Staring at Kenzo’s temporary grave and the destroyed tower, Fletcher battled within himself. What should he do? There was nothing he could do here, but he couldn’t return to the station and take away the last bit of hope they had.

  He supposed he could take a page out of Palacios’s book… he could lie and say the tower got fixed and help was coming. That way they would fight until the end, hoping for something that would never happen.

  But that wasn’t the ethical thing to do.

  Then again, was tearing away any hope the soldiers might still have any better? What did that gain him or them?

  Vesi Station was doomed. There was no escape. They could either fight until they were all dead, or give up and get sent off to a conversion facility. Both options sucked, and Fletcher couldn’t allow himself to end up in the facility due to his [Demanlic] heritage.

  Caught in the midst of despair and questioning, Fletcher did something strange. He turned to his [Skills], deciding that even if it was a worthless [Skill], his [Intuition] might give him something to go on, just like it did back at the conversion facility.

  [Activating; Intuition]

  Real hope never fails.

  [Deactivating: Intuition]

  What? Why did his [Skill] give him a stupid quote when he needed answers?

  Fletcher didn’t have long to think about the lame saying as something brushed up against his legs.

  Jumping to the side, he aimed his weapon only to discover a black and white dog staring up at him with loving eyes.

  “Backup, what are you doing? Get out of here. It’s dangerous,” Fletcher told him.

  Backup cocked his head to the side, those big puppy-dog eyes temporarily taking a weight off Fletcher’s shoulders.

  “Backup, what am I going to do? It’s one big mess, and I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t think it’s fixable.” Fletcher sat down on a nearby rock and put his head in his hands. “I tried so hard, but none of it mattered. What was the point of any of it? I came to Vesi to avoid the war entirely, but it turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life.”

  The dog pressed against his hands, licking Fletcher’s face.

  He smiled. “Okay. You’re right. It can’t be too bad of a mistake considering I got you out of it.”

  He rubbed the dog’s ears, the ringing in his ears threatening to drive him mad. How long was he going to have to live with that?

  Backup sat up all the way, his ears perked up.

  “What is it boy?” Fletcher asked quietly.

  Backup stepped back and stared out to their left, towards one of the more put together streets in the destroyed city. That meant they had company, and Fletcher had a feeling it wasn’t going to be something as easily avoidable as a tooth fairy.

  Pulling the dog with him, Fletcher crouched behind the boulder, away from the explosion site, with his gun at the ready. Just as he expected, a group of four Unhumans came from the direction Backup indicated—an [Ogre], a [Tengu], an [Insectoid], and a [Nix].

  The [Tengu] would have to go first since the bird-woman would be able to easily escape and bring backup. After that he was going to target the [Nix] who had a [Skills] that could also call for backup. Deities, he hoped he survived this, but he didn’t rate his chances that high with only [Frenzy] to back him up.

  The patrol approached the smoking building, the [Tengu] bringing up how their trap worked and they should be off while the [Ogre] insisted on giving the area a proper look. Fletcher held his grenade in his hand while they argued and then tossed it at the last second.

  “Watch out,” the [Ogre] cried in his gravelly voice, reminding Fletcher far too much of his friend Knarf from back in Bren’it’p.

  The grenade went off, killing the [Tengu], but only injuring the others. The [Ogre] seemed especially fine, that was to be expected given he probably had a very high level [Frenzy].

  Fletcher crouched up high enough to aim at the Unhumans, and he gunned down the [Nix] before she could get a [Skill] off to stop him. But that gave away his position to the [Ogre] who came barreling towards him with shocking speed.

  Jumping to the side, Fletcher put as many bullets into the charging Unhuman as he could, but that seemed to do nothing to the [Frenzied]-[Ogre]. He tried for a good headshot, but the [Ogre] was smart enough to avoid those.

  The [Ogre] reached out for him as Fletcher ducked under the arms only to bump into something hard and cold.

