Thomas grasped underneath James’s armpits, being mindful not to shake his arms from his chest. Riley took hold of the legs, and they moved him onto the flattened tent. They curled the edges, creating a handle similar to that of a stretcher and carried his body to the pickup truck.
“I’ll ride in here with him once we leave,” Thomas said. Riley nodded as they placed him onto the bed of the truck. Thomas clutched James’s hands and squeezed, his mind replaying the scene, the carelessness. How could I let this happen? Damn…
“Nothing we could have done would have changed this.”
Thomas smiled weakly.
“I mean it. There—” Riley turned around, noticing that Thomas’s attention went beyond him.
Blaine strolled toward the truck, grinning, chatting to a few of the Soldiers that were gathered by a campfire as he passed by them. He motioned for Riley to step away, wiping the grin from his face as they approached one another. “Allow me some time to speak with him,” Blaine spoke softly from a distance, but Thomas still heard. He sat down on the tailgate, working over his knuckles. A long, deliberate breath escaped him before he spoke. “Come and sit with me.”
“No thanks.”
“You did what you could,” Blaine offered
Thomas looked to the sky then banged his fist against the truck. “Damn it! This wasn’t supposed to happen.” He pressed the palms of his hands into his forehead and groaned. “I…” His chin dropped, and he rested his forehead against the wall of the truck’s bed. “After all the shit leading up to this, for him to go— for him to go like this. It’s crazy. I just…” An exasperated breath and he lifted his head. “I just can’t believe it.”
“It’s not yo—”
“Everything was perfect, you know?” Thomas interrupted him forcefully.
Blaine stood from the tailgate and walked over to the side of the truck opposite Thomas. “Everything on paper always is.”
Thomas disregarded this tactless remark, choosing instead to pull the tent further over James’s body—a last attempt at protecting him from the world. “You get wrapped up in these damn ideas.”
“What do you mean?” Blaine helped to cover James.
“I saved him two days ago?”
Blaine paused for a moment and looked to Thomas.
“He almost got us killed then. You should have seen him run.” A stifled chuckle and an uneasy smile faded from his face. “Only got a graze. He really was a…” His mind went adrift as he stared into the folds of the tent. He really was a good soldier despite himself.
Blaine stopped fidgeting with the tent and rested his hands along the bed of the truck. “I think…” Thomas snapped his head toward Blaine, glaring at him in anticipation of another insensitive remark. “I don’t—” He swallowed the lump that had lodged in his throat. “I don’t think it’s productive to assign blame. Certainly, not on yourself. Not in the slightest. That’s all I’m offering. It won’t do any good.”
“His death is on me no matter what you or anyone says. I let his carelessness— his lack of attention run too long. I should have reeled it in.” Thomas turned his back to Blaine. “He really was a good man. Even through all the bullshit…”
“It wasn’t your place to stop him.”
“It was though.” Thomas snapped back. “We served together in Syria. He was the same damn guy there too!” His voice rose to a shout, catching the attention of the Soldiers gathered around the fire. “I know his limits, and he got carried away. He’s so damn cocky all the time. I should have scaled him back. I owed him that.” Thomas’s voice broke slightly. He cleared his throat. “It was him that got me home from six thousand miles away. He had to make the hard choice then. It was my turn, and I…” Thomas rubbed across the coarse hairs on his chin. “I couldn’t even get him four miles.”
“Here they come,” One of the Soldiers shouted, pointing to the now, fully-clothed women and children cresting the last hill of the southern service road. Thomas shot his attention toward them. Their laughter and boisterous conversations carried—their smiles oblivious to the sacrifices made to secure their newly-found freedom.
Deep down Thomas understood their elation was appropriate. He wanted it that way—set out days ago to make it that way. But in this moment, their joy scraped at his bones. The life of a decent man had been lost, and they would never truly know the extent of it. The cause was always bigger than the individual in battle.
Thomas had seen it first-hand. He knew the men that were lost in Syria, he would never forget, but to most, the deceased were the mere brush strokes in a mural. It didn’t matter to them which of the good guys made it home, only that the good guys won.
“How much more needs to be done?” Thomas asked.
“Not much.” Blaine now stood next to Thomas. “We’ll cremate the deceased. The trucks are being loaded as we speak.”
“And the women?”
“Processing will begin once we arrive at L.P.H. Fortress. Initial interviews revealed that many of them have valuable skillsets. Thomas…” Blaine paused. “This really is a big win for us.”
“And what about the kid?”
“He’s still being held at the library, but we won’t be leaving him behind. We may get some use out of him yet. Bright kid, he just needs some… convincing.” Blaine rummaged through his jacket pocket and took two envelopes from it. “I have your assignment.” He studied the envelopes for a moment then handed one of them to Thomas.
“What about the other one?”
“Not your concern.”
Thomas looked over to James. “Can I have his? Just…”
“I can’t. Sorry. Take your time with yours. It should be enough news to process. You don’t need to know any more than that.”
Blaine left Thomas’s side, moving toward the center of camp. Thomas flipped the envelope over. My next assignment. He picked at the black wax that sealed its contents from tampering—from unprivileged eyes. Inside, a typed letter.
Soldier:
It pleases me to be the first to congratulate you on your promotion to Soldier. As you know, this will be a life changing event for you and your family. This should be considered your greatest accomplishment. However, with it comes a great responsibility to care for those within the Second Alliance and those noble people that reside within our region that have yet to realize the strength of our banner. Whenever duty calls you forth, you will respond effectively, efficiently, and without mercy for those who stand against us. I know you will not fail. It’s not in you to do so.
I know you must be eager to learn of your next assignment. In the very brief amount of time I have known of you, there have only ever been positive remarks about your abilities. I have requested that you join me in my next endeavor in expanding our influence throughout the region. I have been tasked with overseeing the transition of River’s Edge Academy on the west side of Cincinnati. This is no simple task. They have been spoiled with an ideology that runs contrary to many of our most basic principles. To put it bluntly, conflict with the natives is anticipated due to this difference in philosophies, and you are tasked with ensuring matters do not get out of hand.
Once River’s Edge Academy has fallen into an obedient frame of mind, you will be entitled to bring your immediate family and one individual you feel is trustworthy and deserving of the opportunities that come with the honor of being a Soldier. You will report for duty within the week. Specific tasks will be discussed once you arrive.
Again, congratulations. I look forward to having you in my command.