The sound of an explosion rushes you and Jason outside, just in time to see one of the helicopters descending in smoke. It crashes into the land in-front of you, sparks flying everywhere, along with bullets from Iraqis on the other side.

You grip your gun, your heart rate accelerating.

"Fuck! I'm hit" you hear Joey shout before seeing him collapse to the floor.

You watch Eric and Merwin run into a building, swear words being thrown around simultaneously.

Jason grabs your forearm, pulling you behind one of the huts opposite the gunfire. He catches his breath and waits for the split second that they stop shooting. He ducks his head around, bullets whirling past instantly as you pull his arm to drag him back into cover.

"Down! Get down!" He shouts over the noise. Nick comes over to you two looking prepared to fight.

"They're up on the ridge" you tell him. He looks to Jason, awaiting for his commands.

"Return fire!" He shouts to us and his marines. Or, at least any that are nearby. "Go!"

You get into a formation, Kolchek squatting down, as you and Kay stand behind him, shooting at the ridge.

The shooting in your area pauses for few seconds, giving you an opportunity to run. You three push forward, finding a new spot for cover. Merwin slides down to you, "That was fucking close! Wooh!"

You stare at him in wonder. How can someone have a smile on their face, whilst in a position like this?

You hear the faint shout of Eric, Merwin pops his head up and waves his hand at him, "Stay back!" He warns.

You peek up, seeing Iraqis running right in-front of you.

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!" Merwin shoots, the loud sound of the gun chamber rings in your ear.

"Shit, Merwin. Shoot a bit further away from my ear next time, yeah?" You comment, looking to him and smiling lightly.

"My bad, lady" he smirks, making you roll your eyes. He leans back to look at Jason, "Motherfuckers are dug in like ticks"

"They're closing in. We gotta get to Joey" he responds.

You look over the small wall you're hid behind, Joeys not that far. You quickly drop down again, merely dodging a few bullets. Jason stands up and aims at them, hitting one directly, "Yeah, fuck you too"

"Let's burn the fuckers out with w.p!" Merwin tries to resolve. You and Nick share a knowing look, one that says 'we definitely shouldn't do that'.

Nicks the first to voice both your thoughts, "We can't use phosphorous against people!"

The Corporal shakes his head, "Aw, you'd rather us hold hands and sing Kumbayah around a fucking campfire?"

"Shut the fuck up for a second and let me think" Jason spits, obviously growing tired of the bickering and the bullets.

This, however, doesn't stop Merwin from continuing to open his mouth, "What's to think about, huh? We're getting massacred. Permission to use w.p?"

"Merwin, we can't! That's literally gonna burn them alive, it's too harsh" you try to defend Nicks opinion, hoping it also pushes Jason to side with you.

He thinks for a few more seconds, "Negative!" You felt he'd side with Nick, they seem like best friends after all, "Only use it for smoke". Jason looks to you, "You got any ideas Lieutenant?"

"If you flank them, I can quickly run in and get Joey somewhere safer" you suggest, he nods in agreement. You wouldn't say you're that muscular, like you don't have bulging muscles like everyone else, but you could definitely be able to pick Joey up for enough time to get him somewhere safe.

You watch as Jason makes his way through the field, dodging bullets and jumping over fences. He gets into a spot after shooting some Iraqis and nods to you.

You quickly make your way over the wall you were hiding behind and sprint for Joey. The ground shakes from Jason shooting a grenade at the opposing soldiers. Joey reaches his arm out for you, you roll over him and pick him up onto your shoulders. It was something that Eric taught you to do, said it was really easy and fun.

If you were being honest: it is.

You hide behind a tractor and gently place the Lance Corporal onto the floor. You resist from pulling a face as you feel his blood on your shoulders, guess it doesn't help that you're wearing a tank top.

"I'm fucking dying, y/n..." he grips onto you, you lift his head up and hold him up with your arm.

"You're not, Joey. I know it hurts, but you're okay. You're gonna be okay" you attempt to smile at him, but it quickly disappears as he starts coughing more. "Hold still! Just calm down. It's a fresh wound... just think of it like a paper cut"

"Liar" he mutters through a pained groan, he holds onto your hand and places a crucifix necklace into it.

"No, no, no, no... Joey?"

No response.

You don't know what to do. A man just died in your arms. Someone you were beginning to trust and like and get on with. Just gone. Nothing could have prepared you for this, the harsh reality of war.

You place his body fully down onto the ground. You hear Eric on the radio, at this point it just sounds like a bunch of gibberish. The ground rumbles. However, this time not from a grenade going off... it's like an earthquake.

It shakes even more, the floor dropping and sinking right in-front of you.

You stand up and look around, you watch as Merwin drops, "Merwin!" You go to run over to help him, but not before you drop too.

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