Aftermath

Zane walked out the doors and accessed the scene that lay before him. There were bullet holes in the truck and as well on the transport. Most of the vehicle's bodies had been eroded away. Williams lay on the ground, dead.

Anderson and Carl were slipping his body into a body bag. After they were done they loaded him into the back of the Humvee by the truck. It was a grim sight and very depressing, to see someone on your team being loaded into a body bag. Even if Zane didn't know him for long, it still saddened him.

"Alright, gather round everyone. Everyone, take a knee." Daniels called out. We walked over to him, gathered in a circle and got on one knee. "Alright. I already contacted HQ and told them about the casualty and firefight, They said to come back to base, our patrol was pretty much over anyways. Tonight let's drink and celebrate his life."

With that we all murmured our agreement and got into the Humvees and started the drive back to base. The drive back to base was uneventful, but the scenery was as beautiful as ever. The overgrowth on the sidewalks and roads was bright and vibrant.

We saw the occasional deer grazing on grass, run away as well as small game birds like turkey take flight. The mood on the way back was grim and silent; nobody spoke a word. We left the open roads and pulled onto the street of which the base was stationed. We pulled up to the iron gate and Daniels' contacted headquarters.

A minute later the gate opened up and we went through. He pulled up to the checkpoint and swiped his gatekey. The checkpoint opened and we went through to the parking lots, where he pulled into his Humve's spot, parked, pulled the key out of the ignition and slipped it behind the visor.

Richards and the Jackson brothers pulled up from behind us and parked in their Humvee's spot as well. We all got out and gathered around Daniels' Humvee and waited for orders.

"Carl and David, take Williams to the morgue. Richards and Zane you can go now. I'm heading to HQ for a debrief so I will catch you all later at the mess hall." Carl and David moved to the back of the Humvee and started to carry Williams to the morgue. I was curious so I asked Daniels where the morgue was.

"It's at the very back of HQ in the basement." He responded. "Come by Barracks A around 21:00 for some booze and grieving. I know you didn't know him well but the booze is good and it would be a good chance to get to know the other guys."

"Okay I will be there." Zane replied to him.

"Oh and tomorrow you gotta come with me to the office to fill out additional information on a form, cool?"

"Yeah I'll be there." Zane told him. Then he got curious about the booze and asked:

"Where is the booze coming from?"

"Oh it's moonshine, the cooks make it, no laws against moonshine anymore and a few knew how to make it."

"Oh sweet I'll be there." Zane responded. "What's the time by the way?"

Daniels looked at his watch and replied: "It's currently 17:00, get to the mess hall and eat man."

With that he turned and started walking towards the base for his debriefing. Zane turned towards the mess hall and he could smell the food from the parking lot. His stomach grumbled. He didn't realize how hungry he was.

The air smelt like meat and potatoes, Zane wondered where the potatoes came from, he would have to ask. He walked over and walked inside, there were many people inside. Possibly about two hundred to three hundred. There were people talking here and there at their tables. He got in line to get some food.

There were ten people in front of him. After ten minutes he made it to the serving table. The same cooks from this morning were there. They were serving turkey and potatoes, with gravy and what seemed to be corn, this made him puzzled as to where these ingredients came from so he asked the cute cook:

"Where did these vegetables come from?" Zane inquired.

"They came from an abandoned farm we have been using, we go there every now and then to harvest." she answered.

"Oh alright!" With that she dropped corn and potatoes onto my tray and he moved to the next cook who dropped a turkey leg and gravy onto my potatoes and turkey. Zane grabbed a cup of water that was off to the side and went to sit at an unoccupied table. He sat down and began to hastily eat. Zane didn't want to be here long; the clock on the wall said it was already 17:20.

Zane finished eating and dropped his tray off with the cup and started to walk back to his barracks. He entered the barracks and went to his room. I might as well have a shower, he thought. So Zane entered the bathroom and began to undress. He hopped in the shower after the water started to get warm and enjoyed the blissfulness of the water streaming onto his body.

Daniels POV

Daniels' debriefing was over but he still felt the tear in your heart you would feel when someone has died under your command. He had recounted everything that had happened in the firefight to his superiors and Williams was scheduled to be burned tomorrow. They burned their dead as there was nowhere to bury them. They couldn't exactly bury them in a cemetery as they would get dug up by predators.

Daniels had gotten a permission slip from Mikels to get some booze from the basement of the mess hall so that was his next stop. He checked my watch and it was 18:00 at this point. He walked out of headquarters and began walking to the mess hall. Daniels had been given some food before his debriefing so he wasn't that hungry.

Daniels got to the mess hall and walked up to Judy who was at the serving counter. She was a blonde hair cute looking woman with an apron on. He gave her a greeting and handed her the slip. She read and then after a moment she spoke:

"Take the crate of moonshine under the stairs but bring back the crate." She told him this sternly.

"Alright I will." He told her. With that Daniels walked into the kitchen and headed down the stairs to the storage room at the back. He looked around the room. There were shelves of ingredients centered in the basement and the moonshine was under the stairs. He grabbed a crate and went back upstairs.

Most of Daniels' squad was stationed in barracks A, so he knew they all would be there to drink. Everyone except Zane would be in that barracks. He walked over to my barracks and went inside then he walked into my room, Daniels shared it with Richards and we were good friends but he wasn't here right now. He sets the crate of moonshine on his bed. Suddenly Daniels remembered he had to take Zane to fill out the rest of that form.

Daniels walked outside the room and he locked it. He left the barracks and started to walk to barracks J. He made it there and walked inside, went up the stairs and knocked on door four. Zane answered the door with a towel in hand drying his long hair. He was wearing his trench coat and the jeans on his legs that he came in with. The only difference now was he was wearing his vest as well.

"I gotta take you to fill that form out." Daniels told him.

"Oh okay just let me get my sidearm and dagger equipped." He told me. He turned around and put those items on and stepped outside his room and locked it. They then proceeded to walk to the office at headquarters. Along the way there he told Daniels:

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thanks but shit like this happens all the time." Daniels told him. He could still feel the tear in his heart but he shoved that feeling down. "Just come by and pay your respects I guess."

"Yea I will." He said to me,

They reached headquarters and walked inside and turned down the hallway to the office area. Daniels and Zane entered the office and walked up to Jenkins. Jenkins let out a greeting and asked Daniels who this was.

"It's Zane, he's here to fill the rest of the form out." Daniels informed her.

"Ahh okay, right!" She said, "Okay let's get to it." she reached into her filing cabinet and pulled the form out and started to question him. "So we know your name is Zane. What's your age?"

"I'm 26." He answered.

"So you were 16 when this all started then." She stated.

"Yes." He told her.

"Last name?" She asked.

"Celmens." He stated.

"Birthdate?" She questioned.

"1994, September 28th." He said.

"Okay that's all I needed." She said and put the form away. "Off you boys go I got work to do."