《The Soldier》 Chapter 1 By now, the blistering heat of the Mediterranean was something that Sergeant Black was well acquainted with. But it was days like this that made him prefer the incessant rain back in England. Most days it was a dry heat, but it was days like today where it was humid as all hell that he hated the most. ¡°Echo this is Bishop, I¡¯m missing a SITREP here, over.¡± His radio buzzed. Lieutenant Shaw rolled his eyes. ¡°We¡¯re en route to Argerios, ETA about two mikes, over.¡± He replied. ¡°Well make it one, I wanna know what¡¯s going on there, Bishop out.¡± ¡°Christ, General Randolph¡¯s had a stick up his ass ever since the Zeloria Papers were leaked,¡± Black said, drumming his fingers on the dash of the car. Corporal Kelly scoffed from the back seat. ¡°I know right? The yanks have been itching to go to war with Zeloria for years, and now it looks like they just might,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope they don¡¯t,¡± Sergeant Hughes chimed in. ¡°Because if they do, then they¡¯ll end up roping us in too.¡± ¡°Heads up lads, we¡¯re here,¡± Shaw cut in. ¡°Everyone out, and stay alert,¡± he ordered. Black nodded, grabbing his SA80 rifle and hopping out of the car. ¡°Bishop this is Echo, we¡¯re at the capital, heading over to the courthouse now, over,¡± Shaw said. ¡°Solid copy Echo, be careful things could get out of hand very quickly, make sure it doesn¡¯t, out.¡± ¡°This had better be good,¡± Hughes muttered under his breath. As they walked through the city to the courthouse, the streets were empty. Cars were all sitting in driveways and garages, and the lights in all the houses were off. The wind had started to pick up a bit, carrying an abandoned newspaper across the sidewalk. The sound of some sort of commotion became more and more prominent the closer they got. They turned the corner to the courthouse and stopped dead in their tracks. The steps to the courthouse were flooded by protesters. ¡°Jesus Christ,¡± Shaw said. ¡°Bishop this Echo, message, over.¡± ¡°Go ahead Echo, over,¡± Bishop replied. ¡°This is a mess, it looks like the whole city¡¯s here. We¡¯re looking at a time bomb waiting to go off and the PAF only sent three men. Requesting additional support, over.¡± There was a brief pause before Bishop finally responded. ¡°Roger that Echo; Charlie and Delta are en-route. Just do your best to keep the place from going apeshit.¡± ¡°Roger that Bishop, Echo out.¡± Shaw turned to the rest of the squad. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move.¡± They pushed their way through the crowd of protesters up the stairs of the courthouse.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Shaw walked up to the man who looked like the commanding officer. ¡°What the hell¡¯s going on here?¡± He asked. ¡°Civilians started showing up in droves, now it¡¯s a full-blown protest,¡± He told them. ¡°Protest? This is a god damn riot!¡± Black cut in. ¡°And you¡¯ve been some help haven¡¯t you?¡± He retorted. ¡°We ask for support and you send four men.¡± Shaw stepped between the two. ¡°We have more on the way, for now, let¡¯s just do what we can to break up this riot,¡± He said, trying to put the two at ease. Black turned to the crowd and started trying to disperse them. ¡°Everyone, step back,¡± He told one group. Before long, a news van pulled up and a camera crew set up, observing the riot. Soon, people started throwing rocks at the seven soldiers. The crowd shouldered and pushed them around, and Black ended up within arms reach of Shaw. ¡°This isn¡¯t working!¡± He said, raising his voice over the yelling of the crowd. ¡°When are Charlie and Delta getting here?¡± ¡°Not sure, I haven¡¯t gotten a word from Bishop, I¡¯ll try to ask,¡± Shaw answered. ¡°For now, let¡¯s all group up back at the doors.¡± ¡°Bishop this is Echo, things are getting out of hand here, we need Charlie and Delta here ASAP, over,¡± Shaw said. ¡°They¡¯re moving as fast as they can Echo, out,¡± Bishop replied. ¡°Oh sure, when it¡¯s Americans then they can take their sweet-ass time,¡± Black grumbled. Shaw turned to him like he was about to reply, but he was cut off by a boom that shook the ground. The blast came from the back right corner of the courthouse, where Echo quickly went to investigate. The civilians started running off in all directions, screaming as if their lives depended on it. ¡°Echo to Bishop, an IED just went off at the courthouse, we¡¯re moving in to investigate, over,¡± Shaw said. ¡°Affirmative Echo, sweep the area, make sure there aren¡¯t any more explosives, and report in with any further intel, out,¡± Bishop replied. They made a sweep of the area that the explosion went off in. There was no structural damage, no one else was there, the blast did nothing. They were about to report in when gunshots rang out from the doors to the courthouse. ¡°It was a god damn diversion!¡± Hughes exclaimed. They sprinted back to the entrance as fast as they could, and when they got there they saw the three PAF men lying dead in their blood on the steps, and two men loading Eros into the news van in the parking lot, handcuffs still on. Echo instinctively raised their rifles. ¡°Hands up, you¡¯re under arrest!¡± Shaw shouted at them. They slammed the van doors shut and sped off, the screeching of their tires echoing through the streets. ¡°Echo to Bishop, the IED was a diversion, a pair of men got away with Eros, over,¡± Shaw said, bracing himself for some sort of lecture. ¡°Goddammit Echo.