3 - The Soldier

The Soldier Part 3

     The soldier would not have expected the landscape that spread before him. It looked as if he were standing in somebody's wheat field. As far as he could see, the ground was covered in wheat, approximately half a foot high, just tall enough to be an irritant as you walked through it. He spun around and saw Trooper removing something from the Hover, and then he rested his eyes on a road, well, most likely a wide path. It looked to be made of orange clay and traveled out of his view. There were houses, ones he would associate with a farm, scattered alongside the path. At closer observation, it looked like the houses had been randomly dropped next to the path. All looked weather worn and inhabitable.

"Where are we?" The soldier asked.

"Land of the Mannen. We'll walk two days, come to village, talk to the Head Master. He'll say we can go on."

Before he could articulate a question, Trooper gave him a response.

"His land, we cannot use the portal unless he says so."

"Can't we go directly to our designation?"

Trooper covered up the items with the canvas and started walking.

"I don't understand everything, you will neither, we just have to play by the games, the rules."

"Who makes the rules?"

Trooper smiled. "The Rule-Maker, let's go-burning daylight."

The soldier paused, he looked around, shrugged his shoulders and followed the simian.

They had been walking silently for two hours, mostly on flat ground but occasionally over minor hills. There were no other signs of plant life, just the endless wheat field. They skirted the path, the distance ranging from a few yards to hundreds of feet. There was no pattern that the soldier could discern; however, there were houses along the entire pathway.

He had been thinking things over, having mostly operated out of emotion than logic since he had been shot, trying to get a grasp on what was truly happening. It had seemed natural to follow the simian; he would lead him so he could accomplish what he desired-an end to the war! The chance for his students to live a life without suffering what millions were going through.

Occasionally he was nagged by the similarity of his surroundings, deep inside he knew he was familiar with this setting but could not place it. They had stopped for a drink and a bite of a bar that contained chocolate and nuts. There was a sweetness that briefly brought back memories, memories somehow associated with his surroundings. He had asked Trooper about this place, about his comments earlier on other worlds. He listened as they walked towards a large hill.

Trooper spoke of a Supreme Being who had been around for an endless time. The soldier had asked if he meant God, Trooper replied that Gods' were worshipped-this was before all-a being alone in a nothingness of existence. The Being began to create. He created universes and worlds where he planted seeds, many things spawned from these seeds; however, the Being was never satisfied. He would grow weary of a creation, create anew and was constantly seeking, what none knew-it was not their place. There were hundreds, thousands of these creations, like orphaned children they existed on their own, many erupting out of existence as millenniums passed. These were the battle grounds, in what the soldier would call the fight between good and evil. Trooper did not know whom, but somebody had facilitated a way to travel from one world unto another-the portals. He could not tell if they were meant as a means of escape or invasion-he just knew how to locate them.

Trooper was near the bottom of the hill when he froze in place and signaled the soldier to do the same. They stood barely breathing; the simian straining to hear a sound carried across the wind. After a moment of silence, the soldier heard a noise. It sounded like a lion he once heard at a circus: a cry of anger and torment. Trooper had not mentioned what kind of creatures may inhabit this land, but from the look on his face they were about to meet one.

"Run"

The soldier followed the simians' gait, looking over his shoulder as another roar discharged over the top, nipping at his heels ensuring he kept his pace. Suddenly his companion stopped, forcing the soldier to cart wheel his free arm to keep from plummeting to the ground as his own momentum halted. The soldier could see the fear in Trooper's eyes as he watched for something to crest over the hill.

"A Snarf, we will not get away: we must face it!"

Trooper told him to turn and face the hill. He said the creature should be bounding over soon; the soldier was to stand and fire his weapon at the creature's heart. He would use his grenade launcher. Hopefully between them they could terminate the death that now hunted them. Trooper stood behind and to the side, the breech of the gun broken so he could load a round.

There was another roar, and the soldier steeled himself to face whatever was to come over the hilltop. He imagined a huge creature with deadly teeth and talons that would shred him and his companion, and then feast on the bones.

"Man, if I don't make it..." Trooper's words were cut off by another roar, the soldier held his rifle as he had been trained to. He had faced death before, but that was from men such as himself.

The soldier began a simple prayer. The prayer buried itself as he thought of his wife-his desire to be with her again, living out their lives together. Sweat began to flow into his eyes, blurring his vision, and he cursed as a roar from just the other side pulverized his heart like a shaft of thunder. He saw slight movement at the top of the hill and suddenly heard laughter from behind him. He tried to focus, tried to put the large creature into his sight, tried to figure out why the simian behind him was laughing.

He caught sight of the creature bounding down the hill towards him, it probably weighed no more than three pounds. It was a rabbit similar to rabbits from his world, except this creature had a single leg that protrude from the front instead of two. The creature swerved to avoid the soldier, a massive roar somehow emitting from its being. There was still laughter from behind him as he let the tension off the trigger, and checked to ensure nothing else was going too bound over the top. Once he was sure that there was no threat, he turned around.

Trooper was walking away, his shoulders jerking at his hearty laugh. The soldier looked back to the hilltop. He looked off in the direction the animal had taken.

"Let's go-burning daylight." Trooper threw over his shoulder.

The soldier shook his head and followed the simian.