Post by Damon on Feb 28, 2016 0:03:22 GMT
---DEATH IN THREES---
Part Two of my Storyline in the World at War Room
(02/27/16 : 14:45:02)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-I woke up with a start and saw Rea standing over Me... After everybody had finished checking their gear, we had all got some sleep. It had been a long day travelling here so I had dozed off pretty quickly, haunted by vivid dreams, and on-the-edge nerves.. but as I laid there with Rea waking me up, I couldn't help but think that two hours was just not enough to recharge. I wanted to turn over and go back to sleep but I knew it just wasn't an option.... “Up and at 'em, Laddie” … He barked in that loud Scottish tone of his... “Brew is ready.” …I sat up in my sleeping bag and rubbed my eyes before glancing out of the window. It was still dark, but it had at least stopped raining. I took the mug (Another empty food tin) of tea and scrunched my nose up.-
“This is tea? It smells like Pig Shit.”
-It was a local tea and in my eyes, nobody could make tea like the English. This particular substance, was a blend of shredded tea leafs, and some kind of local root, adding for flavouring. It just sucked... “Shut up and just drink it.” … He said with a little chortle... And that is what I did. I just sat there for a little bit, in my sleeping bag, sipping the scalding hot tea to warm myself up and try to muster some energy. When I had finished every last drop of that awful drink, I got up and rolled up my sleeping back, securing it back in place on my bergen. I pulled on a pair of long-johns and then quickly dressed into a set of combat clothes. I strapped the Kevlar vest on top of that and ate a quick ration pack breakfast before we all headed out, leaving the empty wooden crates behind.... We walked for hours, across the empty wet land. When the sun rose, I put on the baseball cap and shades to protect my eyes and face from the unforgiving sun. The ground was very damp from that heavy downpour, so it had a somewhat reflective layer to it and it was making the sun feel really hot... I started to regret putting on those schmexy long-johns.... We all had full water flasks but for now there was no back up supply and so I rationed mine by taking small sips only when I absolutely needed to, in the mean time I had taken a button out of my stitching kit and was sucking on it to keep producing spit in my mouth and stop it from drying up to crack, split, and blister.... Harvey had taken point up front and Christian took up the rear with the rest of us moving in between. Macintosh came up beside me and offered me a stick of gum. I pocketed the button and took a stick with gratitude.... “You planning on going back to that shitty job when you get home?” … He asked as sweat poured down his face. He had requested a two man tent with his supplies and was regretting it now that he had to carry the heavy load... I knew that he was talking about my work as a shelf filler back in the chain grocery store I worked for... Most of my life I had fought in wars.. but after that disastrous mission two years ago right here in Syria, I had turned my back on hiking and attempted to start a normal life. It had been during one of my shifts that all five of the lads had come to visit me at work, telling me about the contract and practically begging me to join them. They wanted me, claimed to need me, Because I was good at surviving and despite what you threw at me, I didn't die easy... I hadn't been interested at first... but ten thousand British pounds... That money would help me clear some bills that had started to build up, civilian life was hard... the cost of just... living... was very expensive. Deep down I knew it was more than that, it wasn't just about money... Deep down... it was what I was... All. That I Am... Is this right Now.-
“I'm not sure.”
-I admitted truthfully. I had not given it any thought. And when I left, I hadn't even given them notice. I knew that if I had asked for time off, they would have refused me. So I just didn't bother and had continued to attend my shifts right up until the day of my flight. Then I had just... not shown up to work Today. The retail management would have noticed by absence by now.-
“I've probably been fired.”
(02/27/16 : 15:15:47)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-Macintosh shrugged dismissively and passed his gum back to Northman who walked close behind us with Rea... “No Loss there. You are meant for bigger things than stacking shelves all of your life, mate.” … I just shrugged and adjusted my bergen. It was starting to pull on my shoulders and I could already tell that they were going to be sore... As I thought about his words, I started to hate them. I did not want to meant for anything. I wanted that simple, basic life. It was Enough.-
“What are you planning to do with Your money?”
