At last, the chopper flew over them; the propeller thumping the air, threatening to chop these humans with the ripples from above. Then, not too far from where the runaways were holed up, the aircraft dropped the first bomb.

The walls rattled, three times over the next twenty minutes, immediately after each charge went off. Dusts settled reluctantly on the cracked floor, showering those in hiding.

Hades did his best staying silent, as what a hiding man should. But some of his companions were not doing the same thing.

“Fuck these cadets!” screamed Chaleed as the last detonation stopped shaking the air. His eyes fell Hades, whom he cursed, “Go eat shit la you, cibai.”

Knowing that Chaleed cursed mostly because he was holding the pain of having his atoms scrambled, but understanding that the word Chaleed last uttered to be female genitalia and a famous cuss word spoken to cowards and the likes, Hades exhaled his patience slowly. While his fellow cadets stayed quiet and alert and while their other package Haz was shaking his head in disapproval over that same word, Hades got to his feet.

He walked to Chaleed and kicked him on the face. Which got the attention of his squadmates.

But they remained silent for a while as Chaleed shut his mouth in shock over his bleeding nose.

“Sure, kick a defenceless man,” said Reiner at last.

Groaning, Chaleed slowly rested his whole back on the floor. He rubbed his head and face as blood began streaming from his nostrils.

“The instructors will deduct our grades if they find out you kicked our client,” warned Bertrand.

“If,” Hades said. He looked at the still-whimpering Chaleed. “And I doubt they’ll even care if they know I kicked him. Those who hired The Brethren for these two don’t particularly pay attention to their appearance.”

“Ya, but you still kicked an injured man,” said Haz. “And as your fellow cadet said, Chaleed is defenceless.”

It amazed Hades seeing Haz was still able to smirk despite experiencing the same pain as Chaleed. It amazed him more that Haz still managed to land a judgment on Hades. And instantly, Hades decided not to like the verdict made of him. Having that mouth doesn’t make that cunt defenceless.

Hades’s nose was flaring still, and he was biting the inside of his own mouth when he said, “How the fuck talking about grades led to this sombre aura? We still have a chance to not fuck this up.”

A nervous laugh echoed in the hut. “Optimistic, this one,” said Leeno. His eyes narrowed as he hissed at Hades, “We are all going to die. Like Suwarni.”

Hades shrugged. “Eventually,” he said, “but it doesn’t have to be today.”

A second went by, accompanied by the chopper's whirring blades and a soft puffing wind wafting past the valley. Then went another second.

“Are you waiting for some kind of background sound effect, man?” asked Reiner, not very patiently. “Please, do tell us why we don’t die today.”

#

“I left her in this intersection,” Hades said to his crew, who were all now putting their helmets back on. He extended his left arm, the hand tablet revealing a hologram map of the village, with a blinking green light of Suwarni's corpse. The screen changed as Hades swept the surface, revealing six grenades he left with Suwarni. “The explosives on her are armed, and ready to blow when I press the switch.”

“You plan to use the corpse of our Leader-cadet as a bait?” Reiner asked, “and then tear it to pieces?”

“Oh, please!” Hades hissed with almost the last of his patience. “Enough with the questioning.” And the judging, which he thought about but failed to mention. “Can we, please, fucking move on?”

Out of the corner of his visor, Hades saw Haz studying them. Again, Hades felt under heavy scrutiny.

He sighed. “Guys, I am sorry we end up holed up in a shack that can practically collapse any minute,” said Hades. He then quietly added, “And I’m sorry Suwarni is dead.”

Hades thanked the Heavens and Hells they were all now wearing helmets. For he was struggling to keep his trembling mouth steady and his stinging eyes from pouring out saline and his mouth from throwing up clear liquid. And he wasn’t sure he’d like seeing that same expression on the faces of his mates.

He was feeling like shit already, his friends needn't see him looking like one.

There was another series of heavy beats of air, which ended with reducing speed of the propellers as the chopper neared the landing site.

“They are here,” Reiner pointed the obvious.

“We talk as if they will actually follow the trail you set,” said Bertrand. “There’s no guarantee we’ll find them there.”

“They at least will find the body interesting,” said Hades. “Hopefully, one or two will be there.” And hopefully they don’t outnumber us. “Let’s move now and not be late to greet them.”

“I’m not going out there,” said Leeno.

“My friend, come on,” said Hades. “We need you.”

“No,” said Bertrand, whose voice now sounded a little nasal. “Let him stay. He can watch the package.”

“It’d be nice,” said Haz from one corner, “of you, if you can stop calling me and my colleague ‘package’.”

Patience seemed getting shorter quickly for Hades today. Hades sighed quite loudly. It’d be nice of you, too, to stop talking.

“Okay, then,” Hades said instead, “Leeno stays, Bertrand and I cover the front as we move into position. Staman, you watch our back.”

Reiner nodded while Bertrand prepared her weapons.

Hades himself had found he liked the blasters. And unlike some outdated guns in certain Earths with metal bullets, he can actually wield and use both Interversity-issued blasters at the same time. As the guns projected heated, charged, and bundled particles, the recoil system absorbed most impact and redirected it back to the power packs, so the users didn’t have to brace for recoil force. Therefore, thinking he’d be cool, Hades freed the blasters off his thigh holsters.

But he felt stupid holding them at the same time. Awkward and unbalanced, Hades noted. So, he put a blaster back in the holster and with his left arm, reached for the reverse-grip combat knife on his back hip.

Now he felt readier, after holding the knife. Either readier to kill or to just move, Hades couldn’t give a straight answer. “Let’s move out,” he simply said.