Love is War

Chapter 58

I closed my eyes and waited for a loud bang... I heard three consecutive gunshots and I prepared for my end and the cold embrace of death... is bullets this slow, or is this what they call the experience before death. Everything will slow down around me, but the memories...

“Hey, why are you closing your eyes? Giving up that easily?” I heard a familiar voice that made me feel so relieved. I quickly opened my eyes and I almost cried, to see Alexis in front of me holding her gun and the three guys here, are dead.

I ran quickly towards her and this is the first time that I am this thankful seeing Alexis in front of me. When I reached her, I hugged her tight.

 “I guess, I will take that as a thank you from you?” she said unsure and she sounded confused because of what I just did to her. This is the first time that I hugged her, just like a little girl that saw her daddy after a very lonely time in the crowd.

Well, deep inside me, there is this little girl hiding in my heart, and this time that little girl came out. I was cornered and felt hopeless. I forgot that Alexis is nearby, so much for me taking all the problems for myself.

I wiped the tears that almost slip through and I fixed my expression, before facing Alexis. I stood straight and looks at her straight in the eye... I tried my best to hide the awkwardness that I feel for what I did earlier but I can’t help it. So, I slightly avoided my gaze from her eyes.

“Where is Troy?” she asked and I am thankful that she is the one that shifted that atmosphere of the situation and this time, I looked at her straight in the eyes, without any awkwardness.

“I don’t know he ran away after he threw that smoke bomb,” I answered her while I look around. “I wonder where he went to,” I uttered. “By the way, where is Gerick?” I asked her after I gave up looking for Troy in plain sight.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “He is hiding far from enemies’ reach, and he is resting, also, I already tended his wounds,” she added and that explanation gave me a sense of relief about his situation right now. If that is taken care of, then that leaves us two, to find Troy, we both don’t know where he went.

I was unconscious for a moment there because of, you know... I don’t want to go back what happened earlier. Then I woke and saw enemies surrounding me, how am I supposed to know where he is? And knowing Troy he probably chickened out and ran and hide.

He cannot throw bombs because the collateral damage will also harm me, he knows it that well. So, in fear of harming me in the process of saving me, he chose to run away which is not a smart move, because Alexis is nearby. Well, I can’t blame him forgetting, because I did too.

The only time that I remember is when I saw her in front of me.

“He is probably hiding,” I remarked.

“Where?” she asked.

“Somewhere safe, obviously,” I answered her the obvious.

“Then how can we find him?” she asked me again and that gave me a slight headache, making their shipment explode is becoming more hopeless and stealing it is no chance. Because... I am like a parent here securing my children to safety.

I am now starting to regret my decision on not bringing a whole battalion in this mission, instead of just us 5. Geez... I am left with no choice but to prioritize on finding Troy, because anytime now the chopper will arrive and we must prepare our exfil before it arrives.

Because it will be probably shot down by a rocket launcher. That’s why escaping here must be quick. I grabbed my radio and pressed hard onto the button that will connect me to Garrison.

“Hey, how long until the chopper arrives?” I asked, and I saw Alexis steps up, taking advantage because we are in the high ground and there is a good view here to see the whole area.

“Where is the exfil?” she asked me?

“There?” I pointed my finger besides the dock because the chopper will probably appear in the seaside. Avoiding their territory. I can’t risk it.

“What about the plan?” she asked me.

“Aborted,” I answered her cheaply. “The situation came out of our control very quick,” I added, which is the truth because it is really our situation right now. “We must hold out until our exfil arrives,” I told her while she continues to observe the area.

“The others?” she asked me again.

“They know, and Troy is the problem now, we don’t know where he is, if he didn’t run away from us, we can at least destroy their shipment,” I told her.

“Then we find him and then bail out?” she asked me again for the, I don’t know how many questions she asked me already, and I just nodded. She became quiet quietly observing the area, where is Troy? That’s the question lingering inside our minds that we cannot answer. Where he might be hiding now?

I stepped forwards and picked up the rifle that is carried by the enemy earlier and checked the mag if it is still loaded. Fortunately, the mag is still untouched, and I grabbed a couple of magazines from their corpses that will help me hold out in a gun fight.

Without Troy’s smokes, I cannot close my distance to the enemies while they are raining down bullets towards us. So, I don’t have a choice but to fight them also with guns. I put out the safety, in this gun just to make sure.

“Let’s go before the enemy finds him first,” I told her and I ran towards a completely random direction. Well, thinking more about he is more likely hiding will just drain our time and that is not the ideal situation right now, where time is also our enemy.

When the exfil arrives and the enemy starts firing at us we will be forced to bail out even we are not complete.

“Anthony, Troy, where are you?” I asked them. Wait... my mind is very blurred right now. I completely forgot that I have a radio and Troy has too.

I just laughed at myself by the thought. How foolish of me, right? I did not asked Troy first on the radio.

“I’ll get Gerick first,” Alexis stated and I nodded then she went on her way to get Gerick from his hiding. I grabbed my radio and waited for the two to respond on my question. But moments later, there are still no response.

“Troy, Anthony, mission abort, meet us the exfil will arrive soon,” I repeated, but still no response.

“Back to plan A?” I heard Alexis asked me from behind, so I turned around and saw her assisting Gerick to walk. He is still okay, and not that worse. He can still fend himself from afar and not that completely helpless.

“Sadly, yes,” I said, with a low voice.

“I see, Anthony is still in the middle of his rampage and Troy, what happened?” Gerick said.

“Unfortunately, he ran away and we don’t know where he might be,” I answered. We just stare at each other for a little while before we move on to find our lost comrade in the battlefield.

“You can leave me here,” Gerick suggested. “I will just be a burden to you two,” he added and I turned back at him immediately and stare at him, very seriously. His voice is hoarse.

“No, we don’t leave a brother behind,” I said to him seriously. “The exfil will arrive soon and after we find Troy, we will leave with all of us,” I repeated. “So, if you don’t want to be a burden for the both of us, just let us help you,” I softened my voice, to make it less intimidating for him.

He just looks down on the ground, Alexis and I just stare at each other. I mouthed that she should carry him. She just nodded at me and I went on my tracks to continue finding Troy. Well, it is true that this will be a challenged for the two of us now that we have someone to protect, but that is not enough for me to just leave an ally behind.

The thought of us getting out of here alive, all of us, has taken its roots inside my brain and it is deeper now. I just can’t take it out and run away just for my safety. From afar I saw a commotion, explosions, and thick smoke.

I thought that it is where Troy must be, he must be fighting the enemy with his explosives. When I looked back to Alexis, I immediately understood that we had the same thought. I took the lead and rally towards the area where the explosions are happening.

Then that leaves Anthony for the last, well, finding him will not be a problem since he is the last one battling the enemy in this area when we find Troy. Knowing him, he will continue rummaging the area until his blood lust is satisfied.

Our only goal is to take our revenge and with the casualties that we have done today, I think this is more than enough for us to let them pay for what they did. They started this and we are just fighting back. I stopped, Alexis on her tracks when I heard footsteps in the area. I told her to hide, which she did immediately.

When the footsteps got closer, I get out from my hiding and surprised them. I immediately took advantage of the situation and took them out quickly, once everything has been taken care of. I notified the two that the area is clear and we are safe to go on.