Book 1: LIFE

Chapter 3:

THE FIRST MISSION

Aitoku wiped the sweat off of his brow while Zhong stood a few feet away from the rocky conclave, practicing his sword strokes as usual. "You're already the best, Zhong. No need to try and perfect perfection." Aitoku mumbled as he once again lay back on his own patch of grass and sighed.

"And if I don't keep training, then I'll end up being a sorry mess like you." Zhong rebuked. Aitoku didn't say anything. Zhong gave his sword another spin and then sheathed it. He gazed out across the rolling fields of grass, a gentle breeze passing through it. "Seems kind of beautiful don't you think?"

"Yeah…if you're into that stuff I guess." Aitoku said as he sat up and put an elbow upon his bent knee. He heaved another sigh and stroked his hair. "It sure is hot today."

"It's the summer. What did you expect?" Zhong asked with a smile and laugh at his friend. "This isn't exactly the time for snow."

"Snow would be nice right about now." Aitoku admitted. "We could go penguin sledding together."

"Penguin sledding?" Zhong asked him with an awkward look.

"Yeah. Where I'm from, there are some snowy islands to the south where these penguins live." Aitoku stated as a look of childish glee passed over his still young face. "If you caught them, you could ride on their backs down the icy hills there."

"Sounds kind of fun." Zhong admitted as the idea danced in his mind. "And it doesn't hurt the penguins?"

"They're tough. They can take it." Aitoku laughed as he threw a weak hand through the air.

"Let's not add animal cruelty to our repertoire."

The young men turned to see the Master standing atop a rock looking down at them. It was awkward to see him out in natural light and in his light blue robes. He stepped down lightly from his perch, not making a sound on the hard rocks.

Aitoku and Zhong stood at attention as the grass continued to sway around them. The Master looked them over with his hard eyes, his hair unmoving against his head. "At your service, Master!" Zhong uttered as he and Aitoku dropped their arms at the same time.

"Good. I see that your training is coming along well…for both of you." The Master added. "It was not so long ago that I considered throwing you out, Zhong." The Master was now pacing around them, passing through the air bent grass and his robes barely shifting behind him. "I am glad to see that my judgment to keep you was justified."

"Thank you, Master." Zhong replied again.

"And I am glad to see that your defense of your friend was also justified."

"Thank you, Master." Aitoku remarked this time.

"But now I believe it is time for you to be put to the actual test." The Master finished, his voice turning much huskier and something like a hiss seeped into his throat. "Our base needs to be expanded. Leave her and scout out the surrounding area Report back here once suitable land is found. Make sure it is near a volatile area for my influence to take root."

"Yes, Master." Aitoku and Zhong answered formally. Their minds took the orders without question and the seduction with even less.

"Dismissed." The Master hissed again as the trance broke over the men and the Master walked away, slipping soundlessly up the rocks and gone again from view.

Zhong and Aitoku walked out of the large wooden gate a few minutes later, packs stuffed to the brim and shifting on their backs. "So, where are we going exactly?" Aitoku asked Zhong as he uncorked his flask and took a swig of water.

"It's a few miles south of here. There are some marshes on the way but they aren't big. We can bypass them within a day." Zhong answered in a chipper mood. If he was any happier he would be whistling.

"Oh…so this will be more than a few days?" Aitoku asked as he realized how much walking would be asked of him.

"Yeah…actually it could even take a week." Zhong joked as he gave a small laugh. "If we're lucky, a year!" He stuttered for a moment before breaking out into a large laugh at his own joke. Aitoku stopped dead in his tracks and gave Zhong some room, for his own safety.

"You're kind of weird, you know that?" Aitoku chimed in as Zhong began a small trot down a hill. Zhong stopped and spun around to Aitoku, the pot latched onto his pack swinging around and hitting him in the face. Aitoku tried to stop the laugh but it came anyway. Zhong tried to get angry, gritting his teeth, but it was no use. He laughed anyway and continued on as Aitoku followed next to him.

It took them all of two days until they came upon a small village. The huts were all set up to lean on a tree for support, almost becoming one with the nature of the forest. Zhong and Aitoku walked through the small path that cut through this quiet place. People did not come out to greet them. Instead they stayed inside of their huts, peering through darkened windows at the two army men.

"Well, I guess we do look intimidating." Aitoku said as he looked at one hut and saw the top of a head disappear beneath the sill.

"Well, then clearly they're too afraid." Zhong said as he marked the village off on a map he held in a belt across his waist. "I mean, only a rock would be afraid of you." Zhong added as he looked towards Aitoku. Aitoku shot him a look before they sensed some movement on a curving path to the left.

Zhong marched down it, Aitoku not too far behind. They came upon a woman, her husband, and their son. In the mother's arms was a baby, though he was silent and still. His eyes were closed as the mother lugged a large pot out of their hut.

The father was busy tying a small sack onto their son's back, which was odd because he seemed to be only a year old. He was squat yet broad. He had strong eyes and even stronger arms. Zhong even did a double take at how much this child could bear. The father saw the army men before his wife did.

"Honey, we have company." The man said as the mother whipped around to stare at the two men. Zhong gave a smile and waved his hand.

