Chapter three
In a burned down village in the scorched woods, North of Alnus Hill
"Holy shit." Anderson murmured under his breath. "'Kay, pull me up." Itami commanded. The Japanese soldier was retrieving the body that was found at the bottom of a well. "Help me out over here, will ya?" asks Itami. He had tied a rope around his torso that was attached to a winch of one of the vehicle the 3rd Recon used. The vehicle's winch activated, pulling Itami and the body out of the well. Anderson took the body and laid it on the ground. It looks like a young blond woman, probably in her mid-20s? She looked like a normal human. The only striking part of her body is her ears. They were pointed and sticking out of her head. They were extremely noticeable.
Kuribayashi and another woman in the 3rd Recon, nurse Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa, took the "elf" to the back of one of their vehicles and start tending to her. "If she's the only survivor and we leave her here, what would happen to her?" wondered Anderson. "Who cares? We found an elf! But not just any elf, a blond elf! Now that's the kind of thing I was hoping to find out here!" squealed Kurata, who was freaking out while Itami was drying his boots that were filled with water. "Ok, you're in to elves." muttered Anderson, intrigued. Kurokawa walks out of the vehicle and goes over to the three men.
"How's she doing?" asked Itami. "Her temps are back to normal and she's no longer in critical condition." Kurokawa replied. "That's good." Anderson said.
"Sir, what should we do now?" the woman asked in a light voice. Her jet black hair was all messed up after having a helmet on. "Hmm, a dry pair of boots would be kinda kickass right about now!" Itami declared. "Really, what should we do with her?" asked Anderson. "To be honest, we should bring her with us and mark her as a refugee. All her people have been wiped out." Itami suggested. "Now why do I have a feeling that you were gonna say that?" Kurokawa questioned. "Huh?" the three men asked all at once.
"Well, knowing what you do in your free time, if we found someone that was a human and/or a man, you would have left said person. But that's just my guess." Kurokawa said, grinning. Anderson started laughing. "He probably watches hentai in his free time." Anderson giggled. The group then started to laugh hysterically, except Itami of course, who was red as a tomato. It's times like these that gives Anderson ease, knowing he has good men and women by his side.
On the way back to Alnus
"'Kay, that should do it. We should make our way back to Alnus." Anderson suggested. "Let's go through Coda Village." added Itami. "Ya know what, sir? We'll probably run into a dragon again before we see a cat girl." Kurata said. "Better watch what you say, 'cause it'll most likely come true." Anderson grunted, his expression hardening again. He then went back to staring into space, reliving his thoughts. "That's what I thought before that thing happened in Afghanistan, before we were attacked." Anderson thought to himself. "If what Kurata said was true, that we may suddenly get attacked," Anderson assured himself, "at least it won't be my first rodeo.".
Later, Coda Village
"Ok, we're here." Itami announced. Their convoy stopped at the entrance of the village. Simple building reminded Anderson of the storybooks he read as a kid. Stone and wood buildings, perfect for families. The ones with knights and princesses. "Straight out of a fairy tale. And we're the knights in shining armor." Anderson said to himself. Itami went over to one of the locals and starts talking to him. He was trying to converse in their native tongue. Anderson and Kurata followed Itami. "If there's a language class when we get back to the Hill, I'm taking it." Anderson murmured to Kurata. "Please do. I don't want to watch Itami try and screw up their language." Kurata responded. The two shared a smile.
"Hey, when you moved to America, was it hard learning English?" asked Kurata. "No, not really. I knew almost perfect English before I came to America. I could even speak English without much of an accent." Anderson bragged, still smiling. One of the great things about America is that the main language is English, which is one of the easiest languages to learn. "How did you learn English?" inquired Kurata. "Well, I learned some in English classes at school, but I learned most of the language from my papa." Anderson concluded.
Anderson, Kurata, Itami, and one of the locals walked over to a vehicle to show the villager the unconscious elf. In the village, people were hustling to pack their essentials. They want to flee the village before the flame dragon crashes the party. Many broken vases and other pottery were shattered on the ground. Men and women were yelling at their children to hurry up packing. It was chaos. It reminded Anderson of something a few years ago. Many families had to be evacuated from this city because a huge enemy force was threatening the valley the city was in. American and British soldiers helped the people pack and get out of harms way, out of the warzone. Now, a huge threat is at large.
