The Story Of Soldiers

Chapter 29

"So, 888, do you have any clue what could've caused 889 to have such an...extreme, reaction?" Diaz questioned.
Kaze swallowed, his heart pounding in his ears.
"I do, sir."
"Well, what is it then?"

Kaze took a deep breath. Could he tell the truth? Would Diaz even care for the truth?
"Well, sir," Kaze cleared his throat, "Collen 576, she made a...a rude comment about...about our past. About him."

Diaz pursed his lips, eyes narrowing as he tensed.
"What did she say?"
"She uh," Kaze stuttered.
"Don't say 'uh'. It makes you sound weak. No one takes someone who's weak seriously," Diaz said snappishly, "Say it again."

"She said that...just because we're carrying on his bloodline, doesn't give us the right to be...bitches?"
Diaz's hand tightened around the pen he'd been using to write all this down, nearly snapping it with his strength.

"She said what?"
Diaz stood, shoving the chair away as he stood and walked over to the bookshelf.
Diaz pressed his fist into the shelf, sucking a deep breath in through clenched teeth.

"Leave. Send in 576." Diaz said curtly, under his breath, as if trying to poorly concealed rage.
Kaze swallowed, scared of the man's reaction.
"Yes sir. I-if you don't mind, w-what are you going to," he sucked in a breath, "What are you going to do?"

Diaz spared a glance over his shoulder, catching sight of the fear in the child's eyes.
He flinched. Right, those three had been through...life with him.
Even the thought of them living with that monster was terrifying.

"I'm not going to hurt her," Diaz said collectedly, "If that's what you were thinking."
Kaze visibly relaxed. Diaz hated how the promise of basic decency comforted the boy. It shouldn't. It should be what 888 expected from him, not something he was shocked to be shown.

"Thank you, sir."
"Don't say that," Diaz snaps too harshly, "You shouldn't thank me for showing you basic human decency."
"Basic...human...decency?" Kaze says tentatively as if he's trying to understand it. As if it's some foreign concept to him.

"Yes. Start expecting it." Diaz sighed, feeling guilty he was the one who had to explain this to him.
He should already know this, Diaz thinks bitterly, Damn you Dajjal.

"Okay, sir," Kaze says. And it's so automated, so quick and so programmed.
That should be good. It should be because the program is working, and they're starting to turn into the good little robots the universe needs.

Normally this would have Diaz satisfied. But now it had him feeling sick.
888 should be obeying out of respect, as Diaz hopes he is. Diaz hopes it's because of anything else besides fear. Damn you Dajjal.

"Well, send her in then." Diaz sighed.
With a final, "Yes sir," Kaze leaves. Colleen enters shortly after, her eyes darting around rapidly as she wraps a strand of red hair around her finger.

"576," he said, cold as stone, "Sit."
Colleen swallowed, moving shakily to sit before the man towering over her.
"I was told about what you said."

Diaz stops speaking, and he's still. Colleen wonders if he's waiting for her to speak before he picks it up again.
"What the hell were you thinking."
Not a question. Pain. Brace yourself. This'll hurt.

"I'm sorry sir."
Colleen forces herself to apologize even though she knows it won't help her.
"I don't care," Diaz snapped, "Why the hell would you say that? What did they say to you?"

Colleen gritted her teeth, nails digging onto her own palms almost hard enough to draw blood.
"They called me pampered," Colleen said under her breath, though just loud enough to be heard.
"I'm fucking not."