OTHERS: Five elements

CHAPTER 1.4: NEW MISSION

21 March 2033, 8:05am

I turned around and saw it is August. With him is Lyam, the head of our base. My stupid boss. Lyam is French, has black curly hair, round black eyes, and a small mustache. Every base in the world had its own boss, who manages the base and is sending soldiers on missions. All of them, however, are subordinate to General August, the supreme leader.
Since I was on good terms with August, Lyam didn't like me. He wanted me to be completely subordinate to him, but that's not who I am. Whenever we fought, I would be stronger than him. And it's understandable. I'm still in my twenties, while he's over 40. August is around the same age as Lyam, but I could never beat him. He's still the strongest and the best. Once, we played arm wrestling, he beat me in an instant. After all, he's quite muscular; his hand is as big as my head. He's taller than me, almost 2 meters tall. He looks like a true Austrian, with fair skin, and short, dark blonde hair. He has no beard or mustache, believing that soldiers should be clean-shaven.

- "How are you, soldier? I've heard you've been performing wonders since you began working independently. I'm pleased to hear that. Know that I am proud of you. I've truly made a soldier out of you."

- "I’m honored to hear that! What brings You to Austria? Weren't You in Africa dealing with some issues involving the Others?"

- "Those problems can wait. A far more serious issue has surfaced."

- "What kind of issue?"

- "I assume you've seen the news. Our forces failed to capture the Other; he managed to escape."

- "Well, that's not such a grave issue. It’s certainly not the first time something like that has happened."

- "That isn’t the issue. The real problem is of a different nature. This Other possesses powers."

- "Powers? How is that possible? What kind of powers?", I asked.
 
- "We'll discuss that in private, not here. And who is this soldier standing beside you?"

- "This is Daniel, he is a new soldier who came from Mexico, and I will be his mentor."

- "I'm Daniel. It's a pleasure to meet You!", said Daniel. 

- "Daniel will start working in our base today. He left Mexico to join us. More and more people are joining our base. Everyone is training hard and completing all tasks. And it’s all thanks to me!", Lyam boasted with pride.

- "Of course boss. Without you, we wouldn’t have managed. We would have had to find another punching bag during training.", I said to him with a mocking smile. 

- "Alright, calm down, you two", August said. "This isn’t the time for bickering. We have more important matters. The Other. We need to stop him as soon as possible."

- "And what exactly is the problem with him? Why do we need to stop him so urgently?", I asked. 

- "This is a private conversation. The mission you're about to receive comes directly from me. Let Daniel stay and train in the yard for a while, and you and I will head to my office."

Daniel stayed behind to train, Lyam went off to annoy other soldiers, while August and I headed to his office. The office is at the top of the base, so we had to take the elevator to get there. We entered the base. Soldiers were lounging, some resting in armchairs or on couches, while others watched whatever they wanted on the large televisions. At the center of this expansive room is the elevator. August and I walked toward it and pressed the button to go up.
As we headed to the office, my mind was being preoccupied with thoughts about the Other. What kind of powers does he have? Here’s what we know about the Others so far:

1) They look like ordinary humans, but they’re not;
2) They lack humanity and emotions, they have no problem killing another person;
3) Their senses are stronger than those of regular humans;
4) They’re faster than regular humans;
5) Some of them, like vampires, can grow fangs and turn others into Others;
6) Their skin is tougher—you can't scratch their bodies. Some can't even be killed with bullets. In such cases, only a well-sharpened sword helps.

The World Safety Organization has been unable to determine how they came into existence. One day, they just appeared. They started attacking  people. There were more of them each day, spreading like a disease. Despite this, we managed to slow their spread. But what new problem has surfaced now? I was really curious about it...

While I was thinking about the Others and the new threat, we arrived at the office. We reached August's desk. He sat down in his chair, and I sat across from him. August looked me in the eyes with a serious expression and said:

- “We didn’t expect this. If we don’t stop the threat, humanity will be destroyed!”