Filomena

"You've killed me, Filomena!" Papa shouted as he lunged towards me with his hands around my throat. I tried to get his hands off of my neck, but they wouldn't relent, crushing my windpipe slowly as I struggled to survive.

"Papa! Please!" I wheezed out as tears dripped from my eyes. "I'm sorry!"

"Wake up!" I heard Benjamin shout as he shook my shoulders as I shot up from my bed. I wiped tears from my eyes and the concerned face of Benjamin looked into my eyes.

"What-"

"You were having a nightmare," he explained, taking my hands in his, his thumbs gently rubbing the back of them in an attempt to calm me down. I leaned forward, giving him a passionate kiss on the lips. My lips sealed to his as he released my hands. He grabbed the large, soft blanket, draping it around the two of us. I was surrounded by warmth, a warmth provided by Benjamin. We separated from the kiss; I laid my head in his chest.

"I need to know something, Benjamin," I said, steeling my nerves. "How are you so skilled in combat?" I asked, looking up at him.

He gulped before giving an answer. "Do you know what child soldiers are?" he asked.

"I can't begin to fathom," I whispered as I now felt embarrassed for even asking.

"Well, as the name would imply, it's a child that is trained to be a soldier, to shoot and kill," He said, grabbing me tight. "I was born on the battlefield, so for the most part, war is all I know," Benjamin answered, resting his chin atop my head. He gently combing through my hair with his left hand, softly holding my head against his chest. "I pray to whatever god you believe in, that you never have to experience the things I have, Filomena," He said, his voice beginning to waver. I looked up into his eyes, which were rapidly filling with sadness, and reached up my hands, holding his cheeks in my palms. I felt tears running down his cheek, across the back of my hands.

"So there was another war?" I asked.

Benjamin

"So there was another war?" Filmoena asked as she continued to look at me. Tears welled up under her eyes. "Why must people kill?"

"It is in our nature," I replied, trying to comfort the elf.

"Well it's a horrible nature," she retorted.

"Why must people kill?" I asked my captain as we rode out to the front. Hundreds of miles of contaminated trenches laid out before me as I grabbed my M16 rifle and helmet.

"It is in our nature; a cruel nature that exists within all of us, and not everyone can excise it," the captain said as he led our squad into the trenches, all of us donning our gas masks.

"I agree," I said, separating myself from the elven beauty, wrapping Filomena in the warm blanket. "I'll get you something to eat, you must be starving," I said, walking out of the room. Only to feel a hand tugging at my sleeve.

"No." I looked behind me to see Filomena with a firm expression on her face. "I refuse to stay weak. You were going to teach me how to maintain my weapon?" she asked. I nodded, leading her to the kitchen where I had a few pistols completely disassembled laid out on the kitchen table.

"You ready?" I asked, Filomena nodded enthusiastically.

Jack

We rode through abandoned roads of the country as the dark elf by the name of Drysi leaned her head on my shoulder as the night passed us by. I looked in the cabin of the APC, the rest of the elves. The four who seemed to love orgies were all cuddled up like a litter of puppies. There was one that had long, elegant, white hair, and a dress that would be fit for a goddess. Then there were the two sour apples. An old looking man and a beautiful yet older woman with a well-endowed chest. I looked over at Drysi, a dark elf who had kept close to me ever since the prison escape.

"She probably likes me. She's definitely my type, the strong and persistent type. I wonder how Robert is doing with his group of people," I thought as I fell asleep. "Man, I'm going to rail Drysi when I have the chance," where my last thought before the void of sleep consumed me.

Lina

I was gently kissing the soldier known as Eric. my hands were planted on his thighs as his hands held my back. His tongue gently felt around mine. I pulled away, looking deep into his eyes. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked.

I combed my hand through his hair as I gave him a kiss on the cheek, resting my head on his shoulder. "No, I just wanted a break. You're quite aggressive with the way you kiss," I said, looking into his dark blue eyes.

"Sorry, it was my first time," he said bashifully.

"Its alright, you did well. By the way, how old are you?" I asked.

"Twenty seven. I was the second youngest in our unit in The Waste War. The youngest, Rook, only being two years younger than me. What about you?"

"I'm actually the youngest out of everyone in that cell," I said a soft chuckle. "Twenty six."

"Oh so we're similar," Eric said as I nestled into his arms, a welcoming warmth surrounding me.

"Waste War?" I asked, not knowing of the conflict.

"Yea. A large scale conflict that occured a decade after the Nuclear Wipe. Three fledgling empires rose through the ashes of the nuclear apocalypse: The Thedian Empire, The Averez Empire, and the Voules Empire. The Thedian Empire controlled all of what was New England, Mid-Atlantic states, and the Mid-Western states. Most of their territory making up ruined cities of concrete and steel."

"Concrete?" I asked, not understand what he was talking about.

"A type of stone. Anyways, The Thedian Empire specialized in armored cavalry and rolling fortresses," he explained. "They can steamroll over any and all battlefields and are almost impossible to defeat."

"And what of the other two? The Averez Empire and the Voules Empire?" I asked.

"The Averez Empire is made up of the Western states. They're specialty in war are their rangers. They're the masters of stealth tactics and sabotage."

"And the Voules Empire?" I inquired.

"They make up the southern states, and are best known by how heavily their civilian population is armed, and the deeper you go south, the harder the terrain is to traverse. That makes them impossible to invade. And that's not without a lack of trying. Thedians have invaded constantly, but never got past the Virgin brother states," Eric explained.

"Which side were you on?" I asked, taking his left hand in mine, holding it while I felt the scared palm.

"We served with The Voules Empire, the Vriginian northern front," he said with a dire tone.

"Was it… dangerous?"

"Yea. I can't ever forget those cursed trenches. Can barely sleep."

"Then let me help," I said, pulling him down to my level, giving him a kind hug, which he excepted without resistance.

Filomena

"That was a wonderful dinner! What spices did you use?" I asked as Benjamin washed the dishes.

"Paprika, cinnamon, and crushed cumin seeds. Was there anything that stood out in particular?" he asked, setting the dishes on the drying rack.

"The chicken had some nice kick to it, so what are we going to be doing tomorrow?" I asked, grabbing a hot cup of hot chocolate that I had made.

"We'll go into town, grab you some new clothes, and get you your own weapon. The M9 is a good one, but I think its a bit too big for you," he said.

"It's not!" I pouted in protest.

"Oh it definitely is! That thing almost knocked you off your ass twice when we were shooting today!" he said with a loud laugh.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!" the scream of a woman was heard from outside the house. I grabbed the M9 as Benjamin grabbed his rifle. We ran out to see something going deeper into the forest. I tried to run after the shape, but Benjamin held me back, bringing me back inside.

"What was that?! Someone could need our help!"

"It wasn't a person, Filomena."

"It… wasn't?" I asked, calming down a bit.

"No. there are creatures that can mimic the final words of their victims. I thought they wouldn't be out this far, but it looks like I was wrong."

I sat next to him on the couch, noting how he was softly shaking. I warmly rubbed his shoulder to calm him down. "It's ok, we're safe here, right?"

"Yea," Benjamin said as he closed his eyes, falling asleep. I grabbed a blanket and wrapping it around the both of us.

A/N: AAAAAAnd that's chapter 3! I hope you all enjoyed! sorry about the short chapter length