A/N : I don't intend to offend nor insult anyone. If you feel that way, I'm really, really sorry.
Warring : violence, character death, murder, bad word, sorta.
The crazy blast hits the side of the house. It robs them of the last straw of peace in silence. Like wolf howl sounds make Emma deaf for a moment. She desperately wishes it's just the ear-piercing wind, not a real wolf. Otherwise she might as well starts making her own grave.
Emma shudders in big cargo pants and military jacket that once her friend's, who now dead and abandoned in the middle of foreign country. Staring off the darkness of the outside, she strokes four dog-tags in the pocket, one by one. And hopes against hope that it'll stay four, not five.
A low, cool voice pulls Emma out of her thought. "I think,"
"Shut up," Emma barks out. The cool metal of handgun feels like an ice. It makes her fingers tremble and go numb. Emma clenches her jaw and tightens her grab.
She doesn't know what the other woman is thinking, and doesn't want to know. This woman should remain to Emma as a murderer, or a killer of her friends.
"Shut the fuck up,"
Winter, Korea, 1951
If you love something, let it go. If it returns to you. it is yours. If it does not, it never was.
- Chinese proverb
The day was such a beautiful one. The sky was clean for the first time in weeks, air was fresh without the smell of gunpowder, and wind was soft. Emma had smile on her face as bouncing down the path between green barracks.
"Oi, Cassidy!"
Half naked man jumped in the air and fell down on the mattress, struggling with his pants. "Jesus, Swan!" August barked out in embarrassment but Emma and the other man just laughed.
"Sorry, Booth." Emma said in non-sorry-at-all tone, and added, "Where is Cassidy?"
"Ah, here is poor girl. You know Neal Cassidy is already taken-"
Emma rolled her eyes at Leroy. "Please, His fiancé returned the word."
She waved a paper in the air, and it made two men stood up in a flash, eyes bright and cheeks flushed. They looked like teenage boys again.
"Yeah? What did she say? is it yes? is it?"
"No, It can't be. Oh my God, it isn't yes, right?"
"Uh-uh, I have to tell him first. Military discipline, you know?" But her grin was telling everything.
"Christ, She actually said yes!" Leroy gaped, "She was completely out of min, wasn't she? There is no way to accept that!"
Emma laughed, "Thought it was you who encouraged him to propose."
"Sweet Jesus, We fucked up an innocent girl's life!" August shrieked. "Oh God, oh fuck."
When you're the only woman in packs of tough men who haven't seen a single woman for months, you'd better be worried yourself. But if you're the only one in miles who can read the Morse and decipher the military code without miss, you can find yourself treated like a princess. Besides, she was messenger, too. Emma Swan, a little brat of Storybrooke, was an angel in here helping homesick soldiers keep in touch with their family.
"What is going on here?" As if their words had summoned him, Neal appeared from a small bathroom, having shaving cream on his jaw. "Er, Leroy. How many I tell you stop playing card in my room-" His eyes widened when he saw Emma.
Emma smiled. "Hey, Taken man," and handed over the telegram. "Seems you'll need a ring."
They laughed when Neal actually showed a tear, and laughed harder when he hugged Emma.
"Shit, Neal!" Emma growled as wiping the cream off of her cheek. "Thank you for such a sharing. You know I don't need to cut, right?" But she grinned when Neal sniffed. He rolled his red eyes. "Oh, fuck off."
They pulled Dr. Whale out from the clinic, hijacked Killian on the way of returning to the UK camp and headed to the nearby woods. It was 3 minutes distance, away enough to hide having little secret party and close enough to return quickly if someone started seeking them.
They'd well fucked up if their senior found out Jack and Jill, but hey, it was not like they got drunken dead or so. They just needed 20 minutes for a bottle to cheer and relax.
"Hey, soon to be a groom man," Dr. Whale nudged Neal, "You don't have syphilis or gonorrhea, right? If you do, I can help you."
"I even don't know what that is," Neal took a sip from the bottle, and almost choked when Dr. added, "Geez, sexual disease I mean."
"Fuck, Doc!" Everyone laughed. "Of course I don't! I've never had since I left her-" and laughed their head off when Neal blushed furiously.
