Taylor

22 years ago

I was having such an amazing dream. I was back home, and drinking with Ray while we watched the game, arguing over who would win. But some annoying voice had to wake me up.

I look up and see Abby standing over me, she keeps poking me and it's fucking irritating. I slap her hand away and tell her to leave me alone. I curl back under the covers. Then, out of nowhere, she shoves me off the bed. I sit up and glare at her.

"Are you serious? Can't a man sleep?" she looks like she's thinking. Then shrugs.

"Sure, guess I'll just eat your plate of pancakes." she says walking away. Damn it.

I quickly pull on my uniform and jog to the cafeteria. I see Abby laughing at me. I ignore her and dart into the room. I notice Ray and the guys sitting at the table already enjoying their meal. Ray notices me and pats the seat next to me, already having my plate set on the table.

"Your ass sleep long enough?"

"No. I swear, if Abby pushes me out of bed again, I won't hesitate to kick her ass." I grumble.

"Yeah, says the guy who got his ass kicked by me last time." she pats my shoulder. "Good luck with that."

I watch as she walks over to the group of girls at the other table. I roll my eyes. I look over and see Ashton staring at her.

"I swear, if we weren't trying to kick people's asses right now, I would fuck her." Ray looks at him.

"Like that's stopped you before."

"Oh, yeah." him and Ray laugh. I ignore them as I eat the rest of my breakfast, trying not to fall asleep.

Later on, we are back outside training. The Sergeant is being an ass today. Well, more of an ass than usual. He puts us into groups of ten and tells us what we are supposed to do. My ass has to run with those other idiots. Fucking perfect. Some are going to the firing range and other are going to the gym. Many of us are here to patrol the area and to look for the enemy.

There are some us who are in the medical field and help us if we get sick or injured. Only a few of the men and women know how to fly the helicopters, and defuse the bombs. We also have many who are helping for the rescue operations.

Many are being trained inside, working on computers, and being taught how to aid a soldier. But, also, many are out here to help us fight when we are being ambushed. Which has happened several times. Some people have to patrol at night and watch incase we have any company. The fuckers won't give up.

We start at the base and drag our asses out. I look back and see some of the men stopping to catch their breath. I roll my eyes. Haven't we done this before? You always start with a light jog, then a run, going into a sprint. Simple as that. You don't give it your all at the beginning. I make the corner and sprint back to base. Hopefully when the guys finish we can switch. Running is so damn boring.

As I make it back, I see Ray with his arms crossed. He looks like he's holding back a laugh.

"What?"

"I was watching the other guys behind you. Quite amusing."

"You mean quite boring." I grumble.

"Come on, let's go kick each others asses in the ring."

"You can't win Ray." I smirk.

"You still got your ass kicked by a chick."

I glare at him.

"Oh shut up."

We make it to the mat, but see a couple of people standing around it. Ray and I walk over and see Abby bending his arm in an awkward position. The man is cursing. I see Abby bring her face down,and whisper something in his ear. It makes him pissed off even more than he was. He starts squirming but shouts the words 'You fucking bitch'.

"Aww, is than a compliment Blake?" she mocks. I hear people laughing. "Just give up. It will make things a whole lot better for you." she starts twisting his arm a little more.

"Okay!" he shouts.

"Okay what exactly?" she asks.

"I give!"

She lets go of his arm and gets off him. She starts to walk away, but Blake grabs her arm, getting ready to punch, but she blocks him and brings an elbow to his stomach, causing him to fall to the floor. I look at Ray, and he's looking at me.

"At least I'm not the only one who's gotten my ass kicked by her."

"I'm pretty sure she can kick anybody's ass."

Abby talks off her gloves and walks off the mat. Everyone disperses and it gives me and Ray a chance to have our fun. First, we had to drag Blake off the mat.

When I finish kicking Ray's ass, he called me a damn gorilla. I just flipped him off. We head back to the cafeteria for lunch, but I honestly don't feel like eating. I am feeling like shit. I would wonder if I was pregnant, but I'm a guy and haven't gotten laid in two years, and there is no damn way I am jacking off like a hormonal teenage boy who finally figure out how to work his junk.

