The clock struck three on the dot. Yuto got up and took a slow, deep breath. The rain had stopped sometime during the night.
Until a short while ago, he hadn’t been able to stop his fingers from trembling, but now, a strange calmness had settled over his body and mind. It wasn’t so much because his resolve had strengthened, but probably more because he had gotten acclimated to being scared and it had numbed his emotions. Humans could be pretty resilient, as he was finding out now.
Yuto knocked on the door from the inside, and Ricky immediately peered in.
“—I’m not feeling too well in my stomach,” Yuto said, trying to sound as pained as possible. “I need to go to the bathroom. Will you take my cuffs off?”
Ricky looked annoyed as he came into the room and unlocked the cuff on Yuto’s right hand.
“I’m not sure… ugh, it’s never hurt this bad,” Yuto grumbled as he staggered toward the bathroom and opened the door. Instead of sitting on the toilet, he bent over the sink. He twisted the faucet and let the water run as he pretended to vomit violently.
Ricky, unable to stand by and do nothing, came inside the bathroom. Yuto glanced at him from under his armpit and spotted the barrel of Ricky’s machine gun. If he could grab the gun and body-check Ricky—
The moment Yuto was about to put his plan into action, a gunshot rang out somewhere.
Ricky spun around and opened the door to peer outside. The gunshots continued.
“Hey, Brian! What the hell is going on?”
“No idea! I’ll go take a look. You wake up the other guys!”
Ricky turned back at Yuto. “Don’t step a foot outside this room, understand?” he roared. “If it’s an enemy attack, they’ll kill you, too. Stay here if you value your life. —But in the unlikely event that I don’t come back, you have to escape from this camp on your own.”
Ricky hastily broke into a run and left without answering Yuto’s question. Yuto had no idea about the enemy, whether they were anti-government guerillas or some other group, but he couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.
He cracked the door open to peek into the hallway, and saw a long line of men heading out, armed with rifles and machine guns. After a while, the hallway went quiet. A battle had broken out somewhere, and the gunshots became louder and more frequent.
Yuto ran down the deserted hallway to Corvus’ room. He paused in front of the door, trying to sense what was going on inside, but he was unable to tell whether Corvus was in there or not. There was no point sitting and waiting. Yuto flung open the door in one decisive move, and burst into the room.
Corvus was there. He was dressed in camouflage and calmly packing spare magazines into the ammo bag attached to his hip.
Corvus’ behavior was no different than usual, smiling at Yuto when he caught sight of him.
“Oh? Did Ricky leave you to fight?” He appeared completely unfazed by the sudden ambush. In fact, he was so calm, it was unsettling.
Corvus removed Yuto’s cuffs and handed him body armour.
“There’s only one. What about you?”
“I’ll be fine. I’m wearing a bulletproof vest underneath my clothes. Hurry up, the enemy is coming.”
Yuto slid his arms through the heavy armour vest.
“Probably the Special Forces of the US military. Most likely on Manning’s command.”
Yuto stared in disbelief at Corvus’ cool gaze. It had only been a few hours since Corvus definitively cut ties with Manning. Even if he were to send the military in immediately, it was hardly probable that an ambush could happen so quickly.
“Looks like Manning was planning to eliminate me along with my men from the start. The only choice he’s left me is to fight back with all I’ve got. —Yuto, those guys are planning to take out everyone in the camp. Hold onto this.”
Corvus drew a handgun from a holster in his thigh and handed it to him.
“It’s a Five-SeveN. Loaded with twenty bullets. Single action. I don’t have to explain how to use it, do I?”
“Yuto, this is a battle. It’s kill or be killed – so don’t hesitate. If you want to stay alive, you have to shoot the enemy on sight, right then and there.”
Yuto had never seen Corvus look so grim before, but he still had trouble coming to terms that he was in the midst of a battle. He, and American, was going to fight with American soldiers. It was all so absurd.
However, if Corvus was right and the goal of the American military was to eliminate every single person in the camp, Yuto would inevitably be left to the same fate.
