Max opened his eyes, feeling something heavy pressing down on him. Looking down, he saw dozens of little eyes lifelessly staring back at him. He flinched, trying his best to throw the dead body off him. Blue blood sprayed out of the spider's body, covering Max's chest.
"Ew," he said quietly, trying to wipe the still-warm blood off his clothes.
He looked around the quiet battlefield, his eyes widening slightly as he realized the battle was over. He sprang to his feet and shouted, "Is everyone okay?"
Slowly, one by one, people began responding with raspy, quiet groans. Through the silence, Max could also hear pleading cries—softly begging to turn back time, to save their loved ones, to end this nightmare.
Then, from the front of the battlefield, a loud voice echoed.
"To everyone still alive… well done, and congratulations on surviving your first encounter with the pests that have been bothering us for years."
The people slowly turned their heads toward Sev, who stood facing them, his blood-covered armor shining in the bright daylight.
"Now that the battle is over, we can collect our spoils. If you're lucky, you could find your first notion!"
As he finished speaking, Max scanned the faces of the survivors. They showed despair, anger, and sadness, among many other emotions. Already expecting this, Max quickly reacted.
"I know how you feel—believe me, I've been in your situation—but now is not the time to give up. The dead will stay dead, and soon even their bodies will disappear… What I'm trying to say is, grow stronger. Strong enough to survive, and strong enough to avenge those who died in battle."
He watched as some of the faces staring at him turned away in acknowledgment, saying one last goodbye to their companions before starting their search for notions. Some, however, kept their gazes glued to Max, their stares sharp like daggers.
Max stood still for a moment before turning around and walking toward Sev.
Meanwhile, Sev stared at a mound of dead spiders, his right hand clenched into a fist.
"This idiot," he mumbled under his breath as he heard footsteps approaching.
With a limp, Terry stood next to Sev, also staring at the mound."Did he—?" he asked with a shaky voice, turning his head toward Sev, who only nodded.
"Shit," Terry cursed, clutching his side with one hand. "He promised we would come home together… that bastard." His voice grew shakier, tears forming in his eyes.
Sev walked to the pile, shoving the spiders aside one by one, revealing the massacred torso beneath. There was a huge hole in the chest; its arms were ripped from the body, its legs mangled. Looking at the face of what used to be Julian, Sev saw only a bloody mess, which made his stomach turn.
Max approached the slightly hunched Sev."Hey, I don't think that—" He paused as he saw the horrifying scene. Quickly, he covered his mouth and averted his gaze. Slowly, he turned back to Sev, hesitating before asking, "Julian?"
Sev stayed quiet.
Max closed his eyes, heaving a heavy breath. "Should we give him a funeral?"
Terry fell to his knees, overpowered by tears. "What is there to bury?" He wiped his nose with his torn, bloodied clothes, his wet hair falling over his eyes.
Max stood silently, looking back at the desecrated corpse, the blond ends of Julian's hair peeking through the snow."We should at least honor his death in some way…"
Sev sighed. "There's no point. He's not the first, and he most definitely won't be the last."
Max rebutted, "He deserves something—anything. He was a good soldier and an even better friend."
Agitated, Sev raised his voice slightly. "He was a warrior who died a warrior's death. What more do you want?"Quietly, he added, "…Just leave him be."
Turning around, he asked, "Are they ready?" while scanning the surviving lost souls, who had only just begun to understand what had happened.
"That's what I wanted to tell you before…" Max started.
Sev nodded, clearly annoyed. "Yes, I know. But I'm asking—are they ready to go?"
Max stumbled over his words. "No… I don't think they are."
Sev turned his head, staring down at Max. "So make them. There's not much time before more arrive."
Max nodded and walked off.
He watched people digging through corpses with determined expressions, people crying over mangled bodies, people staring into the distance, zoning out. As he passed each person, he quietly told them it was time to leave, reassuring them that things would get better. Some listened. Others only stared back with complicated emotions.
Eventually, he reached the man who had witnessed the death of a child—Daniel.
Max gently pressed a hand against his thin back. "How are you holding up?"
The man wiped his nose and looked over his shoulder, relieved to see Max again."I'm just not sure this world is for me," he said quietly, returning his gaze to the bloodied snow.
"I understand, but you don't have a choice, Dan," Max said, sitting down beside him. "Death is a part of life, and seeing as we don't have much life left, it's bound to come for us." He took a deep breath. "But we can still fight. We can still live."
The man sat quietly. "I'm not a fighter—never have been." His tears started flowing again. "I just wanted to grow my garden and take care of my children."
Max raised his arm, intending to hug him, when suddenly a loud voice rang out.
"Leave whatever you're doing, it's time to go!" Sev shouted with authority.
The man quickly wiped his tears and turned to Max. "We should go."
Max nodded as they both stood up. The man looked back at the bloodied corpse one last time before muttering, "Goodbye, little one."
Slowly, the remaining survivors began moving, leaving behind a graveless graveyard.
On this day, something small died within each and every one of them.