Eternal Squad - The Resurrection

Decisions - Origins

The day comes to its end. Seeing that everyone else is sleeping, Dan takes the privacy moment to discuss with Krein about their next move.

-I don’t know, brother… what if Neder is right?-

-What do you mean?-

-What if staying gives us more problems?-

-I’ve thought about it, you know…-

-So? We have to go tomorrow. Both of us know that.-

-I’m not so sure… don’t know what to do.-

-Come on, Krein. I know this things just don’t happen every day, but we have to leave this place.-

-The monk…-

-Yes, the monk. We could take him with us, or he can stay here, he’ll be fine, brother.-

-He said we crossed paths.-

-What are you talking about?-

-Maybe we are here for the same reason.-

-What? No, Krein, damn it. That man is a superior being, he has abilities, we all saw that. We walked trough his way, that’s it. We’ll never see him again, not him or anyone similar. It was just a coincidence. You get it?-

-Coincidence?-

-This place belongs to him. Perhaps he’s not the only one, maybe there are more of them in the temples.-

-Dan… since when are you that skeptical?-

-Krein…-

-Things happen, yes. But this…-

-This, what? Were we meant for this? This is how our story continues? Come on, brother. We’ll have something to tell when we get home… but we have to get back.-

Krein reflects about the situation. It is important to go back, that’s true. But the idea of remaining with the doubt doesn’t leave him satisfied at all.

The old man awakes the squad with the same task from the last days. This time, Dan and Krein run together to seek for their food.

-This is what you want to stay for?- Asks Five, upset -He’s using us. We collect food for him… who knows what else he’s gonna ask for later.-

Ignoring his brother’s comment, Krein keeps running with his eyes on the way. Something tells him that they shouldn’t go back… not now.

As they were supposed to, the brothers get gathered in the same spot. Once again, the old man is absent, but this time, no one wants to wait for him. Any word is said between them. Not even the trees are capable of interrupting the moment… it is just matter of time. They should be here soon. However, the instants just go by, the food is over, the minutes turn into hours… but nothing rises from around.

-s**t. They’re not coming. We were sent to die with the bastards of the recon team. We were their f*****g experiment!-

-Easy, brother… they have to appear.-

-Nobody is getting us out of here, Dan. It’s been more than two days already… I’m out of here. I can’t with this shit.-

After complaining, Neder gets away into the jungle and disappears among the remaining light from the day. Clearly… the stipulated time from the mission’s control for their extraction has exceeded the limits.

The monk still doesn’t show up. Looking for the best view to the exterior, the soldiers climb up the staircase until they reach the third platform in direction of the great temple. Once there, the outlook is more than enough to see any external approach to the place. But, after all the effort and patience… their hope gets weak as the night shows up.

Without noticing, the novices fall asleep. Nevertheless, thanks to their superiorly developed senses, they manage to distinguish the sound of the motors from their ship:

-It’s the Tornic!- Yells Kay, alerting the others.

-Run!- Proceeds Dan -We are out of here.-

Without waiting for the others, Three and Five start running down the staircase full speed.

-Wait!- Says Lin -What about Neder?-

-We’ll find him from above.- Answers Five -Come on, there is no time.-

Two and One follow the steps from their brothers… but every stair down means less confidence in Krein’s decision.

The footsteps start crossing the main passageway, but getting close to this, Krein feels the presence of the monk and turns around, looking at him on the edge of the staircase where they just descended.

-How did you get here?- Asks One, aggressively, while he walks to the old man -What do you want? Damn it, tell me who are you!-

The eyes of the monk turn into that sinister blue and his hands strongly take the shoulders of the young soldier.

-Damn…- Complains Dan, stopping after realizing that Krein isn’t behind them -That imbecile.-

Five runs back, and before reaching the circle, he witness the scene of the old man taking Krein with his hands… both with the same blue glare coming from their eyes.

-Krein!- Yells desperately, running to his youngest brother -Krein, no!-

Dan approximates willing to take down the old man, but before getting to him, the blue light disappears, their eyes go back to normal and a leak of breath gets them separate. A short paralysis leves them looking at the sky for some instants. The monk is the first one to recover, so Dan responds rounding his neck with a hand and pointing to his face with the other.

-What did you do to him? Answer!-

-Calm down, brother.- Interrupts Krein, taking Five’s shoulder -Everything is alright.-

-Damn it, Krein, what were you thinking? We have to go, now!-

-Go to the Tornic, Dan.-

-What are you saying?-

-I can’t go, brother… not now.-

-We won’t leave you here, asshole.- Continues Dan, taking Krein’s arm -Move! There is no time!-

-You have to go without me.- Says Krein, while he looks at his partner trying to move him from his place -I’ll be fine… we’ll meet again.-

-Hey!- Yells Two, from the beginning of the passageway -We have to f*****g go!-

-Help me, Lin… Krein says he is not coming.-

-What? Are you insane, Krein?-

-Son of a bitch.- Exclaims Kay, running in direction of One -Didn’t you listen? There’s no time to lose!-

The three warriors take Krein; Kay and Lin by his arms, and Dan pushing from the back, but after a few steps, the young soldier gets easily loose and turns back looking at Five’s face.

-Krein…- Says Dan, in a calm tone -I don’t understand.-

-I don’t know what it is yet, Dan… but there is something important to do here.-

The conviction in the voice of the youngest brother leave the team thoughtful, but none of them is sure about how to answer in this situation…

-Krein is sure about what he’s doing.- Continues Five, after a short but endless moment, looking at One directly to his eyes -If he is staying… I’m staying.-

Two and Three are stunned after his response… but the leadership and strength of Dan’s words are elements that have kept the group united during hard circumstances, so any of them decide to answer back from his final verdict.

