Post by Damon on Feb 29, 2016 5:49:23 GMT
---THE BLOODY END---
Part six of my story in the World at War Room
(02/28/16 : 20:08:07)
||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.-
-Twenty minutes later and we were both sitting around Rea's lantern. I held the lid of a large travelling flask in my hands and it was full of English tea. Rea had just returned from dumping the bodies away for now, in the bottom of the dried up river bed and out of sight... “Feeling better, lad?” … He asked from where he sat down next to me. He had a cut above his eye but had managed to stop it from bleeding. He picked up the flask and refilled my drink. I nodded slightly and turned into the lantern's glow. I felt stupid for crying, and I didn't know what had come over me. It had felt so vile, like a betrayal. A horrifying betrayal to Myself. I had stooped to a new level of darkness now. One to the depths of sinking I had never experienced.-
“I've never... killed... a man like that before.”
-I said, trying to make excuses for my earlier tears. It now felt like a weak reaction... “I know” … Rea said, trying to offer comfort... “But you had No Option. You didn't have a choice.”...
“There is always a choice.”
-I said... Rea nodded in understanding... “Yeah, and your choice was to either let me die, or save my life. And I gotta tell you, lad... I'm fucking glad you chose the latter over the former. I thought I was a dead man there, for sure.”... I looked across at my friend. We had been through a lot together. Here during this contract, and before this. I could not imagine what it would have been like to watch him die. To watch him murdered by terrorists.-
“I'm glad you are okay.”
-Was all I could think to say.. “Aye.” … Rea said... “And I mean it, lad. I'd be dead right now if not for you. Thank You. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I owe you my life.” … Deep down I knew that it had been the correct choice. There was no -right- thing to do in this situation. Either choice would have resulted in death. But it was the lesser of two evils. Rea was the good guy. A real life hero. He fought and risked his life every day to protect people who could not protect themselves. The rebels were murderers, they killed for fun. They tortured, they abused, and they raped. They were a plague on this Earth. I knew that. And yet, I just felt like a monster.-
“Don't worry about it.”
-I said slowly. I tried to shut down the horrors, shut everything down. I had to, or it was going to make me crazy. I recalled something he told me back when this entire contract had started.-
“Better them, Than us.”
-Rea smirked at me and nodded... “Aye” … I finished the drink in one long gulp, then handed him the flask lid back. I rose up to my feet and started to brush myself down. I was about to tell him that I should get back to my own post. Harvey was going to kill me when he found out I had left my post, but my words were cut off by the sound of exploding gunfire. The night lit up with thunderous snaps, cracks, and loud booming echoes of battle... “What the...” … Gasped Rea as he too, leapt to his feet. I turned towards the West and saw all the mass of giant flashes and explosions.-
“The Camp” … I said... I had left my post... I had left an opening... “It's under attack.”
(02/28/16 : 20:22:20)
||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 was conscious of the rapid pounding of my feet into the dirt, driven by fear and running faster than I had ever run in my entire life. Rhythmic beats of thud .. thud .. thud .. as I traversed the terrain at top speed. Rea was hot on my heels, but not quite able to keep up... 'fuck, fuck, f u c k !' .. I could not even think about the fact that this was my fault. I had left my post and given an opening... I wouldn't have -had- to leave my post if I hadn't let those Rebels get by... but all I could think about was getting to the rest of the Squad and praying that they were still alive... We skirted a ridge, bolted over the low rolling hills and thundered across the dry plains. It was almost half a mile back to camp, but the sound of gunfire and explosions were pushing us to our limits. Slowing down was not an Option. Even if I dropped dead from exhaustion, it was a price I would pay. I just had to keep. Going... 'Faster!' … I caught sight of the camp up ahead, or at least... the scorching infernos that appeared to be blazing up high into the night sky. My mind swarmed with so many questions. What if they were all already dead? Is it the rebels? Have the local troops turned on us? … The wind slammed against my face and chest in waves, trying to slow me down as I pushed myself with every ounce of conviction that I had in my bones. The sight of the fires were growing and when we eventually reached the edge of camp. We saw that all hell had broken loose. Bodies were littered everywhere. People were screaming, and shouting, and crying, as bullets zipped around in every direction... I even saw a horse running through the camp, completely on fire and engulfed in a ball of flame... “There!” … Rea roared, pointing over my shoulder and indicating a wall of sand bags near the back of the camp. It sat against the foot of the ridge on a high ground position and as I peered through the fray, I spotted Northman leaning over the wall, firing pot shots in random directions.-
“Come on!”
-I brought my rifle up to my shoulder and tried to catch my breath. I took aim on the nearest threat. They were rebels, my fears were confirmed. With my cross-hairs fixed on one in particular who had opened fire on two local troops -He had them pinned flat to ground by one of the burning tents- I squeezed the trigger three times, all of the bullets hitting the mark with a -c r a c k- of sound and dropping the rebel to the ground, dead. Rea had also opened fire in a different direction, spraying wildly before we both set off running again, zig-zagging our way across the battlefield and sliding in behind the cover of the sandbag's next to Northman... “Blood Hell!” … shouted Harvey from his other side.. “I feared you two were fucked!” … Rea flinched when a bullet hit the sandbag next to his face... “ What happened?” …. “We came under ambush in the middle of Abdul's speech!” … Harvey was struggling to be heard over all of the gunfire. It was deafening and absolutely brutal to the nerves... “They are everywhere. Some of the locals were sleepers, working for the rebels all along and we don't know who the fuck to trust. What we do know is that the main concentration of the rebels is coming up from the South. I need you both on the wall and laying fire down there. Now!” … Neither one of us had to be asked twice. Rea positioned himself between Me and Northman, mounting his LMG on the peak of the sand bags and starting to open up great burst of fire towards the South.. I crawled along to the other end and took up a place beside Macintosh. So it was true, They were mostly coming from the South, where I should have been watching.... “And here I was thinking you were going to miss the party!” … Macintosh said, with a grin on his lips as he ducked down behind the bags to reload his rifle. I couldn't help but grin back at him and teasingly state...-
“Couldn't let somebody ELSE shoot you in the face could I?”
