I am the leader, or former leader perhaps, of a mercenary group known as The Wings of Salvation. We ran missions that go without written records. Missions that were necessary, but that nobody had the stomach for. We don’t get medals or honors. We dealt with the darkest of deeds in absolute secrecy for 30 years. For all those years not a single soul knew of our deeds outside us, not our friends, not our spouses, and our dedication to confidentiality came at the cost of many marriages. Even so, we were happy to never shed light on what we have done. Now that I am all that remains, dirty and faceless, I feel I can let a few of these secrets slip. A soldier does not question, but I am a soldier no longer and these questions I face now… I can feel my soul collapsing under their weight.
The Wings have dealt with things both human and non-human. Sometimes your government, yes yours specifically, wants someone or a group of someones to be gone. Depending on how they receive us, we deliver either prisoners or body bags. I’m not a monster, and I don’t operate a company of murderers, we won’t kill non-combatants. Whether your government does after we hand them over, that is beyond my control.
All my company wants is to protect the common people. We sacrifice our dreams, our sanity and sometimes our lives, so that the majority of the world can live in relative peace. In the most remote parts of the world or even under the ground you walk on there are creatures beyond your knowledge lurking. When these monsters get discovered, we are one of the few that get called. We have encountered all sorts of threats to humanity, brainless beasts that devour flesh by the pound. They lurk near villages, in woods, in caves, and they pick off whatever humans are unlucky enough to wander too close. While not every mission deals with monsters, we are one of the handful of groups capable of handling these kinds of missions. Very few can handle these beasts, even fewer can keep their traps shut.
What makes me blow the whistle now started only a couple of days prior, we were hired to keep checkpoints. This community out in eastern Europe was under some intense lockdown and we were to make sure nobody came in or out. We weren’t given any kind gear for diseases, so I assumed this was some kind of civil unrest type of situation. Those are honestly the easiest money. Just flex some muscle and arrest some loud mouths and you’ll be home in a month. It wasn’t past us to silence some civilians who caused too much of a ruckus or saw something they shouldn’t. You take them to a dark room, syringe them in the neck, say you injected a bomb that we can monitor and detonate at any time. It doesn’t matter if it’s a lie, make a convincing enough demonstration and they’ll believe it every time. We do what others cannot or will not. That was normal the situations we dealt with.
This was not our normal situation.
When we got on site we noticed the screams first. Unholy, inhumane screams could be heard before we even saw the walls. Ten foot high cement walls stood surrounding the community. Razor wire adorned the top of the wall electrified by multiple generators. I should have packed it up and cut the contract right there. When we deal with monsters, we are told what we are dealing with. I don’t send my friends into a fight under informed and underprepared. As we approached the outer checkpoint the guards started handing each of my men M240’s. Light machine guns for the average reader.
“What are our orders?” was the only question I could ask. In my head I was wondering what the hell all this was for.
“Nothing gets in or out. If you see anything, shoot it until it stops moving. Maintain wall security.”
“What are our targets?” I say nodding my head towards the trucks encircled around the wall. For a civilian situation M134 miniguns were overkill. AT4’s were simply unnecessary. The commander followed my gaze, then met my eye as he spoke.
“Anything humanoid.” I grit my teeth at his answer. These damn idiots think they can keep us in the dark. At that moment I was about to signal for us to abort when I noticed our path was already blocked by squads of soldiers. I glared into the commander’s eyes and he glared back. We weren’t getting out of here without shooting our way out, and since we were misled we didn’t bring our full firepower. Outgunned and flanked, things would be real bloody. I didn’t particularly like the idea of having whatever they were so afraid of being left unguarded either.
“You ever pull a stunt like this again, you’ll be begging whatever is in those walls to hide you from us.” I warned him sternly.
A smirk escaping his lips, the commander simply retorted. “Of course sir, we meant no disrespect. The situation has simply escalated since we contacted you.”
“Better get some training on communication. If you make it home.” His smirk quickly faded and he walked off leaving the next in command to deal with his mess. It was for the best, as his presence only pissed me off more, but I’ve worked with plenty of pricks before. I can deal with one more.
With that I was given a radio and told what portion of the wall to cover. We ended up on the south side of the wall. During that time we got to witness the resilience of whatever group was inside that pit. They started off with conventional means, fire and bullets, but as time went on they got more desperate. Cluster bombs, white phosphorus, hell I think they broke every international law they could short of nuking the spot. The entire time, the screams that echoed around us continued.
I use only a letter to identify each of my friends and comrades that I led to their demise, not for the mission’s secrecy, but to protect their own reputations. We have done some awful things under my command, and it is not their fault. I do not wish to sully their memory with my mistakes. Please understand, protecting their name in death is the only thing left I can do for them. Thank you.
