The rain stopped. The mud held. I stepped out of the trench and into the grey nothing that stretched toward the ridge. My boots were heavy. They were filled with the water of the last three days. I pulled them off. I left them there. They looked like dead things. They looked like bones.

I walked. I had to walk. The map said the valley was clear. The map was wrong. The valley was full of smoke. The smoke was black. It tasted of ash and old fear. I was not alone. I felt the weight of the others behind me. I did not look back. Looking back was a mistake. Looking back was a trap.

I carried the satchel. It was my life. It was my curse. Inside, wrapped in oilcloth, was the mirror. It was not a glass. It was a shard of obsidian. It was cold. It was sharp. It was broken. But it was whole. Or so I thought.

General Halloway had given it to me. He had given it to me in the tent. The rain hammered the canvas. He looked at me. His eyes were empty. His eyes were deep. He had no bottom.

"Take it," he said. His voice was dry. It was like sand. "Take it and go. Do not come back. Do not look for me. Do not look for the truth. Just go."

I took it. I took the pain. I took the weight. I took the silence.

I walked on. The terrain was cruel. The rocks were slick. The air was thin. I climbed. My lungs burned. My heart hammered. It was a drum. It was a war drum. It beat for me. It beat for the dead. It beat for the living who did not know they were dead.

I reached the ridge. The view was terrible. The view was beautiful. The valley lay below. It was a sea of grey. It was a sea of blood. I saw the camp. I saw the tents. I saw the men. They were small. They were ants. They were moving. They were dying.

I stopped. I stood still. I breathed. I tried to remember why I was here. I tried to remember the mission. The mission was simple. The mission was impossible. The mission was to destroy the enemy. The mission was to save the village. The mission was to find the source.

I knew the source. I knew it in my bones. I knew it in my blood. The source was not a place. The source was a person. The source was the General.

I turned the satchel over. I felt the weight of the shard. It cut my hand. A drop of blood fell. It hit the mud. It vanished. It was gone. It was never there.

I continued. I moved through the mist. The mist was thick. It was like wool. It was like breath. It swallowed the world. It swallowed me.

I heard a sound. It was a hum. It was a low note. It was coming from the valley. It was coming from the camp. It was coming from the General.

I ran. I ran down the slope. The mud pulled at my legs. The rocks tripped me. I fell. I got up. I fell again. I got up again. I did not stop. I could not stop.

I reached the camp. The tents were torn. The fire was out. The men were gone. There was no one. There was only the silence. There was only the wind.

I walked to the center. I walked to the place where the General had been. I looked at the ground. I looked at the mud. I saw the boot prints. They were fresh. They were wet. They led away. They led into the fog.

I followed. I followed the prints. They led to a tree. The tree was old. The tree was twisted. The tree was dead.

I climbed the tree. I climbed the dead branches. I climbed the silence. I reached the top. I looked down.

I saw the General.

He was sitting on a branch. He was holding the mirror. He was looking at me. He was smiling. His smile was wide. His smile was cruel. His smile was sad.

I did not speak. I did not shout. I did not fight. I just looked. I looked at him. I looked at the mirror.

The mirror was broken.

It was not a shard. It was a mosaic. It was a thousand pieces. It was a thousand reflections. I saw myself. I saw the General. I saw the men. I saw the village. I saw the war. I saw the end.

The end was not a line. The end was a circle. The end was a loop. The end was a trap.

I reached for the mirror. I reached for the truth. I reached for the release.

The General moved. He moved like water. He moved like smoke. He was gone. He was nowhere. He was everywhere.

I fell.

I fell from the tree. I fell into the mud. I fell into the dark. I fell into the pain.

I woke up. I was in the trench. The rain was starting. The mud was wet. My boots were on. They were dry. They were clean.

I looked at my hands. My hands were clean. My hands were empty. I did not have the satchel. I did not have the mirror. I did not have the blood.

I was alone. I was still. I was safe.

I stood up. I walked to the edge of the trench. I looked out. The valley was clear. The smoke was gone. The camp was gone. The General was gone.

I was free.

I thought I was free.

I walked back to the camp. I walked back to the life. I walked back to the routine. I walked back to the lie.

I joined the men. I ate the food. I drank the water. I slept in the cot. I dreamed of the tree. I dreamed of the mirror. I dreamed of the fall.

I woke up. I was in the trench. The rain was starting. The mud was wet. My boots were on. They were dry. They were clean.

I looked at my hands. My hands were clean. My hands were empty.

