Post by Damon on Mar 2, 2016 3:44:29 GMT
---LIFE AFTER DEATH---
My Ongoing Story in the World at War Room.
(03/01/16 : 13:33:50)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, at the Desolate Militia Camp|-|
-A large camp built by the locals with the help of Normandy Squad. It has seen been attacked and Rebel Terrorists had laid waste to it in one of the most brutal ambushes ever seen. Now it is just a simmering graveyard.-
-I woke with a gasp that punctured my lungs with a thousand razor blades. Or at least – That is what it felt like. I grunted, and gasped again, trying to heave in a gargled breath of air. Something that was easier said than done and I was struggling to catch my breath. My first reaction was to cry out in pain. I knew I could lay here and scream until my voice box shut down and it would still not take away the pain. Survival instinct was kicking in and so I gritted my teeth, fighting the agony unfolding in my bones. I could tell right away that something was wrong with my right arm. I couldn't moved it properly and I was pretty certain that I had broken it. My nose was broken too and even though I didn't know it, I had some hairline fractures in my jaw, hips, and shins. On top of that, I had a broken rib and two broken toes. I had dozens of little cuts, and hundreds of big bruises all over my face and body. Some of my uniform was burnt and my skin beneath it red raw in places that it wasn't already black. My head pounded like a drum and my entire body felt as stiff as the dead... 'I should be Dead' … I was trying to compose my foggy mind. That Grenade. I could still remember the sound of the gasp in my throat when I had seen Christian pull the pin, and then... a white flash … Then I was flying, or falling... 'Why is it so Dark?' … I realised then, that something was on top of me. Something heavy.
-The Body-
-Piece by piece, everything was starting to come back to Me.. I could remember landing on the ground, next to some bodies and pulling one of them on top of me to hide my fading body from the enemies.. No.. To hide from Death... The pain was like a white flame, scorching every inch of Me, But I pushed through it and summoned up enough strength to shove that body off of Me. The putrid stench of death stung my nostrils and made my stomach twist in anguish. The sudden lift of the weight had allowed me to breathe though, and I managed to roll over onto my knees. I couldn't stand. Not Yet. Before I had chance to do anything, my stomach lurched and I threw up. I could see blood in my bile... 'I'm dying.' … I felt sure of it. A slow agonizing death.-
-I reached across and gingerly grasped my right arm...'Maybe it isn't broken.' … I could feel the joint grinding painfully and I could tell that it was -not- where it needed to be. I had never dealt with a broken bone before, or a dislocated one for that matter. But I had a basic understanding of what you were supposed to do. It hurt to touch but I ignored that pain and gave it a sharp pull... A cry burst from my Mouth and I jolted violently, falling onto my side, hissing in pain.-
“Well, That didn't work.”
-I said, out loud to myself in the same tone I might use to scorn a child. It took me another few moments for the pain to subside just long enough for me to think straight... 'Harder' … said that voice inside my head. My primal instinct. My survivor's nature. It was refusing to let me give up. I grunted, and groaned as I managed to get back up onto my knees again. I took hold of the arm by the elbow joint and growled through the pain as I lifted it slightly, just to take a better look. I could see the bone bulging forwards in front of where the shoulder -should- be. So it just literally, needed to be pooped -back- into the joint. I let go of my arm and allowed it to hang limply at my side before steeling myself and starting to count... 'One...... Two' … Before I could even think of the number three, I launched my body forward. Belly-slamming myself into the ground, twisting as I fell to 'dive' shoulder first towards the hard, bloodied, mud with a sickening crack.-
(03/01/16 : 14:33:42)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, at the Desolate Militia Camp|-|
-A large camp built by the locals with the help of Normandy Squad. It has seen been attacked and Rebel Terrorists had laid waste to it in one of the most brutal ambushes ever seen. Now it is just a simmering graveyard.-
-A Startled cry ripped its way up my throat and burst from my mouth in the form of mangled curse words as my dislocated shoulder made impact with the ground. It did the job of bashing the joint back into the socket, but it hurt in the most profound sharpness of torture and I could do nothing but shiver, and groan on the ground for several minutes... 'I hate this fucking world.' … When at last, I could move again, I managed to get up to my feet with shaky legs. But even then, all I did was stumble around aimlessly for several -more- minutes. The sun was up. High in the sky, indicating that it was close to midday. The camp itself... was completely silent.-
“This is a living nightmare.”
-Every tent had been burned to the ground. None of them even remotely resembled anything close to a tent anymore. Just piles of simmering ash. There were a couple of new additions to the camp too. Bonfires. Two of them had been erected near the middle of the camp and bodies had been piled on them. Not -all- of the bodies. Thank God. But a lot of them. I had never seen such horrors before. Decapitated heads -cleaved off by machetes- were mounted on pikes all over the place and there was even a headless body hanging by the feet along the cliff face... It was Just... Horrifying... Corpses were scattered everywhere. I could see the dip in the ground where Christian had being dragged when he pulled the pin. There was nothing there now but blackened dirt and splatters of dried blood.. I looked around and found Macintosh's body where it had been left. Nobody had even touched it. I sat down next to him for a while.-
“Sorry, mate.”
-I said as I reached out and closed his eyes. I looked towards the sandbags. No Rea. I bid Macintosh one last farewell and continued to try and seek out Rea's body. It gave me hope at first, to not see him there. But that hope dwindled as I looked around the camp some more. So many bodies, so much death. Local militia and rebels alike. Nobody had escaped this bloody battle. Any bodies that weren't here, were likely on the bonfires, charred and damaged beyond recognition.-
-I knew that I could not just sit around waiting to die. So I started to formulate a plan. I collected a working pistol from one of the bodies, along with a full magazine of bullets. I also found a bottle of water near the supplies area, which I greedily drank, not even realising just how thirsty I was until the first drop touched my tongue. And once I had started, I couldn't stop myself from gulping down every last bit of that warm, but refreshing fluid. I tucked the pistol into my belt and undressed one of the local troops. He had been shot in the stomach but didn't appear to suffer any other injuries. More importantly, the thick shepherd's coat he wore was clean and free of any visible blood stains. I shrugged it on and buttoned it up before claiming the dead man's assault rifle.... twenty seven Bullets.... Let's hope I don't need to use them. One might think that I could easily find more ammunition around the camp, but that was not the case. Most of the weapons and supplies had been looted or destroyed and I couldn't find anything else of use except for a small emergency medic's pack. I could have treated my wounds there and then, but I decided it best to focus on getting away from the camp before any of the terrorists could come back... I set off North West, with nothing to gain, and nothing to lose..
