The Veritas Command

Present - Quinn

(Tread softly: this chapter may disturb younger readers - detailed descriptions of gore and death)

We all sat in silence around the long table, spoons clacking against our bowls. Today the breakfast was leftover stew.

"Thank goodness it's Seth's last day on mess duty, am I right?" I said, trying to lighten the mood. I pulled a spoonful of the stew up above my bowl and spilled it for effect. It landed with a disgusting plop.

"I'm still not a hundred percent sure I know what's in this." Theo said, picking through the small bowl of yellowish-green stew in front of him.

"There's some sort of mystery meat. I think it's my duck from last week?" Atla poked at a brown lump floating in her sea of goop. "That idiot is gonna poison all of us one day with his cooking."

Just then, Allyra gagged on her food and slammed her spoon down dramatically. "I can't take it!" She yelled jokingly. She stood up abruptly, taking the bowl and walking to the window. She poured the chunky stew out the window where it splatted all over the ground outside. Chuckles smattered the group.

"Oh, but now one of the dogs is going to lap it up and die of food poisoning." I chimed, laughing lightly.

"Better them than us, I suppose." Captain smiled.

"No dog deserves such a fate as death by Seth's cooking, that's worse than torture." Theo's eyes widened for effect.

"Gossiping behind one's back is inappropriate, don't you think?" Forrest asked quietly, without so much as a smile.

"He wouldn't mind much." Atla said, rolling her eyes, still laughing.

Suddenly the door slammed against the wall and Seth slammed in, tripping over the slight step coming inside.

"Oh...maybe he does mind..." Atla whispered to Allyra, who was paralyzed.

He was panting and had trouble finding his footing. His crazed eyes scoured the room frantically and then locked on Captain.

"Captain." He choked, stumbling toward her. She stood up, tensing. "It's Curt. He's...he's gone."

A pang of fear shot me.

Gone?

I shook his cold, stiff body, screaming his name over and over. His dead eyes stared blankly up at me.

My brother.

My best friend.

Casimir.

"Casimir! Cas, wake up, please. You can't be gone. You can't be gone." I sobbed.

I wailed, dropping Casimir's body to the grass. I stormed through the night and to where my sister and mother lived. Where I should've lived. I came to the door of the house and barged in. The warm light spilled onto my face, and I scanned the homely cabin for any signs of my sister. Mom was sitting in her rocking chair by the crackling fireplace, staring into nowhere. Her pale face was stark against the warm yellows and browns of the wooden room.

"Casimir, Mom. He's gone." I screamed at her from across the room.

She looked over at me absently, showing no reaction to my panic.

"Casimir." She said quietly, as if she'd never heard the name before. She paused and continued looking at me, searching my face for answers.

"Your son." I enunciated, holding tears back.