-I asked, attempting to steer the conversation away from my future. I didn't want to think about it. Not right now. I was in Hiker mode and I wanted to keep my head in the game.... “I'm going to get married.” … Declared Macintosh without even having to think about it... “I'm going to plan a surprise wedding for my fiancé.” … Northman scoffed from behind us and said... “You are such a puff.” … Macintosh shot a scowl back over his shoulder … “Shut up bitch... I asked her to marry me four years ago. We've been engaged for too long. It's time.” … I nodded as I listened. I could tell that he loved his fiancé and it was money well spent in my opinion. All of my own money usually went on cigarettes and whiskey. But I had at least quit the smokes, so that was good... it meant more whiskey money... -
“I have no clue what I will spend mine on. I don't need anything. I'll pay off my bills, But that will still leave me with about four grand... and I don't really need the rest.”
-It was the truth, other than the bills. I had not given any thought to the money at all. Though the money was great, and it had been a high card in my persuasion to come with them, it was not why I did this... “You're here for the same reason as Me, bruv.” … Northman said, joining the conversation again... “The rush of being back on a mission. The Call of soldiering lives on in all of us. And You can try and hide it, but It's always there, just dying to kick some serious arse.”... Macintosh laughed at Northman's philosophical banter and turned around to walk backwards so that he could face him... “You could use your money to buy yourself a wig” … he said, commenting on Northman's shaved scalp... “Because your head looks like a giant egg.” … Rea's cackle of laughter came from the back of the group as he overheard and even I couldn't help myself, I giggled like a naughty school girl as I watched them banter...
There was a popping sound and something went -ping- as it ricochetted off a nearby rock. I frowned and turned around in confusion...
Another -SNAP- of sound, like a loud, Sharp, C r a c k.
The colour drained from my face as I realised what it was...
“Contact!”
-I shouted as I snatched at Macintosh's sleeve and started to drag him down towards the ground-
“We are under Fire!”
(02/27/16 : 15:36:01)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-Everybody dropped to the ground as bullets zipped by over our heads. I pressed myself flat to the dirt and tried to keep as low as I possibly could. There was no cover out here, no walls to get behind, no sandbags for protective cover. All we had was the natural shape of the bumpy terrain and I tried to get myself into a low dip in the ground... “Where's it coming from!?” … cried Macintosh as a bullet hit the mound of dirt inches away from his face. Everybody was shouting and screaming at each other... but not Me … I was just lying completely silent, and completely still. I watched the horizons in all directions as the gunfire continued to rain down on us.-
“I think I see Them.”
-I said, trying to ignore the hammering beat of my heart in my ears. It would be so easy to let my fear overwhelm Me. We all had fears, whether we lied about it or not, and in that moment I was terrified. Those bullets were passing by so close and all it would take was the slightest adjustment of the shooter, and I would be dead in a second... I squinted and stared motionlessly at the hill off to our far left up ahead.... There was a brief and subtle flash, then the sound of a bullet striking the ground nearby. Another flash, and another strike... I knew that the flash was the muzzle of the weapon as it fired a shot at Us.-
“Front Left! Seventy Feet!”
-I could not see how many shooters there were, but at least I had found their position and that was all Harvey needed in order to start formulating a plan... “Priest!” … He barked, calling Christian by his codename. “Push right and start sending some crossfire over to them bastards!” … Christian started to commando crawl away... “Apex! Highlander! Flank Left! The rest of us will lay down suppressive fire on Three. Two. One.. GO!” …. Harvey, Macintosh, and Northman stayed exactly where they had dropped and started rapid firing in the direction of enemy position. Christian had crawled away and then started to fire from his position too, attempting to draw the fire and force the enemy shooters to duck for cover... I glanced to Rea and we both steeled ourselves, took a deep breath, and then jumped to our feet and ran like fuck.... At a dead sprint we ran together... I was leading the way with Rea close behind me. The route was an arcing roundabout path as though the shooters were the centre of a clock and we were ticking around from Four o'clock to Nine o'clock. The Suppression and crossfire laid down by the others did the job and the shooters appeared to have ducked down behind their little hill allowing us to get to our new position without taking any fire. We dropped down behind a worn ridge of land and flopped onto our stomachs... “Just Like Old Times” … Whispered Rea with a toothy grin on his face.. I scowled that he could grin in such a situation but I could not help smirking... He was scared too, but He was no beginner here. We were all war veterans and had spent the majority of our lives training for confrontations like this. All we had to do was follow the procedure... “Check your mag” … Rea said. We both released our magazine clips from our rifles, rapped them sharply against our heads, and then slammed them back into the rifle slot again... Sometimes, all the running around., bumping, and such, would cause the ammunitions to become jammed in the magazine clip and the last thing we needed right now was for it to misfire as soon as we gave our new position away. I knew that we were closer to the shooters now, I could hear them nearby, popping off shots at the rest of Normandy Squad.. It was a nerve shredding moment in time and I started to breathe slow and deep, in through the nose and out through my mouth, composing myself... “You ready for This?” … Rea asked. I simply nodded at him and then as one, we rose up to our knees and took aim..