Dick had also said once that being a serviceman meant that you were expected to go wherever you were ordered to go and carry out missions as directed, without being told why. Even if Yuto were to go out with his hands up, he would only be shot.
As Yuto stood with a tense expression, Corvus picked up the bullpup assault rifle on his desk and lightly clapped Yuto on the shoulder.
“Let’s go. We’re only going to corner ourselves if we stay here any longer. Stick with me no matter what happens.”
“Why?” Yuto found himself blurting as Corvus made to open the door. “Why are you taking me with you? I’m only going to slow you down.”
It was no doubt easier for Corvus to work alone. It was obvious from the start that Yuto, who wasn’t accustomed to battle, would get in the way.
“I told you, didn’t I? You’re my friend. If the need arises, I’ll kill you with my own hands. But now is not that time. I won’t let anyone else kill you. It’s a matter of my pride.”
Before Yuto could say anything, Corvus opened the door and clambered into the hallway. Yuto hastily went after him. The battle had intensified, and it looked like the enemy had managed to enter the building. He could hear gunshots from every direction.
Yuto and Corvus were crossing a passageway connecting their building to another when suddenly a fully-armed American soldier appeared in their path. He was holding a carbine gun and was even wearing night-vision goggles beneath his helmet, which gave him an advantage over Corvus and his men.
Corvus began firing his assault rifle at point-blank range while continuing to press forward. The American soldier didn’t even have time to pull the trigger as he did the dance of death and crumpled to the ground. Corvus passed the body as if nothing had happened, and turned right to exit the building.
Ricky came running, bleeding from his head.
“What’s our situation looking like?”
“Not good. We’ve lost two-thirds of our men, and the rest are all injured in some way or another—”
Suddenly, there was a violent explosion as the barracks across from them was blasted to pieces. The three men crouched down on the spot, protecting their heads with their arms from the flying debris.
“There’s a Jeep parked on the west slope for emergencies,” said Ricky. “Let’s use it to escape. If we stay here any longer, you’ll be killed. I’ll back you up. Hurry!”
Corvus had a bitter look on his face as he watched the camp being mercilessly razed. However, he seemed to come to terms that there was nothing more he could do, and nodded at Ricky.
Just then, a red beam of light focused on Corvus’ forehead. It was an infrared laser sight. Yuto shoved Corvus to the ground, narrowly avoiding a shot that whistled as it hit a tree trunk behind them, leaving a large crater.
An American soldier was standing a short distance away behind a bush. Yuto kept himself low to the ground as he fired a shot back. It seemed to hit somewhere, for the American soldier collapsed head-first into the bush.
Corvus grabbed Yuto’s arm and pulled him up before turning and running into the grove.
Yuto followed after him, and Ricky took the rear. Behind them, Corvus’ remaining men held their ground in their last fight.
Amidst the sounds of gunfire, they heard raised voices.
“Over here! They ran into these woods!”
They were being chased. Yuto’s group hastened their pace, but countless bullets came flying through the darkness. One of them grazed Yuto’s rib.
“Yuto?” Corvus offered his arm upon noticing that Yuto had stopped. “Run! We’re almost there.”
But they had barely taken a few more steps before Ricky was taken down. A bullet hit him squarely in the thigh, causing him to fall heavily to the ground. Corvus and Yuto tried to prop him up from each side, but Ricky pushed them away.
“…I can’t walk anymore. I’ll stay here and fend off the enemy.”
“No, Ricky. You’re coming with us,” Corvus reprimanded. Ricky refused to budge.
“Go! Hurry!” he insisted. “Please go, even if it means you’re the only one who survives…!”
Ricky was already prepared to face death, and nothing could change his mind. Corvus hastily kissed Ricky on the forehead before grabbing Yuto’s arm and setting off.
Yuto felt reluctant to leave as he threaded through the woods. Stiff branches hit his face, leaving countless small scratches, but he had no attention to spare to such minor pains.
