4

Franck stared at the sky. It had been a while since he had seen it.

"Move out," shouted Lt. Roland, "Aller! Get a move on it, God's Regiment."

Franck sighed. They had finally been called back to live again and already the officers were ordering them around. Franck followed Sgt. Alain to where the rest of his squad was. They all had their equipment ready, stolen technology taken from the humans. They had several things that the humans had, such as weapons and helmet visors that could sense heat.

The squad looked at Alain for orders. Alain looked towards Lt. Roland for orders. Roland looked at the leader of God's Regiment, Commander V'ilbar. The Commander looked blank.

"Sir?" asked Roland, "Orders?"

"Stay put," said V'ilbar, "We'll be given a sign for what to do."

Franck sighed. They would get a break first.

"There are several things that you still haven't explained to us," Shadow told Bud.

"Das stimmt," said Bud, "There is too much to tell you. But the God will explain everything when we get to the headquarters. Basically, I was the first bat to be brought back to life. Fleesh is the god of all the regiments, you know. I don't know why he chose me, but he did. He created this vehicle for me at the headquarters. It was amazing. He gave it to me and told me to find all of the other regiments scattered all over this area.

"Where are we, exactly?" asked one of Shadow's squad members.

"East coast, United States of America," said Bud.

"Huh?" asked Dusk. He didn't understand any of that.

"It's an area, named by the humans," Bud explained as they prepared to pick up another squad.

By the time they had picked up the entire tree Bark Regiment, the sun had set. It had taken longer to locate the rest of the squads in the dark but they had done it. Pvt. Bud was now taken them to the headquarters where he said Fleesh would be.

They flew down towards a rocky hill, where an enormous cave lay. The helicopter flew right into the cavern.

"This is your stop," said Bud, "I have to pick up the rest of the regiments scattered all over this area."

"What do we do here?" asked Shadow.

"Go down that tunnel right there," Bud pointed towards the tunnel. "It'll lead straight to the center room. That's where the God will brief you."

The helicopter lifted up into the air, leaving the Tree Bark Regiment alone in the unfamiliar world.

Shade had followed the vehicle all the way to the cave. He managed to stay clear of the bat with the headgear. Shade wanted to know the secrets of their so-called God that he had overheard them talking about. He wanted to know the secret of living again. The other Gods he knew, Nocturna and Cama Zotz, did not hint about being brought back to life. The only way he knew to live again was to take the life essence from another being, but he didn't want to do that. Shade entered the dark cave. He could feel an indescribable force, urging him to go on.

"You do not belong," a voice said. Shade looked around. He saw nothing and he was sure that nothing could see him. It was probably someone else talking to another person.

"Why have you come?" the voice said.

"Me?" asked Shade. If he was mistaken about the voice, then no one else could hear him, but if it was talking to him, it could most likely hear him.

"Yes," said the voice, "I know what you seek. You seek life."

"That's right," said Shade, uncertainly. He had no clue who he was talking to.

"You know how to find life. Take the life of another. Why didn't you?"

"Because I shouldn't be dead, so I shouldn't take life as the dead try."

"Why?"

"I died to save my son. He shouldn't have been dead either, if the dead hadn't killed him."

"You died to save the one you love."

There was a pause. Then the voice spoke. "You have earned the right of life, Shade Silverwing."

Shade was surprised that whatever he was talking to knew his name.

A yellow glow appeared in front of his face. Life essence. Shade breathed it in. Suddenly, he felt the warmth in the air. He felt the dampness of the cave. He felt the soft wind blowing. He was alive.

"Thank you," Shade whispered.

"Know this, Silverwing. You did not take this life without a price. You will serve under me, the God Fleesh!"

"What?" Shade exclaimed.

"You will serve the Animal Union in exchange for your new life. Don't worry, you will see your loved ones again, very soon."