THEY’RE NOT COMING BACK

[DeJaVu]

6 January 3073 FSN is pleased to publish this fifteen-part excerpt of a journal recently unearthed on Kentares, dating from the Kentares Massacre itself. In these dark times, the knowledge that we have always fought against the darkness is comforting as we fight against the encroaching zealotry of the Word of Blake.

- 3 -

[The militia shooters left last night.
The senior guy, a sergeant named Owens, led them out on a raid or something. Fifteen people, as many guns as they could carry, and a whole lot of hate. I went up to the minehead to watch them sneak off—the smoke from Harwell burning was still blocking out most of the stars in the eastern sky, but other than that it was a nice night. A couple of the guys went with me. We waited until the sun came up for them to come back.
They’re not coming back. Fuller tried to talk them out of going, right before they left. I was in the back of the group, so I missed most of it, until Fuller started shouting.
“You can’t help them!” he shouted.
“We have to try!” Owen shouted back. A couple of the soldiers looked at each other, but they didn’t move.
“You’re going to get killed for nothing, and you’re going to lead them back to us.”
“We’ll watch our backtrail.”
Fuller seemed like he was going to say something else but he noticed the rest of us watching. He sucked in a deep breath, held it, and then turned away. The shooters slithered out, disappearing into the woods across the field in a minute or so. Toward Harwell.
Fuller stopped me and pointed to the pistol I was still wearing on my belt. “You know how to use that?”
I thought maybe it was time to learn.]