Earth Warriors (Undergoing Revision)

Chapter 28 - Human Worth

10 minutes later. Sylvester's office

Sitting at his desk, Sylvester observes the pictures from one file he grabbed. They all contain pictures of past tragedies. Massacres, genocides, famines, all sorts of atrocities across Human history. Or as he thinks at the moment, something the universal community has at the moment.

He shifts around the room, seeing all the stuff in it while holding the picture. He focuses his gaze on every single detail it has, on every fabric of their material and such. For some, it's to contemplate everything they cherish. Nostalgia for great things from the past.

And yet, Sylvester is not secure about it.

All our struggles and strife...and yet we are still here in one piece...

He then glances at a dark metal cabinet with four compartments with a vertical top in them. Stepping up from his seat, he approaches it, his face still stiff and his eyes still narrow. He opens the second compartment, which contains many piles of collectibles like photos, medals and other times from old times.

But there is something that Sylvester glances on something that is that of a black, rectangular case with layered foam. He grabs the case as he closes down the second compartment and heads back to his seat.

Yet what about our own "compass"...our vision of what we deserve?

He unlocks the black case. As it opens, Sylvester's hands tremble more as he sets sights on what he may have been looking for. Something meaningful to him.

It's a metallic yet dusty Barrett M95 sniper rifle said to be an improved version of its predecessor. The rest of the case inside also has some traces of dust as well. Apart from the rifle, there are also a handful of photos, all showing soldiers posing or looking at things during the battles they fought.

Among the photos, Sylvester grabs one located above the scope of it. It shows a picture of himself and other troops saluting at the camera. They stand in a graveyard of sorts near a field, with fifty graves surrounding it, likely ones that were dug by the soldiers themselves. Each grave has a flag of the USA planted in each grave.

Most of the soldiers in the picture have an expression of something that conveyed regret to them. Almost like they have done something far beyond their reach. Some even faced down while using their other hand to wipe something from their faces. Sylvester was one of the few who remained still...yet his eyes were still shut.

Five years ago...All of this...my brothers in arms...why is it coming back now?

He then starts walking around the room as he holds the photo, his eyes still narrow and focused on the photo itself.

"Dulce et Decorum Est," Sylvester whispers. "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge."

Sylvester stops near a portrait of a pair of medals, as he raises his head to focus on them.

"Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge."

"Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;"

He then moves away from the portrait, heading towards his working table once more. At that point, he trudges his way in as he continues to look at the picture and recite something for him.

"Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind." His voice breaks as he finishes the sentence. He then sits on his chair as the tremble softens up yet his puffy face remains.