1 Counter-Clockwise

"I had a dream of kind people who did not know what peace felt like.

A dream of people who did not bend when even the moon turn against them.

That dream, I cherish even as life drains out of me."

*****

Something changed, the pain, the anguish was replaced with a strange calmness. I looked around me. A perfectly normal training ground, except for the insignia on the right. Then the face of a woman whose face I'd never would ever able to thank again. The woman who taught me how to fight and my hope on this ship.

"Sergeant!"

Her voice sounded harmful, her beautiful eyebrows meeting, she's angry. I blinked twice. I turned my attention to the side and I remembered the training ground. The training units, the Exo-50 anti-alien units. The woman, the instructor hollered at me, and for some reason I see the world so slowly, in bullet-time. The units were coming. I remember this, the day I was beaten.

I manhandled the armament, I set my stance to a crouch position, and went in for a tackle. "Crazy," the unit said. It didn't matter. I lock the unit's joint, and did it in with a flip. I raised my melee armament, parried the other enemy, and made a sweep around their legs.

"The hell happen!?"

Switching to a two-handed stance, I dived in and made a sweeping motion with the melee armament, disabling the legs of the units, making sure that they won't be able to fight. The exoskeleton that wrapped around me felt familiar.

Brick buildings, tiled roofs, and a strange mix of the renaissance period and the WW2 world. Funny, when I started it wasn't in this place, it was at the moment of my parent's murder by the humanoid-looking bugs that towers over a single house, that had been invading this world. Those bugs have spawns that has been consuming half the world. Half of humanity is gone, and half of it has somehow managed to contain the aliens by achieving a feat that no one would could have thought would be possible. A feat of human ingenuity, and it protected us.

Bystander, I am a bystander. Does a bystander, a nobody, need a name to tell a story?

I understand what I am. Even this strange occurrence does not change that.

"Sounds like you know it after all," the instructor said. My heart cooled, and my face feels like it became blank, she saw it happened, and her right brow was raised. "What's happening to you? Got sick?"

"No," I answered. "May I go now?"

"Yes," she said. I paced out of the training field. I took off the exoskeleton. I sat on the corner of the training field. I trained my eyes on the next person that stood inside the training field. Here he was in the flesh, Ralf Kruger, the soon-to-be hope of humanity, and beside him was his two friends, Misha Sol and Everett Batch.

Ralf Kruger, orphan at the age of ten, he's one of the many refugees that arrived in this haven with Misha Sol and Everett Batch. Childhood friends that were together when all of humanity were invaded by those who came from the stars.

There's nothing much to say other than they are humanoid bugs that came down. Think of a humanoid covered in a carapace, and hardened enough to resist the blow of a cannon. Humanity had five years to progressed, and we barely have time to fight back.

I returned my thoughts to the front. Ralf Kruger parried Misha, and Everett came in, trying to attack Ralf. Ralf took his right leg off the ground, took a step in, and used his shoulder's exoskeleton to defend from Misha's attack. With Misha off her balance, he took another step, and swept her legs, her back on the ground. It didn't take a while to down Everett.

"Need more work, Ralf!" said the instructor.

The instructor told them something, but I was too far from them to hear it. The trio went to the side, and started talking. I could not hear from where I was. My bearings were off, and my legs were shaking, I don't know why, but I was shaking, my hands are as well.

"You okay, friend?"

I nodded at that person's words. He was named Ken, and he's a soldier, a soldier that would be a part of this Corps. He was going to ask more, but I suppressed my shaking and turned him away with a silence and a nod. The silence and the frown kept him away. That allowed me to gather my thoughts.

The instructor was beautiful as ever. She had the commanding voice that I had missed. She was lecturing and yet her stern and lovely figure was a bright light for the rest of the people here. Ralf, Misha, and Everett, they were special people, and they will be the key to humanities hope.

After the training session of the 170th Corps. I went to the barracks and went along with the trio to clean up. The bunk beds, the loose sheets, the pillows, and the smelly boots polluted the air. I started cleaning the right section of the barracks in silence, I would occasionally nod at Everett. He's an amiable person and he didn't have the personality that would turn people away.

The three were close sincerely because they were childhood friends. Most of the kids here were orphans that had promised to never forgive the what the aliens did. Deep in my heart, I had this seething hatred, and I was able to control it due to years of practice.

The orphans here weren't in control. They are single-minded teens that had nothing to lose other than their lives. A number one rule when you're in a Ranger Corps is that you harden yourself. You make sure that you don't break as fast as possible. When you break, you lose, and that means your dead.