  The [Insectoid] wrapped his arms around Fletcher who squirmed and bashed his elbows against what seemed to be invincible chitin. The [Ogre] smiled at his captured prey.

  “Good catch, Hi’lep. Let’s take him back to camp so Commander can interrogate him,” the [Ogre] said.

  Fletcher gasped as the [Insectoid] tightened his grip, cutting off more of his air and putting extra pressure on his bruised chest. As the [Ogre] reached to take his gun, A black and white blur jumped up and grabbed his arm, dragging him downwards.

  The [Ogre] cried out, and Fletcher used the distraction to his advantage, jamming his head back against the [Insectoid’s] and sending him stumbling.

  He took his rifle in hand and shot half a dozen bullets into the [Ogre’s] head while he battled with Backup in trying to get his arm free. He then fell dead to the ground, his head mostly gone as Fletcher turned his attention to the final member of the patrol.

  The [Insectoid] was scurrying away, and Backup moved to chase him, but Fletcher grabbed him and held him back.

  “Not yet, boy. I need to see where their camp is,” Fletcher said. He didn’t have a specific plan, but perhaps if he could assassinate the leader of the Unhumans here, they might retreat. It was faint hope, but it would be something.

  Fletcher moved as quietly as he could, running after the [Insectoid] just fast enough to keep up without overtaking him. After a couple of blocks, Fletcher decided that was far enough, and he sprinted ahead, tackling the [Insectoid].

  The bug-man struggled in his grasp, but Fletcher kept a secure hold, and with a thought, he activated a second [Skill].

  [Activating: Read Thoughts]

  “Where is your camp? How well defended is it?” Fletcher asked the [Insectoid].

  As usual, it was only a jumble of Unhuman words, but Fletcher’s basic vocabulary was enough to understand the directions back to the camp. They were close, just as he hoped, which meant he could scope it out a bit himself.

  [Deactivating: Read Thoughts]

  Wincing, he got out his knife and slit the [Insectoid’s] throat, opting for a quieter death to avoid attracting anymore attention. Cool, sticky blood covered Fletcher’s hand and the blade as he moved it away from the dying Unhuman. Deities, he couldn’t believe he just did that, but he refused to let himself dwell on it. He did what he had to do to stay alive and protect Vesi Station.

  Not that it was worth protecting.

  Fletcher wiped his knife on the [Insectoid’s] clothing and then resheathed it before stealthily moving in the direction the [Insectoid’s] mind had indicated.

  Only another couple of blocks away, Fletcher opted to climb up one of the dilapidated buildings to check out his target. Luckily, standard tactical gear included binoculars, and inside the broken house, it was dark enough for his [Dark Vision].

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  [Activating; Dark Vision]

  Climbing up as many flights of stairs as he found sturdy enough to support him and Backup, Fletcher made his way to the nearest window and used his binoculars to search for the camp.

  Bingo. Found it.

  It was big. A lot bigger than he would have expected for attacking a place as insignificant as Vesi, but he supposed it made sense that they would want to be absolutely confident in their win. Not to mention, they might not know that they were wasting resources on a base that the Mixed didn’t even care about.

  Fletcher studied the camp for several minutes, and he made sure to mark it on his map along with as many scout posts and defenses as he could determine. Unfortunately, he was positive that it was not feasible for him to sneak in and assassinate the camp’s leader, but he had a different idea come to mind. A stupid one, but one that might prove to be their only hope. Real hope, just like his [Intuition] told him to use.

  That made his decision about whether or not to tell the troops about the tower. He would tell them, and with it he would also tell them about his new plan, something that would give them tangible hope, and maybe even win the day for Vesi. There was only a tiny chance of success, but it was more than he could hope to provide with hollow lies.

  Taking Backup with him, Fletcher quietly made his way back to the jeep and the dead bodies—both Kenzo’s and the Unhumans’. Getting out the single ration he brought with him, he gave Backup a treat and spent several minutes with his dog, knowing that it would be the last time he ever got to be with Backup.