I was alone. I was still. I was safe.

I stood up. I walked to the edge of the trench. I looked out. The valley was clear. The smoke was gone. The camp was gone. The General was gone.

I was free.

I thought I was free.

I walked back to the camp. I walked back to the life. I walked back to the routine. I walked back to the lie.

I joined the men. I ate the food. I drank the water. I slept in the cot. I dreamed of the tree. I dreamed of the mirror. I dreamed of the fall.

I woke up.

The cycle continued. The cycle was endless. The cycle was eternal. The cycle was mine.

I tried to break it. I tried to run. I tried to fight. I tried to burn. I tried to scream.

Nothing worked.

I accepted it. I accepted the weight. I accepted the silence. I accepted the mirror.

I picked up the satchel. It was light. It was heavy. It was real. It was fake.

I walked out of the trench. I walked into the rain. I walked into the fog. I walked into the dark.

I did not look back.

I did not look forward.

I just walked.

I walked until I was gone.

I walked until I was forgotten.

I walked until I was nothing.

I walked until I was everything.

The rain fell. The mud held. The world turned. The war ended. The war began. The war was the same. The war was different. The war was me.

I was the mirror. I was the shard. I was the break. I was the fall. I was the rise. I was the loop.

I was the nightmare.

I was the dream.

I was the end.

I was the start.

I was the middle.

I was the silence.

I was the sound.

I was the pain.

I was the peace.

I was the truth.

I was the lie.

I was the General.

I was the soldier.

I was the village.

I was the valley.

I was the fog.

I was the rain.

I was the mud.

I was the bone.

I was the blood.

I was the ash.

I was the smoke.

I was the light.

I was the dark.

I was the life.

I was the death.

I was the cycle.

I was the wheel.

I was the stone.

I was the river.

I was the tree.

I was the root.

I was the branch.

I was the leaf.

I was the seed.

I was the fruit.

I was the rot.

I was the bloom.

I was the fall.

I was the rise.

I was the loop.

I was the end.

I was the start.

I was the nothing.

I was the everything.

I was the self.

I was the other.

I was the us.

I was the them.

I was the here.

I was the there.

I was the now.

I was the then.

I was the when.

I was the where.

I was the who.

I was the what.

I was the why.

I was the how.

I was the can.

I was the will.

I was the must.

I was the should.

I was the might.

I was the may.

I was the do.

I was the be.

I was the have.

I was the go.

I was the come.

I was the stay.

I was the leave.

I was the return.

I was the depart.

I was the arrive.

I was the begin.

I was the end.

I was the loop.

I was the circle.

I was the ring.

I was the wheel.

I was the turn.

I was the spin.

I was the roll.

I was the slide.

I was the drift.

I was the flow.

I was the stream.

I was the river.

I was the sea.

I was the ocean.

I was the wave.

I was the foam.

I was the spray.

I was the mist.

I was the fog.

I was the cloud.

I was the rain.

I was the snow.

I was the hail.

I was the sleet.

I was the ice.

I was the frost.

I was the cold.

I was the heat.

I was the fire.

I was the flame.

I was the spark.

I was the ember.

I was the ash.

I was the dust.

I was the dirt.

I was the soil.

I was the earth.

I was the ground.

I was the floor.

I was the wall.

I was the roof.

I was the ceiling.

I was the sky.

I was the star.

I was the moon.

I was the sun.

I was the light.

I was the dark.

I was the shadow.

I was the shade.

I was the gloom.

I was the dim.

I was the bright.

I was the shine.

I was the glow.

I was the gleam.

I was the glint.

I was the glimmer.

I was the sparkle.

I was the twinkle.

I was the flash.

I was the flicker.

I was the blink.

I was the wink.

I was the look.

I was the stare.

I was the gaze.

I was the eye.

I was the face.

I was the head.

I was the hair.

I was the skin.

I was the bone.

I was the flesh.

I was the blood.

I was the nerve.

I was the muscle.

I was the tendon.

I was the ligament.

I was the joint.

I was the hand.

I was the foot.

I was the arm.

I was the leg.

I was the body.

I was the soul.

I was the spirit.

I was the mind.

I was the heart.

I was the brain.

I was the thought.

I was the idea.

I was the concept.

I was the notion.

I was the belief.

I was the faith.

I was the hope.

I was the fear.

I was the love.

I was the hate.

I was the joy.

I was the sorrow.

I was the pain.

I was the pleasure.

I was the pleasure.

I was the pain.

I was the end.

I was the start.