(02/27/16 : 16:00:31)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-As soon as I peered over the top of our ridge, I saw them.. Three of Them... The Three... They were laying prone on the ground and taking their pot shots in Harvey's direction. I estimated a distance between us of twenty five feet. But it did not matter now. Rea wasted no time as he moved up beside Me. The Scottish brute took aim with his LMG (Light Machine Gun) and started to rain down on them. I saw him hit one of them straight away, killing the shooter immediately... the other two soon realised that they had been flanked and they lost their composures... taking to their feet and attempting to flee... I took aim with my own weapon. The assault rifle was not quite as powerful as the LMG but once I had fixed my sights on the furthest target, I squeezed the trigger three times in rapid succession. My shots hit the target and that shooter dropped to the ground... The rest of the Squad were pushing forward now, in a counter attack and within seconds, the final shooter was downed by one of the others as he attempted to run for the hills... “Cease Fire!” … Came the order from Harvey and everybody stopped shooting.-
“Bloody Hell.”
-I muttered as I climbed to my feet. The feeling of 'scoring a kill' had me shaking with adrenaline. I kept my rifle raised for a moment and scanned in all directions, searching for enemy reinforcements... but ultimately, it was Clear and I tried to relax myself in order to cool that adrenaline rush back down to a calm and composed state.-
“That was Intense.”
-I said as I moved up with Rea to meet with the others. When we approached the bodies, I saw the bullet casings lying all over the place, littering the ground and some of them were still smoking like a simmering embers... “Piece of Shit.” … Spat Northman as he gave one of the bodies a kick... He was not attempting to physically abuse the corpse, even though it looked that way... He was in fact checking to make sure the shooter was not simply 'playing' dead and waiting to roll over on us with a handful of grenades... I moved off to check on my own kill and as I drew closer to the body, I saw first hand the damage that I had caused. Two, out of my three shots had landed,. One had struck him against the right side ribs.. I knew that would have pierced the lung... The second shot had hit him in the back of the neck. Finishing him off... It was a nasty sight and it turned my stomach to look upon it... 'I'm a Monster' … There had been no choice, I knew that. The shooters had attacked us and intended to kill us. This was an act of self defence.. but it did not make it feel any easier... and I felt very... very sick... “Take ammunition. Leave everything else.” … Commanded Harvey as he lingered in the middle of this 'graveyard' overseeing his Men. Such a task was why we had chosen weapons common to the local area rather than going with more advanced and better designed weapons found elsewhere in the world. The ammunition matched ours and scavenging more from the battlefield was easier... I fell to my knees beside the body and took the magazine clip out of the shooter's rifle. I patted the body down, and rolled it over.... And Gasped...-
It was not a Man.
It was a Child.
(02/27/16 : 16:37:26)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-The youthful and vacant look on the boy's features told me that the child was no older than fifteen, but could be as young as twelve. Before I managed to do anything more, I turned away and vomited into the dirt.. My stomach twisted violently and my skin prickled as I was overcome with nausea... “Gross!” … Macintosh said as he came over to stand nearby... “I can see your breakfast in there.” ...I ignored him completely. I couldn't give a retort even if I had tried.. before I could wipe my mouth, I threw up again... Stomach bile was all that came out and I heaved, trying to catch my breath. Harvey approached and glanced to the dead body before watching Me kneeling there, trying not to throw up for a third time... “Get it together, Apex.” ..Scowling, I rose to my feet and turned to face the hardened Captain.-
“Get it together? Are you serious? That's a fucking kid!”