(03/01/16 : 17:02:17)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, Near the Euphrates River|-|
-In a grassy region. Along the mighty river that was home to a deadly amount of predators. Somewhere Northwest of the desolate militia camp.-
-I walked for hours and didn't see another living soul. Not that I expected to. Except for rebels, So I was glad that I didn't cross anybody's path. I was fucked up and couldn't defend myself properly. Even just staying on my feet felt like a challenge... A couple of hours before sunset I came across one of the small villages that Normandy Squad used to patrol through. It was home to no more than thirty locals, all settled into a small encampment of eleven crudely built houses. When I reached the main path through the village, I discovered that the entire area was abandoned. It was an eerie thing, to come across a village that you often saw flourishing with life only to instead find it completely empty. I went from building to building. Searching for life, at least bodies.-
-But I found Nothing.-
-Sadly enough, it happened. If a community out here didn't feel safe enough to stay, they would make a mass migration. Some times to another village, joining up and growing. Some times they would leave the country all together and find another place in the world to live. It had caused a lot of refugee and immigration problems throughout history... This village in particular had likely heard about the defeat of the Militia camp and decided to flee before the terrorists could punish them for whatever corrupted reason they came up with. I found some more water in one of the huts, and a parcel of meat that had gone rotten. But there was nothing else and so I moved on... One Hour after that, I reached an obstacle in my path.-
-The Euphrates River-
-It was a mighty river, it pretty much cut the entire country of Syria into two, from Turkey, all the way through Syria, All the way through Iraq, and emptying into the Persian Gulf. Almost two -thousand- miles long. It was the longest river in Western Asia... and Also one of the deadliest. I was completely aware that it was home to many different species of water snake. Hundreds of different types of fish, some of which would be all too happy to take a big juicy bite out of my arse. It was also home to a nastier predator than the snakes and fish... God damn 'Blood 'Turtles... That's what the locals called them... Turtles may sound harmless enough, but I had once met a local who had come into contact with one before. He had been kneeling by the river's edge, dipping his hands into the water to wash his face. But one of those turtles had been waiting. Lurking. It snapped at his hand with an incredibly powerful jaw and bit three of his fingers off. I had also heard stories of men washing in the river and the turtles mistaking their manhood's for food.-
“Awesome... Just. Fucking. Awesome.”
(03/01/16 : 17:49:33)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, Near the Euphrates River|-|
-In a grassy region. Along the mighty river that was home to a deadly amount of predators. Somewhere Northwest of the desolate militia camp.-
-I was not eager to get my cock bitten off just yet, but I couldn't stop now... 'Get on with it.' … I told myself, as I stood procrastinating on the verge. It was inevitable. I had to cross it and I knew that there was no avoiding it. So without trying to think about it too much, I crept closer to the edge and lowered myself into the murky water... nothing immediately tried to swim up my arse and impregnate me... so that was a good sign.. I started to swim, as fast as could, flowing with the current as I attempted to just reach the other side without submerging my rifle... At any moment I expecting to feel the sting of a bite and I dared not slow down, not even a little bit... I reached the other side of the grassy verge without an issue and quickly pulled myself out.-
“Bloody Hell”
-I muttered to myself, lying on my back and trying to catch my breath. I hate Water. It was my weakness, my kryptonite. I could face anything, but water terrified me and I was not one of the best swimmers to say the least. I found myself thinking back to a time when I was a child. My older sister had been baby sitting me. We were at an outdoor pool at a holiday camp called Butlins. She had wanted to go off with a boy she had met and hated having to drag me around. I had voiced an objection to leaving the pool area, I wanted to play in the water more and she didn't... So she pushed me in.. It was the Deep end and I couldn't swim.. I remember sinking the bottom and just sitting on the tiles, staring up at the rippled image of my sister. She realised what she had done and screamed for help, a lifeguard -Not the Hoff… or Anderson(Unfortunately!) .. but somebody, jumped in and pulled me out.. I had hated water ever since.-
-I shook the thoughts out of my head and focused back on the task at hand. I wanted to start a quick fire and dry my clothes, but I didn't have the time so I would just suffer it. I checked the rifle and it appeared to be in working order... I rose to my feet... and Froze... I could hear movement behind me and quickly spun around, raising my rifle, ready to fire.... “Don't shoot! Don't shoot!” … barked a familiar voice. I frowned and peered down the sights at the approaching form. A Giant of a man...-
“Rea...”
(03/01/16 : 18:31:26)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, Near the Euphrates River|-|
-In a grassy region. Along the mighty river that was home to a deadly amount of predators. Somewhere Northwest of the desolate militia camp.-
-It could not be. I had thought myself to be the last surviving member of Normandy Squad. But there he stood, the big brute of a Scotsman. He looked a little worse for wear, but I was not hallucinating, I was not dreaming. Was I?-
“You're Alive.”
-Rea chuckled... “Not if you squeeze that trigger I'm not.” … He said, raising his arms and coming to a stand still. I lowered my aim immediately. I hadn't kept it there out of mistrust or suspicion. I had just been so utterly shocked to see my best friend, alive. It was a godsend.-
“Bloody hell, I thought everyone was dead.”
-... “I thought -You- were dead.” … Rea said. He rushed over to me and snatched me up in a very relieved bear hug... “It's good to see you, my friend.” … I felt weak for a moment, the embrace of a brother offered me comfort when all seemed hopeless. I patted him on the back and straightened up. I needed to stay tough. I couldn't afford to be weak. Or to get hopeful. I just needed to focus on surviving. No more, no less. I asked him what happened back there and he shrugged his shoulders... “Hell if I know. An Apocalypse maybe?” … He leaned back against a nearby tree. Trees were rare out in the plains, but it was common for them to grow along the shores of Euphrates in small gardens and thickets. I saw that Rea's lips were dry and cracking. His skin was pale, and he looked dehydrated. I unstrapped my water supply from my back and offered it to him.-
“How did you get away?”
-I asked as he took it eagerly and began to drink... “by a stroke of Bloomin' luck.” … he admitted. I also noticed that he was injured and spotted several areas on him that were stained with blood. He had his bergen on his back but didn't appear to have a weapon... “I saw what Christian did.” … he said, and I felt that cold punch in my stomach as that memory played over in my head... “But I was busy wrestling around with one of those wankers. We were pretty close to the blow but I guess that wanker absorbed the force of it. I looked around but couldn't see you. I thought you had been blown to pieces. And I saw one of them horse. It was high tailing it through the camp like a bat out of hell. I got to my feet, jumped on its back, and rode it out.” … he paused just long enough to drink some more from the bottle... “The horse died this morning. I've been following the river ever since... I thought you were like... a mirage or some shit like that... You know, like that movie where the cat and the mouse walk by each other in the desert because they think they are both mirages but they aren't?” … he drained the bottle of water and burped loudly... “Got any more?”..-
“No. Sorry.”
-I said, lying. I had two more bottles hanging from my back, hidden underneath my thick coat. But we needed to ration it. The bottle I had just given him, would keep Rea alive for now. If those wounds I had noticed, didn't kill him.-
“What Injuries you got?”
(03/01/16 : 18:46:59)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, Near the Euphrates River|-|
-In a grassy region. Along the mighty river that was home to a deadly amount of predators. Somewhere Northwest of the desolate militia camp.-
-Rea shrugged and dropped his bergen to stuff the empty bottle away, knowing that it may come in handy later... “Nothing Serious.” … he said. Typical Rea. Dismissive of pain and wounds. But I realised then, in that moment, Rea had been a big influence to Me. Not only did I consider him my best friend, but I also looked up to him, just like he was my big brother. Every time I had ever seen Rea with an injury he claimed it was 'Nothing Serious' … I fuckin' hated when he used that term... his head could be hanging off and he would still stay it was 'nothing serious' .. one thing I had learned is that if he said it was 'nothing serious' … there was likely something completely 'serious' about it.-
“Let me see.”
