Us and Them

The Outside

   Chaos brewed in the camp, an unseen darkness coming over the Army that led to scuffles between soldiers over petty reasons. It bled into even the most levelheaded leaders, Andy becoming impatient with Josh's sudden disappearance with Dallon. He had come out of his tent at dawn to relieve the two of night guard and they were nowhere to be found.

   "I knew that coward would turn tail as soon as we got here!" He huffed, CC giving him a worried look as the other paced the meeting tent.

   "Andy, c'mon, lighten up. I'm sure there's a good reason they went off somewhere. The Torchbearer wouldn't just leave. He's probably out scouting positions and weak points."

   "He would've told me if that were the case. Maybe Dallon lured him out into the woods to kill him off. The man has no resistance to whatever gets him to the point of killing his own."

   "Playing the 'what if' game isn't going to do anything for you. You'll just have to wait for them to come back."

   "I'm tired of waiting on people! This camp has been thrown into chaos ever since he's gone! Jinxx has broken up at least three fights in the past five days! Everyone is sick of being in unfamiliar territory waiting to fight a war that the Torchbearer was ill prepared for! Not only that, I have no goddamn horses anymore! My calvary is completely on its ass because I have to retrain those fuckers for infantry!"

   "So, you're bitching about having to do your job?"

   Andy stopped and turned to the other, CC crossing his arms. They stared down each other for a few seconds before the Prophet approached, nearly toe to toe with his friend.

   "We should've left his ass to rot in Vegas, is what I'm saying. Fuck the damn legend. If he's not back tomorrow night we're packing our shit and going home. End of discussion."

   "No way, man, you can't just–"

   "End of discussion!"

                                        •••

   The rocky sand under Josh's boots crunched as he made his way toward the mouth of the cave. Dallon followed behind, wide eyed at the scenery around them. Voldstoy had remnants of old wars etched on its shores, the bones of a dragon scattered amongst the rocks. Josh helped Dallon up the rocky trail where they entered into a cave. They stood there momentarily until they heard a small patter come toward them.
   Black, beady eyes attached to a plump, rabbit like creature emerged. It's white fur turning a slight orange from the torch light in front of it. On its head were antlers of a stag and it waddled over to Josh, who knelt down on one knee to greet it.
   The creature looked and him then turned back around, Josh standing and following behind. Dallon gave him a look as they walked into the cave, where at the heart was a small fire going with eight other of the same creature. Except, they had small nubby horns instead of antlers.
   The two sat down in the circle, food being passed around. Josh nodded to Dallon to open his knapsack and bring out some of their rations of venison jerky to add to the mix.

   "I was afraid you all had been killed." Josh mumbled, looking to the creature with the antlers. It shook its head.

   "Clancy has been compromised. He comes down here every week to harvest our horns."

   Their communication was telepathic, all it took was an open mind to speak with them.

   "I'm here to bring him home. To destroy DEMA for good."

   "It will be difficult. He fought hard in the beginning, but Nico broke him to the point of becoming more of a Bishop than he ever was. Seven of them are dead. Clancy has become ruthless. But we can support you as we have done before."

   "Anything helps."

   After their meal, Dallon and Josh were lead towards the back entrance of the cave, but they suddenly stopped. The creature looked at him, then to Dallon.

   "What?" Dallon asked.

   "We're being watched. NED can hear it in the back of your mind. For this to work, I'm going to have to do something that's going to really suck."

   "Whatever it is, I've probably been through worse. I don't want to get in the way of winning this thing."

   "Great." Josh gave him a nervous smile. "Just wanted to make sure you're okay with having a rookie psychkinetic in your head for a few minutes."

   "Wait, what?!"

   The three walked out of the cave and onto the rocky shore of the Voldstoy beach. The NED gave up its antlers to Josh as it had done years prior with Clancy. Josh went through the motions and his eyes turned golden as he stared at Dallon, whose eyes matched his within seconds. Their movements paralleled each other, working to replace the Bishop's influence with Josh's. They were now tied to each other mentally. Josh released Dallon who fell like a rag doll onto the ground. Several other NEDs went to his side, waking him up gently.

   Once Dallon came to, he rolled over and immediately felt like the world was spinning. He heaved from the vertigo before settling on his back. Josh holstered the antlers on either side of his pack before going over and grabbing his friend by the front of his shirt, bringing him to his feet.

   "Brain...hurt..." Dallon mumbled weakly, leaning forward onto Josh for support.

   "This stuff really isn't meant for the living. But, I think you're back to your old self again."

   Josh put his arm around Dallon's shoulders and guided him back into the cave. They would rest there for a few hours before heading back to camp. Now, they had everything they needed in order to match the power of the Bishops. Well, Nico and Clancy at least. Josh just hoped that things were going well without him there. He would've told everyone where he was going except that could have been heard by the Watchers. And he didn't want to show his hand entirely.