¡± Bishop stopped himself from scolding them any further. ¡°Charlie and Delta are entering the AO now, they¡¯ll keep things under control there, but for now, just RTB so we can take stock of the situation, Golf is on their way to pick you up, over.¡± ¡°Solid copy Bishop, we¡¯ll be waiting, out,¡± Nobody said a word as the Blackhawk gently touched down in front of them, they just climbed in. ¡°Alright boys, you all strapped in?¡± Sergeant Corrik asked from the pilot seat. Shaw gave him a thumbs up and they lifted off of the ground. ¡°Shit¡¯s kicking off back at base,¡± Corrik said. ¡°Colonel Manalakos is blaming us for letting Eros escape, and some of the PAF soldiers are even claiming we staged it.¡± ¡°Jesus,¡± Black exclaimed. ¡°General Randolph¡¯s gonna be pissed at us.¡± ¡°Yeah? Well, I¡¯d like to see ¡®Bishop¡¯ get off his high and mighty ass and pick up a rifle one of these days,¡± Kelly said, looking out the window of the chopper. ¡°He may have to,¡± Shaw pointed out. ¡°The PAF have been pissy ever since we got here, looks like they¡¯re just trying to find reasons to hate us. Things could get real ugly real fast.¡± Chapter 2 ¡°As political activism in Pithoria continues to escalate, the Pithorian Armed Forces are trying everything they can to keep violence at bay. Meanwhile, NATO peacekeeping forces continue to decommission equipment and were noticeably absent when three large crates of military-grade weapons and ammunition were seized from a group of activists last week. In other news, Colonel Manalakos is set to deliver a joint press conference with Zelorian Colonel Sharov tomorrow afternoon, which will likely be delivering the findings of the investigation into the courthouse bombing last month-¡± Black slammed his finger on the power button of the radio. ¡°Fucking state-run media, it drives me crazy,¡± He grumbled. ¡°Yeah, they stick us on babysitting duty instead of where all the action is, and then they complain about how we don¡¯t do anything,¡± Hughes added. ¡°Lighten up lads,¡± Shaw told them. ¡°It could be worse. They could¡¯ve stuck us on checkpoint duty.¡± Black scoffed. ¡°I guess so, but sometimes I¡¯d rather be doing that than hopelessly trying to teach PAF recruits how to be competent soldiers,¡± He said. ¡°Alright gentleman, my name is Lieutenant Shaw and today we will be overseeing your training,¡± Shaw began. ¡°A NATO group? Really?¡± Black heard one recruit mutter to another. He would¡¯ve said something to them, but he decided that he didn¡¯t want to scrub the barracks floor again. ¡°We¡¯re going to start by having Sergeant Black here, shoot at these targets we have set up.¡± He gestured to the 15 targets evenly spaced out about 100 meters away. ¡°So Sergeant, if you¡¯d be so kind.¡± Black raised his rifle, his left eye shut and his right eye staring down the iron sights of his rifle. He carefully squeezed out a shot on each target. ¡°Now as you¡¯ll notice, he¡¯s taking his time to line up each target and shoot, in other words, he¡¯s opting for precision over speed,¡± Shaw pointed out as Black shot at the targets. ¡°This is what you should always strive for,¡± He finished as Black shot the last target. He was about to continue when a Mi-8 flew overhead. ¡°What the hell is the ZAF doing here?¡± Hughes grumbled. ¡°We should probably report that in,¡± Shaw said, reaching for his radio. ¡°Bishop, this is Echo, message, over,¡± He said. ¡°Go ahead Echo, over,¡± Bishop responded. ¡°A Zelorian helicopter just flew overhead, heading south-west. How copy, over?¡± There was a brief moment of pause before Bishop replied. ¡°They¡¯re fine Echo, let them pass. The PAF is giving them clearance, over.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Of course they are,¡± Black grumbled. ¡°PAF¡¯ll do anything to kiss their arse.¡± Shaw turned his attention back to the recruits. ¡°Now, let¡¯s carry on then, shall we? Next, we¡¯re going to talk about movement on the battlefield, and how one decision could mean life or death. The first thing you¡¯ve got to know when you¡¯re talking about this is-¡± He was cut off by a thundering boom in the distance. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± Hughes asked. Shaw was already reaching for his radio. ¡°Bishop this is Echo, we just heard an explosion not far away. Do we know what it is? Over,¡± He asked. ¡°Echo, Bishop, wait one, over,¡± Bishop replied. They waited for about 30 seconds before Bishop replied. ¡°The PAF is saying that ZAF chopper you saw just went down. We need you to investigate, how copy? Over.¡± ¡°Solid copy sir, but what about the recruits?¡± Shaw asked. ¡°I dunno lieutenant take ¡®em with you, make it a lesson or something, according to the PAF, the chopper went down at grid reference 043-783, get moving, out.¡± Shaw once again turned to the recruits. ¡°Alright, change of plans. We¡¯re going to investigate a Zelorian chopper that went down, and you¡¯re coming with us. Now form up on me, we¡¯re moving out.¡± He turned toward the black tower of smoke in the distance and started walking. Shaw raised his fist, signaling for the group to stop. He pointed to an outcrop of rocks on the hill to their left. ¡°Hughes, Kelly, get up there and wait for my signal.