AN: Hello and welcome to the 7th Chapter of the story. And this ones quite good (In my opinion)

WARNING! This chapter contains stuff to-do with PTSD. if anyone has a problem with it i will replace this chapter.

Chapter 7: A Wars Nightmare

Helmand province, Iraq, 2009

BOOM

Keith jumped behind the wall as the RPG went past his head. He shuffled his back onto the wall and breathed slowly. "Sir!" He looked to his left to see Jack, his squad's rookie running up to him. "We got enemy all over the compound, the others have to hide because of the gunfire." He reported "What about you?"

"I got a RPG on the northern building and I got at least 5 hostiles which all have firing positions on me." Keith stated as a bullet hit the corner of the wall. "I want to know how long till air support gets here."

"Ted said air supports inbound, eta 10 minutes." Jack reported

"Damn… Ok, you and I are going to try and flank them again." Keith stated

"Sir, you just said there…"

"I know what I just said; we are going to get the others to pretend to push to draw them that way while we go and flank."

"Yes sir!"

5 minutes later Keith could here gunfire from the other side of the compound. "That's our cue." He said as he and Jack sprinted around the corner of the wall and hid behind a concrete barrier. He looked up to see the RPG insurgent looking the other way. He pulled up his L85A2 and fired a burst into the man, killing him. "One down. Let's push forward." He and Jack was about to stand up just as a bullet pinged the barrier. And then the gunfire intensified.

"Sir, I don't think that's going to work right now." Jack remarked

"Ha ha bloody ha." Keith replied as he looked around the barriers corner slightly to see 4 insurgents firing into him. "Give me a nade." Jack did as he was told and passed Keith a L109A1 grenade. Keith pulled the pin and chucked it at the enemy.

BOOM

A few seconds after it detonated the two soldiers looked over the barrier to see the 4 bodies of the insurgents. "That went well…" they jumped over the barrier and ran up to the closet building. Keith held up his hand to show 3 fingers. Then he counted down. After he did he kicked the door in and rolled in. as he landed the roll he turned to survey the enemy. "Clear." Jack followed in and held up his rifle. They quickly checked the top floor to find a door that lead to the roof. They smashed it down to find it clear. "Now I know why they were pinned."

Down on the other side of the building was Keith's squad hiding behind two walls. One every single building was a man with a MG and about 15-20 hostiles with differing weaponry. "Time to help out." Jack said as he crouched down next to the door to the roof and fired into the hostile atop the closest building. Keith joined him firing into a different one. Bullets flew past as they fired into the enemy. As they cleared the last roof Jack sighed "I think that's all of…" he didn't get a chance to finish as a MG started to fire right at them. Jack instantly jumping to the floor with Keith jumping back behind the door. Jack looked to see an old truck with a MG on the back. "Hostile technical!" he shouted, crawling back to Keith.

Keith pulled Jack behind the cover of the door as the technical kept up its fire. "God damn that thing nearly killed me. Good thing I'm invincible!" Jack laughed as he leaned up on the wall.

"No one is invincible, not even you." Keith laughed as dust went into his face. He pointed to the other side of the wall. "Head round there and try to take its fire off me while I toss a nade."

"Got it." Jack nodded as he got up and jogged to the corner of the stairwell. After a few seconds Dust stopped flying into Keith's face as the technical's fire turned to Jack. Keith took the opportunity to swing around the corner and toss his last grenade at the technical

BOOM

Keith watched as the technical burst into flames. Jack rallied next to him "Nice job kid." Keith applauded.

"You too sir, I think we need to help the others now." Jack replied as he pointed to the others who were still under ever increasing fire.

"I was about to say that." Keith laughed as he and Jack ran to the edge of the building and began to pepper the enemy below, taking gunfire from their fellow squad mates. As they fired something was chucked up to them. it landed next to Jack. Keith looked to see a green ball with a handle on it. "GRENADE MOVE!" he shouted as he stopped his fire and tackled Jack off the side of the building.

