Terra was escorted back towards the petrol station by Boss. Sev hung back to walk around the perimeter. Sharpe and Sam were now standing on the roof of the building. Zero had seemingly vanished from view. Terra’s eye was initially caught by two men sitting around a small campfire. To the right, a man leant over a large pot radiating an alluring aroma. He himself seemed to be the oldest of the soldiers, probably somewhere in his early fifties. Though he was crouching over the pot, Terra still had a very good impression of his size. The man was practically a living tank. He towered over the pot with bulging muscles revealed by his lack of shirtsleeves. Terra wondered if he had removed the sleeves to show off or if it was just more comfortable that way.

The large man saw Boss and Terra approaching and rose to his feet. He smiled warmly and Terra instantly relaxed. The other soldier seemed much younger, probably somewhere in his early thirties. He had been lying on his back, adjacent to the big one. Suddenly, he bolted up to his feet when he caught a glimpse of Terra. He was around average height and would himself have seemed rather heavily built had he been standing next to someone else. His hair was cut into a short Mohawk and he could have used a shave. He swaggered his way over to Terra and the Boss. As the younger man approached, Terra heard Boss sigh.

His accent was thick and unmistakably that of man who had grown up in New York City.

“Nice to meet yah, I’m Machine, team’s handsome mechanic. How did you die?”

Terra fell back half a step, dumbstruck by the suddenness of this soldier’s approach. The larger man’s hand swiped up, connecting with the back of his head. The larger man spoke with an unmistakably Irish accent.

“What was that for? Poor young lass just got here, last thing she needs is to be putting up with you and your bloody shenanigans.”

“What?” replied Machine. “Just asking the basic questions, Irish.”

“You could have opened with anything! Literally. Anything else would have been better!”

As Machine and Irish kept bickering, Terra turned to Boss to see him shake his head disapprovingly.

“The big one is Irish and the loud one is Machine,” Boss started. “They butt heads a lot, but they’re practically inseparable.”

Irish broke away from Machine to introduce himself properly. He extended a hand to Terra. His colossal fingers engulfed Terra’s hand. His grip was firm but Terra didn’t feel intimidated.

“Terribly sorry about all this. I’m Irish, as you can probably tell. If you ever need anything, anything at all, you can call on me.”

Machine felt the need to butt in again.

“Yeah, yeah, nice to meet yah, doll. Now listen, Irish, explain to me again exactly what salvation God is going to offer me?”

“I never said salvation, I simply said…”

The Boss pulled Terra away from the conversation and led her back around towards the petrol station. Terra struggled to take her eyes off Machine and Irish. Their argument was clearly beginning to heat up as arms began flailing into the air and the language being used became stronger. She couldn’t help but chuckle at their exchange. Something caught her eye; she turned towards the petrol station and froze in place. A girl stood in front of her, about the same age as Terra. Make-up was smeared across her eyes, her hair was wild and untamed. She was thin, much thinner than she had been before.

“Grace?”

Boss turned around and shot Machine and Irish a glare; the two men quickly ceased their argument.

Terra stuttered as she tried to think of what to say. Grace rushed towards her. Throwing her hands around her friend, she burst into hysterical tears. Terra had never really been one for hugs, but she really needed this too.

“Bloody hell, Grace… in all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never had so much as a hair out of place. What’s happened to you?”

“You… you have no idea what I would do for a shower right now…” Grace replied.

Terra and Grace shared a tear-filled chuckle. When they realised everyone around them was watching, they separated. Terra looked up at the two soldiers on the roof of the petrol station who had come down from their perch to see what was happening.

“Terra, it’s time for you to meet my sniper team,” Boss started. “Sharpe, why don’t you go first?”

“Actually, Boss, Sharpe and I already know each other.”

Sam looked over at Sharpe and raised an eyebrow. Terra smiled, a little embarrassed, but Sharpe didn’t answer. He looked down disapprovingly for a moment, tapping the trigger guard of his rifle. Terra’s smile left her face when he turned and walked away. Sam motioned to stop him, but the sniper completely ignored her.

“I-I don’t understand…” Terra mumbled.

Sam dropped down from the roof, catching Terra off guard. The two were the same height. Sam had wide blue eyes filled with life; her hair was a mix of brown and blonde tied back into a neat bun that complemented her exceptionally well-defined facial features. She was intimidatingly beautiful, so much so that Terra actually blushed a little when she shot her a smile and extended a hand.

“I’m Sam, spotter and sister to Captain Grouch up there…”

Terra took the handshake; she wasn’t sure what surprised her more, the fact that Sam was so stunning, even compared to Grace, or the fact that she spoke with a perfect English accent.

“Well,” Sam started again, “he is adopted.”

Sam winked at Terra and chuckled slightly when she blushed again.

“It’s going to be nice having another girl around; your friend Grace doesn’t talk much.”

