Xaldin smiled and took a good gunner stance, lying in the sand. "This should be over quick. Darkness! Good thing we spotted that shack! It's on the underside of the base, but close enough to where they can watch us move... crafty bastards." He said as he looked through his iron sights.
Derek sighed at his nickname. "Xaldin, I know we're gonna be here a bit, but what'd I say about that nickname?" He asked. Xaldin just rolled his eyes. "Hey, you earned it from all the nights of drinking and edgy voice using... The voice I get, you don't like the sound of your southern accent... but since we deployed, you've done nothing but pound bottle after bottle... What's up?" He asked.
Derek just grunted. "It... helps me sleep. When friends started dying, the nightmares grew... Old heads just told me to drink until they stopped... Now I just like how numb it makes me." He admitted. Xaldin sighed and shook his head. "Uh huh... and in the history of ever, has that really helped ANYONE ELSE you know? Don't bother, it hasn't... You've got too much empathy for this job, is all... no shame in accepting that." he told him.
Both men just looked at each other before Derek lowered his head. "I didn't... want to be here... I wanted to be a musician. rocking out on stage with my band. 'Safe Haven In Valhalla', everyone else gave up... and after my parents were gone... I just chose a job that would keep me financially secure enough to keep them afloat." He said, thinking of his wife Silver and little sister Lisa.
Xaldin nodded and looked at him. "Truth be told, I wanted to join the Yankees! Rejection after rejection though, I was just a young punk not knowing how to deal with my Autism, and parents who never cared where I was or what I did.... I just sort of found my way into the military," he said slowly.
Derek just raised his brow. "Autism? There's that word again... Lisa was diagnosed with something called 'High functioning Autism' The heck does that mean? Smart but a little dumb?" He asked.
Xaldin just glared at him with pure anger. "It MEANS She struggles with certain points of social interaction, but is better at handling it than most you insensitive asshole! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Who talks like that?!" He practically yelled.
Derek put his hands up defensively and raised his eyes. "Sorry! I genuinely don't know... I've spent so much time doing all this mandated training over the years, so I could keep my mind busy... I guess I haven't really experienced much else." He said softly. There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.
Xaldin just blinked and nodded. "I get you... Sorry about that, some of that just sounded a little close to when my dad compared it to Mental retardation... drunken bastard kicked my ass and then wondered why I stayed out all night... At least you have the excuse of not knowing." He said with a deep, focused breath. "I still struggle with Social interaction myself, you know, it's why I never got to go to sniper school... Hell it's why I was never able to fully accept myself for what else I am..." He said as he ignored the look of Confusion on Derek's face.
"... Derek... I never... Felt like I belonged with any groups I was in. I never felt Manly enough to hang out with the other guys... or charismatic to converse with female soldiers... and I kind of feel like I'm... Non-binary.... and because I know you're going to ask, it means I don't identify with either gender." He admitted.
Derek raised a brow. "Huh... Didn't even know that was a thing... How come you're telling me all this?" He asked curiously. Xaldin shrugged. "A multitude of reasons, you never made me feel like an outcast, even after finding out I wasn't just into women, and when you drunkenly slurred my name 'Xavier Aldin' into just one word... I felt like a new person... Thank you, Derek." They admitted.
Derek nodded and smiled. "I See... Thanks for confiding in me, man... I'm gonna try and get some rest for now, I'll cover your watch after I wake up." He said as he closed his eyes. Though without alcohol, he found it hard to avoid the nightmares of Truck and Golem blaming him for his failure to protect them.
The days turned into a solid week as both men watched very little action progress. And Xaldin had barely slept at all. "I think we should call this, it was a mistake to even try this, supplies are low as is" Said Derek as he looked to Xaldin, who was grinning in a dehydrated daze. "Gotta shoot them First Sergeant, I wanna hear the soft 'plink' My firing pin makes when it touches the bullet! plink... plink... plink.." Responded Xaldin. The sun had burnt his face to a reddened crisp.
