Chapter 10
Day of Days
Disclaimer: I've said that I don't own anything once and I'll say it again, I DON'T OWN ANYTHING"
A/N: Sorry for the lousy updates, I was stuck in a quagmire formerly known as school, but now that's over with here's the update
Last Time On "A Lost Past": Last time we saw Zack and his friends in a life or death struggle which now has taken an interesting turn as he now faces almost certain death from this attack. Meanwhile back home Maddie was assaulted by her jealous colleague Dmitri. As she lay unconscious Cody found her just in time to call an ambulance, but with her life and that of the baby at risk will Zack come home once again to a broken life or will he come home at all?
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Onto The Story
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When Zack got up from the explosion he felt as if he was in shambles.
As he got up he shook his head quickly to get rid of the shock before looking around.
What he saw was what he hoped, the mortar shell was a smaller caliber and the rest of the guys were only pinned down.
He helped the rest up and he and Bob carried Warren to the nearest house to try to fix his wound.
As he ran he saw other soldiers trying to stem the tide of insurgents assaulting the town.
There was a great cacophony of machine gunfire and explosions as Yank and Iraqi fought for every inch of ground in the town.
Neither side willing to give a yard without shedding blood.
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When they lay Warren on the table Tapeworm tried to remove the bullet as he was screaming in pain as the tweezers went in.
"Stay still! C'mon you could do it!" Tapeworm yelled out as Warren was excruciatingly crying of pain.
Zack was just watching before he ran out of the door, his assault rifle at the ready with Bob as they ran to the Communication centre to asses the situation.
When they ran Zack saw an insurgent pass by him, Zack then swung his rifle in his general direction and started shooting.
He hit him but then fifteen to twenty insurgents were rushing at the end of the road, Bob stopped and started to awkwardly spray the general area with his rifle as Zack made a mad dash to the Comm. centre.
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"Bob! Get your ass over here!" Zack yelled out as he entered the building, it's walls stained with the blood of so many.
He then grabbed a radio and started relaying messages.
"CP Papa do you read? Charlie sector breaking down, Broken Arrow, I repeat Broken Arrow!" Zack yelled down the field radio.
"Charlie! Do you read, break out and disperse at once air support on it's way fight your way out of the sector and link up with our lines! Charlie do you read! Hello! Kpdshcdghd………." The radio answered as Zack could only listen in disbelief. "Hello! Hello! Damn it!" Zack yelled.
Zack then rushed out of the building and saw Bob and Tapeworm dragging three wounded marines back to the apartment block.
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The battle raged on and Zack quickly dove into a ditch and reloaded his weapon.
He saw three insurgents running at his direction at the ditch.
He quickly stood up and aimed his weapon at them, everything happened so quickly.
Yet it felt like forever, then he squeezed the trigger and one of them suddenly fell to the ground.
The other one then ran while the other started spraying Zack's position with lead.
He could hear the horrible rattle the gunfire produced and it made him almost deaf as he figured out what to do next.
Then in a split second Zack quickly ducked and shot back, killing the man.
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They then heard the roaring of helicopters and jets as every available aircraft is pushed into action.
Releasing bombs and causing havoc to everyone on the ground as the bombs killed an injured both friend and foe.
Bombs fell everywhere and it was as if the sky was really falling as wave upon wave of aircraft dropped their payload on them.
Zack then started having memories of the fourth of July back when he was a kid, but more importantly he knew these weren't the bombs he used to play with nor is he still regarded as a child.
He then started having memories of every man he killed or injured, their faces haunting him, theirs and the faces of his men who died and asked himself "Am I a murderer"
Everywhere Zack saw men being engulfed in flames of death and destruction, Zack now truly knew the meaning of the saying "War is hell".
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Three hours later at 6:30 PM
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Silence………
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"You kinda wonder why. Why things are like this, how things get fucked up." Zack thought to himself as he saw the aftermath of the bombing.
He then took a look at who's left, Warren was seriously wounded, Bob's ok so is Tapeworm and Jeremy.
Out of the one hundred and fifty men they started with they only have sixty-six able men.
"Hey Trevor." Zack sorrowfully greeted as he saw him crouched down on one of the dead bodies.
Zack just pondered on the orders the commander gave him over the radio until one of the guys yelled "Sir! We have over thirty men from the company wounded along with fifty more from the 1st Infantry Division's stragglers."