¡± The two men nodded and started moving into position. Shaw looked back at the rest of the group. ¡°We¡¯ll wait for them to get into position, then we¡¯ll move in,¡± He told them. ¡°Bishop this is Echo, we¡¯re almost at the crash site, how copy? Over.¡± ¡°Roger that Echo, remember the ROE, do not fire unless fired upon. We don¡¯t wanna piss these guys off further. Report in once the site is secure, Bishop out.¡± ¡°We¡¯re all set, sir,¡± Sergeant Hughes said over the radio. ¡°How does it look?¡± Shaw asked. ¡°We¡¯ve got eyes on rebels at the crash site, about two fire teams. Paramilitaries by the looks of it.¡± He told him. ¡°Alright, keep us covered, we¡¯re gonna try and talk them down.¡± He stood up and moved up over the hill, Black and the recruits followed. They came up over the hill, moving slowly and trying to stay in plain sight. The rebels spotted them and fixed their guns on them. Shaw held his rifle out, trying to make it clear that they were friendly, Black did the same, but the recruits kept their guns ready. Black could see the rebels talking to each other, and they slowly started lowering their guns. But then, one of the rebels point at the recruits, and they all raised their guns again, and after a few seconds, they opened fire. Black hit the dirt, aiming down the barrel of his rifle and lining up a shot on one of the rebels. He squeezed out one clean shot on their head, and they dropped to the ground. Hughes and Kelly opened fire on the rebels from the rocks, taking out about half of them. Black took a second one down with another well-placed shot, and Shaw took out the other two. Black stood up. ¡°So how was that action for you?¡± He asked the cadets. But when he turned around, he saw them all lying on the ground dead. ¡°Ah shit.¡± Shaw grumbled. ¡°The PAF isn¡¯t gonna like this,¡± He said. ¡°Bishop it¡¯s Echo, the crash site is secure. There were a couple of rebels that opened fire on us, but we took them. Although¡­ we lost the cadets, over.¡± Black could hear Bishop sigh. ¡°Alright, well, for now, RTB. A PAF squad is on its way to hold the crash site, out.¡± ¡°Why do I get the feeling we just made things worse?¡± Black asked. Chapter 3 ¡°Will this place ever have a day that¡¯s not over 100 degrees?¡± Kelly grumbled as he attempted to fan himself with his helmet. ¡°Look on the bright side, a few more weeks and we¡¯ll finally be off this rock.¡± Shaw reminded him. ¡°Well, it¡¯s about damn time. I felt like I¡¯d never see the day,¡± Black said. ¡°Echo this is Bishop, come in, over.¡± ¡°Receiving you sir, over,¡± Shaw replied. ¡°Someone forgot to tell the PAF Foxtrot would be coming in by boat at Askotiri to unload more supplies. They¡¯re getting pissy and we need you to go and defuse the situation. Got that?¡± ¡°Affirmative sir, we¡¯re on our way, out,¡± Shaw said. ¡°Well, this ought to be fun.¡± Hughes scoffed. ¡°Provided they don¡¯t shoot us,¡± He joked. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we have to walk all the way there, I thought this was urgent,¡± Kelly said. ¡°Command doesn¡¯t have many vehicles that they can spare for us, we just got the short end of the stick,¡± Shaw said. They all looked up as a Blackhawk flew overhead. ¡°Looks like they¡¯ve got Corrik running people around on errands,¡± Hughes commented. ¡°Heh, poor bastard. I¡¯m sure the PAF is getting fed up with us in their airspace by now,¡± Black said. ¡°Bishop, this is Charlie, shouldn¡¯t that PAF squad have gotten here for their shift yet? Over.¡± Charlie asked. ¡°Wait one Charlie, over,¡± Bishop replied. There was a moment of silence that Echo squad didn¡¯t really pay any attention to as they kept walking. ¡°The PAF isn¡¯t responding to any of our communications, we¡¯ll keep trying to raise them but just sit tight for the moment, out.¡± Everyone looked at each other, this was strange. But their thoughts were cut off by another radio transmission. ¡°Foxtrot to Bishop, flash! PAF is opening fire! I say again PAF is-¡± They cut off. ¡°Foxtrot? Foxtrot!? Repeat your last, over!¡± Bishop said. ¡°Bishop this is Golf, we¡¯re being engaged by multiple PAF AA stations, what the hell is going on?¡± Corrik said. ¡°Unsure Golf, wait one!¡± Bishop answered. A pair of PAF fighter jets shrieked overhead, and gunfire erupted across the island. Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what was going on or what to do. ¡°Alpha to Bishop, multiple armored assets converging on our position, requesting support, over!¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Negative Alpha, we have no assets to spare at this time.¡± ¡°Bishop, this is Delta, a ZAF gunship just strafed us and a transport chopper just landed at our position.¡± A PAF transport helicopter started hovering over Echo and started lowering to the ground. ¡°Get set for contact!¡± Shaw yelled. ¡°Echo to Bishop, PAF troops are being dropped on our position, please advise, over!¡± ¡°Bishop to all callsigns, code red! I say again, code red! Pithorian and Zelorian forces are considered hostile, fall back and find somewhere safe to wait this out!¡± The PAF troops all jumped out as the helicopter touched down on the ground, and as soon as they were all out, it lifted off again. Black dove to the ground, the adrenaline already surging through his body. He tried to line up a shot on a soldier¡¯s head, but he was shaking too much to hold it, so he sprayed a few shots into his chest instead. A bullet landed in the grass right next to him, only missing his leg by a few millimeters. He dropped a few more, and the rest did the same. He stood up as the last one fell to the ground. ¡°Well, now what?