Vlad blinked. The impossible child turned and looked the marine directly in the eyes. Vlad felt the gaze of that child penetrate his soul. Every secret he kept, every time he ever wronged another man, every detestable thing he ever said were all laid bare before the child. Vlad's emptiness was on full display to this newborn.
It is too soon for an innocent child to see this
He turned his head away from the infant, unable to hold the gaze. He heard a giggle, then the sounds of nursing. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes,
This child will never get the chance to grow up. He or she will never make friends, play whatever it is kids play in this time, find love, or understand the fundamental meaningless of existence. It does not matter. None of this matters. The Reptilians have won. It would have been better for this infant to never have been born.
His trembling fingers wrapped around the grip of his Colt 2211. It slid out of its holster smoothly and slowly raised up to the side of Vlad's head. The hopelessness of his situation came to him and hit him like an asteroid striking an un-shielded space station. He was alone, with almost no ammunition, and swarms of hungry Reptilians were destroying humanity. What could he do to stem the tide? All was lost.
The spiraling of Vlad's thoughts into a black hole, was interrupted by the screaming of the child. Looking over and re-holstering his pistol, Vlad could see the child's wrappings in the father's hands and he saw that the flailing child was male. The parents spoke in a strange language that even his helmet translator could not figure out, but he could recognize the tone of parents trying to calm down an unruly baby.
Stepping outside, Vlad left the parents to take care of their son in peace. Once out of the cave, he cursed.
Standing at the bottom of the hill was a Dragon, who partially-healed wounds marked it as the same one he fought earlier, as well as hundreds, if not a thousand Reptilians. The Dragon pointed at Vlad with an outstretched claw and roared a challenge, the crimson skin flaps on its throat rattling like the sails of a ship in a hurricane.. Training instincts kicked in and the marine took cover behind a rock. He drew his carbine and made sure that it was loaded with flechettes. The Lizzies began advancing up the hill.
He fired into their front ranks and dropped a couple, but they kept coming. The magazine ran dry and as he reached for the final mag, he heard the child cry. From deep within, a fatherly, parental urge came over him. As long as he breathed, he would hold the line.
“Humanity stands!” Vlad yelled.
“But not alone,” came a voice to his left. Next to him, stood a full platoon of marines in full color, along with dozens of supply crates. Never had Vlad been so happy to see the dull green of the crates! The closest marine removed his helmet and Vlad gasped.
“Lieutenant Jefferson? I watched you die!” Vlad remembered support the Lieutenant's head so he could watch Father Brown pronounce the Last Rites over him as he bled out.
“You did.”
“But...”
“The child called us,” said Sven, “and we answered.”
To his right, Vlad saw what appeared to be a bunch of historical re-enactors, all brightly arrayed. Roman legionaries, Crusaders, Napoleonic soldiers, and even World War III soldiers. All had arms drawn and were prepared to attack the Reptilians.
What child is this that can command the fallen?
“Give the order to attack, Corporal. In this place, the living have rank over the dead.”
“Charge!” ordered Vladimir.
The host went down the hill into the mass of Reptilians, who were swept away by the tide of the dead. Once the battle was over, all of the other soldiers other than Lieutenant Jefferson disappeared. The deceased officer took Vlad up the hill.
“Corporal. You need to stay here and watch over this child. You will see him grow up into a fine man, the finest ever. Listen to his words and take them to heart.” Lieutenant Jefferson handed Vlad a small computer chip.
“Upload it. It's a little upgrade for the translator.”
Vlad did so and the Lieutenant disappeared. Luckily, the crates had not disappeared. Within them was a few decades worth of MREs and a kit to build a hover-mule. He could follow the child around for his whole life.
At the top of the hill, he heard the parents speaking, and he could make out the words they said. The mother was singing a lullaby to the child, who had finally gone silent after the earlier screaming fit. Vlad smiled at the normalcy of it all. It was not much, but it was hope. Hope for the future.
FIN
PART I | PART II | PART III | PART IV | PART V
Picture Credit: "UEE marine defending his Vanguard Hoplite on moon Daymar" by Glenn Batuyong is licensed under CC by 2.0. I cropped the picture and resized it.