The Barren lands.

chp 12

The recom unit kept marching the troops through the sandy wasteland of Pandora, The red sand like an endless bloody sea. While moving through the endless sea of sand, something was happening to the colonel. The few months they spent traveling and taking out the clans of this land heading to this seemingly endless deserted spirit tree, His colonel skin had started to be spotted more with gray skin spots. His eyes seemed unfocused and lost. He had heard the colonel tossed and turned or left the camp for hours on end at night before returning right before dawn. Sometimes when he walked up to him, Quaritch would turn his eyes searching for something that's not there before they would still and harden. 

  They all stood around eating, He noticed each time they ate Quaritch would eat less and less face scrunching up in distaste. He didn't drink as much water as the others as well and yet, he could go the longest in the blistering heat while the other recoms and troops needed planned breaks. He always seemed unsteady, restless during these breaks, spending time working on the giant military robots that needed repairs or taking walks, always moving, restless, and irritated at the breaks.  Lyle sipped his drink watching Quaritch shoved his barely eaten plate, a look of irritation burned in his eyes as he snapped up grabbing his daggers. 

 "Where are you going colonel?" Zdog asked, looking at him confused mid bite from her ration. 

Lyle watched as Quaritchs body twitched. 

 "ro go get some fucking fresh food." Quaritch snapped at her before storming off. The other recoms, Alexander, brown and Fitch faces scrunched up in confusion.

"Someone needs to get laid, Z why don't you do us all a favor." Brown huffed. 

"Me?! Why don't you go and bend yourself over for him ya sexist. " Zdog snarled at him before heading to an aircraft to cool down. 

"Fucks her problem?" Brown scoffed. 

Lyles' ears twitched.

'Animals.' he thought as he turned and followed his colonel, catching up to him.

"The fuck you want Lyle?" He snarled at him, 

"Let me come with you,  I need a breather anyways." He told him. 

Quaritch turned eyes narrowing at him, ears slicked back.

"What do you know about hunting on these lands?" 

Lyle could see something, a change in the male's eyes. 

"I could ask you the same." He said back challengingly, His eyes searched for anything, that remark sounded so different from others. 

Quaritchs eyes widened slightly before he huffed and moved on.

"Don't slow me down." He growled to him and lyle followed him gun ready, another ear twitch.

"And fucking leave that noisy thing!" Quaritch snarled.

'He's going mad.' Lyle thought as they chased after a herd of horse-like creatures. They kept spooking them off or spotted and each time Quaritch would get more and more furious. He watched as Quaritch paced before staring at him before making a noise. Quaritch then ripped off his jacket, yanking his tank top and sliced a hole into it before sliding back on his jacket. 

"Put this over your head." Quaritch snapped at him. Lyle looked at the sliced shirt in the other hand, a frown forming.

"I am not putting your sweat coated shirt over my hea-d"

Whack..

Lyle blinked, shock shot through his body….did…..did Quaritch just?

But he was soon with stormy green eyes.