First time you load and ready a gun, you feel scared. First time you fire a gun at a target, you feel a sudden thrill afterwards...First time you kill a man, you feel regret. And all this happens in only a few seconds.


Pennsylvanian Country, 11:51 9th March 2037, Wyatt's POV


I believed the boy was ready. Me, Jason and Milo piled into the van. I took up the driver seat, and Milo sat in the back with the kid. Mathias desperately wanted to come, but with his busted leg, he was better off staying back here. It would only be a few more days before he was up. But he was stubborn, so it would be most likely tomorrow that he would be up and walking.

I checked over my USP.45, unloading the magazine and inspected that the amount of bullets inside were filled to the top. I was satisfied to find that they were, and loaded it back in before cocking and holstering the handgun. After, I pulled back the hatch separating the two compartments of the van and peered back. Milo weighed his Sawn-Off Double barrel shotgun in one hand, the other filled with multiple red shells. I could clearly see the pale white skull on his grey shirt. His boots tapped rhythmically on the flooring of the van, sending shudders through the vehicle. He was definitely ready for a fight.

The boy, on the other hand, fumbled with his weapon. Luckily for us, it wasn't loaded yet. His magazine was still in his left pocket, and he was looking over the weapon continuously, analyzing every bit of it. I had given him a dark grey jacket to borrow. He had zipped up so only a tiny bit of his green shirt was in sight.

Milo leaned forward to the boy and held out a hand.

"Want help?" I heard him ask. Jason handed over his gun, and the bald Russian started showing him how to use ready and use his weapon. I grinned at the sight. It reminded me a lot of how I trained Lydia when she was close to the same age. Before I could get teary, I closed the hatch and rapped my knuckles against it, giving the signal that we were ready to go. I commenced the engine start up and before long, we were rolling slowly out of the warehouse and onto the dirt road.

Today the sky was covered by dark clouds. Only a bit of the sun peeked through the clouds. There was a storm coming. And it wasn't going be from the sky. I could sense it. My eyes were glued to the road ahead. I could hear the occasional voice from the back, and felt the occasional bump in the road. The trail we went on made an almost perfect circle around our camp, and so we made it our patrol route. Along it were a few trees dotting the sides, and lots of tall grass. That made it hard to see in the distance. And that made the patrol harder to do, with the chance of something slipping by. I did not want to get back home to find it burned to the ground.

Halfway through, I stopped the van to check up on the others in the back. Opening my door, I stepped out and went to the side, knocking on the sliding door. As I waited, I scanned the area around us with my weapon drawn. After a few seconds, the door came sliding open with Milo holding the handle.

"Yes?" he asked bluntly. I smirked and how he presented himself. With his shotgun resting on his shoulder as he leaned against the door.

"Just making a stop. Anything you need to do?" He shook his head. I looked past him to Jason. The poor kids hands were shaking. But he still had his brave face on. "Kid" he turned to face me before and listened, "Need anything?" He shook his head and went back to looking at his feet. What did I expect? Maybe for him to talk? Cause that's all I wanted. I hadn't heard one peep from him since we went on. I had only heard Milo singing in Russian, or reading one of his small books he had brought along, also in Russian. I sighed and stepped back for Milo to shut the door. I then went to the driver seat and we were back on track.

Everything on the way was quiet, with not a single other sign of civilization. That was until I saw a glint of steel in the distance. Narrowing my eyes, I soon realized what it was and pushed down on the brake. The van came to a sudden stop, and I heard someone tumble in the back. But I paid no attention. My eyes never left the oncoming KPA light armored vehicle. On the top, it had a machine gun with a shield around it. It was covered in black, and heading towards us at a great speed. I thought that they might not have seen us yet, or they would be coming a lot faster, so we still had a chance.

Before getting out, I rapped on the hatch three times. There was a foreign curse, followed by the sound of the door opening. I pushed open the door and ran to the back, where Jason and Milo awaited my arrival. Milo had his weapon at the ready, and Jason was crouched against the back of the van. I could see his knees wobbling, but he managed to keep his hands still. It seemed that my lessons of self control had worked. Sort of. I placed a hand on his shoulder as a sign of assurance.

"You ready?" I asked him. He nodded, a little shakily. I started to regret the decision of allowing him to come along, realizing that he may not be ready. But as Mathias used to say; 'there is no time like the present'. And he was right.

I equipped my handgun and moved my other hand to the edge of the back of the vehicle to steady myself as I peered out slightly. The vehicle had just stopped, and my head darted back when one of the doors opened. As the footsteps and voices came closer, I held up three fingers and started counting down. While I did, I felt my heart race, the adrenaline pumping around. And then, as my last finger went down, we popped out from cover.

