The Little Prince in the Ossuary
Chapter 64

00064

#Seventh California, Camp Roberts (1)

When the defense of the camp was over, the battalion commander convened the key executives.

However, there was an exception. In a place full of officials ranked as captains or higher, Gyeo-ul simply stood out. No one could ignore that he was a junior, and some of them felt a little uncomfortable.

The battalion commander looked pale. He looked like he was suffering from a hangover, and the smell of alcohol lingered around him. Perhaps he had drunk a little more than usual to celebrate Christmas. He pressed his fingers against his temple and said, “Report.”

The executives glanced at each other. It was obvious why he’d gathered the people in charge while the situation was under control, but even Gyeo-ul didn’t know what he meant by “report.” Things were still urgent outside.

In this case, the highest rank had to take charge. Captain Markert, commander of Able company, hesitated at first but still forced himself to ask, “Commander, what do you want me to report?”

“Everything!” The battalion commander burst into a rage. “The chief of operations knows nothing! What the hell is going on? If you’re on duty, you should at least know how the battle broke out! Almost an hour after the outbreak of hostilities, I can’t believe he’s managed to regain the command! How can this happen?!”

Then he pointed toward Gyeo-ul.

“You! I heard it was your first time reporting a risk. Is that true?”

Gyeo-ul answered with his head raised a little. “That’s right.”

“Then you know better than him! Tell me the whole story!”

By this point, the commander’s face had gone red.

The radio soldiers at the battalion headquarters had been watching the battalion commander since earlier. As communication recovered, it became clear that the superior unit was looking for the battalion commander. However, since he didn’t know anything and was in no position to respond, the commander must have assembled the others in a hurry.

In Gyeo-ul’s eyes, the battalion commander was being angry deliberately. He wanted someone else to blame for all the chaos, damage, and the fatal loss of control in the defense.

It implied that he wanted to wash his hands of it.

The intention was so obvious that the executives didn’t look very good. Therefore, the battalion commander became even more eager. It was a bad loop.

Gyeo-ul did not want to cooperate with public execution. Still, he had no choice but to answer.

“I was joined yesterday by Lieutenant Jeffrey Brown, commander of 3rd Company, 1st platoon, on a mission to look for abnormal frequencies. Basically, it was reconnaissance, but if the source of the abnormal frequency was the Tricksters, the order was to capture or kill as many of them as possible.”

“I know that! You captured it alive, didn’t you? Why did you think it was dangerous?”

“The mission was too easy. I had a strong feeling that it let itself be caught on purpose.

“Isn’t that just a personal feeling?”

“No. At Atascadero, we met the same species, which demonstrated cunning by testing our firepower with infected babies or luring us into traps. But this one acted on its own; it had no traps, and it didn’t resist after it got caught.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely weird. It’s very strange,” the battalion commander conceded.

Gyeo-ul paused for a moment before continuing to talk. “It can’t happen in many places at the same time. The same goes for several missing helicopters. So I thought the Trickster might have deliberately infiltrated, and I asked the head of the on-call command to tighten the guard at the base.”

“And yet your request was denied?”

“…Yes.”

“The chief of operations said Charlie and some of Able Company were the first to respond, and they were in combat deployment before they were ordered, but they didn’t know why. Were you involved in that?”

“Yes. I recruited Captain Capston and some of Able Company privately.”

It was a strong indication that they shouldn’t waste any more time discussing responsibility. Who would take issue with the boy officer’s decision now? The battalion commander shut his mouth.

Captain Capston didn’t miss the chance. “Commander, I think we’ll have to postpone the report until later. We’re in a hurry.”

“Hasn’t the fighting ended?”

“The fire is spreading along the river. We need to extinguish it quickly.”

“There’s a stretch of barren land between the riverfront and the perimeter of the base. The base won’t be in danger.”

“However, it’s still dangerous. If we don’t have a clear view, the firepower operation will be disrupted. Both close air support and mortar fire will be disrupted immediately. We need to be prepared for further raids.”

If you didn’t know where the shells were falling, long-range firepower above the mortars would be useless.

The battalion commander then asked, “Do you think there will be another attack?”

“There was a jamming wave throughout the defensive battle. That means there were multiple Tricksters leading the offensive. I don’t think we should let our guard down.”

It was a realistic warning. Considering their cunning, the Tricksters could have been aiming at loosening their defense due to the success of the defensive battle. Thick smoke would reduce both alertness and engagement.

However, the battalion commander was still being negative.

“Isn’t it dangerous to send troops out in this situation?”

