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The year passed, and I got better in all aspects. Though better never meant emotionally good, I still felt hollow for some reason. Today I got assigned a group mission.. There was a medic, I knew him from training, and I helped him, he was ten years old. So I took care of him like I wished someone would have done for me. He would spend some nights waiting for me to return from a mission. Then he would cuddle close to me sleeping. It brought a soft smile to my face when he looked so peaceful near me. He was a good kid, he had an older brother around my age. He also said that his brother was an even better medic. I liked the look in his eyes so full of life. Unfortunately there were two other people, Zane and her I didn't even bother remembering her name. We went to the conference room to find out where the mission was and who were the targets. No questions asked the usual. This time it was at a laboratory, and we were to kill a teenager and bomb the place afterwards.
The medic looked up at me when we neared the destination. And whispered, "C-can, you hold my hand?" His eye's held terror, this was his first mission after all. The girl scoffed and said in a snarky tone, "Toughen up kid, this is it for the rest of your life. No one is going to show you remorse when they hold a gun to your head." Zane kept quiet, just observing us. The boy had tears in his eyes, sniffling loudly, trying not to cry. With a quick glare to the girl, I took him into my lap. Hugging him, my hand stroking his hair. Putting his head close to my chest, he curled up against me hiding his face from them. As I whispered sweet lies, to help him relax. Although I don't know what this mission will cost us. Or whose life it will take, ours or theirs
After getting out of the plane that led us to a nearby destination of the laboratory we began walking. The forest that surrounded the building quiet. Not a single bird whispered its soothing tune. Not a rodent on the ground. Not an insect buzzing about. The boy walked closer to me as the others passed a look between each other. Either they know we're here or the place is deserted.
Walking into the building each one of us we're more weary. More alert than when we were outside. A closed space was more difficult to navigate through than an open field. The walls were pearl white. The floor was made of marble and the place was clean. Clean enough to see our reflection on. But walking further into the building Silvester in front. The girl next to me and the boy clinging to my side looking paranoiac. The place became messy, papers we're thrown on the ground. Desks and tables smashed to the ground, broken shards of glass littered the floor. Sharp claws like scratches decorated the walls. The smell of death following the trail of blood.
"W-what what happened h-here?" The boy asked. He was new to this of course. I should have been better and have explained that talking was a strict no until it was absolutely necessary. Pulling out a handgun, grabbing the boy closer. We all stood still pointing our guns at the places we could be ambushed from. I felt the glares of both Silvester and the girl attempting to glare at the boy I wash shielding from.
No sooner than I was distracted a growl emitted from the corredors. No sign of where it came from. The sound of it echoing through every hall. Making it seem as though it was everywhere. But it was nowhere in sight. The lights flickered at the sound of steps. Drawing us closer to each other to make sure our backs were covered. Glaring at the corridor in front of me. As if I was silently daring something to come and take the boy from me.
I don't know how long we stood there in silence. Waiting, waiting for something to happen. For an animal to appear along with the growl. A silent look from Silvester told us that we we're taking too long and we needed to hurry and kill what we came to kill. And so we walked towards the center of the building. The lights continued to flicker and at times turn off completely for minutes.
What we saw in the middle was unexpected, it was something so vile. It was a loss of words. For there were no words that could possibly describe the organized massacre. There were rows upon rows, of thousands of bodies. The walls of the room are covered in plants, the ceiling painted to look like the sky. The smell reeked of blood and something else that I couldn't make out what it was. It was nauseating. The bodies were those of children. They were deformed, mutated to look like something else. Something unnatural. Without thinking, I pulled the boy close to me covering his eyes. Attempting to shield his eyes from a massacre this large. Of children close to his age and younger.