Derek let out a shaky sigh and patted his back. "I'm gonna have to go investigate, if nothing is there... We'll ruck back." He said as he grabbed his rifle and left the supplies behind. As he neared the entrance. He noticed the inside was just a hollowed path all the way through. "Shit, THEY PLAYED US!" He said as a bullet went through his right shoulder.
A few enemies in hijabs rose up from under the hill on the other side of the fake entrance and rushed to where Derek was retreating. The last thing Derek saw before the butt of a rifle connected to the back of his head was The dune Xaldin was at.
Derek screamed out in pain as he tried to pull out his sidearm, an M9 Beretta, but one of the men grabbed it and hit him in the forehead with it as the other two men laughed. Derek spat in his face as they pointed AK-47 Rifles at him. Derek glared dizzily from his wounds and dehydration. "WHAT?! YOU THINK I'M GOING TO BEG FOR MY LIFE YOU BASTARDS?! WELL I'M NOT! SO GO AHEAD AND PULL THE TRIGGER! I AIN'T AFRAID TO DIE YOU FUCKS! I AIN'T AFRAID TO DIE!" He screamed out.
As they started to pull the Trigger, a bullet shot one of them in the head. The other two men raised their rifles up, but were instantly shot down in rapid succession. Derek grunted and crawled his way back to Xaldin. The pain of his wounds made it feel a mile long as he lay down by Xaldin. "Who was saying 'PLINK!' Over and over. Derek radioed in his location that he had written down and let the Darkness claim him.
Derek grunted as he heard voices over his head. "Where the... Fuck am I?" He asked as he saw that his bullet wound had been stitched up. "Back where you belong! On the base!" Said a thin man with a captain's rank on his chest. "Lieutenant Bradley?" Asked Derek.
"CAPTAIN BRADLEY, Now! And I can see you had a nice, lovely nap on duty!" He said with a sneer. Derek rolled his eyes. "Lovely as always, sir. Where is Xaldin? I need to make sure he's alright after-"
"Staff Sergeant Xavier Aldin has been medically discharged and sent back to his home in New York! Looney bastard just kept saying 'plink' over and over again" Responded Bradley as he saw Derek look horrified.
"Sir... I never got to say goodbye, he was one of my last-" But Bradley stomped his left foot and glared. "Nobody cares about your little romances! You violated protocol to wage a two-man war on a three-man group just because two soldiers were killed? I KNEW it was a mistake to promote you so fast! You'll be lucky if I can't get you written up for a court martial after this, you sorry excuse for a-!"
But he was cut off with a left hook from Derek in a blind fury. Captain Bradley howled in pain as he felt his jaw crack, and medical staff flooded in. "YOU'LL BE SORRY FOR THIS SONATA! I'LL HAVE YOUR RANK! I'LL HAVE YOUR JOB! I'LL HAVE YOUR EVERYTHING!" He screamed while a doctor escorted him from the room.
A few months later. Derek had a hollowed-out stare on his plane ride home. The Army had given him a choice. a few years in a military prison, or a dishonorable discharge, and with his men gone, the answer was clear. "My whole career... Gone... whatever..." He said as the plane landed.
As Derek stepped off the plane. Silver and Lisa stepped forward to greet him. Lisa had grown up so much and so fast, Derek barely recognised her. "HEY BIG BROOOO!" She said as she skip-walked to him and threw her arms around his waist. "I missed you SO much! How have you-?" She started to ask, but Derek only looked at her. She gasped as his eyes had dark circles. like some kind of monster had sucked his soul out.
Silver ran forward and hugged him as well. Derek tried to say something, but he could only squeeze both of them tight as he broke down sobbing. Both women looked at each other in a panic as they just tried to console what would be the first of many of Derek's Panic attacks. "Don't worry, my love... You're home now." Said Silver as she pressed her smooth body against his. This caused Derek's body to relax and calm down.