-I said, reaching towards his shirt... “Sod Off!” … he muttered, slapping my hand away. So stubborn. It annoyed me and I stepped closer. I would knock him clean out if I had to... I needed to see and fortunately he didn't put up much of a fight with his meagre efforts. I unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it open... 'Be Stoic' .. I told myself sharply, trying not to react to what I saw... I knew that I was fucked up myself.. but Rea had been shot three times and unlike me, he had not been wearing a Kevlar vest. I saw one bullet hole in his chest, and two in the stomach, just above the left hip... 'This is Bad. This is real Bad. … I grunted at myself and turned away, I had to, I was scared that he would see the fright on my face. I busied myself trying to unstrap my medical kit from inside my coat.-
“It's not bad.”
-I said, trying to sound nonchalantly... and then suddenly I understand it... Nothing Serious … it wasn't dismissive, all this time. It was actually acknowledgement that it was bad and he just didn't want to worry me, because he cared... “You need to work on that lying, laddie. You're going to need to get better at it.” .. I chuckled and finally got the pack free, I emptied it into the grass as Rea slid down to sit back against that tree.-
“Do you remember that game of poker we all played last month? And you cheated and won my last packet of cigarettes. Though I guess I should thank you for that, it's a bad habit.”
-Rea blinked.. “Cheated? I didn't bloomin' cheat! I won fair and square!” … I was lining all the medical supplies up in tidy order between us but Rea did not seem to notice. I had a needle, some thread. Antiseptic wipes., and A pair of thin, long tweezers.-
“I'm pretty sure you did. I had two aces and two queens. What did you have again?””
-I kept him talking about the poker game. Made him think, and concentrate to remember irrelevant little details about it. In the process of that, I treated his wounds. Two of the shots – the ones just above the hip, had gone all the way through but I had to remove the third bullet from his chest with the pair of tweezers. I was no Christian. No medic. But it hadn't gone deep and I was able to see it without looking too far. It was a lucky shot, aimed straight for his lung but the bullet had got wedged against his rib cage and not managed to go all the way through. I tended them the best I could but knew that there was a lot of internal damage. My actions would sustain his life for a time. But that time was very limited and we needed to get to a hospital soon.
(03/01/16 : 19:39:46)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, Near the Euphrates River|-|
-In a grassy region. Along the mighty river that was home to a deadly amount of predators. Somewhere Northwest of the desolate militia camp.-
-Rea asked me about my own wounds but there was not much to be done to mine. What cuts I did have, were small and shallow. They would heal on their own. My bruises were worse. Bruised not just on the surface, but to the bone. My arm had not popped back out, but it was throbbing and still sore. My toes ached like a mother fucker and my broken rib sent splinters of pain zipping through my body like electricity every time I moved. I wrapped Rea up with the last of the bandages and put the rest of the supplies away. I stored it in Rea's bergen and hoisted it up onto my back. The Rib didn't like that and a hiss burst out of my mouth. But however injured I was, Rea was worse. So I would carry it for him.-
“Come on. Let's get you on your feet, fat man.”
-I helped him up and he managed to walk just fine on his own. Fuckin' Titanium, Bitches. When the sun had set, we both agreed that it would be best to continue on through the night. We just couldn't risk running into any more rebels. It felt like Hell was following us, burning at our heels. There was nothing to see across the terrain. Just miles and miles of land. I would stop only for a few moments every once in a while to check the compass I had found in Rea's bergen. Luckily the dials were illuminant, but we had no other light source and we couldn't check the map. Instead I just made sure that we kept our backs to the camp and left it far behind... 'I should be Dead. … In the silence of the hike, I was feeling survivor's remorse. In the very beginning, I had possessed bad feelings about the work in Syria, and I had been right all along. Now, everyone was gone because I had abandoned my post. They were all dead.-
Macintosh. Northman. Harvey. Christian.
-I should have died with them. I blamed myself not because I just... felt bad... but because it was actually, entirely my fault. I shouldn't have left my post. I should have shot those two rebels when I had the chance. I had saved Rea eventually, but at what cost? The Rebels had slipped through the opening I created and slaughtered half of the camp before we had even got back there... 'Why am I not dead?' … I'm not worth surviving. Not worth saving. Why didn't I die too? … Because it's a curse. It's my fault, so I have to live with the suffering for the rest of my life. Because I deserve no less.-
-Shortly before sun rise, whilst we were heading up a steep hill, Rea slipped. He lost his footing and stumbled all the way back down to the bottom of the hill. I turned to see him bouncing across the dirt like a rag doll, and ran after him.-
“What Happened?”
-I asked when I reached his side. Rea had come to a stop and sat himself up but didn't get back to his feet... “Just this leg. Giving me grief. I'll be fine, I just need a minute.” … I nodded and looked around. The sun would rise within the hour and then we would be easily visible out in the open like this. During the night, we had darkness for cover, but on these open plains in broad day light... It was a sniper's dream... Rea tried to stand up but his leg would not hold his weight anymore and he dropped back down. … “You might have to check the foot” … I frowned and knelt down, untying his boot lace and carefully pulling the boot off. When I did so – a large amount of blood poured out with it...
(03/01/16 : 19:52:06)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria|-|
-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 noticed that he had a hole in the bottom of his boot and his sock was soaked in blood... I peeled it off and behind it was a nasty, gaping hole in the sole of his foot.-
“Bloody hell, mate. Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?” … I had not noticed it when I had dressed his wounds … “What is it? A bullet?”
-Rea shook his head.... “It's an arrow” ...I looked at him in surprise. An arrow? I had not seen anybody using such things in the fight. Though I knew it was possible it just seemed... doubtful.. and I wondered if he was delusional and feverish due to the bullet wounds.... “When I was riding that horse out of the camp... some wee bastard shot me with it. I pulled it out but I think the head is still in there.” … Something was in there. I could see the bulge of it behind the skin. It needed immediate attention, but not here. It was far too open and we needed to find somewhere with a bit of cover. I helped him up to his feet and let him lean on me despite my own pain. Instead of going up the hill, we skirted its bottom, it was a detour, but it was our only choice. Unfortunately, Syria was not overly populated with caves and dens and I couldn't find anywhere... And time ran out to keep looking. Rea lost the fight and dropped to the ground unconsciously... I had no choice but to leave his body there on the ground and do a quick scout of the perimeter. It would just have to do. I found a few pieces of wood and a handful of dead grass. Just enough to make a small camp fire.-
-I took Rea's Swiss army knife out of his bergen and cleaned it with a bit of water, then left it to heat in the flames. I'm the first to admit that I didn't know what the fuck I was doing. But I had observed Christian once take a bullet out of somebody's foot and tried to copy his process. I took the opportunity of Rea 'sleeping' to further inspect his foot. I could tell that some of the skin around the edges of the wound was dead and would become infected if left there. I took back the knife and the blade was now glowing hot... 'This is going to hurt' .. I thought... but it didn't .. Or at least – not enough to wake Rea from his unconscious stupor. I tried to work as fast as I could, but cutting chunks of flesh off of somebody's foot was not something I did as a hobby..it it took a bite of effort... I put the knife down and braced myself... it was going to be gross... I grimaced and poked my finger into the hole. It made some blood spurt out, up my arm and turned my stomach. But I felt it.
The Arrow Head.
