The three days that they had been given for preparation had expended themselves all too quickly for Jack's liking. The day of the battle looked like every other day in this miserable, apocalyptic world they had fallen into, gloomy, dark, and dilapidated. But the oppressive presence of anxiety and doom were almost too much for Jack to shoulder as he pulled himself out of his sleeping bag where it lay on the gym floor. The entire gymnasium was practically silent, save for the slight murmur of movement from the others around him as they rolled up their sleeping bags and moved about, preparing themselves.
Sighing to himself, Jack stood and rolled up his bag, tucking it away against the wall and grabbing his things for the bathroom. As Jack stood in front of the mirror, finishing up on brushing his teeth, he glanced around at the other boys that were moving about. A younger boy, who Jack remembered as Connie, was next to him at the sinks.
Connie was about thirteen years old with close cut brown hair and large brown eyes. Jack studied the boy, noticing how Connie was mechanically brushing his teeth as his eyes stared sightlessly at his reflection. The brown irises of the boy were completely terrified and Jack began to notice a slight tremor running through the boy's limbs.
Jack rinsed and put away his brush before walking up to Connie and resting a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. Connie gave a little start, his brushing movements ceasing as he turned to Jack, terror still plain in his eyes. Jack smiled as warmly as he could at the boy and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.
"Hey, Connie, isn't it?" Jack asked kindly. Connie nodded, his eyes still plaintive as he stared up at Jack. "Are you alright, Connie? I know things look scary, but we are ready. Remind me of where you are in the formation."
Connie rinsed out his mouth quickly and set down his brush before turning back to face Jack. "I-I'm in the middle ring that guards the school, Sir."
Jack smiled and gave Connie a pat on the shoulder. "You will be fine, Connie. The battle, if everything goes right, shouldn't even reach the school. You'll see, we will win and when we do, we can start to rebuild our lives. Everything will turn out fine in the end."
Connie looked up at Jack, his brown eyes holding a small spark of hope. "Really?" he asked softly. Jack smiled and ruffled Connie's short-cropped hair. "Really." Connie gave Jack a tentative smile, his eyes looking lighter now as he gathered up his things and started heading out of the bathroom. Jack watched the boy and smiled softly.
As Jack packed up his things, he couldn't help but think about what he had said. Jack was almost positive that Connie and everyone around the school would barely even see battle today. But he wasn't so sure he could be as confident about the success for everyone on the front lines. Shaking his head, Jack turned away from the sink and left the bathroom, heading for the infirmary to check up on Kim before he went to breakfast.
Jack entered the infirmary and was surprised to find Milton and Kim standing in the main room, deep in conversation. Jack walked over to them briskly, his curiosity piqued at the situation.
"Kim!" Jack called as he approached the pair, causing them to turn in his direction. "What are you doing? Should Milton have you resting right now?" Jack accompanied his question with a glare at his friend as he pulled up next to the two.
Kim sighed looked like she was trying not to roll her eyes at Jack's overprotective behavior. "Honestly, Jack. I'm fine. And no matter what you say, I'm still a General here and I'm going to fight alongside my soldiers. I won't leave you all to face Evaline alone. And besides, Milton says I'm fine anyway, right Milton?"
The two looked at Milton whose eyes widened under their pressing looks. "Uh, yeah I checked her out this morning and she seems to be in fighting condition," he said nervously, unable to meet his friend's intense gazes.
Kim threw Jack a smug look of triumph as she folded her arms across her chest. "See? I know when I'm able to fight and when I'm not able to, Jack. I'm not a child."
Jack visibly flinched at the last comment. "But you are Kim, we all are. Some of us more than others," Jack said quietly, his thoughts drifting to Connie. When he noticed Milton and Kim's confused looks, Jack sighed through his nose. "We have to remember that we are still just a bunch of teenagers and kids here. We can't just carelessly throw away the safety of our lives and those following us, Kim. I know you want to fight, but we have to remember that we aren't the only ones fighting. We just…we just have to be extra careful."
Kim stared at Jack for a long moment, leaving him to shift uncomfortably under her intense gaze. Finally, after feeling like the entirety of time had lapsed, Kim threw herself at Jack and held him close. Surprise, Jack stumbled back a step or two, holding onto Kim as he regained his balance.
"Who are you and what have you done with Jack?" she murmured in his ear. "I think having me out of control of the troops has implanted a new sense of responsibility and leadership in you," she whispered. "And I have to admit, I'm impressed."
Jack held Kim tightly for another moment before he released her and they stared at each other in silence for a heartbeat. Jack sighed and rubbed his forehead with the heel of his palm. "So, you're really intending on fighting with us against Evaline? I assume with me on the front lines?"
Kim nodded and glanced over at Milton. "He said that I would be fine. And I know my limits Jack. I won't let us get separated again." Kim grabbed Jack's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Never again. I promise."
Jack nodded and squeezed Kim's hand back with a soft smile. "Well, I guess we should leave Milton to his preparation and we should get to assembling the troops."
