Following Milano's chat with the leader's, the battalion held formation. Eric stood in front of his platoon, accounting for his soldier as he looked at the other platoon sergeant's in the company. The memo of "We're not spreading word of the gifts" was fresh on his mind, and he couldn't help but think that at this point the batallion leadership was a dam trying to hold back the ocean. After formation, battalion wide drills were being held, with Eric holding classes on how to bound from one vehicle to the other while under fire. He walked from soldier to soldier, pleased with how the class was progressing. He stopped one soldier, noticing his camelpak was low. "Oiy, mireles." Eric called the soldier out. Mireles ran to him, standing at parade rest. "Sarn't?" he says, his eyebrows raised in confusion. "Why is your camelpak empty?" Eric says to Mireles while squeezing it. Mireles shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't feel the need for water anymore Sarn't." The young man replies. "Ever since we came here, I can go much longer than I used to." Eric stares at the soldier and sighs, rubbing his face. "Mireles. We are soldiers, not god's. Do not think you can go without water for long periods of time." Eric then yells out to the rest of the platoon: "Squad leaders! Check all soldiers camelpaks, if they are empty, have the soldiers resupply!"
The following day, Eric rucked back to the village with his platoon. The infantry platoon sergeant shared some brief notes with Eric before they left. "routine as usual." The platoon sergeant said while heading out. Eric grumbles as he heads to the command center of the village. He sighs before sitting down at the desk. "Routine as usual." He grumbles. Shaking his head while mocking the man under his breath. "Must be nice, not having the weird shit happen during your watch."
"SFC Dryer!" A voice yells out to Eric as he walked towards Kramer's house. Eric turned around and looked for the voice. He was fully intent on giving the soldier a piece of his mind. Before he could say anything, the private full sprinted at Eric. "Sarn't…" The private says before stopping as he hands Eric a piece of paper. "Mireles is gone."
The news hit Eric like a brick as he read the note Mireles had left behind. To Eric, this was the first sign of the damn breaking. How many more would follow?
Following Mireles's desertion, Eric got on his radio and called into all his squad leaders. "Squad leaders, reconfirm your status on personnel. I want accountability checks every hour on the hour." He could hear the groans over the net, but he didn't care. He needed to know the exact count of his men at all times. "Oh boy, here comes another meeting." Eric grumbles to himself.
"Delta 1, we have a problem." Eric calls into the radio after confirming all soldiers outside of Mireles were present. "I will come to the command tent myself to confirm issue."
Arriving at the command tent, Eric wasted no time with explaining the situation. He hands commander milano the note and stood off to the side silently. Milano reads the note before sitting back in his chair. He rubs his face and looks up, gathering his thoughts. "Did any of the other soldiers read the note?" He says wearily. Eric grimaces while answering "Yes sir." Milano groans while rubbing his face. "Keep it contained, however you can. We do not need this cancer spread among the younger soldiers. Those of us that have been in those godforsaken deserts know how powerless men can be. These younger cats don't have that experience."
Even doing his best, Eric could not prevent word from slipping through the cracks. Luckily, the soldiers in his platoon had been there for the memorial and the attack. An unspoken rule slipped among the men after Mireles left, "No one else."
A few days later, Eric heard a call come over the net in the same manner he had called up. He recognized that voice, it was Hammond. Eric sighed as he got into his vehicle and drove to Hood Hill. One soldier deserting? That's a coincidence. Two or more? That is a pattern.
"Private Null was tired of the charade. He knew they would win the war, and the Goddess had promised them all these gifts. He himself had felt her presence, and realized he was special. The goddess had said so as she hugged him. "I'm going to end this war myself. I already know that I am faster and stronger than everyone else." He got up from his bunk, getting his rifle before heading out of the tent. "Going somewhere?" His friend Tutt asked him as he heads out. "Yeah, gotta piss." Null says while heading out. He never looked back.
Eric sighed as he read the report the new LT gave him. He took his cap off while looking outside the barricades towards the wire. Thus far, almost an entire platoon worth of soldiers deserted. "I know that we can't and won't stop these soldiers from leaving, but do they not realize they have no shot out there?" The LT stares at him blankly, wondering the same thing. This was not anime, manga, or webnovel, this was real life.
Suddenly, Mia came rushing into the tent. Her face was distraught as she looks at Eric. "I'm so sorry." She says gently. "Our 'friends' are standing outside the village, and they wish to speak to you. Only you." She takes a deep breath before finishing. "They found one of the soldiers. He didn't make it."
Eric takes a deep breath as speaks. He had expected to hear of the soldier's passing, but to hear it from Mia, and that the body had been retrieved by their observers broke something inside of him. He looked up at Mia as tears fell down her face. "It was the kid's own choice." He says as if to reassure her. He then gets up and heads out of the village, fighting back his own tears. There had been too much loss on this "special deployment", but he knew that there would likely be many more.
Three hooded figures stood outside of the village, they surrounded a body, and Eric could tell at first glance that it was Mireles. His red hair hung outside of the shroud the observers had placed over him. "Thank you." Eric said to the figures as they turn around. "We know how it feels." One of the members, a deep male voice weathered by age responded while they walk back into the tree-line.