-Rea was telling the truth after all... With a bit of blind fiddling and a very tricky process of using my fingers like hooks, I managed to get it out. When I held it up in front of my face, I was surprised by the detail of the arrow head. It was crafted from some form of black stone. It could be glass. Intricate designs covered both sides of it and the edges were serrated. It was a very vicious looking piece.
(03/01/16 : 20:08:11)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria|-|
-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 fell asleep after finishing up with Rea. I hadn't meant to, I had sat beside the fire and considered snuffing it out. One on side of the coin, It would be like a beacon in the night and attracts others. But on the flip side, Rea needed the warmth and it was almost sunrise anyway... It was pain that woke me up. A blinding flash of pain that made my eyes snap open. I couldn't see anything, just a flash of agony. And a cry spat itself up my throat. When my vision did clear, I Saw Rea sitting beside me and staring down at me with a grin... “Morning Laddie, I fixed that nose for you.” … I grunted and sat up, scratching my beard and looking around. He had popped my nose into place. It was broken, but I could breathe better now admittedly. It had just... Really … Hurt.-
“Could have woke me first!”
-I snapped, but he just kept grinning at me and I ended up shaking my head with quiet laughter.-
“You're a bully.”
-I teased. He laughed, then coughed... I saw blood splatter onto the grass as it left his mouth. But I didn't say anything and pretended not to notice... “Well We all know you were the nice one in the squad” … He retorted. I got up to my feet and started to wipe myself down. I hadn't been out long. Forty minutes maybe, but the sun was half way through its rise. I couldn't see anything of note around us, but I did notice that we weren't far at all from a sheer drop off a cliff edge down to a rocky, dried up valley. If we had kept walking last night, we would have walked straight off the edge and plummeted to our deaths. I was suddenly grateful that Rea had passed out when he did.-
“How you feeling? Can you walk?”
-I asked as I took the opportunity to dig through his bergen for something to eat... “Of course I can. What do you take me for? An invalid?” … It was a stupid question, I knew that. Not because it was unreasonable, but because I knew that no matter what, He'd try and Walk. Rea wasn't a quitter, he just didn't have it in him, it was not part of who he was and I admired that about him. We shared our last bottle of water but didn't have anything to eat. I helped Rea up to his feet and we spoke through a plan of how to best move him... He was going to try and just hop along, and keep his hand on my shoulder for balance. He asked about my injuries again, but I didn't tell him about the broken rib or toes of my own, I didn't want him to be concerned with that.... “That's not what I think it is, is it?” … Rea asked as he pointed towards the Horizon. I frowned and let my eyes cut in that direction.... 'Shit' … it was a truck....... I quickly raised the rifle to peer through the scope and take a better look. It could possibly be more migrants fleeing the country.... 'Pfft, I should have known better' …. It was Rebels... the back of the truck was loaded with them. I counted four up there, armed and ready, and that didn't even include whoever was inside the cab of the truck... And to make matters worse... They were racing in our direction...
(03/01/16 : 20:20:51)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria|-|
-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 didn't bother to shoot. At this range, and their speed. I would likely miss. And they probably hadn't seen Rea and I yet... “Must have been the fire” … He said, and I nodded in agreement. I didn't know what to do. We couldn't run... I could... but to do that I would have to leave Rea behind. And that just wasn't going to happen.... But we could not fight either... We only had my Assault rifle, with those twenty seven bullets, and one pistol. That was not going to fight off at least five men... “You should Go, lad.” … Rea said, letting go of my shoulder.-
“Shut Your mouth.”
-I snapped, I grabbed his wrist and forced his hand back onto my shoulder. I was not going to do it. I would rather just stay and die along with him. He knew that he would never be able to persuade me to do otherwise and didn't voice it again. We moved away from the camp and further around the hill... “We're going to need to go down.” … said Rea. I didn't understand what he meant at first, but then I realised... the cliff … If we could get down there, we might stand a chance of hiding from them since the truck couldn't climb down after us. But up here... We'd be run down for certain... I quickly took off the bergen and gathered the coil of rope that was strapped to it.-
“How long is this?”
-It was Rea's bergen after all... “About thirty now. I had to cut some off a few weeks ago. But should be plenty.” … Thirty foot. That wasn't going to do it. The cliff drop looked about 80ft down. I peered over the edge and could see a little ridge closer up the face, but still out of sight for the most part. If we could get down to that point and put ourselves back against the wall, they would struggle to spot us even if they did think to look down there.-
“I'm going to lower you down. When you get down there, untie yourself and I'll climb down it.”
(03/01/16 : 20:37:17)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
: |-|In Syria|-|
-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 pulled a nearby boulder towards me. It was the size of a football and I ignored the Deathstalker that scurried away from underneath. I started to work carefully, looping one end of the rope around the rock and knotting it. I occasionally glanced up to look for the truck, It had driven around the hill now and out of sight, but at any moment, it could appear over the top of it and mow us both down... so I worked fast, a total of four knots bound that rope to the rock.... “I'm not going first Laddie... You are” … Said Rea as I started to dig a hole in the dirt.-
“What are you talking about. You're going first, You're wounded.”
-I dug with my hands, It hurt and I felt like it was ripping my fingernails out. They were cracked and bleeding. But I just kept digging... “That's why I can't bloody go first! You know I don't like heights. And I'm heavier. If I go down there and that ledge isn't stable... I'm going to fall and Die! … You need to go first, and make sure its stable so that you can help me keep my balance when I come down” .. He had a point. He could barely stand, so if that ledge did give away when he stood on it, he wouldn't be able to get his footing and climb back up. He'd fall to his death and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it... I reluctantly agreed and finished digging the hole. It was deep enough to toss the boulder inside and I started to fill it back in again. Burying that Boulder and knotted strapping of rope. It was no mount Everest type of climbing rig. But it would hold our weights. Hopefully... As I rose to my feet, Rea had already looped the other end and he held it out to me. I could hear the engine now. That truck was going to be here any second....
-I put my arms up and it sent a shiver of pain through my body. Rea looped the rope over my head and helped me secure it at my waist... “I'll hold the rifle.” … He said, taking it and stepping back as soon as I was ready. I hurried close to the edge and looked down. I hated heights too. Another one of my fears that I was being forced to contend with. I braced my feet and started to lean back, holding onto the rope for dear life. I would have to ease myself down a bit at a time and hope I didn't slip. I turned back to Rea and gave him command. Not as a superior. As a brother..-
“When I hit the ledge, I'll tug on the rope twice. As soon as you see it jolt like that, start climbing down, okay?”
-Rea nodded... “I know... Now hurry up and get going before we get spotted.” … I nodded and didn't hesitate, we couldn't afford to. Just as I had almost disappeared completely over the edge, Rea spoke... “Laddie,” … He moved towards me and I could barely hold on but kept my grip to listen to what he wanted. He stood in front of me and from my low position over the edge, I could smell that blood leaking out of his boot. I looked up at him and our eyes locked. I was expectant, waiting to hear what he had to say. But he was smiling. It was a broad, almost sad smile and he didn't speak at first. He just nodded and then eventually said... “I'm Proud of you, lad.” … And then he kicked me in the face and I plummeted backwards, over the edge, falling unconsciously into a pit of darkness...
My Ongoing Story in the World at War Room.