"I'll go help those guys pack." Anderson told Kurata and Itami. He started going down the street he was in. After walking for 5 minutes looking for something to do, Anderson noticed something. He saw that these people, as long as they got a roof over their heads and food on the table, they were happy. They weren't now, knowing that their roof protecting them from the outside is being threatened. They acted more human than the people back home. Back in Earth, people need many things to be happy, but here, people live simple lives, and that's good enough for them. That made Anderson think about the future. "Damn, I'm thinking like my papa." Anderson murmured to himself. He started to focus on what was in front of him now. And that was the dirt road that led these people to safety.
Anderson saw one woman struggling to carry a big box. She looked pretty young, maybe 22? Anderson couldn't tell. "Let me help you." Anderson said to the villager. He then puts the box onto a cart. The woman said something. Anderson knew that it meant "thanks" because he learned that word in one of the translation booklets.
Anderson then walked over to a family of a father, a mother, and a toddler who's cart's wheel has been broken due to lots of stress nearby. The father asked something to Anderson that sounded like a call for help. Anderson crouched down to the wheel, which has many of its spokes sticking out of the wreck. "'Kay, let's see what we're working with here. Damn, that's gonna be a little hard to fix." Anderson stated out loud. A caravan started forming on the main road. The father had a worried look on his face. Anderson guessed that they might not make it to the caravan. "I'll be right back." Anderson said to the man, running off to his vehicle.
Once Anderson reached his vehicle, he looked in the back for a spare tire. Luckily, he found one stashed away in case one of their tires blow out. He grabbed it and ran back to the broken down cart. He bent down to measure the tire using the other wheel that wasn't broken. Anderson saw that it was about the same size, so he ran over to the other side of the cart and tried to attach the tire. He noticed that the wheel wouldn't be attached to the axle. Anderson called Kurata over for help. "Hey, how can I attach this tire here." Anderson asks. "Well, you could always use rope." Kurata answered. "Good thinking, Macguyver. Go get me some rope, will ya?" requested Anderson. Kurata runs off to find some rope.
After a minute or so, Kurata returns, rope in hand. Anderson finds a way to use the rope and tie the tire in it's place. He tested the tire, to see if it spins. "It works!" Kurata said triumphantly, pumping his hands up. "Oorah, brother." Anderson said proudly, grinning from ear to ear.
An hour later, in the caravan
Anderson looks at his watch. It has been 5 minutes since the caravan started moving out and already there was an accident. The wagon at the front of the convoy tipped over from poor weight distribution. It looked a lot like those Conestogas that pioneers used in America. Anderson and Kurata, who was standing next to him, jog up to the wreck. A little girl was injured as it tipped over. She had bruises on her face and was semi-conscious. There was a horse laying down near the wreck as well, crying loudly. "She doesn't look too good." Kurata told Anderson. "It's gonna be fine, I'm sure it's not too bad." Anderson assured. A girl with blue hair wearing a yellow and white robe ran past Anderson and Kurata and crouched beside the girl. Kurokawa took a knee beside the wounded girl and tried to perform triage.
"Possible concussion, and her ribs might be broken too." the nurse said. "Okay, I take back what I said." Anderson muttered. The horse picked itself up and went on its hind legs, threatening the three girls. "Shit!" Anderson yells, raising his carbine and fired a quick burst, killing the horse. Blood sprayed from its head, where Anderson shot the horse. The horse then falls, a couple of bullet holes right between its eyes. "Boom, headshot." Anderson chuckled. After the wreckage has been cleared and the girl was treated, the convoy began its journey to safety.
"Hey," Anderson asked Kurata, "is that girl a wizard? The one with the blue hair?". "Nah, no way! Mages usually wear darker clothes!" Kurata exclaimed. The two then started laughing. Anderson is easy going after all.
