Rudolf Steiner in:

AWOL

I opened my eyes abruptly and felt a sense of panic. It was still very dark outside. I'd still have time. But I couldn't help berating myself for dozing off on a night where I had a clear plan in mind, and of all plans, one that would require perfect execution if I were to escape.

Now I had to act quickly, much more quickly than I originally planned. I had nothing that could tell me the time. But judging by the amount I felt I had slept, the sun would rise in about an hour.

My original intention was to close my eyes and pretend to sleep until I felt the others were in a deep sleep themselves. I never expected myself to go down too. It must have been the thoughts that had absorbed my consciousness on a level where I could hardly think straight. The thought of my family…
…Dead. Gone forever. And here I was, trying to serve the entire planet. The message had told me that they had died of "natural causes". But that's just a way of sugar coating the fact that they were killed by bio-monsters, the abominations created by Mother Brain to destroy us.

I don't know how yet, but I'll get my revenge somehow.

There was a chorus of snores throughout the room. We were all tired. Worked to the bone, trying to protect towns from bio-monster attacks. But these attacks were unpredictable and it was impossible to prevent them all. And in the commotion, some scoundrels attacked the city of Arima with dynamite. Once again, we didn't arrive on the scene in time. Many were dead while others were kidnapped. Even the army had become helpless in these times of chaos.

I had left my important belongings in a sack beside my cot. I originally planned on sneaking into our weapons convoy to take my shotgun, but that would be too dangerous now. AsI scanned my belongings, clothing, rations, and a bow gun, I recalled that I did dream when I had dozed off.

I dreamed of happier times with my wife and daughter.

What a fool I was to leave them alone! It has always pained me to travel with the army and witness disaster, but I always felt that I was doing this for my family… But this was the breaking point. I had no reason to be here any longer. And instead of going through the rigorous resignation process, I decided to leave without telling my superiors.

I was going AWOL.

I snuck out as quietly as possible. Everything was going excellently. But as I exited the camp, I was interrupted by a voice.

"Captain Rudolf Steiner," it said sinisterly. "The last man I would expect to go AWOL."

I was like a cold gust of wind. Suddenly, I wasn't feeling so confident in my plan. I turned to face my adversary.

"General," I acknowledged, not wanting him to see my discomfort.

"Just where do you think you're going Captain?" he asked. We called him General Leon. I don't know if it was his first or last name, or maybe even a nickname. He was a bizarre old man, and I had served in his troop for the entirety of my service. Though I didn't like him much, he took quite a liking to me. He was responsible for my promotion to Captain.

"Sir, I need some fresh air sir!" I answered quickly.

"What you need is to get your ass back to camp, Captain. Do I look stupid to you Steiner?" he asked threateningly.

"Sir?"

"Don't play dumb, boy," he ordered. "If you needed some air, then why the hell are you all the way out here carrying a sack?"

I didn't have an answer for him. I wasn't expecting to get caught, especially by General Leon himself, so I didn't have a good cover story.

He stared at me angrily for a moment, then his expression softened. "I heard about your family, Steiner."

I nodded. I was listening, but with a sense of urgency. The sun would be up soon.

He continued. "I know it must be rough on you, Steiner. I don't know what I'd do if I lost my wife like that."

His expression changed to a smile. Could he tell I was in a hurry? Most likely.

"Haven't you heard what happens to people of your rank when you ditch the army?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

I knew. But Leon decided to tell me anyway. To make it more real to me. "Bounty hunters, Steiner. They pay 'em rather handsomely, so those guys don't give up easily. They find you. And watch you. And slit your throat when you least expect it!" he moved his hand like a knife across his own throat to demonstrate. "Not a nice way to go out, is it Steiner?"

"Sir, no sir!"

He paused again to stair me down. He irritated me. Always watching me through old eyes. What did he see in me? I never wanted to be Captain! I just wanted to create a good life for my wife and children.

"I can see I ain't gonna stop you," he said, finally. "But why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

"Sir, I felt that a man of your ranking would be busy with administrative and tactical duties, sir! I didn't want to disrupt you, sir!" It was a lie. I didn't really care how Leon felt about it. I was leaving.

"Oh, it isn't as hard as you think, Steiner," Leon said with a crooked smile. "Send a guy to die here, send a hundred to die there, being General isn't all that its cracked up to be."

I shuttered. This was the man who held my life and many others in his hands? I wasn't sure how to react. I was reasonably sure he was joking, but…

Perhaps he sensed my emotions. "You have to be cold, Steiner." he lectured. "Ruthless. Out only for number one, yourself and everything you care about. Personally, I think that you could pull it off in a pinch."

Now, I was angry. First, he disregards the lives of his men, then he compares me to him? But I had to keep up the charade. Keep treating him with respect.

"Thank you, sir."

He laughed. "So what are you really after, Steiner? What are you planning on doing?"

I said nothing. I was not willing to discuss that with him.

"Its revenge, isn't it? You don't need to tell me: I can see it in your eyes. So how are you going to go about that? Are you going to destroy all of the bio-monsters by yourself? Become a hunter?"

It was the plan I had considered.

"Better yet, are you going to take out your frustrations on Mother Brain?" he said with a gasp.

It was another plan I considered, though no one knew its real location.

"Hahaha! You can't hide it from me! Like I said, I've known what you were capable of all along. Let me tell you this. Its classified information delivered to me by the Commander of Mota. Ready?
"The Commander has sent an agent by the name of Rolf Landale to infiltrate the bio-systems lab. If you want your answers, it wouldn't be a bad idea to assist this Rolf Landale character."

The sun was rising on the horizon. Rays of orange began to appear. "Thank you sir," I said as I walked off.

"Oh! And a gift from me, Steiner. I recieved a report that Landale left Arima just yesterday. I think he was headed toward Paseo. That's where you should go... if you are going to find him!"

I didn't look back. I just continued walking, trying to forget most of what the old man had told me.

"One more thing Steiner!" he shouted.

I stopped and faced him now.

"I'll try to prevent the information of your exile from leaking to "higher authorities" quickly. But I make no guarantees that we won't be after you by tomorrow!"

I could hear Leon's sharp laughter. Hopefully, it would be the last time. And I shuddered again. Hopefully, I will never be like him.