“Those things don’t sound human, Boss.” M stated the obvious. After witnessing all they’ve survived we all know damn well whatever is in there isn’t human.
“No. They don’t. Humanoid, remember.” I reminded him.
“What exactly is in there? What are we doing here? Why weren’t we informed of non-humans?” M persisted.
“When have you ever questioned the mission before M? Have you heard H ask anything? What about J? R never asks about the mission either.” I speak sternly.
“I’m sorry Sir.”
“Soldiers do not question, soldiers act. Live long enough and you’ll be in my shoes one day, then it will all make sense.” My lies gave M enough false comfort for him to regain focus. The truth of the matter is I was as clueless as everyone. I just learned how to hide it. I cut M some slack. I could tell he was only afraid, we all were. H has been pulling her hair out since we got here, J can’t stop shaking his boots, and R has left nail marks in both of her arms. No matter how many times you face monsters you are still afraid. The key is simply using that fear. Fear pumps you with adrenaline, makes you react faster, and keeps your senses heightened. The day you lose that fear, you die.
Things only got worse when we heard the crumbling of stone from the other side of the encirclement. Gunfire and screams were mixed with the roars of whatever lived inside and I made the call to investigate the potential breach. After only a few minutes there was only silence. I tried to make contact with the other side, but with no success. We wouldn’t sit in the dark and pretend all was fine, so I put R in temporary command over the squad as I took H,J, and M along with a couple dozen others.
“You going to be okay without us for a bit R?” H joked as we loaded the truck.
Thinking I wasn’t nearby R got a mischievous smile on her face. She geared up for her best impression. “Soldiers do not question. Soldiers act! Get to it young lady!”
“Yes Ma’am!” H gave a heavy salute as I turned the corner.
“Good to know I leave my company in good hands when I die.” R froze in her boots when he heard my voice from behind her. “Thank you for keeping the mood light, you two. We will be back shortly. Keep that radio on.”
“Yes Sir!” R responded swiftly, calm again now that she knew she wasn’t in trouble.
With that we drove the loop in good spirits, until we saw the hole. A large hole had blown through the wall. Judging by the debris, the force that broke through came from inside. Vehicles were flipped, shell casings littered the ground, but not a single living soul could be found. Most of the bodies strewn around were cut in chunks. Sliced through clean, as if they had been severed by a single stroke of a scalpel. H, J, and myself covered the opening as M and the others searched around for any surviving units. None were found. I contemplated investigating inside the hole, but with all the shit they dumped in there it would have been a death trap.
Soon, a rumbling could be heard from inside the wall. As red eyes could be seen staring at us from inside of the hole, we fired. My gun had managed to be jammed, and I know that was no accident. That commander must have given me a faulty gun out of spite but that ironically is the only reason I live. Monsters came pouring out of the hole. Long grey gangly arms bore blades that ran from their forearm down past their elbows. They ran on needle like legs, thrusting off the ground to propel themselves forward. They looked like the genetic combination of a human and a stick bug. Their blades swung swift and precise as the monsters rushed my friends. Screams were silenced by the sound of wind being parted. No matter how much H and J unloaded into them, they would not fall. I watched helplessly as one rushed past H, splitting her head in half and carrying her body off back into the hole. Another swung at J and he dived to dodge the attack. The creature whipped back around and stabbed its spike leg through J’s chest. It left him impaled on its leg as it hobbled and carried him off into the hole as well.
M and the search team came rushing back but before I could order them to run they opened fire. Crashes started coming from all sides of the wall and I could hear battle between these monsters and my company in all directions. In a futile attempt to overpower the roars of war I ordered a full retreat. Nothing we had could stop these things and with our allies slaughtered we had finally signed up for a mission that was too much for us to handle. I threw my gun to the ground and yelled as I ran, hoping for some of the men to take notice and follow.
I ran as deep as I could into the wilderness, armed only with my knife. The creatures, lightning quick, pursued me from a safe distance. When one approached, I would slash at it until it backed off. Eventually I reached the end of the line, a cliff. I whirled around but there was no escape, they had already surrounded me. Defeated, I slumped to my knees. A single creature approached me and with a swift blow everything went black.
I woke up in a jail cell of sorts, iron bars surrounded me and one of the creatures watched me. I could see well around as all the buildings that used to exist had been reduced to rubble. The architecture was something I’d never seen before, more sophisticated than anything I have ever seen. I looked on and spotted a crowd of injured creatures being tended to by others. One was removing bullets from another’s wounds with its claw-like fingers. Another was cutting away still burning white phosphorus from its friend as they writhed in pain. They were helping treat each other’s wounds. I looked further and saw lines of bodies, both human and creatures, delicately placed side by side. A few living creatures wailed over bodies of their fallen. One clutched the body as they wailed. The sight was too much to bear and I turned away.
