Those That Kill

A buffering sign appears on a screen. A video plays.

SERGEANT JAMES QUEEN’S DIARY. Suddenly a man appears on the screen as he tries to set up his camera. He is dressed in black and white armor with a rifle to the side of him. He has a scruffy beard.

ENTRY 1- 6/7/4634

“Is this thing working? Ah yes. Ok. Let’s start.”

James looks into the camera with a big, wide smile on his face. He begins to speak.

“Hey, babe. I know. I know it’s only been a few days since my deployment, but I miss you. Well, it’s kinda surreal, you know. This war is important for our future. Me and my comrades,”

he chuckles,

“We’re hanging in here. No excitement just yet. You should know what crazy things Ben is doing to entertain us. Remember those old reruns of ‘Old Days?’ You know with the kids and the dogs on the farm. Ben knows all the lines. Exactly like how they say it on the show. Anyways, all we’re doing is just patrolling. We go from house to house.”

James looks behind him, then he turns back around smiling.

“It’s nothing too big. Just boring. At least the people give us hot meals all the time. They really appreciate what the federation is doing for them. I’m not sure what the mission is really about, but I should probably go back to patrolling. Love you, babe.”

James blows her a kiss.

The screen goes black.

ENTRY 2- 6/14/4634

James is dressed up in his armor once again, but this time there are small scratch marks on them. He looks into the camera.

“How are you today, lovely? Oh me, just wonderful,”

He says with a smile. He clutches onto his gun.

“My new friends can’t wait to meet you. They are some of the most patriotic and loyal people in all of the galaxy. Especially Ben. He's a legend out here.”

He scratches his beard, then blows into his hands which are cupped together.

“We’ve been helping a lot of families in the current sector that we're in. They didn’t have much before. But it feels good to help the indigent.”

He whistles a tune while smiling and he raises up his ring and index finger on his right hand.

“Oh. I almost forgot. There's this precious little girl. I helped her get new clothing. I think she likes it.”

James blows his wife a kiss.

“Goodbye, my love.”

The screen goes black.

ENTRY 3- 9/1/4634

James, now with a full beard, plain non-amour uniform on, avoids eye contact with the camera.

“Look at that gorgeous face. Ben has been asking about you a lot lately. I’m sorry I haven’t been consistent. Things have been hectic over the last few months.”

James says. He continues to avoid looking into the camera.

“I met this little girl. Her name is Josie. Such a cutie-pie.”

He turns and faces the camera. A larger slash mark scar covers his face diagonally.

“I’m not sure what happened to her family. My commanders aren't sure if we’ll be able to find them. I’ve been helping her out a lot. She’s helped me too, after I told her I missed my family, too...”

James looks away from the camera. He gets up and walks away from the camera. A few seconds later, he reappears.

“She gave me this.”

James says while holding up a heart-shaped locket.

“Josie has one just like it. She told me that as long as we both have ours, we’ll be with each other forever.”

He holds up the locket.

“Isn’t it the most beautiful thing in the world?”

He turns behind him as another soldier walks past. He faced the camera once again.

“Looks like my time’s up.”

James throws up a peace sign.

The screen goes black.

ENTRY 4- 9/30/4634

James’ head is wrapped around with a large, bloody gauze bandage. His face is battered up and bruised badly. His right eye is swollen. This time, he holds the camera towards his face.

“There’s my favorite girl. Oh. All this? It’s nothing. I just miss you.”

James proclaims.

“Some terrorist rebels bombed the village. Did you know that women dig battle scars so much? I hope you do too.”

James looks away from the camera gawking at some unseen figure. He licks his lip.

Soft female voices are heard in the background. The light giggles follow afterward.

James stares for a few seconds, then turns back to the camera.

“You have nothing to worry about. Including the other women trying to sweep me off my feet. I told them I am a one-woman man. My wife is the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.”

He pulls out the locket from his pocket and holds it up in front of the camera. The locket is covered with tiny splashes of blood.

“I haven’t seen Josie since before the attack. I actually can’t wait to see her again. The next time I see you, this will make you the hottest military wife in the entire history of mankind.”

The same female voices call his name very cheerfully.

“Sergeant Queen, it’s your turn,”

One of the girls says as James gawks at them.

“Till next time.”

James says in a hurry.

The screen goes black.

ENTRY 5- 11/16/4634

With his face dripping in blood, James sadly smiles. He says,

“Hi, my fellow intergalactic citizen.”

