There is nothing serene about this valley.

The cries of the dying echo along its length. Deafening. The pinging bullets and whining engines only add noise to the chaos.

Even before, before all hope was lost, it was not serene. Their numbers were far greater than our own. But we had it covered. We could have done it. The impossible.

I stare out of eyes unbelieving. I see movement that I cannot follow. My ears ring with sounds I don’t identify. There is nothing left. Only a field of death and pain.

Only in death can serenity be found. So many find it now. But not I. I remain, lingering. I cannot move. Cannot think. And before me, my life collapses. All that I have ever striven for is lost. And my heart is cold and hard.

The angels never came. Only the ghostly fire-breathers. The bringers of doom for the 'verse. Nothing can last amid this chaos, this absolute folly.

Beside me there is a body. And another behind. And all around. I do not see them. I can feel them, though. Feel their futile deaths. Their silent cries of agony and betrayal deafen me. There can be no forgiveness.

My eyes, unblinking, watch hope pass into oblivion. Never again can there be joy. Never will I trust again. Never trust a hope. Never trust a soul.

I move now, slowly, like the rising moon. I rip at the chain around my neck. Throw the bauble of my past away. I don’t even look where it falls. Don’t even care.

Nothing can ever be serene again.