Taking it all in, I realized they were far more intelligent than anything else I had encountered. They weren’t savages, they were their own civilization. They had thoughts and emotions. They were just trying to live their lives, and we tried to kill them for it. I have done many dark deeds over my career, but I drew the line at slaughtering civilians. Sure, I’d bust them up, intimidate, threaten, but I only ever killed combatants. That’s what I thought at least. Now I question every action my company has performed. Was it a terrorist cell I wiped out or was it a neighborhood? Were the bodies we excavated slain hostages or collateral? Was the child I found beneath the rubble slain by the evil I swore to fight, or by my own hands? Those were only the questions that came from our human missions. Every kind of monster we killed, how many were innocent? How many intelligent? How many families have I destroyed in the name of peace?
I had moved blindly, never questioning. I would sleep soundly thinking I was saving lives, working to erase evils and save peace. I was supposed to be the sword that struck down true evils while bureaucrats wasted time arguing. My company was The Wings of Salvation. Instead, I let us be used as The Wings of Destruction.
As the creature guarding me opened the bars and motioned for me to follow it. It spoke softly in its language despite the villain I must be in its eyes. As I walked out I grabbed my satellite phone off the table. It seemed to notice but it did not stop me. It had determined that the phone was no threat. The guard led me through more death and destruction as we walked through the shell of a city. The creatures I passed stared and whispered as I walked down the streets, but none yelled at me, none tried to harm me.
We approached a group of the creatures gathered in a circle, and my guard directed me to step inside. On the floor was an English alphabet laid out in front of me. Two of the creatures approached me, one spoke towards me and the second would spell out the translation.
“You are on trial for your crimes. Do you understand?” The translator spells out. The speaker’s eyes never leave me. I nod affirmatively, but they remain still. I go up and spell my answer instead.
“Yes.” I say the word as I spell it for them, unsure if they can understand my speech.
The translator relays my message and the speaker continues. My eyes shift from speaker to translator to alphabet.
“You are accused of murder, savagery, imprisonment, and genocide. Do you understand these crimes?” I think for a moment on how to word my answer. I take a gamble and see how good the translator is.
“I understand all except for savagery. I know the term but not as a crime.” The translator is quick to understand my answer and relay it. I am amazed at how adept they are. Within a minute the response is spelled out to me.
“Savagery is the crime of inflicting unnecessary suffering instead of a clean kill in battle. Do you now understand your charges?”
“Yes.” I spell. The speaker holds up a golden cube and an obsidian cube. He places them in front of me as the translator spells the message.
“The golden cube is chosen by those who swear to be innocent of their accusations. The black cube is chosen by those who confess to their wrongdoings. Your choice decides your fate.” It takes little thought before I pick up the obsidian cube. There is no denying what I have done.
The speaker takes the cube from my hand and holds it high for all to see. Murmurs can be heard from the entire circle. They eventually each take turns to say something to the speaker but nothing is being shared with me. The speaker then addresses me and the translator writes to me again. He goes slow, sentence by sentence so I can understand this long and important statement.
“You have confessed to your crimes, and so judgment must be passed. You are commanded to be a servant to our people for the remainder of your life. If you do not accept these commands you will not be provided freedom from your cage. You shall aid any request and answer truthfully to any question that is asked of you. Do you understand your judgment?”
“Yes.” Is all I can think to respond. I was sure I would be executed, but I guess I can accept my slavery. With my answer my guard approaches to take me away but the speaker halts him. The translator spells once more.
“We acted only in defense. Our way is to live without causing harm. Why would you attack us?” The speaker’s noble expression had now fallen to an almost pitiful one. He seemed so gentle that the idea of an attack was beyond his comprehension. He looked at me as though I had betrayed him.
“I was told by those who hired me that you were killing humans. I thought you were monsters.” The translator’s eyes flick between me and the alphabet a few times before he relays the message. Once spoken, the speaker’s eyes widen as well. His face is filled with sorrow. He remains still for a moment before speaking one last time to the translator.
“What do you think now?” Was their final question.
I thought hard about this. All my life I had done what I had thought was the right thing. My intentions had always been good, and I sacrificed a lot to fulfill those good intentions. I did what I did here thinking there were monsters inside these walls. I try to justify all that has occurred. Standing now, in front of all that I wronged, I realize how much pain I inflicted. Without a moral compass, without question, a soldier knows no disgrace, and that soldier is more dangerous than anything I have ever killed. Decided, I spell out my response.
“I am the monster.”