Chapter 11: Flashbacks of War Part I

Bella stared unseeingly at the corpse of the man who became more than her brother in arms, the man who became her brother in all but blood. Bella didn't know how long she stared at him, it could have been minutes, it could have been days, but Bella didn't care. Bella wouldn't care if the damned enemy came for her right then, at this moment she would gladly welcome their torture, if only to rid herself of the pain of losing her brother.

Unfortunately, soon enough the stench of burned flesh and shit registered in her nostrils and the sounds of the crackling fire were heard in her ears. Blinking away the sweat and tears from her eyes, Bella sniffled and furiously wiped away her tears and tore her eyes away from Richard. Clearing her dry throat, Bella slowly staggered to her feet, wincing in pain from her injuries and cursing the bastards that caused this in every language she knew of all the while. Once on her feet, Bella leaned against the wreckage of the truck and gazed at the destruction once again, unable to believe that this was once her team. Bella was still in a state of shock, but she promised them, Bella promised her boys that she would bring them all home one way or the other and by the fucking Gods she will!

Taking a deep breath, Bella gagged at the smell of burning flesh, hair and shit before deciding it was too much. Bella tore a piece of her pants off to work as a makeshift gag to protect her nose from the stench, before moving on to explore the wreckage for any survivors and supplies. In her gut, Bella knew that she was the only survivor, but she hoped and prayed with everything in her that she was wrong. Unfortunately, she was right. There were no survivors, everyone was dead and after seeing their bodies Bella to her shame was glad they were. Limbs were torn from bodies, so much so that if she didn't know her boys as well as she did she would be hard pressed to tell you whose arm or leg belonged to whom. Blood and innards littered the grounds, burning, impaled and crushed bodies, it was horrible.

It was so surreal to see the men she fought with, bled with and laughed with reduced to this. Bella knew these men, she knew their wives and children, she attended their kid's games and recital, births and weddings. Bella was there for them when they needed to vent about their families and the war. Bella trained each and every single one of these men, everything they went through they went through together. To see them now, like this, Bella thought she knew grief before when her mate left her but this, this was worse. Bella knew after this day that she wouldn't be the same, she will never be the same again.

A rumbling sound brought her out of her grief, her senses being subconsciously on alert for the enemy while she grieved. Instantly alert, Bella ducked to hide behind the burning car and buried herself with the bodies of her comrades. Bella was bloodied and pale enough to blend in with her fellows to pass as a corpse and she knew this. Hearing the rumbling stop a klick away from her position, Bella quickly played opossum and not a moment too soon it appears.

"Tuhaqiq min alnaajin!" A rough Arabic voice shouted, the voice sounded muffled, as if they wore a helmet or a bandana over their mouths. That prevented her from getting a clear reading of his voice, but she figures should this man escape she would be able to find him again if he is covering his mouth.

The sounds of metal and debris shifting filled oppressing air as her enemies tossed her teams bodies around with such disrespect. Bella had to stifle a growl as she heard the enemy laughing and spitting at her team mate's bodies. It took everything Bella had to stay still and to not shoot the motherfuckers for what they did and what they were doing. But Bella knew she couldn't, she was too injured and outnumbered. Bella resolved to bide her time, find out what her enemy's plans were and how many of them were here before she could attack. But she swore once she was ready she was going to –

BANG!

Bella gave a small imperceptible flinch at the sound of what sounded like a Tariq Pistol. Bella wasn't expecting them to start shooting, there wasn't anything to shoot at but their comrades and Bella. Everyone else was dead, so what were they-

BANG! BANG! POP! POP!

Multiple gun shots went out as the Iraqi soldiers fired round after round at something. As Bella continued to play opossum, the gun shots were getting closer. While the gunshots were fired, Bella strained her ears to ear if there was returning gunfire of a potential ally or another enemy.

Unfortunately, Bella couldn't hear anything with the ringing in her ears with the approaching gunfire. So, Bella never heard the crunching on the dried sand announce the incoming arrival of her adversary. Nor did she hear the click of a gun being cocked and reloaded. It wasn't until the sound of a gun near her which sounded louder than before was fired that she realized what was going on and by then it was too late. The next thing Bella registered was pain. Bella's stomach, which was already in pain from the crash, flared with such incredible pain it was insane!

Bella thought that being bitten by James was bad, hell even training at Quantico and being tortured by those damned Russian Terrorists last year was bad. But being shot point blank while already being seriously injure, not to mention the emotional trauma and the stress of the situation at hand. It was honestly a miracle, that Bella managed to still play opossum. Although, being in so much pain she was knocked out is a good excuse. Before Bella fully lost conscious she heard the sound, the same voice who spoke earlier, although this time much closer almost right on top of her. Unfortunately, she couldn't understand a damn thing that he was saying, which was very unfortunate.

"laqad wjidtuha! tama tahyid alhadaf!"

With a jolt, Bella woke up with a gasp of air. Realizing that she wasn't back there, that she wasn't on that damned war zone any longer, Bella began to relax slightly. Greedily breathing in the fresh air, as Bella could still smell the stench of death and taste the copper metallic taste of her blood, Bella began to register the feel of arms holding her and her name being called. Before Bella could begin to panic, she heard a voice she hadn't heard in five long years. In fact, Bella honestly thought that she would never heard this voice again. Bella turned her head slightly to the side as much as her exhausted body would allow, to assure that her eyes will confirm what her ears perceived.

That Rosalie Fucking Hale was back.

Arabic Translations (According to Google Translate):

"Tuhaqiq min alnaajin!" = Check for Survivors!

"laqad wjidtuha! tama tahyid alhadaf!" = I found her! The target is neutralized!

AN:

I apologize for the slow update. I am again without a job and I am hunting for a job again and I am having some neurological issues, so I am really sorry for not updating. I will try to update more, but it is no guarantee it will be so consistent as I planned.