This chapter will be a little different. It's from Charon's pov from the war.

Chapter 34: Once Upon an Operation

The ground shook from the blast. Rubble and snow crumbled down the rocks in a flurry. The storm hadn't let up in hours, causing the snow banks to accumulate greatly.

The snow and ice crunched under my feet as I jogged in place trying to keep my body temperature up. My breath froze a layer of frost on my face mask. I wiped at my eyes nervously to keep them from freezing shut.

"Rochester! What the fuck are you doing? Get a move on it!" Jackson hollered from behind me.

My fingers fumbled with the wires of the bomb. The bright yellow was obvious against the cold gray of the last artillery gun. The cold temperatures had nearly frozen my fingers solid. I could barely grasp the pliers in my hand.

Another explosion blew a cloud of concrete to the right. My ears rang as I tried to finish the activation. I pulled out the red and green wires and switched them. The bomb lit up to life with five minutes on the clock in bright red. It began counting down.

"Jackson, let's get out of here. It's on." I pulled him along the walls to the old Chinese bunker.

"Let go of me, I can fucking run." Jackson shook me off.

It didn't matter if you just pulled a knife out of his heart and performed surgery on him. Jackson would still bitch and complain about how he could have done it himself. I ignored him as usual and crouched down.

I held my finger up to my masked lips, glaring at him. I pushed the doors open quietly and we slipped in. Chinese soldiers were bustling around the bunker loudly.

I clenched my trench knife tightly as we crouched down into the hall to the right. Jackson was arrogant, but not ignorant. He at least knew what he was doing. I sometimes compared his stealth to mine, almost as quiet as me.

I cursed inwardly as the toe of a boot came into sight in front of us, following with the rest of the man. My knife shot out and stuck into his temple, killing him instantly. I yanked out the blade and caught the body before it hit the floor. Jackson poked his head around the corner of the hall. The coast was clear.

I signaled him to follow me outside. He nodded and we crouched back down. I slung the man over my back, blood pooling between my shoulders. The added weight made footsteps harder to keep quiet. Jackson led the way with his switchblade drawn.

We froze when we heard a voice very close by. I could pick up a little Chinese. They were discussing security breeches and protocols. Their footsteps trailed off farther, indicating they were heading another direction. We rushed the rest of the way out of the bunker.

Jackson chuckled once we were out. I stripped quietly and swapped uniforms with the Chinese soldier. Had it not been baggy on the man, I wouldn't fit the already tight uniform.

A gunshot rang out and my rifle was already in my hands. A pained yelp sounded from behind us and a man fell. Jackson holstered his holorifle and jogged over to the still breathing soldier. He slid out of his uniform with ease due to his small size. He pulled on the angry soldier's uniform and kicked snow over the man's face. We pulled our face masks back up and rushed into the bunker once more after stuffing our uniforms into our packs.

With the new uniforms, we had a chance of sneaking easier and farther away from the bomb. We hurried through the halls and past the catwalks. Several looks were passed our way, but no one had stopped us yet. The exit was in sight.

Jackson nudged me. "I don't think they've seen a China man this big."

I hadn't thought about my size. Jackson wouldn't have drawn much attention, but a six foot - eight inch beast of a man was basically asking to be caught. I bit my cheek and kept walking towards the exit. He followed with a small laugh.

We were only a few steps from the exit when an officer stood his ground in front of us. He glared up at me and asked something in Chinese.

I couldn't tell what he was saying, but Jackson spoke the language fluently. He replied and the man didn't seem convinced. He reached up to yank off my mask when the bunker shook loudly and he fell to the ground.

Explosions and screaming filled the air as the soldiers rushed around trying to find intruders. I jumped over the officer on the ground and yanked the door open. I pulled myself out of the building and frantically searched for a path. My head whipped around to Jackson when I heard his holorifle drop to the ground.

He looked down slowly to see a sword protruding from his chest several inches. He looked back up to me and shook his head.

"No," he whispered. "Run!"

I spun on my heels and hauled ass down the rickety bridge without looking back. It was too late and the mission had to be completed. Snow shot up in a flurry as bullets hit the ice around me. I spotted a large enough boulder to hide behind and dove the rest of the way. I rolled too far into the open and kicked desperately behind the rock, managing to only build up snow around my feet.

A sharp pain shot through my leg from a lucky shot. I grasped my leg and scrambled behind the boulder. I knocked my head against the stone repeatedly. I was so stupid. Jackson is fucking dead because of me.

The snow under me was transforming bright red. It was almost beautiful, if I weren't bleeding and nowhere near supplies. I reached into my shirt and wrapped my fingers around warm metal. I pulled it out from under my coat and surveyed it.

It was an old locket I found. I vaguely remembered ever having it. I let out a heavy breath as I began to accept my fate. I was alone and there was no way I would be able to get to a kit in time. The cliffs were swarming with enemy soldiers. I was going to die behind this rock.

I turned the locket over in my hands, examining it closer. It was shaped like an oval, bordered with metal rings. It was more like a brooch made of brass. It had aged quite a bit, but was beautiful in the way only antiques can achieve. The most noticeable part was the etching in the center. It read "Please Remember." What was I supposed to remember?

I checked my surroundings for immediate danger. There was no doubt that the soldiers would be closing in on my position within the next minute. I pressed down on the clasp until I heard a click. The locket swung open to reveal a picture.

It was a young girl. She was beautiful. I felt like I had seen her before, but I couldn't remember where or when. She had short, pink hair tucked behind her ear, bright blue eyes with long lashes, and rosy cheeks. Her smile reminded me of a porcelain doll in a way, perfect and pretty. She must be what the owner of the locket was fighting for.

I tapped the back of the locket until the small picture fell out. I turned it over in my hands, flipping it over to find small writing. I could hear crunching of ice as the soldiers closed in quickly. I looked back at the writing.

A knife appeared in my field of vision and I exhaled slowly one last time. The image of the bright, young girl in my memory, the last thing I remembered before I would die. My breath was cut short as the searing, white-hot pain swiped across my throat. Warm blood streamed down my neck. I coughed, specks of blood spattering on the picture. I foot kicked me down on my side into the snow. I was numb.

Voices were muffled, my vision faded quickly. The picture was secured in my fingers. I stared at the words on the back of the girl's picture, hearing them over and over in my head. I closed my eyes, envisioning the girl laughing sweetly. My final memories were of a girl I don't remember meeting, but I remember loving.

The world was fading and my body felt like it was disappearing. I repeat the words in my head one final time before leaving,

"Do it for her."