She stumbled back and he heard Daly shout and turn away.
Ken heard another shout, and more screams. He saw Luan’s back trembling. There was another roar from the Dullahans, more screams, and then Luan stumbled away. Ken heard him throwing up with several other people, not all of them Human.
It was over. Ken stared down at the valley as the Dullahans raised their weapons and shouted at the Centaurs, who shook the ground with their hooves and roared back. He saw bodies without heads, a red axe being wiped clean by one of the Dullahans and horror in the eyes of the other Humans.
The battle began minutes later. But Ken stood there, just staring at the place the bodies had been. Johanas’ corpse was soon lost among the fighting. But Ken remembered it. He wondered if he’d be assigned to dispose of it that night.
In that moment, Ken knew he could never go back. He looked at Luan. The young man was wiping his mouth. Vomit had stained part of his shirt. He looked at Ken, and Aiko grabbed the arms of both. Tears were streaming down her face.
“I can’t do it.”
That was all Luan said. Ken nodded.
“We must go.”
“We do, and we will die.”
Aiko’s face was drained of color. Luan looked at her, and then at Ken.
“The [Doctor] knew about blood transfusions. Maybe she’s from our world.”
It was a slim hope, a slim chance. But Ken grasped at it.
“We can ask her.”
“How?”
Aiko stared at the fighting. If they went out without a banner, they would be a target for both sides. But they’d navigated the fighting once. If they kept clear of it, and most importantly had a banner—
“A white flag. That was what Captain Quallet told us to use.”
Ken stared around, hoping to see it. Luan paused.
“They keep the flag with the company banner. It’s in Quallet’s tent, and there’s always a guard. But you can probably talk him into giving it to us.”
“But it’s dangerous—”
Ken hesitated. Luan looked at the battlefield and came to a swift decision.
“I can’t be part of this. We can’t. Let’s go.”
—-
“Another world?”
Geneva had been sharpening her scalpels with a whetstone when the group of two young men and a young girl had rushed into their camp, waving a white flag. She hadn’t recognized them at first, until she’d looked at the tallest young man’s side. She hadn’t paid attention to his face, but then she remembered the shorter young man who looked almost Japanese.
And then he’d spoken, and the world turned upside down.
The scalpel fell from her fingers. Instantly, Geneva bent and recovered it from the dirt. She stared at Kenjiro, Aiko, and Luan as if they were ghosts.
“You. You’re all from—”
“Y
ou know about blood transfusions. You saved my life. You operate on people, and we’ve heard that you appeared a few months ago. We appeared last week. I’m from South Africa. This is Ken and Aiko. They’re from Japan. Are you…like us?”
The black young man—Luan—looked at Geneva. She felt Okasha moving inside her, whispering.
“Another world? Geneva, what—”
“I am.”
The word passed from Geneva’s lips. She saw the Japanese girl put a hand to her mouth, and the young Japanese man sag. With relief?
“I don’t believe it.”
Luan stared at her. He walked towards her hesitantly, and reached a hand out. Geneva stared at it. And then she rose and took it.
“I’m Luan Khomala, from South Africa. I am—I used to be a kayaker. In training for the Olympics. Who are you?”
Geneva felt the grip, strong and sure. A pulse beat through Luan’s fingers, and she stared into dark brown eyes, a strong, smiling face with short hair. She hadn’t looked at his face before. Her voice was hoarse as she replied.
“I—I’m Geneva Scala. I was…a medical student. I’m from America.”
She saw Luan’s smile vanish as she said where she was from. Suddenly, Ken had lowered his head and Aiko was crying. Geneva looked at them.
“What?”
—-
“I didn’t know. I had no idea there was…anyone from my world. I never had a chance to ask around or—I didn’t know.”
Geneva sat with the others, in a rare break from the fighting. No—it wasn’t a break. It was that the fighting had been too fierce for anyone to bring the wounded to her, so Geneva actually had time to talk. The irony of that was bitter on her tongue as she sat with Aiko, Luan, and Ken.
And spoke. It was the first time Geneva had really talked with—with anyone. She heard the three out, listening mainly to Luan as he explained the incredible circumstances that had led them onto the same battlefield as her. Incredible, but not unbelievable. She had had the same experience. In Baleros, it was hard to find paying work for those who were unskilled—except in war.
It was the deaths of the other Americans, the other people from her country that shook Geneva the most. She hadn’t heard about the executions. There had been a group of people from her world, from where she lived, perhaps from the same state, and they had lived and died so close by without her ever knowing.
“I can’t stand this place. I’ve seen and heard of horrible shit in the countries where I come from—there are African warlords who’d fit right into this place. But I can’t just do my job disposing of dead bodies while it goes on.”
Luan gestured with a shaking hand at the cover of the forest, beyond which he could hear and see the fighting going on. He looked at Geneva.
“How do you stand it? You’ve been through, what, three battlefields?”
“Four. Counting this one.”
Geneva stared down at her hands. She’d seen so much blood and death over the past month—more bodies and horror than she’d seen in the worst videos of ER rooms at hospitals. Somehow she’d kept her sanity and mind through it all. She’d grown numb to it, at least in part.
“What is it you’re doing, Geneva-san? Why are you here?”
That came from Ken, the young Japanese man. He leaned over the table, looking curiously at her.
“Were you hired? Are you being paid to save people?”
“No. Not at all. I’m not here to…I do my job. I try to save people. That’s all.”
Geneva tried to explain. The others tried to understand. Geneva stood up and paced around, grateful that Okasha was just listening to all this. She didn’t know if she should tell them about her.
