I gripped my rifle as I climbed through the rugged terrain, I was scouting ahead as we heard reports that the enemy was moving in. Right now though my squad had stumbled into an enemy squad. Either they needed my assistance.... or if I didn't make it on time the top brass needs to know. I stood flush against the rocky wall in the small canyon we were in. I heard the familiar explosion overhead of an aircraft, which was odd we hadn't called in air support... I understood immediately as I looked up. What the Hell!? They told us that the dam enemy had no Air Units stationed here, fuck I was going to have to radio this in. Pressing the send transmission button on my walkie-talkie I spoke into the microphone.
"This is Lance Corporal Echo, please radio in, Over" I kept my voice low as I ducked into an alcove in the rock in case of more enemy movement. Taking my finger off the send transmission button I waited for a reply.
"This radio sub-station A-b7, Lance Corporal what's your check code, over?" I mentally checked, yep that was the right radio sub-station for this area so I pressed the transmission button.
"Loud and clear, my check code is 4-5-8-99-2, mission Status report, over" I replied into the walkie-talkie making sure I spaced out the pauses properly in the code, this time the response was near immediate.
"Confirmed Lance Corporal Echo, what's the status report, over?" The voice responded. That's when I saw the plane flying overhead. I knew that model of airplane, a seventh-generation fighter of Punjabi or maybe even Belarusian make.
"I have sights on an enemy seven-gen aircraft, either Belarusian or Punjabi model 87, my squads currently in combat with hostile forces, alliance of origin unconfirmed as of this moment, over" I stated as the enemy jet flew overhead scanning the air.
"Mission Status Received, relink with your squad and return to the base immediately, that's an order Lance Corporal, over" the voice stated seriously and I gave a return transmission of confirmation before heading out. I moved quickly, as I needed to meet my squad and I could hear the echoes of gunfire ringing through the wind-worn canyon. I had to get to my team, I had to report back to base, and I had survive this dammed war. Then I heard an explosion directly above me and all those thoughts fell away as fire rained down from the sky. I knew the type of bomb that was just dropped I knew its range and I knew its origin point I was already fucked. Slumping against the rock shelf I was against I sat down, looking into the sky as a rain of small sparks fell bathing me and the surrounding area in a firework show. It was the type of weapon that, if the Geneva Convention were still around would have been banned immediately. It was a biochemical bomb called Charion's Sparklers, it rained down a chemical that would cause S. aureus bacteria to mutate into a terminal illness that would spread like wildfire before dying out completely the sparklers were just a distraction from the true danger, which wasn't ash in the air.
Gripping my walkie-talkie I pressed the transmission button.
"This is Lance Corporal Echo, I won't be making back to base, the aircraft had Sparklers aboard, over" I released the button. The Walkie-talkie blares out a somber voice.
"Thank you for your service, Lance Corporal, may you find peace at whatever lies beyond in comfort that you have fought for your country, over" the voice stated but I wasn't paying attention. My thoughts were full of what I remembered about the Sparklers.
They appeared three years ago, and it took some time for our scientists to find out the cause of the random military bases being completely wiped out. They soon captured one in a surprise attack on an enemy base. Since then a protocol was created in response. We were instructed not to try to relink with allies to prevent the spread of the disease. Thumbing through my E-Kit, which held several bandages, pain killers, and disinfectants. Thumbing a small single pill container with bold letters stating 'Only Use as a Last Resort'. Ripping open the package I threw back the pill in my mouth and swallowed the metallic-tasting water from my canteen. Inside the package was a bright neon green sticker with a hazard symbol emblazoned on the front. Peeling the back to reveal the sticky back side I placed the sticker cleanly on my forehead so that it was visible.
The pill wasn't meant to cure the illness, instead it was meant to dull the pain in our last moments as the mutated bacteria began to eat through my organs. My stomach felt like I had drunk lava until the pill kicked in I ceased to feel anything. I had been a soldier for thirteen years, I had kept my head down and wasn't stupid enough to volunteer for shit. So I had stayed in E-3 for the last six years staying under the radar. All I had wanted was the world of peace they had promised me in my youth, a time of peace, prosperity, and equal opportunity. Now though I was a dead man whose body didn't know it yet, and as I felt my life slip away, I knew the gunfire had stopped in fact the canyon fell silent, both allies and enemies knew their time had come, and me? Well, I welcomed the darkness of death with open arms, as my vision turned black.
...
I heard a dull thudding in my head, and like a fire, my thoughts returned to me. What's going on, where is that thumbing sound aren't I dead? Or was the death from the Sparklers more drawn out than I had been led to believe?
Did I survive somehow, and am I in a coma?
No, I didn't survive no one else did, and there is nothing truly special about me at least nothing special enough to survive Charon's Sparklers, in all likelihood I was in whatever existed beyond life.
I should be freaking out right now, why am I not freaking out right now? I tried to take a breath in, and nothing happened.