I was the first to fire, landing a shot on their vehicle. The bullet only just missed his leg. My second shot didn't. The KPA soldier collapsed, holding his leg to his chest as he cried out in pain. The others snapped to us, ignoring their screaming comrade. I heard Milo's shotgun fire, and then a splatter as the spray of lead tore through another on the other side. I hadn't seen it, but could easily picture the soldier laying in a pool of his own blood. Beside me, Jason stayed back. And it was better that way. We could handle these guys. And if one got around, I trusted him to take him out.

I took cover as a hail of rounds showered the side of the van, not penetrating the outer shell. I had Hank to thank for that. I blind-fired around the corner, and after four rounds, leaned out of cover and landed a well placed hit on my target's arm. He fell back, holding his arm. I began to fire on another, and as I did, I noticed the downed soldier reaching for his pistol. That was something I could not allow, so I popped another into him to finish him off. Another bullet winded past, forcing me to back down. By now, there was one left. And when I heard Milo's weapon sound off on my side, I knew it was over. Now, I wondered how stupid they were, because not a single one of them had stayed in the mounted gun.

"Need to leave! Now!" Milo's voice rang out. I wondered why, and when I looked down the road, I saw the reason. Another vehicle was heading our way. I ran and dived into the driver seat, knowing that the other two were already in. Without buckling up, I pushed down and the van lurched forward, sending a spray of dirt into the air. The light armored vehicle wasn't too far behind, zooming past the recent battle site. This time, they weren't so stupid.

"Shit!" I cursed when I heard their mounted gun firing. If they were closer and more accurate, I would have been sure that the others were dead. So just to be sure, I kept the hatch open. The good thing about this van was that it was very maneuverable and had tougher armor. The bad news was that we only had a side door. And that meant that if we wanted to shoot back, we had to do it the hard way. I heard the sliding door open, and then a handgun firing. At first, I thought it was Jason. But when I heard the swearing, I knew it was Milo. When it came to car chases, the old Ruski was the best. Especially when heavy weapons were involved.

"Priyti i poluchit' yego zhopy!" I grinned as he continued to fire insults as well as bullets in their direction. Some of them I recognized from his occasional lessons, and was pretty shocked by his language. He was really pissed off at these guys chasing us. And I really was too. I smirked slyly when I saw the narrow road ahead, a steep on one side. Their side.

"Ruski!" I called back. "I got an idea! Hold on!" Without a pause top hear a reply, I slowed down, allowing the KPA Humvee to come to our side. It was risky, but it was the only way to get them off our butts. With one quick turn, I slammed into their side, and they were sent rolling down the hill. And not rolling on their tires, but on their side. I didn't stop to see if they were dead, because there were bound to be more. To lose the tracks, I went off road, heading straight towards our home base. Hopefully, we would be there first.


Jason's POV


You would think that with my attitude, I would have been shooting, right? Well then, I feel ashamed. The whole time during that firefight, I had slunk down against the back of the van. I hadn't thought the idea of coming along through very well, because in truth, I was afraid. And not just of dying, but also of killing.

Then when the van shot ahead with us in it, and when I heard the machine gun fire outside, I was even more fearful. And as soon as Milo opened that door, I wanted to beg him to close it. But I was frozen in fear. After all those times I thought I was brave back at Chester, I never was. The whole time, I had my weapon holstered. Hadn't even fired it once. Not a single time did I discharge it.

Soon, I felt it stop after such a long trip. Milo led me out of the van and sat me down on a nearby wooden crate before leaving to go and talk with Wyatt. I had the feeling that it was about me. How much of a failure I was. My head fell into my hands, and I soon found myself crying. Crying like a baby. I stopped when I felt someone's hand on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Wyatt's face. He looked sympathetic, and all I could think about was how pathetic I had looked. I expected him to start scolding me for being such a coward. But instead, I was surprised.

"It's okay, kid. It's okay to be scared. In fact, I was when I first fired a gun." I looked at him in disbelief at his confession. Never did I ever think that he could be scared. "Only a little, though." I looked at him glumly. He smiled, obviously feeling amused. "Come on. Get some rest." I nodded and slowly stood up, then followed him to my quarters. Once he left, I fell asleep, thinking of my family. And then my new family. This family that I had now. And I felt happy.


I woke up later because Milo had woken me up. He said it was important, so I sat up, forgetting about the bunk above. And just like very time, it hurt a lot. After a thorough rubbing of the head, I walked out and went where Milo had told me to go before hurrying off. On the way, I wondered what it was about. Perhaps it was about the KPA patrol. Or maybe it was about me. Is that why Milo hadn't told me what it was about? I shook the thought from my head.

Outside of the room I was told to go to, I could hear hushed voices through the door. And when I knocked, the voices were suddenly silenced. There was long silence, and the door soon opened, revealing a dimly lit room with a table in the center. On the table was a map, with markings and little flags on it. Across from the door was Wyatt, with Milo on his left and Jill on his right. And one more with his back turned.