Everybody froze and watched silently. Harvey shrugged his shoulders and spat into the sand... “So?” ...In that moment, I wanted to punch him. I wanted to hit him so hard in that smug-fuck face of his. And it took every ounce of my self control in order to hold that back. I looked around and saw that it wasn't only -My- kill that was a teenager. All three of them were.-
“We have just murdered three kids... Doesn't that bloody bother You?” “Whoa!” … Spoke up Northman before Harvey could answer... “I didn't murder anybody. This isn't murder. It's war. And Besides, thank fuck they were kids... if they were adults, they might have had better aim and we'd all be dead.” … I just could not believe what I was hearing, or how easily they had all just accepted the situation. The only other person who appeared to show Remorse was Rea. He stood staring down at his feet in mute shame. Harvey moved closer to me and sighed... “Look, Apex... You can't look at it as killing kids. They opened fire on us, any one of those bullets could have had our name on them. This was one hundred percent self defence. Survival of the fittest. We had no choice in the matter, if we had not fought back, than the alternative would have been to just continue laying there in the dirt and waiting for them to eventually adjust their aim, and kill us All... I don't know about You... But I'm not willing to die. Not for any cunt.” … He paused and I nodded solemnly. I hated this situation, but he was right, so was Northman. There had been No Option. Harvey took another step closer and spoke in an almost whispered rasp... “Now get your shit together. And Be Cool.” … It was easier said than done for Me. I refused to look at the bodies again, but it was already too late, the picture had burned into my skull and I knew that I would remember the lifeless look on that boy's face for the rest of my life.-
(02/27/16 : 16:58:22)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-I could hear voices in my head. Familiar voices. My father. My Mother. My Brothers, and my Sisters. All of my old school teachers. Every relevant person I had met through the course of my life. I could even hear my own voice, chanting among the others. All of them barking scornful things at me. Telling me how wicked I am, stating how evil I am. And that I will surely burn in the afterlife for this. I tried my best to just block it all out.-
“We need to bury them.”
-I said eventually... “Screw that” … Macintosh said... “I ain't digging no grave. Morbid much?” … I just shrugged my shoulders and started to take my bergen off. Fuck it.-
“I'll dig them myself.”
But before I could get access to my hatchet, Harvey snatched my elbow. I glanced down at his vice grip on me and then back up to him. This could get real ugly if he didn't let go of Me. But fortunately, he saw something in the look of my eyes and he did let go off me, speaking in a measured tone.. “We don't have time. For all we know they are just a scouting party and any minute more of these terrorist motherfuckers are going to come racing over that hill to finish us off... We are moving out. Now”
“Moving out? … You don't mean that we are continuing with this mess?”
-I couldn't believe that. This was supposed to be a peace keeping mission and yet on Day Two we had already taken three young lives... “That is exactly what I mean.” … Clarified Harvey. Rea spoke up for the first time and threw in his own thoughts... “Maybe the lad is right and we should just go home.” … But Northman was quick to speak up too... “Not Me.” … He said … “Or Me.” … added Macintosh... “I'm getting my Ten Kay.” … Harvey didn't speak again, instead he just started to move out and everybody fell in line to follow him. Except for Me... I stared off back the way we had come. I didn't want to go on any more. I wanted to go home and knew this was a mistake. I just shouldn't have come... But as much as I wanted to leave, I knew that it was very doubtful I would find my way back across the border on my own... and more so, If I bumped into another group of shooters, I would have no hope of surviving on my own. I sighed quietly and glanced back down at the boy.-
“I am so Very sorry.”
-And then I stepped over the still warm corpse and hurried to catch up with the others... Rea had slowed to wait for me and he patted me on the back of the shoulder reassuringly... “I know it's hard, lad. Believe it or not... it is for Me too. But every time I kill an enemy, I tell them two things as their spirit passes on.” … I asked what he told them and resisted the urge to glance back at the bodies. I just focused on telling my feet to keep moving. Keep going forward... “I tell them that they are at peace now, and their God is waiting for them.” … I nodded, and asked...-
“What is the second thing you tell them?”
-Rea glanced at me and I saw a glint in his eyes. It was sorrow, but it was also conviction. What he said to me next, I would never forget, It would become part of my own Creed and change a little bit more of Me, piece by piece.. “I tell them... Better You, Than Me.”
