Fifteen to Nine

A large group of lizard men stalked through the jungle. They had come from their main staging area farther north. A recon squad had been sent down to this area earlier, but communication with them had stopped. The battalion had been sent to find out why and to take up position in the new forward command post. Fifteen was at the head of the column. He was a young officer, only recently graduated from the ranks of the grunts. He was proud to have finally been given a Number. It proved his worthiness as a soldier for the Empire. He still whispered his Number to himself at night, as he lay down to sleep. Fifteen. He loved the way it sounded. 

"Sir!" a strained voice called out to him. Fifteen turned as one of his grunts hustled up to his side. "We've found the recon squad. They're all dead." The grunt guided Fifteen to the site. On the edge of a clearing the hacked corpses of lizard men lay sprawled in a rough circle. All around them were the bodies of burned and melted humans. Even with all their fire power, their plasma rifles and particle guns, the lizard men had not survived the attack from the sword wielding humans. Fifteen's only satisfaction was that the body count was fifteen men to every lizard. Fifteen. What a wonderful number, he thought. 

Looking up into the late evening sky, Fifteen saw the outline of the City of Panaras over the tree tops. That was the new command post. It was still a bit of a hike, but they would reach their destination before dawn. Turning to one of his grunts, he ordered a detail to strip the bodies of the fallen lizard men and then burn the site to the ground. He didn't want a single bone left. The grunt nodded and went to get the napalm. The rest of the grunts followed Fifteen to the city. Almost a hundred of them. 

As they reached Panaras, a wind blew from out of the east and a moaning sound rose from the dead town. Some of the grunts clutched their rifles more tightly, darting their eyes back and forth. "It is only the wind," Fifteen called over his shoulder. His grunts were still green, he understood how they might be a little over anxious, especially after seeing what was left of the recon squad. But he didn't want them being their own worst enemy, he didn't want them seeing threats in every little moving branch or gust of wind. "I have hunted these pests called humans," Fifteen continued, "and they don't sound like that. It is only the wind." 

When they entered the city, they found nothing but dead humans and empty buildings. But all around them the ghosts of the restless dead gibbered and cackled and howled in cold rage. But the lizard men did not see them, did not hear them. Only dead bodies and empty buildings. And the dead citizens of Panaras screamed out louder into the dark night. Their burning souls thirsted to destroy the lizard men, to tear at them and drink their blood, but their spirit bodies passed through the lizards like empty shadows and their pitiless voices were drowned out by the soft breezes coming off the sea. The lizard men didn't even know the ghosts were there, which only stoked the ghosts' rage to even greater heights. But to no avail. For you see, a human ghost can only haunt another human. And so the lizards just kept moving on, from street to street, making their way to the command post that had been set up in the mayor's residence. 

The ephemeral spirit that was once known as Nine saw the columns of lizard men come marching toward the building. He screamed out in joy, waving his hands at them from the third floor balcony, but no one looked up. No one heard his cries. "Why don't they see me?!" his voice almost broke down into sobs. The mayor looked at him and frowned. "Hmmm, do your people believe in ghosts?" the mayor asked. Nine looked at him, puzzled. "What is a ghost?" "You said earlier," the mayor answered, "that your people are the only beings with souls. What happens to the soul after the body dies?" "The soul is reborn into the Eternal Paradise," Nine replied. "But does the soul sometimes get trapped here in the mortal sphere, instead of moving on to Paradise?" the mayor asked. "Of course not!" Nine answered vehemently. Such an assertion was not only utterly stupid, but it was also sacrilegious. "Well there you go," the mayor shrugged his shoulders. "Those lizard troops don't see or hear you because they don't believe in you. According to them there is no such thing as a ghost. And that means you're not real. And according to the Laws of the Spirit World, you'll never be able to haunt them." The mayor shook his head glumly, "My friend, the only people that will ever know you are here are other ghosts." Nine stared at the mayor, "But, but, but..." "Hey, I'm going down to the harbor and see if any more humans show up. They may be werewolves, but atleast I can haunt their butts. Ta-ta." Nine just stood there as the mayor disappeared through a wall. 

Fifteen entered the residencia and soon found the enviro unit and comm equipment. The place had been cleaned up and prepped exactly as regs dictated. He shook his head. Those poor bastards must have been overconfident and when they went out on their daily patrol they didn't leave anybody behind. And that's when the savages hit them with all they had. "Sir!" a grunt walked in on him. "What is it?" Fifteen asked. "We've found a body, sir. It looks like an officer." Fifteen followed the grunt up to the mayor's office. A lizard man lay on the floor. His neck had been snapped. Fifteen reached down and read his ID tags. The officer had been in the science division. His Number was Nine. Fifteen straightened up and looked at the grunt. "Put this body on ice. When Sci Division shows up I want an autopsy on him. And have them check his data logs. Well, at least the dumb snake is on his way to Paradise." 

1. And then the dawn came...