  “You’ve been great, Backup. I wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you. Stay safe, and keep an eye on Trevor and the kids,” Fletcher whispered, holding the dog close. And then he stood up and shooed Backup off so he could get into the jeep alone.

  He floored it all the way back to the station, praying that the Unhumans wouldn’t notice him in the cover of night. Luck was on his side, and he reached the gate without further incident.

  [Dark Vision: Inactive]

  Pulling the jeep inside, his vehicle was crowded by eager soldiers almost immediately.

  “No Kenzo?” Hernandez asked as he stepped up to Fletcher.

  “No. She died in the explosion… the explosion that destroyed the comm tower,” Fletcher explained with only a small pause. He committed to tell the truth, and he couldn’t break that now.

  “After you guys called for help?” Hugo asked.

  “No,” he said flatly.

  A heavy silence fell across the crowd. Hopelessness, it cut through everyone and everything in the vicinity. They all knew what he was saying. Help wasn’t coming, and that meant they were going to die.

  “But I did discover their base. And I have a plan, one that might allow us to save ourselves,” Fletcher announced, standing up on the seat so everyone could see him.

  “A full offensive strike against the Unhumans is suicide. I won’t waste my life like that,” someone called out.

  More joined her, shouting in anger and frustration with a heavy mixture of swearing.

  Fletcher put his hands out, waiting for them to calm down. “No. It’s not that. This won’t risk anyone’s life but my own.”

  That got them to shut up.

  “Vesi Station is equipped with a self-destruct device,” he continued.

  “I thought you said this would only kill you. Destroying the station would kill us all,” someone else cried out.

  “Would you give me a chance to explain?” Fletcher yelled.

  The crowd shut up for another moment.

  “I’m going to take the device from Vesi, strap it to the jeep, and drive it into the Unhuman’s camp to blow it up which will ideally take out enough of them to send them home crying,” Fletcher finished.

  Wide eyes stared up at him, and Hernandez actually laughed.

  “That’s a suicide mission. Why would you do that? It won’t work. They’ll catch you before you get there,” he said between chuckles.

  “We have to try something. And I’m pretty good with driving now. They won’t expect something like this. I just have to gun it to get close enough, and the device is strong enough to blow several blocks up so it’s not like I have to get all the way into the camp,” Fletcher said.

  “You’d need to get close, close enough they would find the device and deactivate it before it can go off while you’re running back here,” Hernandez pointed out.

  “I won’t be running back. I’ll stay with the device,” he stated.

  More wide-eyed stares looked up at him.

  “Oh, so like a full suicide mission…” Hernandez stopped laughing.

  “That’s the idea. It’s our only chance. Help isn’t coming, so our way out of this is to save ourselves. If anyone has another idea, I’m happy to listen to it.” Fletcher glanced across the crowd. “Great. Then this is what we’re going with. I need the jeep refueled. Hugo, assign a team to get the self-destruct bomb from the bunker and to the jeep. I want to leave within the next couple of hours.”

  Hugo probably responded, but Fletcher didn’t hear as he got out of the jeep and walked inside, his mind still a whirlwind of worries. He went to the armory to restock some ammo and his grenade, and then he was on his way to his room when he bumped into a face he hadn’t seen in quite a while. Others were nearby, milling about as they went to gather supplies or get some sleep before the next attack.

  “George, how are you?” Fletcher asked, putting on a fake cheerfulness.

  “They say you’re going to kill yourself. To try to save the station,” the [Insectoid] said directly.

  “Yeah. I guess that’s one way of putting it.” He sucked his bottom lip. “Thanks for helping out with the sensors. And the garden. And all the other random projects. I’m glad you were my friend.” He stuck his hand out.

  George stared at him, ignoring the outstretched hand. “Don’t do it, Lieutenant.”

  “I have to, George. It’s our only chance.”

  “You shouldn’t die for Vesi. They don’t even like you,” he said. His voice was loud enough to attract the attention of everyone else in the hallway.

