After ten days of exploring the new terrain, the platoon ran out of gas for the vehicles. This was an issue that Eric and Daniel had foreseen. After all, they were in a new world with no resources. Eric and Daniel then decided to abandon the vehicles. They had no choice in the matter. "Alright, form up!" Eric calls out on the morning of the 10th day. It was a beautiful and crisp morning, with temperatures similar to a fall morning in the northern hemisphere. The suns were starting their rise, and the sounds of the forest lullaby were beginning to sound their symphony.
Once the soldiers formed into a platoon, Eric and Daniel stood before them. "At Ease," Eric called as he looked at the soldiers. "Alright, as you know, we are now out of gas. We cannot go farther on vehicles, so that we will be going on foot from here on out. Ladies and gentlemen, I am unsure what comes next, so let's stick to the plan. If, after 30 more miles, we do not find any settlements or conscious life, I will formally release you all from military service. The LT and I have discussed the best course of action and decided to build our village. Until that point, we will continue on this course."
After addressing the soldiers, Eric let the soldiers freely speak. One soldier, Franko, spoke up. He looked at Eric and spoke up hesitantly. "Sergeant." He calls out. Eric turns to the young man and nods. "What is it, bud?" He says as he looks at the young man. Franko was indeed one of his better soldiers and someone with whom he had high hopes. Before the mess they were in now, Franko had wanted to get married to his fiancée. Franko nods as he swallows his saliva. He seems nervous to ask the question but grimaces as he shakes, seeming to collect himself before making eye contact with Eric. "What if we want to leave now?"
Silence. There was dead silence after Franko asked that question. In normal circumstances, if a soldier had asked a question of that nature, it would be considered treason. But, unfortunately, these were not normal circumstances. Daniel and Eric looked at each other before nodding as Eric looked back at the platoon. "Anyone who wants to leave and go their own way is welcome. But unfortunately, at that point, I will have to tell you that I will not be giving you any supplies. You will have to build your system of taking care of yourself."
Silence fell upon the soldiers again. It seemed every man and woman had their thoughts. Then, finally, Eric sighed and looked at Rodriguez. The young man had tried to kill him, but the bullet had ricocheted. Eric still didn't know how that happened. Even with bullet-resistant armor, the shot should have penetrated. Eric didn't have time to ponder, so he ordered Rodriguez to be removed from his restraints. Rodriguez looked at Eric reluctantly before running away. "There's one," Eric said. "He didn't take his weapon." One of the female soldiers said shyly. Eric sighs as he puts his head in his hand, rubbing the top of his forehead after taking his patrol cap off.
"Anyone else?" He says as his face aged ten years in 10 minutes.
After an hour of deliberation, 12 soldiers decided to leave. These soldiers did not want to be tied down to the soldier life while walking around the new world, so they were allowed to bring their rucksacks and weapons with three MREs. After the mass exodus, eight soldiers were in the platoon: Smitty, Miguel, Mireles, Eric, Daniel, Swift, Amberlain, and Frantz. After watching the final soldier leave, Daniel turned to Eric. "SFC Dryer, due to your experience in war and your exemplary proficiency in leadership, I am stepping down from my post and placing you in command." Eric nodded to the LT after hearing that. The LT and Eric discussed the matter in great detail last night. It had been apparent from the first mission that the soldiers respected Eric more than Daniel. Who wouldn't? Eric was a man deployed 6x, and the LT was a sniveling brat in the soldiers' eyes.
"Alright," Eric said as he turned to the soldiers. "But first, we will continue our trek north." Eric then looks at the five men and three women left in his command. "The journey from here on out will not be easy. Thank you for trusting me. I will do the best I can to bring you all home. I have lost many soldiers and seen friends die before my eyes. I would like not to have that happen here. Let's all follow our instincts and explore this new world. Moving out, we will explore in teams of two. Two soldiers will map and research, while two will watch the camp. The other two will rest. We will use short-wave radio bursts to communicate. We will also continually map out the terrain based on our observations. Before we move out, let's lock up the trucks and put the .50cal in the LMTV."
Five days after the platoon split, Rodriguez found out the hard way that the platoon was not alone in this world.
Robert Rodriguez had always been a cruel man; he just hid it. As a child, he tortured animals for fun and loved inflicting pain on smaller beings. As a teenager, he often fought other students just to enjoy crushing bones and watching blood spatter. As a soldier, he often did unspeakable acts to the women he would catch alone. He loved the screaming. On his solitary journey, he heard rushing water. Feeling thirsty, he ran towards the sound. A beautiful spring gushing water was in a clearing around the corner. The water was the most transparent water Rodriguez had ever seen. Admiring the sight, Rodriguez didn't feel the presence behind him until...
Boom! He felt something hard hit his helmet. He stood there shocked before turning around and looking at a man standing at him in horror. The man was of a darker complexion, with braided hair and a muscular chest while being fully clothed only from the neck down. "Brifuh Me Conas!" The man shouted at Rodriguez. Rodriguez just laughed as he turned around. "The ACH can survive a shot from a small caliber bullet. Your little spear won't do anything." Rodriguez sneered as he looked at the man. He laughed before grabbing his throwing knife from his duty pack. He threw the blade at the man's legs, hitting him on the thigh. "Now, let's see who comes to rescue you." He says with a glint in his eye after sitting next to the unconscious man.