Itami walks up to the two and takes out his canteen and takes a swig of water. "Hey Lieutenant? Exactly how long are we supposed to take care of these folks anyways?" Anderson questioned. "Don't they have some noble lords that look after these guys?" Kurata added. "Well, the lord over this area took his army with him and ended up as part of the body count at Alnus. We wiped them all out. All of them." Itami answered. "Goddamn, they must think we're monsters." Anderson uttered.
The next day, on the road
Anderson was riding in his vehicle along with Kurokawa and a couple of village children, along with the unconscious elf. Kurata was driving their car with Itami riding shotgun. The 3rd has been traveling for miles now. The three JSDF vehicles were leading the caravan of Conestogas and wagons. Anderson looks to his left to see the children staring at him in wonder. "Do you know where these guys are going?" asked Kurata. "No, not really." Itami said. "You're kidding, right?" fretted Kurata. "Leading an evac op is harder than I thought it would be." Itami stated.
"I've done it before. Pain in the ass." said Anderson, resting his head on his hands. "You could've helped me!" exclaimed Itami, who turned towards Anderson. "You didn't ask me too." Anderson said, grinning from ear to ear. Itami throws another booklet at Anderson, who was laughing hard.
"So here's the thing. If they're gonna pick a spot, it's gonna be somewhere where the dragon can't get them." Itami explained. "Ain't that the point. Elementary, my dear Watson." Anderson said in an English accent.
"One twenty over eighty." Kurokawa read the elf's blood pressure readings. "That sounds good." Anderson commented. He bent down and touched the elf's forehead if she has a fever. "She'll be up and around in no time." Kurokawa then stated. "Alright, but I'm not sure she wants to." Itami said.
"Ah, shit!" Anderson said. A wagon got stuck in mud. "Guess we'll have to get this out. Let's get everyone else around this." Itami commanded half-assed. Anderson and a few of the soldiers jumped out of their vehicles and started pushing the stuck wagon. It would barely budge. It was like trying to push a wall down.
Anderson lost his grip of the wagon and fell down after pushing for a few seconds. "Oh, fuck my life." Anderson stated. He had his Scar carbine strapped to his chest. "Damnit, I got this gun dirty." Anderson then walked back to his vehicle to dump the gun. He ran back to helping his friends.
"C'mon, move it!" Kuwahara commanded. "I'm trying!" Anderson exclaimed. He then started to pushing the cart using his shoulder. He fell once more and ended up with mud on his face. He looked like someone took a dump on his face. The soldiers laughed. "Crap, I got some in my mouth." Anderson spat and spluttered. He soon resorted to pushing the wagon using his back. They kept pushing until they finally got the wagon out of the mud. "Okay, don't make me do anything like that ever again." Anderson panted.
"Alright, let's go. We're Oscar Mike!" Kuwahara said, suppressing a smile. Everyone piled back into their cars. The journey resumed.
Anderson plopped into his seat, dirty uniform and all. His face looked like he walked through a fire. He picked up his carbine and tried to clean it. After five minutes of rigorous cleaning, he couldn't get the dirt out of his gun. He gave up, looking for another gun to use just in case. The Scar won't fire if it's dirty, and he won't be able to fully clean all the mud out of the gun before he got to base, so he discarded it.
As Anderson was digging around for a new weapon to use, he found a Minebea P9 in one of the supply boxes, along with a holster and a couple of clips. "I guess you have to make do with what you got." Anderson thought to himself. He strapped the holster to his hip, holsters the gun, and put the clips in his vest.
Thirty minutes later
Anderson was really tired. He was slumped back in his seat. More refugees had to ride their vehicle because their wagon broke down. The hills in the distance reminded Anderson of the Chocolate Hills in the Philippines. A few white, fluffy clouds dot the clear blue sky. Itami was giving a lecture to Kurokawa about why he had to burn the broken down wagon. Anderson took a look out the front window and his eyes widened.