I walk outside and sit on the bench. I think I'm feeling homesick. I haven't been able to see my family these past few years, only phone calls. It pissed me off that they wouldn't let me go home. Last time I called back home, he told me that mom had been sick and it made me worry. Dad said it was just the flu, but my brain went into overdrive. What if it was more than that, what if she was worse off then what he was telling me?

I put my face in my hands, letting out a deep breath. I get to call them in two weeks, so maybe he will say she's finally better and it was the flu. He said they went to the doctor but some doctors could be wrong. Right? Stop overthinking things Jason.

I feel the bench creak and see Abby looking at me. Her face etched with concern.

"What's wrong? Usually you're stuffing your face right now."

"I'm just not that hungry."

"Seriously Jason, what's wrong?"

"To be honest, I just miss my family."

"I know. I can sometimes hear you in your sleep. You're not alone though. You have family here and we feel what you do." she puts her head on my shoulder. I lay my head on hers and wrap an arm around her waist.

"You are such a bitch at times." she nods. "And you annoy the hell out of me, but you're one of my best friends. Just don't tell Ray I said that."

"Nah, I'm going to tell him." I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, I kinda figured." she gets up.

"Might as well tell him now." she says, darting into the cafeteria. I groan and walk after her.

Before I make it into the tent, I hear someone pull up. Finally, the guys arrived with the supplies. I turn around and hear a shot fired. A sharp pain goes through my shoulder. I fall to the ground cursing. I watch as three men run towards me. That is not our people.

"We're under attack!" I shout. The three men grab me, but I start to push them off. I watch as one grabs a syringe and pushes it into my neck. I feel my body paralyze and as they throw me onto the back of their truck, I watch everyone running out weapons ready. I watch as Abby eyes widen when she sees me. Ray grabs when she tries to run.

I feel my eyes start to close, then I'm out.

…

I feel something being slammed against my head. I curse in pain.

"Wake up!" Someone snaps.

"I'm up you dick." I snap back. He hits me with what feels like the barrel of a gun. I grit my teeth. Okay, I need to shut up.

The sack that was covering my eyes is pulled off my head. My eyes have to adjust to the bright light coming from above me. I try to move my arms and realized that I'm tied up to each of the arms, and so are my legs. So much for escaping..

When I look up, I only see one man in front of me. Where are the other two? You know what, I don't care. This little man is enough. He doesn't seem to be that tall, maybe around 5'8. He has a tan look to his skin, black hair and brown eyes. What surprised me was his accent. It sounds like he's from America.

"I'm glad you finally decided to wake up." he says walking away and leaning on the wall.

"Well, you kinda gave me no choice."

"That mouth is going to get you into trouble." he says casually. "Or at least the other men and women."

"I swear to fucking god. Don't you push me. Leave them the hell alone."

"I can't do that if they come looking for you. What if they harm my people?" I snort.

"Yeah, okay. Let me guess, you finally figured out where you were from and decided to defend your home. Am I close?" he looks pissed. I guess I was right.

"Don't fuck with me!" he says punching me in the face. Okay, that's going to bruise a bit.

"Also, you realize they won't come for me right?" he looks a little confused. "First of all, they don't know where I am. Second, they honestly don't think you'd do shit. My team knows better. They're not idiots." I say rolling my eyes. He rubs a hand over his face, but stops.

He looks at me over his hands, and gives me a smile that even sends a shiver through my body. This man is freaking me out a bit. I watch him open the door and shout something that I can't understand. I sigh and lean back in my chair. I really hope my team isn't a bunch of idiots.

I watch the two men from earlier walk in. They are much bigger than the little guy and seem to be from this country, Iraq. I start to feel my stomach drop as they pull out knives. Okay, suck it up. If you die, you die. Everyone else is safe.

They use one of the knives to cut my shirt off, and start the torture.

…..

Abby

I watched them take my best friend away. I watched as he couldn't fight back. I heard the pain in his voice as he warned us of the attack. We were able to take the other men down, but we weren't quick enough to save Jason.