Part Two of my Storyline in the World at War Room
(02/27/16 : 14:45:02)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-I woke up with a start and saw Rea standing over Me... After everybody had finished checking their gear, we had all got some sleep. It had been a long day travelling here so I had dozed off pretty quickly, haunted by vivid dreams, and on-the-edge nerves.. but as I laid there with Rea waking me up, I couldn't help but think that two hours was just not enough to recharge. I wanted to turn over and go back to sleep but I knew it just wasn't an option.... “Up and at 'em, Laddie” … He barked in that loud Scottish tone of his... “Brew is ready.” …I sat up in my sleeping bag and rubbed my eyes before glancing out of the window. It was still dark, but it had at least stopped raining. I took the mug (Another empty food tin) of tea and scrunched my nose up.-
“This is tea? It smells like Pig Shit.”
-It was a local tea and in my eyes, nobody could make tea like the English. This particular substance, was a blend of shredded tea leafs, and some kind of local root, adding for flavouring. It just sucked... “Shut up and just drink it.” … He said with a little chortle... And that is what I did. I just sat there for a little bit, in my sleeping bag, sipping the scalding hot tea to warm myself up and try to muster some energy. When I had finished every last drop of that awful drink, I got up and rolled up my sleeping back, securing it back in place on my bergen. I pulled on a pair of long-johns and then quickly dressed into a set of combat clothes. I strapped the Kevlar vest on top of that and ate a quick ration pack breakfast before we all headed out, leaving the empty wooden crates behind.... We walked for hours, across the empty wet land. When the sun rose, I put on the baseball cap and shades to protect my eyes and face from the unforgiving sun. The ground was very damp from that heavy downpour, so it had a somewhat reflective layer to it and it was making the sun feel really hot... I started to regret putting on those schmexy long-johns.... We all had full water flasks but for now there was no back up supply and so I rationed mine by taking small sips only when I absolutely needed to, in the mean time I had taken a button out of my stitching kit and was sucking on it to keep producing spit in my mouth and stop it from drying up to crack, split, and blister.... Harvey had taken point up front and Christian took up the rear with the rest of us moving in between. Macintosh came up beside me and offered me a stick of gum. I pocketed the button and took a stick with gratitude.... “You planning on going back to that shitty job when you get home?” … He asked as sweat poured down his face. He had requested a two man tent with his supplies and was regretting it now that he had to carry the heavy load... I knew that he was talking about my work as a shelf filler back in the chain grocery store I worked for... Most of my life I had fought in wars.. but after that disastrous mission two years ago right here in Syria, I had turned my back on hiking and attempted to start a normal life. It had been during one of my shifts that all five of the lads had come to visit me at work, telling me about the contract and practically begging me to join them. They wanted me, claimed to need me, Because I was good at surviving and despite what you threw at me, I didn't die easy... I hadn't been interested at first... but ten thousand British pounds... That money would help me clear some bills that had started to build up, civilian life was hard... the cost of just... living... was very expensive. Deep down I knew it was more than that, it wasn't just about money... Deep down... it was what I was... All. That I Am... Is this right Now.-
“I'm not sure.”
-I admitted truthfully. I had not given it any thought. And when I left, I hadn't even given them notice. I knew that if I had asked for time off, they would have refused me. So I just didn't bother and had continued to attend my shifts right up until the day of my flight. Then I had just... not shown up to work Today. The retail management would have noticed by absence by now.-
“I've probably been fired.”
(02/27/16 : 15:15:47)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-Macintosh shrugged dismissively and passed his gum back to Northman who walked close behind us with Rea... “No Loss there. You are meant for bigger things than stacking shelves all of your life, mate.” … I just shrugged and adjusted my bergen. It was starting to pull on my shoulders and I could already tell that they were going to be sore... As I thought about his words, I started to hate them. I did not want to meant for anything. I wanted that simple, basic life. It was Enough.-
“What are you planning to do with Your money?”
