Broken

Private Jaekzon breathed fast and shallow as he recovered from the fall. He should have been dead, but by the Grace of the Emperor, he still lived. The smell of petrification and sweat made deep breaths impossible, but so did his bruised ribs from the crash. He gagged and rubbed his eyes. Moving slowly, he tried to get to his feet, but his head was throbbing, and the world seemed to tilt and spin. He broke into a sweat. With the palm of his hands, he pushed himself up but not before something slippery and wet moved beneath his body. Looking down, his eyes grew wide in horror as he registered the flayed bodies lying on the ground. It wasn't just one body; it was like an endless mountain of red muscle tissue and bones. In a panic, Jaekzon did a weapon check. That is when he realised that he had lost his equipment and his mount. He was vulnerable in a pile of decaying bodies.

Scanning the area for the enemy or perhaps even a survivor, Jaekzon shivered. There was no movement as far as he could see. He couldn't stay here forever. He had a mission, and he had to finish it. The rest of the regiment was awaiting his intel. He would deliver it if it meant that he would have to crawl all the way back to his commanding officers. Gathering his wits, after praying to the Emperor for protection, Jaekzon started climbing down the hill of corpses. All around him lay unrecognisable bodies of various sizes. They had no skin. Muscles and ligaments were left exposed, and eyeballs of different colours stared at him.

Jaekzon had been flying over Salvation Plaza, scouting ahead for the Lunar Ventorii. The mission was simple, in and out. But, unfortunately, he had been seen, and his wyrm had been shot down. He landed in this pit of flayed bodies. At this point, the bonemen were likely searching for him. He would not remain undiscovered forever. He had to leave this place if he wanted to survive.

Jaekzon heard the sickening sound of bones breaking nearby. He slowly lifted his head and saw the 'Bonemen', two of them, searching the corpses. Instinctively, he reached for his weapon, but he must have lost it at some point when he had fallen off his wyrm. He pulled out his wyrm scale blade from his boot, the blood sloshing around him. Jaekzon started squirming until he was deeper inside the remains.

As the fluids started moving around him, he held his breath and closed his eyes. Jaekzon prayed silently for the Emperor's protection. Finally, Jaekzon did not hear anything, and the sloshing stopped. He waited to be sure that he remained undetected and resurfaced. Then, he started making his way in the opposite direction, still keeping out of sight. He had to get out, but he didn't know how far he still had to go.

Jaekzon gagged as his hands slipped off the exposed muscle of one of the bodies making a sickening sound. Then, as he progressed slowly toward the end of the heap, he felt his hand close on something sharp. Jaekzon sucked in his breath through his teeth. When he felt the weapon's hilt, he closed his hand around it and brought it up to his face. Jaekzon prayed he was wrong but recognised it immediately as a blade made of wyrm scale, like his own.

Jaekzon's mind recoiled. He couldn't fight the 'Bonemen' with blades, and he couldn't dwell on the fact that some of these were likely the bodies of his brothers at arms. There was nothing he could do but forge forward. As he trudged along, he uncovered more weapons. The pistols he could find were soaked in blood and rendered useless.

When he would finally find the rest of his regiment, Jaekzon would explain to the Commissar that he needed a weapon. He told himself that he would be allowed to live and fight another day. He kept trudging forward when he heard a low moan which turned into a high-pitched mewling. His heart sank as he looked down at the pool of crimson, which was now mixed with green ichor. Jaekson diverted from his straight line and followed the sounds and the ichor trail, knowing he would soon be reunited with his partner, Brazen. Waves of crimson slush mixed with green ichor made his advance difficult. Soon, he stood next to his obsidian and ruby-coloured mount. Brazen lifted his head. Jaekzon could have sworn he saw pain and love in the creature's eyes. The animal moaned once again. Jaekzon placed a hand on the side of the wyrm's neck. Tears ran down his cheek. The animal's wounds were far too severe. Jaekzon summoned as much strength as possible and plunged his blade into the beast's carotid artery.

Jaekzon could hear the 'Bonemen' approach, but he kept his eyes on his wyrm even as he heard the metallic shuffling of 'Bonemen' approaching his position. Then, when the animal took its last breath, Jaekzon exhaled loudly as the last bits of hope left his body. Sitting down with his back against his companion, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. The 'Bonemen' were speaking, but he could not register their words. Instead, he opened his eyes to see her beautiful face. Clarisse, the love of his life, was there with him. She had dressed up for their anniversary. Jaekzon smiled softly. He brushed her cheek as he produced a luminescent flower from behind his back. Her silver eyes twinkle in the moonlight. Clarisse embraced him, and as she did, he felt his heart beat faster as his skin tingled. Clarisse put her lips to his ear and whispered, 'It's okay, Jaekzon. I love you. You can rest now.'