(03/01/16 : 13:33:50)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, at the Desolate Militia Camp|-|
-A large camp built by the locals with the help of Normandy Squad. It has seen been attacked and Rebel Terrorists had laid waste to it in one of the most brutal ambushes ever seen. Now it is just a simmering graveyard.-
-I woke with a gasp that punctured my lungs with a thousand razor blades. Or at least – That is what it felt like. I grunted, and gasped again, trying to heave in a gargled breath of air. Something that was easier said than done and I was struggling to catch my breath. My first reaction was to cry out in pain. I knew I could lay here and scream until my voice box shut down and it would still not take away the pain. Survival instinct was kicking in and so I gritted my teeth, fighting the agony unfolding in my bones. I could tell right away that something was wrong with my right arm. I couldn't moved it properly and I was pretty certain that I had broken it. My nose was broken too and even though I didn't know it, I had some hairline fractures in my jaw, hips, and shins. On top of that, I had a broken rib and two broken toes. I had dozens of little cuts, and hundreds of big bruises all over my face and body. Some of my uniform was burnt and my skin beneath it red raw in places that it wasn't already black. My head pounded like a drum and my entire body felt as stiff as the dead... 'I should be Dead' … I was trying to compose my foggy mind. That Grenade. I could still remember the sound of the gasp in my throat when I had seen Christian pull the pin, and then... a white flash … Then I was flying, or falling... 'Why is it so Dark?' … I realised then, that something was on top of me. Something heavy.
-The Body-
-Piece by piece, everything was starting to come back to Me.. I could remember landing on the ground, next to some bodies and pulling one of them on top of me to hide my fading body from the enemies.. No.. To hide from Death... The pain was like a white flame, scorching every inch of Me, But I pushed through it and summoned up enough strength to shove that body off of Me. The putrid stench of death stung my nostrils and made my stomach twist in anguish. The sudden lift of the weight had allowed me to breathe though, and I managed to roll over onto my knees. I couldn't stand. Not Yet. Before I had chance to do anything, my stomach lurched and I threw up. I could see blood in my bile... 'I'm dying.' … I felt sure of it. A slow agonizing death.-
-I reached across and gingerly grasped my right arm...'Maybe it isn't broken.' … I could feel the joint grinding painfully and I could tell that it was -not- where it needed to be. I had never dealt with a broken bone before, or a dislocated one for that matter. But I had a basic understanding of what you were supposed to do. It hurt to touch but I ignored that pain and gave it a sharp pull... A cry burst from my Mouth and I jolted violently, falling onto my side, hissing in pain.-
“Well, That didn't work.”
-I said, out loud to myself in the same tone I might use to scorn a child. It took me another few moments for the pain to subside just long enough for me to think straight... 'Harder' … said that voice inside my head. My primal instinct. My survivor's nature. It was refusing to let me give up. I grunted, and groaned as I managed to get back up onto my knees again. I took hold of the arm by the elbow joint and growled through the pain as I lifted it slightly, just to take a better look. I could see the bone bulging forwards in front of where the shoulder -should- be. So it just literally, needed to be pooped -back- into the joint. I let go of my arm and allowed it to hang limply at my side before steeling myself and starting to count... 'One...... Two' … Before I could even think of the number three, I launched my body forward. Belly-slamming myself into the ground, twisting as I fell to 'dive' shoulder first towards the hard, bloodied, mud with a sickening crack.-
(03/01/16 : 14:33:42)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, at the Desolate Militia Camp|-|
-A large camp built by the locals with the help of Normandy Squad. It has seen been attacked and Rebel Terrorists had laid waste to it in one of the most brutal ambushes ever seen. Now it is just a simmering graveyard.-
-A Startled cry ripped its way up my throat and burst from my mouth in the form of mangled curse words as my dislocated shoulder made impact with the ground. It did the job of bashing the joint back into the socket, but it hurt in the most profound sharpness of torture and I could do nothing but shiver, and groan on the ground for several minutes... 'I hate this fucking world.' … When at last, I could move again, I managed to get up to my feet with shaky legs. But even then, all I did was stumble around aimlessly for several -more- minutes. The sun was up. High in the sky, indicating that it was close to midday. The camp itself... was completely silent.-
“This is a living nightmare.”
-Every tent had been burned to the ground. None of them even remotely resembled anything close to a tent anymore. Just piles of simmering ash. There were a couple of new additions to the camp too. Bonfires. Two of them had been erected near the middle of the camp and bodies had been piled on them. Not -all- of the bodies. Thank God. But a lot of them. I had never seen such horrors before. Decapitated heads -cleaved off by machetes- were mounted on pikes all over the place and there was even a headless body hanging by the feet along the cliff face... It was Just... Horrifying... Corpses were scattered everywhere. I could see the dip in the ground where Christian had being dragged when he pulled the pin. There was nothing there now but blackened dirt and splatters of dried blood.. I looked around and found Macintosh's body where it had been left. Nobody had even touched it. I sat down next to him for a while.-
“Sorry, mate.”
-I said as I reached out and closed his eyes. I looked towards the sandbags. No Rea. I bid Macintosh one last farewell and continued to try and seek out Rea's body. It gave me hope at first, to not see him there. But that hope dwindled as I looked around the camp some more. So many bodies, so much death. Local militia and rebels alike. Nobody had escaped this bloody battle. Any bodies that weren't here, were likely on the bonfires, charred and damaged beyond recognition.-
-I knew that I could not just sit around waiting to die. So I started to formulate a plan. I collected a working pistol from one of the bodies, along with a full magazine of bullets. I also found a bottle of water near the supplies area, which I greedily drank, not even realising just how thirsty I was until the first drop touched my tongue. And once I had started, I couldn't stop myself from gulping down every last bit of that warm, but refreshing fluid. I tucked the pistol into my belt and undressed one of the local troops. He had been shot in the stomach but didn't appear to suffer any other injuries. More importantly, the thick shepherd's coat he wore was clean and free of any visible blood stains. I shrugged it on and buttoned it up before claiming the dead man's assault rifle.... twenty seven Bullets.... Let's hope I don't need to use them. One might think that I could easily find more ammunition around the camp, but that was not the case. Most of the weapons and supplies had been looted or destroyed and I couldn't find anything else of use except for a small emergency medic's pack. I could have treated my wounds there and then, but I decided it best to focus on getting away from the camp before any of the terrorists could come back... I set off North West, with nothing to gain, and nothing to lose..
