The Others- Is humanity worth saving?

Chapter One

I use my thumbnail to push the pebbles out of my knuckles. Droplets of my blood spotted on my brown skin and trailed down to drop down on the concrete floors below me. I sat on the top bunk that I had claimed mine the first day. Under me was Ace, a soldier in my unit. Due to being the oldest and top of the ranks, I was in charge of my squad when Commander Asshat wasn't around. Their actions reflected on me. That meant if their beds weren't properly made or if their shoes weren't clean enough to eat off of, it'd be my fault for not "disciplining" them enough. "You alright, Cobra?' Ace asked me. His real name was Toby. Toby Hall.
   

     He was the smartest of us all and only two years younger than me. He was tech savvy. He always talked about becoming a computer specialist when we earned our spots in the military. For now, we were just initiates with call signs. I look up at him, my eyes trailing along his gentle features. His soft, blue eyes looked into mine with concern. He was the kindest person I had ever met even before The Others came. It was something I admired about him. How he was still able to be so kind in such a cruel world. I push out the final pebble, my teeth sinking into my tongue to bite back a pained groan. I only nod in response, although the real answer was the complete opposite. My knuckles were bloody, my cheek scuffed and back bruised. But I couldn't complain. I had to toughen up and lead by example. That was my job as the squads leader.
  

      I hop off the bunk bed, my combat boots landing swiftly on the concrete floors with a heavy thud. "Let's grab a bite." I say, clapping my hand over Ace's scrawny shoulder. I start walking ahead, hearing his fast footsteps scurrying to catch up with me. As soon as I stepped out of the barracks, I was met with soldiers cutting me off as they ran past me. They ran in a neat line, shouting out chants after their commander. "You think we'll win the war?" Ace asked. It was a question that had been unanswered for the longest. A question that gnawed at everyone until it ate us whole. It was too hard to say. General Janae Richardson wasn't too keen on sharing details with everyone. None of the higher ups ever spoke about what side was winning. The only time the war is ever mentioned is when someone goes on a spiel about how much they hate The Others.

    I can perfectly recall the day The Others invaded our world. I was walking out of Old Main, the building where my psych 101 lecture was held. I remembered everyone looking up into the sky. Professors and students scattered along the grass and sidewalks, cars halting to a stop as the drivers stuck their heads out the window to get a good look. I look up, the once bright blue sky now dull and gray. I could feel my palms get sweaty as my heart began to thump erratically into my chest. Thump! Thump! Thump!
  

  The fear among the crowd of people was palpable. A heavy feeling hung in the air, weighing down on us all as we stared at the spaceships in the sky. They were unmoving. Still as they were, whatever remained inside stared back at us all. Even now to this day, I wondered what The Others thought of us. If they saw these mortal beings- panic stricken and confused- and hated what they saw. Hated us so much they decided we weren't worth living. That we weren't deserving of the planet that we had made home. And maybe we weren't.
    But we didn't deserve this fate.
   

Ace and I found the squad at our normal table. "About time," Smallz says. Her real name was Alana Garcia. She was the youngest of us, being only the ripe age of nine. I felt this strange sense to protect her. Maybe it was because of her age. Because such a small child shouldn't be subjected to a world like this. A nine year old child shouldn't be training to fight and learn her way around a semi-automatic gun. Smallz always claimed she didn't need my protection. Although she was barely five feet tall, she was full head to toe with ferocity. Although she was the lowest ranked in our squad (no shit), she used her size to her ability. She was good in the survival test, managing to squeeze into small spaces and wait out the hard shit.