Our Solemn Hour

“It never ends…”

Those were the words Marcus growled as I approached him, Dom, and Anya as they watched the flurry of soldiers being wheeled into the hospital doors; shouts and moans echoing across the broken city landscape. Bernie had left when she got called in by Hoffman leaving me to regroup with my own squad.
“Those Gears were guarding Pomeroy Depot.” Anya stated, nodding to some wounded being wheeled past on stretchers, makeshift bandages covering them as they moaned and groaned.

“Pomeroy Depot? As in the Pomeroy Depot just down the road?” I called out, standing in between Dom and Marcus and pointing my thumb behind me while talking to Anya.
“Yeah. That Pomeroy Depot.” She responded.
“Shiiiiiit.” I groaned.
“They’re moving deeper everyday.” I let out a short laugh.
“HA, that’s what she said.” Anya just looked at me, blinked, then face palmed as I burst into more laughter, Marcus slowly shaking his head while Dom formed a grin.

“Good to know Evelyn is slightly back to normal.”
“Whoopee.” Marcus grumbled. “Just what we needed.” Before anyone could respond, a King Raven began to circle in and down onto the pavement, batting the loose strands of hair against my face, Gears disembarking and heading towards destinations on top speed.
“At least we’re getting reinforcements.” Dom commented as we all watched them.
“Yeah, but how long is that going to last? If humanity was a gas gauge in a car, we’re running on reserve right before that dangerous E meaning empty.” I responded, crossing my arms and giving a melancholy half smile.

“What happened to the bundle of optimism I knew and love?” Anya commented. “You’ve been rather gloomy and negative for the past month.”
“Because I can.” I responded while Anya gave an accusing look at Marcus.
“What did you do?” Marcus just narrowed his eyes.
“Why’s is my fault?”
“Because you still refuse to acknowledge the existence of your dead son.” I snapped before I realized what I was saying. I then shut my mouth and felt the suffocating tension enveloping in our small group. Marcus blinked very, very slowly before grunting out a response.

“I don’t want to have this conversation right now.”

I let my crossed arms dropped and rest on my hips, looking away from Marcus’s pissed off face and over the broken landscape.
“Conversation ended.” I responded, Anya then breaking the tension.
“Look, I have to get back to Control.” She said. “Take care out there you three, alright?” I gave Anya a smile.
“I will Anya, you too.” As Anya walked away, the small good cheer I had with it, I then heard a voice pipe up through the clamor.
“Sergeant Fenix? Are you Sergeant Fenix? Delta Squad?” A gear in full armor carrying his gun and kit stumbled up to us. Rookie, it was written all over him, emphasized by the dropping of his Lancer. “I’m your new trainee.” He muttered uncertainly. I’m sure his face was beat red under his helmet.

Talk about a good distraction from our earlier tension.

“Straight out of basic by the looks of it.” I said. “That’s not how you properly hold your gun by the way.” I pointed out, hoping to correct the rookie’s poor handling of the Lancer. The kid had it under his arm and it was slipping again towards the ground. In response, Marcus reached out and grabbed the kid’s gun and shoved it into his abdomen, the kid quickly dropping his kit and holding onto the Lancer the right way.
“You act like an idiot out on the front you might as well stick a round in you now.”
“Uh…YES SIR!” The kid yelled nervously.
“Cut the sir shit kid.” Marcus grumbled. “What’s your name soldier?”

“Uh…Benjamin Carmine, sir!”
“Sergeant.” Marcus emphasized and I looked over at Dom and we both shared a smile as I then nudged Marcus in the side.
“Go easy on the kid. Try to imagine being sixteen and thrusted out onto the front where you have to fight grey monsters that haunted you for your whole childhood.” I said. “When we entered we were eighteen and not in the middle of fighting for survival.” Marcus just gripped his Lancer in his hands and looked at me out of the corner of his eyes.
“I go easy on the kid and he’ll end up shredded to fucking pieces on his first mis-”

Before Marcus could finish his angry comment, the entire area began to echo with the hospital’s alarm system blaring like mad and everyone dropping their shit and heading towards the front doors. Instinct told me that trouble was through those doors and I quickly brought my Lancer into position.
“Shit.” I muttered.
“Dammit.” Marcus hissed. “Let’s get in there Delta, time to train you in the middle of combat rook.” Marcus said to Carmine, as he tromped towards the hospital, Dom and I at his heels and Carmine bringing up the rear.