That's when I realized, I couldn't feel anything, nothing at all not the constant twinges of pain or ache from anything. I couldn't tell if I was looking at a void, or if I simply couldn't see to begin with.
"Hmm, you've awakened early, I'll give you some time to adjust Mr. Ader." A disembodied voice spoke, its tone hard to pin down, it was flat and nondescript. I tried to move but I couldn't feel my arms, which reinforced the certainty that I was dead, or at least close to it.
"Who are you?" I asked aloud, cursing myself at the fear in my voice, but the voice didn't respond. Instead, the darkness shifted bleeding away to show a pre-war waiting room. I realized I had my body back but looking down I saw the lack of my features, I had arms, torso, legs, and fingers, but they were made light. Looking at my new surroundings I saw Pleather couches, a glass coffee table, and other fixtures that had been long outdated or simply too expensive to put in a waiting room. That's when it dawned on me there were light fixtures, and I couldn't tell where the light was coming from. Looking for any hints to where I was all I saw was a single brightly covered pamphlet on the coffee table.
'Welcome to the Afterlife', sitting down on the couch in front of the pamphlet I grabbed the pamphlet. It felt real against my skin, the paper was high quality, something I hadn't felt since after middle school when the war started, and no sane person would use expensive dyed ink on a pamphlet.
Opening the pamphlet I saw three major horizontal sections each with a header along with a series of images.
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'Well, you're dead what now?'
We, here in the Afterlife give our solemn apologies for your death, you wait for our representative to meet you please read this pamphlet.
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Hmm, so I guess the representative was that voice I heard? Figuring I had time, I continued down to the next paragraph.
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'What is the Afterlife?'
Glad you asked! The Afterlife, is foremost a processing center where we move the newly dead such as yourself to new lives! When you meet with your representative you will go over what worlds are open to you.
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Huh, so rebirth is the gig? I'm not unfamiliar with the term but from what I know it typically entails having your memory wiped. So I might not even remember, this might not even be my first time being reincarnated. Moving to the final paragraph of the first section.
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'What decides where you can go!'
Based on your accomplishments in your past world, and your innate personality certain worlds will either offer you a place in their world or reject you.
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Huh, I might be screwed, the only thing I had ever racked up was debt and kill count, and I doubt any self-respecting world would accept me. Welp, looks like I'm screwed over even in a new life, but hopefully I can pick a peaceful world. However, a part of me whispered, the part of me that was alive only when in combat locked in mortal peril. Shaking off the feeling I moved to the next section.
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'Magic vs. The Natural Laws'
There are two primary types of worlds, worlds that have magic but whose natural laws are in constant flux, and worlds with unchanging Natural Laws with little to no magic. This is the most jarring change when moving between these types of worlds, below we have listed the major differences for your convenience!
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Skimming through the list I saw the primary difference was that the Natural laws were akin to the laws of physics and stuff whereas magic was something else? However, the pamphlet used a bunch of technical terms I didn't understand. Essentially worlds with magic tended to have interfaces that guided the use of magic but it didn't go any further than mentioning it.
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'Should You Take or Leave your Memories?'
Ultimatily this is a choice between you and your new world. The majority of the time your new world doesn't want your memories as they might prove negative to the people living on the world. Finally, the choice to abandon your memories can be forced upon you, but you can't be forced to keep them either.
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Huh, I suppose that a single mechanical engineer could bring a tribal or medieval world to its knees, At least they couldn't force you keep them I knew more than a few guys who would take that offer.
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'Benefits of Keeping them'
If you decide to keep them, you can opt to skip the infantile process of the species you're reborn in and regain awareness at the start of middle childhood. Ultimately the value depends on the life you've lived for some its almost worthless and to some its invaluable. So you should consider whether or not your memories will benefit or harm you.
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Well, shit did I have anything super useful or valuable? The only hobbies I had in my little down time was reading reports on old battles, gambling, and oddly enough gardening, although I'm pretty sure the flowerbed I had commandeered at the base was going to wilt. Damn, and I just got some new ferns that I had planted! Ehh, hopefully someone would take care of those poor suckers. Moving on to the final section on the third panel.
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'Why might you discard them?'
Moving to a new body can be jarring and having baggage from your old life can be more than a benefit. Although most end up on this path against their will, it is the best way to start a fresh slate.
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Well fuck that! I did not go through thirteen years of war, just to forget about it! If I forgot about then noone would remember, I would have died for nothing, the people I killed? Killed by nobody, I couldn't do them that disservice. Deep down I knew the war was bullshit we all did, but it was at the point where we lost too much to call it quits and say my bad. My long internal monologue shifted to a halt as someone was in the room.
"The Representative will see you Now" a lady said and I jumped looking at the elegantly dressed older woman with stern but kind features. Shaking off the shock I moved numbly to the door that I showed hadn't been here when I awoke.