Epilogue
"The loss of a friend... a friend I thought I barely knew," he whispered.
"Someone I thought was barely even on my side."
(Flashback: Makhaza randomly giving Mutale a Chelsea bun at the police academy.)
"Someone... I thought didn't care..."
"Ended up being the one to care for me the most."
A heavy lump formed in his throat.
"It's not fair!!!"
---
Chapter 24: The Tears We Wipe
"Ahhhhhhhh! How in the world did that just happen?!" yelled the soldier wearing the blue tech gear.
"What the hell just happened? Looks like we survived," said the female soldier as she slowly got up, pressing her hands against her wounded gut.
The soldier in the blue tech gear's eyes scanned their surroundings, which were covered in dust and smoke as it slowly began to clear.
"And just like that, our commander died," he said in a hushed tone.
(Flashback: The tall man with braids being crushed by the asteroid Makhaza brought down using his portal.)
"It happened so quick and sudden," said the female soldier. "And the others haven't even gotten up yet."
She looked toward their unconscious teammates.
The dust and smoke around them began to clear, like mist during a slow evening.
"That guy from before... he's just kneeling there, almost unfazed," she said.
As the dust partially cleared, Mutale's frame became visible. He knelt on the rough, dusty ground.
Next to him lay the lifeless body of his fallen comrade, Makhaza.
"He's dead???" said the soldier in the blue suit.
"He's the one who caused the attack, didn't he? I saw what he did earlier."
(Flashback: Makhaza — "I'm not done yet.")
"To believe that even in his weakened state, he was capable of that..." said one of their teammates with spiky hair as he slowly rose to his feet.
"You're awake!!!" she said.
"Yeah... and fortunately alive."
(Flashback: Mutale's quick attack.)
"I was sure that kick killed me," he said, looking back on the earlier incident.
---
Meanwhile, Mutale knelt still and quiet.
His mind was numb.
His expression blank.
His eyes lingered on Makhaza's face.
His lifeless expression caused him...
"Pain..." Mutale said in a hushed tone.
---
Flashback
Mutale sat alone and hungry at the police academy.
"Can't believe I forgot my lunch money."
Later, without uttering a word, he found a neatly wrapped roasted cassava next to him.
Makhaza casually walked past.
Makhaza: "What? You rich kids can't handle a simple traditional snack?"
Mutale: "Errrrr... THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
He began eating uncontrollably.
Makhaza: "HAVE SOME MANNERS, WILL YOU!!! WHAT KINDA SON OF A COMMANDER GENERAL BEHAVES THIS WAY?!"
Mutale: "Thanks..."
He placed his finger on Makhaza's forehead.
Makhaza: "YOU'RE WEIRD."
Mutale: "So are you."
A devious grin appeared on his face.
---
Back to the scene
A tear fell to the ground.
Then another.
Then another.
Until multiple tears began falling into the dust beneath him.
Mutale's face was completely covered in tears.
His expression was tense.
His teeth clenched.
His eyes trembled.
"Tears... I don't know how many times I've cried since I last came here," he said to himself.
"If my father sees me like this, he'll be disappointed..."
(Flashback: "The son of a commander general, crying like a wimp? Man up.")
"I shouldn't cry... but why do I feel so bad?"
---
For a moment, he simply sat there.
The battlefield raged around him.
Explosions.
Gunfire.
Cries of soldiers.
Yet all he could hear was silence.
---
Flashback
Mutale, Khumalo, Matimba, Makhaza, as well as the other graduates of the academy, embraced themselves in laughter and celebration during the day of their graduation.
---
"Makha..." he whispered.
"Not just you, but to all who have fallen..."
He looked around the battlefield.
"Was there any point to this?"
"Was there any reason for any of us to die?"
"Was there any valid reason?"
---
BOOOM!!!!! BOOOM!!!!! BOOOM!!!!!
Missiles were fired across the battlefield by the Twazwe defenses.
---
"The tent..." Mutale said.
"I have to put a stop to this somehow."
He slowly wiped away his tears.
"No point in whining now. You're already gone..."
"Looking a little more handsome than me."
He teased, his eyes tracing Makhaza's face one final time.
BOOOM!!!!! BOOOM!!!!! BOOOM!!!!!
The missile strikes only intensified, sending huge clouds of dust and smoke into the air.
---
"What do we do now? Do we just let him off like that?" said the female soldier as she grabbed her staff.
"Wait... I don't think that's a good idea," said the soldier in the blue suit.
"WHY NOT???" she asked.
"Permission to borrow that staff."
Mutale suddenly appeared in front of her.
A huge gasp escaped her mouth.
"How...?" she asked herself in shock.
The rest of her comrades remained silent.
"I can't promise I'll keep you alive..." Mutale said, looking directly into her eyes.
"I'm frustrated. Upset. I could kill someone."
"But now... I only have one objective."
"And that is to end this."
He took her staff, turned toward the other side of the battlefield, and began slowly walking toward the giant dark cloud of dust and smoke.
"I'll break my way through..."
"Even if it means I'll die doing so..."
"I need to end this."
They stared at him as he slowly walked away and disappeared into the dark smoke.
---
"Ahhhhhhhhhh! What the hell was that?!" screamed the female soldier.
"He spared our lives. That's what he did," said the soldier in the blue suit as he released a sigh of relief.
"Ahhhh... I really didn't want to come here."
"Twazwe... I give up for now."
He casually lay on the ground.
"You idiot. How could you say that? Have you forgotten about the greater purpose?" she said.
"What's the point of all this?" he asked.
"To expand the reach of our nation's territory to other borders," she said.
"And for what agenda???" he asked.
"To save our nation."
"And from what???" he asked.
But she failed to answer.
"We've got no real enemies."
"Our nation was doing just fine..."
"But yet they began teaching this notion that somehow we needed saving."
"And from what?"
"Nations that were simply living their own lives and dealing with their own concerns?"
He lay on the ground and gazed toward the sky.
"Twazwe desperately wanting to be part of the Federation led to this..."
"And in the end, we end up suffering."
"Can't you see the mess in all this?"
"The sky used to be so blue. So beautiful..."
"But now it's dark."
"We can't keep living like this..."
"Let alone keep sacrificing the lives of our people in the name of revolution."
---
Explosion sounds, gunfire, and battle cries echoed in the background.
The sky remained covered in dark smoke and dust.
The female soldier quietly sat down beside the soldier in the blue suit, alongside their two other teammates.
...
To Be Continued...