He picks up his gun, which is also covered in more dried-up blood, and displays it for the camera. He continues with a straight face.

“The mission was a success. All the troublemakers and terrorists standing in the way of our regime have been brought to justice.”

He chuckles loudly.

“Listen, honey, after we get rid of all the rebel scum, the terrorists, and any other type of terrorist, our kids will finally live like how they were meant to,” said James enthusiastically.

“Just like Josie. She’s got a great spirit. Nothing can destroy her spirit. She’s got a big one for such a little girl.”

The blood continues to drip from his face. He tries to rotate his arms, but only loud cracks can be heard.

“Some days, fighting just doesn’t seem worth it, but then I remember how much we’ve helped the people on this planet.”

James ducks down quickly as he hears a loud boom. He gets up. He stares into the camera and says:

“That must be them.”

James grabs his rifle.

The screen goes black.

ENTRY 6- 11/24/4634

James, eyes swollen and bruised to the point that he looks unrecognizable, clenching his teeth as a teardrop falls down from the side of his face.

“Yeah. Yeah. Just ignore what you’re seeing right now. What needs to be said is more important,”

James says emotionless as he scratches one of his eyes.

“I’m just fine. Anyways, I know you might want some kids someday. They have to be boys.”

He reaches into the pocket of his military jacket and pulls a lighter and a cigarette. He lights it up.

“Girls are not worth it. They never listen. They're always such a pain”

He smokes the cigarette and blows smoke out slowly.

“Only one way to deal with them really.”

James points his hands in the air as he pretends to be shooting guns. He says,

“For our empire.”

The screen goes black.

ENTRY 7- 3/3/4635

Soft tears fall down the side of James’ face. He’s covered in so much blood as loud gunshots are heard in the background.

“It’s getting worse. We keep losing battle after battle. It’s becoming useless.”

James says. Screams and bombs ring around him.

“I’m really sorry. Everything I did was for our future. The savages we got rid of. The new life we tried to create. They’re all ungrateful. They don’t understand.”

He starts to get nervous.

“It’s those damn rebels. They’re overtaking us.”

A large explosion flashes behind James.

“We lost a lot of men and women including Ben. The savages killed him.”

James continues as gunshots grow louder,

“I really hope that I can truly see you again.”

Another large explosion flashes behind James, which is louder than the previous.

“I’m scared. We were only trying to help these ungrateful punks. The regime told us that we’re going to save…”

The video cuts off.

PRESENT DAY- 5/7/4640

A medium height woman, brown hair, sits inside of a conference room clutching on to the tablet. She stares at the tablet in horror. “Mrs. Queen. Mrs. Queen.” Her lawyer says. Mrs. Queen, James’ wife, looks up with tears falling down her eyes. She stares at the lawyer. He hands her the heart-shaped locket. “This was one of his last remains. Do you have any questions before I transfer the check into your account?” the lawyer says.

Mrs. Queen stares at the lawyer. She wipes the tears off her face. “What was her full name?” The lawyer sighs. “I don’t think that you should give yourself any more trouble. Especially stuff about the old regime.”

Mrs. Queen’s face turns red. “Her name,” she says sternly. The lawyer stares at her for a second. He turns to his computer, then he faces Mrs. Queen. He responds, “Josie. Josie Richards.” She grabs the check from him. She gets up and walks out the door.

Mrs. Queen stands in front of a large black memorial that reads, “The Amoneran War Memorial.” She walks down the long line and finds her husband’s name in one column of long lists. She continues down the line. She stops in front of an older couple who have tears running down their faces. They stare at the name, “Josie Richards.” Mrs. Queen turns to them. “Was Josie your daughter?” she says. The couple faces Mrs. Queen. “Yes,” Mr. Richards responds. “She was the most engeritic girl,” Mrs. Richards adds. “I feel bad, honey. I should have tried to go back and find her, but after everything the regime did, it was hopeless.” Mr. Richards interjects. Mrs. Richards grabs his face. “Stop blaming yourself. The regime did this.” She turns to Mrs. Queen and says “All of it was lies. They never helped. Especially that Sergeant Queen. Just lies. The resistance gave him what he deserved.” Mrs. Queen looks confused. “What do you mean?” Mrs. Queen asks.

After a while of talking, Mrs. Queen, who is sobbing, pulls out her phone and sends a transfer of the check to the Richards and gives them the heart-shaped locket. The Richards begin to cry even more as Mrs. Queen walks away.