"Hello." Zhong said happily as he walked up and held his hand out to the father. He was reluctant to take it. After an awkward pause, Zhong withdrew his hand and cleared his throat. " My name is Zhong and this is Aitoku. We are with the Global Army."

"We have no care for army men." The father said as the mother seemed to be captivated by them. She was looking Aitoku up and down while bouncing the child in her arms.

"Is something wrong here?" Aitoku asked as he took a step forward.

"No." the husband said. "We were just leaving the village."

"Why?"

"We need help for our child." The mother finally spoke in a voice so soft it felt almost like wind. "He hasn't opened his eyes or cried and he just lies in his crib all day. There is another village far from here that may be able to help us."

"Can I see him?" Zhong asked as he extended his hands. The mother looked a bit taken aback but held out the baby for Zhong to take. Her husband cut her off, forcing himself between the exchange however.

"We don't need you anywhere near our son."

"Now my love…" the wife began.

"It's alright." Zhong reassured him. "I have a basic understanding of medicine. Maybe I could see what is wrong with him." The father gave a cold look to his wife before he stepped aside and the baby was passed into Zhong's hands. He held the baby, looking him over carefully for any signs of disease.

The baby was still. It had no hair on its small head and it was curled into the most innocent of poses. He looked tranquil, living inside its own world. Zhong looked him over one last time before he handed the child back to his mother. "There are no signs of any serious disease that I know of. It looks like he is just sleeping, though a malady of the mind may be what is wrong. Nothing physical."

"The mother seemed to heave a sigh of relief in the comfort that her son had no disease. "Thank you. But we must be going now. It will take us a few days to reach the boat, and we cannot miss it."

The father looked down at the son which was playing in the dirt with his foot. "Bakiko, stand up straight. Walk away from the soldiers with dignity." He moved away with his son, who was now trotting ahead of him. The mother lifted the pot and balanced it upon her head as she shifted her baby in her arms.

"Good bye." She said before departing into the jungle foliage with her husband and son.

Aitoku poked the fire to get it started as Zhong sat back shelling nuts and then popping them into his mouth. "Should we send a report back on the village?" Aitoku asked Zhong as he clapped his hands together to get some of the tree sap off, digging it deeper into his palms.

Zhong was busy in thought, not really hearing what Aitoku had said. "Yeah, sure. It sounds great." Zhong responded as he flicked another nut into his mouth. Aitoku gave him a sideways glance and then laughed.

"Oh, so it's alright if I take some of your money for wine then." Aitoku commented. Zhong sat up and grabbed for his money pouch. Aitoku laughed. "No, honestly, should we send a report back."

"I don't think so. We should keep walking and if we don't find any thing in the next two days we can send a report back on the village and then wait for the army to show up." Zhong said as he thought it through. He shifted himself around, his money pouch held in his lap. Aitoku gave the fire a poke and watched as the embers blew up into the air and were carried through the jungle roof.

Zhong was looking at him intently. "Why did you join the army?" Zhong asked Aitoku. Aitoku turned around, puzzled by the random question.

"I wanted to fight." Aitoku admitted seriously. Zhong shifted himself so that he was leaning against a log while looking directly at Aitoku.

"No, tell me the truth." Zhong said sternly, slipping into a bit of a darker temper. Aitoku gave a shifty gaze at Zhong and then heaved a sigh.

"To tell the truth….I'm still not sure why." Aitoku admitted. "I mean, I had a nice life. A mother, father, two sisters…I'm still not sure why I left really. Maybe it was the hype of being a part of a group for once or the thrill of doing stuff like this or maybe it was just because I was sick of staying at home." Aitoku's gaze turned soft as he hunched his back and bowed his head, thinking through everything in his heart and the one place that seemed to be locked to reason.

"Well, I joined for the thrill of fighting." Zhong lied smoothly to Aitoku.

Aitoku turned towards him, a pacified look on his face. "Really? No other reason?"

It was Zhong's turn to feel uncomfortable. He looked away from Aitoku and searched through his head for some way to avoid the answer screaming inside of him. "No." it finally blurted out.

"When I was younger…..I had parents. I was an only child so there was a lot of attention given to me. My father worked as a fisherman and my mother was….I'm not even sure now. I'm not even sure if my father was a fisherman either. So much time has gone by. Well, one day, I was home alone. There was a really loud knock and I went to answer it, being the naïve fool that I was. There was a man there. He looked friendly, a long cloak on and a straw hat over his head. He had a beard and moustache and a smile that seemed happy enough. He asked to come in so I let him. He wanted to see the house so I showed him. When we got to my room we stopped and talked. We talked about games and stories and…then my father came home and walked into my room. Then, the man stood up and opened his cloak and….it was one swift motion. He was gone, blood pouring onto my bedroom floor. And then mother came running and….I didn't do anything. It was so fast and….then the man was gone and I was alone. I tried to get help but no one came. No one did anything about it. Two clearly dead bodies and no one did anything to find out who had done it."

Zhong could not go on. The tears had started flowing and would not cease. Aitoku didn't even know how to respond. Zhong was in it for revenge, he could tell. To find the man and get revenge and nothing else and more still, to have the global immunity to do so. They retired to their tents, no one caring to speak a word about what they had just shared as the fire died out in the night.

And when Aitoku woke in the morning, Zhong was gone.