“Shit, I just got out of basic! I’m not up for this shit!” The kid squeaked. I swallowed past a lump forming in my throat as I walked through the front doors of the hospital, willing my body not to freeze up like it always did when I walked into these doors.
“Neither am I kid, neither am I…” I muttered.
“What?” He asked, probably trying to figure out if I said what he thought I said.
“Nothing.” I responded, standing next to Marcus in front of Jackbot who brought up the image of Anya on the bottom, reporting in.

“You say your name was Carmine? You had a brother?” I heard Dom ask.
“Yeah! All four of us! Well, three know…you…knew one of them?” Ben responded.
“I served with Anthony, he was a good Gear.” Anthony Carmine…now the last name range clear in my cluttered head. He was one of the Gears who was within the squad I stumbled upon when I finally made it back to civilization.

Poor kid died in my lap.

“Anya, you still here?” Marcus asked, Lancer at the ready. The whole hospital shook badly at a hit from a mortar somewhere outside and I grabbed onto the broken counter top.
“Still here Delta, tell Dom I might have a lead on his-” The hospital shook again but Dom’s ears perked up at the sound of his name, knowing exactly what Anya was about to discuss. “On his wife!”
“Anya! What did you find!?” Dom asked, running up to the bot.
“A lead on a Jane Doe but it-” The whole hospital shook again and I cursed.

The Locust were raiding the place and I instantly felt the past closing in on me. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it-
“Shit, shit, got to get back to Control, I’ll fill you in later!” The screen went dark and Dom smashed a hand on the countertop.
“God dammit! Kill these goddamn grubs!” I placed a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s going to be okay Dom…”

“Let’s move out Delta!” Marcus said, pointing towards the only pair of doors not blocked and boarded up, Carmine utterly confused at the whole exchange and hesitantly following Marcus who was giving Dom a Marcus-style look of sympathy. The door opened automatically to Gears shuffling up the stairs and the florescent lights illuminating a kneeled figure, head bowed, and hand resting on a Lancer. His Mohawk head bowed before fully standing up and turning to reveal tattooed and pierced face of South Islander Tai Kaliso.

Tai was an interesting soldier to say the least. Spiritual and mystical when not on duty but when it was time to kill grubs, the man was a machine. Even during the Pendulum Wars, Kaliso was an exemplary soldier and a man you wouldn’t want to fucking mess with.
“Tai, good to see you.” Marcus greeted, Carmine letting out a soft whistle at the sight of Islander.
“You too Marcus, Evelyn, Dom.” Tai greeted back in a heavy accent, bringing his hand and Lancer together and bowed his head in greeting towards each of us.

“Glad to have you onboard.” I said.
“What are we looking at?” Marcus asked.
“Locust raid, follow me.”
“Rather not…” Carmine mutter softly and I let out a soft laugh at that.
“He’s not that bad.” I said, leaning down towards the kid to keep it between us. “Tai might be intimidating but you’re going to want to learn his movements, got it?”
“Yes ma’am.” Carmine responded.
“It’s Evelyn. We’re the same rank.”
“Uhh…right…Evelyn.”

We began to run up the steps littered with broken tables and endless amounts of papers, my body and mind in two completely different places but Dom’s voice bringing me back to the images of when I was walking through here with a three-year-old Carlos on the day he died.
“Locust have some serious fucking sacs, coming in here like this.”
“Doubt it has anything to do with courage…they just don’t know they’ve been sent on a suicide run.” Tai commented back in a calm, mystical voice.
“Thanks for the mysticism Tai.” I said.

