“I’m doing everything in my power to make it happen, but you’ll just have to wait. The war rages on, but the front line has reached a stalemate. At the moment, nobody is inclined to look at your case.”
“You think we have broken their momentum?”
“It certainly looks that way, but I’d hate to jump to conclusions. We have underestimated them more than once before at a terrible cost,” she replied.
“What am I going to do? I’m going fucking crazy in here. I’m a marine, and I am here to fight.”
“There’s nothing you can do. I’ll keep pushing and see if I can at least see you again soon. You’ll be needed before long, so hold on.”
Taylor’s face was bleak. She could see the weeks of isolation had taken a lot from him, and it pained her that she had nothing but bad news to convey. The guards appeared at the end of the corridor striding quickly towards her.
“Time’s up!”
She looked back to Taylor, trying to think of some last words of comfort.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For getting through to me. I know it can’t have been easy.”
“The Company needs you, Major. The world needs you. Without soldiers like you, we are lost. You hold out and stay strong.”
The guards formed up beside her and led her out of the prison, as Taylor watched the only friend he had seen in weeks disappear once again. Seeing her face had given him hope, but having spoken to her, he realised how bad his situation was. He lay back down on the bed, the only luxury he was provided, and slipped into a dream.
Friday had been one of Taylor’s best friends. In war and peace, they had always stood together. He had always thought that if they were to fall, it would be together. That night his dreams turned to nightmares as he pictured how the Captain had died based on Chandra’s description. The same images plagued him night after night until he lost track of time.
Each day he pushed his body harder, as he had little else to do but find new and creative ways to exercise in the small cell that had become his home. The only relief was not to be in a wet trench in the cold nights, but he’d give up the relative comfort and warmth to be among his comrades once again in a second. He woke up every night in sweats as his mind was filled with scenes of death and destruction.
He’d seen countless friends killed and heard of many more meeting the same fate. Then his mind slipped to the mounds of bodies he’d seen at the prison when they rescued Jones and the others. He wondered what could bring any race to such cruelty and slaughter. The human race had moved past it, so how could such a technologically advanced race still be stuck in such primitive ways?
Silva slumped down at a canteen table. Command had pushed hard to ensure they had good food to keep their morale up, but it went unnoticed by the Sergeant. He had to keep up a brave and confident persona around the Company, but it was taking its toll on him. He’d not ever dreamed to see the kind of vast scale death and war that his ancestors had. Reading about such conflicts had been a pleasure. He’d wished to be given the opportunity to gain the glory and respect they had earned.
Parker and Hall leapt onto the bench opposite his table. He looked up at them and smiled as best he could, but they too looked beaten. They each looked to one another for some answers to make them feel better, but they didn’t come.
“Shame to see Friday go. He was a good man.”
Silva nodded at Parker.
“They all were, every god damn man and woman in this Company,” he muttered.
“I hear Chandra got a pass to see Taylor?”
Silva glared at her. For a moment he was irritated by her selfish hounding so soon after the death of one of their friends. But then he settled, realising just how much concern she had for the Major. He knew they could lose Taylor for good.
“She got it alright, and it wasn’t an easy feat. She chose her moment carefully. Our boys were ready to tear Schulz apart.”
“Should have let us,” snapped Hall.
Silva sighed and shook his head in dismay.
“So you could all share a prison cell with Taylor?”
“Something has to be done. We can’t leave him there to rot while we get sent out to die on pointless missions,” replied Parker.
Silva smashed his hand down on the table, causing it to shake violently and several nearby troops turn and look. He gazed around at them until they looked away. He turned his attention back to the two marines.
“I’ve had enough of this bitching and whining. Taylor shouldn’t be locked away, but there is nothing we can do about it. The morale has been shit since that time, and there is no excuse for it. That morale could get many more of us killed. Do you think Taylor would want that? Or do you think he’d want us to pick ourselves the fuck up and continue in his stead?”
The two NCOs looked sheepishly down at their food. Silva had successfully shamed them, but he didn’t feel good about it.
“I know we need the Major back. Parker, you think you need him more than any of us, but you don’t. We all need him back, and when the time comes, we will make it happen. But until that time, we act like god damn professionals and are ready for anything.”
Parker looked up with a doleful face.
“You really think we’ll get him back?”
“Fuck, yes. You hold onto that knowledge, and you carry it in battle with you. He’s getting out, and he wants us there to greet him when it happens.”
Three weeks had passed since the news of Friday’s death. Taylor hadn’t seen anyone but the guards in all that time. He prayed to see Dupont again, so he could vent his anger if nothing else. He knew Chandra and the others were doing everything in their power to help him, but he also knew what bastards Schulz and Dupont were.
He closed his eyes and thought back to his nights with Eli back before the war had started. Their sneaking around seemed dangerous at the time, but now it felt little more than harmless mischief. Everyday, he tried to think of her to stop his imagination taking him back the horrors he’d witnessed or been told of.
Then his mind swayed back to Friday. He remembered the first time they met early in their careers, and how competitive they had been. Within months, they had become like brothers and remained so through their service. The only friend who could come close was Jones. It pained him to know that he could do nothing for Friday, and he couldn’t even attend his funeral. But it pained him even further that Jones had been left to become a hollowed out wreck.
Charlie’s absent staring eyes came back into Taylor’s mind. It frightened him that such a strong man could be reduced to such a lifeless state. With the loss of Friday, he held onto the fact that Jones was still alive, praying that he could return to the lively and joyful friend he used to know. As his mind crept to darker places, and he began to mutter to himself once again, the corridor doors opened and footsteps strode towards him. He jumped up out of bed and stood anxiously waiting to see a familiar face.
Chandra appeared before him once again with a smile on her alluring face. It was the most beautiful thing he had seen in recent memory, and instantly painted a picture of Eli in his mind.
“Come to get me out, Major?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“Sorry, but I have at least managed this, five minutes, once a week outside my duty hours.”
“That’s generous of the General,” Taylor spat sarcastically.
She grinned at his sharpness. It pleased her to know he hadn’t been beaten by his detainment. He was still the strong and sharp officer he always had been.
“No chance of me getting out, then?”
She shook her head and looked in with sympathy.
