Ice Cold

Day 4

Day 4

         Mardon stared. He wasn't sure which emotion was stronger, his anger or his disgust. Grace looked on in horror, and Kevin just cursed. The whole crew, except exterior watch stood in the small room. Their chain of command had failed them in the worst way as they stared at the corpse in the chair. Offal had taken the easy way out. Mardon knew he needed to say something. Kevin beat him to it. He stepped up to the desk and reached across.

         "Kevin..." Grace started. Then she saw what he was doing. Kevin turned back to Mardon, offering his hand.

         "Guess this belongs to you now." Mardon looked down at the hand. The silver bars glinted in the light. Blood still clung to the rank insignia. He took it and wiped the blood off. "Fucking coward." Kevin's less than graceful send off wasn't hidden.

         "Alright." Mardon stepped to the desk. "Everyone back to work." Grace stepped in next to him.

         They stood together for a long time. Mardon stared at the desk, while Grace stared at him. He leaned over, resting his fists against the cold metal. Finally, Grace slid her hand onto his shoulder. Like magic, He felt life return to him. "I don't know..." A rare moment for him, Mardon was really feeling lost.Six soldiers relied on him, not near even the smallest group of troops he'd served, but there seemed to be more pressure.

         "Sit down." The tone of her voice left no room to argue, even if Mardon had wanted to. He looked at Offal, still seated in the chair. It seemed better to turn around and sit on the desk instead. Grace stood with her arms crossed. In a way, she almost looked disappointed in him. He gave a soft chuckle. "What?" She shifted her arms, placing her hands on her hips.

         "I'm listening, mom." Mardon answered. She smirked.

         "Ass." A playful punch to his arm helped Mardon forget what lurked behind him. Grace sat next to him. "What did you say the message meant?" She looked at him, making it obvious that she refused to turn her head too far. "Nothing, right?" He nodded slowly. "No context, no message."

         "True. He didn't agree." Mardon hooked a thumb behind him. Grace stopped herself before she looked. A barely noticeable shudder passed through her body.

         "He was weak." Her statement was true, but Mardon didn't want to agree. He didn't like the idea of speaking ill of the dead. Especially someone he served with. "You, on the other hand,aren't."

         The weight wasn't too much to bear. The only thing needed was to keep everyone occupied until the response came in. Mardon shook his head. It would have been much easier without this mess. Grace pushed her shoulder into his arm, Mardon looked down at her. The face that greeted him bore no doubt, there was still fear in there, but having Grace so fully sure of him was oddly reassuring.

         "You are strong." She insisted. The future was uncertain. The troop was scared, and part of that was his fault. Mardon had told them the answer would come with the supplies. He shouldn't have sounded so certain.

          The look in her eyes was so welcomed, though, Mardon gave her his half smile. Grace patted him on the shoulder and pushed herself off the desk. Her smile fell as she looked around and saw the body again. She sighed. "I've seen many dead bodies, even lost a few friends. This one feels different." Mardon nodded,solemnly. "Want some help with that?" With a heave, he lifted himself off the desk and joined her.

         Offal's body sat, tauntingly, in the chair. The bottle of scotch lay on the floor next to him. The gun lay in his lap. Mardon shook his head. Such a shame.