-I asked, attempting to steer the conversation away from my future. I didn't want to think about it. Not right now. I was in Hiker mode and I wanted to keep my head in the game.... “I'm going to get married.” … Declared Macintosh without even having to think about it... “I'm going to plan a surprise wedding for my fiancé.” … Northman scoffed from behind us and said... “You are such a puff.” … Macintosh shot a scowl back over his shoulder … “Shut up bitch... I asked her to marry me four years ago. We've been engaged for too long. It's time.” … I nodded as I listened. I could tell that he loved his fiancé and it was money well spent in my opinion. All of my own money usually went on cigarettes and whiskey. But I had at least quit the smokes, so that was good... it meant more whiskey money... -
“I have no clue what I will spend mine on. I don't need anything. I'll pay off my bills, But that will still leave me with about four grand... and I don't really need the rest.”
-It was the truth, other than the bills. I had not given any thought to the money at all. Though the money was great, and it had been a high card in my persuasion to come with them, it was not why I did this... “You're here for the same reason as Me, bruv.” … Northman said, joining the conversation again... “The rush of being back on a mission. The Call of soldiering lives on in all of us. And You can try and hide it, but It's always there, just dying to kick some serious arse.”... Macintosh laughed at Northman's philosophical banter and turned around to walk backwards so that he could face him... “You could use your money to buy yourself a wig” … he said, commenting on Northman's shaved scalp... “Because your head looks like a giant egg.” … Rea's cackle of laughter came from the back of the group as he overheard and even I couldn't help myself, I giggled like a naughty school girl as I watched them banter...
There was a popping sound and something went -ping- as it ricochetted off a nearby rock. I frowned and turned around in confusion...
Another -SNAP- of sound, like a loud, Sharp, C r a c k.
The colour drained from my face as I realised what it was...
“Contact!”
-I shouted as I snatched at Macintosh's sleeve and started to drag him down towards the ground-
“We are under Fire!”
(02/27/16 : 15:36:01)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-Everybody dropped to the ground as bullets zipped by over our heads. I pressed myself flat to the dirt and tried to keep as low as I possibly could. There was no cover out here, no walls to get behind, no sandbags for protective cover. All we had was the natural shape of the bumpy terrain and I tried to get myself into a low dip in the ground... “Where's it coming from!?” … cried Macintosh as a bullet hit the mound of dirt inches away from his face. Everybody was shouting and screaming at each other... but not Me … I was just lying completely silent, and completely still. I watched the horizons in all directions as the gunfire continued to rain down on us.-
“I think I see Them.”
-I said, trying to ignore the hammering beat of my heart in my ears. It would be so easy to let my fear overwhelm Me. We all had fears, whether we lied about it or not, and in that moment I was terrified. Those bullets were passing by so close and all it would take was the slightest adjustment of the shooter, and I would be dead in a second... I squinted and stared motionlessly at the hill off to our far left up ahead.... There was a brief and subtle flash, then the sound of a bullet striking the ground nearby. Another flash, and another strike... I knew that the flash was the muzzle of the weapon as it fired a shot at Us.-
“Front Left! Seventy Feet!”
-I could not see how many shooters there were, but at least I had found their position and that was all Harvey needed in order to start formulating a plan... “Priest!” … He barked, calling Christian by his codename. “Push right and start sending some crossfire over to them bastards!” … Christian started to commando crawl away... “Apex! Highlander! Flank Left! The rest of us will lay down suppressive fire on Three. Two. One.. GO!” …. Harvey, Macintosh, and Northman stayed exactly where they had dropped and started rapid firing in the direction of enemy position. Christian had crawled away and then started to fire from his position too, attempting to draw the fire and force the enemy shooters to duck for cover... I glanced to Rea and we both steeled ourselves, took a deep breath, and then jumped to our feet and ran like fuck.... At a dead sprint we ran together... I was leading the way with Rea close behind me. The route was an arcing roundabout path as though the shooters were the centre of a clock and we were ticking around from Four o'clock to Nine o'clock. The Suppression and crossfire laid down by the others did the job and the shooters appeared to have ducked down behind their little hill allowing us to get to our new position without taking any fire. We dropped down behind a worn ridge of land and flopped onto our stomachs... “Just Like Old Times” … Whispered Rea with a toothy grin on his face.. I scowled that he could grin in such a situation but I could not help smirking... He was scared too, but He was no beginner here. We were all war veterans and had spent the majority of our lives training for confrontations like this. All we had to do was follow the procedure... “Check your mag” … Rea said. We both released our magazine clips from our rifles, rapped them sharply against our heads, and then slammed them back into the rifle slot again... Sometimes, all the running around., bumping, and such, would cause the ammunitions to become jammed in the magazine clip and the last thing we needed right now was for it to misfire as soon as we gave our new position away. I knew that we were closer to the shooters now, I could hear them nearby, popping off shots at the rest of Normandy Squad.. It was a nerve shredding moment in time and I started to breathe slow and deep, in through the nose and out through my mouth, composing myself... “You ready for This?” … Rea asked. I simply nodded at him and then as one, we rose up to our knees and took aim..
