Shattered Boundaries

Sergeant Scott had seen how the soldier kept glancing back and forth from the spot where the men had fallen, to the graves that were being dug for their remains. He exuded guilt from every feature and the Sergeant wanted to nip that in the bud. There was nothing else the corporal could have done to save his friends, and Scott had seen guilt eat away at once great soldiers until the continually self doubting beings that remained were completely useless to their squad mates.

Anderson was surprised that the sergeant had read him so easily, but intellectually he was forced to agree. His retinal scanners were far more powerful than his eyes were on their own, and if they had not picked up the creatures until they were attacking, then there was no chance he could have. The ball of guilt that weighed heavy in his stomach began to lessen with the Sergeant's meaningful look, but they both knew it would be some time before it would completely dissipate, if ever.

"Yes Sir.... But can I at least help with the burial detail?"

"No, you two need to get some sleep, I'll wake you when it's time to lay them to rest," The Sergeant responded. He did not want to give Anderson more time to wallow in self doubt while digging his comrades' graves. The symbolism was too obvious and the memory would haunt him.

Reluctantly, the corporal saluted and looked for a soft patch of grass to lay down in. The guilt dissipated a little more as he ran every possible scenario in his head. There was simply no way that he could have stopped the creatures before they reached his friends. His eyes grew heavier but something still bothered him. He could not quite tell what it was but there was something still wrong about the attacks. He wanted to simply attribute the feeling of unease to the hellish appearance of the animals, but the way that they had so obviously targeted the two soldiers was strange. Animals in the wild will of course attack any prey separated from the herd, but now that he though about it, the first creature had also been running towards where the two men were sleeping. Even though they were in the middle of the squad's position.

Anderson's thoughts slowly calmed as he entered into the lucid state just before sleep. As his eyes began to close though, his mind registered a strange image. He could have sworn he saw a beautiful young woman standing just beyond the trees. She had fiery red hair that seemed to reach the middle of her back, with a pale, perfectly unblemished complexion that glowed in the moonlight. What struck him as the oddest facet of her appearance though, was that she wore an outfit made entirely of strategically placed leather straps. Neither his retinal displays nor the motion sensors would confirm her presence, but she seemed as solid as the tree she leaned against. His appraisal of the beauty finally reached her eyes and he found them burning with barely suppressed anger. He followed her stare and noted it was directed at the spot where the two soldiers had died. He glanced back to her to find that her stare had shifted. She was now looking directly at him with determination having replaced anger in her highly expressive eyes.

As slumber finally overtook him, the last thing Anderson saw was a mischievous smile spread across the strange young woman's face... as she flicked her barbed tail behind her...