When Lightning Strikes: The Cosmic Soldier

3. This Killing Field

"Amal, wake up!" a girl yelled, her hands clutching at his shoulders, "It's time."

Instinctively, Amal sprung up and overtook her into a chokehold, where a knife was aimed at her throat. "Ah, calm down! It's me, Jasmine!" The girl yelped, her eyes wide with surprise. In an instant, the boy dropped his blade and freed Jasmine from the chokehold. His kunai clattered to the floor. He sat up on his bed, and let out a sigh.

"Wrong way to wake someone up Jas," Amal said, standing up. He scratched his hair, scanning his surroundings. Amal was in a makeshift tent, food and other supplies lay off to the side of the small room.

Jasmine had just come in; The entrance to the tent flapped open, which meant everything inside was visible to the outside. He sensed soldiers milling around outside his tent, whispering, and moving about. It was night. Amal caught the scent of nature, the smell of grass, damp moss, and flowers. It seemed to wake him up instantly.

"Hmph," Jasmine pouted, "So much for your so-called 'no hurting woman and children rule'." The boy shrugged, as he closed the flap of the tent completely.

"What's going on?" Amal asked, sternly. Jasmine was wearing her uniform; A dark moss-olive green camouflaging jacket. She had holsters on both sides of her hip, long knives and several kunai placed on their respective sides. Her thick, black hair was tied up in a ponytail. Jasmine was ready for battle. Meanwhile, Amal had on only a pair of shorts, his bare chest exposed. "Well?" Amal questioned, gathering his things while glancing at her.

Jasmine tore her eyes off his chest. "Uh, we're ready. Soren said we'll be leaving in an hour." Amal nodded, picking up his camo uniform, which was draped over a small nightstand. As he began to dress, he noticed Jasmine standing in the middle of the room, motionless.

"Anything else?" Amal asked, staring at her. Under a single lightbulb that lit up the tent, her face seemed to glow. Her warm brown eyes stared straight at him. Amal felt warmth creep up to his face, he ignored it.

"Nope, I guess I'll see you to it," Jasmine muttered, before leaving the makeshift tent. He sighed, staring as the flap of the tent closed as she left. He then glanced at his hands. His fingertips were trembling. Memories of his recurring nightmare resurfaced, as he stared off into space. His body managed to pull itself into his uniform on autopilot. Instinctively, he tapped the underside of his arm sleeve. He felt the hidden blades beneath them.

After all his straps were tightened, and his uniform firmly adjusted, the boy slung a small duffle bag over his shoulder. It carried all his essentials, sizable amounts of food, water, a medical kit, and various tools for his terrain. He walked over to a nearby folding table. There was a large, bundled toolkit, spanning several layers of items within it. He released the clasp that held the toolkit together, which unfolded itself, exposing rows of deadly weapons and wicked sharp tools.

There were 10 kunai throwing knives, a long knife, a hatchet, as well as various other tools designed for torture. Many of the weapons revealed intricate designs on the handle. Except for the kunai, many of the other weapons included a visible symbol at the bottom of the hilt; A depiction of a striking raven at its side profile, surrounded by blooming leaves, that point to the bird. He picked up a hatchet, and grazed his thumb over his gangs' symbol, before placing the weapon back into the assortment.

He passed his fingers delicately over the weapons. All of them seemed new and untouched; they've been cleaned thoroughly and efficiently, gleaming and shining. Satisfied by his assortment of weapons, Amal used the clasp to fold the toolkit back to how it was previously; packed and bundled up tightly. He placed it into his duffle bag that was slung over his shoulder. He patted his hand on his hip, which carried a pouch of some of the weapons he'd carried in his toolkit. It held several kunai, in the instance where he'd be under surprise encounters and attacks.