SPECTRE

CHAPTER V

The sun shined brilliantly in the clear blue sky. It hadn’t reached it’s peak but scorched desert lands below. It was a new day and AJ and Sev were fresh on the ride. The roars and rumbling of their spears echoed into the distance. Dust kicked up behind them like a storm, a wave flying outward. They rode at full speed not taking the road though it lied next to them.

AJ’s large steel sword glimmered in the light, acting like a beacon for any bandit nearby. Not that he was afraid of bandits. Though the lands belong to the United States, these lands were known as bad country. A lawless vast desert owned by anyone with a gun and willing to kill the next man next them.

Sev focused forward at the endless horizon. The waves of heat rose from the ground and had a rippling effect. Sweat beaded down his forehead. He wished he didn’t wear this turtle neck, though sleeveless it didn’t make it any less hotter. He wondered why East had the two of them heading all the way out here.

Just a few hours ago a reasonable sized town called Amdel, had sent out a distress call. A squad of US soldiers had reported Canadian scouts in the area. Two hours later the squad were reported KIA. In situations like this normal soldiers would have been sent in. But the distress call said the town was completely taken over by a group of fourteen or so soldiers. Along with them were two spectres known as twins.

AJ looked over at Sev who seemed to be in deep thought. “Hey Sev, so do you know anything about these spectres?”

Sev broke from his thought and looked over at AJ. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I said, do you know anything about these twins,” he repeated.

Sev nodded his head. “Yeah, they’re two powerful spectres for hire. They’re not affiliated to just one nation. Being powerful and being up for hire, they’ve become real popular with Russian and China who use them to fight us and Canada.”

“Why are they working with Canada then?”

“Canada’s probably paying them more than Russia and China.”

AJ focused forward, wondering what he’d be like if he became an spectre for hire. He didn’t like killing innocent people. That’s what most spectre’s for hire are used for. Because of their blink of an eye speed they’re mostly used for assassination missions or killing off entire villages or towns. Killing people who have done wrong...he thought it was disgusting.

“Do you know anything about the twins?” he asked.

Sev shook his head. “Not from experience. What commander East told us, is that they’re very quick. They use scythes and only attack together.”

“So when we fight them we should try to split them up?”

“I’m guess when they’re alone their fighting is total shit. So yeah, lets try and split the two up when we engage them.”

AJ glanced up at the sun, hovering his hand over his face. He then looked forward again. “Hey, do you think the reason proxy wars exist is because all the remaining countries are lack the resources to fight one another in all out war like before?”

“All the remaining countries are indamn. Sometimes I think all the country leaders are dead. That’s why we’re all still at war because the ones who can end the war are dead.”

“Maybe we just forgot why we’re fighting in the first place and just fight to fight.”

“Maybe.”

Sev and AJ stopped just two miles from the town they were suppose to be in. They parked their spears behind a hill and took position on the top. They lied on their stomachs and scouted the nearby area with binoculars. The town was built on a dried up waterbed that hadn’t seen water in decades. A wide road went through the heart of it. The buildings were made of sand brick that weren’t built to last. Some were crumbling and others had already collapsed. In the heart of the town was a spiraling tower. At the top, a Canadian flag fluttered in the dusty dry breeze.