I feel weak and helpless. How stupid could I be to just leave him out here by himself. I tried to get a target on one of the tires but they were too quick. Ray wouldn't let me run, wouldn't let me at least try. I know why he did it, but it pissed me off just because Jason is gone.

We are all gathered outside. It's nighttime, and everyone is quiet. Jason was one of the greatest soldiers here,and losing him brings great pain to all of us. The only thing that's holding me together is knowing that he's still alive. They wouldn't have killed him yet, especially knowing that we would try and look for him.

We are holding one of their men in the storage space to ignore the yelling. He is so fucking annoying. We're not even hurting him. Whiney bitch.

When we walk into the storage space, I see the man yanking against the cuffs chained against one of the metal bars. He is shouting profanity at us and saying we will pay. I bend down and grab him by the throat, as Ray and Ashton stand behind me. The man's eyes widen as I squeeze tighter.

"Where are your men located at?" I growl. I loosen my grip and he tries catching his breath. He just stares at me. I tighten my grip again. He starts squirming, then turning blue. I loosen my grip again. "If you don't tell me this time, I won't let go." I whisper menacingly. He takes in a few deep breathes.

"There located twenty minutes North from here. They just fucking paid me. My friend said he would pay me a bunch of money if I helped him with something. I honestly didn't know it was this. We are from America. At least I am." he lays his head back.

This surprised me. Two men from America, one who didn't know what he was doing and one who could be a big part of it. Not what I would have thought about. I look down at him. He looks around the age of seventeen. He doesn't even look like the killing type. I groan inwardly. I look at Ray and Ashton. They have the same look I do.

"You have to convince us to trust you. Will you be able to do that?" he looks worried.

"How could I possibly do that? If I go against them they will most likely kill me. Will you let me talk to my mom in case something happens." he chokes.

"Fine." I groan. I nod for Ashton to get the phone. A few minutes later, he comes walking back with it in his hand. I take it from him. "What's the number?"

Once he tells me, I dial it and let it ring. I put it to the boys ear. He waits, and he has a small smile on his face.

"Hey mom. It's Jacob." pause. "No, I'm perfectly fine, I just wanted to talk to you." another pause. "Yeah, the trips going well." I hear his voice choke up. "No I'm fine just miss you. I will talk to you later on. I love you." he waits a few seconds then nods to me. He starts sobbing.

Ah damn it!" I unlock the cuffs and help him up. I point a finger in his face. "You better not betray us." he nods quickly, tears still running down his face. "Come on, you need to go eat, and we will keep you safe. Okay." he shakes his head.

"I'm so sorry. So so sorry." he puts his face in his hands. "That man had been taken away and I didn't help him. I didn't know what to do."

"You aren't capable of doing anything Jacob. How old are you?" ray asks.

"I'm sixteen."

"Holy shit. You are one tall sixteen year old." Jacob chuckles.

We take him to the cafeteria and let the women take care of him. He's a good kid, just too trusting. Ray, Ashton, and I walk back outside and we hear shouting. We see one of our men carrying a brown package.

"They just drove by and threw it. I don't know what's in it."

"Put it down. We need to have the people check and see if it has any bombs in it." he runs at least a yard away, making sure the box is away from the base. I run into the tent and call for Mason and Nathan to get out here and check it out.

All of us are waiting for them to appear from the darkness. We all are trying not to worry but we can't lose anyone else. We see something moving and watch as Mason and Nathan come into view carrying the box. All of the men and women notice how pale the two look. They tell all of us to gather in the tent.

When we do, Nathan tells us to keep quiet. Mason takes a deep breath and holds up a ripped shirt, soaked in blood. It's one of our shirts. I feel all my breath leave my body.

"In the box was also a tape. We don't know what's on it, but I want all of you to keep quiet till it's over." we nod. He pushes the tape into the vcr and we watch as it appears pitch black at first but then this small man comes into view. Two other men are beside him, two times bigger than him. Jacob points out that he was the friend of his. The small man starts to speak.

