The 121st Ranger's objective was to assassinate the mastermind of the terrorist organization and destroy the facilities they were secretly operating in the desert.
They moved at the crack of dawn and raided the terrorists' secret base.
Although the enemy's forces were large, the teamwork of the Ranger unit, which was like a family, was more than enough.
In fact, it was so easy that I felt foolish for being nervous.
All I had to do was complete the mission.
Same old, same old.
But the relief didn't last long.
-Evacuate!
Wherever they were hiding, a force that could easily be twice the size of the existing security force poured out.
The sight of enemies rushing in like they were covering the desert sands was like facing a sandstorm.Under Lorraine's calm command, they fought as best they could, but the overwhelming difference in numbers and firepower was not easily overcome.
Moreover, the enemy had learned of the raid and had dug a trap.
The 121st Unit had no choice but to flee desperately.
A hail of bullets. The beating sun. The scorching heat of their skin. The gritty taste of sand filling their mouths.
The food they had brought with them froze, and the water in their canteens slowly ran out.
But it was the sacrifices made during the retreat that hurt the most.
-Shit! Miller's dead!
Boris was fuming in the desert heat. He stomped his feet, glaring at the sandy floor with bloodshot eyes.
Miller had died trying to escape the trap.
The others were speechless, for they were just as sad.
Fade, on the contrary, sank down, unable to raise his head.
In fact, it was Fade who was in danger during the escape. But it was Miller who died, for he sacrificed himself to save Fade.
Fade could still see Miller's smiling face as he told him to go.
-What the hell! What's going on! This is weird! Why did they know we were coming? This must be a leak!
-Boris.
-Captain! Talk to me! This must be.......
-I know how you feel. But now's not the time for that.
Lorraine's blunt point made Boris snap.
His eyes narrowed, and he looked up at the sky, before shaking his head in frustration.
-I'm sorry, Captain. I got too agitated.
-We need to move now. They're closing in on us, and we need to get out of this desert, at least.
-What about reinforcements? Have you called for reinforcements?
-When did we have reinforcements?
Lorraine's words were almost self-helpful.
Yes, they were a nameless army. They were nothing more than used and discarded soldiers.
From the moment they failed their mission, they were destined for the scrap heap.
So that was it.
Just as everyone was beginning to despair, Lorraine stood up, weapons drawn.
-We don't need backup. We will survive to the end.
There was a deep conviction in her voice.
That was the kind of person Lorraine was.
She never let anything break her spirit. There was no giving up.
That one word, that one action, went deeper than a hundred words of persuasion.
She seemed to them, as orphans with nowhere else to turn, a kind of savior.
She was.
She hadn't become the leader of the Rangers simply because she was skilled with a weapon, skilled in tactics, or good with people.
It was her nobility and honor, above the nameless soldiers who looked down on them and despised them, that kept them from giving up.
The march continued for days and days with little sleep.
Food ran low and water ran out.
The enemy stuck to them as tenaciously as desert sand.
At every turn, fights broke out and wounds grew.
It was during this time that one of his eyes was blown out by shrapnel from a blind bomb.
-I can't hold out anymore.
Injured and fleeing from his enemies, Fade finally gave up and collapsed on the desert sands.
His body and mind were at their limits. He had no strength to twitch a finger.
He wondered if the heaviness of his body would be relieved if the birds in the sky pecked at him, but then someone pulled him to his feet and lent him a shoulder.
-Captain?
Fade said, looking at Lorraine with a faint gaze.
-Rise, Fade. I have yet to allow you to fall.
-Captain. I'm done, leave me alone. I am already at my limit.
-You're still alive, seeing as how you're usually so quiet.
Lorraine pushed the spout of a canteen into Fade's mouth, her personal canteen that hadn't lasted long.
Fade squinted his one remaining eye.
In this situation, a sip of water could mean the difference between life and death.
Without hesitation, Lorraine gave it to Fade.
Fade tried to resist, wondering why she would give him something like this, but his body's long-standing thirst forced him to accept the water through his mouth.
His mind refused, but his body wouldn't let him.
Fade was about to apologize for daring to drink the water of the captain he admired, but Lorraine smiled at him and said,
-You're lucky.
Fade couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight.
Captain. How can you smile like that, when you're the one who's suffering more than anyone else, throwing your own life away like a dog to save this worthless creature?
