TheDarkestShinobi: Ran into a little bit of a writer's block for aGOFS. I'll get back to it as soon as I can; in the meantime, I have this story and one other I'm working on. Reviews are love!
Start
It's a new normal.
It's the only way John can describe what's happening.
As soon as they received the American's warning, they were attacked and separated, and now they are under heavy fire and hiding. It doesn't stop, ever. The group takes turns staying awake and protecting the building they had retreated into, or sleeping through the gunfire. Some of John's group is thriving; some are descending into demons of their own making. John's surviving and that's all he can ask for.
Three weeks in John stops counting the days they are trapped. He knows a majority of them haven't eaten in a few days, and the water they carried with them will be gone soon. The bullets are just about gone and John gets the sinking feeling he won't be making it back to Britain, and if he does, he won't be walking there. Still, he is not going down without giving this all he has and he knows it's the same for his boys.
"I'm going to need three men to grab empty sacs and come with me." Moran's the first to grab a mostly empty sac and empty it.
"What are we doing?" Lock whispers and Moran shrugs,
"Does it matter?" Gator asks Lock as he grabs another sack. When no one volunteers, Puppy takes another sack and tosses it on his back. Two seconds later John nods and turns to Lock.
"We're going to go back and bring supplies, try to radio the Americans, keep this up." Lock nods firmly before turning back around to the other men in the unit. John leaves the others to it as he runs around to the other side of the building. Moran is right behind him. Puppy is rounding the corner when he curses and clutches his arm. Gator brings up the rear and brings Puppy's arm away to see the wound.
"Puppy?"
"Just a graze, sir." Puppy responds with a small hiss and John shifts with Moran who draws his knife. John rips the sleeve just enough to see the wound. John shakes his head before grabbing the open space and pulling down, ripping the sleeve mostly off. Puppy looks to John and nods.
"It'll be a nasty scar and the pain won't fade until tonight."
"Do it, we don't know what the situation at camp is." Puppy looks away as John nods reaching for Puppy's sig. He points the gun into the distance and fires twice. Immediately after he brings the hot gun to the man's arm and Puppy lets out a small groan of pain.
"Ah, ungh." John pulls the gun away and Puppy brings his arm up to feel the burnt flesh, but it wasn't open and exposed anymore.
"Dudley?" John questions and the other nods before holding his hand out for his gun.
"I'm good, let's go." John accepts that answer and moves in front of Moran, who looks the wound over before nodding to Simon as if granting permission to keep going with them. Simon briefly smiles. John takes out his own pistol before letting out a breath.
…
There were a few soldiers occupying their base already and John crouches as he tries to figure out a game plan. He doesn't know how many people there are or where they are. He scans the area.
"Step back John," Moran instructs a minute later, "let me be your eyes." John looks back to Moran for a second before looking back across the way. He nods and rolls over. Moran takes his spot and proceeds to stop moving. Puppy fidgets and Gator shifts. John thinks back to the layout of their makeshift base.
"At least five." Moran curses. "Fucker on the roof has my gun."
"I've got a plan, how's the arm?" Puppy shakes it with a nod.
"Functional, sir." John nods before starting to explain.
…
Puppy leaves first, sprinting to radio at such a speed John wonders if cheetah isn't a better name. Colonel and Gator leave next, heading towards the main area and John leaves last. He is going to the highest area to take out their sniper. Puppy makes it unnoticed and lets out a sigh as he fumbles with the radio and tries to establish contact with the Americans. John lays flat against the building before checking for soldiers. After he decides it's clear, he starts up the stairs.
Moran makes the first move in the main area, and that is throwing his knife across the room to sink into the first soldier's throat. There is no scream, just a small gurgle before the soft thud. It is not soft enough, as Moran hears voices from above calling down. He runs for cover on one side of the entrance and sees Gator do the same. When the two come in Gator jumps out and wrestles the first for the gun. The man screams something at him, and Gator curses back, but it is clear neither understands each other. Finally, Gator pulls the gun away and squeezes the trigger firing a few shots into the second man.
The first man lunges towards Gator, but Moran steps in front of him and grabs his shoulders; he yanks down hard to drive him straight into his knee. Moran releases the shoulders and the man falls to the ground with wide eyes. Moran checks for a pulse and Gator carefully inspects the room. Moran closes the man's eyes as Gator shifts.
"It's clear."
"Let's head back towards the captain then." Moran takes a gun and his knife back before following Gator's lead over.
…
The sniper is sleeping on his post, so John decides to save the bullet and noise and pulls out his knife. Moran will be pissed that John got blood everywhere but he doesn't need to give everything away just yet. John straddles the form on the roof before lifting his head up, hand over his mouth, and slicing the jugular. The man woke and struggled for a fraction of a second, but John's hand prevents any noise from escaping and the man bleeds out onto the roof. John steps away and rises to stand after he is sure the other is dead.
John looks out over the roof as he takes a step back and nods once. John feels the knife cutting his side and moves away as he spins to face the attacker. He pays for letting his guard down as the man has also sliced his leg. The man lunges towards John and manages to slice his arm as well. John lets him, knowing the attack will put the other off balance. Once John knows the other stops he shoves as hard as he can to send the attacker off the building. He hears a groan but doesn't look as he has to dart for cover. He takes out his gun as he hears the bullets fly.
The second he stops to reload John leaves his cover and shots him twice, one to kill and one to be sure. He lets out a hiss as his arm starts to sting and listens out for another. Gator, who has reached the building, uses the butt of his gun to knock out the man John knocked off the building.