¡± He asked. ¡°We¡¯ve got to find somewhere to lay low,¡± Shaw said. ¡°There¡¯s a cave somewhere in the cliffs on the west coast,¡± Hughes suggested. ¡°It¡¯s a start I suppose, we¡¯d better get moving.¡± By the time they got to the cave, the sun was perfectly situated at the peak of its course, hovering directly above them. They probably would¡¯ve gotten there earlier, but they had spent most of the time getting to the cave, staying out of sight of patrols. As the four men stepped into the cave, they all sat down, leaning against the jagged stone wall. The cave wasn¡¯t all that big, it was really more like a deep divet in the cliff. ¡°What a day huh?¡± Black asked. ¡°Do we have a plan?¡± Kelly asked, looking at Shaw. ¡°Just to survive at the moment,¡± He said. ¡°Wait a minute, do you still have that portable radio?¡± He asked. Kelly nodded, taking it out of one of the pockets on his vest and handing it to Shaw. He switched it on and started fiddling with the knobs, trying to find the right station. He set it down on the ground as the sound of a voice faded in. ¡°-the help of the Zelorian Armed Forces has been more than helpful as of late, especially in light recent events involving NATO.¡± The thick greek accent of Colonel Manalakos was difficult to understand at first. ¡°Speaking of which, the help of Zelorian Intelligence has helped us conclude our investigations into the NATO task force,¡± He continued. ¡°After discovering military-grade NATO weapons and ammunition at several of the rebel strongholds that we have raided, we have concluded that NATO has been funding and supporting these rebels, including their attack on the courthouse to free the criminal Eros. Because of this, we have recognized them as a hostile force, and they will be attacked on sight.¡± The crowd erupted, barraging the colonel with questions before quickly being settled down again. ¡°Colonel Manalakos, are you worried about a military response from NATO?¡± One of the reporters asked. ¡°No, as a matter of fact, that brings me to my next bit of news. Many have been wondering what would become of our nation ever since we gained our independence, but those concerns can now be put to rest, as the nation of Pithoria will now become a territory of Zeloria.¡± The crowd once again erupted, but Shaw shut the radio off. ¡° Goddammit,¡± Black muttered. ¡°W- what are we gonna do? Do we have a plan?¡± Kelly asked, shifting his gaze to everyone in the room. Shaw stood up and started pacing around the room. ¡°For now, there¡¯s nothing we can do except wait,¡± He said. ¡°We can try to find anyone else that may have survived, but until then, all we can do is wait.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need food and water,¡± Hughes added. ¡°These MRE¡¯s can only get us so far.¡± Shaw nodded. ¡°Right, we can go out tomorrow, but let¡¯s rest, for now, we¡¯ll need it. We can watch in shifts.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take first watch,¡± Black said as he stood up and started walking toward the cave entrance. Chapter 4 (Quick sum up of what¡¯s happened for those who¡¯ve only read chapter 1: After tensions between NATO and the PAF reached a breaking point, the PAF recognized NATO as hostile and killed most of them. They then reveal that they¡¯re becoming a colony of Zeloria. Alone and cut off, Echo squad took shelter in a cave resting on a cliff side) The four men that made up Echo squad sat around each other, making sure they had what they needed. Black was sorting out his ammunition, taking all his rounds and splitting them evenly in the magazines he had. In total, he had 3 full magazines and a few extra rounds in a fourth, just shy of a hundred shots. Shaw was fiddling around with his long-range radio pack. He was carefully turning each knob and listening carefully for anything that stood out among the uniform waves of static. Hughes was sorting through his pack, as he took stock of all his medical supplies. Altogether, he had three bandages, two morphine shots, and a tourniquet. Kelly was tying his boots and making sure they were on tight, but it was nothing more than an attempt to distract himself from his fidgeting. ¡°Alright lads, gather ¡®round. Here¡¯s the plan,¡± Shaw said. He took his map of the island out and unfolded it onto the cave floor. ¡°Our objective is Point Gaines. It¡¯s the closest outpost to our position, about two klicks to the northeast.¡± He pointed to it on the map. ¡°Now there won¡¯t be much in the way of supplies, but that also probably means that there won''t be much of a garrison there either. We have the element of surprise on our side, and we''re going to use it to our advantage.¡± He marked a spot on the map, about three-quarters of the way between Point Gaines and the cave. ¡±Once we reach this position we¡¯ll split into two teams. Black and Kelly, you''ll flank left. Hughes, you and I will flank right. We''ll surround and overwhelm them. Once it''s clear, we''ll grab everything we can get our hands on; food, weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, and a vehicle if we can find one. It¡¯s pretty isolated so we should have a decent window to grab what we can before reinforcements show up, but we¡¯ll need to be fast. Any questions?