IV
The rest of that day went quickly, with finally something to do, he got a good rest that night, and by the next day, he was even more relived, the captain and minister had just left, and with the arrival of some drones and equipment, he finally felt less powerless.
"Private!" he barked.
"Yes sergeant?"
"Escort the scientific team along with the drones up to the anomaly, it's still night on the other side, I think, but we need to take advantage of our own daylight, radio when its ready." The private saluted him and went to the civilians.
Up in the anomaly itself some artificial lights were finally set up, and more men were manning the perimeter, when the scientists arrived everyone was eager to begin, and with orders from Santiago, three drones went up in the sky, and they crossed the anomaly.
It remained much of the same, a clear night and a full moon, the time difference between Tayrona and the anomaly was around 8 hours, and with command of the sergeant, two drones took off and crossed the anomaly into the other world. Initially, the other side was devoid of human life, however after 15 minutes of flying the drone spotted what looked like a road, it was not much, more like a dirt path than a specialized one.
No romans in this one! Thought the pilots.
They continued flying and eventually spotted dim lights, like torches, and eventually they found a small town, some people going about their business, they saw an inn, some men, and women, they even observed some sort of heraldry. Further observations, however, were stopped by the battery low sign, and the two drones returned to the other side.
If the pilots weren't so preoccupied by the lack of battery or their observations of the medieval style town, they would have spotted the outline of the castle, or the sounds of horseshoes raining down in the town.
Santiago was in the middle of the jungle, the thick one that makes one sick, he was in his uniform, and had his Cordova by his side, he heard the distinct roar of rocket artillery, and the nightmare fuel that was consistent gunfire.
"They are coming!" an unknow voice rang.
He checked the ammunition in the Cordova and made sure the bayonet was fixed, as he had done many times before. They came, their symbols on their arms, he knows them like he knows his face, the red and black flag with the white letters, and the Colombian flag with the black ones.
Soon enough, he was out of ammo, lost his bayonet, and was surviving with his hands, blood fresh in his eyes and lips, blood fresh in his mind.
He heard a voice, and saw a face, one that he knew well, dead long ago, but clear nonetheless, he heard a voice and felt his life slipping from him.
The sergeant woke in the middle of the night in a frenzy, cold sweat dripping down his body, he reached for his loaded pistol and scanned the room, but it was empty, as always. He scratched his neck scar, and fixed his uniform before leaving the room, he couldn't sleep, not anymore.
"Sergeant!" the men saluted as he entered the tent.
"Tell me we have something good."
"Not much sir, its early morning on the other side, we are preparing to send another drone patrol, it's been quiet."
"Not even high command or the ministry?" he inquired.
"Nobody sir, the world apparently forgot that thing exists."
"I see" he frowned "Keep me informed, and ask for some heavy PPE, well need to send someone to the other side eventually."
"Actually sir" a soldier said raising his head "Checking drone footage, there seems to be some sort of fortress in the vicinity, quite close to the town they checked Its remarkable how me missed it."
"Then you have your destination next time" he saluted "have a good night, men."