"The attack came in, we need support!" Puppy yells as he hears a voice answer him.
"we have some birdies in the area," the voice answers back and Puppy nods knowing they had flares over there.
"I want some birds in the sky." He says before nodding. "Make it rain!"
There is one more on the roof, and John sends a prayer up, because he hears the gun click behind him. He turns quickly and ducks but there are no bullets. The man shakes the gun and John has never been happier to see a gun jam. John rushes out and delivers a swift kick to the other man before using his sig and the distance to kill him.
"We are alone." Moran says as he approaches John and Gator. Puppy runs over to them and stops just before running into Moran.
"They Americans are coming in hot and heavy; they suggest we pull everyone out."
"Puppy, Gator, can you two run back and get everyone out? It's likely an airstrike. Moran, I need you on your gun and guard."
"Yes, sir." Puppy looks towards Gator who nods and the two of them start running the way they came.
"If anyone tries to follow them," Moran nods before John finishes his thought.
"Sand coffin; fires with teaspoons compared to an airstrike, though."
"I'm going to go to the radio tent." John kneels to search the man they knocked out before trying him up.
"What are we going to do with him?"
"I don't know, but it seems wrong to just kill him." Moran shrugs but John's made a decision, so he leaves it be.
…
"Thank you again for responding." John shakes the offered hand as the other nods.
"We should have been here sooner, no one thought a lack of response was crucial, idiots. I'm glad there weren't more casualties." John looks away and nods solemnly.
"We don't take POWs" John says as he crosses his arms. "We've never even had the chance to until now." The captain follows his gaze to see the unconscious man tied up. "He was thrown off a building, and then knocked out, it seems wrong to just kill him."
"We do." He shifts, "he'll be treated well, for a POW, and we have someone who speaks the language, hopefully they'll be willing to talk."
"Then I'll hand him over to you."
"It's what we call a crucible, Captain, make sure you come back stronger for it." John watches the other walk away and wonders if he is stronger for it, or if he's left weaker. The only thing he knows right now is that he is left bleeding, but that can be remedied and John sets to work as soon as he can.
John pulls the needle out as he hears Moran approach him. He tugs on it to make sure the stich is the right size. John nods in greeting as he puts the next stitch in his arm.
"Looks rough," Moran says and John pauses his work to shrug his good shoulder.
"Had worse," John dismisses and in his shirtless state, Moran can clearly see that.
"Need alcohol?" Some of the men took shots to dull the pain, being that John was both patient and doctor Moran's not sure if it would help, but he decides to offer anyway. That and John's just about done. John shakes his head and continues and Moran sits with him for another minute. John lifts his arm so that he can bite the edge of the thread after he knots the stitch.
"Let me." John shifts to see Moran take out his knife and John nods, thankful one of them had a knife. He pulls the thread taut so the knife cleanly cuts it close to the skin. Moran looks to the other side of his body, where the other two cuts lie.
"Do they need stitches too? There is a secondary medic here." Moran waves his hand about. Somewhere.
"You should know doctors make the worst patients." John shakes his head as he moves his arm around, "besides, this was the deepest, the other two just need some cleaning." John uses his hands to shift his leg to look at the bleeding and frowns a bit. "They just hurt. Dirty knife. Should check for signs of infection…" Moran takes this time to leave, before he's subjected to half an hour of 'doctor speak'.
…
"It's quiet," John says to Puppy a few days later, his bandages making a noticeable indent in his clothes. Puppy nods with a small smile as he keeps watch.
"It's a good thing, right sir?" John nods absentmindedly as his fingers touch his palm. He releases his fist as soon as he notices it forms. He stitches seem to be too tight even though he knows they are not.
"Yeah," Puppy blinks twice before shifting, taking John in to see if he missed something, but he hasn't, he doesn't think. Puppy rests his head in his arms and John taps his shoulder. "You can go to bed, if you want, I won't be able to sleep anyway, and I might as well keep watch."
Later that night, when someone else takes watch, John decides to walk around camp before sitting outside the sleeping quarters.
…
"Collateral damage." John says as pulls the bat back, letting it rest on his shoulders, the same easy smile on his face from when they chatted. Moran sees red and charges towards the captain. Hannis and Kevin hold him back.
"Thanks Gator, Loverboy," John acknowledges as he pulls the gun out from behind his back. "So, Mrs. Moran," John turns his attention to the woman in the chair. "If you can answer my question you get the gun."
Moran opens his eyes with a gasp and shoots up. His knife is too far away from him to grab so his hands come up as fists. He pants and then wipes the sweat from his brow as John looks up at him. Moran continues to take fast deep breaths as he looks away then back towards John. Nightmares. He feels his pulse slowly drop.
"I was wondering if you would get them." John remarks casually and Moran shakes his head before walking off. Nightmares? About what?
He had thought, at first, that it would bother him killing so many people, especially as a sniper. On the ground it is kill or be killed, but up there on the roof, he was never seen. His life was hardly in danger, he picked people off that had no idea he was there. It put him above them in a way. He was like the grim reaper. But the truth is he didn't get nervous or wonder about his morality because every guy he shot was going to kill his countrymen eventually, so he was cutting the head off of a snake before it bit. It's great. He does it again and again, because every person he kills can't kill one of his.
He'd kill until there was no one left to kill, until the war was over and he was done protecting his own, and he'd be damned if he was going to start getting nightmares about it now.
"I'll be back." He comments and John nods.
Moran never has a nightmare about this again; John's never stop.
TDS: thoughts!?
