Whumptober Day two

Fall back - Ray

Bullets zipped past him, leaving behind the eery sound of their whistle in his ears. He twisted around the side of the bolder he had dove behind for cover moments ago and fired a few rounds in response.

"Havoc this is two. Any word on that air support?!" He yelled after ducking back into cover and making eye contact with Sonny who was a few yards away. After that he did a quick headcount, making sure all his brothers were upright.

"CAS is 5 mikes out, how copy one and two?" Blackburns voice responded over the radio.

"Tell them to make it three or we'll be overrun!" Jason said, clipping in his second to last mag. Ray sent a few prayers and continued to fire shots to desperately attempt to lower the enemy numbers. They were only a few feet away from the border to a country America is friendly with, and they knew that if they could manage to get out from cover for long enough, the could make it across the line in a few steps and after that any and all bullets from their opposition would be seen as an act of war on the neighboring country. He heard the signal to Sonny and Full Metal and ducked behind cover as the frag grenades went off in front of them.

"Fall back!" Came Jason's next words. They moved swiftly and methodically, just as they had been trained to do, switching between moving and laying down cover fire for each other. After a few sets of running and ducking, Ray was one quick sprint away from safety. He fired a few last shots and ran as hard as he could despite the burning in his lungs and the pain in his side.

They all stood for a few moments as the dust settled -literally and figuratively- and gathered themselves. They all knew that the country they had just left feared the country they were currently residing in, but they were still surprised by just how much. Nearly as soon as Ray, who had been the last to make his retreat, had crossed the border, the firing had ceased.

Ray had been bent over at first as he tried to slow his breathing from the adrenaline and sudden sprinting. As he felt his heart rate slow, he stood up, but was met with a surprising stab of pain from the side of his abdomen, just above his left hip. He looked down slowly, and his next words quickly drew the attention of his teammates.

"Ah shit."

"What? Are you hit?!" Jason asked, though the answer was already clear from the red that was staining Ray's shirt. The mood changed instantly as they all began watching him closely, while Trent quickly came to his side.

"Exfil is 2 mikes out, but I don't want you to drop on me. If you're gonna pass out you gotta let me know now and we'll sit you down." Trent said, doing his initial check of Rays color and pupils.

"N..no. No, it's just starting to sting…" Ray answered.

"Havoc this is one, how far out is our exfil? Two took a round during our retreat." Jason asked, worry creeping into his voice.

"Havoc to One, ISR shows them about a mike out, should be there any minute. Give me a status on two, is it critical?" Blackburn asked, trading glances with the other two members of command.

"Trent? How is he?" Jason asked.

"I'm fine Jase, it just winged me." Ray answered, despite the uptick in pain that was now sitting sharply in his side.

"Last time I checked your name wasn't Trent." Jason replied shortly, then turned back to Trent, who had two fingers around Ray's wrist, checking his heart rate.

"Heart rates a little fast but thats to be expected. I'll get a better look at it once we've exfiled, but it looks like its just a through and through in the muscle. Yep, there's an exit wound back here." Trent said as he moved behind Ray and saw another patch of blood on the back of his shirt. He packed both worlds with gauze as their exfil choppers touched down and Jason passed the info on to Havoc. Ray turned to start jogging towards the helicopter but grimaced as he felt the pull of torn skin when he tried to turn. Trent and Jason wordlessly slid under his shoulders and took most of the effort, and before he knew it, they were in the air.

Later…

"You sure you're good to drive man? You did take a bullet, in case you forgot!" Jason asked Ray as he walked slower than he would've liked out of the base hospital towards his truck.

"Trust me, I'm too old to forget! I'm fine Jase, just a little more sore than usual. Besides, unless I leave now I'll be late to Jameelah's recital." He said, pulling his keys out of his pocket.

"I missed one too many of those, so I guess I can't really fault you. Take it easy." Jason said, looking in his brother's eyes so he knew he was serious. Ray returned the look and nodded, and then the two split ways and got in their cars.

Ray pulled into a parking spot outside the school and took the keys out of the ignition, taking a moment to rest his head back against the seat and take a breath before getting out. Soon after he did, as he walked towards the entrance, he heard his name called and turned as a smile stretched across his face. He'd know that little voice anywhere.

"Hey there little man! You ready to watch big sis?" He exclaimed as RJ ran and wrapped himself around his legs. Naima was close behind to greet him with a kiss and a hello, but behind the smile he could see her eyeing him, and the fact that he his right hand placed gently over his left side sort of gave it away.

"Your hurt, aren't you?" She asked, although he knew it wasn't really a question. He never could hide things from her. Especially not injuries.

"Yea. Took a round in the side." He said slowly.

"You got shot?! What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be in a hospital? So help me if you made Sonny break you out…" she replied, trying to mask the worry and confusion in her voice so she wouldn't worry their son.

"Hey, easy, I'm alright! It was just a through and through and only hit muscle. A week or two and some tlc from you and it'll be like nothing ever happened!" He answered quickly, hoping to ease her worry at least a little.

"Still, you should be in bed relaxing so you can heal!" She said.

"Believe me, I'll be doing that as soon as I get home. But for now, I'm I'd like to go watch my adorable daughter!" Naima sighed and pulled him carefully into a hug, and they walked hand and hand the auditorium

Hey guys! Sorry for the inconsistency in posting. I know this is supposed to be a daily thing, but I'll do my best even though I can't promise one every day in a row! Anyway, hope you enjoyed! ■