(02/28/16 : 20:33:33)
||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.-
-We both laughed and I waited for him to reload before we both peered over the top at the same time … 'Hoe Lee Shit' … In all my time in Syria, I had never seen so many rebel terrorists in one place. I tried to count them in quick assessment but lost count at around fifty. And Harvey was right. They were E v e r y where. They hugged the cliffs, tucked in behind the other areas of covers, hid behind parked up vehicles. I even spotted one of them laying prone and taking cover behind a slaughtered horse. And that was the one I aimed for. I fixed my scope and took the shot.-
“M I S S E D !”
-I cursed loudly as the bullet pummelled into the rib cage of the dead horse. I fired again, narrowly missing the mark, but my third shot hit the rebel cunt in the temple and killed him instantly... “I bet I kill more than You!” … Macintosh cheered after having to stop and reload again already. I didn't really find anything about this funny. I was terrified and still reeling from almost seeing Rea die. But Macintosh was in high spirits. And he was a rookie, So I wanted to keep him feeling confident, and I played back with the banter.-
“Shooting the ones that are already dead, don't count.”
-I retorted with a smirk. Macintosh scowled, not wanting to be outdone and rose up to start shooting. The moment he leaned back over the top of the sandbags, a bullet hit him in the chest and he fell backwards with a spray of blood. The blood poured out of the hole in his chest like a spurting fountain. Christian had seen what had happened too and dived to his knees beside the dying Rookie... “Man down!” … he shouted and everybody turned to look in horror... “Hang on, Grapefruit!” … Christian said, trying to keep him calm, but he shared a look with me and I knew exactly what Macintosh's fate was. He coughed and spluttered, trying to speak but managing only to vomit up a mouthful of blood.-
“Damn it.” … I whispered through gritted teeth … “Those fucking twats.”
-I felt a powerful doze of rage pumping through my veins like ice and I turned back to the wall. I started to fire at every rebel I spotted. Two quick shots at one and then moving straight on to the next. When my magazine clip ran dry, I picked up Macintosh's rifle and continued firing. Christian was a trained paramedic and got to work trying to save the rookie's life. Amidst the battle, the skies opened up and it began to pour down with thick, heavy rain. The night light up with flashes of lightning and screams of raging thunder... Hell had come to say Hello...
(02/28/16 : 21:06:22)
||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.-
-Harvey picked off two that tried to rush the wall and then glanced over... “How's he doing Priest!?” … I paused in my own shooting to reload the rifle and listen in... “He's going to be fine.” … Christian said, but we all knew by the tone of Christian's voice that Macintosh was definitely -not- going to be fine. The rookie was staring up at the sky and the fall of rain drops against his face did not appear to affect him in the least.-
“What are we going to do?”
-I shouted, trying to get Harvey's attention... “We keep shooting!” … roared Northman as he sat down, leaning back against the sandbags. He pulled his box of shotgun shells towards him and started to load up his weapon with fresh rounds. I shook my head assuredly, Macintosh was not going to last much longer and I didn't believe we would be able to push them back like this. The torrential thunderstorm wasn't helping in terms of visibility. I glanced back over the wall and caught sight of General Abdul. He shot one of the rebels with a pistol but that rebel didn't even seem to slow down and charged at Abdul, cutting him down with the hack of a machete... “These fuckers are psychopaths.” … Northman cried, fumbling a shot as he almost dropped his shotgun... “They are actually complete lunatics.” … I had to agree, they were like rabid zombies, they were swarming us and it was working. None of them were afraid to die and believed that it was their destiny to die in this fight. As more and more enemy reinforcements continued to pour into camp from the South, even Harvey rethought his plan... “Alright, we are going to get out of here... Priest, Apex... Get Grapefruit on his feet and let's-” … One of the local troopers suddenly revealed himself as a traitor and emptied a full clip of bullets into Harvey's back. The Captain never got to say another word as twenty six bullets tore into him and killed him before his body hit the ground... I opened fire on the treacherous soldier whilst Northman dived to pull Harvey into cover, not accepting the fact that our Captain had just been shot dead. I managed to drop the soldier and turned to see Northman attempting to drag the body of Captain Harvey behind a tent, but out of nowhere, another rebel rushed them and I saw that vest of explosives-
“Northman!”
-But it was futile. The rebel sprang at him and triggered the explosion. He, Northman, and the body of the Captain were blown to pieces. Chunks of them started to shower down upon me like the rain, bouncing off my head, face, and shoulders...
(02/28/16 : 21:17:46)
||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 was just sitting there. I couldn't move. Slack jacked and just... Yeah... Rea saw what had happened too, but unlike me, he had processed it quickly and managed to keep his head in the game. He saw me freeze, saw me go numb... “Laddie... come on now!” … I heard him, but I had no idea what he was trying to say. Those words were alien to me. Falling on deaf ears. Nothing processed. Nothing functioned in me. I couldn't make a decision. I couldn't listen to him. I was simply lost... 'what had just happened? ' … That question repeated itself over and over in my head. And I couldn't answer, I couldn't put words or thoughts to what happened. I had just watched the Captain get shot dead. I had watched a terrified, panicked, Northman trying to drag him to safely. And I had watched that suicide bomber, blow them both to chunks of flesh, and bone.... “Damon! Shut it Off. Be Titanium!” … Roared Rea in between shots... But I couldn't be anything. I was Nothing. In that moment, I had died the moment my eyes witnessed what they did... My body slumped further as I sat there behind the sandbags. My head rocked forward like a puppet whom had, had his strings abandoned by the maker... And when my eyes glanced down... I saw teeth … Two of them, wedged into a chunk of fleshy jaw bone... I could tell, by the blonde stubble … It was Northman... Those were his teeth... That was his jaw... his skin... his stubble... 'What had just happened?' … I was just... He was just... They... How... But...-
-Rea's weapon ran dry and he threw it down, rushing towards Me... “Shut it off, Damon. Do you fucking hear me, boy? Be. Fucking. Titanium.” … He grabbed at the straps of my webbing, just in front of both my shoulders and shook me violently, jolting my unresisting body up towards him so that we were nose to nose. I didn't react, my eyes were naturally averting his, trying to look around him. To that black and red part of dirt... where they had been before.... “Shut it the fuck off. Right Now! NO OPTION! Don't let nothing touch you, do you understand? You're a fucking Hiker. You are a Monster. The Mission is the only thing that matters. Do you fucking understand what I'm saying to you, boy!?” … And with that, he drew back his fist and punched me straight in the face. His knuckles collided with my jaw and -R o c k e d- me.. I grunted loudly and scowled at him.-
“The fuck are you doing?”