The notion of time is lost between the glancing in each other’s eyes; it seems that just a short instant has gone by, but when they spect it the less, their rescue ship is already taking off and starting the way back, without any new passenger on board.

-I can’t believe it.- Exclaims Neder, emerging from the jungle while slowing the speed of his walk -They came for us… and even so, you are still here. And you…- Continues, directing to the monk with a penetrating view -you are the f*****g responsable, aren’t you?- He says, while wielding hands -I’m sick of you.-

Ten throws a destructive blow to the old man’s face… but, without prior notice and without making any sound, the oldest brother hits his head against the floor. Inexplicable… how? With just throwing the exterior side of his hand to the neck of Neder… the monk manages to take him down without any effort.

-Mother fucker…- Laments Lin, looking at the biggest soldier falling down.

-Impossible.- Adds Kay.

-Don’t worry.- Says the monk -He’s unconscious… he will recover soon.-

After a while of observing the strongest warrior down by a movement that seemed useless against a squad of Super Soldiers, Dan continues:

-Unconscious? How…?-

The monk looks at Five’s eyes, and, after traveling his view around his brothers, he responds:

-If learning is what you want… we’ll have to establish an order.-

The voice tone of the old man takes the four brothers to a moment of confusion… it seems that the monk just realized about something they can’t even imagine. But, after looking at Neder laying on the floor and reflecting that they stayed here for a reason they don’t know yet, the doubts stay behind and they accept the proposal.

The next day has a peculiar beginning; the soldiers are subdued to a training like never experienced before. It’s like they have never dedicated to this in the past. The weak bodies get to their break point, but the monk continues with the extreme routine that, for him, seems to be indispensable conditioning in his daily life.

Dan wakes up in the middle of the night. He feels recovered in a high percentage, but he still can’t move his legs fluidly. After some silent minutes, he realizes that the monk isn’t close… he takes up his torso and observes around, but any movement seem to betray the old man. Taking back his view to his brothers, Five notices that One is also awake;

-Krein…- He whispers -Krein, what are you doing awake?-

-What’s up?- Replies One, also in low tone.

-Nothing, nothing…- Continues Dan, while he crawls beside his brother -I can’t sleep, that’s all. You?-

-I was thinking… just thinking.-

-What you thinking about, brother?-

Krein looks at Five’s eyes and, after a pause, he responds convicted:

-What if this is the reason?-

-What are you talking about?-

-Today’s training, Dan… we are TEX soldiers. We are the Generation Nine. We’ve been subdued to more than regular men could handle. Don’t you realize what happened today?-

Dan turns his view and keeps silence for a minute… but recalling what happened during last day, he slowly looks to One to continue with the conversation.

-Krein… what happened in that moment?-

-When?-

-When the monk took your shoulders. His eyes… yours also had that blue light. What did he do to you?-

-Easy, Dan… he didn’t do nothing to me.-

-Then, what? What happened?-

Krein thinks about his answer for some instants. Only he knows what happened, but it’s something complex to explain with words.

-I could see him in different stages of time.-

-What do you mean?-

-When he took my shoulders… I could see many stages of his life. I saw him when he was a kid… a similar monk was giving to him his first suit on his hands, and he responded with reverence. I also saw him when he was a bit older… he was in a fight, it seemed a sparring. His adversary was taking him down and hitting him. Years after, I saw him meditating under the rain, in the depths of this jungle. Then…-

-Then?-

-Then I listened to him talking with another monk. He looked the same way he looks now… his similar was a really elder man.-

-What did you listen?-

-“The future is totally unknown. You forge your own destiny… you have to choose if you will accomplish your personal purpose”.- Krein stays quiet after an instant, thinking about the origin of the next scene, and continues telling it to Dan;

-They were speaking that strange language… I don’t know how I was able to understand it again. After that, I saw him in a ceremony… it was something alike from what he made us do that night. Precisely around this circle. There was a lot of people alike him. Men, women, boys and girls… all with the same suit and without a single hair on their head. All of them were giving him reverence. There, right in that moment, the blue light starts involving him, but everything fades away… I still don’t get it.There were lights in the sky with a big smoke trail, I remember that… but I couldn’t see what they were.-

Dan remains… confused. Nothing that the old man transmitted to Krein seems to have any sense, not yet. But, that phrase…

-“You forge your own destiny…”-

-I think that’s why we are here.-

-What’s your point?-

-What if we are here to improve ourselves? What if we reach a power that no one else has achieved before?-

-I don’t know, Krein… even so, what would be the purpose? The war is over…-

-Easy. It’s our third day here… the purpose will come in some future.-

-Are you sure?-

-Of course I’m sure. Look around you, Dan… we got lost in this jungle. They were going to kill us like the others, but this man brought me here and they haven’t found us yet. Today he challenged our potential, and we couldn’t reach his level… what if we can do more than we did today?-

Five reflects about Krein’s words, and he realizes that most of what he says is true.

-You shouldn’t worry about the future yet.- Says the monk, appearing behind them.

-What do you suggest then?- Asks Dan.

-Focus on the present.- Concludes, turning around and walking to the other side.

-Wait…- Exclaims One, interrupting his way.

-Yes, Krein?-

-We don’t know your name yet… how can we call you?-

The old man lowers his view and contemplates the floor for some instants… he seems insecure about his next answer. However, after a moment, he rises his eyes, turns around, looks at Krein and, before going back to his way, he ends:

-Call me… master.-