Legend of the White Devil
Chapter 1: Incision
By, Frank Hunter

The boy had an AK in his hand and blood in his hair when Farley found him. The red liquid contrasted uniquely on his white-blonde hair and his pale skin, as it dripped down his face. The blood was not the boy's own though, but appeared to belong to the bullet-riddled corpse sprawled across the top of his foxhole.

"No way…" Charlie muttered from behind. "Kid, did you do that?"

The kid was crying and did not answer. His AK was resting in his lap as he leaned against the cold dirt wall of the foxhole. Farley guessed that he might be nine years old. Ten, at most.

"Man, Africa's fucked up," Bill said from Farley's left, lighting up a cigarette.

"It's war that's fucked up, Bill," Farley replied.

The boy made a noise through his sobs and the squad fell silent. Farley leaned down next to him and put his hand on the kid's. His uniform was that of the enemy's, there was no doubt about that, but the kid made no motion to pick up his rifle. No hostile action at all.

"Talk to us, boy," Farley pressed.

"I…I…" The boy, following a round of tears and sobs, finally managed a sentence. "I want to go home."

"Where's home?" Farley asked. "Are you from Zambezia?"

The child shook his head and pointed off into the distance. The squad traced his finger to the west.

Charlie wiped some sweat off his forehead, while Farley pulled a handkerchief, trying to at least clear the blood from the boy's face. "Well shit, man," he said. "It was that village we passed last night. A hundred bucks says the kid's from there."

"Could you pick out your home on a map, son?" Farley asked. The boy slowly nodded at him. Farley felt a bit of elation "If we get him to forward command he could show us where he lives. We could send him back west when the supply caravan comes in tomorrow morning."

"Damn it, Farley," Ramirez perked up. "He's a fuckin' kid, and he's an enemy. Look at his gear, look at it, man! Leave him. And don't just leave him. Tie him up so he can't cause us trouble later! Why do you need a project wherever you fuckin' go?"

"It's not fair what they do to these kids, Ramirez. You might have signed up for this but look at him! He's shaking. He doesn't wanna be here! He's no soldier!" Farley took the boys arm while Bill rummaged through the gear belonging to the poor sap on top of the foxhole. He found some ammo.

"This humanitarian shit's gonna get you in trouble some day, Farley," Ramirez warned. Farley ignored him and helped the boy up. "What's your name, son?" he asked.

"J…J…Jack. It's Jack."

"Alright Jack, we're gonna take you back to base. Can you walk?"

"Uh huh…"

"Do you mind giving us that AK?"

Jack handed the rifle to Farley, who passed it off to Charlie. He looked down and a fresh stream of tears started again. "I…I just want to go home."

"I know," Farley replied once more. "But we need you to walk just a little bit. It's two miles back to base. Can you do that?" Jack nodded, but seeing the state of the kid Farley wasn't sure. "Alright," he said, none the less. "Let's move out then."

"This is fuckin' bullshit, man," Ramirez commented, and was once again ignored.

The five of them began the hike out of the ruins and through the desert, back to base. Farley couldn't get over the sight of the kid. He was slouched in a fit of depression, but with hair and skin so pure Farley wasn't sure Jack was made to be a soldier at all. Actually he thought that, under different circumstances, he might have mistaken Jack for an angel. The blood, though, that was just disturbing. Like a slash right through the innocence of the child.

As the team crossed, the sun began to set and a fire could be seen out in the distance. Jack seemed excited by the sight of it and Farley couldn't help but smile. God knows when the kid had last seen any bit of civilization. But, the unit would help him tonight. Farley had touched this boy's soul and probably saved his life. He couldn't help but feel good.

It was a short climb up a rocky plateau to actually get into base. The plateau provided an excellent vantage point but, for a while, concerned Farley that it would hinder Jack beyond his ability to finish the trip. Jack, however, proved much stronger than he looked, and was able to keep up with the squad all the way to camp. He was quite capable.

"We'll catch you later, Farley," Charlie said as he and the rest of the squad headed toward the campfire. It was almost dark now. "After you're done babysittin." This provoked a couple of snickers from the guys.

"I'm just gonna take him to see Commander Sade. He'll decide what to do."

They parted ways, and Farley beckoned Jack to come with him. They found Commander Sade in his tent, poring over a table of maps and battle plans for tomorrow's exercises. Looking up, he saw Farley and couldn't suppress a smirk. "Taking in strays again, private?"

"Sorry sir, but he needed our help. He knows where he comes from and he just wants to go home. His name's Jack."

"Farley you need to stop this shit. This is the last time and I mean the last time I'm gonna humor these little fantasies of yours about saving the world, one child at a time. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir."

"The boy can stay with the P.O.W.s tonight. We'll figure out what to do with him tomorrow."

"Actually, sir, he claims to live out to the west and says he can find his home on a map. If you'll let him have a look I'm sure we can send him out with the supply caravan first thing in the morning."

The commander raised an eyebrow and spoke to Jack for the first time. "Is that so?"

Jack nodded.

"Well then," said Sade, pulling out a map of the region and placing it down on the table. He sat Jack down across from where he stood. "Which village is yours?"

Jack glanced at the map for a moment before looking up pleadingly into Sade's eyes. "W…water. Can I please have some water?" Farley, alarmed that he hadn't considered the boy's basic needs, jumped to attention.

"I'll run and get it," he offered. Sade nodded and Farley sprinted from the tent. Jack returned his attention to the map.

"It's farther than this…" he said sadly.

"Hm," Sade replied and turned to pick up the map of Sofala. Too deep into Sofala would be past the supply post and Sade was unsure they'd be able to help the boy if that were the case.

He turned around to hand Jack the new map, but it was already too late.

Having pulled the hidden bowie knife from his boot, Jack was up and over the table. Sade dropped the map as the knife was lodged into the side of his throat. Having sliced the commander's vocal chords, Sade couldn't yell out. Having punctured his trachea, he couldn't breathe. The blood sprayed from the wound, covering the boy's pure face until the child that had been there before was no more than a vague memory. The creature that remained looked like something of pure evil.

Sade was dead in a matter of moments and Jack peeked out the front of the tent. His kill had gone unnoticed, but that trusting fool Farley would be back any minute. Looking out the back, Jack saw that the commander's tent was at the edge of the plateau. He made a run for it.

Sprinting out the back of the tent he jumped down the side of the plateau and nimbly climbed the rocks back into the desert below. Having scouted the area around the base prior to this operation, Jack easily felt his way through the dark into a small crevasse about half a mile southeast. His attention was diverted for only a moment when a loud echo shot across the desert. Jack could just make out the words.

"FARLEY YOU STUPID FUCK!"

Jack climbed into a small cave. There was a network of little tunnels around that crevasse where he would be able to hide from the soldiers for hours if they were so inclined to follow him down there. Not that they'd even be able to fit into the tiny openings.

Jack pulled his radio and tuned it to the correct frequency. The voice that spoke into it was ice cold and completely devoid of emotion.

"Carlo."

The radio buzzed and whistled for a second before the response came through. Carlo's voice was only slightly deeper than Jack's own.

"That you, White Devil?"

"It's me. You can tell Solidus 'mission accomplished.' The enemy commander has been neutralized."

"That's good news. He'll be happy. You coming back tonight?"

"In a few hours, under cover of darkness."

The radio hissed static again for a second, before Carlo's voice returned. "…wants to begin the attack first thing tomorrow morning."

"Actually, Carlo?"

"Yes, White Devil?"

"I have some information about a supply caravan Solidus might find interesting. A change of plan might be in order…"