Lorraine is badly dehydrated, too. Her lips are chapped and her eyes are duller than before.
Lorraine must be suffering as well, but she didn't utter a single weak sound.
Fade's throat was dry and he couldn't speak.
Dehydrated, tears were too much of a luxury for him.
All he could do was follow Lorraine's lead and keep walking, not giving up.
The desert chase under such extreme conditions came to an end when the entire squad was out of the desert.
I remember how I felt when I stepped out of the searing heat and stinging sand and onto the first glimpse of greenery.
I thought it wouldn't work.
It was impossible to survive.
But then Lorraine led them on and performed a miracle.
-Gentlemen.
Especially Lorraine, standing at the front, looking back and smiling.
-Congratulations on your survival.
I'll never forget that.
-Ding!
A knock on the door caused Fade to open one of his closed eyes.
The iris of his prosthetic eye opened, revealing a red glow.
Fade stood up without a sound and opened the door.
Fade's lips twisted into a smile at the report of his masked subordinate.
“The father who lost his child is coming. He's angry as hell, and he's bringing a lot of troops.”
Armand's father, Vinur, brought many people to fill the numbers.
There are more than ten vehicles, and when you count the people inside, it's a large force.
Even in the rainy season, the city of Tirna would be aware of this many people moving and fighting.
Fade gave the ghosts an order.
“Move, and show those fat pigs what a ridiculous opponent they've chosen to fight.”
They are ghosts. Present in the world, yet non-existent.
Their enemies would die before they had a chance to grasp the hem of their clothes.
The red orbs in the darkness faded away.
Left alone for a moment, Fade remembered the dream he had just had.
His prosthetic eyeballs throbbed with pain.
'I've had a bad dream,' he thought, 'and now I'm facing this place.
The events of the day were a nightmare.
He'd lost a friend, lost an eye, and failed a mission.
He survived, but he wasn't alive. To this day, Fade wonders what it would have been like if he had died instead of Miller.
The memories of them sitting around the campfire, gossiping and having fun, were painful to recall, accentuating the loss he felt now.
If he had continued on with his life as it was, he would have hanged himself, unable to bear the self-loathing.
But he's alive now because his lava-fueled rage has overcome his sense of loss.
When was it? It was when he and Lorraine had returned to their original unit.
They had failed in their mission and were destined to die at the hands of their enemies.
But thanks to Lorraine's leadership, command, and viciousness, the 121st Rangers survived.
The men who should have died had returned. No one was happy about it. Neither were their superiors.
They were outwardly grateful to be back in one piece, but the look in their eyes was anything but favorable.
The last thing they wanted to do was give them proper rank and name, and they'd put it off as an excuse for the mission's failure.
‘It was all a trick, a charade.’
It must have been embarrassing. They’ve proven themselves in that hellhole, and it would be a shame to let them go, but to give them a proper rank would be like letting a pack of hounds into the house.
So they wanted to be sure to keep the hounds on a leash.
Fade touched his glasses with his hand. The cold sensation of the lenses was both familiar and unfamiliar.
The military had proposed a new project: to create stronger soldiers by replacing body parts with machines.
Although prosthetics were widely used at the time, the prosthetics proposed by the military far exceeded the standards stipulated by law.
It was a dangerous weapon that could take the life of its user if used incorrectly.
To have it replace eyes, legs, arms, organs, and more was to attach a ticking time bomb instead of a leash but Fade was fine with whatever it was because he didn't know any better.
If it meant he could get revenge on the people who had killed Miller, he was okay with replacing his entire body with a machine.
He believed it would appease the dead Miller's soul…but Lorraine didn't.
-Why!
Fade remembers how Lorraine's back was turned as she gathered up her gear and left.
The others in the 121st had signed up to change their bodies, but Lorraine had refused.
Fade didn't understand. Wasn't it the Captain who wanted to be stronger than anyone else, to stay with the unit and lead us to the end?
He couldn't help but feel betrayed when Lorraine turned down the project and said she was transferring to another unit.
-Why in the world would she abandon us!
-Fade. I would never abandon my people.
-Then why are you leaving us now, Captain, don't you want to get revenge on them?!
-Vengeance is a strong word for nameless men like us.