-I shoved him off me and all that sound came rolling back in. Whatever he had done, had worked. I wasn't a man, I was a machine. A Monster. This is life... 'Better them, than Me.' … That is what I told myself. All of Rea's words came crashing through like bursts of flame let loose from a locked door that was finally starting to crack. I didn't freeze up, I couldn't try and process what had just happened. We were on a Mission. We were under fire. If I didn't get my shit together, I was going to be the next one to die. And I couldn't let that happen. I needed to help Rea, and Christian, and Macintosh. I needed to get them out of here. Survival was all that mattered now... I looked Rea in the eyes and nodded. He nodded back and handed me my rifle...”Come on, Laddie.. Let's give them a good old British Fuck You.” …
(02/28/16 : 21:39:47)
||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.-
-We threw ourselves against the sandbag wall and started to rain fire over the top at everybody we could see... “Macintosh! Stay with Me! Stay with Me, Grapefruit!” came the cry of Christian's Oxford accent. I turned to see him leaning over the rookie and slapping him repeatedly across the face... “Come on! Wake up you stupid idiot! Wake. The. Fuck. Up!” … But it was no use. Macintosh had succumb to his gun shot wound and I could tell from the vacant, wide eyed look on his face that the rookie was dead... I started to cry... There was no sobbing, or heaving... but tears formed in eyes and poured down my cheeks. Everyone was dying. The Captain was Dead. Northman was Dead. And now Macintosh was dead... I had been such a prick to Macintosh. I had pointed a gun at my friend's head. I never even got to tell him that I was sorry. That I didn't mean it. That I would die for any of them... Now he would never know. He likely thought that I hated him. I had probably scared him. Shaken him. Threw off his focus and caused him to get shot. It was my fault... And I had abandoned my post... so everything here.. all these deaths... all this loss... was all my fault.-
“We can't stay here.”
-I said, not loud enough for Christian or Rea to hear me. We were all going to die. But if that was the case, I didn't want to be the one to die last. This as my fault. But I had to get Rea and Christian out of here, I couldn't let them die, because of Me.-
“We need to fall back and get out of the camp.” … I shouted, turning my focus to where it needed to be... “There's too many of them.”
… It was bad enough facing the rebels in such a swift, brutal ambush. But the addition of several of the local militia turning traitor too. It was just not a fight we could win. It was a certain death for anybody who tried to stand their ground.... “Where can we go?” … shouted Rea amidst his gunfire. We had never planned for this. There was nowhere to go. I didn't know... but anywhere was better than here.. I turned to Christian, he knew Macintosh was gone, and he was staring at me in mute defeat.-
“Follow Me.”
-I said to them both. I immediately push myself away from the wall and started to flee back the way I had come. I didn't even check to see if the coast was clear. And that was a terrible mistake. I wasn't thinking straight. I was in complete shock of everything and couldn't function properly. I barely made it ten steps before two of the rebels charged at Me. They came running out from between two burning tents. Rea saw it and managed to shoot one, but the other slammed into me at a dead run, sending us both slamming to the ground. I saw the glint of steel and he rose a machete up and hacked it towards my face.
(02/28/16 : 22:03:35)
||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 caught his arm by the elbow, blundering his attack. But it took both of my hands to grasp him and he still had one of his own free. He punched me in the face. Several times as I focused on not letting go of that machete arm... More rebels were pushing up the hill to our position now. Rea was mowing them down but some were getting through and Christian was forced to get back into focus and start helping. He shot some of them down and ran towards Me, hooking his rifle over the Rebel's head and proceeding to choke him... It pulled him off me and I was able to get to my feet, Yanking that machete out of his hand.. Before I had chance to help Christian, another Rebel was charging towards us. Without thinking about what I was about to do, I just swung that machete and it hit the man in the face. He went down fast and started to scream like a cat on fire. I hacked at him over and over again with the machete until he was quiet. When I turned back to Christian, I saw to my horror that the rebel had almost overpowered him and was very close to getting control of that rifle.. I ran at him and launched a soccer kick at his face. Launching him onto his back. I was lost in the blood lust now. Lost to the mission. I dived onto him quick... I had lost the machete after it got stuck too deep into the carcass of the last one I killed, but I drew my knife from my belt now...-
-It was a nice knife actually. A Bear Grylls' fixed blade knife.... My favourite one so far, It had served me extremely well in the mission and was a very good choice of survival kit-
In case you want one yourself: www.athleteshop.co.uk/gerber-bear-grylls-ultimate-knife-fixed-blade-fe?gclid=CLfZvOfLm8sCFQQYwwodt3YA9w
-I had it sheathed against the outside of my left hip, I liked to have it just -there- my fingers often caressed the grip and I took comfort in that. But now it was not in it's sheath. It was in my left hand. I held it in a reverse grip, with my thumb against the top of the pommel to make sure my fingers wouldn't slide down the blade. The rebel man was lying on his back beneath me. I had the palm of my right hand pressed against his face, pushing his cheek into the dirt and driving my fingers into his eyeball. He had both of his hands on my wrist trying to get me off of him. But he could not. And he did not see the knife coming.-
-I stabbed Him.-
Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab.
