22nd day of summer, 9132, the Unic Reckoning. Near Bakair, Polopia

  It was already late, and everyone was slowly preparing for bed, except for a few unlucky souls on watch duty. The camp was quiet, and the soft conversations were gradually dying down.

  “It’s going to rain” Sensitive said suddenly, looking at the sky.

  “Fuck, always when I’m on watch” Hungry growled angrily.

  “My mother always said that if someone has bad luck, it means they’ve done something wrong in life, and now the world is demanding retribution” Believer chimed in.

  “Believer I don’t know how to tell you this without crushing your fucking little heart, but we’re in the Company. We do practically nothing but bad things. If what your mom said were true, we’d all be the unluckiest bastards alive” Hungry said irritably.

  “I know” Believer replied calmly. “It’s just more proof that the gods don’t exist. If they did, the Commander would’ve lost the privilege of breathing long ago, and the Black Mage would’ve never set foot in this world.”

  “Maybe” Sensitive replied, but after a moment, he added: “Or those whoresons are so powerful that even the gods are afraid of them.”

  “That…”

  “Don’t you have anything fucking better to do in your free time?” they suddenly heard a voice they really didn’t want to hear.

  “We do” Hungry replied hastily. “You can go to sleep, Lukewarm. We won’t wake you.”

  “I’m not going to sleep yet” Lukewarm replied with a broad smile.

  Without waiting for a response, the big, broad-shouldered man headed to his tent.

  “Who’s the lucky one this time?” Sensitive asked quietly.

  “The new blond” someone whispered.

  “Poor kid.”

  “Keep talking like that, and you’ll take his place” Hungry growled.

  No one said anything else. Everyone hurried to their tents. They knew that if they didn’t fall asleep quickly, they might have a serious problem with that later.

  ***

  23rd day of summer, 9132, Unic Reckoning. Near Bakair, Polopia

  Lukewarm emerged from his tent like a new man. He happily went to wash in a nearby stream. It was clear that he was in a good mood.

  “I thought the rain would muffle it a bit” Sensitive said quietly.

  “At least you could stick your head in your own ass in your tent. I had to pass by his tent on patrol every now and then” Hungry hissed, making sure Lukewarm didn’t hear him.“At least he won’t to bust our fucking balls …” Beliver chimed in. “Unless Little Eye fucking pisses him off with something.”

  “I’ll fucking piss you off in a second, you filthy dick” Little Eye said wearily as he passed by.

  It was a relatively nice day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the wind wasn’t too biting, and the air was crisp. If only everything would dry quickly and the damn mud surrounding them would disappear, everyone would be quite happy.

  Lukewarm returned from the stream and, whistling softly, approached Little Eye.

  “Nice day, huh?”

  “Since you’re talking to me, I assume the kid’s alive.”

  “He was alive when I left, and he didn’t look like he was about to die anytime soon.”

  “Interesting. Were you in for some tender fucking yesterday or something?”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Little Eye” Hungry said, walking up to the medic, throwing an arm around his shoulder, and then pressing a knife to his cheek “Shut the fuck up, you dick.”

  “If you cut me, I’ll leave you to die next time, you filthy prick.”

  “I see my ladies, that our camp is full of love. Sort it out between yourselves, but first, Little Eye patch up my new teddy bear” Lukewarm ordered, straightening up and crossing his massive arms over his chest.

  That was the only warning anyone would ever get from Lukewarm. Both soldiers nodded reflexively, immediately stepping away from each other. Little Eye headed toward Lukewarm tent. Hungry watched him for a moment, then looked at their squad leader and asked:“Have you thought about gagging them?”

  “No” the leader replied honestly.

  “Will you think about it for the sake of the rest of us?”

  “No. I shit on your sake.”

  Hungry wasn’t expecting a different answer. This was the Company. Here no one cared about others unless they were on the battlefield, and certainly no one cared about anyone’s comfort.

  “It was worth asking” Hungry said, heading off to get his breakfast.