“Maybe they’re just desperate…the Lightmass might have hit them harder then we think and they’re throwing everything they’ve got now at us.” Marcus said as we reached the top landing and waited for the doors to open to the next room.
“Including this whole city sinking shit? We lost Tollen and Montevado to unknown massive sinkholes just recently.” I responded.
“Guess something else might be going on down in the Hollow…” Marcus responded. “Who the fuck knows these days.”
“That’s what scares me the most about these things. We don’t know anything about them!” Carmine added in.

“Smartest thing I’ve heard you say yet.” Marcus muttered and Carmine shut up instantly but I gave him an encouraging smile.
“He’ll lighten up.” I heard Dom say. “Give it some time.”
“Marcus? Lightening up? You’ve got more optimism then Tai over here.” I said.
“You know what I mean.” Dom said as the doors opened up into a room filled with coughing patients. I sidestepped them all, not wanting to know what they were coughing over.

“Heads up Delta, these people have rust lung.” Just as Tai mentioned that, a guy near me coughed up brown mucus onto my boot and I grimaced.
“Contagious…?” I asked.
“They don’t say it is, but I’d keep my distance.” Tai responded, looking at my boot. “Never mind.”
“Yeah, spoke too late.” The doors opened up before us and Tai began to speak of the plan.

“Take position on these windows, we have fuel tanks below in the courtyard as part of the ambush.” I dropped down below the window next to Dom and peeked over the top to see crates of explosives and fuel tanks positioned so down in the courtyard.
“Clever.” I commented.
“Tell me about it.” Dom said.
“Wait till all of them are in the courtyard, we want to take out as many of them as we can!” Marcus demanded to everyone around us. An explosion on the other side of the courtyard rocked the ground around us and a door blew opened, signaling the Locust emerging into the courtyard. I peeped over my cover to see the Locust walking silently in, grunting here and there and pointing their Hammerbursts all over the place, probably wondering where we all were.

“NOW! HIT THEM HARD!” Marcus roared and my instinct kicked in along with every other Gear and we shot the fuel tanks and watched a domino effect as the explosions ripped through the courtyard and I shielded my face from the heat, almost being knocked backwards as the courtyard was ripped apart along with the Locust.
“Nice!” Dom called out, looking down at the carnage. “Nothing left!” I looked too and held up my hand for a high five.
“We’re that awesome.” I commented and Dom high fived me back.

“Alright guys, let’s move.” Marcus grumbled and headed off towards one of the doors, following the silent Tai.
“Aww, you feel left out? Want a hug?” I asked.
“No.”
“Bastard.” I said and me and Dom both chuckled, trying to ease the adrenaline as we burst through the doors and the hallway, the directory signs over head swinging like crazy from all of the explosions and that’s when the familiar grunt and roar of a Locust filled my ears.

“DIE GROUNDWALKERR.”

I didn’t need to think, I just acted, diving behind the nearest cover being an abandoned hospital bed and began to fire around it at the Locust running in from the other hallway, spraying bullets everywhere.
“This is KR Seven-Five, can anyone verify what we’re seeing? Do we have Locust inbound over?” My radio crackled with the King Raven’s chatter. Apparently not only were there Locust all over the hospital but Reavers inbound as well.
“Well isn’t that great!” I yelled over the firing to everyone. “Reavers too!”
“Evelyn, just shoot!” Marcus yelled, taking down the last Locust and pushing forward, me following.

“FALL BACK!” Came a roar in the hallway and I ran after them.
“NO FALLING BACK FOR YOU!” I cried, running into the hallway, shooting at the retreating Locust. The windows lining the hallway were rattling and illuminated by explosions from the air battle going on between our KRs and the Reavers. Then, without warning, a Raven lined up next to the window and sighted up and suddenly I felt a body slam me from behind and I crashed face first onto the floor, body covering me just as the windows began to shatter and break from the Raven’s guns, bullets spraying everywhere and I covered my head, bare arms being pecked by flying glass.
“Five-Nine! Five-Nine! Hold you’re fire! There are Gears and civilians inside!”

