Chapter Text
The sunrise of the first day of spring painted the earth in bright, fiery colors; reds, oranges, and yellows all competed to shine the brightest in the sun’s color palette. Warm light shone between tall trees, accompanied by the calls and whistles of the birds that lived in them. That warmth, however, did not hit the thick, concrete walls of the military base.
Light shined harshly into the windows of the barracks, forcing any soldier who wasn’t already awake to open their eyes. In groups, the tired, angry soldiers would stumble into the showers and then towards the cafeteria. Officers and grunts alike walked side-by-side in an unending, monotonous march. Among them, one stood out.
He was tall, taller than any other man in the entire special forces team. His 6”10, burly build stood out amongst the others, making even more seasoned soldiers look like wimps. It most certainly didn’t help that he was also incredibly anxious—especially around others. Despite being able to murder another with ease, the giant could barely hold a polite conversation.
That was why he’d started to wear his hood.
It was an old habit, one he’d picked up while trying to become a sniper, but it refused to go away. Under his long, black hood, König felt comfortable; with it on, nothing could get to him. König would even stay up later at night or wake up earlier just to be alone when he dressed so no one would see him without his mask.
The first day of spring that year was warmer than usual, though König wasn’t complaining. The winter on the base was a brutal, unending cold that had caused him to be miserable for months. As he ate his breakfast, König listened to the conversations of a group behind him. They talked about the usual—girls they’d met in the city, plans for the future, complaints about assignments—but the way they spoke so casually fascinated König. They laughed easily, joked easily, existed around each other easily. In a way, it was foreign to him; talking so openly and easily was always a difficult subject, especially when no one spoke his first language.
He had enlisted four years ago into the Austrian army as a teenager, hoping that the military would give him some direction in life. It hadn’t. He was twenty-one now and still had no idea what he was going to do for the rest of his life and he was terrified of letting people down. Throughout his childhood and young adult years, his mother had constantly talked about wanting grandchildren and hoping he’d have a big family—König didn’t have the heart to tell her he didn’t see that happening. Not only could he not see himself talking to a girl, but he didn’t even know if he necessarily liked them enough to marry one.
“Heard we’re gettin' some new recruits today,” one of the soldiers’ voices snapped König back into the moment.
“Yeah? Wonder how long it’ll take 'em to run off with their tails between their legs,” the other chuckled.
“Eh, I like to have some hope in the little Echoes,” Echo was the call sign given to newer soldiers, though it always seemed silly to König.
“Whatever, can’t wait to see them shit themselves,” How crude was all König could think. He’d never been one for the nasty ‘locker room talk’ others often used, he was far too shy to say such graphic things. After listening to a little more of their conversation, he stood up to leave only to be blocked by a large group moving through the hall outside the dining room.
Rows of new, fresh-faced soldiers passed him, all shorter than him. Uniforms pressed and neatly ironed, each of the new recruits looked younger, softer, than every other gruff, tired soldier on base. König chuckled a little bit under his breath as he watched them flock around the lieutenant giving them the tour, studying each of their nervous postures. Unconsciously, he followed behind the group, standing a couple of yards behind them as they filed up outside. His shoulder leaned up against the wall, he tried to distinguish each new face as the lieutenant called out their names and gave them a callsign.
“Most of you will leave within a week,” the officer said, his voice tired and ready to be done with the newbies, “by a month, all but a few of you will remain. From this point on, you don’t get to be an individual, you are to follow orders to the letter and never disobey a command. All you will do is echo orders, you don’t get to decide anything. You’ll earn your name when you prove yourself, until then, you are just Echoes. Do I make myself clear?” The recruits sounded off with a loud yes sir! each voice was lost in the crowd.
“Good, you’ll pick up your first assignments soon. For now, go to your assigned barracks and unpack,” like birds scattering after hearing a shot, the recruits flocked out to their new homes. Small groups of 3-6 formed, obviously friend groups from basic training. But one stood alone. They were short, but everyone from König’s perspective was short, though he could tell they were a little under average. Unlike everyone else, they were just looking around the base, duffle bag still in hand. When they turned, König couldn’t help but lose his breath; they were beautiful . Not necessarily in a supermodel way, but more in the way that they looked like an angel when they smiled. And he saw that smile for the first time when he realized they were making eye contact.
The recruit had noticed him staring a moment ago and threw him a small smile and a little wave, snapping König back into reality. He quickly looked away, embarrassed to have been caught staring, and quickly walked away to one of the training buildings. Fuck , the thought, praying that some merciful god would simply strike him down then and there instead of letting him live with the embarrassment. But another part of him was grateful to be alive because he hoped he’d get to see that smile again .