ohera

The mission was supposed to be simple.

Get in, gather the intel, get out.

Instead, I was alone, covered in dust and grime, and trying to navigate my way through the remains of a town that looked like it had been torn apart by a war far bigger than the one I’d signed up for.

My radio was dead.

My squad was missing.

And daylight was running out.

I adjusted my rifle and moved carefully through the rubble-strewn street, scanning every broken window and dark alley for movement. The silence felt wrong. Too quiet.

Then I heard it.

A soft whine.

I froze.

It wasn’t the sound of an enemy soldier. It wasn’t any animal I recognized either.

Slowly, I followed the noise toward a half-collapsed building. The floor crunched beneath my boots as I stepped inside.

The whine came again.

“Hello?” I called, immediately feeling stupid for it.

No answer.

Just another small, frightened sound.

I pushed aside a fallen beam and looked into a corner hidden by debris.