-I wouldn't even be able to guess how many times I had stabbed him. In the chest at first. Some times I would strike bone. But that just made me stab harder. Every blow, more fierce than the last. Some times the blade would make it through, slotting between the rib bones and sinking all the way to the hilt inside of him. He tried to grab the knife at one point, But I stabbed him through the hand and just kept going. Fast and Relentless. At One point, I stabbed him just beneath the collar bone. He already had one hand cut up and out of the picture, but then he let go of my wrist with the other hand and pressed it against that gaping wound in his shoulder. It was an instinctive move, and I just stabbed right on through it. Nailing his hand to his shoulder as I stabbed. And Stabbed. And stabbed. I aimed for the neck at some point, and after several blows into his throat and gullet. He went limp. But I didn't care. I stabbed on. His face, his head, everywhere that wasn't Red.-
(02/28/16 : 22:23:56)
||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 rest of the Militia forces had been pushed back up the hill now. There was fighting going on all around us. There was some shooting, but mostly it was one big mass melee at this point. In hindsight, about Twenty Militia locals were there, trying to fight back around forty more rebel terrorists.-
-It was Chaos-
-It was Mayhem-
-It was Anarchy-
-I saw Rea, still near the sandbags. He had abandoned his LMG and was beating somebody to death with a shovel... and then I heard a scream. A Familiar scream... Christian had not yet healed fully from his arm injury. He couldn't fight well to begin with, and without full use of his arm. He was not doing well. I stared in fright as a Rebel stabbed him in the back with a rusty meat cleaver... I ran towards him with ungodly, desperate speed. I couldn't lose another one of my friends. I just couldn't.... 'Take Me. Take Me First' .. was the only thing going through my head as I leapt up as high as I could and drop kicked that Rebel away from Christian... I was no Bruce Lee, It had not been a skilful form of martial arts. It had been a desperate act to get the enemy away from Christian as quickly as I could... And I didn't land on my feet. Both of my heels -slammed- into his chest and sent him flying away from my friend, but my body hit the ground hard. I landed on a dropped rifle and it damn near broke my back... I gasped for breath as all of the air was torn out of my lungs and as soon as I had kicked -that- one away, another one attacked Christian and they both staggered away. Before I could catch my breath, or get up.. A Large man … certainly bigger than I... came up to my side and kicked me right in the fucking hip..
I grunted at the shock of pain that rocked a path up through my body. He stomped on my pelvis and I reacted by wrapping my legs around his and tripping him over... I scrambled towards him, climbing my way up his body.. I had lost the knife in my drop-kick fiasco but launched a punch into his jaw. And then another, and another... He caught my arm and we wrestled around in the dirt, kicking up a storm of dust amongst the apocalypse... He was stronger than Me and managed to get on top of Me again. He knelt on my chest and … Oh God … I couldn't breathe... I kept gasping at the air but my lungs just couldn't expand, they refused to breathe... He was grabbing and clawing at my face. Leaving deep scratches all over my forehead, and cheeks... At one point, as I was gasping. He tried to put his hand over my mouth and so I bit him.... and I didn't just Bite his skin... I bit his thumb clean off.
(02/28/16 : 22:40:43)
||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 large man screeched like a startled hyena and fell back off my chest. As soon as my ribs could expand, my body sucked in a breath... Despite my horror, I didn't have time to spit out that head of thumb and I swallowed it... I couldn't even process that... I wasn't scared in that moment. There was not an ounce of fear.. Just... Rage … in hindsight, I had lost my mind. I had become a Monster. There was no humanity left inside of Me. No Soul powering me. There was only Death... I threw myself on top of that howling rebel, and I started to rain down punches. I struck his face, his crown, his temple. It didn't matter where. I wasn't aiming. I couldn't. I was just attacking. When I couldn't punch, I snatched handfuls of his hair and started to -S M A S H- his face into the hard, dry, ground. Over and Over and Over. His nose burst, his cheek bones caved him and He died a very gruesome death.-
-I climbed off him, to find another to Kill. I found a machete on the floor and picked it up. A Local Militia got in my way. I didn't know if he was on our side or there's. So many were turning out to be traitors that worked for the terrorists all alone. It was a Risk. And I didn't take any chances. I hacked him to pieces and moved on to the next one. I chopped down a Rebel from behind and his friend took a swing at me with an identical machete. He missed, but I didn't and cut him down too.... “Damon!!” … That call. That shout. Was like a bucket of ice cold water washing down my spine. I had become so consumed in myself. That I had forgotten about Rea and Christian... I turned to see that Christian had been segregated from everyone. Surrounded by at least seven rebel terrorists... I started to cross the area. Stepping over bodies and rushing to go help him... And that was when something hit me in the chest... Like a super sonic Punch... Four times as quick as a blink... I was tossed backwards and crashed against a Local Militia soldier, accidentally pushing him into a nearby tent fire...-
-I had Been Shot-
-I tried to get to my feet and was shot again, several times. I felt those bullets peppering into my back like tiny hammers swung with the power of a God. I gasped, crying out in pain as I fell forward. I was wearing a Kevlar vest. So none of those bullets were actually making it through the bulletproof armour. But that super powerful pounding was doing it's own damage. Regardless of the bullet not managing to make it through the Kevlar. A Bullet was still -hitting- Me. They smashed against my chest, my heart, my spine, my ribs. I was near paralysed by the sudden and overwhelming pain.... the sad fact of the matter was, even when I managed to get back to my feet. I was spent. I had nothing left in me. Several Rebels stood between Me and Christian now and He was getting dragged away. They wanted Prisoners.... I know I couldn't get to him, but I threw myself at the rebels anyway. One of them struck me in the face with a rifle, and I saw stars as my nose was broken... I was blinded by agony and had to try and claw my way towards Christian. When my vision cleared enough. I saw four of them dragging him away. He was kicking and shouting, trying to get free. He kicked out at one, but that rebel chopped at this leg with a Machete. Christian cried out as they continued to drag and pull at him.... In a Frozen moment, somewhere in time... Our eyes met... He looked at Me... I looked at him... And we just knew it was over... He reached down to his belt and his fingers scrambled to tear something away...-
“Christian” … I whimpered … “No... please... Don't.”
-But he had done it. Christian's belt was stocked with grenades. And he had just pulled the pin of one of them.-
-The Impact of the explosion was epic. A tsunami of blood, bone, dirt, and air. It threw me backwards through the air and I landed hard, my body bouncing across the dirt. All of the sound bled from my reality and I could hear only a shrill whistling sound. I tried to move but I felt pinned to the ground by an invisible force. My body refused to answer me as I tried to get back to my feet. Pain sizzled through my body like the spread of the fires that now consumed the camp. I just couldn't move. All around Me the fighting raged on... 'I'm dying Now' … The fight was lost and only nightmares remained. I could feel the darkness creeping in. My breathing felt light and my vision was starting to blur... So I did the only thing I could do... I reached for the dead soldier beside me and pulled his body on top of Mine. I managed to hide myself beneath the surrounding bodies before inevitably blacking out into an abyss of unconsciousness.
