Page 2 of Primal Call

So he laughed and joked right along with the rest of them, keeping any hint of inner turmoil perfectly concealed behind his calm, professional facade.

Jasper excused himself from the banter, mumbling something about needing to check on supplies in the storage room. The others barely paid him any mind as he slipped away, too caught up in their jokes and laughter to notice the careful mask he wore.

As soon as he was out of their sight, the facade dropped.

His shoulders slumped and the fake smile slid off his face, replaced by a blank, empty expression. Jasper felt numb, like he was just going through the motions.

Deep down, he was just waiting for death to finally come for him.

He'd signed up to be a frontline medic knowing full well it was likely a one-way trip. Better to die a hero's death than live long enough for his conservative parents to find out why none of their prospective daughters-in-law had ever caught his eye.

At least this way, Jasper could depart this life with honor, instead of bringing shame to his family.

When he'd first made that decision and signed up, Jasper had thought he was at peace with it. He was prepared to sacrifice himself for a greater cause.

But now, stuck in this endless holding pattern of quiet and waiting, the weight of his choice was oppressive.

The numbness was a small mercy. If he allowed himself to really feel anything, the crushing reality might break him. He just had to remain detached, to simply exist in this bleak in-between state until the inevitable finally came.

He was here to help others, to save lives, not indulge his personal wants. Anything more than that silent, selfless existence was an unforgivable luxury he didn't deserve.

To pursue his own desires would be greedy.

Jasper took a deep breath and smoothed his expression back into careful neutrality, before rejoining his squad. The banter and jokes washed over him, but he simply nodded and smiled at the right moments.

The calm was shattered by an ear-splitting explosion.

One moment, Jasper was nodding along to the squad's jokes. The next, the ground itself seemed to buckle beneath his feet as a deafening boom rocked the building.

Instinct took over before conscious thought could catch up. Jasper threw himself to the ground, covering his head as debris rained down. Chunks of debris and twisted metal pinged off his body. Through the ringing in his ears, he could make out the sounds of screams and shouts.

His squadmates were yelling, their voices a frantic chorus of commands and confusion over the thunderous roar of whatever had just hit them. Jasper raised his head, blinking against the clouds of dust filling the air. Across the room, he could just make out the shapes of his squadmates through the haze.

Morrison was already on his feet, bellowing orders as he tried to restore some sense of order. "To me!" he yelled, and then he was charging out of the room, the others on his heels.

Jasper followed, his boots crunching on the debris.

When he got to the main compound, though, he froze.

The rest of the squad were engaging with an enemy, some already returning fire through the gaping hole that had been blown in the wall. Jasper followed their line of sight, desperate to know what was going on.

And then it felt like his heart stopped.

Borraq.

Towering alien forms were charging into the building, their golden skin glinting like freshly polished brass. Jasper had never seen one of the aliens up close before, but the images he'd seen in training vids didn't do them justice.

They were huge, easily towering over the tallest human, with thick, sinewy muscles rippling beneath their golden hides. Vicious-looking horns curved up from their skulls, as sharp as the blades in their hands.

One of the invading aliens turned its terrible gaze towards him. In that moment, Jasper knew true, visceral terror.

The Borraq let out a bone-chilling snarl, mouth splitting in a smirk that showed sharp, pointed teeth.

Jasper flinched back, his every instinct screaming at him to run. He wanted nothing more than to curl up into a tiny ball and simply cease existing, if it would let him escape that awful, predatory stare.

But he couldn't run. Not yet.

His squadmates needed him. He was the team's medic — it was his duty to stay and help for as long as possible. Jasper gritted his teeth and forced himself to start moving, scrambling over to the nearest fallen form.

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