"Our lives are nothing but stepping stones."

I heard a voice. I shook that thought away and continued cleaning the barracks. The Drill Sergeant would come, and I rather not have the Sergeant shouting at my ear.

*****

"When they appeared, all we could do was scream. We prayed to the Gods, only for none to answer our prayers. A priest was thrown to the fray first."

*****

It was the 4th of Volatile, of the Suns Glory; the 170th Corps will be examining the types of equipment. As I enter the laboratory room, I was greeted with the familiar: a radio, a gear-shift, the melee armament, and the long-range pile bunker, our secondary weaponry when it comes to defeating the enemy.

The main armament is a shooter. A long range arm-mounted gun that can shoot the thick carapace of our enemies. The enemy has two-hearts, located in the chest and the head. The problem with the enemy is that they cannot be killed unless their two-hearts are simultaneously destroyed by the pile bunker located under the shooter.

Shot the enemy in the chest-heart, and they will still live, don't destroy their brain-heart and they will regenerate back into perfect state. The exoskeleton helps us navigate the terrain, and the thick metal spine helps us when recoil hits.

The terrain of the this city, this haven, is extremely volatile. Natural canyon walls protect us from the enemy, the landscape provides cover from storms and heavy winds. The city itself is built in the middle of a crater. There's a natural lake in the city's center and there are four parts of the city, organized to make sure that the city can function efficiently.

Canyon-Cities are what they call places like this. This city is called Lachesis, and has two sister-cities called Clotho and Atropos. Atropos is the manufacturing district, where the production of arms and weaponry are located, while Clotho is where the food and water comes from. Lachesis City produces its own food and water, but not as well as Clotho.

When the lectures in the room are over and done with. The instructors lead us to the rooms where the practical and maintenance lectures are held. These lectures are important in identifying the parts of the suit we wear to traverse the terrain.

The terrain outside the safe areas are hostile and unforgiving. Bugs are around the terrain and the only think keeping them out of the Canyon-Cities are the forts and bunkers that acts as deterrence for these creatures. Garrison Scouts are situated in these defensive forts armed to the teeth. These bunkers are located under dirt and soil.

Back to the workshop the instructor instructed us in performing basic repairs and troubleshooting. The Instructor said, "The life of your exoskeleton is part of your life; once your exoskeleton is impaired. Your life shortens."

The trio continued to modify and repair the exoskeleton. I focused on mine and turned it in after a recruit finishes his. The trio were special in a way that they were faster than everyone.

When the lecture was done we were dismissed by the instructors. The instructors were busybodies who showed no mercy to the trainees when it comes to combat. There's a specialized training field that deals on how to fight the enemy. I followed the trio and watched their progress, like I how I should do.

Twenty-seconds later, the instructor caught me and made me do a field run. I donned my exoskeleton, sprinted past the targets, made sure to avoid hitting too many. Passing the Trio's score will not do me any good. These guys are going to lead humanity to victory, I cannot allow any deviation to the incoming history. As much as I hate it, the path they will take was the best option.

I finished my run. The exoskeleton was hanged on the side and checked. I undid the rest and sat on a bench near the controller of the targets that would appear, like what I did in the past.

The other trainees came in and started doing the run. The familiar faces that appeared budge my heart for a moment, but I remained stoic, or I hoped so. The trainees who did the run approached me and sat on the same bench. I did the customary greeting, a little polite talk and went back to taking notes. Viktor Parsley, and Mia Rubinstein, the duo who'd be with me for a while.

My thoughts were shaken and many words wanted to come out of my mouth. I just can't do it. The slightest deviation could lead to a small change, a snowball effect that would turn our hope into despair. I did my best and when the time to move was up. I was relieved and relaxed. I passed by the halls silently, like what I did in the past and turned my attention to the window. Outside, I could see Mount Bax covered in snow, and even here one could see the the ruins and the tall forts that stood in that place. I checked the time and went to the lockers where most of our personal belongings were checked.

I was supposed to be dragging my feet in this time of day. I admit that I had made a mistake when I was standing in front of those two, and I had done something that I should have not done. The effects of my actions could now be snowballing me into a direction that does not follow the proper path. I fear that it might lead to something else. I could only hope that it did not change how things would go. I need to be part of Viktor Parsley and Mia Rubinstein's team. That is my role to play and I had to play it like the way I did back in the past. That is the only way to save humanity, by playing the roles we were given.

