DIVING INTO HELL

Helldiver: Franklin Daniels

The bread melted into my mouth, the sweet tartness filling my throat as it glided into my gullet.
"This is heaven Quintin." My voice spoke with a perspiration towards the man beside me who wielded the pot and wool bag of breadcrumbs.
"We're lucky that we're stranded on a preoccupied planet of Super Earth. If not then we'd be more than likely dead by now." Quintin stared at the roaring campfire that he had built only a few minutes ago, longingly gazing at it as he clenched the items in either of his hands.
I looked away from him and towards the land around us, darkness almost consuming us if it weren't for the campfire. I wanted to press him about why he seemed aggressive since it looked personal, but now didn't seem the best time since it was so late at night.
The flora and fauna around us was very welcoming and brought a nice smell to my nostril. At least that's what I assumed what it would smell because of my inability to do so. Gunpowder filled my nose due to how chaotic our initial drop was. So many bullets and shells fired, stratagems launched at our own feet. It felt nice finally experiencing something close to Super Earth again, even if it was just boiled bread.
My legs rested in the dirt, knees in the air comfortably as I took another bite of the moist piece of bread. I stared into the endless night, trying to see beyond the large clovers and thick trunks of trees. I wanted to see something foreign, but humanoid, something that wasn't an oversized bug.
"Quintin," My voice echoed across the darkness, but was loud enough to not awaken the other men sleeping across the fire pit.
"Do you ever question if the bugs are sentient? And not a hive mind. Just them thinking like us and living like us."
"No I don't, I never have because those are only the thoughts of a traitor, Frank." His voice was cold, even in the freezing air, as he set the bag of breadcrumbs against the floor. He laid it down like a tarp as he himself laid against it. His helmet was clenched in his arms with his hand tightly around the handle of the pot of hot water still.
I thought about his words, letting them sit for a moment before accepting them. Bugs would always want to kill us, there's nothing we could do to change that.
My throat built up a yawn for a long moment before releasing it deeply, my hand instinctively raising to cover it which shoved the final piece of the bread into my lips. The yawn was cutoff by the sudden placement of bread, thus I encapsulated it into my mouth, chewing on it slowly before swallowing and then looking around again. I looked down at Quintin who laid awake and then towards Brent and Zayn who were across the crackling fire pit. They wore their helmets to sleep, looking completely identical as they formed almost a semi-circle with their bodies naturally.
I can't sleep because of my job to be on watch for another.. couple hours or so. Glancing at my stratagem panel on my left wrist I could see that the time was Eleven PM. It felt much earlier from how much energy I had, but I subconsciously began to grow drowsy from how late I realized it actually was.
"Wake them up, our watch is over by now." Quintin's voice rang again.
My hands fumbled for a second from the sudden information which was opposing what I had previously known. I slowly groaned to my feet as I made my way around the campfire pit, getting a closer look at the two sleeping men. My left hand lowered to Brent's ankle, nudging it softly to wait and see if he'd respond, then more aggressively which was responded with a yelp of fear that almost sounded like a woman's. My laughter pulled me back and away from the man's ankle and onto the ground opposing their side of the fire pit.
"What— huh?" Brent sat up quickly, hand hovering over his sidearm as he looked around with a scanning gaze towards the darkness.
"I woke you up, it's your turn for watch till sunrise." I spoke with a cheery tone and relaxed words because of the mood that filled my mind now.
"Why? I thought," He snorted into a soft cough as he looked down at his stratagem panel on his wrist, "Damn, well I guess you're right." He leaned over to his side, nudging Zayn on the ankle in the same form that I had done before having the same response.
They conversed as my mind faded, my body falling against the grassy patch beneath my body. I stared towards the stars above me, admiring their beauty as my mind wandered. My thoughts danced from the bugs, the Helldivers, the friends I've made since dropping, when we're leaving, and myself. All of these thoughts weren't specific or consecutive, but the fact that they were in my mind helped distract me from the horrors that happen on neighboring planets as we speak. Being the first to drop was a great idea in theory when I was told to do such, but first to drop on a defending order felt scarier. Although that idea may come and go, I still exist here, alive and well.
After a few more minutes of lying down my eyes slowly closed, my eyelids clamping to show even more darkness, but this time it was consensual and desired.