Zack then stood up and ordered the men to gather around him.
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"Guys! Listen up, command just gave us the order to break out of the town!" Zack stated to them as they listened attentively.
"But we have little or no vehicles yet to transport the wounded. So I give you the choice I'm staying behind until our guys come to pick up the wounded, We will not leave the wounded behind!" Zack nervously added, as he was now unsure of what to do.
"Those who wish to get out now can leave but I will hold until relieved." Zack asked as he finished his speech.
No one left……
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There was silence until Trevor yelled "Incoming!"
Two mortar shells then landed on the communications center, and in one swift second all their contact to the outside world was gone.
The insurgents, realizing that the Americans would not be dislodged easily decided to besiege the town and prevent help from getting through.
Now long would Zack have to hold out? A minute? A Week? A Month?
All that was in his mind now is to survive……
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Meanwhile Back in the states
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Maddie felt delirious as she opened her clear brown eyes she was almost blinded by the bright lights.
She could think of nothing and it's as if she felt like a truck hit her.
A severe chill swept across her body and she felt as if she was freezing, she knew something was wrong and as she felt her stomach she knew what it was and just by the shock of it she immediately passed out on the bed unconscious.
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Meanwhile outside her room there was a number of people there, among them Carey and Maddie's parents.
Cody was also there and they were all trembling with fear at what the doctor might say about her condition now.
There was silence in the room as everybody just though of what might have happened.
Cody was just thinking of how Zack might feel if he was here right now but as much as he thought about it he didn't want to.
He knew his brother, and he knew that he's known for practicing brash behavior.
The silence lasted until Maddie's mom spoke up.
"You know Carey? Your child's a great kid, and I know that our Maddie's right for him" Mrs. Fitzpatrick told Carey.
Irving then angrily blurted out "Yeah, thanks to that bas…" before Catherine disrupted him when she yelled out "Irving! That's no way of speaking of your future son-in-law!"
"Listen, let's just hope that Maddie's alright." Carey said.
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"Are you Madeline Fitzpatrick's parents?" The doctor asked.
Everyone stared and blurted out "Is she alright?"
"Well, no exactly. I feel terrible for having to tell you the sad news."
(A/N: So cruel, here's a mini cliffhanger now let's get back to Zack. Let's see what happens to Maddie later.)
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Back in Iraq
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"You start thinking why am I here, what am I fighting for, why did my friends die?" Zack thought to himself as he buried his head in his helmet and took a nap.
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"No one knows why………"
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Several hours later there was a bit of quiet, the fighting temporarily subsided and everyone was taking this precious time to relax.
"Hey Zack, get up!" said a voice as Zack was slowly opening his eyes.
He saw Trevor holding two bottles of champagne next to a table with the rest of the guys.
"Guys, is Warren okay?" Zack asked as he got up and started chatting.
"Hey guys!" Warren weakly said as he entered the room all bandaged up.
And with that he found out the only reason they fought now, it was for the man next to him, and that now there's no way out there's no one left you could trust more to take a bullet than him.
But after that moment Zack didn't want to think about it that much, all he wanted was to enjoy his thanksgiving meal with his friends.
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"Man you'd think they'd make this food taste better!" Bob stated as the group stared into a great clump of indistinguishable mess.
Zack just stared and replied "At least it's not that different from the food back in the cafeteria when we we're kids."
Everyone had a good laugh afterwards and they managed to stomach it.
After dinner Zack decided to turn in for the night, he was really spent.
The minutes ticked by as Zack continued to stare at the roof as if there was something there, he just couldn't sleep.
Throughout the night Zack would hear the occasional rattle of gunfire, but nothing that spectacular.
Apparently Trevor couldn't sleep too as he sat next to the window smoking a cigarette.
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"You know, Zack? I promised myself to quit this nasty habit after Tommy kicked the bucket." Trevor said as Zack stood up to talk to him.
Zack and Trevor chatted the night away, Zack even after all this chaos managed to make a new friend as the two shared their High School experiences, their past girlfriends and their families back home.
Trevor then asked about Maddie "So how is she? I haven't seen her for so long, I think it was eleven years ago?"
"She's doing fine, we're engaged and we're gonna get married once all this is over. What about you, how's your family doing?" Zack replied as he inhaled another breath from his cigarette.