Part six of my story in the World at War Room
(02/28/16 : 20:08:07)
||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.-
-Twenty minutes later and we were both sitting around Rea's lantern. I held the lid of a large travelling flask in my hands and it was full of English tea. Rea had just returned from dumping the bodies away for now, in the bottom of the dried up river bed and out of sight... “Feeling better, lad?” … He asked from where he sat down next to me. He had a cut above his eye but had managed to stop it from bleeding. He picked up the flask and refilled my drink. I nodded slightly and turned into the lantern's glow. I felt stupid for crying, and I didn't know what had come over me. It had felt so vile, like a betrayal. A horrifying betrayal to Myself. I had stooped to a new level of darkness now. One to the depths of sinking I had never experienced.-
“I've never... killed... a man like that before.”
-I said, trying to make excuses for my earlier tears. It now felt like a weak reaction... “I know” … Rea said, trying to offer comfort... “But you had No Option. You didn't have a choice.”...
“There is always a choice.”
-I said... Rea nodded in understanding... “Yeah, and your choice was to either let me die, or save my life. And I gotta tell you, lad... I'm fucking glad you chose the latter over the former. I thought I was a dead man there, for sure.”... I looked across at my friend. We had been through a lot together. Here during this contract, and before this. I could not imagine what it would have been like to watch him die. To watch him murdered by terrorists.-
“I'm glad you are okay.”
-Was all I could think to say.. “Aye.” … Rea said... “And I mean it, lad. I'd be dead right now if not for you. Thank You. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I owe you my life.” … Deep down I knew that it had been the correct choice. There was no -right- thing to do in this situation. Either choice would have resulted in death. But it was the lesser of two evils. Rea was the good guy. A real life hero. He fought and risked his life every day to protect people who could not protect themselves. The rebels were murderers, they killed for fun. They tortured, they abused, and they raped. They were a plague on this Earth. I knew that. And yet, I just felt like a monster.-
“Don't worry about it.”
-I said slowly. I tried to shut down the horrors, shut everything down. I had to, or it was going to make me crazy. I recalled something he told me back when this entire contract had started.-
“Better them, Than us.”
-Rea smirked at me and nodded... “Aye” … I finished the drink in one long gulp, then handed him the flask lid back. I rose up to my feet and started to brush myself down. I was about to tell him that I should get back to my own post. Harvey was going to kill me when he found out I had left my post, but my words were cut off by the sound of exploding gunfire. The night lit up with thunderous snaps, cracks, and loud booming echoes of battle... “What the...” … Gasped Rea as he too, leapt to his feet. I turned towards the West and saw all the mass of giant flashes and explosions.-
“The Camp” … I said... I had left my post... I had left an opening... “It's under attack.”
(02/28/16 : 20:22:20)
||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 was conscious of the rapid pounding of my feet into the dirt, driven by fear and running faster than I had ever run in my entire life. Rhythmic beats of thud .. thud .. thud .. as I traversed the terrain at top speed. Rea was hot on my heels, but not quite able to keep up... 'fuck, fuck, f u c k !' .. I could not even think about the fact that this was my fault. I had left my post and given an opening... I wouldn't have -had- to leave my post if I hadn't let those Rebels get by... but all I could think about was getting to the rest of the Squad and praying that they were still alive... We skirted a ridge, bolted over the low rolling hills and thundered across the dry plains. It was almost half a mile back to camp, but the sound of gunfire and explosions were pushing us to our limits. Slowing down was not an Option. Even if I dropped dead from exhaustion, it was a price I would pay. I just had to keep. Going... 'Faster!' … I caught sight of the camp up ahead, or at least... the scorching infernos that appeared to be blazing up high into the night sky. My mind swarmed with so many questions. What if they were all already dead? Is it the rebels? Have the local troops turned on us? … The wind slammed against my face and chest in waves, trying to slow me down as I pushed myself with every ounce of conviction that I had in my bones. The sight of the fires were growing and when we eventually reached the edge of camp. We saw that all hell had broken loose. Bodies were littered everywhere. People were screaming, and shouting, and crying, as bullets zipped around in every direction... I even saw a horse running through the camp, completely on fire and engulfed in a ball of flame... “There!” … Rea roared, pointing over my shoulder and indicating a wall of sand bags near the back of the camp. It sat against the foot of the ridge on a high ground position and as I peered through the fray, I spotted Northman leaning over the wall, firing pot shots in random directions.-
“Come on!”
-I brought my rifle up to my shoulder and tried to catch my breath. I took aim on the nearest threat. They were rebels, my fears were confirmed. With my cross-hairs fixed on one in particular who had opened fire on two local troops -He had them pinned flat to ground by one of the burning tents- I squeezed the trigger three times, all of the bullets hitting the mark with a -c r a c k- of sound and dropping the rebel to the ground, dead. Rea had also opened fire in a different direction, spraying wildly before we both set off running again, zig-zagging our way across the battlefield and sliding in behind the cover of the sandbag's next to Northman... “Blood Hell!” … shouted Harvey from his other side.. “I feared you two were fucked!” … Rea flinched when a bullet hit the sandbag next to his face... “ What happened?” …. “We came under ambush in the middle of Abdul's speech!” … Harvey was struggling to be heard over all of the gunfire. It was deafening and absolutely brutal to the nerves... “They are everywhere. Some of the locals were sleepers, working for the rebels all along and we don't know who the fuck to trust. What we do know is that the main concentration of the rebels is coming up from the South. I need you both on the wall and laying fire down there. Now!” … Neither one of us had to be asked twice. Rea positioned himself between Me and Northman, mounting his LMG on the peak of the sand bags and starting to open up great burst of fire towards the South.. I crawled along to the other end and took up a place beside Macintosh. So it was true, They were mostly coming from the South, where I should have been watching.... “And here I was thinking you were going to miss the party!” … Macintosh said, with a grin on his lips as he ducked down behind the bags to reload his rifle. I couldn't help but grin back at him and teasingly state...-
“Couldn't let somebody ELSE shoot you in the face could I?”