“Settle down, Sam,” Boss croaked. “Get up there and check on Sharpe, Terra still has one more member of the team left to meet.”

“Oh!” Sam excitedly exclaimed. “Watch out, girl, he bites.”

Terra looked to Boss for confirmation.

“Ignore that,” Boss said with a hint of authority in his tone.

Sam took the hint and turned around to head back up the hill. The Boss looked around. He walked Terra round to the side of the building in search of the last member of the team.

“Somewhere around here should be…”

From atop the hill a young Hispanic soldier leapt onto the roof of the petrol station. He squatted on all fours, ripped his head back revealing a hairy chest through an open shirt, and let out the most convincing attempt at a wolf howl Terra had ever heard.

“Wolfman!” barked the Boss.

His voice radiated authority so much that even Terra stood up a little straighter.

“I told you to knock that shit off. Give me a perimeter check. I want a detailed report on those woodlands behind the hill.”

Wolfman threw the Boss a mock salute. He dropped from the petrol station with rifle in hand and jogged away towards the tree line. Boss sighed before he addressed Terra again.

“He’s a good soldier but he still has…” The Boss paused as he realised what he was saying. “Had a bit of growing up to do.”

Terra smiled, despite everything that had happened. The antics of the team had lifted her spirits.

“You really do care about your men, don’t you, Boss?”

The Boss nodded a few times. He wasn’t looking at her as he spoke; his gaze worked its way around the station.

“Thanks to them, I earned the title of ‘The Boss’. It’s more of a rank than a name; it’s awarded to the leader of the best-performing team. They have their quirks and their demons, their faults and their shortcomings. But when it comes down to it, I couldn’t name a better bunch to have your back in a fight. They all deserved better than this.”

The Boss paused again; he looked out at his men. He reminisced of better times and out of respect, Terra stood quietly and let him.

“Enough of that, though, go and see your friends and relax. I’ll be sending out a fire team to scout the way ahead soon, and there’s no telling when we’re going to stop next when we head out.”

Terra moved off towards the station but turned her gaze to the roof. She stood at the base of the steep hill that lead to the sniper’s perch and the roof of the station. Taking a deep breath, she struggled her way to the top, stopping to catch her breath once more before she reached the roof of the station.

“How the hell am I going to keep up with a bunch of soldiers if I can barely get up a bloody hill?” she said to no one in particular.

Sam was back on the roof of the petrol station looking out at the soldiers’ camp below. Sharpe was still sitting on the hill staring out at the woodlands they had come from. Terra watched him for a moment, trying to work up the courage she needed to approach him. It didn’t help that Sharpe didn’t move a muscle. The wind blew around them; the tips of Sharpe’s hair shifted slightly but he still didn’t move. Terra took a breath and walked towards him slowly.

“Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt you. I just wanted to say thanks,” she chirped.

Sharpe didn’t respond. He was staring at something out in the distance. Terra looked out in the same direction but couldn’t see anything besides the trees and an endless supply of open fields.

“What are you looking at?”

“It’s been following us,” Sharpe spoke slowly, pausing again and again as he spoke, breaking the natural flow of his sentence and unsettling Terra.

“Keeping its distance but it’s out there, it’s always there. It hides. In the corner of your eye.”

Terra looked again but she couldn’t see anything. Sharpe seemed almost entranced by whatever it was he was watching. His body was present but his mind seemed distant. His eyes moved back and forth as he scanned the ground again and again.

“What are you talking about?” Terra asked cautiously, getting more and more nervous.

Sam noticed the two talking and strolled over to ease Terra’s nerves.

“Ignore him, Terra.”

Terra nearly jumped out of her skin; she hadn’t heard Sam approach.

“He’s in his own little world. He has been since we found him. Haven’t you, little brother?”

Sharpe didn’t reply. He stayed completely still. He didn’t even blink as he scanned the horizon.

“See?” Sam started. “Don’t worry about this thing. If there was something out there following us, it’s had more than enough chances to strike. It’s best just to forget about it.”

“Well, anyway, thank you for saving me back there,” Terra croaked, hoping for some response, but the sniper kept ignoring her. With a sigh of defeat Terra made her way down the hill as steadily as she could. Billy was waiting for her at the bottom. He held out a hand to help her with the last few steps.

“You okay, Terra?”

“I just went up there to thank him for saving me but he…” Terra cut herself off.

Billy looked up at the roof and shrugged.

“He’s like that with everyone, don’t take it personally.”

Sam knelt down beside Sharpe. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him to get his attention.

“She’s frightened,” Sam snapped. “You could have said anything. Even just a ‘You’re welcome’ would have been enough…”

Sam left Sharpe to his thoughts. He waited, motionless, until he was confident that Sam was out of earshot before he turned back to the station.

“Why are you here?”