“I—I was trained to be a doctor, a medical practitioner. I wanted to be a surgeon. And this…I never graduated from medical school, but I still believe in the Hippocratic Oath. I see people dying. Soldiers. And I can help them. There are no medical techniques in this world. No one knows about suturing, or surgery—they don’t know about blood transfusion. Or blood types.”
Something took a hold of her tongue. Geneva found herself correcting her statement.
“Well, Selphids do. But they don’t share that knowledge.”
The others looked at her and Geneva tried to pretend nothing different had happened. She continued.
“So I do what I can. I patch people up—I can deal with injuries that healing potions can’t fix, like the arrow that hit you, Luan. But I can’t stop the fighting. I’ve just done what I can. That’s all I can do. I’d like to help you three, and the others, but…I can’t do anything.”
The three exchanged hopeless looks. Geneva stared at them. She knew what suppression companies did. She’d seen the undead rising—had one appear on the operating table before Okasha bashed its brains in. That hadn’t violated her oath, but it had disturbed her. There were magical, fantastical things like the undead and mages in this world, but people still bled and killed each other like they did in hers.
And now there were people in need, people from her world, frightened, without any way to protect themselves, stuck in a war and dying. Geneva felt the same urge as she did when she saw someone who was wounded. She had to help.
But how? She paced back and forth and came to a quick decision.
“If you can leave your company—I’ll make sure you’re fed and have a place to sleep here. I can’t, won’t leave. Not until this is over. But you’ll be safer here than you will out there.”
Luan looked at her. He was Geneva’s age, maybe older. He stood.
“It’s not just us. There are more—there were more, but there are still at least forty people. Can you feed us all?”
Geneva had food. The Selphids had food, rather. They’d brought it with them and provided a lot of the supplies she needed. She hesitated, and then nodded. She wasn’t sure, but she had only one answer in her heart.
“Only people from our world, though. I can’t ask the people with me to guard more than that. Luan, Ken, Aiko…I don’t know if you’ll be safer here than in your company, to tell you the truth. I don’t have a company, and I don’t dare leave this area.”
They nodded. Luan stood and looked towards the sky.
“We’ve got to go back.”
“Will you be safe going back? I could ask Calectus to—”
“We will be fine. I am a [Negotiator] and we have a flag. A white one.”
Ken reassured Geneva, although she wanted to be the one to do that to him. He was pale, as was Aiko and Luan. They’d just seen their friends killed and now Geneva was handing them a hard choice. They looked at her. Aiko bowed and so did Ken. Luan nodded.
Then they were gone, leaving Geneva alone. Only, she was never alone. Okasha had heard the entire thing.
At that moment, Geneva couldn’t have cared less.
—-
“What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“I do.”
Ken looked at Luan as they found their way back to camp. Luan’s face was set. He looked at Ken and Aiko.
“I’m going to go with Geneva. I can’t do this, guys. I can’t—can’t go out there and keep wondering if I’ll die the next time a patrol thinks I’m an enemy. I nearly died once. I won’t risk my life to clean up after a war. I don’t know if you’ll come with me, but I’m sorry. I’ve made up my mind.”
The two Japanese college students blinked up at Luan. Ken and Aiko shared a look. Aiko was the first to speak.
“I…don’t want to ever stab a dead body again!”
“Me neither.”
Ken felt his entire body resonating with Luan’s statement. He took a breath.
“I will go. And I hope—I hope the others will come too.”
—-
“No.”
Daly raised his head and shook it. Ken saw the motion, recognized it, and still didn’t comprehend.
“No? Why not?”
“I’m not going, Ken. Even if this [Doctor]’s from our wo
rld—I’m going to stay in the company.”
He was sitting by the fire, somber, and he’d been alone until Ken and Luan had come to talk with him. None of the others were in the mood to speak, but Daly’s decision stunned Ken. Luan sat next to Daly, eyes on his face.
“Are you worried about being safe?”
“Not that. I just don’t think leaving the company’s a good idea.”
“Daly, what we saw this morning—”
The young man from Australia swore and turned to Luan, eyes overly bright.
“I know what we saw. But the way me and the rest of us figure it—we don’t have a choice. We signed on to be soldiers, and if we desert now, we’re stuck in the same boat.”
“Geneva says she can protect us—”
“Maybe she can, maybe she can’t. That’s not the point!”
Daly raked his fingers through his blonde hair. His hands were shaking, but his voice was more controlled when he spoke.
“We may not like what happened, but every bloody bastard out there is higher level than we are. The Captain is right. This is the safest way to level up and learn how to fight. So long as we don’t try to run.”
“So what? So you’ll all gain levels fighting. And then what? Will you join up as a soldier? Keep working here?”
Luan folded his arms. Daly shrugged.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead. No one has. But if we don’t have a way to defend ourselves, what’s to stop us from getting shot? Or getting killed like Johanas and the rest?”
He looked meaningfully at Luan as he said that. Ken didn’t know what to say, but Luan shook his head.
“Daly, after what I’ve seen, I don’t think any amount of levels or Skills or weapons is enough. Fighting in these wars, with these companies…if I can help it, I’d rather not fight at all. I have something to live for. Someone to live for.”
Someone? Ken looked at Luan, and then at Daly as the other young man shook his head.
“I guess that’s the difference in the way we see things. Some days it’s fine to run. Other days you’ve gotta buckle down and fight.”
And that was it. He refused to go, and told Ken and Luan the same went for the rest.