(02/27/16 : 16:00:31)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-As soon as I peered over the top of our ridge, I saw them.. Three of Them... The Three... They were laying prone on the ground and taking their pot shots in Harvey's direction. I estimated a distance between us of twenty five feet. But it did not matter now. Rea wasted no time as he moved up beside Me. The Scottish brute took aim with his LMG (Light Machine Gun) and started to rain down on them. I saw him hit one of them straight away, killing the shooter immediately... the other two soon realised that they had been flanked and they lost their composures... taking to their feet and attempting to flee... I took aim with my own weapon. The assault rifle was not quite as powerful as the LMG but once I had fixed my sights on the furthest target, I squeezed the trigger three times in rapid succession. My shots hit the target and that shooter dropped to the ground... The rest of the Squad were pushing forward now, in a counter attack and within seconds, the final shooter was downed by one of the others as he attempted to run for the hills... “Cease Fire!” … Came the order from Harvey and everybody stopped shooting.-
“Bloody Hell.”
-I muttered as I climbed to my feet. The feeling of 'scoring a kill' had me shaking with adrenaline. I kept my rifle raised for a moment and scanned in all directions, searching for enemy reinforcements... but ultimately, it was Clear and I tried to relax myself in order to cool that adrenaline rush back down to a calm and composed state.-
“That was Intense.”
-I said as I moved up with Rea to meet with the others. When we approached the bodies, I saw the bullet casings lying all over the place, littering the ground and some of them were still smoking like a simmering embers... “Piece of Shit.” … Spat Northman as he gave one of the bodies a kick... He was not attempting to physically abuse the corpse, even though it looked that way... He was in fact checking to make sure the shooter was not simply 'playing' dead and waiting to roll over on us with a handful of grenades... I moved off to check on my own kill and as I drew closer to the body, I saw first hand the damage that I had caused. Two, out of my three shots had landed,. One had struck him against the right side ribs.. I knew that would have pierced the lung... The second shot had hit him in the back of the neck. Finishing him off... It was a nasty sight and it turned my stomach to look upon it... 'I'm a Monster' … There had been no choice, I knew that. The shooters had attacked us and intended to kill us. This was an act of self defence.. but it did not make it feel any easier... and I felt very... very sick... “Take ammunition. Leave everything else.” … Commanded Harvey as he lingered in the middle of this 'graveyard' overseeing his Men. Such a task was why we had chosen weapons common to the local area rather than going with more advanced and better designed weapons found elsewhere in the world. The ammunition matched ours and scavenging more from the battlefield was easier... I fell to my knees beside the body and took the magazine clip out of the shooter's rifle. I patted the body down, and rolled it over.... And Gasped...-
It was not a Man.
It was a Child.
(02/27/16 : 16:37:26)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-The youthful and vacant look on the boy's features told me that the child was no older than fifteen, but could be as young as twelve. Before I managed to do anything more, I turned away and vomited into the dirt.. My stomach twisted violently and my skin prickled as I was overcome with nausea... “Gross!” … Macintosh said as he came over to stand nearby... “I can see your breakfast in there.” ...I ignored him completely. I couldn't give a retort even if I had tried.. before I could wipe my mouth, I threw up again... Stomach bile was all that came out and I heaved, trying to catch my breath. Harvey approached and glanced to the dead body before watching Me kneeling there, trying not to throw up for a third time... “Get it together, Apex.” ..Scowling, I rose to my feet and turned to face the hardened Captain.-
“Get it together? Are you serious? That's a fucking kid!”