"Apparently Mayor, Senator, President and then Talk Show Host didn't work out so I became a lawyer. I met Louisa back at law school." Trevor answered almost with a laugh.
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The Next Morning
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"Get ready, I think this is the big one!!!" Trevor yelled out as they saw hundreds of insurgents massing at the horizon.
Zack got up all disoriented as he picked up his gun and took up his position at a stone wall as the enemy slowly advanced on foot and on pick-up trucks.
Zack then started squeezing the trigger like a madman as the insurgents moved yard by yard towards them.
Bob manned a 50. Cal machine gun and started shooting at one of the trucks which exploded in flames.
Tapeworm then pulled the clip off his hand-grenade and threw it forward before it exploded blowing off the legs of one of the insurgents.
The enemy then got to within three yards of their line but before they could go any closer they we're in for a shock.
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As the insurgents closed in Trevor picked up his bayonet and yelled "Charge!"
And with that all of the men in the line rushed towards the enemy and chaos ensued in the melee.
Zack suddenly dropped his rifle and reached for anything nearby, he picked up a spade.
Without hesitation he started slamming the spade at an insurgent's face, he then kept slamming, and slamming until another one came from behind and started choking Zack.
Trevor upon seeing this took his knife and stabbed the man choking Zack and the close hand to hand combat continued.
The insurgents, through their sheer manpower was on the verge of overrunning their positions until……
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He saw a column of vehicles on the horizon, they were British.
The men on the vehicles then dismounted and started to charge onto the positions and fought their way to relieve the Americans.
"C'mon Jack!" yelled one of the British soldiers as they ran towards the town.
"Yea I'm coming!" Jack yelled out when he was reloading his rifle.
A few hours later the attack withered away and the Americans linked up with the British column.
"Sir 1st Lieutenant Jack Willis, sir." Jack said as he shook hands with Zack's commander.
The two officers then started talking when Jack told them the bad news.
"I'm sorry sir but we're not a relief force, we've been looking for the road out of here for days. We have limited food, ammo and no radios."
There was a short pause until they all started hearing a whizzing sound.
"Incoming!!!" someone yelled as a mortar shell landed on Zack's commander, killing him instantly only leaving behind his bloody boots.
Jack, who only sustained minor injuries then, started calling out "Who's in charge here!"
"Lance Corporal Zack Martin, sir" Zack answered.
The two then stared at each other as memories of the past began playing before their eyes before Jack responded by murmuring "Zack?"
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Back to Maddie
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"Oh my god!" Carey said out as she was pushed back by horror at the doctor's words.
"That's all we could say, ma'am. I'll leave you to your grief." The doctor replied as he walked back.
"What will Zack say?" Cody thought to himself as he thought of the tragedy that the doctor told him.
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Flashback Ten minutes ago
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"I'm sorry to inform you that Madeline Fitzpatrick has suffered a miscarriage and has lost the baby. She is however alive but is traumatized, therefore I don't recommend anyone visiting her just yet." The doctor stated as everyone just stood there jaws agape.
"Are you sure you can't do anything to save it!" Cody mildly shouted as he was breaking in tears.
His mother just patted him on the back as she cried too, Maddie's mother was in a state of uncontrollable lack of sanity as she was in a state of breaking down.
Maddie's mother went so crazy that her husband had to drag her out of the waiting room literally as her head twitched and she let out moans and slight laughs of insanity.
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End Of Flashback
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As the sunset Cody went up to Irma, wearing his newly bought wedding ring and told her the news.
"That's so sad." Irma said as she cried slightly and patted Cody.
Cody then pulled out a cigarette and started smoking, "You smoke!?" Irma said when she saw what Cody was doing.
"What's the point." Replied before he left and walked away.
Irma, distressed by Cody's reply ran after him and asked, "Where are you going?"
"To London's and then to an old friend's." Cody answered as he continued to walk.
He then disappeared in through the tall buildings of the city…
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A/N: Well I'm very sorry for the lousy updates. Too busy at school blah blah blah, you can never run out of reasons. Well anyway I hope you liked this chapter although it was very tragic. I'll update within two weeks. Thanks for those who've stuck with this story all this time and reviewed and I hope more people will review.
Well Until next time
Diego