Lisa grunted as she recognised all too well what Derek was going through. It reminded her of what had happened not too long ago with herself 'Later... he needs me right now!' "She thought as she helped Silver guide Derek to the car, ready to help Derek adjust back to the regular world.
I already love Xaldin. I love the advice he gives to Darkness (I love how he hates that moniker in the past), and that drinking doesn't solve anything. No, it makes things worse. I also find it interesting that Darkness wanted to rock out on stage and become a musician, but took the job with the military because he needed to financially support himself, his sister, and his wife. I read many stories of people who served, and this is sadly very true.
ReplyDeleteI love how Xaldin has a similar story to Darkness where he had other dreams, but his hopes were dashed. I also love how his autism (or mocking it) is a sore spot for him. Darkness means well, but he doesn't understand this just yet.
But I love how this conversation opened both of them up, and that Xaldin never felt he was a man; he feels he's nonbinary, and that is wonderful. The interactions between Xaldin and Darkness feel so real and natural, like two friends who knew each other and confided in each other. I love how natural their dialogue feels.
It also feels sad that Xaldin went from being kind of a cheerful goofball to someone who is slowly losing his mind. I love how Xaldin saved Darkness from his enemies, too.
I can also see why Darkness flew off on Captain Bradley. He was being reprimanded when he witnessed two of his comrades die and another lose his mind.
So after all that, he was dishonorably discharged from the military and is a broken, hollow man. I can understand why he broke down and cried. This was a lot for him. I am glad Silver and Lyte are there for him but his life will change after this. Stuff like this breaks you. I should know.
This was a powerful chapter, man! I am loving this a lot!
Thank you so much! Glad you liked Xaldin! They WILL be returning soon!
DeleteYour writing and story keep getting better and better! I'm glad to see you writing longer and more in-depth chapters! I loved this backstory insight into Darkness and why he is who he is and WHO he is. He's a man who was in a dark place of desperation, giving up on his dreams of being a musician to help support those he loves and taking a hard and dark road to get there with the military. He had to pay a heavy price for it, too, losing friends in the battle field.
ReplyDeleteI love Xaldin and hope we see more of them! I'm really flattered Ashley inspired you and how both Xaldin and Ashley both have autism and are both Non-Binary! xD But, Xaldin is NOT Ashley, he's his own unique character! You did an excellent job of SHOWING us who Xaldin is through his actions, rather than telling us. We can gleam that he has a sharp attention to details and picks up on patterns, and he uses these observational quirks to his advantage on the battle field and I love that! He's also bluntly honest and calls it how it is, but isn't mean about it either. I love how he calls Darkness out on his drinking; he's right, it doesn't solve things and makes things worse! I love the conversation they have about autism, too! Darkness means well, but he's coming from a place of not understanding, not a place of discrimination. Xaldin realises why he reacted so strongly and realises Darkness didn't mean his comment from a place of malice, but misunderstanding! I love that they can have an open discussion and debate like this and Xaldin is comfortable around Darkness and trusts him to come out to him and cites him as being part of that journey, dubbing him with that name! I love it! I really wanna see more of them as I love their dynamic and Darkness needs a friend outside of his wife and sister! I hope they see each other again! I knew right away Captain Bradley was a douchecanoe, but there's nothing left for him to fight for here anymore and its' time to move on for him.
Ah, Darkness is now faced with the OTHER price he had to pay. His friends were killed, but he also missed out on years with his sister and wife, who have changed with the sands of time, and so has he. He's not the same man he was when he left. He's now a broken and traumatised man about to embark on his next battle, the one within himself. Excellent work, dude! I loved this and was immediatly hooked from start to finish! Keep up the awesome work! I look forward to more!
Thank you so much! Darkness suffered through a lot, and so did Xaldin... and it's only starting from here! Stay tuned for the other prices he paid!
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