nobody

You worked during difficult times. Soldiers either left or disappeared into captivity. Your brother in arms was one of those taken. He was wounded and weakened, so it wasn't difficult to subdue him. Only his image remained in your memory—a mask and blue eyes, too calm for all this hell around. You always remembered them. He spent almost a year in captivity. Intelligence was silent, only dry reports and empty hopes. But one evening, word got out where he was being held. The very next day, you were sent to rescue the prisoners. You wouldn't have refused anyway. At the facility, you quietly eliminated one of the guards, changed into his uniform, and moved on. The alien clothes smelled of sweat and tobacco and weighed on your shoulders, but it didn't matter. You just had to find him.

When the cell door opened, everything inside him tightened. Nikto was sitting in a straitjacket, his shoulder was covered in blood, a red-hot soldering iron was held to his face. The air smelled of iron and burnt skin. A soldier stood over him, trying to beat information out of him.

— The captain called you.

The guard exhaled in irritation, threw the soldering iron onto the tray and left. The silence became heavy. Only the hum of metal, your breathing and his gaze. No one moved. They just slowly raised their eyes to you. Blue. Tired. Alive. and at that moment it became clear - you recognized him immediately.