Regrets

Kosmas stopped shoveling just as the sun began to kiss his brow. Without him knowing, the whole night had passed. Lying the shovel down, he stepped back to admire his work. In front of him, a foundation lay. Or more where one would be, anyway. Right now it was just a five-foot deep hole, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.

The night had passed by rather fast, with Kosmas spending most of his time venting his anger on the harsh, barren ground. In fact, he didn't know how big Silver had wanted it, so he just kept making it bigger and bigger as he went. At first, it was only a ten-foot wide square, but every time Kosmas flashed back to the unfortunate end of Gerhard, his feelings fueled him with energy. Even now, when he thought back... It was best not to.

In the distance Kosmas spotted Mitch tearing plants out of the ground. To tell the truth, if anyone would be messed up about the whole situation it would be him, the unofficial leader of the group. It showed too, with most of the surrounding area within two hundred feet being cleared out by him. That meant Mitch had done only fifty feet, since the boss had done 150 before they had arrived, but for one night it was a monstrous improvement to Kosmas.

He sighed. Even now Mitch looked like a full battery, or maybe even an overcharged one. He was ripping the plant life out so furiously that even the stone-like ground would crack a little. Then, before he would pile it up with the other waste, he would rip the plant to tiny little pieces, before loading the remains into a bucket and dumping it onto the pile. The pile had grown almost to the size of their boss's cottage!

—

Mitch dumped another bucket onto the pile, grunting with the sheer force of his swing. He panted, wiping sweat from his brow as he looked towards the rising sun. As Kosmas had thought, he was beating himself up over their situation, had been all night. Every single time he took in a breath he remembered the scene of Gerhard, the smile on his face, the victory in his eyes, all as his head disintegrated, leaving naught even a speck behind. It played through his head again, and again, and again, feeling his every move with the vigor of a hundred men.

It was his fault. It was his call to stop here. When Dom had mentioned a cottage in the middle of this cursed landscape, he had given it no thought. He should've known anyone who would choose to live out here would be insanely powerful. He tore another bush from the claws of the earth. It was his fault. When they had dismounted from the carriage, and stood off with Silver, it was his call to attack.

How could he have known? It didn't matter anymore. It was his fault. He got Gerhard killed. He put the shredded remains of the bush into the bucket and trudged towards the pile. What would Gerhard's wife think? Would she blame him? Would she yell, scream, or throw things at him? How many tears would leave her eyes when he brought the news? What about Gerhard's son? He was only seven. Was he supposed to tell him that his dad was never coming home?

Mitch emptied the bucket and turned around. Would he even be able to see his family again? He didn't deserve to, he knew that, after all Gerhard wouldn't. Gerhard was gone. He was really gone. The overprotective little kid of the group was the first to fall.

Mitch remembered everything. He remembered the first time they adventured out as a group. The first time Gerhard had helped kill a beast, flashing behind it and slitting its throat. He remembered how everyone had clapped, how they had gone out for beers after. And now that would never happen again. They would never see Gerhard's smile, the way he looked at his son when he boasted stories that weren't half true. And it was all his fault. He looked over, his eyes catching on a man sitting. Dom. At least they still had the three of them. They would make it through.

—

Dom sat beneath one of Silver's trees, his knees to his chest. His eyes were blank, soulless, black holes in the eyes of the rising light. He had finished his task early on in the night, delivered the book back to Boss, and for hours now he sat under the tree, unmoving. The other two had understood his sentiments and left him to his thoughts.

Dom felt nothing other than regret. He knew the other two didn't blame him, but how could he not blame himself? It was his call that alerted Mitch. He asked for him to make the decision. Oh, how he wished he hadn't even seen this place. How nice would it be if they had never stopped here?

It was too late now, he supposed. Gerhard was already dead. They were following their new boss, trapped here for who knows how long. Who knew if their boss would get angry and kill them too? He sighed. Raising his head to greet the sunrise.

In some way, Dom blamed Silver for it all. He knew it was wrong of him, they had intruded, and it was Dom himself who threatened him. But, did Silver have to mind control him? If he hadn't, maybe everything would still be fine. Maybe, Silver should've just killed him, that way the other three could've left with their lives. After all, he had no family, no one to go home to. But the others did. And now, they may never see them again. He sighed again, before standing up. It was sunrise now, who knew what their new boss would have them do today?