The Story Of Soldiers

Chapter 20

Warning(s): child manipulation, mentions of past abuse, rationalizing abuse, implied gaslighting, slight sexual implication at the end

Something odd was going on. Kamlyn hadn't told anyone of the night he overheard Commander Diaz, Robinson, and that mean lady from before talking about their father.

He didn't want to risk worrying them. He could've misheard and Diaz just wanted to get him back to bed.
Kamlyn hoped he was wrong. He's been wrong before, but thankfully his father was always there to tell him when he was wrong.

Now, here, on this planet, he wasn't there. Sure, Dajjal was mean and had torn his eye out that time- but he deserved that.
Dajjal had dismissed a matter he was asking of out of hand, but Kamlyn kept pushing.

Then it had escalated into calling names and other insults. His father had graciously given him one last chance.
Kamlyn didn't take it. Instead, he'd shoved the man and that lead to his rightful punishment.

But besides that, Dajjal was a good man. Kamlyn was sure of it. However, for whatever reason, the people were upset when they found out he was on the planet.
Kamlyn didn't know why it terrified them so much. Or himself for that matter.

He'd overheard people talking about his father before, and they always seemed to hate him. Talking about how he was trying to take over the world and attempting to overthrow the government.

Kamlyn didn't buy it whenever people told him his father was a bad man, because he wasn't. He just wasn't. Kamlyn was sure he had a good reason for trying to overthrow the government.

Kamlyn guessed it was due to the irrational fear surrounding his father, but the trainees were no longer allowed outside the base and monthly trips to the forest quickly became a thing of the past.
However, they couldn't keep a bunch of children locked up for so long until they started to go stir crazy.

The routine began eating at them, the constant mundane, continuous days wore at their sanity and they began acting out more often. More got in trouble more frequently, got distracted in class, and just felt the effects of the new situation in general.

Maybe that's why one day, they took them out to a new part of the forest they were never allowed to before.
Surrounding the base, along with that weird other building they had failed to notice before, was a forest.

The area of said forest to the west side of the main base was where they usually went, as soldiers had investigated and found it was the safest and generally best section to take the trainees to.

This was because the woods there were less dense. Fewer trees, fewer places for children to get lost.
The enemy border hadn't previously been an issue, as they thought Dajjal didn't know about the base.

God knows what Dajjal knows now. Someone had said once. Can you imagine he was spying on us that whole time!? Despicable man.
Kamlyn had wanted to protest their accusations of their father then and there, but for some reason questioned himself and held back from doing so.

However, they were now being taken East of the base. They weren't allowed in that particular direction before.
Embress accompanied them, for some reason.

Now they were led through one of the densest parts of the forest until they came to a small stream with a statue next to it.

On it, carved from weathered stone, stood a depiction of seven people.
"001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, and 007. The very first trainees ever brought into this program. It was over a decade ago." Diaz spoke.

Embress picked up his statement. "There were originally eight of them. What happened was-."
"What happened?" Kira blurted before they could even comprehend what was leaving her mouth.