The boy keeps running.
“We can’t wait for this kid to pass!” says Tommy. “Our brothers needs us.”
CRACK!
As if someone whipped the air. Easy-Bravo hits the dirt.
CRACK! CRACK!
More rounds fly past over their heads.
“Enemy fire!” says Peter. They crawl to the trees and foliage for cover.
“It must be another fucking ambush!” says Isaac.
They hope the cloaks are actually effective.
The boy is still running towards them.
CRACK!
A red burst exits out of the boy’s side and he falls flat onto the path. “They hit him!” confirms Peter. The boy raises an arm at them—it is frail and skinny. Peter can hear his whimpering. The sniper fire stops.
“Fucking shit, where is it coming from!” says Isaac.
“I can’t see anything!” says Tommy.
“Easy-Bravo!” blurts the radio on Vance’s side. “Our man is dying here, what is your location!”
“Ah shit,” mutters Vance, he talks into the radio, “We encountered a sniper. We’re close to your location.”
“Keep moving!” says the radio.
“You heard Conal!” says Vance. “Zig-zag down the path, the second you hear fire hit the trees for cover!”
Bravo gets back onto the path and they keep running, passing the boy’s body. His left side is gored and some parts of his hip blown off. His rags are soaked red, and his intestines have strung out into a line behind him from where he tried to crawl away. In his hand is a crumbled up note. Peter stops to grab and read it.
Watch the trees.
So they do know English. “Hey guys! The boy had a letter, it says watch the trees!?”
“Well no shit! Fucking sniper is probably hiding in one,” says Isaac.
CRACK!
Tommy who is behind Peter falls over with a yelp.
“Shit! Tommy! Pop smoke!” says Vance at Isaac. “Fucking son of a bitch, I’m gonna kill you!” he says at the trees.
“Back to cover!” says Isaac as he throws smoke down the path and ducks into a bush.
“Tommy! Tom, are you okay man?” Peter says to him. His shoulder is hit and a pool of blood is already forming around his body.
Tommy gasps for air and he tries to shove his hands down his chest. “Is my scarf fine?”
“Hold on, let me get a bandage on you.”
“My scarf!”
“Hold the fuck on! Let me stop the bleeding.” Peter tosses the medical bag on the ground, and ties a gauze bandage around Tommy’s shoulder. He undoes his vest and zips down the neck cuff where his scarf is. “It looks okay. I’m gonna give you morphine too.”
Tommy grabs his scarf, feeling it with his left hand. “Let me get back to the base. I can walk.” Peter stabs him with a syringe gun on his lower neck. Tommy moans back at him. Peter goes to reload another capsule, then realizes that he just gave him the last one, the last morphine capsule.
“What’s going on over there!” says Vance.
“Fixing him up!” says Peter. “He says he can walk back.”
“Is that true Tom?” says Isaac.
“Yeah, yeah,” groans Tommy.
“He said yeah!” Peter shouts back at them.
“Well fuck,” says Vance. “Alright, have him walk to the smoke and wait for the bird. But don’t have them leave yet ‘cause we still have to bring our other man. Grab his XM-12 too!”
“Alright buddy, get outta here,” says Peter to Tommy. He hobbles down the path under smoke holding his shoulder bandage tight. Peter turns back to Vance. “I don’t know how to use the 12 well!”
“Christ man, give it to Isaac then, fuck. Let’s go!”
Isaac grunts and retrieves the LMG off the path, drops his XM to his back strap, and lugs the ammunition on his shoulder. Easy-Bravo then runs in a zig-zag through the smoke ahead.
They break through the trees to Alpha pinned under rebel fire. “On your six!” says Vance talking through the earpieces to alert Blake. “Friendlies coming in.” Isaac enters a prone near the path and lays down suppressive fire with the LMG, while Vance and Peter dive behind a prickly wall of foliage near Conal.
“Alex and Vick are down right in front of us,” says Conal. “Blake and Rommel are up more, pinned as well.”
“Easy-Bravo! We need that smoke and suppressive fire as we withdraw!” says Blake. He is meters ahead near a fallen tree and boulder formation.
“Got it!” says Vance. He tosses a canister at the boulder by them, and another on their far left.
“Tommy!” says Blake. “Make sure they don’t flank us on the road as we pull back. Pin them so they don’t advance on our position.”
“That’s Isaac, Tom is down!” reports Vance.
“Goddamn! Same orders none the less,” says Blake. “Peter and Vance, get over here and switch with me so we can get our men out!”
Peter and Vance hop over the vines and needle bushes as Blake shimmies to Vick and Alex near them. They are both hit and lying on top of each other, one of them moaning. “Alex tried to get Vick but was hit,” says Blake as he checks their arm pads for vitals. “Hand me the stretcher,” he says. Peter unhooks the cylinder bag holding the roll out stretcher. Blake straightens it. “Go up and hold with Rommel, Private, we got it from here.”
Peter crawls up to Rommel near the boulder. Rebel and LMG fire zip about overhead, hitting trees and sending splinters flying “Releasing more smoke!” says Peter. The first screen is already dissipating but comes back to life as he hurls a new canister into the cloud.
“Toss grenades!” says Blake. Peter and Rommel pull the pins on their grenades, and toss them over their heads at red diamond shapes where the enemy was last targeted. After the booming sounds of them going off end, they lean over and fire through the smoke randomly.
“Let’s go after them, war hero,” says Rommel snidely into Peter’s ear.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Peter glances over at his bloodlust eyes, then at his dangling necklace with rotting ears and Herculean appendages that has morphed into his armor, or maybe Rommel himself.
“You know, let’s go at them Tionem style. I want a medal too.” He pushes Peter to the side, knocking him out of cover temporarily.
“Fucking knock it off!” says Peter.
“What? Are you scared? Huh pussy? I thought you were a war hero, not a bitch.” Rommel grabs Peter’s arm pad, dosing him more Buzz, and hops over the boulder.
Ah, I’m back! You took exceptionally long to find again, you know that? You’re one bad follower. Peter’s goes crazy with wanting to actually see the enemy face to face, so that he can kill them personally—and bring me some overdue satisfaction.
Blake yells something out about there being no morphine in the spare medical satchel. So Peter doesn’t have to deal with his pity call, he hops over the boulder in frenzy for fresh carnage. He runs through the smoke to try and catch up with Rommel.
The rebels must have retreated. As Peter and Rommel run through the jungle following dead corpses and distant noises, jets scream overhead blowing apart the canopy. Random shells land from indirect artillery fire called in from field HQ. They crawl for a freshly created shell hole to wait out the salvos. As they near it a shell lands near them flinging Rommel over Peter into the crater. Peter slides in after him. Rommel lies in the middle of the muddy crater, his armor and clothing ripped and torn as smoke fumes from his back.
“Gah! Fucking get it off me!” says Rommel. Peter pulls his vest and sack off, and discovers burning hot shrapnel has plastered his back. Peter begins squirting water on it from his bladder mouthpiece to clear away the dirt, and then starts to pull out pieces as they cool off.