I have been compelled to write some BOB. It's a multichapter. Hope you like it.

This chapter is rated G.

Chapter 1

The first sign of trouble was heralded by the sudden screeching of birds in flight accompanied by a peripheral awareness of movement on his left. Buffer quickly motioned Bomber to his side and signalled to Kate and Spider on his right, the rapid downward motion of his hand sending them to the ground just moments before the air erupted with the sounds of automatic gunfire.

The bullets raked the air around them. Buffer returned fire as he leapt across the ridge of tangled vines that separated the two groups, pushing Bomber to the ground just ahead of him as the splaying bullets impacted his vest. They slammed him to the ground with the force of a sledge hammer.

He gasped for air even as he fought the advancing tunnel of darkness that threatened to overtake him. He had to stay conscious. He willed the encroaching darkness to retreat as the air wobbled and blurred in front of him.

As he struggled to breathe and maintain control he was roughly shoved aside by what appeared to be the soft mound of earth that had cushioned his fall.

"Hell, Buff, Get off me!"

Bomber managed to squeeze out from under him, fighting for breath herself from the impact of the well toned bosun that had forcefully slammed her to the ground.

"A simple hit the deck would have worked, you know. No need to break my bones," she complained as she rolled to the side and prepared to return fire.

The undulating darkness competed with rising waves of nausea for control of his body and Buffer fought the reaction as he reached for his rifle. The gunfire all around him was now muffled and the shadowy shooters shrouded in pinpoints of light.

He braced himself against a tree trunk and returned fire concentrating on the flashes of light across the clearing. The dark void that threatened to engulf him clearing with the muzzle flashes that gradually flickered and died, leaving silence in their wake.

"We need to retreat," yelled Kate as the gunfire ceased. "They'll have sent for reinforcements now that they've seen us. Head for the beach."

Buffer could hear her trying to get a response on the radio as he pulled himself upright and after a quick look round they headed through the rainforest towards the beach a good two clicks away.

Rain started to fall as they made their way downhill and it cascaded through the canopy above them. Its cover stayed the worst of it but the hanging vines and branches lashed their bodies with drippy swipes of moisture and they were soon soaked and struggling against the pull of their water logged clothing. An unbroken tunnel of vegetation screened out the sky and progress was steady but slow.

Buffer was thankful for the reduced pace caused by the shower. He couldn't understand why it was taking him so long to bounce back from the attack. The impact of the bullets had certainly winded him, and had hurt like hell, but he was used to pain. Perhaps he'd broken a rib, he thought and that would explain the laboured breathing and the pulsating pain in his lower left side.

He tried to time his strides to match its rhythm but he was still losing ground. He was beginning to lose sight of Bomber ahead of him. He made an effort to increase his speed but the pain increased, nausea now riding its waves and recalling the darkness.

"Buffer. Get a move on."

Kate's voice broke his concentration and he stumbled, enabling the darkness to gain the upper hand, and his world went black.