Field of Vision

Chapter 6: Ambushes

Nicholas sat comfortably in the back of the jeep as it rode out of town. He held his hand up in a peace sign for all ten minutes as he left his district. He set it down and closed his eyes, refusing to nap. The rocky road eventually pooled into a main road, with two other jeeps following. No, not jeeps... those are military-grade troop transports. They stayed behind him constantly so he couldn't tell who or how many they carried.

He glanced at his new uniform. Wheat-yellow everywhere but all joints, sleeve cuffs, collar, and a silver-rimmed target icon on both shoulders. Nicholas thought he heard an air cannon of some sort, and turned (for he was facing the rear) to look ahead. The ground in front of the jeep erupted, the jeep turning to the sky. Nicholas fell and rolled to the left, just in time for the vehicle to crash on the ground. Nicholas crawled under the upside-down jeep.

He grabbed the handgun holster and pried the pistol out, hearing the two convoys stop beside him. Footsteps ensued and again he heard that air pump sound. He rolled away from the jeep hastily, but only to feel the blaze of a destroyed truck.

Nicholas looked around, and saw green-grey uniforms advancing. "Kunden troops!" He heard behind him.

"Orders?" Nicholas ran towards them, picking off two before they noticed him. They raised their guns and then halted. A war cry was rousing and the troops stormed the enemy, crushing their charge and then spreading out, storming the hill with the rocket launcher. Nicholas went to the hill opposite, and correcting his suspicions, there was another wave of enemies getting ready to go over.

He dropped to his stomach, hearing two others do the same. Who's their commanding officer?! He reloaded as the people beside him blasted into the enemy line. After a couple minutes of clean up, everyone was waiting in a neat formation, waiting quietly for... something. Nicholas almost lined up next to them when he saw target icons on their shoulder, white and red only. Wait... these are... my soldiers?!

Nicholas walked up to the front and broke out laughing, suffering the accusing gazes of his subordinates, before regaining his composure and coughing a lot. "Ack-hem," he coughed. "I am... corporal, er, Nicholas Porter. You may be wondering about my style of leadership, and, well, I hadn't realized I was supposed to issue orders during this event... until now."

Someone snickered. Everyone instantly turned against him and raised their hands. Nicholas shot forward and intervened, taking a slap on the shoulder and that was it. "It's okay to laugh, this was my first time leading and I made an honest mistake, and thank goodness no one was hurt."

Someone's head instantly turned to the trucks and Nicholas nodded. "Except for the drivers, who did their part. Now, did everyone make it off of the vehicles?" They nodded and Nicholas radioed for another transport.

On the road, Nicholas told them about the Pass, only skimming the details. They, in turn, told him about the academy from a district a day away from here.

Hearing about school both ruined and lifted Nicholas's mood until he was somewhere in the light grey. They arrived, but it had taken noticeably longer than the last time he came through. We've advanced deeper into their territory? They arrived at the Pass, which after explanation, Nicholas realized what he had forgotten. To separate Kunden and Nara, the natural mountain ranges were used as the neutral lining. There were back-to-back valleys and mountain ranges, so there were multiple passes. For every pass you conquer or lose, there is a valley that goes with it. That's how they get more land, Nicholas realized. Man, did that take forever to get.

They unloaded the truck with the supplies they brought and marched into camp. The soldiers' heads perked up, if even just for a moment, and Nicholas saw something that he wasn't expecting. Disgust. Sadness. No hope whatsoever.