¡± He glanced at each man, who shook their heads. ¡°Good, let¡¯s move out gentlemen.¡± They walked up the cliff one at a time, to make sure they didn¡¯t fall off. Once they reached the top, Shaw pulled out his compass and oriented himself. He pointed northeast and they got on their way, moving in a basic wedge formation. After all the chaos and confusion from the day before, it was unnaturally quiet. No distant gunfire, no panicked radio chatter, no explosions or vehicles speeding down the road, nothing but the hiss of the grass in the warm, Mediterranean breeze. They were a kilometer out when they heard a low chopping sound coming from the East, and it was slowly getting louder. ¡°Shit, everyone hit the dirt,¡± Shaw said in a hushed tone. They dove to the ground and stayed as still as they could. Out of the corner of his eye, Black saw a Pithorian helicopter glide through the air in their direction. His grip on his rifle got tighter, and the helicopter got closer. His heartbeat quickened as the helicopter came to a stop right above them. The agent of their potential demise hovered only a few hundred meters above them. Black¡¯s mind raced with too many thoughts to keep track of, as he prepared himself for the end. Luckily though, the helicopter turned and headed south. Everyone stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°That was way too fucking close,¡± Black said. The rest of the walk to Point Gaines was excruciating. Echo squad decided to move slower in order to stay undetected, and creeping through primarily open fields, put Black on edge. The paranoia that a single bullet could come from anywhere and cut his life short messed with his mind. He wanted to keep his finger resting on the trigger of his rifle, so he could respond to anything within a split second, but the weeks of training back home were engraved into his brain, so he kept it on the trigger guard instead. Finally, they made it to their break off spot. They could see Point Gaines in the distance. It rested on the top of a hill, which was less of a hill than it was a glorified mound.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Jesus Christ,¡± Kelly whispered. ¡°How are you so calm right now?¡± ¡°Truth be told I¡¯m not.¡± Black said. ¡°It¡¯s something you get used to. Before I was stationed here, I served two tours in Iran. That¡¯s where I learned the truth about war, but like I said, I got used to it.¡± ¡°How the hell do you get used to this? This is a nightmare.¡± ¡°Trust me, once you get enough experience, you will,¡± Black assured him. ¡°I don¡¯t want experience. I¡¯m only here because my dad pressured me into it.¡± Kelly said with a bit of venom in his tone. ¡°I¡¯ve got a girlfriend to get home to. What about you? Don¡¯t you have someone to go home to?¡± Black shook his head. ¡°My mum ran off at the first chance she got, and my dad died when I was three. After living in foster homes all my life, I was kicked into the streets for about a year. It wasn¡¯t until I enlisted that I found my purpose.¡± He cut himself off before he got carried away. ¡°We¡¯re almost there, let¡¯s get into position.¡± They kneeled behind a boulder. The outpost was surrounded by sandbag walls, and the only thing Black could see from the base of the hill was one man in a watchtower, looking away from them into a pair of binoculars. ¡°Shaw, we¡¯re in position,¡± he whispered. ¡°Roger, hold your fire until I give the signal, Hughes and I are scoping things out.¡± ¡°What do you see?¡± Black asked. ¡°12 guys. There¡¯s one on a static machine gun on your side of the outpost, and one in a watchtower.¡± Black looked down the sights of his rifle and fixed the red dot to the sentry¡¯s chest. He took a deep breath and tried to relax his nerves. He flicked the safety off and waited. ¡°Open up,¡± Shaw said. Black squeezed out a single shot and the sentry dropped dead. ¡°C¡¯mon, we¡¯re moving up,¡± he told Kelly. Staying crouched, the pair moved up the hill and pressed themselves against the wall. They started moving carefully along the wall trying to find an entrance. A PAF soldier came running out of a gap in the wall, weapon raised, and Kelly sprayed him down just as he turned their way. Black¡¯s heart pounded against the plating in his vest, and adrenaline pumped through his veins. He leaned around the corner of the entrance to see a PAF soldier waiting. He took a shot, but Black leaned back and the bullet ricocheted off the ground at his feet. He pulled his only grenade from his vest and pulled the pin. He let it cook in his hand for a second before tossing it over the wall. He covered his ears and waited for the explosion before pushing in. Black heard the deafening sound of the static machine gun to his right, but he couldn¡¯t see it. He leaned around the corner of a building to see its operator firing in the direction of Shaw and Hughes. Black fired a shot at him, but missed, and as the gun turned his way, Black sprayed another five shots into him out of panic. They met up with Shaw and Hughes. ¡°How many have you gotten?¡± Shaw asked. ¡°Four.