This time, Bravo Company Commander Russell Escher said, “It’s necessary to calm the internal turmoil. The water supply facilities across the national road are dangerous. If the fire spreads to the main stream east of the Salinas River, it will become very difficult to extinguish. We have to hurry.”

The Salinas River, which was long from the north, divided east and west about three kilometers north of Camp Roberts. The western tributary was the Nacimiento River, where the fire had started, and the eastern was the Salinas.

The problem was a drought that had lasted more than a decade in California. The Nacimiento River had survived, but its eastern stream had dried up to the bottom. Thanks to the recent rain, the water was not lacking. However, it was like a stream, not enough to handle fires in large forests created when rivers reached their peak. It meant that even if people were put in, it would be hard to stop the fires if it was too late.

The battalion commander made up his mind at the repeated requests. Thanks to turning the topic around, his anger from before had already subsided somewhat. After making up his mind, orders poured out quickly. It was the first time that Gyeo-ul had witnessed this.

“Okay, I’ll send in the refugees. Able and Charlie will take care of it. Able will take the west, and Charlie the east. We will mobilize personnel and deploy troops to guard the perimeter. Use the car as needed. Besides the water supply car, there was a fire truck that you recovered before, right?

“That’s right. We’ve got one in San Miguel.”

“Which way should we send it?”

“We should send it to the west,” Captain Capston answered immediately. He didn’t want to engage with Captain Markert over this. The battalion commander nodded.

“Okay, Bravo and Delta are in charge of camp defense and refugee control. Supply department, please come up with EMP measures and expedite the restoration of the facility! Start right away!”

“Commander, I have an opinion.”

One word from the boy officer made everyone falter, even the battalion commander. When he’d raised his voice earlier, it didn’t sound strong for Gyeo-ul. It was all due to the psychological debt.

Gyeo-ul, trying to save time, began to talk even before it had been allowed.

“The Trickster wasn’t the only one caught here. As you may have guessed, the assault was on another base. Shouldn’t we have a rescue team ready just in case?”

It was a problem that everyone had overlooked in the rush to deal with the immediate situation. They didn’t think about it, or they turned away because they were still tired.

“Captains, get out of here.”

The battalion commander beckoned. The captains saluted and ran out. In the meantime, Captain Capston caught his eye momentarily. He was still worried about Gyeo-ul.

After everyone left, the battalion commander then asked the operation chief, “Have you heard anything from any sectors other than the command?”

“Fort Hunter Riggett, Sierra Supply Depot, Barstow Supply Depot, Marine Mountain War Camp, and Vandenberg Air Force Base are all safe and sound. There’s no information on anywhere else.”

“What about San Luis Obispo?”

“No contact.”

Though close to the city, San Luis Obispo’s camp was home to a larger refugee camp and civic reserve than Camp Roberts, so the number of personnel was large. The First Battalion of “Seventh California” was also there. The battalion commander had a special bond with his colleagues in the same regiment.

Camp Roberts was the closest U.S. military presence to San Luis Obispo, although it was dozens of kilometers away. If anything were to happen there, it should get support from the 3rd Battalion of “Seventh California.”

The battalion commander shook his head. “No, it’s just that we haven’t recovered the network yet. That’s where the regiment was stationed. It couldn’t have been that easy.”

Gyeo-ul pointed out again, “In the event of a surprise, you never know.”

Now the battalion commander sighed. “Even so, I can’t afford it. We have fewer troops to compensate for the accumulated losses. Considering the safety of the camp, there are only a few troops that can be sent out. What can a company do against an enemy that can’t even handle a regimental combat unit?”

“It would be better than nothing.”

“Umm…”

After a while, the battalion commander gestured for them to leave.

“I’ll go over your opinion. First of all, help Charlie Company. Markert, you’re close to the Chinese, so there’ll be no problem mobilizing manpower, but not Capston. You’re going to have to be here. I’ll page you when I need you.”

It meant that Gyeo-ul had to be included if reinforcements were formed. At this point, he didn’t care. It didn’t matter, and so he simply saluted and headed out.

If one were to examine the earlier words of the battalion commander, they would see that he had been reading the relationship between the forces in the camp even though he seemed so negligent.

‘Ability and will are not necessarily proportional.’

On the way, he saw the hard work of the supply department soldiers. They were repairing electronic equipment, wrapping insulators around each wire, and packing them in foil again.

When he arrived at the refugee zone, some Charlie Company members were having a hard time. Sergeant Moselle of the 2nd platoon was not very close to Gyeo-ul, but as soon as he saw him, he was very pleased, perhaps due to the influence of the previous night and the current situation.