Marcus’s voice flooded my ears and I then realized who it was that plowed me over and saved me from death via friendly fire.
“Roger that. Keep us posted.” Marcus slowly got off of me and began to shoot down the remainder Locust that were still left after the barrage of bullets. I finally managed to get my bearings and shot everything in sight, shaking off the shaky feeling I was having about the fact that I almost was killed.

“This is Gamma Squad! We need back up at the front of the hospital ASAP! Reavers are landing!” I had a jolt of adrenaline course through me, hearing the female voice yelling about Gamma Squad. My instinct went right to Sergeant Delain, my old leader of my old Squad Gamma before shaking my head. Delain is dead you idiot! That’s not her! Bernie is in charge of that squad now…OH SHIT BERNIE!
“Marcus!” I cried. “We have to go help Bernie!”
“Where do you think we’re heading!?” Was the grunted answer I received, following Marcus through the hallways and towards the front of the hospital.



“Well, well, well! Delta’s here to save the day!” I heard Bernie cry out followed by a sputter of fire from her Lancer. “Sorrens! Squad heading in your direction!”
“See it Sarge!” I ran over and squatted next to Mataki, laying down some fire with her, shooting down a Locust drone moving forward from cover.
“You betcha Bernie! Heard your voice and I knew instantly had to come and help! I was always caring for the elderly.”
“Be careful Evie, or my boot will be up your arse.”
“That will be fun to try and explain to Doc Hayman!” I answered back, before shooting again and feeling the ground shake tremendously as a giant Reaver landed just before us.

“Ahh, shit!” I heard Marcus gripe. “Delta, let’s go down this back alley and flank them! Mataki, try and keep their attention on you!”
“Will do Marcus!” I left my cover and followed my squad down a flight of stairs, giant wall covering our movement as Bernie’s squad continued to lay down fire. We broke from cover and began to rain hell on the Locust, flanking them and pushing them off to the end of the street and away from Gamma Squad and the hospital.

The Reaver was finally defeated and the remaining Locust drones bid a retreat, fire from the Ravens that flew in raining down and shredding them to bits, the battle sounds slowly fading to nothing and I heard the whine of a chainsaw to my right and turned to see Carmine efficiently finishing up the carving of a flailing drone, shoving the piecing away from him and then stopped and blinked at what he had just achieved. There were no more drones and I slowly put my Lancer away, starting a small round of applause for Ben Carmine.

“Nice carving there rook.” I yelled. “Hard thing to get use to but you see to be a natural already!” Startled, Carmine looked over at my and stood up straight, probably beaming somewhere under his helmet.
“Thanks ma-Evelyn!” I laughed and shoved him lightly in the shoulder before looking back at Marcus, walking ahead a little to make sure the Locust were really running away for good.
“Nice work Delta.” He congratulated. “And Carmine…you did good.” He gave a small half nod to Carmine who seemed to bubble up a little bit more. You better kid, Marcus isn’t big on that shit or head nods.

“Thanks Sergeant Fenix!” Marcus turned around to call of Control, Jack appearing and dropping down a screen to bring up Anya’s face as Carmine went to high five Tai but was sadly disappointed to be greeted by a stone face. I winked at the kid before holding up my hand and taking his neglected high five. Kid deserved something, being sixteen and already thrusted face first into Locust fire in Marcus’s squad to boot.
“Enemy threat eliminated, over.”
“Copy that Delta.” Anya finally showed up through the static on the screen. “Everyone in one piece?”
“Yeah, everything okay on your end?”
“It was close but I got out in time.”