¡± ¡°Same here, that leaves four left. We¡¯ll sweep around and check-¡° After the gunshot echoed around in Black¡¯s brain, he stood there in disbelief as Shaw fell to the ground, with blood starting to stain his vest. He barely had time to register the bullet that missed him by a few millimeters before Kelly put three rounds into the assailant¡¯s chest. Hughes was already kneeling down next to Shaw, taking off his vest to inspect the wound. ¡°Kelly, go sweep the outpost, find the last three guys!¡± Hughes barked. ¡°Black you stay here and keep me covered.¡± He threw his pack off his shoulder and rummaged through it to pull out bandages. ¡°C¡¯mon Shaw, stay with us,¡± Black said kneeling next to him ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Shaw winced. ¡°The bastard just grazed my side.¡± ¡°You got lucky,¡± Hughes told him. ¡°A few millimeters to the left and he would¡¯ve put a hole in your intestine.¡± They turned their attention to short bursts of gunfire before hearing Kelly come over the radio. ¡°Area secure,¡± he reported. ¡°Good, get back here and let¡¯s start grabbing what we can,¡± Hughes said. He turned to Black. ¡°We saw a truck on our way in, next to the armory. Grab everything you can and load it, we¡¯ll take that out of here.¡± Black nodded. ¡°On it,¡± he said, before standing up and running over to the armory. He grabbed a few crates of weapons and ammunition and brought them over to the truck, a simple 4x4 off-roader painted to match the PAF¡¯s camouflage pattern. Kelly came over to help him load more crates into the truck. In the end, Black just decided to grab everything he could get his hands on and sort through them later. Black sat down in the driver¡¯s seat and started the engine, luckily for them, the PAF left the keys in the ignition. Hughes laid Shaw down in the back and Kelly sat shotgun. As soon as everyone was in, they drove off, heading back towards the cave. Chapter 5 The sun hovered just above the ocean, which reflected its warm orange glow across the waves. Echo squad parked the truck inside an old villa, the walls surrounding it were beaten and broken and the building itself was covered in vines. Everyone grabbed a few crates they took from the outpost, except for Shaw, who was busy keeping pressure on his wound. They all set them down inside the cave, making the closest thing to a proper armory that they could. Hughes helped Shaw lie down with his back against the cave wall. ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Kelly asked. Shaw winced as he adjusted himself, sitting up a bit more. ¡°We stay here and lie low. No point in putting ourselves in any further danger than we need to.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got MRE¡¯s and clean water, that¡¯s all we need,¡± Hughes added. Shaw nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll just wait here until reinforcements arrive, then we¡¯ll try to make contact with them.¡± ¡°But what if they don¡¯t come?¡± Black asked. ¡°They will,¡± Shaw insisted. ¡°They¡¯ve got to.¡± ¡°A retaliation would mean more Zelorian occupation,¡± Black said. ¡°There¡¯s no way Parliament would support it.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even have the money for it anyways,¡± Kelly added. ¡°Maybe not, but the yanks almost certainly will,¡± Shaw said.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°They¡¯ve been looking forward to this for ages,¡± Hughes said. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t miss an opportunity to stick it to the Zelorians.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± Shaw said. ¡°Now let¡¯s get some shut-eye. I¡¯ll take the first watch.¡± Black yawned and lay down on the hard, rocky cave floor, resting his head on his crossed arms. ¡°Wake me up when it¡¯s my shift.¡± With that, the cave fell silent. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours. Eventually the sun disappeared behind the ocean horizon, but Black found himself unable to sleep. His heart pounded in his chest as the day¡¯s intensity finally reached him as he realized the fact that he could have died, or been in Shaw¡¯s position. Black shifted on the hard, jagged ground, moving his weight off a sharp rock that dug into his hip. ¡°Can¡¯t sleep?¡± Shaw asked. Black sighed and sat up. ¡°Do you wonder why we¡¯re doing all this?¡± He asked as he sat down next to Shaw. Shaw took off his helmet and produced a small picture of himself, a woman, and a small child. ¡°I¡¯m fighting so I can see them again. So I can hold Jackson in my arms again, and get lost in Adriana¡¯s eyes for hours.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t have any of that. I¡¯ve got nobody, so why am I fighting? To get redeployed to another far away country?¡± ¡°You¡¯re fighting because guys like Corrik, Stevenson, Sherman, and Randolph, aren¡¯t gonna get to go home. You¡¯re fighting because if the Zelorians are left unchecked, they¡¯ll turn more countries into puppets, and innocent people will suffer because of it.¡± Shaw looked Black in the eyes. ¡°You¡¯re fighting because it¡¯s right,¡± he said. ¡°But what if we lose?¡± Black asked. ¡°If we lose,¡± Shaw echoed, ¡°then at least we died fighting for something.¡± He patted Black on the shoulder. ¡°Now I¡¯m gonna get some sleep. I believe you¡¯re up for watch duty.