Eric is a cruel man when he needs to be. However, in cases like the one where he had tormented that soldier, he used those skills to the fullest extent of his abilities. After getting all the information he needed from the rat, Eric killed him. There is no further use for an enemy soldier that the unit had no reason to care for. Is Eric a villain? To the insurgents, he might be, but to the American Military, he is a decorated hero.
After killing the Iraqi soldier, Eric and his platoon head back to headquarters. The drive is quiet until PFC Manuel looks at Eric. She was another one of his new soldiers, under her ACH (Advanced Combat Helmet), her blonde hair and blue eyes shine with apprehension as she rubs her hands against her wedding ring. "Sergeant, why did you kill him?" The young soldier asks as she stares at him. Per the Geneva convention, any and all prisoners of war were to be treated with respect and have assurance of life. Eric had not followed that.
Eric sighs as he looks back at PFC Manuel. "That was a message. Surely, the Iraqi's are going to find the body of that man as he was a highly ranked general in their Army. When the Iraqi's find out that not even their own generals are safe, chaos will ensue. Hopefully, we can degrade their will to the point they no longer wish to fight. We were attacked with no warning; someone has to put these dogs down. " After Eric finishes his explanation, the soldiers with him in the lead HMVWW look at him with confusion. Usually, the SFC was an unflappable rule follower, but now he bent the rules? Each man and woman had their own thoughts as the platoon began the long trek back to headquarters.
On the drive to headquarters, the driver of the lead vehicle called out over the radio. "SFC, LT? There appears to be a wall of smoke ahead." Eric wore a confused expression when he heard that. "Can you say again?" He calls out on the radio as he looks around. There was nothing but sand and sun where his line of sight was. When his vehicle drove over the next hill, however... He saw it. "What...The...Fuck." Eric says as he looks down at the now burnt to a crisp village. "Okay everyone, let's go investigate." Eric hears the LT call over the radio. Slowly but surely, the platoon of vehicles drove towards the towering flames.
As Eric calls the anomaly in, suddenly there was a large explosion. "BOOOOM!!!" The soundwaves traveled off the empty husk of the town as the shockwave swept a large amount of dirt and dust over the vehicles. Standing there in the middle of the town was a man wearing a black suit and tie. He made direct eye contact as he walked through the town. The dying masses seemed to not affect him. He smiled at the soldiers, looking at Eric. "Greetings, soldiers of the American Army. My name is Zahra. I am an envoy of the God of war on the planet Miras. My lord Frashan has invited you all to his world, as there will soon be a 'World war' there. Of course, you are disallowed from joining, and cannot refuse.'" Even as the man said such foreboding words, the soldiers did not believe him. How could they? In their world magic and God's had disappeared from all but the few cults that still believed them. No soldier present believed the mans words, so the LT did the only thing he knew how to do. "ALL STATIONS ON NET, RETREAT. I SAY AGAIN, REPEAT." The LT ordered. "HEAD BACK TO HQ." As the envoy just stood there with that same creepy smile, all 5 of the platoons' vehicles followed the orders of the LT.
As fast as the HMVWW's could carry them, the soldiers drove away. Once they could no longer see the wall of flames, huge explosions could be heard off in the distance. "Hopefully that was the airstrike the LT called for." Eric says as he looked forward. "Envoy of a God... Don't make me laugh. This is not a Web-novel or an anime." He scoffs. What he sees next though, gives him cold chills. As soon as he looks back, the man they were trying to escape... Showed up in the distance. The same creepy smile was on his face. "What..." is all Eric gets across before blacking out. "Step on that fucking gas!" Eric calls out on the radio. "That creepy fuck is still behind us!" With haste, the soldiers felt the looming presence of death. No matter how far they drove, the man was still behind them. "Okay, fuck this." Eric says as he gets tired of the cat and mouse game. "Mira." He calls out. "Sarn't?" the soldier Eric called out responded. "Turn the vehicle around. Lets see if this fucker likes .50 cal rounds." The soldier responds with a nod. "Roger Sarn't." He says before slamming on the brakes and turning around. "Damn kid. I didn't know you could drift a HUMVWW." He says before he taps the .50 cal gunner on the leg. "Chester. I want you to let this guy taste the duece." Eric commands the gunner. "Roger Sarn't." The gunner yells out. In that moment, time stands to still as the rounds fly at the creepy man. In that split second though, something unbelievable happens. The bullets stop before reaching the man. "He wasn't lying." Someone calls out before the smiling man laughs and points his finger at the vehicle shooting at him. there was no explosion or any reaction... Silence ensued as the bullets started tearing apart the vehicle that shot at the man. "Fuck..." Is all Eric says as he then sees a flash of light. His vision goes black before he feels a sharp pain explode in his body. "I love you, Victoria." Eric says before slumping in his chair. Elsewhere, all twenty-two soldiers of the platoon suffer similar fates. Some call out names of loved ones, some called out parent names, and one even called out the name of her cat. These soldiers all had thought they were going to make it back to their headquarters.
Little did these soldiers know, they would never set foot in that base again.