It would be an eventuality that they found a village. In the distance, it looked like any other. A home for shepherds and their flock of goats. But as they got closer, the image became clear. The place was deserted. No human or livestock in sight, not a single soul could be heard. Ben knew he had to go there to talk to the locals to see if they knew anything about the ambushes. He expected people to be there. Instead, everyone vanished.

  As the Humvees stopped at the entrance of the village. Dust kicked up as the armoured vehicles screeched to a halt. There was something wrong with that place. Everyone could sense it. The air was cold, the trees and grass looked sick and whittled. Clothes hung out to dry swaying against the wind. The food on carriages rotted away under the hot sun. If people had left, it would be in a panic.

  Ben hopped out with his M4 in hand. ‘We are going to stop here and see what happened.’ He pointed to the group in the first Humvee. ‘You all search the area outside of the village. Bahnam, you’ll stay with me in case we find anyone.’ Ben turned to Curly and everyone who was in the Humvee with him. ‘We’ll search the village. Find anyone and figure out what happened here.’

  Everyone acknowledged Ben before heading out to conduct their search. Scanning the area for any hostile activity or any clue as to what happened to the people who once dwelled in the area. There was a massacre, that was clear. All they needed to do was find proof of the murder.

  ‘You are taking this a bit too casually, Sergeant.’ Behnam commented. ‘What do you think of this place?’

  ‘Nothing positive. But right now, we need to search this area.’ Ben turned to Curly to relay some more orders. ‘Corporal, you’ll search the east while Behnam and I will search the west side of the village. It doesn’t look like anyone is here, but be on high alert.’

  Without saying anything, Behnam followed Ben’s lead. Watching his back as they search through every house for any signs of life. Yet, despite how many homes they searched. They couldn’t find a soul, but Ben believed there was a battle of some sort. There was blood. It wasn’t a scene of gore, but there was blood on the floors in some houses and even outside of them.

  However, what caught Ben’s eye were the marks on some of the walls. Eerily to him, it looked very familiar to the damages the convoy had sustained in the images he was shown. Something doesn’t add up!

  Behnam and Ben readied themselves to search for the last house. Ben counted to three, using his fingers to prepare his comrade to breach the building for the final time. As they stormed the mud house, their weapons raised as dictated by their combat doctrines. The house, like so many others. Was empty. Defeated, they lowered their weapons. There was no point in being at the ready.

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  ‘Nothing.’ Behnam groaned as he examined the house. ‘What happened here?’ He lowered his voice to a low mumble. Even if he was doing his best to hide it, Ben could tell he was devastated to enter a deserted town. There were no bullet casings or any signs of battle. But there was no denying that there was a stench of death. People died here, and they were too late to prevent it.

  Ben rested a hand on Behnam’s shoulder. ‘You okay?’

  ‘I’m fine!’ He replied after knocking Ben’s hand off. ‘We should get a move on, I don’t…’

  ‘Sarg!’ Curly’s voice rang from across the village. ‘We found someone!’

  Without hesitation, Ben and Behnam ran to the other side of the village. If there was a survivor, they could figure out what happened to everyone in the village. Get some answers they desperately needed.

  Both men barged into a home to see Curly and two other soldiers having their weapons trained on a terrified kid with his hands raised in the air. Almost on the cusps of bursting into tears.

  Furious, Behnam knocked their rifles away and swore at them in Pashto. Curly was about to speak up, but Ben shot him down before he could speak a single word.

  ‘Get out, now!’ Ben ordered the three men. ‘Patrol the area and help the other group.’

  Curly frowned, he opened his mouth, but closed it before he could say anything stupid. He gestured to his team to leave the house to not catch the ire of their Sergeant.

  Meanwhile, Behnam slowly put his FB Beryl on the ground and pushed it away as he approached the kid. Speaking in a language they would understand. The kid breathed heavily as if he was about to get into a panic attack. Ben knew that look, that expression of terror. His heart sank as he realised the child saw something no kid should witness.

  ‘I’ll wait outside. Call me if you need anything.’ Ben calmly said to Behnam as he left the house for them to be alone. He had no doubt that him being in the room would make the kid hesitant to speak. Behnam would be a better fit to calm them down and get any answers from them.