"God, it's getting cold." Killian shivered as getting the fire on his cigarette with his uninjured hand.
"I think it's supposed to be cold in October," Emma said and took a cigarette that he offered.
"October, really? Jesus fucking Christ, I've been here for over a year." Leroy grumbled.
Emma offered him the drink. "Hang in there. Sooner we're going to go back home. They're having the negotiation, remember?"
"Oh right, Do you think it'd work?"
"Yeah. I mean, it has been three month already and I never heard about a single battle for two weeks." Emma shrugged.
Dr. Whale let out a great sigh. "Thank God, I'm really sick of dying bros." He brushed off the dust of his military jacket and added, more playfully. "It was good fortune for me to be moved on here. I've got used to give you guys aspirin or peptic, I don't think I'd be able to handle with actually sick people again."
Neal smirked. " It's kind of weird, you know. I always look forward to returning, and now when the time comes, It's... I mean- God, Don't know what I'm feeling."
"I know," August said, "I'll miss here, too."
Seconds of silence.
"Oh right, I'll miss the lack of modernity in this goddamn country." Leroy snorted.
"And lack of English." Neal said, and Killian took the word. "And lack of English,"
"lack of electricity. I mean, seriously."
"lack of hot water,"
"lack of women!" Leroy exclaimed, and quickly added, "No offense, Swan."
"Nah, none taken," Emma waved her hand as smirked.
And they had good time to relax. Neal made them laugh to cry, telling when Leroy had to fight with a Chinese while he wore nothing but socks, "Sweet Jesus, I still well remember the horror on his face when Leroy wrapped the brat's neck with his leg." and August made them roll over the ground by insist on he was inspired.
It was when they managed to breathe again that there was the distant sound of plane. Killian raised an eyebrow. "Hey American, do you have any plan of getting planes? 'Cause I didn't hear anything about that."
"Oh, yeah. We'll get supplies and stuffs from that." Emma stood up, and frowned. "Thought it was 16:00. Is it already?"
August checked his watch. "No, It's 15:30 yet."
Neal shrugged. "They may change the plan. Anyway it's time to return, guys. Come on, move the heavy ass, you bastards." and headed to the camp, hand around Leroy's shoulder.
Well, that was weird. Army was not a place changing the plan without previous notice, especially during the war. Might be the cease-fire negotiation made them a little bit loose, too.
"Wait," August stopped her from return. Emma blinked. "Listen." The can't-misinterpreting whinnying sound was getting closer. Too much closer, in fact, It sounded like they were just about to come here, which couldn't be. A transport plane was really fast, of course, but it wasn't fast as this. And it was-
"It's coming from the north." His eyes got enormous. So did hers. "Jesus, It's coming from the north, Cassidy! It's not our plane! It's their jet!"
Neal and Leroy were already at the nearby camp. They turned around a little playfully, like always, and opened the mouth as if they was gonna make a joke or stuck the tongue. It was then the notorious silver jet aircraft of Soviet flied over their head.
There were fires.
They shook and jerked. The two men seemed to have a frantic dance like once they did, when they were drunk dead, only this time was much awkward and wired. Then they fell down in oddly slow motion, head first. It was kind of ludicrous, really. Emma thought she could laugh her head off.
Emma screamed.
"Get down! Get down!" Somebody tackled her, making all the air push out of the lungs. It was Killian grabbing his helmet and putting it on her head. "Hold still down, Swan!" Emma wanted to say thank you, but what came out of her mouth was, "huh,ahgg-" a shaking sob.
Their camp jerked awake in alarm from the usual languid peace. Soldiers got out of his barracks in confusion or terror and dropped dead under the fire. Some of them shot back, but hitting the jet with a rifle was more impossible than surviving under the bullet, and soon those brave idiots were getting fall down.
The bullet shower kept going on like eternity until turned into the bomb rain. The ground jumped up and shattered down like a blooming flower. Emma grabbed her helmet for a dear life and screamed, and screamed, and screamed some more.