A while later, they heard fierce machine gun fire; however, Ricky’s yells – his signs of life – soon went silent.
Yuto gritted his teeth. Although they had barely had a personal conversation, Ricky had been the closest person to him for these past two weeks. The only thing Yuto knew about Ricky was his name; yet, when he imagined how the man had died, he couldn’t help but be overcome with a deep sadness.
Corvus gripped Yuto’s arm as he sniffled.
“Thanks for grieving for one of my men. —I can’t cry. No matter how badly I feel for Ricky, the tears just don’t come.”
It was a painful confession. Yuto felt himself choking up as he thumped Corvus hard on the chest.
“Then I’ll cry twice as much for the both of us.”
“Sounds like an idea,” Corvus said, smiling briefly. “The Jeep is on that slope over there.”
Once they cleared the woods, they could see the slopes of the mountains. A sliver of the moon peered out from a crack in the clouds, softly illuminating a Jeep concealed in branches.
“Yuto, we’re almost there. Hang in—”
Corvus trailed off. A little ways ahead, there was someone standing in the shadow of a tree. Yuto aimed his gun, thinking it was an American soldier, but for some reason, the other man remained still.
The clouds drifted to reveal the entire full moon which illuminated the man’s face.
Yuto’s heart thudded hard. He could not believe who was standing before him.
Dick slowly stepped forward. He was dressed in camouflage, with a helmet, shooting glasses, and a carbine gun.
“What a surprise,” Corvus mused. “You were shot twice, and you’re out here already? Your physical strength knows no bounds. Don’t tell me you’re siding with Manning?”
“I’ve got nothing to do with them. I just happened to run across their ambush. I was surveilling the camp from a distance when I saw the fighting break out.”
“And you bee-lined down here, huh? You couldn’t bear to have someone else kill me. That’s just like you, Dick.”
Dick’s expression remained stony at Corvus’ lighthearted jokes. He walked up to the man, aiming his gun.
“That’s right. I’m going to kill you with my own hands. We settle the score here.”
For some reason, Corvus appeared in no mood to fight back. His assault rifle dangled limply from his arms, and he showed no signs of aiming it.
“Finally come to terms with your fate?” Dick said.
“Yeah. I think being killed by you is marginally better than being finished by those nameless joes back there. Go on, Dick. Shoot me.”
Corvus slowly crouched and laid the assault rifle at his feet. Dick narrowed his eyes.
“What are you getting at?”
“I’m saying that I’m letting you kill me, out of respect for your tenacity.”
Yuto was unable to bear the tension anymore. He sprang in front of Corvus and yelled at Dick.
“Don’t shoot! Please, don’t shoot!”
“Get out of the way, Yuto, or else I’ll shoot you both.”
Dick’s piercing cold eyes indicated that he was serious. For Dick, this was his last chance. If he dallied any longer, the American soldiers would catch up with them.
“I’m not moving. I’ve told you before, and I’ll say it again. I won’t let you kill Corvus.”
“Yuto, how many times are we going to repeat this?” Dick said irritably. “I’m begging you, don’t get in my way.”
Despite Dick’s plea, Yuto refused to budge.
“No. I won’t let you shoot him. —If you kill Corvus, you’ll die, too.”
Dick’s eyes wavered ever so slightly.
“What are you talking about? Are you saying I’ll kill myself?”
“I don’t know. But I know that once you kill Corvus, you’ll lose your purpose of living. I want you to live.”
“—Are you telling me to continue living in a waking hell?” Dick murmured in a pained voice.
“Yeah,” Yuto nodded. “I want you to live, no matter how hard it is. I want you to live life facing the future, not the past.”
Yuto knew that his words were hurtful. It was like telling Dick to forgive Corvus and go on living. He, perhaps more than anyone else, knew about the suffering that Dick had gone through. Yet, here he was demanding the man to forget about it.
Dick’s words were interrupted by a gunshot that rippled through the air. The American soldiers were coming.