You Show Up As Ordered #35

You show up on time and meet with six other soldiers. They all look like kids…barely old enough to enlist. After a few comments and exchanges of camaraderie, you and Valda realize that there isn’t a single, seasoned soldier in the group. Even your leader, Sargent Drier, enlisted last week and was promoted just this morning.
Your orders are simple: go meet a supply wagon and escort it back to camp.
It seems odd, to send so many men for a single wagon, but hey, you’re new to the military. Yours is to do, not ask. So you march for the rest of the day until the light wanes.
You make camp for the night, very near to Cross Point.
Valda looks at you nervously.
“I have this nagging feeling we’re not in a good place right now,” she whispers. She sits down next to you with her rationed food.
You take a bite, eyeing the other soldiers.
Suddenly, an arrow flies through the darkness and thunks into the chest of the boy next to you! He falls over, dead.
“Get down,” you shout, “We’re being attacked!”
You and Valda roll behind a couple of trees, but it’s too late for your fellow soldiers. Shafts whistle through the darkness, sinking into the untrained boys.
“Valda,” you whisper, “can you douse the light?”
She nods and peeks around the edge of the tree. Whispering the ancient magic of her race, the campfire fizzles out, plunging you both into darkness.
“Now what?” she hisses, “Not the brightest idea!” But she immediately shuts her mouth.
You hear approaching footsteps.
It’s too dark! Closing your eyes and hold your breath. When you open them, your eyes have adjusted and you can faintly see Valda in the dim light—she’s nodding in the direction of the sound.
Her own eyes are wide with panic.
Two large Andilain Soldiers are rummaging through the dead bodies.
“What about the other two that ran off?” says one.
There’s a pause.
“Let ‘em go,” replies the other. “They’re new recruits. No one’s going to believe them and besides, they’re not likely to have seen us anyway. We have a job to do.”
You wait for them to leave…until you can no longer hear their footsteps in the distance before you dare leave your cover.
“What are we going to do?” coughs Valda, trying to get her nerves under control. “These military guys are crooked! Do you know what this means?”
“Yeah,” you reply, “It means we’re not safe and the men in charge back at camp are involved.” You spit on the ground and then tear off your tabard. “Did you notice something today?” you ask. When she doesn’t answer, you add, “We didn’t sign our names to anything. Shuffle us through, no paperwork, no traces of our existence.”
Valda pulls her tabard off and casts it to the ground, disgusted. She wanders through the camp, kneeling at besides each boy, closing their eyes and folding their hands across their chests.
You sigh, “Completely expendable.”

IF You decide to head for the hills and leave Andilain behind you, go to page #37
IF You follow the two soldiers, go to page #38