Resonance

Chapter 11 - Carter Holderson

The North gates swung open, and the Scorian warriors poured forth. But - it wasn't quite what we expected: our commander had told us that there were at least several thousand enemies, but yet here before my eyes was just a small band of men, numbering no more than a few hundred. I frowned, but felt a little more relieved. My anxiousness began to die away.

This should be an easy battle - no, not even a battle - this would be a massacre, I laughed. Our soldiers outnumbered them at least 10 to 1; did we even need to use that ambush? Our decoy party could probably easily wipe them from existence. I gazed out over the camp before me, and snorted. "What a waste of time!" We had planned for a much larger army, so about a quarter of our soldiers had been placed before the walls to present a "weak point" while the rest of us remained, waiting for the trap to be sprung, behind the hill on which I stood.

Captain Williams shrugged and looked through his binoculars beside me. "They seem really confident, though, so I wouldn't get too cocky. Still - even our decoy outnumbers them at least 2 to 1! They'll win easily given those odds." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. Seriously? I was just wasting my time here. I could be searching for her, but no, I get sent out to watch the Scorian army get slaughtered. Such a good use of time. "If that's the case, I'm gonna wait for victory in my tent. If you'll excuse me," I said, turning and heading back down the hill. Gazing out over the Flaxian army, I could see the rows and rows of monotonous white tents stretching out into the distance. Even now, the earlier quietness and relative calm was completely gone, replaced by the noise and chaos of war. As I passed through the main road, soldiers on both sides of me scrambled to and from their tents.

Here, a grizzled one-eyed veteran ground his axe against a massive stone block. Sparks flew into the air, and I caught one on the back of my hand; it remained there like an ember of hope, until it faded away and was no more. A nervous young man suddenly bumped into me and began to mumble his apologies, his freckled face red with embarrassment. I reached out and grasped him reassuringly by the shoulders. "Hey. Calm down."

"Oh! Um... I'm not nervous! I'm just excited. Yes - Excited! I'm alright, sir! No need to worry about me!" he stuttered, proceeding to drop his sword. I sighed and picked it up, returning it to its clumsy owne- no, its user. I hate that word. Shaking my head, I smiled at the new soldier. "Here. No need to pretend, my friend. Say, what's your name?" He thanked me hurriedly and fumbled to fasten his sword belt around his waist. "I'm Tura. Mory Tura, but Mory sounds like a girl's name, so..." I laughed and extended my hand. "You're out here, fighting for your country, so I'd say you're as manly as you can be. The name's Carter. I'm the doctor here; if you get beat up, I'll fix you up real good." He took my hand and shook it.

"Thank you! I'm part of the 53rd platoon under Lieutenant Richardson. I've been trying to find the others, but I don't know where they could be. The camps are empty, and there's no record of where they were going." I nodded and pulled out a copy of the commander's orders from my pocket, drawing a gasp of surprise. "H-How! How do you have that?" I winked. "It's my first actual battle, so of course I made sure to know what's going on." Well, to be honest, it wasn't. I've been in many skirmishes but never major encounters. My family was well known and even though they had disowned me, I was still really influential among the leaders of the army. Anyways.... I looked over the map.

"53rd...53rd..." The squad was indeed nowhere to be seen on the map. I frowned. "You're right. That's strange." Mory nervously looked over my shoulder, and fidgeted with a little locket. "So, um, what do I do?" That's strange. I know that the 53rd unit did exist, so he wasn't lying about that. I remember seeing on one of the commander's papers that the platoon had been recently recruited, which definitely makes sense seeing how this guy is so green. But where? I thought for a moment. "We'll go talk to Captain Williams. He knows pretty much everything that happens here."

With my companion in tow, I made my way over once again towards the hill where the command tent had been set up. Most of the soldiers had left the camp by now and were sitting quietly on the slopes of the nearby hills, waiting for the order. A few waved at us as we passed by, and I recognized several faces among them; it seemed that many were my former patients who remembered me because of my kindness towards them, but I didn't care about any of them. Soon, we were at the top of the hill. "Stop. State your name and business." the guards called, crossing their spears.

I smiled. "Carter. Carter Holderson. I need to talk to Captain Williams for my friend Mory here." A look of surprise crossed the two men's face, and they hurriedly uncrossed their arms, leaving my path clear. "Stay here. I'll be back soon." I said, turning to Mory. He nodded and stuttered his thanks again. Pushing open the entrance flap, I made my way inside. My eyes dilated, trying to adjust to the dark interior of the tent. A single lantern sat on the table in the center of the room, casting shadows over the faces of the two tired men, who lay slumped over where they sat. Neither appeared to notice me as I entered. "Sorry to intrude, but I'm looking for the 53rd platoon. Do you know where they are?" I asked.

There was not response from either of the prone forms, and I sighed in exasperation. "Hey, wake up! The battle's about to start and you're sleeping?" I approached their bodies and shook the commander. His body turned over, exposing the hilt that protruded from his chest, glinting in the light. Seeing this, I immediately went to check his pulse - his wrist was still warm, but he was long gone. Taking a step back, my heart began to pound and the adrenaline started to course through my veins. Their killer must have just left...or... I looked around, my eyes carefully examining every corner of the room for anything suspicious or out of place. A few supply crates and benches lay here and there, but nothing caught my eye. The tent walls were still intact, which meant the killer came and went just like I did, through the entrance. A flicker of movement at the corner of my vision caught my eye, and I started. It was dark so I wasn't sure, but I saw only a helm with a pink plume lying on the ground behind some boxes.

I sighed. Seriously, I need to stop scaring myself. Turning to leave, I made for the exit and pushed open the large flaps, closing my eyes as the blinding sun filled the world around me. I would ask the guards who they had let in, and then we'd see if there was anyone else who knew where the platoon went. My eyes opened. Wider. And wider.