¡± Black nodded and stood up, facing the entrance to the cave. In his peripheral vision he saw Shaw situate himself into a more comfortable position. Black looked out at the ocean. The sunlight that once reflected off the water was replaced by moonlight, sending a beam of white light across the waves. Chapter 6 Several days had passed since Echo had stormed Point Gaines. They waited for reinforcements to come, but as far as they could tell, nothing was coming. The days that had passed were excruciatingly slow, but everyone was trying their best to keep themselves as busy as they could. Black was doing pushups with Kelly watching him. He kept a close count of how many he had done in his mind as he went up and down. Black didn¡¯t pay much attention to it at first, but he noticed a different sound coming from the radio. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shaw lean forward and frantically mess with the knobs, trying to hone in on the signal. Black stood up and made his way over to Shaw when the static turned into a muffled voice. He couldn¡¯t quite make out what the voice was saying at first, but Shaw tuned in and the voice became clearer. ¡°... I say again, this is General John Randolph broadcasting to any friendly units still in the area. I am pinned down in the pine forests north-west of the main airport, grid reference 105-553. PAF forces are converging on my position. I¡¯m requesting urgent support.¡± Shaw picked up the radio. ¡°General do you read me? This is Lieutenant Shaw, my squad is hiding out in a cave on the western cliffs, about 2 klicks north of your position. We¡¯re on our way to assist, over.¡± ¡°Thank god Lieutenant. I¡¯ll hold on for as long as I can, out.¡± Hughes kneeled down next to Shaw. ¡°You¡¯re staying here,¡± he told him. ¡°What? But Randolph needs us. We have to go,¡± Shaw protested. ¡°You need to keep that wound from opening up again, for at least the next day or two,¡± Hughes ordered. ¡°Black and Kelly can take care of it.¡± Shaw turned to Black. ¡°Take the truck, get Randolph, and bring him back. It¡¯s imperative that we have him here.¡± Black nodded. ¡°You can count on us Lieutenant. Come on Kelly, let¡¯s go.¡± Kelly nodded, falling in behind Black as the two made their way up the slope of the cliffs. They slammed the doors to the truck, and Black shoved the key into the ignition. He pulled out his map and compass to orient himself and figure out which way he needed to go. He took them out of the villa towards the forest. The drive to the edge of the forest was uneventful, but also short. ¡°Come on Kelly,¡± Black said, taking the key and putting it in one of his vest pouches. ¡°What¡¯s so important about Randolph anyways?¡± Kelly asked.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Black picked up the pace, going to a light jog. ¡°He¡¯s the highest ranking NATO officer on the island. Getting to him will turn this whole mess around.¡± Pine needles crunched underneath Black¡¯s boots. The closer they got to Randolph¡¯s position, the louder the sound of gunfire got. ¡°Stay low,¡± Black said to Kelly. ¡°Stick to cover and watch the trees. There could be contacts anywhere.¡± Kelly crouched down behind a tree trunk, and pointed at something ahead of him. ¡°Over there,¡± he whispered. ¡°Bearing 160, two guys.¡± Black nodded. ¡°I see them, I¡¯ll take the one on the left, you take the one on the right. Fire on my lead.¡± He fixed his dot sight right on the enemy¡¯s back. He waited for his breathing to steady before firing a three shot burst into the soldier¡¯s back. Kelly did the same to his target. Two more PAF soldiers came over to their fallen comrades to check on them, scanning the treeline for Black and Kelly, who shot them before they could get a word out. A bullet came whistling past Black and buried itself into a pine tree, sending tiny pieces of wood in all directions. Black instinctively hit the dirt. His heart started beating faster as he frantically scanned the treeline, trying to find where the shot came from. More shots rang out, and they kept getting closer and closer to Black. He heard Kelly fire off a few shots. ¡°I¡¯ve got him, you¡¯re clear,¡± Kelly called. Black stood up and nodded to him. ¡°Move up, watch your flank,¡± he said. They positioned themselves where the PAF soldiers had fallen. They scrupulously scanned the treeline, but they found nobody else, but they did see a puddle of blood behind a tree. ¡°No no no no no,¡± Black started panicking as they went to investigate. He peered around the trunk, and his fears were realized. General Randolph lay under the pine tree, clutching at a hole in his chest. ¡°Come on General, you¡¯ll be ok,¡± Kelly said. Black started taking out a first aid kit, but Randolph stopped him while coughing up blood in the process. ¡°W- wi- win¡­¡± he stammered before his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he went limp, drifting off into eternal rest. Black looked down at the ground and took his helmet off. Kelly did the same. They sat in silence for a moment before putting their helmets back on. Black pulled Randolph¡¯s dog tags off and put them in his vest. The whole time Black and Kelly headed back to the truck, Black felt like he was being watched, but when he turned around, he saw nothing. It was like he was being followed by a ghost. He felt like a bullet would pierce his skull at any moment, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn¡¯t see a soul. He turned the key into the ignition and drove off. Neither Black nor Kelly said a word the whole way back. There was nothing to say, or at least, neither of them wanted to say it. They parked the truck in the villa and climbed down the slope to the cave. Shaw and Hughes turned their attention to them, the excited expression on their faces slowly turning into one of concern. ¡°Where¡¯s Randolph?