I dreamed that I was lying alone and wandering in the frozen mud, unable to move my legs, let alone stand up. My body was helplessly shrouded in darkness, my eyes still staring at the night sky, trying to read an omen from the cold stars.
However, the stars are silent at night and the night sky is gloomy, giving no one any comfort.
He couldn't find the answer, so he struggled up from the mud and looked around, hoping to see some signs of light.
But there was neither movement nor hope in the darkness, only desolate silence.
The giant hand of the night covered up the surrounding scene and cast a longing shadow on it. He was abandoned alone in the dark world with no hope of salvation.
For a moment, he even felt that he was the last person in the galaxy, and he quickly drove this thought out of his mind because of the horror.
"who I am?"
This question kept popping up in my mind.
"Why are you here?"
In confusion, all sorts of discomforts ensue.
The cold wind bit at his exposed face and neck, making his mind dizzy. Fear, loneliness, and loneliness were wrapped around him like a ghost.
But none of this is nearly as bad as silence.
It never occurred to him that noise could be soothing -
The silence highlighted his loneliness and made him face his fears.
He was in the dark, with fear as his companion, and his heart was restless.
"who I am?"
This problem still lingers.
"Why are you here?"
Sometimes his heart palpitated and he wanted to cry out, wanting to ask for help, wanting to beg for mercy, wanting to scream, yelling, praying, just to break this terrible silence.
Whenever this happened, he had to restrain himself with all his strength and bite his lips tightly to prevent the shouts from slipping out.
He didn't know what he was afraid of, but his instinct told him to stay quiet.
Therefore, he could only endure the silence silently. Even if there was little hope, he could not do anything to promote it.
"who I am?"
When the question came up again, a thought clicked in his mind and he remembered.
"I am Bahram Tate, I am Bahram Tate..."
Although the first question was answered, the second question still troubled him.
But he only felt that he had nothing and nothing to care about.
All the important things in the past, family, relatives, and faith in the God-Emperor, have all passed away.
Even his memory was like a dream, the past flashing before his eyes, fading as quickly as his future.
His heart was once filled with bright visions, but now it collapsed as he was dying, leaving only a handful of choices - howl or silence, wakefulness or sleep.
For a moment, sleep seemed so wonderful, he was exhausted, and his tiredness was like an old friend, pulling him into sleep.
But he refused to give in. He knew that if he fell asleep, he would never wake up again, and all these choices would be in vain.
Ultimately, all he has is a stark choice: life or death.
And he refused to die.
"Why am I here?"
The question rang relentlessly, but there was no answer.
He admitted that his fate was no longer in his control, and he could only wait, refusing to give up or fall asleep.
He waited, his life hanging by a thread, like a candle in the dark night.
Suddenly, an ethereal hymn descended from the sky, and a golden beam enveloped him.
Only then did he realize that he was actually an Astartes wearing gorgeous power armor. A broken green sword fell at his feet, and the surrounding mud was filled with all kinds of terrifying things.
Ferocious monsters, they are like patterns dotting the brown carpet.
The song gradually rose in his mind, and Bahram unconsciously relaxed his body and floated towards the golden beam of light that tore through the dark sky.
Then, his feet landed on the ground again, but he was already a child.
The world suddenly changed in his eyes.
At the end of the earth, the sun has set in the west, and the red clouds reflect half of the sky, and the salt fields in the evening wind wash into a golden glow.
In his short life, he had witnessed such a sunset a thousand times, but he stopped only for this one.
He stood there, letting the world surround him quietly, watching the night fall with unspeakable feelings in his heart.
"Is your family okay?"
Home--
This thought made him turn his head and look through the piles of coarse salt at the house on the other side.
He saw the chimney on the sloping roof, the tower-shaped warehouse, the chicken coop built by his father, and the stables where the camels were kept.
He saw the little tin house where he grew up, a two-story building with a low wooden foyer, and the windows wide open to welcome the setting sun.
Bahram didn't need to go in to know that his mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen, his sisters and brother were setting the table, and his father was packing utensils in the workshop.
Soon, they will be seated for dinner.
His family lives like this every day, and this life has continued for as long as he can remember.
On the same ordinary night, he secretly left home and ran towards an unknown future, leaving his family behind...
Didi didi——
Suddenly, a harsh noise dragged him from this confused dream back to reality.
"Well?"
Bahram shook his swollen head, groped around in confusion, and finally found the source of the noise.
His walkie-talkie rang.
This gave him a jolt and he immediately woke up, because he clearly remembered that the only thing that this walkie-talkie could connect to was the one on Fude's body, and before Fude's death in battle, his walkie-talkie was not taken back.
That means...
"What's wrong?"
Not only him, Hao Mo and several others were also awakened. In this environment, no one dared to sleep deeply. Everyone was only in a light sleep, so as soon as there was any movement, they immediately woke up. Some people even instinctively touched him.
Weapons at hand.
Even the two people on duty upstairs poked their heads out of the stairs to see what was going on below.
It seemed that only Bahram had fallen asleep.
"It's a walkie-talkie. Someone picked up Ford's walkie-talkie and planned to establish contact with us."
Soon, Bahram described the whole thing in the simplest terms.
After hearing his words, everyone around them showed surprised expressions, but Robin was the only one who fell into thinking.
"Generally speaking, the communication distance of this small civilian walkie-talkie does not exceed 1,500 meters, and they are not far away from this."
Robin said, stood up and looked out through the small observation opening, but saw nothing, so he shook his head and sat back on the ground.
"You guys upstairs, stop watching the fun and be careful. There are a lot of wolves around us."
After hearing Robin's words, the two people above immediately returned to their respective posts.
"Want to pick up?"
Haoma looked at Bahram, as did everyone else, waiting for him to make a decision.
"Listen and see what they have to say."
Bahram thought for a while and finally pressed the dialogue button, and then a deep voice accompanied by static noise floated out of the intercom.