"Auntie Mia! Auntie Mia!!!" A loud, rambunctious voice woke Mia up as a weight dropped onto her stomach. "Oof." Mia gasps as she chuckles and opens her eyes. "Mm, good morning to you too, little Star." Mia chuckles while stroking the girl's platinum blonde hair. She cuddled the four-year-old while talking to her, smiling as all her worries seem to fade away. Nothing brightens the would more than a child's smile. "Hey, I have a great idea." Mia says as she whispers into Star's ear. "Go wake mommy up. I bet she would love to be woken up like how you woke me up." The little girl smiles brightly at her aunt and say "Okay!" with exuberance while going to wake her mother up.
After breakfast, (and some evil glares from her sister), Mia heads to the village leaders house. She wanted to talk to him about the strange green men she had heard about in the capital, and see what his opinions of them are. If they were a threat, she would have her sister, the girls, and her sister's husband evacuate with her where they were safer. If the village leader didn't think they were a threat, maybe she could negotiate a deal with them to ensure her sister's family would be safe. Wiping out an entire brigade was no small feat, and Mia knew that her sister would be safer with such a powerful backer. Wasting no time, Mia knocks on the door, waiting to be let in. "Come in." A powerful and deep voice echoed. "The door is unlocked."
After walking into the house, Mia sat down on the couch near the coffee table. The elder offered her refreshments, but she declined. She was already full from breakfast. Pleasantries aside, Mia decided to get straight to the point. "What did you think of them, Kamer?" She asks bluntly. Kamer sighed as he drank his tea. He looked at the younger woman with deep concern etched on his face. "Truthfully, I do not know whether they are friend or foe. Three of their men arrived yesterday, and it was quite clear they do not speak our tongue. The man whom I assume is their leader was able to say that we can 'trust' them, but aside from that, I have nothing more to add. At this point, any guessing would be conjecture." Kamer finished while staring evenly at Mia. Mia sighs while rubbing her face. "So they just showed up out of nowhere, engaged and destroyed an entire brigade, and then showed up here to… chat?" She says with confusion plastered on her face. "That doesn't make any sense." Kamer sighed and looked off into the distance at "Demon Hill" as it had come to be named. "I agree. At this point, neither their motives nor their behavior can be explained. They act like neither the conquered nor the conquerors." As Mia and Kramer were discussing the nature of the encounter with the green men and their motives, a knock came at the door. "Sir! They came back!" A harried voice came from outside Kramer's house. "They are standing outside the village in the same spot they were yesterday."
Eric and his element arrived outside the village at nearly the same time as they had yesterday. Soldiers were nothing if they weren't punctual. Using the same formation they had yesterday, the squad of infantry men set up a perimeter where they had iron sights on every entry point/ access way to the village. Eric, his platoon leader, and the infantry platoon sergeant made their way to the same spot they had yesterday. They had slung their weapons as they waited in silence.
Eric noticed movement occurring in the village while he waited outside calmly. The scenes from yesterday had been different this time. The whisperings and doors slamming had turned into villagers standing outside their doors while watching Eric and the other soldiers warily. Neither side approached the other as vigilance replaced mistrust and fear. Then, the Village elder he met yesterday walked out of a house. Following behind the older man was a young woman who appeared to be Eric's age. Next to the Goddess, she had to be the most striking woman Eric had ever seen. He threw that thought away immediately before raising his guard. She was no ordinary villager. Her gait was too measured, practiced. It was clear she wasn't here to listen.
The village leader approached Eric and assumes the same spot he had yesterday. The woman stood off to the side. "Welcome Biesj." The man said while Eric smiled back in greeting. He waves to the village leader and raises his hands together in a "Thank you" gesture. As Eric and the leader began trying to speak to each other, the woman suddenly shouts "Get doewnr!" As she tackles the village leader. Suddenly, balls of fire erupt in the village, and arrows strike towards Eric. "Sergeant!" His LT yells while tackling Eric. Suddenly, Eric felt warm liquid trickling onto his face. The LT had an arrow sticking through his neck as a gurgling noise escapes his lips. "Thank… You." The man says as he passes away.
"Contact left! Contact left!" A voice yells from the tree-line. Immediately after, the sharp cracks of rifles and machine guns invade the still atmosphere. Villagers began screaming as chaos erupted. Eric pushes the LT off of him gently as he gets up. He looks at the Infantry platoon sergeant as they push into the village together. Rifles at the ready, they begin to search the village for remaining enemies.
An hour later, the village had been cleared as the soldiers regrouped in front of the village. The hostiles had left as quickly as they came. They had set three houses on fire, resulting in the deaths of five villagers. A wailing mother held her desceased husband and three children. Her voice interrupted the grim atmosphere, cutting into the silence like a knife through paper. On the battalion's side, they had lost Eric's PL.
The Lt that lay in front of him was a good man, and had always talked about wanting to live on a farm raising sheep. Now, the young man would never get that chance. Eric had lost too many men just like the young man, and every time it was a new knife cutting into his skin. He closed the young man's eyes, his own eyes closing as a tear fell down his face. "New world, same shit." He spoke with quiet fury. Unsuppressed rage leaked out, and a pressure wave surrounded him, flattening the ground and scouring it as he said a silent prayer.