A huge flock of crows gathered amidst the blue sky. "The hell?" Anderson took out his binoculars. He peered into the viewing device and took a look. On the road ahead of them, he noticed a girl with a wicked looking axe just crouching. "Bogey ahead." Anderson stated. Itami took out his own binoculars to take a look. "No. Way. Goth lolita girl." Itami stammered. "What did you say?" Kurata exclaimed. He took out his pair of binocs and takes a look. "Oh God, here we go again." Anderson muttered. Itami and Kurata are just back at it again with the fanboy-ing.
The girl stands up. She was pretty short, like she was a 12 year old. She wore a black and red gown. Her black hair and red eyes gave Anderson the creeps. She wore a headband that looked like she got cat ears. Her huge axe, which was bigger than her, rested on her shoulder. "She... looks like trouble." Anderson stammered. Everyone agreed. This didn't set well with Anderson. He unholstered the gun that he had on his hip and racked the slide and chambered a bullet. "This ain't gonna go well." Anderson whispered to himself. He looked at his MARPAT uniform, the brown and green squares on his attire still speckled with dirt. If he had to introduce himself, might as well look good.
"The maids around here sure are young." Kurokawa said. "Do maids carry big fucking axes?" asked Anderson. The kids in the back jumped out of the car and started to run to the girl. They were saying the word oracle over and over. "Oracle?" asked Itami.
The girl with the axe approaches the vehicle where Anderson was in. She seems to be examining the vehicle from Itami's passenger side of the car. "'Kay, I just got a chill down my spine." Anderson stated. His hands start shaking nervously. "What, are you scared of girls?" Itami asked jokingly. "Fuck you." Anderson retorted. "Those guys look like they're praying to her." Itami reported. She might not be hostile, but Anderson decided to stay alert. The girl looks at Itami with an aroused face. Itami said something to the girl in their native language. It sounded something like a greeting. Itami then nervously laughed. Anderson calmed down, started to laugh at Itami on the inside for his awkwardness. Anderson lowered the gun and holstered it.
"Hey, open your door. It look like she wants to talk to you." Anderson muttered to Itami. "Uh, okay." Itami stammered, opening his door slowly. The next thing Anderson knows, the girl tosses her axe to the back of the vehicle, to where Anderson was. Anderson quickly dodged the weapon, which landed on the unconscious elf. When Anderson looked back to the front, the girl was sitting on Itami's lap. Itami had an embarrassed face, while Kurata was in shock. "Uh, that's not where you sit.," Itami whimpered, "Please just move.". "How is this happening to you?" Kurata exclaimed. "What, are you scared of girls?" Anderson teased Itami. "Oh, up yours!" Itami answered. Anderson started laughing. The girl then started moving on Itami's lap, making him uncomfortable. She also kept reaching for his gun. "No no no no, don't touch that, that's dangerous." Itami told the girl, who was squirming. The ruckus made the vehicle shake. Anderson laughed uncontrollably. "I'm not enjoying this!" Itami exclaimed. Anderson clutched his chest and stomach. "Ow, my everything hurts." Anderson groaned. He was aching from all the laughing. When the girl finally jumped off of Itami's lap, everything died down. "Aww, the fun's over." Anderson said. People started piling back into the vehicle, along with the girl. "Looks like she was gonna join the convoy. Well, the more, the merrier." the American thought to himself.
One hour later, on the road
"The terrain has changed." Anderson reported. It's true. Green, rolling hills soon changed into red, rocky mountains. Anderson laid back into his seat, the girl's body being his only view right now, as she was leaning between Itami and Kurata. Itami stuck his head out of the window. "Ya know, it sure gets hot out here." Itami stated. "Not as bad as Iraq." Anderson told Itami. "I wish we get this whole evacuation thing over quickly." Itami muttered. "Amen to that sir." Kurata replied.
As Anderson lounged in the back, Itami peered into the distance. Anderson didn't want anything else to happen. "We got our fair share of the action for the last few days. We probably ain't gonna get more." Anderson whispered to himself. He was wrong. There was something else coming.
A/N: I know that the past couple of chapters are not as colorful as I expected, especially the first chapter. With the advice given to me, I tried to put more detail in this chapter. It might not be the best, but if you have any comments, please tell me and I will do better in the next chapters. Thank you in advance for your advice.
