Chapter 9

Dean watched in growing alarm as more body bags were tossed into the back of the wide-load trucks parked at the entrance of the village. He counted the loaded body bags in the first truck and the number was thirty-five. Forty-five body bags were loaded in the second truck. It looks like those are the villagers. God. It seems that many villagers are dying in Esmeralda. The soldiers in charge of disposal efficiently carried out their task without comment or expression. Dean swallowed a rush of disgust, wondering how they justified it to themselves. Probably assured themselves they were good little soldiers simply following orders, just like the captured Russian soldiers between the war in Russia and Ukraine - they said they were just following the orders of the superior. He was stunned. He then remembered those soldiers in Germany during Hitler's attack on Poland - they just followed orders. Who are they to question the command of the superior, right? Battling his rising fury, Dean cr