¡± Shaw asked. Black pulled out his dog tags. ¡°There was nothing we could do,¡± he said in a somber voice. ¡°Dammit. Those bastards will pay for this,¡± Shaw muttered, curling his hand into a fist. ¡°What¡¯re we gonna do now?¡± Kelly asked Shaw. ¡°Perhaps I can answer that question for you,¡± a voice behind them said. Chapter 7 The voice behind them was deep, and the most American accent Black had ever heard. They spun around to see a man Black could only describe as looking like he came straight out of an action movie: tall, broad-shouldered, and crew cut brown hair. He held out his hands, making it clear he meant no harm, but on his back, Black could see an M16 with a suppressor sticking out. ¡°Who are you?¡± Shaw asked. ¡°Captain Preston Banks, US Special Forces,¡± the man answered, stepping forward to join the group. As he walked past, Black noticed that Banks had no patches on his uniform. No American flag, or the patch of the task force. ¡°I may ask you the same question,¡± Banks said. ¡°I¡¯m Lieutenant Henry Shaw,¡± he answered as he stood up. ¡°This is Sergeant Black, Sergeant Hughes, and Corporal Kelly.¡± Banks nodded. ¡°A pleasure to meet you all. Although I wish it could be under better circumstances.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Shaw said. ¡°Now did I mishear you, or did you say that you have a plan of sorts?¡± he asked. ¡°Indeed I did, I need to get to Lykos.¡± Everyone stared at him wide-eyed. ¡°Why in God¡¯s name would you want to willingly go to the mainland of Pithoria?¡± Black asked. ¡°Long story short, I got separated from my team when all of this started, and I need to get back to them. Why they¡¯re on Lykos in the first place is classified information, but I assure you, if you help me get to Lykos, it¡¯ll take us one step closer to getting off this rock and going home,¡± Banks explained. Everyone all looked at each other, expecting the other to come up with something to say. Finally, Shaw spoke up. ¡°Excuse us for one moment.¡± Banks dipped his head. ¡°Of course.¡± Shaw gestured for the squad to circle up. ¡°I think we should help him,¡± he whispered.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Are you nuts?¡± Black asked. ¡°We¡¯d be going right into the lion¡¯s den. It¡¯s suicide.¡± ¡°What other choice do we have?¡± Hughes asked. ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting around doing nothing for almost a week. NATO would¡¯ve at least sent something by now.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s a lot more sensible courses of action than this,¡± Black protested. ¡°To me, it sounds like he¡¯s already made up his mind,¡± Shaw said, glancing at Banks. ¡°We can¡¯t just let him do this alone.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s worth a shot,¡± Kelly said. ¡°If we can even try to do something to get out of here, we need to give it a shot.¡± Black sighed. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s do it. ¡°Alright Captain, we¡¯re in,¡± Shaw said, turning back to face him. ¡°Fantastic. Now I don¡¯t suppose any of you know how to fly a helicopter?¡± Banks asked. Shaw shook his head. ¡°Sergeant Corrik was usually the one who flew us around, but he¡¯s probably dead now.¡± ¡°Then I guess we¡¯re doing this the old fashioned way,¡± Banks said. ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Kelly said. ¡°Askotiri,¡± ¡°What do you mean? What¡¯s in Askotiri?¡± Banks asked. ¡°Potentially our ride out of here,¡± Kelly answered. Shaw nodded as he pieced together what Kelly was talking about. ¡°Just before this started, we were getting sent to help a squad unload some supplies by boat at Askotiri. If the boat¡¯s still there, we can use it to get out of here,¡± Shaw explained. ¡°And it¡¯s not that far off either,¡± Black added. ¡°Only about a klick or two to the north.¡± ¡°Perfect,¡± Banks said, beaming. ¡°We¡¯ll need to come up with a plan.¡± ¡°Do you have anything in mind?¡± Shaw asked. ¡°Actually I do. We¡¯ll need to split up into two teams. You and Black are one team, and I would take Hughes and Kelly to be the other team.¡± Shaw nodded along. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°My team would come at the town from the Northeast, creating a distraction, and an opportunity for you and Black to sneak through the town from the Southeast and secure the boat and get everything ready. Once you let us know that everything¡¯s ready, we¡¯ll push through the town, and meet you at the boat where we¡¯ll get the hell out of here and off to Lykos.¡± Hughes nodded. ¡°Seems simple enough.¡± ¡°When are we leaving?¡± Black asked. ¡°We¡¯ll strike tomorrow. That way everyone has a chance to gear up and rest up. Make sure you¡¯re ready. If you want to get some sleep, now¡¯s the chance to do it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take that chance,¡± Black said, already starting to lie down. ¡°Wake me up when you need me.¡± And with that, he tried his best to get as much sleep as he could. Because he knew that he was going to need to be as sharp as possible tomorrow.