“Why did you stop me…?” I ask with a note of frustration.
“Leave position. Now!” he shouts, and I catch a glimpse of someone dressed in all black at the top of the opposite hill before I slip. The shot hits the already fragile branch, and it cracks, taking me down with it.
I loop the rifle around my neck and hold on to another branch. But the sniper takes aim at that one, too. In my frantic movements to escape his aim, I choke myself with the strap of my rifle. With little oxygen reaching my brain and the chest bandages compressing my lungs, my escape attempts become sluggish.
Shit.
I loosen the sling around my neck and continue my way down.
The moment my feet touch the ground, I hide behind the tree, breathing heavily. I start to remove the sling from around my neck—
“Stay still.”