(02/28/16 : 20:33:33)
||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.-
-We both laughed and I waited for him to reload before we both peered over the top at the same time … 'Hoe Lee Shit' … In all my time in Syria, I had never seen so many rebel terrorists in one place. I tried to count them in quick assessment but lost count at around fifty. And Harvey was right. They were E v e r y where. They hugged the cliffs, tucked in behind the other areas of covers, hid behind parked up vehicles. I even spotted one of them laying prone and taking cover behind a slaughtered horse. And that was the one I aimed for. I fixed my scope and took the shot.-
“M I S S E D !”
-I cursed loudly as the bullet pummelled into the rib cage of the dead horse. I fired again, narrowly missing the mark, but my third shot hit the rebel cunt in the temple and killed him instantly... “I bet I kill more than You!” … Macintosh cheered after having to stop and reload again already. I didn't really find anything about this funny. I was terrified and still reeling from almost seeing Rea die. But Macintosh was in high spirits. And he was a rookie, So I wanted to keep him feeling confident, and I played back with the banter.-
“Shooting the ones that are already dead, don't count.”
-I retorted with a smirk. Macintosh scowled, not wanting to be outdone and rose up to start shooting. The moment he leaned back over the top of the sandbags, a bullet hit him in the chest and he fell backwards with a spray of blood. The blood poured out of the hole in his chest like a spurting fountain. Christian had seen what had happened too and dived to his knees beside the dying Rookie... “Man down!” … he shouted and everybody turned to look in horror... “Hang on, Grapefruit!” … Christian said, trying to keep him calm, but he shared a look with me and I knew exactly what Macintosh's fate was. He coughed and spluttered, trying to speak but managing only to vomit up a mouthful of blood.-
“Damn it.” … I whispered through gritted teeth … “Those fucking twats.”
-I felt a powerful doze of rage pumping through my veins like ice and I turned back to the wall. I started to fire at every rebel I spotted. Two quick shots at one and then moving straight on to the next. When my magazine clip ran dry, I picked up Macintosh's rifle and continued firing. Christian was a trained paramedic and got to work trying to save the rookie's life. Amidst the battle, the skies opened up and it began to pour down with thick, heavy rain. The night light up with flashes of lightning and screams of raging thunder... Hell had come to say Hello...
(02/28/16 : 21:06:22)
||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.-
-Harvey picked off two that tried to rush the wall and then glanced over... “How's he doing Priest!?” … I paused in my own shooting to reload the rifle and listen in... “He's going to be fine.” … Christian said, but we all knew by the tone of Christian's voice that Macintosh was definitely -not- going to be fine. The rookie was staring up at the sky and the fall of rain drops against his face did not appear to affect him in the least.-
“What are we going to do?”
-I shouted, trying to get Harvey's attention... “We keep shooting!” … roared Northman as he sat down, leaning back against the sandbags. He pulled his box of shotgun shells towards him and started to load up his weapon with fresh rounds. I shook my head assuredly, Macintosh was not going to last much longer and I didn't believe we would be able to push them back like this. The torrential thunderstorm wasn't helping in terms of visibility. I glanced back over the wall and caught sight of General Abdul. He shot one of the rebels with a pistol but that rebel didn't even seem to slow down and charged at Abdul, cutting him down with the hack of a machete... “These fuckers are psychopaths.” … Northman cried, fumbling a shot as he almost dropped his shotgun... “They are actually complete lunatics.” … I had to agree, they were like rabid zombies, they were swarming us and it was working. None of them were afraid to die and believed that it was their destiny to die in this fight. As more and more enemy reinforcements continued to pour into camp from the South, even Harvey rethought his plan... “Alright, we are going to get out of here... Priest, Apex... Get Grapefruit on his feet and let's-” … One of the local troopers suddenly revealed himself as a traitor and emptied a full clip of bullets into Harvey's back. The Captain never got to say another word as twenty six bullets tore into him and killed him before his body hit the ground... I opened fire on the treacherous soldier whilst Northman dived to pull Harvey into cover, not accepting the fact that our Captain had just been shot dead. I managed to drop the soldier and turned to see Northman attempting to drag the body of Captain Harvey behind a tent, but out of nowhere, another rebel rushed them and I saw that vest of explosives-
“Northman!”
-But it was futile. The rebel sprang at him and triggered the explosion. He, Northman, and the body of the Captain were blown to pieces. Chunks of them started to shower down upon me like the rain, bouncing off my head, face, and shoulders...
(02/28/16 : 21:17:46)
||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 was just sitting there. I couldn't move. Slack jacked and just... Yeah... Rea saw what had happened too, but unlike me, he had processed it quickly and managed to keep his head in the game. He saw me freeze, saw me go numb... “Laddie... come on now!” … I heard him, but I had no idea what he was trying to say. Those words were alien to me. Falling on deaf ears. Nothing processed. Nothing functioned in me. I couldn't make a decision. I couldn't listen to him. I was simply lost... 'what had just happened? ' … That question repeated itself over and over in my head. And I couldn't answer, I couldn't put words or thoughts to what happened. I had just watched the Captain get shot dead. I had watched a terrified, panicked, Northman trying to drag him to safely. And I had watched that suicide bomber, blow them both to chunks of flesh, and bone.... “Damon! Shut it Off. Be Titanium!” … Roared Rea in between shots... But I couldn't be anything. I was Nothing. In that moment, I had died the moment my eyes witnessed what they did... My body slumped further as I sat there behind the sandbags. My head rocked forward like a puppet whom had, had his strings abandoned by the maker... And when my eyes glanced down... I saw teeth … Two of them, wedged into a chunk of fleshy jaw bone... I could tell, by the blonde stubble … It was Northman... Those were his teeth... That was his jaw... his skin... his stubble... 'What had just happened?' … I was just... He was just... They... How... But...-
-Rea's weapon ran dry and he threw it down, rushing towards Me... “Shut it off, Damon. Do you fucking hear me, boy? Be. Fucking. Titanium.” … He grabbed at the straps of my webbing, just in front of both my shoulders and shook me violently, jolting my unresisting body up towards him so that we were nose to nose. I didn't react, my eyes were naturally averting his, trying to look around him. To that black and red part of dirt... where they had been before.... “Shut it the fuck off. Right Now! NO OPTION! Don't let nothing touch you, do you understand? You're a fucking Hiker. You are a Monster. The Mission is the only thing that matters. Do you fucking understand what I'm saying to you, boy!?” … And with that, he drew back his fist and punched me straight in the face. His knuckles collided with my jaw and -R o c k e d- me.. I grunted loudly and scowled at him.-
“The fuck are you doing?”