(03/01/16 : 17:02:17)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, Near the Euphrates River|-|
-In a grassy region. Along the mighty river that was home to a deadly amount of predators. Somewhere Northwest of the desolate militia camp.-
-I walked for hours and didn't see another living soul. Not that I expected to. Except for rebels, So I was glad that I didn't cross anybody's path. I was fucked up and couldn't defend myself properly. Even just staying on my feet felt like a challenge... A couple of hours before sunset I came across one of the small villages that Normandy Squad used to patrol through. It was home to no more than thirty locals, all settled into a small encampment of eleven crudely built houses. When I reached the main path through the village, I discovered that the entire area was abandoned. It was an eerie thing, to come across a village that you often saw flourishing with life only to instead find it completely empty. I went from building to building. Searching for life, at least bodies.-
-But I found Nothing.-
-Sadly enough, it happened. If a community out here didn't feel safe enough to stay, they would make a mass migration. Some times to another village, joining up and growing. Some times they would leave the country all together and find another place in the world to live. It had caused a lot of refugee and immigration problems throughout history... This village in particular had likely heard about the defeat of the Militia camp and decided to flee before the terrorists could punish them for whatever corrupted reason they came up with. I found some more water in one of the huts, and a parcel of meat that had gone rotten. But there was nothing else and so I moved on... One Hour after that, I reached an obstacle in my path.-
-The Euphrates River-
-It was a mighty river, it pretty much cut the entire country of Syria into two, from Turkey, all the way through Syria, All the way through Iraq, and emptying into the Persian Gulf. Almost two -thousand- miles long. It was the longest river in Western Asia... and Also one of the deadliest. I was completely aware that it was home to many different species of water snake. Hundreds of different types of fish, some of which would be all too happy to take a big juicy bite out of my arse. It was also home to a nastier predator than the snakes and fish... God damn 'Blood 'Turtles... That's what the locals called them... Turtles may sound harmless enough, but I had once met a local who had come into contact with one before. He had been kneeling by the river's edge, dipping his hands into the water to wash his face. But one of those turtles had been waiting. Lurking. It snapped at his hand with an incredibly powerful jaw and bit three of his fingers off. I had also heard stories of men washing in the river and the turtles mistaking their manhood's for food.-
“Awesome... Just. Fucking. Awesome.”
(03/01/16 : 17:49:33)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, Near the Euphrates River|-|
-In a grassy region. Along the mighty river that was home to a deadly amount of predators. Somewhere Northwest of the desolate militia camp.-
-I was not eager to get my cock bitten off just yet, but I couldn't stop now... 'Get on with it.' … I told myself, as I stood procrastinating on the verge. It was inevitable. I had to cross it and I knew that there was no avoiding it. So without trying to think about it too much, I crept closer to the edge and lowered myself into the murky water... nothing immediately tried to swim up my arse and impregnate me... so that was a good sign.. I started to swim, as fast as could, flowing with the current as I attempted to just reach the other side without submerging my rifle... At any moment I expecting to feel the sting of a bite and I dared not slow down, not even a little bit... I reached the other side of the grassy verge without an issue and quickly pulled myself out.-
“Bloody Hell”
-I muttered to myself, lying on my back and trying to catch my breath. I hate Water. It was my weakness, my kryptonite. I could face anything, but water terrified me and I was not one of the best swimmers to say the least. I found myself thinking back to a time when I was a child. My older sister had been baby sitting me. We were at an outdoor pool at a holiday camp called Butlins. She had wanted to go off with a boy she had met and hated having to drag me around. I had voiced an objection to leaving the pool area, I wanted to play in the water more and she didn't... So she pushed me in.. It was the Deep end and I couldn't swim.. I remember sinking the bottom and just sitting on the tiles, staring up at the rippled image of my sister. She realised what she had done and screamed for help, a lifeguard -Not the Hoff… or Anderson(Unfortunately!) .. but somebody, jumped in and pulled me out.. I had hated water ever since.-
-I shook the thoughts out of my head and focused back on the task at hand. I wanted to start a quick fire and dry my clothes, but I didn't have the time so I would just suffer it. I checked the rifle and it appeared to be in working order... I rose to my feet... and Froze... I could hear movement behind me and quickly spun around, raising my rifle, ready to fire.... “Don't shoot! Don't shoot!” … barked a familiar voice. I frowned and peered down the sights at the approaching form. A Giant of a man...-
“Rea...”
(03/01/16 : 18:31:26)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, Near the Euphrates River|-|
-In a grassy region. Along the mighty river that was home to a deadly amount of predators. Somewhere Northwest of the desolate militia camp.-
-It could not be. I had thought myself to be the last surviving member of Normandy Squad. But there he stood, the big brute of a Scotsman. He looked a little worse for wear, but I was not hallucinating, I was not dreaming. Was I?-
“You're Alive.”
-Rea chuckled... “Not if you squeeze that trigger I'm not.” … He said, raising his arms and coming to a stand still. I lowered my aim immediately. I hadn't kept it there out of mistrust or suspicion. I had just been so utterly shocked to see my best friend, alive. It was a godsend.-
“Bloody hell, I thought everyone was dead.”
-... “I thought -You- were dead.” … Rea said. He rushed over to me and snatched me up in a very relieved bear hug... “It's good to see you, my friend.” … I felt weak for a moment, the embrace of a brother offered me comfort when all seemed hopeless. I patted him on the back and straightened up. I needed to stay tough. I couldn't afford to be weak. Or to get hopeful. I just needed to focus on surviving. No more, no less. I asked him what happened back there and he shrugged his shoulders... “Hell if I know. An Apocalypse maybe?” … He leaned back against a nearby tree. Trees were rare out in the plains, but it was common for them to grow along the shores of Euphrates in small gardens and thickets. I saw that Rea's lips were dry and cracking. His skin was pale, and he looked dehydrated. I unstrapped my water supply from my back and offered it to him.-
“How did you get away?”
-I asked as he took it eagerly and began to drink... “by a stroke of Bloomin' luck.” … he admitted. I also noticed that he was injured and spotted several areas on him that were stained with blood. He had his bergen on his back but didn't appear to have a weapon... “I saw what Christian did.” … he said, and I felt that cold punch in my stomach as that memory played over in my head... “But I was busy wrestling around with one of those wankers. We were pretty close to the blow but I guess that wanker absorbed the force of it. I looked around but couldn't see you. I thought you had been blown to pieces. And I saw one of them horse. It was high tailing it through the camp like a bat out of hell. I got to my feet, jumped on its back, and rode it out.” … he paused just long enough to drink some more from the bottle... “The horse died this morning. I've been following the river ever since... I thought you were like... a mirage or some shit like that... You know, like that movie where the cat and the mouse walk by each other in the desert because they think they are both mirages but they aren't?” … he drained the bottle of water and burped loudly... “Got any more?”..-
“No. Sorry.”
-I said, lying. I had two more bottles hanging from my back, hidden underneath my thick coat. But we needed to ration it. The bottle I had just given him, would keep Rea alive for now. If those wounds I had noticed, didn't kill him.-
“What Injuries you got?”
(03/01/16 : 18:46:59)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, Near the Euphrates River|-|
-In a grassy region. Along the mighty river that was home to a deadly amount of predators. Somewhere Northwest of the desolate militia camp.-
-Rea shrugged and dropped his bergen to stuff the empty bottle away, knowing that it may come in handy later... “Nothing Serious.” … he said. Typical Rea. Dismissive of pain and wounds. But I realised then, in that moment, Rea had been a big influence to Me. Not only did I consider him my best friend, but I also looked up to him, just like he was my big brother. Every time I had ever seen Rea with an injury he claimed it was 'Nothing Serious' … I fuckin' hated when he used that term... his head could be hanging off and he would still stay it was 'nothing serious' .. one thing I had learned is that if he said it was 'nothing serious' … there was likely something completely 'serious' about it.-
“Let me see.”
