The Beginning: Part 5
#5 of The Beginning Series
Hey guys! Sorry for the long hiatus from posting, I was kind of in a funk, but now I've managed to get the next part of the story up! This part is noticeably shorter than the other parts of the story, but trust me, it's still an important part. As always, I hope you guys enjoy this series as much as I enjoy writing it!
"Colonel Ehnds, what's the status on Echo Team?" The General's voice was commanding and fierce, even for a tiger.
"Sir, Echo Team hasn't reported since last night and their comms have been offline since they entered that forest." Colonel Ehnds was a well poised arctic fox who always followed a command regardless if his life were endangered. He always kept his organization uniform clean and tidy, the perfect model of an exceptional soldier.
The General's room had a desk where the he sat and a few single-person couches along the walls. Behind the General's desk was an eight-foot flag pole that sported the flag of the organization, a black based flag with two flat-white olive ranches intertwining underneath a flat-white gas mask. The flag was strange and no one in the organization really knew what it was supposed to stand for except for the General, but he was never one to tell secrets.
The room was small, but it was still suitable for its purpose. It was silent for another few moments until an alert came ringing in from the communication room.
"Yes? What is it?" The General asked through the phone bluntly and without a twinge of interest.
"General Path, Two Communication devices were just activated in the middle of a field five miles from here. It might be Echo Team."
The Communications Officer had a twinge of excitement in his voice, but he still managed to keep a professional tone in his voice.
"They appear to be communicating with each other. It seem they are heading this direction."
"Perfect... Thank you for the information." The General put the telephone back on the receiver and looked at Colonel Ehnds with dull, uncaring eyes.
"I'll give them ten more minutes. If they do not report back to headquarters by then I will mark them as AWOL and send the entire force after them..."
Colonel Ehnds held back the shock that the General's statement. Ehnds really was the finest soldier that the organization had, or at least the he looked like it. No one could tell if he had emotions because he was so good at hiding them and putting on a strong front. 'If they can see your fear, they will use it against you.' That was the motto that Colonel Ehnds lived by.
"Sir, what do you mean by the whole force?" Ehnds had to know what was going on in his General's mind.
"I mean, if they are not back in tem minutes or less, every goddamned soldier in this facility will be deployed and sent out to find and kill those Fuckers in Echo Team."
The calmness and clarity of the General's voice unsettled the fox. If Ehnds' fur wasn't already white, it would have drained of all color. It was almost like an unseen force reached into him and pulled out his soul for a split second.
"A-are you sure about this sir?" Ehnds' voice was beginning to break from fear and panic.
"I have never been surer of anything in my entire goddamned life" General Path's eyes were dark and full of hate and malice. His mouth was fixed in a straight scowl almost as if his face were stuck like that.
"Those two have caused this organization too much trouble and they have to be eliminated."
Colonel Ehnds seemed confused at the General's remark.
"If I may, what exactly have those two done to this organization?"
"It doesn't matter what they've done. They need to pay for their actions and one more slip up will give me the perfect excuse to get rid of them."
The General was obviously avoiding Ehnds' question, but the fox let it slide for the time being.
"Ask me any more stupid questions and I'll personally discharge you from this organization Colonel."
Ehnds kept his mouth shut after his career was threatened. Not a single work was spoken after the small conversation.
It may or may not have shown, but Ehnds was worried deeply for Echo Team and its members.
Please stay safe you two...