-I shoved him off me and all that sound came rolling back in. Whatever he had done, had worked. I wasn't a man, I was a machine. A Monster. This is life... 'Better them, than Me.' … That is what I told myself. All of Rea's words came crashing through like bursts of flame let loose from a locked door that was finally starting to crack. I didn't freeze up, I couldn't try and process what had just happened. We were on a Mission. We were under fire. If I didn't get my shit together, I was going to be the next one to die. And I couldn't let that happen. I needed to help Rea, and Christian, and Macintosh. I needed to get them out of here. Survival was all that mattered now... I looked Rea in the eyes and nodded. He nodded back and handed me my rifle...”Come on, Laddie.. Let's give them a good old British Fuck You.” …
(02/28/16 : 21:39:47)
||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.-
-We threw ourselves against the sandbag wall and started to rain fire over the top at everybody we could see... “Macintosh! Stay with Me! Stay with Me, Grapefruit!” came the cry of Christian's Oxford accent. I turned to see him leaning over the rookie and slapping him repeatedly across the face... “Come on! Wake up you stupid idiot! Wake. The. Fuck. Up!” … But it was no use. Macintosh had succumb to his gun shot wound and I could tell from the vacant, wide eyed look on his face that the rookie was dead... I started to cry... There was no sobbing, or heaving... but tears formed in eyes and poured down my cheeks. Everyone was dying. The Captain was Dead. Northman was Dead. And now Macintosh was dead... I had been such a prick to Macintosh. I had pointed a gun at my friend's head. I never even got to tell him that I was sorry. That I didn't mean it. That I would die for any of them... Now he would never know. He likely thought that I hated him. I had probably scared him. Shaken him. Threw off his focus and caused him to get shot. It was my fault... And I had abandoned my post... so everything here.. all these deaths... all this loss... was all my fault.-
“We can't stay here.”
-I said, not loud enough for Christian or Rea to hear me. We were all going to die. But if that was the case, I didn't want to be the one to die last. This as my fault. But I had to get Rea and Christian out of here, I couldn't let them die, because of Me.-
“We need to fall back and get out of the camp.” … I shouted, turning my focus to where it needed to be... “There's too many of them.”
… It was bad enough facing the rebels in such a swift, brutal ambush. But the addition of several of the local militia turning traitor too. It was just not a fight we could win. It was a certain death for anybody who tried to stand their ground.... “Where can we go?” … shouted Rea amidst his gunfire. We had never planned for this. There was nowhere to go. I didn't know... but anywhere was better than here.. I turned to Christian, he knew Macintosh was gone, and he was staring at me in mute defeat.-
“Follow Me.”
-I said to them both. I immediately push myself away from the wall and started to flee back the way I had come. I didn't even check to see if the coast was clear. And that was a terrible mistake. I wasn't thinking straight. I was in complete shock of everything and couldn't function properly. I barely made it ten steps before two of the rebels charged at Me. They came running out from between two burning tents. Rea saw it and managed to shoot one, but the other slammed into me at a dead run, sending us both slamming to the ground. I saw the glint of steel and he rose a machete up and hacked it towards my face.
(02/28/16 : 22:03:35)
||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 caught his arm by the elbow, blundering his attack. But it took both of my hands to grasp him and he still had one of his own free. He punched me in the face. Several times as I focused on not letting go of that machete arm... More rebels were pushing up the hill to our position now. Rea was mowing them down but some were getting through and Christian was forced to get back into focus and start helping. He shot some of them down and ran towards Me, hooking his rifle over the Rebel's head and proceeding to choke him... It pulled him off me and I was able to get to my feet, Yanking that machete out of his hand.. Before I had chance to help Christian, another Rebel was charging towards us. Without thinking about what I was about to do, I just swung that machete and it hit the man in the face. He went down fast and started to scream like a cat on fire. I hacked at him over and over again with the machete until he was quiet. When I turned back to Christian, I saw to my horror that the rebel had almost overpowered him and was very close to getting control of that rifle.. I ran at him and launched a soccer kick at his face. Launching him onto his back. I was lost in the blood lust now. Lost to the mission. I dived onto him quick... I had lost the machete after it got stuck too deep into the carcass of the last one I killed, but I drew my knife from my belt now...-
-It was a nice knife actually. A Bear Grylls' fixed blade knife.... My favourite one so far, It had served me extremely well in the mission and was a very good choice of survival kit-
In case you want one yourself: www.athleteshop.co.uk/gerber-bear-grylls-ultimate-knife-fixed-blade-fe?gclid=CLfZvOfLm8sCFQQYwwodt3YA9w
-I had it sheathed against the outside of my left hip, I liked to have it just -there- my fingers often caressed the grip and I took comfort in that. But now it was not in it's sheath. It was in my left hand. I held it in a reverse grip, with my thumb against the top of the pommel to make sure my fingers wouldn't slide down the blade. The rebel man was lying on his back beneath me. I had the palm of my right hand pressed against his face, pushing his cheek into the dirt and driving my fingers into his eyeball. He had both of his hands on my wrist trying to get me off of him. But he could not. And he did not see the knife coming.-
-I stabbed Him.-
Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab.
