The war is over. Only the battlefield remains.

The last shots left the corporal in a pool of blood, following the creep of death's shadow. Memories of his wife and daughter beckon him to their comfort. Meanwhile, cut off from communication, and with the last copy of the encryption keys buried in the corporal's brain, his squad resuscitates him using spare body parts and enemy technology.

Guided by fleeting specters of his family, the corporal leads the squad across the silent battlefield. Between the ruins and his waiting wife and daughter looms a dread that no one will ever be the same again.

This is a short science fiction and military story.