Everybody froze and watched silently. Harvey shrugged his shoulders and spat into the sand... “So?” ...In that moment, I wanted to punch him. I wanted to hit him so hard in that smug-fuck face of his. And it took every ounce of my self control in order to hold that back. I looked around and saw that it wasn't only -My- kill that was a teenager. All three of them were.-
“We have just murdered three kids... Doesn't that bloody bother You?” “Whoa!” … Spoke up Northman before Harvey could answer... “I didn't murder anybody. This isn't murder. It's war. And Besides, thank fuck they were kids... if they were adults, they might have had better aim and we'd all be dead.” … I just could not believe what I was hearing, or how easily they had all just accepted the situation. The only other person who appeared to show Remorse was Rea. He stood staring down at his feet in mute shame. Harvey moved closer to me and sighed... “Look, Apex... You can't look at it as killing kids. They opened fire on us, any one of those bullets could have had our name on them. This was one hundred percent self defence. Survival of the fittest. We had no choice in the matter, if we had not fought back, than the alternative would have been to just continue laying there in the dirt and waiting for them to eventually adjust their aim, and kill us All... I don't know about You... But I'm not willing to die. Not for any cunt.” … He paused and I nodded solemnly. I hated this situation, but he was right, so was Northman. There had been No Option. Harvey took another step closer and spoke in an almost whispered rasp... “Now get your shit together. And Be Cool.” … It was easier said than done for Me. I refused to look at the bodies again, but it was already too late, the picture had burned into my skull and I knew that I would remember the lifeless look on that boy's face for the rest of my life.-
(02/27/16 : 16:58:22)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
|-|In Syria, Somewhere between Resafa and Al Kasrah|-|
-A land of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts. Syria is a country in Western Asia, and Syrian territory borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest.-
-I could hear voices in my head. Familiar voices. My father. My Mother. My Brothers, and my Sisters. All of my old school teachers. Every relevant person I had met through the course of my life. I could even hear my own voice, chanting among the others. All of them barking scornful things at me. Telling me how wicked I am, stating how evil I am. And that I will surely burn in the afterlife for this. I tried my best to just block it all out.-
“We need to bury them.”
-I said eventually... “Screw that” … Macintosh said... “I ain't digging no grave. Morbid much?” … I just shrugged my shoulders and started to take my bergen off. Fuck it.-
“I'll dig them myself.”
But before I could get access to my hatchet, Harvey snatched my elbow. I glanced down at his vice grip on me and then back up to him. This could get real ugly if he didn't let go of Me. But fortunately, he saw something in the look of my eyes and he did let go off me, speaking in a measured tone.. “We don't have time. For all we know they are just a scouting party and any minute more of these terrorist motherfuckers are going to come racing over that hill to finish us off... We are moving out. Now”
“Moving out? … You don't mean that we are continuing with this mess?”
-I couldn't believe that. This was supposed to be a peace keeping mission and yet on Day Two we had already taken three young lives... “That is exactly what I mean.” … Clarified Harvey. Rea spoke up for the first time and threw in his own thoughts... “Maybe the lad is right and we should just go home.” … But Northman was quick to speak up too... “Not Me.” … He said … “Or Me.” … added Macintosh... “I'm getting my Ten Kay.” … Harvey didn't speak again, instead he just started to move out and everybody fell in line to follow him. Except for Me... I stared off back the way we had come. I didn't want to go on any more. I wanted to go home and knew this was a mistake. I just shouldn't have come... But as much as I wanted to leave, I knew that it was very doubtful I would find my way back across the border on my own... and more so, If I bumped into another group of shooters, I would have no hope of surviving on my own. I sighed quietly and glanced back down at the boy.-
“I am so Very sorry.”
-And then I stepped over the still warm corpse and hurried to catch up with the others... Rea had slowed to wait for me and he patted me on the back of the shoulder reassuringly... “I know it's hard, lad. Believe it or not... it is for Me too. But every time I kill an enemy, I tell them two things as their spirit passes on.” … I asked what he told them and resisted the urge to glance back at the bodies. I just focused on telling my feet to keep moving. Keep going forward... “I tell them that they are at peace now, and their God is waiting for them.” … I nodded, and asked...-
“What is the second thing you tell them?”
-Rea glanced at me and I saw a glint in his eyes. It was sorrow, but it was also conviction. What he said to me next, I would never forget, It would become part of my own Creed and change a little bit more of Me, piece by piece.. “I tell them... Better You, Than Me.”