  He’d eat and get some sleep. At least he wouldn’t have to listen to all that screaming and begging as a bedtime story. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of what Lukewarm did to the young boys in his tent. He’d cleaned up the bodies of a few of them. He’d rather die with his throat slit than end up in that state.

  “I even started to like him, you know?” Lukewarm said suddenly.

  “I don't want to know that.”

  “I think I'll keep him for a while.”

  Hungry stopped immediately, then looked at Lukewarm in disbelief.

  “Seriously?”

  “He knows what he's doing.”

  “So why was he yelling like a fucking maniac? I thought he was finished.”

  “I thought you didn't want to know the details.”

  Hungry grimaced expressively, then waved his hand, walking away. He really didn't want to know the details.

  Little Eye entered Lukewarm's tent, then glanced at the boy lying on his stomach, naked.

  "Very bad?" he asked, approaching him and spreading his buttocks.

  "It's been worse," the boy replied in a tense voice.

  "It's been worse, or it could be worse?"

  "It's been worse..."

  Little Eye didn’t plan to pry further. Everyone in the Company had their past. It wasn’t for others to judge.

  "I’ll patch you up and do what I can. You know what you need to do with this, right?"

  "I do."

  "And yet, I don’t trust you with it. When I’m done, I’ll tell you everything again, just to be sure. I don’t know what kind of butcher put you back together before," he said, getting to work.

  The boy didn’t comment on that in any way. Instead, he patiently followed all the instructions and tried not to make any sounds. You could say a lot about Little Eye, but no one would call him gentle or patient, so the patient’s behaviour earned him a bit of respect from the older soldier. When he finished, as promised, he explained everything again. The boy listened carefully and repeated the most important information. The medic smirked, then asked:"Are you staying here for long?"

  "Do I have an option to opt out of this arrangement?"

  "Everyone does," Little Eye stated, making it clear he was talking about suicide.

  "No, thank you," the boy replied firmly.

  "I’d say you’re choosing a shitty life, but I’ll spare you the ass joke."

  "Still better than before."

  Little Eye raised his eyebrows slightly. That was his only reaction to the assurance. Maybe he would’ve made more of an effort if he cared even a little, but… Well. In the end, he didn’t care at all. Something else interested him much more.

  "Planning to die soon?"

  "What? No. Why would I…" The boy protested, but Little Eye didn’t let him finish.

  "And to be nice to Lukewarm?"

  The boy didn’t answer right away. He clearly preferred to think carefully about this particular question. After a moment of silence, he declared with determination:

  "Yes. I won’t let myself be replaced so easily."

  "Even after this?" Little Eye asked, nodding toward the boy’s backside.

  "I’ll make sure it doesn’t end like this again."

  "How?"

  "Whores have their ways."

  Little Eye laughed hearing this assurance. He patted the boy on the shoulder, then said:"I’ll tell Lukewarm to stay away from you for a few days. Take care of yourself, Sweetheart."

  "I don’t like…"

  "Get used to it, because that’s your new name," Little Eye declared firmly, leaving the tent.Sweetheart didn’t protest. The first thing he learned about the medic was that the son of a bitch had killed as many people in the squad as he had saved. For now, he counted himself among the lucky ones and wanted it to stay that way.

  Lukewarm was just finishing breakfast when Little Eye joined him.

  "I patched up what I could, but if you’re not bored with him yet, keep away from his ass until I say it’s fully healed."

  "What if I refuse?"

  "Then you’ll have to find another one."

  Lukewarm nodded, then asked:

  "Are we talking only about his ass?"

  "Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend throwing him around or doing anything that might reopen the wounds.""I’m not stupid."

  "No one stupid commands under the Commander. But 'brutal' and 'sadistic' are words I could easily use to describe you."

  "You’re lucky you can heal us."

  "If I couldn’t, I wouldn’t be here with you today."

  Lukewarm grimaced slightly but didn’t comment. Even if he wanted to, he didn’t get the chance. A piercing scream from deep within the camp abruptly ended their conversation."Bird!""Fuck," hissed the large soldier, quickly finishing his breakfast and running toward the source of the scream.