"I'm pretty sure that all of you know that we have taken one of your man and now have him held captive. We just thought that it would make us even do to the fact of how you killed many of our people at least a year ago. Only having one of your men isn't enough though. I will manage to have more of you suffer than just this one. Suffer just like we did." he looks over his shoulder. "I'm pretty sure he would like to say a few words before he loses the chance to say goodbye." he nods for the big guys to walk behind him, and stand at each side.

As the man moves Jason comes into view. We can't stop it, but all of us gasp. Even Mason and Nathan. Jason is tied to a chair, unable to move. His head is down, eyes closed in pain. There is a shot wound on his shoulder and bruises cover his body. I notice that his body has been cut, especially on his chest.

I watch as one of the men kicks his leg, causing Taylor to hiss in pain. He grabs Taylor's hair, pulling his face up so he can face the camera.

"Would you like to say anything." the man who kicked him asks.

"Oh, you fucking bet I would. If I have to die at the hands of two dumbasses I might as well get my words out." we all give a small chuckle. Jason is always such a smartass no matter the situation. We watch Jason look at the camera. "Don't you dare come for me. I know you guys want to save me, but I have a feeling that these two won't let that happen." he rolls his eyes. "Okay, I can say what I want, right?" he looks at the two men.

"Yes, just get it over with before you bleed out you moron."

"Really? I'm the moron?" he grumbles.

"Jason, shut up." I whisper. I wipe away the tears that are sliding down my cheek. Ray wraps his arms around me.

"Okay, anyways, to all of the men and women who I call my family. I want all of you to be safe and always keep close to your families. No matter how much they piss you off, just tell them to shut up and hug it out. Well, your mom might slap you, but still." we laugh.

"Ray, I'm going to miss kicking your ass all the time. I was hoping when all this bullshit was over we could go back to doing what we do. Drinking and fishing. Did I mention that my team still kicks your teams ass?" he looks to the side. "I'm almost done short stuff, calm down." how can he keep us laughing at a time like this?

"Okay Abby, where do I start.." he looks deep in thought. "Just like Ray, you've helped me through everything that I worried about everyday. You held me when I needed someone, because Ray was to manly for that." he mocks. Then men beside him laugh. Jason looks at them. "Hey, you two don't get to laugh." we all can't stop laughing but then fall quiet again.

"Ray knew this, and when Ashton said words that were very inappropriate, I really wanted to kill him. Ray called me a pussy for not telling you sooner, but we were friends. It would ruin our friendship." I look at Ray in confusion. He closes his eyes, like he knows what Jason's next words are. "I love you Abby. Not a very good time to tell you, but these dick heads are kind of fucking things up. I really do. We've known each other for three years, and I've love you for two of them." he then glares at the camera.

"Ashton, I swear to god, if you touch her I will come back as a damn ghost and kick your ass." Ashton grins, shaking his head.

"Okay, I love all of you guys. Wish me luck with dumb and dumber."

"Would you shut up?" on of the guys asks.

"What, do you not like how beautiful my voice is honey?" he winks at him. The vcr stops.

The room stays quiet. No one is able to move after watching that video. He tried to keep us laughing instead of us feeling upset. Jason cared for us more than he cared for himself, telling us to not come for him. He wants us safe.

I'm the first one to get up. I quietly walk outside. The cold wind hits my face, causing my tears to dry quicker.

Why did he have to say that… A man who I was so close to loved me and I didn't find out about it till now. I feel angry. With him. With myself. With the people who captured him. I need to save my best friend, no matter what he said. I walk back into the tent. Everyone is still sitting where they were, emotionless. They see me and pain fills their eyes. I see the sergeant look at me.

"Everyone get the fuck up and stop feeling sorry for yourselves. We are not listening to what Jason has asked us to do. They've taken family away from us, and I want fucking payback. If you don't want to come I will go the hell alone." I look at the sergeant. "Sorry, but I don't give to shits right now." I turn around and hear the sergeant shout.

"Everyone get your asses ready!"