“I can see that Anya, still talking to us.” I responded and Anya gave a small smile before Dom rushed up to the screen, obviously not in the mood for catch up time.
“What did you find Anya? Tell me!”
“Uh…” Anya hesitated and I suddenly felt my gut clench and I looked over at Marcus who just heaved a sigh, both of us knowing what was coming next while Carmine looked at the three of us, confusion was evident.
“Don’t bullshit me Anya.”
“That…Jane Doe I mentioned? Fits Maria’s description but she was released a few days ago…nothing after that.” Dom began to fidget, looking around like trying to find something to punch.

“There has to be another lead or…or…something? Please?” He pleaded but Anya slowly shook her head, sadness enveloping her features.
“That’s it Dom…I’m so sorry.” Dom walked away from the screen and began to punch the nearest hull of a truck.
“God dammit, no! I can’t keep losing her!” He threw his gun on the ground and rested his head on the roof, fist clench. Tai bowed his head and seemed to be muttering something while Carmine stood still and uneasy. I slowly walked over to Dom as Marcus said goodbye to Anya.

Another lead lost and it wasn’t something we needed. For fuck’s sake we needed fucking good news! Not this shit! Least of all Dom!

The face of young, pretty, and cheerful Maria Flores Santiago flooded my mind along side the faces of all the other dead and missing.

“You’ll find her Dom…” I said slowly, placing a hand on my old friend’s shoulder before he shoved it off.
“Just…!” He then stopped before letting out a heaving sigh. “I’ll catch up in a sec…okay?” I slowly nodded my head and looked over at Marcus, trading a look before leaving Dom to his grieving self, my heart tearing up even worse at that moment.
“He’ll come around.” Marcus finally said, maybe more to himself then to me.
“Yeah, he will.” I said. But I knew Dom wouldn’t get over this blow.

Doesn’t anyone ever get over it these days? We can shrug off death and more lost hope but it hurts deep inside.



“Yo Carmine! Sit over here man!” Ben Carmine snapped out of his daze and was brought back out of his first battle and thrown back into the mess hall holding his tray of food and noticing Private Fresner waving him over and moving over on the bench to make room for him at one of the tables. Carmine quickly made his way over and sitting down, looking up into the faces of Fresner, Wilson, Provost, and Valezquez along with what seemed to be a seasoned fighter with corn-rowed hair along with calm, friendly eyes set into a dark face.

Kind of reminded him of a younger looking Private Augustus Cole, the loud cheery guy who walked around the barracks.

“How’s shit going for you?” Fresner asked, nudging Carmine’s elbow and sending his fork sliding across his tray, causing Carmine to reach for it again.
“Eh, pretty good, if you call your training session being getting thrown headfirst into a Locust battle.” Wilson spewed out water all over his tray.
“What? You’ve already had your first battle?”
“Yeah! It was intense and freaky!”
“What the fuck! All of us were cheated today! We only had training to do!” Wilson shook his head in disbelief. “You lucky son of a bitch.”

Carmine beamed a little in pride, finally having done something that people looked at in awe about.
“Shit, what was it like? I bet you got face to face with some real ugly ones.” Provost asked.
“Yeah, probably as ugly as your mother.” Valezquez stated, causing Provost to glare at him.
“I suggest you guys relax at the prospect of fighting these things. It’s going to get real boring real soon.” Carmine noticed the unknown cornrow man piped up in the conversation.
“Why can’t we have a little anxiety here? These shitheads are killing us off one by one! I have a reason to fight cause I am not letting them near my mother and sister.” Wilson said, stabbing a finger on the table.

“You have a sister, huh? Can I be introduced?” Provost asked before getting a middle finger from Wilson.
“You’re time will come seeing as tomorrow we ship out for Operation: Hollow Storm.” The guy said again, poking at his plate of food with his fork. Carmine began to eat thoughtfully, still going over the battle he fought today in his head.
“Locust bitches wont know what hit them.” Fresner said, rubbing his hands together. “What squad were you sent to again Carmine?” Carmine was brought back out of his daydream once again.

