- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Chapter 5
100 hours
July 22, 2857
My squad and I waited for 3 long hours on the extraction point. My watch said it was 1:00 A.M. then out of the darkness came our pick up ship. Everybody immediately dashed to the airship and seated. When I seated I joked at the guys, “We should’ve gotten out there and killed more terrorists,” Some of the guys grinned and snickered. The others were silent. I guess it was a bad mission because we failed to complete our objectives. “ You failed us Jones, you made us fail our mission.” West said.
“ Hey West you ever been a squad leader before? You don’t know how to make up your mind from choosing if you pull back and get all of your teammates alive or letting them die in front of you just to take two prisoners. You don’t know how hard to make that decision West. I pulled back to save our butts out of there. I saved your life, West you don’t know how close you were to getting killed.” I replied honestly. What I said was true. It was how I felt.
Suddenly, something hit the bottom of the airship.
“ What is it?” I asked over the intercom.
“ We don’t know, sir. I think its artillery.” The pilot replied.
Just great, I thought.
“ What do we do?” I questioned.
“ We just have to keep moving.”
Then another strike hit us then another. There were explosions everywhere. Then a fourth strike hit us.
“ We have to abandon the airship.” The pilot stated over the intercom.
“ Ok, get ready guys.” I said.
We got jetpacks that we received under the seats. “We’re ready,” Jason called out. The lights suddenly turned from white to red and it started blinking. I then stood up in the edge.
Then, I jumped. The wind was blowing coolly now and it was colder. I turned my jetpack just on the right time to land on the ground smoothly. Luckily, my squad and I landed on the same area this time. We could hear faint gunshots from where we were. I checked to see what the temperature was from my H.U.D. It showed 68 degrees Fahrenheit. It was the coldest temperature of the fall season so far.
“ It sure is cold, Ryan.” Jason remarked.
“ Yeah, I know.” I replied.
“C’mon let’s go try to find the ruins of the airship.” I suggested.
I walked down the pathway in front of us confident that the other soldiers would follow closely behind. I stopped when I saw the ruins of a tank and a machinegun nest. Smoke was still trailing from the tank, which meant that these objects were newly destroyed.
Our boots made squeaky sounds as we walked.
“ Get some supplies as you can, boys.” I told them.
Suddenly, there was a big explosion and it knocked Jason and Allison down.
“ Get up guys, all of you suppressing fire!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.
Everybody followed the order and started firing. I walked over to Jason and Allison. I could see that Allison was slightly wounded.
“ Don’t worry about it, sir I can take care of myself.” Allison said as bullets wheezed past me. I looked at Jason, but he was already firing his weapon. I smiled because I knew as well as anybody that he was the bravest around.
“ Crap!” Cpl. Mark Robinson exclaimed.
“ What is it?” I asked.
“ Tanks, snipers and artillery!” he answered. I turned around and saw that he was right. I got a little bit scared, but I knew that my men depended on me. Surprisingly, a grenade flew off in our direction and landed right in front of West. I immediately ran and threw the grenade back just in time.
“ Thanks,” West stated.
“ Just keep firing,” I ordered.
Shots were being fired everywhere. I shot a terrorist in the chest and another one in the head. Suddenly, another blast flew in our direction but missed our spot. Shrapnel was flying everywhere. Then unexpectedly, a single bullet was fired and it landed on Private First Class Greg Johnson.
“ Damn sniper,” I whispered. I quickly dashed to him. Greg was lying down on the ground with blood gushing down his stomach.
“ Help me, Ryan.” He pleaded. Greg was also one of my closest friends. He was pretty silent, but he told us of the story of his life and other things that troubled him. I could feel little tears coming through my eyes even though they couldn’t see it because of my helmet. I pulled back West from the line and said, “You take care of Greg. Keep him alive.” West nodded
I got really mad and ordered, “ Covering fire!” Bullets suddenly got louder. I got out of our position and ran in the direction of the enemy.
“ What the hell are you doing, Ryan?” Jason shouted.
“ No idea!” I shouted back as I got closer to the tank. I immediately climbed it, opened the top cover, and tossed 2 grenades inside. I immediately jumped out as the tank blew up. A man got out from inside as he was burning with fire. He dropped and rolled on the ground.
I heard the bullets of a machinegun and took cover using the tank. I quickly managed to get a grenade and pull the pin. I then threw a grenade to where the machinegun was while it reloaded. The gunner didn’t notice the grenade. He kept reloading until the sudden boom of the grenade blew him to pieces. I noticed that the terrorists were retreating. I quickly tried to run back to our position while the terrorists were retreating.
When I got back the guys weren’t firing but standing in a circle around something. I quickly broke the circle and saw that it was Greg’s dead body.