*****

"I had little time to think what would have happen if we didn't launch that artillery at those floating hives. Those creatures, they are here for other reasons other than rein terror on us."

*****

I passed through buildings with clay tiled roofs. Buildings, that are made of mortar and brick, towering over the main street, leaving me in shadows. Carriages were passing by in the roads, they drove on the right side of the road, and are usually pulled by mountain horses. Automobiles only exists in the lower plains where they can be used, out here in the mountain, we still used the horses, although we have something resembling dirt bikes here.

The bar was wooden, filled to the brim with soldiers, trainees, and flirting barmaids. I weaved through the chaos, smelled the mixture of alcohol and went down to redo my actions. I held no pleasure in redoing such useless acts, but the connections I made in the bar had helped me in troubled times.

By the time the last card was thrown. I took off from my seat, went back to the bar, and encountered Mia and Viktor drinking. I joined them.

Mia rose her brows. Her hand on her drink. "Here's Frowner, so, going to socialize with us now? Oh, don't give me that look you flat-faced bastard, if you don't like us, show it through words, not act snob."

Viktor raised a hand. "Sorry, brother, Mia didn't like how polite you are, eh."

"Blast him," she hammered the table with a hand. "This flat-faced bastard barely talked to us. Hey, Frowner, you know that we are going to be your teammates right?"

I replied, "Really?"

Things were quite off, it looks like I had to make sure I don't look too polite. I don't remember this memory, and it frightens me how easy it was to change things. Fear started inside me, and the flashes happened, like wild screens that popped out of nowhere.

"I think you shook him too much, Mia. Brother, do not not worry, she's not like this, wait until she's a bit calm."

"I am calm, Viktor. I don't like his attitude."

I coughed. "I apologized if I was rude."

Viktor smiled. "See? He's not that bad, do not judge people so easily, okay?"

Mia folded her arms and firmly stared at me. "You're working with us soon, and who knows we might stuck together until this world falls apart."

"Calm, Mia, relax, friend, we are bound to work so let us have peace here."

Viktor Parsley, a calm and collected man as always. I calmed my nerves and offered my hand. "Again, forgive me for my rudeness, if I had done one."

"You dunce, don't be so polite already!"

"Politeness is such a bad thing?"

"Viktor, this guy's too polite for my liking."

"Mia, not everyone's an asshole."

"Bah, come and join us."

The conversation with the two went smoothly. The smell of the distilled alcohol, the cranking of the hand-crank generators as the people ready the batteries made out of the monster we fought. Their flesh were useful in a way that our exoskeletons would be able to move their motors.

I had missed this place. This smell that I yearn every time I get back from mission. I liked watching the smokes coming from their cigars drifting into the gaps between the ceiling. The faces of the people that were finally having their breaks. We don't know how good it was until we lost it all.

"He's looking at the ceiling, tell me, what's so good about the ceiling?"

"Nothing," I shook my head.

Mia looked at me again. She was the same and it was nice seeing her again. There's a part of me that thinks this was a dream, and that this was the world's cruel play. However, I cherish every moment, to live each day as if it was my last — without speeding or up slowing down or pretending to be what I am not.

"See, friend," he pointed. "I saw your run in the pit. You are calm, precise, and a dead eye. I know that you were not doing your best. I thought I was watching a ranger run the pit. And you missing your shot was almost comical — no one was fooled by that."

"I was doing my best. I tried to imitate the rangers and failed in my attempt."

Viktor stared blankly. He blinked twice and raised a smile. "Very well, Frowner, dead-eye or not, you are a teammate now and our mission as trainee rangers will be to scour the mountain and bring anything that might be useful. Activate the flare, and have the rest of the rangers secure an outpost."

I nodded. The two looked at me with dull eyes.

"You're not complaining?"

"We are going to be rangers, we choose this profession, didn't we?"

"That we do," Viktor acknowledged. "I see what you mean now, Mia."

"Right? Guys too polite, hiding his dead-eye and thinks he can fool us. Frowner, no one's that calm when they heart the mission, your reaction resembles more of a ranger."

I joined both hands. "I had a friend that was a ranger, and he taught me the basics. Sadly, he isn't here to see how better I am now compared to what I was."

The two looked at me in silence. I flinched at their silence and lowered my head as well. I thought of what I learned from the rangers. Even I could feel my face crumbling at the thought of them. They should be alive and they should be doing their best. My only regret was that changing things might make humanity's ending change as well. I would rather suffer in silence. I would rather endure the pain of losing them again. Than letting it all crumble into pieces. As I sit with the two of my teammates, I asked myself, would I have the heart to see the cities burned again?