-I wouldn't even be able to guess how many times I had stabbed him. In the chest at first. Some times I would strike bone. But that just made me stab harder. Every blow, more fierce than the last. Some times the blade would make it through, slotting between the rib bones and sinking all the way to the hilt inside of him. He tried to grab the knife at one point, But I stabbed him through the hand and just kept going. Fast and Relentless. At One point, I stabbed him just beneath the collar bone. He already had one hand cut up and out of the picture, but then he let go of my wrist with the other hand and pressed it against that gaping wound in his shoulder. It was an instinctive move, and I just stabbed right on through it. Nailing his hand to his shoulder as I stabbed. And Stabbed. And stabbed. I aimed for the neck at some point, and after several blows into his throat and gullet. He went limp. But I didn't care. I stabbed on. His face, his head, everywhere that wasn't Red.-
(02/28/16 : 22:23:56)
||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 rest of the Militia forces had been pushed back up the hill now. There was fighting going on all around us. There was some shooting, but mostly it was one big mass melee at this point. In hindsight, about Twenty Militia locals were there, trying to fight back around forty more rebel terrorists.-
-It was Chaos-
-It was Mayhem-
-It was Anarchy-
-I saw Rea, still near the sandbags. He had abandoned his LMG and was beating somebody to death with a shovel... and then I heard a scream. A Familiar scream... Christian had not yet healed fully from his arm injury. He couldn't fight well to begin with, and without full use of his arm. He was not doing well. I stared in fright as a Rebel stabbed him in the back with a rusty meat cleaver... I ran towards him with ungodly, desperate speed. I couldn't lose another one of my friends. I just couldn't.... 'Take Me. Take Me First' .. was the only thing going through my head as I leapt up as high as I could and drop kicked that Rebel away from Christian... I was no Bruce Lee, It had not been a skilful form of martial arts. It had been a desperate act to get the enemy away from Christian as quickly as I could... And I didn't land on my feet. Both of my heels -slammed- into his chest and sent him flying away from my friend, but my body hit the ground hard. I landed on a dropped rifle and it damn near broke my back... I gasped for breath as all of the air was torn out of my lungs and as soon as I had kicked -that- one away, another one attacked Christian and they both staggered away. Before I could catch my breath, or get up.. A Large man … certainly bigger than I... came up to my side and kicked me right in the fucking hip..
I grunted at the shock of pain that rocked a path up through my body. He stomped on my pelvis and I reacted by wrapping my legs around his and tripping him over... I scrambled towards him, climbing my way up his body.. I had lost the knife in my drop-kick fiasco but launched a punch into his jaw. And then another, and another... He caught my arm and we wrestled around in the dirt, kicking up a storm of dust amongst the apocalypse... He was stronger than Me and managed to get on top of Me again. He knelt on my chest and … Oh God … I couldn't breathe... I kept gasping at the air but my lungs just couldn't expand, they refused to breathe... He was grabbing and clawing at my face. Leaving deep scratches all over my forehead, and cheeks... At one point, as I was gasping. He tried to put his hand over my mouth and so I bit him.... and I didn't just Bite his skin... I bit his thumb clean off.
(02/28/16 : 22:40:43)
||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 large man screeched like a startled hyena and fell back off my chest. As soon as my ribs could expand, my body sucked in a breath... Despite my horror, I didn't have time to spit out that head of thumb and I swallowed it... I couldn't even process that... I wasn't scared in that moment. There was not an ounce of fear.. Just... Rage … in hindsight, I had lost my mind. I had become a Monster. There was no humanity left inside of Me. No Soul powering me. There was only Death... I threw myself on top of that howling rebel, and I started to rain down punches. I struck his face, his crown, his temple. It didn't matter where. I wasn't aiming. I couldn't. I was just attacking. When I couldn't punch, I snatched handfuls of his hair and started to -S M A S H- his face into the hard, dry, ground. Over and Over and Over. His nose burst, his cheek bones caved him and He died a very gruesome death.-
-I climbed off him, to find another to Kill. I found a machete on the floor and picked it up. A Local Militia got in my way. I didn't know if he was on our side or there's. So many were turning out to be traitors that worked for the terrorists all alone. It was a Risk. And I didn't take any chances. I hacked him to pieces and moved on to the next one. I chopped down a Rebel from behind and his friend took a swing at me with an identical machete. He missed, but I didn't and cut him down too.... “Damon!!” … That call. That shout. Was like a bucket of ice cold water washing down my spine. I had become so consumed in myself. That I had forgotten about Rea and Christian... I turned to see that Christian had been segregated from everyone. Surrounded by at least seven rebel terrorists... I started to cross the area. Stepping over bodies and rushing to go help him... And that was when something hit me in the chest... Like a super sonic Punch... Four times as quick as a blink... I was tossed backwards and crashed against a Local Militia soldier, accidentally pushing him into a nearby tent fire...-
-I had Been Shot-
-I tried to get to my feet and was shot again, several times. I felt those bullets peppering into my back like tiny hammers swung with the power of a God. I gasped, crying out in pain as I fell forward. I was wearing a Kevlar vest. So none of those bullets were actually making it through the bulletproof armour. But that super powerful pounding was doing it's own damage. Regardless of the bullet not managing to make it through the Kevlar. A Bullet was still -hitting- Me. They smashed against my chest, my heart, my spine, my ribs. I was near paralysed by the sudden and overwhelming pain.... the sad fact of the matter was, even when I managed to get back to my feet. I was spent. I had nothing left in me. Several Rebels stood between Me and Christian now and He was getting dragged away. They wanted Prisoners.... I know I couldn't get to him, but I threw myself at the rebels anyway. One of them struck me in the face with a rifle, and I saw stars as my nose was broken... I was blinded by agony and had to try and claw my way towards Christian. When my vision cleared enough. I saw four of them dragging him away. He was kicking and shouting, trying to get free. He kicked out at one, but that rebel chopped at this leg with a Machete. Christian cried out as they continued to drag and pull at him.... In a Frozen moment, somewhere in time... Our eyes met... He looked at Me... I looked at him... And we just knew it was over... He reached down to his belt and his fingers scrambled to tear something away...-
“Christian” … I whimpered … “No... please... Don't.”
-But he had done it. Christian's belt was stocked with grenades. And he had just pulled the pin of one of them.-
-The Impact of the explosion was epic. A tsunami of blood, bone, dirt, and air. It threw me backwards through the air and I landed hard, my body bouncing across the dirt. All of the sound bled from my reality and I could hear only a shrill whistling sound. I tried to move but I felt pinned to the ground by an invisible force. My body refused to answer me as I tried to get back to my feet. Pain sizzled through my body like the spread of the fires that now consumed the camp. I just couldn't move. All around Me the fighting raged on... 'I'm dying Now' … The fight was lost and only nightmares remained. I could feel the darkness creeping in. My breathing felt light and my vision was starting to blur... So I did the only thing I could do... I reached for the dead soldier beside me and pulled his body on top of Mine. I managed to hide myself beneath the surrounding bodies before inevitably blacking out into an abyss of unconsciousness.