It ended, eventually. Even the horrible sound stopped about 10 minutes before, Emma still lay on her stomach, one hundred percent sure that she was dead. Out of her ringing ears there were whispers, words and soon footsteps. Then Emma realized, miraculously, that she was still alive. But she couldn't find enough courage to raise the head and see what was going on.
Next to her Killian grabbed her stony-tensed shoulder and said, his voice was trembling as well as his hand. "Swan, They are going to check it out." Then they spent the good time of lying there at the middle of woods, praying like hell for their friend's safety.
What felt like whole five years after they returned in one piece, thank God, with despair on the face, "No one is alive." Dr. Whale said. He had the tear path on his dirty cheeks.
Next 10 minutes were vague. Emma had worn her ivory blouse and indigo blue skirts that morning, because that was her uniform and she couldn't against the military rule for small comfort, and somehow she found herself in the military uniform.
A big hand grabbed her forearm and pulled her out of her misery. "Swan," It was August. "We have to move to the UK camp, It's not safe here. Killian is gonna lead us. Do you think you can follow us?"
Emma nodded dumbly, not knowing what he said at all. She was having a hard time standing correctly.
"Good, Let's get out of here then, sis."
That, the familiar little smile on his face, made her say, "Yeah, get the fuck out of here."
The next 5 hours felt like the hell itself. They walked through the endless woods, climbed two mountains, crossed a stream, and passed another mountain. Because they didn't know the official route was safe and decided to bypass that. Thank God Emma was used to walking in boots. They were eagerly ready to collapse when Killian exclaimed in joy, "Over here, right this-"
He halted, and got still. Emma would know why when she stood next to him.
The UK camp, as small and peaceful as their one, was not there. Only remained stuff was telling that once here was the camp.
"Here, they were here-" He sounded strained, "When I leave, they were bloody here..." and trailed off.
Depression sank into them. It was their hope and here they were, lost and abandoned. Emma wondered if she was gonna cry again, and relieved her tears were run out already.
August said they had to sleep for next day and they laid themselves in thin blanket. It was October, almost November, which meant it was fucking freezing to sleep at outside, so instead Emma stared at the back of August being first night-watch and tried not to think anything.
She couldn't think anything but why. Why did the fucking Soviet attack them? Their camp was nothing. Yeah, they were kind of close to the North, but they weren't at the front line nor nearby Seoul -the capital- or heck, the nearest city or village was thousand miles away of there. The reason of their existence was just be there, holding the line. Most of them were inexperience soldiers like Neal, or having mental problem like Dr. Whale, or injured one like Killian. There was not a single fucking importance of them. They were not even a combat troop, didn't have any battle for nearly six months and that the reason Emma, who was a non-combat soldier, in fact, not even a soldier but a volunteer cipher officer was there. Above all, USA and Soviet Union were at middle of the cease-fire negotiation; what the fuck happened about that? Emma heard it was going smoothly but now she didn't think so.
"You are thinking, I can hear your head spinning,"
August turned to her. It was over 23:00 and the cloud blocked the moon in sky, his face was barely visible in darkness.
"I'm wondering why the heck they did." Emma responded.
He shrugged, "Never know." And added, more seriously. "Hey, I know you volunteers don't have combat training but Swan, do you know how to use gun? I mean, at least a pistol."
Emma nodded. "Yeah, Dad taught me once."
"A daughter of the sheriff, huh?" He smiled. "I'm sure he was good man."
"He was,"
"Well, good for you. Here," He unwrapped his holster and offered her it. "You can't be captured."
Emma sat up and toke it. The handgun was very hard and cold under her fingers. "Damn right."
"No, Swan. You don't understand. You've taken and sent all the coding craps, dealing with plenty of information that they are dying for, and, you know, you're woman." Her eyes widened in realization what he insinuated. "There are many possibility that something.. happen to you if they catch you. So, you can't be. Do you get what I mean?"
Emma nodded numbly. His voice went soft as he saw the shock on her face. "Hey, sis. Don't worry. I won't let that's gonna happen. You trust me, right?" August gave her a squeeze in the hand, before patted her shoulder. "Go sleep, girl. It's late."
Emma did as told. It was good for her she was too exhausted, otherwise she couldn't have a single wink.
Please let me know what do you think!