"Sergeant Radnor, what brings you here?" a Captain asks, his eyes flicking between Helios and the Sergeant.
"I've found an interesting private, Sir," Radnor says, his voice stiff with formal respect.
"And why didn't you report this to the Lieutenant?" the Captain snaps, his frustration boiling over. "Do you think I have nothing better to do? Do you think I'm a free man?"
"No, I never thought that, Sir," Radnor replies, a trace of fear creeping into his tone.
"You should be focused on keeping your men from deserting and getting themselves executed, yet here you are," the Captain growls, his voice rising in anger.
"I thought... well, we are looking for a new corporal after the last one was killed. I believe Helios here would excel in that position," Radnor explains quickly.
The Captain turns his sharp gaze toward Helios, studying him like a piece of equipment. "And what do you have to say about that, Private Helios?"
Helios snaps to attention, his back straight as a rod. "I am just a private, Sir. I have nothing to say," he replies tonelessly.
The Captain huffs, his expression softening just a fraction. "I'll forgive this intrusion—only this once." He reaches into a small wooden box, pulls out a chevron badge, and tosses it at Helios's chest. "You will lead a team of six. If your squad performs well, I might consider a permanent promotion. Now, both of you—get out."
Helios and Radnor salute sharply and retreat from the tent.
"You did well. You even remembered my advice," Radnor says with a relieved sigh once they are out of earshot. Helios flashes back to the moment Radnor had pulled him aside, sternly telling him to stand at attention and speak only when spoken to.
"Thank you for the advice," Helios says, giving a slight, respectful bow.
"You're welcome. Now, go and see your team. I hope they welcome you with open arms," Radnor says, a mischievous smirk dancing on his face.
Helios watches the Sergeant walk away. Still nothing from Circlet, he thinks, a hollow feeling in his chest. I still can't reach him. He begins the trek toward his new unit's quarters. "This world feels so real," he whispers, watching the heavy grey clouds shift as his boots sink into the foul, standing water of the trench.
He reaches the squad tent and pulls back the flap. Instantly, a bayonet whistled through the air, aimed directly at his face. Without flickering an eye or changing his expression, Helios tilts his head, letting the blade thud into the wooden support beam behind him.
"Who are you?" the woman who threw the blade demands, her eyes narrowing.
"Don't be so aggressive, Lilley," a man says with a lazy smirk, his hands busy cleaning the internal springs of his rifle.
"Shut up, Leo!" Lilley snaps.
"You two are always at each other's throats," a second woman sighs, looking exhausted.
"Just let us play cards in peace," a man grumbles, huddled over a makeshift table with three others, including the second woman.
"So, are you going to answer the question, new guy? Or are you too scared to speak?" Lilley mocks, stepping closer to Helios.
"He looks like he's been through hell, let him be," the second woman says. She looks remarkably like Lilley.
"Leave me alone, Ashley," Lilley retorts.
"Is that any way to speak to your elder sister?" Ashley asks calmly.
"Aren't you two twins?" Leo asks, looking up from his rifle. "How do you even know who the oldest is?"
Helios stands silently, his cold gaze sweeping over his new subordinates.
"Why don't you tell us who the hell you are?" Lilley demands, pointing a finger at his chest.
"I would, if you all shut up," Helios says, his voice a calm, chilling low.
The tent goes quiet. A man named Cain looks at the soldier next to him. "It seems we have an interesting one, right, Robin?"
At the mention of the name 'Robin,' Helios's mask slips for a fraction of a second. A flash of grief crosses his face before he crushes it back into an emotionless void.
"It seems he knows someone with that name," another woman, Tina, observes. "Are you a 'Robin' too?"
"You think so, Tina?" the man, Robin, asks. He sets his cards down and looks at Helios. "You still haven't introduced yourself."
"My name is Helios Vaelthorne. I am your new leader," Helios states, meeting each of their eyes.
"Has the Lieutenant finally lost his mind?" Lilley scoffs. "Giving a leadership role to someone who looks like a fresh recruit?"
"The Captain gave me this role," Helios corrects her. The mood in the tent shifts instantly; the mocking smiles vanish.
"You must have done something amazing, then," Leo says, his interest genuinely piqued.
"No," Helios replies flatly. He points to the jagged hole in the canvas. "Who's going to fix the tent? There's a hole where that bayonet hit."
"Not me," Ashley chirps.
"It should be the person who created it," Leo says with a grin.
"What?! You guys told me to do that to the next person who walked in!" Lilley yells in frustration.
"I don't remember that," Cain says innocently, catching a shoe that Lilley hurls at his head.
"Let me introduce the team properly, 'Leader,'" Ashley says, standing up while Lilley and Cain begin to scuffle in the background.
"Where do you think you're going? The game isn't over!" Robin protests, clutching ten cards.
Ashley lets her final card drop onto the pile. "I win," she says simply.
"You cheated! Again!" Robin shouts.
"Give it up, Robin. That's the third time you've lost to her," Tina says, shaking her head.
"I'm Ashley," she says, turning back to Helios. "That's my twin, Lilley. The one fighting Cain is... well, Cain. That's Leo, and the guy who can't win a card game is Robin. And that's Tina. Oh, and one more thing—I'm definitely not on watch tonight." She waves over her shoulder as she slips out of the tent. "See you later. Hope you don't get bombed!"
Helios looks at the remaining soldiers. "Who is watching the trench for enemy attacks tonight?"
"Not me!" everyone yells in unison, except for Helios and Tina.
"Looks like it's you two," Robin says with a shrug.
"Wait, what? What are we talking about?" Tina asks, looking confused as she shuffles the cards.
"It's not our fault you have hearing problems after that last explosion," Cain says, still holding Lilley back by her arms.
"I hope you two have a good night. Watch out for the rats; they bite," Ashley says, poking her head back in for a second.
"I didn't agree to this," Helios says.
"The last two people to say they don't agree have to go. Rules of the tent," Leo says mockingly.
"We still have one thing to do," Lilley says, finally stopping her struggle with Cain. "We need to rename this squad. Please don't let it be something horrible like the last leader. He called us 'Red Blood.'"
Helios reaches into his shirt, pulling out the necklace. He clicks it open, gazing at the small photos of Luna and Sara. "Why don't we name it 'Moon Shine'?"
"Better than Red Blood," Cain admits.
Later that night, the grey clouds finally part, allowing a pale moon to illuminate the muddy landscape. Helios and Tina stand side-by-side, peering over the trench wall.
"It seems the enemies are staying quiet tonight," Tina says, leaning her back against the cool earth of the wall.
"Maybe," Helios replies.
"You're a quiet one, aren't you?" Tina asks, offering a small smile. "The only time I've seen you look human was when you named the team 'Moon' and when you looked at that necklace. Are they important?"
"The two most important people in my life," Helios says softly.
Suddenly, his vision swims and turns a violent, searing red. Tina's eyes begin to leak blood. She clutches her throat, coughing violently as she collapses to the muddy floor.
"Gas... attack..." Helios chokes out. His lungs feel like they are being filled with molten lead. Blood flows from his mouth as he falls beside her.
Why? Helios thinks as the world fades to black. Why does the pain feel so real?