Life Finds a Way

Chapter 35

It was sometime in the middle of the night when Clarissa was awoken with a hand on her shoulder. She jerked away from the touch and started to reach for her sword before she realized it was Genesis. Her mind was still somewhat sleep fogged, so she couldn't understand the look on his face. She looked at him with confusion until he spoke and cleared it. "You were crying out."

She felt the tension leave her at his words. She turned her face away before answering. "I apologize if I woke you. It's... a pretty regular occurrence, so don't worry about it."

She turned back to him when she felt a hand on her shoulder again. "I didn't realize you still had nightmares."

She wanted to give in and talk to someone about it, but she remembered that was a luxury she couldn't afford right now. She needed to be seen as strong. She gave him a tight-lipped smile to show that she wasn't trying to be offensive when she took his hand off her shoulder. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Morning will be here soon, and I need to get back to sleep." She didn't wait for a response before she laid back and turned her back to him again. She didn't relax until she felt him move away.

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The next two days were a flurry of activity. If any of them had thought normal training was getting hard, they were reevaluating that assessment. They worked in groups with either Kunsel or Genesis on things to look for in enemy territory, what to do if they were captured and the code of conduct in those situations, along with how to think on the fly, as escaping from those situations would be top priority. No two situations would be alike, so quick thinking would be the only real option.

They also spent at least half the day just trying to stay alive. No one went anywhere alone, and everyone was on alert for signs of the 'enemy'. It was on the morning of the fourth day that the watch had information other than monster attacks. One of them had spotted what looked like firelight in the distance to the southwest.

She immediately sent them to get as much rest as they could before they broke camp. She gave them three hours while she grabbed the maps and Dean. The rest of the cadets surrounded her, except for the two that had relieved the last pair. Once she had the maps laid out she turned to her second in command. "This is likely a trap. I doubt they would make the mistake of allowing their fire to show. This area is damn near barren, so they had to know it would carry."

She pointed to a couple of areas on the map before continuing. "If you look here, and here. They are both great places for an ambush, which is what I believe they have planned. We can use this to our advantage though. If they are in either of these locations, we can flank one side. The closer we can get to them without them hearing us the better. If we can engage one half of their troops while the other is still scrambling to reach us we will be in better shape than trying to take them all at once."

Her planning was interrupted by one of the cadets. His face was slightly red as he faced her with clenched fists. "Attacking from behind is not honorable. We're Soldiers. We are supposed to have honor!"

She turned to face him with a straight face. She wasn't angry, but she was irritated. In times like this, she felt their immaturity really showed. She kept the ire from her voice when she responded. "You do realize we are training to go to war, right? In war it is kill or be killed. You don't have the luxury of always facing your enemy face to face across an open battlefield. It is not honorable to rush headlong into a fight where you know you are at a disadvantage. If you want to talk about honor in war, then you are talking about things like not gloating over the body of your fallen enemy. They were brave enough to stand against you and give everything they had, including their life. They are people too. Remembering that fact when you are forced to continue taking lives; that is honor. You don't raze villages and kill innocents just because you can. You don't flaunt your power. In the end, staying alive and keeping your comrades alive is the most important thing. It isn't honorable to die when there is another way."