*****

"The enemy covered the whole of us. Sergeants were dying, and all I could do was run for my dear life. When I came to my sense I had a little boy's leftover hand with me."

*****

I sat alone in my room reading the manuals given to us. The manuals are about three hundred pages long and consists of how to troubleshoot the exoskeleton, the armaments and what we need to do and how do it by the book. The circulation of these manuals are strictly forbidden. Those who had lost their manuals are punished heavily.

Books on shelves, a made bed, no dirt on the floor clothes strewn on the floor. The table was free of what I usually would put on it. The empty smell, the blurry windows due to the wind blowing from the east of the city. I moved near the window. Outside were people going their way, walking with their eyes forward and always so busy.

There are clouds in the sky and they look like they would cover the sun. Even in this room of mine I can feel the cold coming from the east. Then, the streets were lit up by street lamps and patrolling officers were walking around the sidewalk with the lamps on their exoskeleton suit lighting the road.

I tucked in for the night.

The next day I walked back to the training grounds, not forgetting to greet Viktor and Mia, and sat in listening to the teacher like a statue. The students were discussing through hushed whispers. Wooden scent invaded my nostrils and the cold from the open gap in the window had me shivering. The class continued with the Instructor explaining the maneuvers of the exoskeletons, the motors, and that how it was designed to support us in our long hikes, carry more, and especially reduce the recoil produced by our shooters. There's a multi-purpose backpack, and a battery and radio attached to the exoskeleton. The heel of the exoskeleton has two extending spikes that's used for climbing. There's also a lock mechanism that allows the wearer to use the lock between the joint to rest. It's a useful system that many here questioned. They'd wish for that feature and praised it like God soon.

The Instructor clapped his hand once, and left for the door. The rest started turning their seats to their friends, and I went out of the classroom with a silent step — like a tiptoe of a cat. A habit that I cannot fixed since I had it already.

When I came back to where the trio was. I had this conceived idea that I'd never befriend them. They only looked at me once and their circle of friends were so tightly knit that it was impossible for someone like me to fit in. The trio and the rest of their friends were good soldiers.

I watched the trio do the run and went next. I choose this time because barely anyone does the run here. I armed myself with the shooter and loaded a pile bunker on my side arm, making sure that I was ready, I did a run of the pit, taking down the enemy, making use of the functions of the exoskeleton and exploiting the motors around its joint for a quick maneuver and a deathblow to any enemy I found.

Reloading the shooter and making sure that the exploding tip of the pile bunker is operational, was an arduous task for me to make. As I hurry, and use the motors of the exoskeleton, I saw the sudden appearance of the training dummies that's usually made for rangers. It was my cue, I choose to miss and performed a front flip that made it look like I had an accident, making me roll over to a practice dummy, almost smashing my head as well. It hurt, but I can't afford to miss this cue.

Cadet!" A voice shouted. I turned to the side and saw Instructor Mari, aka the Full Metal Valkyrie. I hurried, just as what happened last time, and saluted her with my palm facing downwards over my heart. "Yes, Ma'am.'

"That's an expensive gear crafted with care and each them through our dwindling resources and you have the guts not to care about them!"

"It was an accident, Instructor!"

"Which is not an excuse, Cadet. That equipment causes more than your life. That is your lifeblood and your second heart. That is the equipment you are assigned to, and shall have until it dies with you. That is your second skeleton and your only way out. Not an excuse, Cadet, it is simply not a an excuse for you to harm your own body."

I shut my mouth and listened to her rambling. I nodded and accepted her every word like what I did. She then suddenly went silent, and that silence made me nervous. "Your silent, and that is a good of a ranger, Cadet. Hmm, were you always like this?"

I sweat bullets. Trying to hide my demeanor and posture seems to be all naught when it comes to rangers themselves. Rangers are observant and trying to hide things from them are almost impossible with how a Ranger's life depend on their awareness. This scenario had surprised me and I could only act meekly, and persuade her by acting like what I did during the time. I stared at her chest and saw the composure of the Instructor melt like an ice and under that icy mask was a bear waiting to strike.

"You little shit, where are you looking at, Cadet."

"Nothing, Ma'am."

I was dismissed and ordered to clean up the pit. I was experienced in doing so, so I was able to finish up by the time the next lecture was starting. I didn't got there immediately, and waited in the right time.

*****

"Life was hell from day one, and yet they stayed strong from beginning until the end."

