The beginning of the campaign

The next morning, everything was set to leave Blossomhyl. Unit 1, Unit 5 and the third division of the Support Unit were positioned in rows in the courtyard of the headquarters.

Natsuo, Gregory, Olive and their escort were in the front row. At that moment, Richard More got out of the building and walked toward the soldiers.

All the units stood to attention in perfect unison. Richard stopped in front of them.

“Soldiers, today is a great day!” he exclaimed.

Everyone paid attention to what he was saying.

“The goal we’ve always longed for is near! This campaign is only the first step toward a brighter future! We waited with trepidation and this moment has finally arrived: Silence is no longer a threat to us! Humanity has finally taken action! Decades of hardships, pain, suffering… But we endured!” He paused dramatically. “This campaign is a symbol of the Anti-Silence Unit’s determination; a symbol of the rising of a new era: the era we built with our own hands! We’re strong, soldiers, and the future will preserve our names as those of heroes!” Richard spread his arms upwards.

“Yes!” The soldiers replied altogether.

“Stand at ease, soldiers. Let the campaign begin!” ordered Richard.

The soldiers performed the military salute and in an impeccable order headed toward the rail station in the backyard.

Natsuo, Gregory and Olive did the same, escorted by William, Alan and Alice.

Olive approached Alice with a smile on her face.

“Alice, I’m glad that you can come with us!”

Alice kept her composed expression, but slightly softened her tone.

“Yes, at least I know that you’re in good hands.”

Gregory tried to strike up a conversation with William and Alan, but they clearly cut it short. William was walking with his gaze fixed on his feet to avoid eye contact and replied with monosyllables, while Alan was looking at Gregory with contempt and talked in a cold tone.

Gregory felt the tense atmosphere and didn’t insist.

“What’s wrong with them?” he whispered into Natsuo’s ear.

Natsuo shuddered. “Maybe it’s because of your tattoo, the dragon one. Just ignore them, don’t waste yourselves on people like them. If they can’t look past a tattoo, they don’t deserve you.”

Gregory glanced at Natsuo with almost teary eyes.

“I didn’t imagine you had such a high opinion of me.”

“Of course I have it, if not I wouldn’t have accepted you in my band.”

“You’re right, haha!” Gregory laughed good-temperedly and patted Natsuo’s back.

Natsuo was pushed forward like a twig, almost spitting out his lungs.

“Yeah, but measure your strength” he complained.

Natsuo felt a cold aura from behind his back. He turned his head and noticed that Alan was glaring at Gregory. What a nuisance. He could just mind his own business if he didn’t like Gregory.

The group took a cart and headed to the West Castle, which was built just like the North Castle. From another station, the soldiers took carts toward the station that was nearest to Plague’s territory.

Unit 1’s captain informed everyone that the trip would take quite a long time, so that the soldiers could prepare.

When the six of them took place in the cart, Natsuo rested his head on the cart’s wall and closed his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll sleep. Call me when we arrive” he said, then immediately fell asleep.

Alice glanced at him, baffled.

“How did he fall asleep so quickly?”

Olive shuddered. “I don’t know, but you’ll get used to it.”

***

After a four hour trip, they arrived at their destination. Natsuo rubbed his aching back, suddenly missing the comfortable seats of the twenty-first century.

The Units’ captains ordered everyone to put on the masks and guided the soldiers out of the station.

Seeing the conditions of the environment, Natsuo’s eyes widened. The ground was covered with a thick white dust where nothing grew. A few trees were still standing, but they had a greyish colour and few branches, which bent towards the ground.

There was no sound or noise around: a deathly silence reigned in the area.

Everyone headed towards the only building that was there. It seemed like a shelter for soldiers. The Unit 1’s captain knocked on the armored door and, after a few moments, it opened.

The soldiers didn’t waste time and rushed in. When everyone was inside, two soldiers closed the doors.

They were inside a large empty room. There were cots scattered across the floor where injured soldiers were resting. Doctors went from one place to another to help everyone.

Natsuo observed the suffering soldiers, troubled. Their bodies were crossed by white veins and from their empty eyes white mucosa was leaking out, like tears. Some of them were gasping for air in vain and spat mucosa instead.

Olive clung to his arm, horrified.

“How… How is it possible that people can be reduced to these conditions?” she asked with a broken voice.

In Wisteria Town, no one had ever been infected by Silence because the village was too far from the border. Sometimes it happened that animals like birds, that could fly around, contracted the disease and passed it to someone, but the sick were always taken away before Silence reached those stages, so she had never seen someone infected by it.

“It’s terrible” Natsuo replied. “But we’re here for them, now.”

Olive looked up and nodded, comforted by his words.

Natsuo took out his guitar from the case, tuned it and started playing a healing song. Slowly, the sick soldiers resumed breathing regularly, the white mucosa stopped coming out from their eyes and the white veins on their bodies vanished.

When Natsuo finished the song, they were completely fine and able to talk. Everyone was flabbergasted, the healed soldiers more than anyone else.

“Thank you, I thought it was over for me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!” They thanked him.

Suddenly, an explosion was heard coming from outside.

“Damn, they never leave us alone!”