-I said, reaching towards his shirt... “Sod Off!” … he muttered, slapping my hand away. So stubborn. It annoyed me and I stepped closer. I would knock him clean out if I had to... I needed to see and fortunately he didn't put up much of a fight with his meagre efforts. I unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it open... 'Be Stoic' .. I told myself sharply, trying not to react to what I saw... I knew that I was fucked up myself.. but Rea had been shot three times and unlike me, he had not been wearing a Kevlar vest. I saw one bullet hole in his chest, and two in the stomach, just above the left hip... 'This is Bad. This is real Bad. … I grunted at myself and turned away, I had to, I was scared that he would see the fright on my face. I busied myself trying to unstrap my medical kit from inside my coat.-
“It's not bad.”
-I said, trying to sound nonchalantly... and then suddenly I understand it... Nothing Serious … it wasn't dismissive, all this time. It was actually acknowledgement that it was bad and he just didn't want to worry me, because he cared... “You need to work on that lying, laddie. You're going to need to get better at it.” .. I chuckled and finally got the pack free, I emptied it into the grass as Rea slid down to sit back against that tree.-
“Do you remember that game of poker we all played last month? And you cheated and won my last packet of cigarettes. Though I guess I should thank you for that, it's a bad habit.”
-Rea blinked.. “Cheated? I didn't bloomin' cheat! I won fair and square!” … I was lining all the medical supplies up in tidy order between us but Rea did not seem to notice. I had a needle, some thread. Antiseptic wipes., and A pair of thin, long tweezers.-
“I'm pretty sure you did. I had two aces and two queens. What did you have again?””
-I kept him talking about the poker game. Made him think, and concentrate to remember irrelevant little details about it. In the process of that, I treated his wounds. Two of the shots – the ones just above the hip, had gone all the way through but I had to remove the third bullet from his chest with the pair of tweezers. I was no Christian. No medic. But it hadn't gone deep and I was able to see it without looking too far. It was a lucky shot, aimed straight for his lung but the bullet had got wedged against his rib cage and not managed to go all the way through. I tended them the best I could but knew that there was a lot of internal damage. My actions would sustain his life for a time. But that time was very limited and we needed to get to a hospital soon.
(03/01/16 : 19:39:46)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria, Near the Euphrates River|-|
-In a grassy region. Along the mighty river that was home to a deadly amount of predators. Somewhere Northwest of the desolate militia camp.-
-Rea asked me about my own wounds but there was not much to be done to mine. What cuts I did have, were small and shallow. They would heal on their own. My bruises were worse. Bruised not just on the surface, but to the bone. My arm had not popped back out, but it was throbbing and still sore. My toes ached like a mother fucker and my broken rib sent splinters of pain zipping through my body like electricity every time I moved. I wrapped Rea up with the last of the bandages and put the rest of the supplies away. I stored it in Rea's bergen and hoisted it up onto my back. The Rib didn't like that and a hiss burst out of my mouth. But however injured I was, Rea was worse. So I would carry it for him.-
“Come on. Let's get you on your feet, fat man.”
-I helped him up and he managed to walk just fine on his own. Fuckin' Titanium, Bitches. When the sun had set, we both agreed that it would be best to continue on through the night. We just couldn't risk running into any more rebels. It felt like Hell was following us, burning at our heels. There was nothing to see across the terrain. Just miles and miles of land. I would stop only for a few moments every once in a while to check the compass I had found in Rea's bergen. Luckily the dials were illuminant, but we had no other light source and we couldn't check the map. Instead I just made sure that we kept our backs to the camp and left it far behind... 'I should be Dead. … In the silence of the hike, I was feeling survivor's remorse. In the very beginning, I had possessed bad feelings about the work in Syria, and I had been right all along. Now, everyone was gone because I had abandoned my post. They were all dead.-
Macintosh. Northman. Harvey. Christian.
-I should have died with them. I blamed myself not because I just... felt bad... but because it was actually, entirely my fault. I shouldn't have left my post. I should have shot those two rebels when I had the chance. I had saved Rea eventually, but at what cost? The Rebels had slipped through the opening I created and slaughtered half of the camp before we had even got back there... 'Why am I not dead?' … I'm not worth surviving. Not worth saving. Why didn't I die too? … Because it's a curse. It's my fault, so I have to live with the suffering for the rest of my life. Because I deserve no less.-
-Shortly before sun rise, whilst we were heading up a steep hill, Rea slipped. He lost his footing and stumbled all the way back down to the bottom of the hill. I turned to see him bouncing across the dirt like a rag doll, and ran after him.-
“What Happened?”
-I asked when I reached his side. Rea had come to a stop and sat himself up but didn't get back to his feet... “Just this leg. Giving me grief. I'll be fine, I just need a minute.” … I nodded and looked around. The sun would rise within the hour and then we would be easily visible out in the open like this. During the night, we had darkness for cover, but on these open plains in broad day light... It was a sniper's dream... Rea tried to stand up but his leg would not hold his weight anymore and he dropped back down. … “You might have to check the foot” … I frowned and knelt down, untying his boot lace and carefully pulling the boot off. When I did so – a large amount of blood poured out with it...
(03/01/16 : 19:52:06)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria|-|
-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 noticed that he had a hole in the bottom of his boot and his sock was soaked in blood... I peeled it off and behind it was a nasty, gaping hole in the sole of his foot.-
“Bloody hell, mate. Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?” … I had not noticed it when I had dressed his wounds … “What is it? A bullet?”
-Rea shook his head.... “It's an arrow” ...I looked at him in surprise. An arrow? I had not seen anybody using such things in the fight. Though I knew it was possible it just seemed... doubtful.. and I wondered if he was delusional and feverish due to the bullet wounds.... “When I was riding that horse out of the camp... some wee bastard shot me with it. I pulled it out but I think the head is still in there.” … Something was in there. I could see the bulge of it behind the skin. It needed immediate attention, but not here. It was far too open and we needed to find somewhere with a bit of cover. I helped him up to his feet and let him lean on me despite my own pain. Instead of going up the hill, we skirted its bottom, it was a detour, but it was our only choice. Unfortunately, Syria was not overly populated with caves and dens and I couldn't find anywhere... And time ran out to keep looking. Rea lost the fight and dropped to the ground unconsciously... I had no choice but to leave his body there on the ground and do a quick scout of the perimeter. It would just have to do. I found a few pieces of wood and a handful of dead grass. Just enough to make a small camp fire.-
-I took Rea's Swiss army knife out of his bergen and cleaned it with a bit of water, then left it to heat in the flames. I'm the first to admit that I didn't know what the fuck I was doing. But I had observed Christian once take a bullet out of somebody's foot and tried to copy his process. I took the opportunity of Rea 'sleeping' to further inspect his foot. I could tell that some of the skin around the edges of the wound was dead and would become infected if left there. I took back the knife and the blade was now glowing hot... 'This is going to hurt' .. I thought... but it didn't .. Or at least – not enough to wake Rea from his unconscious stupor. I tried to work as fast as I could, but cutting chunks of flesh off of somebody's foot was not something I did as a hobby..it it took a bite of effort... I put the knife down and braced myself... it was going to be gross... I grimaced and poked my finger into the hole. It made some blood spurt out, up my arm and turned my stomach. But I felt it.
The Arrow Head.
