The answers are getting harder and harder
Ashmores dead. The rest of his army has either taken off or is dead. I sent my men out through the town to make sure no more of his troops were lurking anywhere. The Mayor stopped by and informed us we had to get things cleaned up by the weekend. I reckon I'm not the only one who thought the guy was off his rocker. We'll get the town cleaned up, not cause some johnny come lately politician ordered it. We'll do it cause it needs doing. He isn't completely worthless, he somehow got a work crew out here yesterday and some of the areas in town already have power restored, including the hospital. Someone else helped with the hospital clean up and moving the patients back over there. I can't do it right now.
I also dispatched some of my men to deal with the evidence of battle. Its a morbid job, but neccessary. All remnants of Ashmores camp have been removed also. Slowly the town will start looking back to normal. Though I reckon for those of us who were here, it'll never look the same. Lot of the folks who had places to go home and have power have dispersed for there own homes and the high school is looking as much back to normal as possible. Though we weren't able to get out of there without one more round of detentions from that Snyder guy. The womans barracks at the base went undamaged, my men have take over the quarters. The offer was extended to anyone without a place to stay to stay there as well. At least until the regular armmy starts to return, which won't be for a while yet.
I went back to my apartment. I had phone calls to make. I should really do this in person, these people shouldn't have to hear about their loved ones over the phone. I can't leave right now, and I wanted to be the one to tell them. It's always been a fact of life in this job. After every mission, there was always the possibilty that I would have to make these calls. It's never been this hard. Its never hurt this much. If Kim wasn't here...I don't know when or how she bacame this source of strength for me, but I can't imagine not having her here.
Fifty three soldiers. Fifty three phones calls that needed to be made. There was one I kept putting off. I don't know why she should be different. You call up the family and you say "On behalf of the United States Army, I regret to inform you that you r son or daughter was killed in the line of duty." You can't be specific, you can't say they died saving the world, even though i reckon that would give them a sense of pride or some comfort knowing their loved one didn't die in vain. But you can't cause this is a highly confidential operation and ya just can't let the common folk know that these things happen.
For some reason though, she's different. She was just a kid. So brave, so strong, so...stupid. She saw him coming for him and she didn't hide, she didn't wait for us she didn't falter. She made her stand. She faced him, took him down. I don't know if she even felt the arrow she had been shot in the back with, I don't know if she felt Ashmores blade pierce her chest when he fell ontop of her. All I know is I ran over to her pull Ashmore off of her, and I saw all the blood pooling from her chest. I reckon my heart broke a little when I saw that, I knew even if we had a pixie port her into the infirmary there was no fixing this. She looked up at me and ask if Ashmore was dead, all I could say is yeah he's dead. She just smiled up at us, eyes shining and then she drifted away. I shoulda said more. Like how proud I was of her.
Dammit! I should have done more to protect her. I could have done a hundred things different, but I didn't and she's gone. She was my responsibility and I couldn't save her. She was a medic, she joined up to save lives, not to be out there fighting. If I had only told her no. I understood wanting a little payback, I didn't want to tell her no, give her the wrong message. I didn't want her thinking she was incapable of fighting for herself. I was afraid that if I told her no she would think that we didn't trust her to watch our six. Now, now I wish I would have kept her in that infirmary, we could have fixed those other things later. She would have been alive still. I failed her, as her CO, as her friend.
I had to call her dad and tell him his baby girl was dead. And the hundreds of other calls I made before, breaking the bad news to families, will never compare to the one to Major Marshall. He's heading out here to make arrangements for her. I'm not sure how I'm gonna face him.
Breaking it to Jess wasn't so easy either. Or any of the others. We should have been celebrating our victory, we won, Paige had made sure of it. But that night the price seemed a little high. Half my men are dead. Half our group is injured. I reckon it's all too much. I have never been one to shirk duty, but the pull to take Kim and get the hell out of here for a while is extremely tempting. She is so strong, and she came through this alive and I am grateful. After the clean up efforts are complete and everything is squared away we are on the first plane out of here.
I also dispatched some of my men to deal with the evidence of battle. Its a morbid job, but neccessary. All remnants of Ashmores camp have been removed also. Slowly the town will start looking back to normal. Though I reckon for those of us who were here, it'll never look the same. Lot of the folks who had places to go home and have power have dispersed for there own homes and the high school is looking as much back to normal as possible. Though we weren't able to get out of there without one more round of detentions from that Snyder guy. The womans barracks at the base went undamaged, my men have take over the quarters. The offer was extended to anyone without a place to stay to stay there as well. At least until the regular armmy starts to return, which won't be for a while yet.
I went back to my apartment. I had phone calls to make. I should really do this in person, these people shouldn't have to hear about their loved ones over the phone. I can't leave right now, and I wanted to be the one to tell them. It's always been a fact of life in this job. After every mission, there was always the possibilty that I would have to make these calls. It's never been this hard. Its never hurt this much. If Kim wasn't here...I don't know when or how she bacame this source of strength for me, but I can't imagine not having her here.
Fifty three soldiers. Fifty three phones calls that needed to be made. There was one I kept putting off. I don't know why she should be different. You call up the family and you say "On behalf of the United States Army, I regret to inform you that you r son or daughter was killed in the line of duty." You can't be specific, you can't say they died saving the world, even though i reckon that would give them a sense of pride or some comfort knowing their loved one didn't die in vain. But you can't cause this is a highly confidential operation and ya just can't let the common folk know that these things happen.
For some reason though, she's different. She was just a kid. So brave, so strong, so...stupid. She saw him coming for him and she didn't hide, she didn't wait for us she didn't falter. She made her stand. She faced him, took him down. I don't know if she even felt the arrow she had been shot in the back with, I don't know if she felt Ashmores blade pierce her chest when he fell ontop of her. All I know is I ran over to her pull Ashmore off of her, and I saw all the blood pooling from her chest. I reckon my heart broke a little when I saw that, I knew even if we had a pixie port her into the infirmary there was no fixing this. She looked up at me and ask if Ashmore was dead, all I could say is yeah he's dead. She just smiled up at us, eyes shining and then she drifted away. I shoulda said more. Like how proud I was of her.
Dammit! I should have done more to protect her. I could have done a hundred things different, but I didn't and she's gone. She was my responsibility and I couldn't save her. She was a medic, she joined up to save lives, not to be out there fighting. If I had only told her no. I understood wanting a little payback, I didn't want to tell her no, give her the wrong message. I didn't want her thinking she was incapable of fighting for herself. I was afraid that if I told her no she would think that we didn't trust her to watch our six. Now, now I wish I would have kept her in that infirmary, we could have fixed those other things later. She would have been alive still. I failed her, as her CO, as her friend.
I had to call her dad and tell him his baby girl was dead. And the hundreds of other calls I made before, breaking the bad news to families, will never compare to the one to Major Marshall. He's heading out here to make arrangements for her. I'm not sure how I'm gonna face him.
Breaking it to Jess wasn't so easy either. Or any of the others. We should have been celebrating our victory, we won, Paige had made sure of it. But that night the price seemed a little high. Half my men are dead. Half our group is injured. I reckon it's all too much. I have never been one to shirk duty, but the pull to take Kim and get the hell out of here for a while is extremely tempting. She is so strong, and she came through this alive and I am grateful. After the clean up efforts are complete and everything is squared away we are on the first plane out of here.