Desert Sun

"Who would win in a fight, the Hulk or Doomsda-"

"Holy FUCK, dude. Shut the hell up."

The sun hung bright and still over the desert, an unforgiving gaze that scorched the land and caused the air to shimmer above the red sand. Little flora and fauna made its home in this rocky wasteland, the scorching days and freezing nights being too much to bear. In all directions, any civilized person would say there was nothing. Under the stern watch of the sun, two men kept watch over that nothing, loading rounds into magazines by hand.

"What? What the hell's your problem?" Asked the taller one, taken aback by the outburst.

"My problem is that I'm stuck in the middle of the fucking desert, I'm loading magazines on a working party, it's a hundred and nine degrees, I'm wearing all this fucking gear, and they won't be back to pick us up until sunset. To summarize: Gunny is a fucking prick and I don't want to fucking talk. Shit." The other ranted.

"Shit, dude. You think I don't know this fuckin' sucks? I'm just trying to make fuckin' conversation, shit. It's not like time is goin' to go any faster, alright?" The tall one retorted, waving his hand to enunciate his vulgar language.

They both sat in the shade of the Saguaro, the cacti standing like watchmen over the desert. Their gear was heavy and dark, the red ADVENT insignia gleaming in the light. The magazines they loaded seemed antiquated, the rounds very much to match.

"Most pointless shit, s'all I'm sayin'." The tall one continued. "We don't even use this shit anymore, right? Why load them?"

"Boots need somethin' to drill with, Clancy." The other replied.

"Loaded?" Clancy scoffed. "So they can shoot themselves in the fuckin' head? Shit, better than joinin' the fuckin' infantry with no one to fight."

The other man was silent, sighing as he loaded rounds monotonously into the magazine, his thumbs marked with red smudges where he bled.

"Oh, come on, Stevens." Clancy leaned forward, frowning and wiping sweat from his brow. "I'm just as fuckin' stuck out here as you, man. Shit, it's not my fault. Gunny put us out here, not me."

"Except it is your fucking fault!" Stevens snapped back. "You're the one who got the fucking DUI. Now Gunny's fucking me because your dumb ass didn't listen to me."

"Shit, man." Clancy spoke, but didn't say anything further.

A horned lizard scurried by, taking a moment to eye the two fellows curiously before hurrying off into a nearby hole. The wind blew hot and dry, sweeping sand into their eyes and chapping their faces. Blood smeared their fingers as the magazines and bullets wore their skin raw.

Clancy spat into the brown puddle he had been working on for the past hour, strands of tobacco swirling in the vile mix. Even the desert sun could not keep up with his habit. He seemed to think for a moment.

"You think we'll be deployed soon?" He finally spoke, packing his dip with his tongue.

"To where? Unification was decades ago. Let the fuckin' diggits in the SOC deal with the crazy hermits." Stevens frowned.

"I hear they hit Camp Zion," Clancy started after a few seconds. "Blew the entire armory."

"I heard that was a charge pack malfunction that chained."

"Nah, man. Word is that the sand gooks got in and took out the arsenal with our own charges."

"Wouldn't put it past them," Stevens shook his head. "Crazy fucking hermits can't leave well enough alone."

"So you think they'll let us go after them?" Clancy repeated hopefully.

"Fuck no. We can't invade them. They don't have borders or any shit. They have like forty dudes and an airship. SOC will take that shit."

"Then why the fuck do we need infantrymen?"

"Because someone has to be fucked."

Clancy gave a short laugh at this, running a hand through his auburn medium-reg. They were still surrounded by thousands of bullets and over one hundred magazines. Work dragged on slow beneath the unrelenting sun. The monotony was so great that they did not notice the shadow of the Saguaro grow longer. They did not notice the sun sink in the western sky. They did not notice the ship soar behind the mesa to the west. They did not notice the shadows moving along the rock nor the dark figures that drew sight upon them.

The unforgiving sun fell beyond the horizon.