"About time, fella. We thought you'd never come." the fourth person muttered. He turned his head and flashed a wide grin, and I was surprised to see Mathias upright again. I mean, I thought he would never walk. I'd seen many people in Chester with leg wounds, and no one could treat them. So I must have underestimated the rebels' efforts. I approached the table and Mathias rested a hand on my back, as if to prevent me from running.

"Are you sure this plan is necessary. It was only one patrol-" Jill tried to reason, but was stopped short by a frustrated Wyatt.

"It was not only one patrol" he snapped back, emphasizing his last words. I flinched at his harsh tone, and noticed Mathias and Milo do the same. Apparently, he didn't get frustrated often. He turned away from the table and raised a hand to his head and tugged a little at it. Jill clamped her mouth shut, gritting her teeth. He turned back around to continue, "There were two vehicles, and this is the closest they have been. And...and I didn't check for survivors." Jill's jaw fell open and Mathias slapped a hand against his face. Wyatt's face fell as he confessed. I knew it was bad, because if there were any survivors, they could easily go back. And then, they would come back.

"What do you mean you didn't check?! You idiot!" I jumped at the now-fuming woman's raging voice, but the others didn't. This was the one thing that was indeed frequent around here, and it still took some getting used to.

"I-I'm sorry! Okay? I couldn't get the kid hurt, and-"

"Oh, sure! Just think about the kid!" Jill yelled at him, gesturing to me. I could feel my fists clenching together. Mathias whispered something to me, but I didn't hear anything. "He couldn't even protect himself! He will get himself killed" I could feel my nostrils flaring, and my eyes grew wider with rage. I did not notice that Wyatt and Milo were arguing for my side, thought Wyatt more so, because my were entirely focused on her. She was about to cross the line. "He will get us all killed. He is only a child" she went on, and then, what she said next pushed me over the edge. "He is useless out in the field!"

"I'm not useless!" My outburst surprised everyone in the room. Even myself. Jill looked shocked, her eyes widened in fear and hands over her mouth. Milo was very surprised, and scorning me for some reason. And Wyatt rushed behind me to help...I felt a heavy guilt as I saw Mathias laying on the floor. What had I done? Possibly the worst mistake I could ever do. They were surely angry at me for what I did. So I did what instinct told me to do. I ran back to my room.


Wyatt's POV


I couldn't believe what had just happened. The kid who had cowered in a fight actually stood up for himself. Everyone was surprised, and I was even more shocked when I watched Mathias fall backwards with a hard thud. Immediately, I rush to his side and help him up, not noticing the frightened boy run from the room. Once I noticed he was gone, I sent a scolding glare over to Jill.

"That wasn't necessary" I rebuked, holding my intimidating stare. She still had her hands over her mouth in shock, so it was obvious she wasn't listening. I turned my attention to Mathias after and sat him in the chair next to him. I was about to check on his leg, but his hand caught mine.

"It's fine. Trust me...An Irishman never lies." I chuckled lightly. I knew he wasn't angry, even though his voice was gruff. He was just shocked, and when someone knocks the wind out of him, he was normally like that. But he was also forgiving, and he wouldn't hold any grudges. The lighthearted joke at the end proved that. If he did, it would be towards Jill. Milo had the same scolding glare, though it was towards the door, and I knew that he thinking about Jason and not Jill.

"It's not his fault, Milo." The Russian's face changed to disappointment, though he nodded. My view was set upon Jill once more, and this time I approached her. "What's wrong with you? He's just a kid." Now she was listening, because she looked at me with the slight spark of apology in her eyes. "He's been through a lot, so before you let the words out, think about them first." There was a pause as I thought of what to do with her. Perhaps I could make her clean the bedrooms. Or maybe help Hank with the van. But after some thought, he had a better idea in mind. Something he knew that she hated. "I want you to apologize to him." She opened her mouth to argue, but I would have none of it. "Go" I demanded in a commanding tone. "Before I lose my patience."

"Fine" was all she said before stalking off, pretending to be angry. I knew she was angry because I could see that she could already feel regret. When she was gone, I went back to the table.

"Let's get this over with." We immediately began looking for alternate locations. Time passed by, and before long, it was late. Milo went with Mathias to make sure he could make it back okay while I went to check up on Jason. And by the time I reached him, I was fatigued. So tired that I went to my bunk and collapsed right onto it, not paying any mind to the sleeping kid. When I noticed he was asleep, I sighed. It seemed that I wouldn't be getting anything out from him. Hopefully he wouldn't mind the plan for tomorrow. Because I knew that there would be bloodshed. The only question was whose blood will be spilled? The thought of losing friends made me shudder, so I dispelled it from my mind and closed my eyes, allowing the foreboding darkness to enclose me and take me from the harsh reality of life. If only I could stay.