BOOM

They both landed with a thud as the grenade went off. Keith looked around himself, everything was shaking and his vision was blurred. His hearing was muffled as well. He could see Jack shouting "Sir!" to him but he could only just about hear it. As his hearing returned he was welcomed back to the sound of gunfire and shouting. "SIR!" Jack shouted, Keith placed a hand on his shoulder and got to his feet. Instantly as he stood up he was under fire from the closet insurgent. Keith jumped away with Jack behind the closet wall. Keith was about to pop his head out the side of the wall until he heard something that saved his and his squads life's.

Rotor blades

He watched as 2 Westland Apaches flew overhead and bombarded the insurgents with missile and rocket fire. Keith let out a cheer as they flew overhead. He jumped to his feet and charged around the corner to attack any stragglers. To his happiness, there were none. He walked into the middle of the compound to meet the rest of his squad "You guys look like shit." He said as Derik walked over, black smears atop his helmet by explosions

"You too sir. Good to see you survived that grenade. I didn't want to have to drag your body back to base." Derik replied, Keith was about to reply when someone shouted

"CONTACT!" Daniel, who was standing next to Derik, raised his LMG behind Jack.

BANG

Keith watched as Jacks face went pale and he collapsed to the floor. as he fell Keith could see a insurgent with a AK-47 standing in front of a door to a house, he must have come out of. The insurgent was quickly gunned down by the soldiers. Keith instantly dropped to the floor and rolled Jack over to see his face. Jack coughed up blood as he did. "SHIT! JACKS HIT!" Derik shouted as the squad ran over.

"Ted, get on the horn to base. Tell them we need evac NOW! We have a man down!" Keith ordered. Uri slid next to Jack and pulled a first-aid kit from one of his uniforms pockets. "Hang in their Jack; you're going to make it. You hear me."

Jack tried to laugh but it instantly turned into him coughing up more blood. "Sir, you were right. Not everyone's invincible. Not even me…" he gave a loud cough again.

"Sir, ETA 1 minute on evac!" Ted reported

"Tell them to get here quicker!" Keith ordered, he felt something touch his chest. He looked down to see Jack's hand on his chest.

"Sir…" he said weakly "Remember me please… and tell my parents that I loved them…"

"Hey, don't think that. You're going to make that." Keith said, trying to reassure him. But he watched as Jack closed his eyes and his arm went limb. "No…no…NO,NO NO NO NO NO!" Keith yelled as he tried to wake him up. "Jack! Wake up! That's an order!" Keith could hear the evac helicopter coming in the distance. But they were too late.

Keith stood in the rain. Water falling on his beret. He stood next to the other members of his squad in front of a Jacks casket. Around them was Jacks friends and family. He could see Jack's mother crying while his father hand his arm around her trying to calm her down. Next to them were his brother and sister. His sister only 8 while his brother was 14. Keith bowed his head in remembrance at his fallen squad mate and friend.

Keith awoke to sweat on his face and his body jerking into an up-right position. He sighed when he looked around himself. He swung his legs around and put his elbows on his knees and his hands in on his face. Jack was the only soldier his squad had ever lost; they had called him rookie because he was the youngest off them all in the squad. Every time Keith had a nightmare it was always that battle. The battle where he lost his friend. Operation RedHorn was the squad first mission back from leave. Many didn't show it but all of them were shaken somehow some way.

"Sir, you were right. No one is Invincible. Not even me…"

That sentence kept replying in Keith's mind as stared at the floor. His breathing became heavy. And he began to cry, crying not out of weakness. But out of remembering his fallen friend.

AN: Ok, this was the first chapter that shows some backstory on the squad. I also felt quite bad at how i hinted at Jack dying through out the chapter. It was quite differcult showing Keiths PTSD about what happened to Jack. But i got there in the end. Have a good morning.

/day/evening/night and goodbye