-Rea was telling the truth after all... With a bit of blind fiddling and a very tricky process of using my fingers like hooks, I managed to get it out. When I held it up in front of my face, I was surprised by the detail of the arrow head. It was crafted from some form of black stone. It could be glass. Intricate designs covered both sides of it and the edges were serrated. It was a very vicious looking piece.
(03/01/16 : 20:08:11)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria|-|
-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 fell asleep after finishing up with Rea. I hadn't meant to, I had sat beside the fire and considered snuffing it out. One on side of the coin, It would be like a beacon in the night and attracts others. But on the flip side, Rea needed the warmth and it was almost sunrise anyway... It was pain that woke me up. A blinding flash of pain that made my eyes snap open. I couldn't see anything, just a flash of agony. And a cry spat itself up my throat. When my vision did clear, I Saw Rea sitting beside me and staring down at me with a grin... “Morning Laddie, I fixed that nose for you.” … I grunted and sat up, scratching my beard and looking around. He had popped my nose into place. It was broken, but I could breathe better now admittedly. It had just... Really … Hurt.-
“Could have woke me first!”
-I snapped, but he just kept grinning at me and I ended up shaking my head with quiet laughter.-
“You're a bully.”
-I teased. He laughed, then coughed... I saw blood splatter onto the grass as it left his mouth. But I didn't say anything and pretended not to notice... “Well We all know you were the nice one in the squad” … He retorted. I got up to my feet and started to wipe myself down. I hadn't been out long. Forty minutes maybe, but the sun was half way through its rise. I couldn't see anything of note around us, but I did notice that we weren't far at all from a sheer drop off a cliff edge down to a rocky, dried up valley. If we had kept walking last night, we would have walked straight off the edge and plummeted to our deaths. I was suddenly grateful that Rea had passed out when he did.-
“How you feeling? Can you walk?”
-I asked as I took the opportunity to dig through his bergen for something to eat... “Of course I can. What do you take me for? An invalid?” … It was a stupid question, I knew that. Not because it was unreasonable, but because I knew that no matter what, He'd try and Walk. Rea wasn't a quitter, he just didn't have it in him, it was not part of who he was and I admired that about him. We shared our last bottle of water but didn't have anything to eat. I helped Rea up to his feet and we spoke through a plan of how to best move him... He was going to try and just hop along, and keep his hand on my shoulder for balance. He asked about my injuries again, but I didn't tell him about the broken rib or toes of my own, I didn't want him to be concerned with that.... “That's not what I think it is, is it?” … Rea asked as he pointed towards the Horizon. I frowned and let my eyes cut in that direction.... 'Shit' … it was a truck....... I quickly raised the rifle to peer through the scope and take a better look. It could possibly be more migrants fleeing the country.... 'Pfft, I should have known better' …. It was Rebels... the back of the truck was loaded with them. I counted four up there, armed and ready, and that didn't even include whoever was inside the cab of the truck... And to make matters worse... They were racing in our direction...
(03/01/16 : 20:20:51)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
|-|In Syria|-|
-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 didn't bother to shoot. At this range, and their speed. I would likely miss. And they probably hadn't seen Rea and I yet... “Must have been the fire” … He said, and I nodded in agreement. I didn't know what to do. We couldn't run... I could... but to do that I would have to leave Rea behind. And that just wasn't going to happen.... But we could not fight either... We only had my Assault rifle, with those twenty seven bullets, and one pistol. That was not going to fight off at least five men... “You should Go, lad.” … Rea said, letting go of my shoulder.-
“Shut Your mouth.”
-I snapped, I grabbed his wrist and forced his hand back onto my shoulder. I was not going to do it. I would rather just stay and die along with him. He knew that he would never be able to persuade me to do otherwise and didn't voice it again. We moved away from the camp and further around the hill... “We're going to need to go down.” … said Rea. I didn't understand what he meant at first, but then I realised... the cliff … If we could get down there, we might stand a chance of hiding from them since the truck couldn't climb down after us. But up here... We'd be run down for certain... I quickly took off the bergen and gathered the coil of rope that was strapped to it.-
“How long is this?”
-It was Rea's bergen after all... “About thirty now. I had to cut some off a few weeks ago. But should be plenty.” … Thirty foot. That wasn't going to do it. The cliff drop looked about 80ft down. I peered over the edge and could see a little ridge closer up the face, but still out of sight for the most part. If we could get down to that point and put ourselves back against the wall, they would struggle to spot us even if they did think to look down there.-
“I'm going to lower you down. When you get down there, untie yourself and I'll climb down it.”
(03/01/16 : 20:37:17)
||One Mind, Any Weapon||
.D A M O N -A P E X- T H O R N T O N.
.Mercenary || Normandy Squad.
World At War Staff
: |-|In Syria|-|
-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 pulled a nearby boulder towards me. It was the size of a football and I ignored the Deathstalker that scurried away from underneath. I started to work carefully, looping one end of the rope around the rock and knotting it. I occasionally glanced up to look for the truck, It had driven around the hill now and out of sight, but at any moment, it could appear over the top of it and mow us both down... so I worked fast, a total of four knots bound that rope to the rock.... “I'm not going first Laddie... You are” … Said Rea as I started to dig a hole in the dirt.-
“What are you talking about. You're going first, You're wounded.”
-I dug with my hands, It hurt and I felt like it was ripping my fingernails out. They were cracked and bleeding. But I just kept digging... “That's why I can't bloody go first! You know I don't like heights. And I'm heavier. If I go down there and that ledge isn't stable... I'm going to fall and Die! … You need to go first, and make sure its stable so that you can help me keep my balance when I come down” .. He had a point. He could barely stand, so if that ledge did give away when he stood on it, he wouldn't be able to get his footing and climb back up. He'd fall to his death and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it... I reluctantly agreed and finished digging the hole. It was deep enough to toss the boulder inside and I started to fill it back in again. Burying that Boulder and knotted strapping of rope. It was no mount Everest type of climbing rig. But it would hold our weights. Hopefully... As I rose to my feet, Rea had already looped the other end and he held it out to me. I could hear the engine now. That truck was going to be here any second....
-I put my arms up and it sent a shiver of pain through my body. Rea looped the rope over my head and helped me secure it at my waist... “I'll hold the rifle.” … He said, taking it and stepping back as soon as I was ready. I hurried close to the edge and looked down. I hated heights too. Another one of my fears that I was being forced to contend with. I braced my feet and started to lean back, holding onto the rope for dear life. I would have to ease myself down a bit at a time and hope I didn't slip. I turned back to Rea and gave him command. Not as a superior. As a brother..-
“When I hit the ledge, I'll tug on the rope twice. As soon as you see it jolt like that, start climbing down, okay?”
-Rea nodded... “I know... Now hurry up and get going before we get spotted.” … I nodded and didn't hesitate, we couldn't afford to. Just as I had almost disappeared completely over the edge, Rea spoke... “Laddie,” … He moved towards me and I could barely hold on but kept my grip to listen to what he wanted. He stood in front of me and from my low position over the edge, I could smell that blood leaking out of his boot. I looked up at him and our eyes locked. I was expectant, waiting to hear what he had to say. But he was smiling. It was a broad, almost sad smile and he didn't speak at first. He just nodded and then eventually said... “I'm Proud of you, lad.” … And then he kicked me in the face and I plummeted backwards, over the edge, falling unconsciously into a pit of darkness...