*****

As I ready my gear for the long hike up the mountain. I noticed the trio readying their gear for their exploration to the ruins of Val Sol, the start of the story. I wished that I could wander with them but my mission was important in order to seek out habitable land for the rest of humanity.

"Ready?" said Viktor. I nodded at him. I tap my gear and made sure that my gauge were working properly. I was the weight-bearer and on my back was the supplies we needed for the trip to Val Sol. The map was ready and the scout-readings were nice. The truth was the route itself was a already predetermined by the Rangers who cleared the way. We are mainly following their steps and see if we can survive the hike.

The Rangers are categorized into three. The Weight-Bearer carries the burden by taking the load. The Gun-Bearer holds our front while the Shield-Bearer offers protection. Mia's a sharpshooter while Viktor was the Heavy that keeps us alive. His exoskeleton was far stronger than ours but a lot bulkier as well. Mine has endurance and can take a beating since the Weight-Bearer needs to survive. I survived hell by being the Weight-Bearer and I don't see any roles I could fulfill other than this.

"Gear checked?"

"Rog that," I said.

"Good," Viktor cracked his neck. "We are are going to one of the Val's and that means trouble. Heinous and shitty, that is all the Val's are. Our job is to secure the ruins, survey the land, and make sure that every crevice is tidy and clean. The Rangers expects us."

I nodded. Mia affirmed. The weight of the load had me thinking about the past for a moment. I put that thought away. Hey, wait, I have to focus on getting us safe. That is my job right. Everything stopped, my thoughts, my worries, and whatever load that burdens. I told them all to stop.

*****

I awoke from my trance. I was standing on a wet slanting slope with the rain wetting my face. The cold wind brushed my hair and above, the view was blocked by the clouds. I adjusted my mask and made sure that the filter and oxygen was working. Military secret, and I doubt I would know how they figured how to filter out air and at the same time supply us with air by just running the device integrated with our backpacks.

We reached the top of the slanted path and took a break. Mia surveyed with her scope, scanning every direction while Viktor had his shield ready to be used anytime. Val Sol was still miles up and the trek was going to be dangerous with the fog and mist blocking our paths. We were going the same away as last time so there was no worry.

Most of the path was marked. Untrained eyes would not spot a thing. There were traces of the Rangers who did the first scouting in this place. I can smell some of the traces that the battery had. It was a stinging smell that you'd mistake for the blood of our enemies or just grass.

Our movement were stiff, our heads were in constant lookout for anything. Mia's eagle-eye helps in a way that she could spot a rabbit from the miles. She can shot them well enough and although I am nobody compared to the two of my teammates. I think that serving with the two of them until I am assigned elsewhere was an honor. To carry their burden as weight-bearer was something that I could brag until my last breath.

It was no good when I thought like that. So I had to stop all my thinking and harden my mind. I stopped everything and every muscle in my body became water. I followed Mia's lead and Viktor' plodding up the slanting slopes of Val. Cold winds came from the left, and black rocks protrude all over the right. My legs would sometimes stumble when I hit the mud. I could have avoided but I still redid what I did. Acting was not my forte but I still did it.

Val Sol was still far. The cold winds, as we climb to a higher attitude made it hard to breath without the oxygen mask. I tapped my gauge and made sure that everything was working well. As we crossed a layer of fog, I spotted a fury creature with buzzing wings, a hard carapace and was as big as a dog.

I watched the creature get shot at by Mia right in the center of the forehead. The shooter-gear had an incredible force. The hit tore the cranial cavity of the creature, its blood on the ground. Their blood's dangerous and these are the lowest creatures on the chaste of our enemies.

"Let us move," Viktor said. "The enemy would smell this. That's a lesser soldier type and I don't want to stick around while it calls a hundred of them. We are outmanned and outgunned. One horde of them and we'd be wiped out. We won't be able to last four minutes. Four minutes and we'd be processed and turned into their food and nests for their eggs. And that requires us being alive so that they could simulate the warmth of our body. Not like it'll matter when we couldn't even die even if wanted to. Let's go already."

Viktor scanned the area again. Mia took a fifty on her pouch, cocked her shooter, and switched to short-range. The brass rolled on the grass and the hair on my arms stood at the sight of that brass being stuck between a crack. That brass pointed at me and my eyes widened, cold crawled up my spine and hands shook madly. That bullet was supposed to roll to the grass and never been seen again. My breathing went faster and my vision tunneled for a minute.

That bullet casing wasn't suppose to be stuck on a crack between rocks.