“Good to see you, lieutenant.”

“You still haven’t got the manpower?”

“No, that’s settled. The executives here have been very cooperative. However, the atmosphere is unusual, but they don’t answer even if I ask why. The company commander left me because I didn’t want to go. Wouldn’t it be difficult if there was a riot? I was wondering if I should search every tent.”

If everyone was keeping their mouths shut the same, it was a little strange, and it would mean that they wouldn’t be able to find an answer, even if they asked the few people who could communicate. Communication itself was a challenge, after all.

Gyeo-ul answered, “You’ll be fine with me. Let’s find out what’s going on. We’ll be following you soon, so go ahead.”

“Yep.”

Jang Yeon-chul approached quickly when the sergeant left.

“You’re here, Captain.”

Gyeo-ul could read nervousness on his face.

“Was it okay last night?”

“Oh, yes, thanks to your warning… I’ve informed all the organizations I can reach, and the hostile organizations have prepared themselves without telling me. Manager Min said that thanks to this incident, he got to know a few more people planted by other organizations.”

That was entirely a good thing. However, the reason for the nervousness in the camp had yet to come out. Gyeo-ul asked again.

“So, what’s going on?”

Yeon-chul hesitated before he sighed. “We tried to take care of it before you found out. But…”

“It’s already late. Go ahead.”

“…You’d better see it for yourself. I’ll take you.”

He guided Gyeo-ul to a tent in the alliance zone. There was a faint sense of illness. He could guess the situation.

The people inside were surprised to see Gyeo-ul, including a woman in the middle, who was protesting with a weapon in her hands. Swinging and forcing people to retreat, she hardened like a statue upon seeing Gyeo-ul.

“Captain…?”

Gyeo-ul saw a child lying on his back. His limbs had been tied tightly, and someone had put a gag in his mouth. The boy’s skin had turned black and blue, and bite marks were clear on his face.

Gyeo-ul pulled out a pistol.

“Don’t!”

The woman came running with her knife raised. Gyeo-ul aimed at her before she could reach him. The tip of the knife stopped at arm’s length. A scream came from the crowd watching.

Gyeo-ul, looking calmly at the woman, put down his gun.

“Is that your son?”

Choked by this simple question, the woman couldn’t even speak, and so she simply nodded. There came a sobbing sound, as well as the suppressed scream of the infection mutant overlapping it. Gyeo-ul looked around. There were many sturdy men holding things like clubs. They seemed to have tried to suppress it by force, but he could see people bleeding from shallow injuries. There were no serious ones, however.

The mother was really strong. Gyeo-ul couldn’t believe she had been dragging this out against all those guys. It would never have been a short time.

Gyeo-ul then spoke up. “That’s not your son anymore. That’s something else that took over your son’s body.”

Her hands had now tightened. Gyeo-ul continued.

“You know what I’m going to do.”

“No… I can’t. No one can touch my kid! If you touch him, you’ll die!”

Her eyes were wild and wide open. Gyeo-ul nodded.

“Do it.”

“What?”

“If you want to stop me, stab me.”

The [Sense of Survival] strongly warned Gyeo-ul by every means it had. Nervous shudder, red sharp augmented reality warning, attack prediction, etc. The probability was half, practically half a chance of dying.

Objectively speaking, it was now better to subdue the woman. Better, but the stone in his heart was too heavy. On the one hand, he felt that it was ridiculous to do this to a virtual personality and thought of his rose; on the other hand, Gyeo-ul always followed his heart.

What was left of the boy beside his heart?

It was not acting; it had been a long time since he had said this with such sincerity.

“I won’t blame you if I die. It’s not that I don’t understand, but I can’t leave your son as he is. This is my duty. When I became the leader of the Winter Alliance, I promised to protect people.”

“…”

“Actually, I think it’s a mother’s role, but I have to do it because you won’t do it yourself. Someone needs to close his eyes.”

The edge of the blade reached the approaching Gyeo-ul again. However, it was pushed back by Gyeo-ul as he continued walking. The weak sword, leaving only one small mark, had been frightened away by the blood droplets.

Until Gyeo-ul knelt down in front of the infected child, the woman could not stab him. She cried and pulled, and yet Gyeo-ul refused to shake.

Gyeo-ul then brought a gun to the mutant’s temple. The tip of the knife touched his back, and it felt sharp. After waiting for a while, Gyeo-ul spoke quietly.

“I told you. You can stab me.”