There were many other arguments. Fade was mostly angry, and Lorraine was more of a silent listener.
Finally, Lorraine flashed a bitter smile and went on her way.
-The dead Miller wouldn't want us to do this.
She left him with that last word.
Fade couldn't believe it. She was supposed to lead them. She was a true soldier, unlike those honorless cheats.
She said she would fight with them to the death.
‘Didn't we promise not to betray each other in order to survive in this rotten world?’
-Traitor!
Fade couldn't help but call out to Lorraine's departing back.
Lorraine's steps paused for a moment at the words, but she didn't seem to care as she disappeared out of sight.
-Thud.
Snapping back to reality, Fade checked the condition of his gun.
His weapon glinted faintly in the darkness, as if in anticipation of the fight ahead.
What happened next was obvious. After a gruesome procedure, he was fitted with a prosthetic eye. The others did the same.
Limbs were cut off, parts of their intestines were harvested, and they were replaced with machines.
Those who survived were driven by evil. The mission had failed, their freedom had been taken away, and their companion had died. It was strange not to.
Forced to swap bodies, they had to live on drugs afterward.
The high-powered bodies ate away at their bodies, burning away at their nervous systems, and they were forced to take narcotic painkillers whenever they could.
Their bodies gradually broke down and their minds became exhausted.
The smiles on the faces of my coworkers, who usually smiled at me no matter what, disappeared.
At times, he wondered if it would have been different if Lorraine had been there, but Fade washed away those weak thoughts.
Lorraine had abandoned them; she had betrayed her unit and gone off to live her life.
Running into Lorraine was purely coincidental. To be honest, I was surprised.
I hadn't expected my former colleague and captain to be working as a fixer in a place like this.
'The world is both big and small,' I thought.
In fact, when I met Lorraine, I was more pleased than surprised.
But Fade was in no position to greet Lorraine in a civilized manner.
He's broken, and he's the leader of a ghost army whose business is killing.
That's why Fade laughed at her and wounded her.
He should never have left a trace, but he saved a witness.
'I suppose I’m still nostalgic for the old days.’
But what if, instead, he had met her in a more normal situation?
Would he still be able to smile and say hello?
Fade pushed the thought out of his mind.
The old, weak Fade Wilson was dead.
What remained in his place was a murderous incarnation, united by hatred and vengeance.
Fade finished polishing his gun and stood up.
It was time to lay to rest those who had come to fight him without fear.
*
A chill darkness descended on the night but the rain hasn't stopped yet.
The ghosts are on the move. They set off their traps, overturning oncoming vehicles.
-Kwagwagwang!
Light and flames burst out, the vehicle flips over, and bullets rain down on it.
They weren't taking it lying down. They jumped out of the vehicle, took cover, and fired back.
“Ha.”
Fade breathed out.
A chill darkness settled over the night and the rain still hadn't stopped.
The ghosts moved, triggering the traps they had laid to overturn the oncoming vehicles.
Fayed felt the trigger on his finger and pulled lightly.
With a thud, the bullet fired, piercing the enemy as they exited the overturned vehicle.
One shot, one man.
His skill was so neat and clean that it was chilling.
The men Vinur had called had been ravaged by the ghosts of the rain.
‘At least there's one decent one.’
Fade's gaze slid down from the vehicle to the ghost troopers and the enemy.
Perhaps it was because he was the elite of Vinur’s forces, but the man had already killed one of his men and was giving orders.
Fade aimed his muzzle at his forehead, then turned away.
The aperture of the eyepiece narrowed, magnifying distant objects.
Immediately, Fade ducked low and rolled to the side.
A bullet whizzed past him.
As he lay flat on his stomach, a twisted grin formed on his mouth, like a man crawling out of hell.
“You should've left when I let you go, not swoop in like a moth to fire.”
What the hell was she up to, jumping straight into the fray when her injuries must be no small matter?
I was interrupted, but not in a bad way.
“Yeah. I've always wondered who's got the better marksmanship, you or me.”
His prosthetic eyes, better than his scope, saw through the rainy darkness as clear as daylight.
Quickly taking up a stance, Fade aimed his rifle.
There was only one target for his gaze, an ivory-haired woman with a sniper rifle pointed at him.
“Lorraine Ponk!”
Bang!
He squeezed the trigger.