War Is Over

Ch. 1

"We have to go."  "We have to end this."  "We have to do this."  "This will end it all." 

The city below looked like another world. Peaceful. Silent. Barely any lights, but not dark. Here up on the hill, hiding between the trees the atmosphere was different. Soft footsteps. Rattling of gear. Whispered orders. The air felt heavy with a mixture of fear, anticipation, maybe even excitement. The night was dark, the moon hiding behind heavy clouds. There could be rain. Maybe even thunder. Hajime did not look up. He could feel it. The suspense in the air. It was hard to breathe. Or was that his own fear? His soft hands became hard. His eyes became dark. His brain numb, his heart closed off. He had fought countless battles, but the fear never went away. This night was different.  Maybe, just maybe this would be the end. The last battle. The chance to become human again. But then, was that even possible after al this? He stared at the dark red stain on his jacket sleeve. It was old. It was not the first. It would not be the last. It did not matter anymore. He stopped crying a long time ago. The only thing that mattered was to survive today. Then the next. Not more. Hajime looked at the soldiers around him. They all looked the same. Dirty. Empty. Silent. They all dreamt of being heroes. But soldier after soldier died. Friends, comrades, family. No one thought about being a hero anymore. Just surviving. Or dying. No one really knew what would be worse. 

"Go, now!" The whispered order flowed through the forest like an ocean wave. The soldiers stood up and started marching down the hill. As quiet as possible for the small army. The darkness made it harder. Evading trees, branches, pits and hills, the group slowly descended to the city. When they reached the first buildings, the group spread out. They had one goal. The headquarters of the enemy, right at the city centre. They only discovered this location a few days ago, but they knew what to do immediately. Haijme and his squad sneaked through countless alleys. He had walked this route in his head, over and over and over again in the past days. He flawlessly lead them to the music hall, currently headquarters of the Guiran army. For a few minutes they stood there, waiting in the shadows, until the other squads reached their destination. Only one sound broke the silence. The faint sound of a violin. A sweet and soft melody. Hajime recognised it immediately. It was a well known duet piece for violin and piano. He had played it countless times in the past. It seemed part of another world. It felt out of place. And yet there it was. It came from the music hall. Apparently there was a concert, likely held just for the elite, the commanding officers and such. "Good", Hajime thought, "that means they are probably all in one room". A tiny light flashed. The squads moved to the building. Broke open the doors. Shut off the lights. The music stopped. 

Hajime ran through a hallway and searched the adjacent rooms. Most of them were empty, some occupied by cleaners, clerks, and other lower staff. Hajime and his squad tied them all up, they did not need to kill them. "Minimize civilian casualties", the commander had said. The last door did not lead to a room, but to the stage. From the shadows a person appeared. A small figure, but with the clear silhouette of a pointed rifle. Hajime did not hesitate for a second. One shot and the figure fell, but they did not pay attention to it. They moved on, found the pianist, and some other musicians, and locked them up in a dressing room. Suddenly the light was back on. They stood on the podium and looked around. The hall itself was indeed full of officers and other high officials. Most of them were dead. Hajime started to hear screams. He had closed them off, but the sound gradually found its way back into his brain. Women screaming the names of their husbands and fiancées. Screams of pain. Screams of fear. Hajime averted his eyes. He started to walk back to the stage door, but froze in his stride.  There, in front of him, on the ground was the body of a girl. Sixteen, maybe even younger. Besides her a violin. One string was broken from the fall. She moved her hand. She was still alive. He hurried towards her, but he knew he could not do anything. He was well trained. He knew how to kill. She would not survive. He kneeled besides her. She grabbed his sleeve, looked up at him. He knew she wanted to say something but she couldn't. All she could do was hold on to his arm, staring at him with the brightest green eyes he had ever seen, filled with tears of pain and fear. A few moments he just sat there. It seemed like an eternity. Then he felt her hand loosen the grip on his arm. He realized he grabbed it unconsciously. He closed her eyes and stood up. They went outside. The mission was successful. After a few days, it became clear the enemy had surrendered. The remaining troops were scattered all over the country, trying to get back to their homeland. The soldiers were busy for a couple of weeks trying to track them all down and capture them. After one of those missions, Hajime and his squad went for a drink in a nearby town. Halfway there the world ended. Everything went black.