Close to an hour later, Jack and Kim were standing shoulder to shoulder on the slight crest of a small hill about two miles from the school. They were standing in a run down used-to-be baseball field that the community had used for a recreational game every once in a while. Spread out behind the two stoic Generals was a mass of teenagers, all battle equipped and tensely awaiting the arrival of the infected. The front rows closest to the Generals were made up of the Recon Corps that Jack and Kim had commanded, along with Jerry and his Corp. Eddie had been left in charge of the troops protecting the school that was mainly made up of the younger recruits and Milton had stayed back to tend to them and prepare for any injured soldiers who came back from the field.
Kim let out a terse huff of breath and clenched her bow's grip as she fiddled with an arrow in her other hand, running her fingers over the feathered fletching. Kim's green eyes swept restlessly over the landscape before them. Finally she sighed and glanced back at the troops behind her.
Kim's eyes found the members of her Corp, Bryn and Diana standing shoulder to shoulder as they kept their jaws locked and gazes stoic. Kim couldn't help but feel a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she remembered walking past them earlier.
"Diana, if I don't make it back after this-"
"No, Bryn. Don't say that. Don't you dare say that," Diana murmured, grabbing Bryn's hand in hers and holding fast. Surprisingly, she was unable to look into his eyes as her gaze fell to the ground.
"But if I don't, I just…wanted you to know…that…" Bryn fumbled over his words, his cheeks becoming pink with embarrassment as he tried to gather himself, also dropping his gaze to the floor.
"What is it?" Diana whispered, finding courage in herself to look up at the shorter boy before her.
"I-I love you, Diana," Bryn said softly, looking up at her, their eyes locking tight to the others, blush tingeing both of their cheeks.
Diana stared at Bryn before leaning forwards quickly and pressing her lips against Bryn's. Bryn's eyes widened before he leaned into the embrace and closed his eyes, obviously fighting tears. When they broke apart, they stood there, close together and leaning against one another's forehead, their noses brushing.
Kim blinked fiercely against the threat of tears. She loved the members of her Corp like they were family. She desperately wanted to make sure that both of them made it back alive so they could be together. She glanced over the rest of her Corp, Michael and Aaron, standing as quiet and passive as ever, and Holly, her face set but her eyes betraying her anxieties as they glistened slightly, obviously holding back from breaking down.
Kim turned away and looked at Jack who stood beside her, his hard gaze still staring out at the horizon, leaving Kim to drink in his profile. Jack soon seemed to notice that he was being stared at and turned to face Kim, their eyes meeting. A silent understand seemed to pass between them and Jack reached over, grabbing hold of the hand Kim was holding her arrow in.
"We're going to be okay. We've survived this long, we can keep surviving, so don't give up, okay?"
Kim smirked and let out a laugh that was a huff of breath released from terse lips. "I wasn't going to give up, but that doesn't mean I can't be nervous. I find it very hard to believe that you aren't even the slightest bit nervous."
Jack huffed and smirked too. "I can't deny that, I am actually very nervous. Just trying to hide it though." Jack looked back out over the horizon and sighed.
"Kim, we've been friends for almost three years now. And as much as we deny it, there is definitely something more than a simple friendship between us. So, if one of us doesn't make it back-"
"Don't you dare even think that for a moment Jack," Kim said, squeezing his hand. "We are strong enough, we can both come back from this victorious."
"Kim," Jack said softly, not looking over at her, his gaze still on the horizon. "I understand that we both desperately want to come back alive, but let's face reality for a moment. Let's think that maybe one of us falls to Evaline and her force, in case we do, I-"
Jack stopped abruptly, his whole posture tensing as he took a step forwards and dropped Kim's hand. "They're coming!" he shouted, his voice ringing out over the troops, stirring them up from their thoughts and soft conversations. A chorus of clicking guns, unsheathing of blades, and shifting feet sounded behind the two Generals.
Kim felt a pull in her chest as she realized that Jack would never get to say what he wanted before this started. Sighing, Kim turned and followed Jack's gaze, indeed finding the mass of Evaline's army approaching from across the large span of baseball fields.
This is it, Kim thought darkly, notching her arrow and taking aim, even though she knew she was still too far off from the enemy to have it cause any kind of damage. Kim's heart beat erratically in her chest as she watched the approaching mass of discolored infected, led by a glowing eyed she-demon who's once tan skin was now a filthy ashen color.
"Remember your training and keep your heads!" Kim shouted out over her shoulder to the troops. "If you get turned, it's your choice whether or not you finish off yourself or if you have a comrade do it. But whatever the outcome, you are all brave souls and I believe in you! Now, get ready to fight!"
"Yes ma'am!" Came the unanimous response of the sea of teenage soldiers behind her.
Jack and Km looked over at each other, their eyes meeting, drinking in one another for what could very well be the last time before Jack turned his gaze back to the oncoming army and Kim looked back at the troops. Catching sight of Bryn and Diana squeezing hands before readying their weapons, Kim found herself with tears dripping down her cheeks as she forced herself to look away.
Finding that the mass of infected bodies was now in firing range, Kim pulled the bowstring taught, her fingers that held the coarse string in place brushing against her cheek as she took aim. Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, Kim unclenched her fingers and let her first arrow fly.
A/N: Ahh! Guys I'm sorry this took so long and that it's crappy. Please forgive me! I actually started to make myself cry while I was writing this. I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea to write this while it was "that time of the month" for me. O_O Ignore me. R&R please!