  They all looked at the pair, and Fletcher took a breath.

  “That doesn’t matter. I don’t need them to like me to be willing to save them,” he said carefully.

  “It’s not fair. You chose to come here. You shouldn’t have to die.” George looked on the verge of tears. “They’re not worth it, Lieutenant. None of them. You’re so much more than every other life here. Don’t die.”

  Fletcher turned his would-be-handshake into a hug, pulling George close. “George, I’m sorry. But this is how it has to go. No one else is going to do it. I want to save Vesi, even if Vesi doesn’t want to save itself. I’d do it for just one life, whether it was yours or Hugo’s or even Jana’s. That’s why I joined the military. I just want to save people.”

  The [Insectoid] cried, holding Fletcher with all his spindly arms.

  “It’s going to be okay, George. You’ll be safe,” he promised his friend.

  “I just wish you didn’t have to go.”

  “I know.” Fletcher released the hug. “I’ll see you again before I go, okay? But there’s some stuff I have to do.”

  The [Insectoid] nodded, all of his beady red eyes leaking tears.

  Fletcher gave his shoulder one last pat and then continued on his journey—still limping due to the wound on his calf—back to his room for a little privacy. The hair on his neck stood up, and he was certain that every set of eyes in the hallway followed him all the way to the stairwell after George’s outburst and Fletcher’s speech in response.

  Back at his room, Fletcher stripped off his gun and tactical vest and then flopped into the chair at his desk. His whole body ached, even with [Frenzy] running full time. He didn’t know it was possible to be this exhausted and alive at the same time, but his mind was too wound up with all the problems that needed solving at the station. Soon he wouldn't have to worry about any of those concerns. Soon he would be dead, and Vesi Station would be safe.

  Fletcher pulled open the drawer with the photo album and letters. There were so many letters that he never sent, and he’d written even more during the course of the past few days, essentially using writing to his father as a journal to catalogue events and write out his feelings. He’d have to ask someone to make sure they all made it home, but for now, he was going to enjoy his last few hours on Earth remembering the people he loved most. Slowly, he flipped through the album, doing his best to burn the images of his family into his mind so he would have them during his final moments on the upcoming mission.

  As he reached the end, his hand fell to the unopened letters he received over the past few months. If he didn’t read them now, he’d never get the chance. Ripping open the first one from his father, tears filled his eyes as he read through his father’s heartfelt apology. The second one was similar, offering so much love despite their final argument. Fletcher read them all, bawling by the time he got to the last one in which his father expressed hopes of one day reconnecting to make up for his harsh words. A wish that would never be fulfilled.

  Fletcher didn’t stop there. He opened all the rest of the letters too, from Nora and Addy and one from his mom and even the one from Tara Knox. He was such an idiot for ignoring them for so long, but time was running out, and he couldn’t go back to fix anything.

  With all the letters read, Fletcher grabbed out every spare sheet of paper he had and penned several of his own. First, he wrote ones to Tara, Addy, and Jeric. And then even one to his mother. Nora got a rather lengthy one, but he had to stop when it came time to write to his dad.

  His father, his biggest support and his foundation since childhood. Nobody meant more to Fletcher than his father. And now he had to say goodbye. It wouldn’t have been so hard except that the last time they spoke went so terribly. Fletcher hated that that was how his father was going to remember him, regardless of the letters.

  Doing nothing to stem his tears, Fletcher wrote pages and pages to his father, ignoring the soreness of his wrists as he wrote every thought and feeling out onto the paper in hopes of it someday reaching his dad. With that finished, Fletcher placed all the unsent letters together on the center of his desk alongside the photo album with a note for someone to return all of it along with the rest of his belongings to his father at Finnack.

  He tucked most of the letters he received back in the photo album alongside the old letters from Nora, but the first letter from his dad with the apology and a long paragraph about how much he cared about Fletcher he tucked into his inner jacket pocket.

  And then that was it. He wiped the last of the tears from his face and stood up, ready to face his fate. It was time to die.