“Delta Squad.” The table let out chuckles.
“Delta Squad as in the Delta Squad led by Sergeant Fenix and does everything you can possibly imagine?” Wilson asked. Carmine nodded.
“That’s the one.”
“Lucky son of a bitch again!”
“No wonder you were thrown into a firefight your first time out, you’re under Sergeant Fenix.” Provost commented. Cornrow man gave a smile.
“Delta Squad huh? Got Dominic Santiago and Evelyn Reznack still?” Carmine nodded. “You’re in good hands then kid. The name’s Jace Stratton by the way, use to be a Private in Delta for a bit. Was with them when Montevado sunk under their feet. Pretty nasty adventure.”

Carmine took the outstretched hand and shook it.
“I can imagine, doesn’t sound fun at all!”
“No it wasn’t. As awkward as Delta feels now though, you’ll soon be right at home with it, no questions about it.”
“So, what do you make of Fenix?” Velazquez asked
“What do you mean?” Carmine asked
“Is he what you thought he would be like? I mean, you heard about him all through basic from everyone. Pendulum Wars, mostly Aspho Fields...prison break, Lightmass in Timgad.”

Carmine shrugged.
“He’s rather pissy if you ask me. One wrong step and I feel like he’ll bite your head off.” Jace chuckled.
“That sounds like him.”
“What about Reznack there? Got to be weird being in a squad with one of the only woman in a mile wide radius.” Provost said.
“Lucky son of a bitch again.” Wilson commented quietly.
“Eh, I wouldn’t go looking at her man.” Fresner said. “You know the stories about her.”
“What? About being the fuck-buddy of Fenix?” Wilson asked, receiving a slowly head turned from Jace as if the guy didn’t appreciate what he said.

“Well, yeah, you’ve heard. Aspho Fields, grew up with Fenix and Santiago, lived with Fenix, prison break, dead kid, survived a year in Locust territory alone, demanded and insulted Hoffman till he let her back in to the army, searching for her missing father…” Carmine let Fresner to continue labeling off everything about Evelyn Reznack he knew while Wilson just rolled his eyes and continued muttering about how at least she was something to look at while on duty while Jace caught Carmine’s face and slowly shook his head.

Carmine gave a small smiled before finishing up his food, wondering what his brothers would have said about all of this. He would write to Clayton about it, for sure.

He was the only brother he could write too know and not for the first time did Carmine feel his inside tighten up at the thought that he couldn’t talk to Anthony anymore.



“I’m fine with you asking my daughter to live with you for I trust you and I knew a day like this was coming. It was inevitable.” Marcus slowed his walking and looked at Colonel William Reznack, his dark eyes piercing him.
“Glad you’re not going to secretly curse my name behind my back for this.” Marcus responded.
“Never would. You have yet to give me a reason to make me angry with you Marcus, especially concerning Evelyn. I trust her care with you.”
“I’ll protect her with my life.”
“I know you will. She means everything to me. Don’t let me down Fenix.”
“I won’t, Colonel.”

Marcus slowly looked away from Evelyn’s impassive face and looked at the sweeping landscape far below him. They were all onboard a King Raven heading to the rendezvous point far out beyond the safety of Jacinto. Rigs were waiting to be boarded to bring Gears into the heart of Landown to drill and sent them hurling into the Hollow.

Operation: Hollow Storm was commencing.

But for some reason that old conversation with Evelyn’s father was what resurfaced into Marcus’s mind. He couldn’t imagine what he had to have thought of him now, having done what he did. He broke Will’s trust, abandoning Evelyn. He knew Will Reznack had to have cursed the Fenix name behind his back for doing what Marcus did. It wasn’t honorable and it hurt the man’s only daughter. I let you down Colonel, but I promise you this here and now, I won’t do it again. We might not be living together now but my life still comes before her’s. She will live to find you. Evelyn finally turned away from the landscape and her eyes settled into his own, unspoken words passing between them as Chairman Prescott’s voice echoed through the cabin through the speakers, his pep speech beginning.

“Humans are no strangers to war…”