Expendables- Devil's Ax

Chapter 15

After waking up, Rose realized that Gunner had left sometime in the night after she had fallen asleep. Taking in a deep breath, she sat on her bed shaking. They were leaving today. The shear thought of one them getting hurt or even worse made her stomach turn, and when she tried to stand up Rose found herself on the verge of vomiting. She sat back down on the bed and as she stared at her door across the room, she couldn't help but letting out a small cry of pain. Despite her all her wounds being healed, they seemed like they had reopened, physical and mental. Rose leaned forward over the side of her bed and took in deep breaths but her chest kept constricting. Why? Why didn't Barney want her there? Did he think she would get in the way? Did he not see what it was doing to her? Closing her eyes tight, she focused on the sound the sound of her racing heart. 

Come on. You can do it. She thought to herself. It's no different from all those other times. You should be used to it...

In fact she was. Countless times, Rose would wake up in the middle of the night. Her heart would be racing, her chest tightening. The thoughts of what happened seemed to played out in her own room all over again. She could still hear the screams, the shots fired and shots taken. A sweet taste began to spread in her mouth, that taste someone gets right before they throw up. But Rose couldn't move, or was it she didn't want to move? All the same, she found the floor rising up to meet her as she fell forward. Her eyes squeezed shut even more as gagged, the vile came out clear. After that short bit of hell passed over her, she realized that she hadn't eaten anything since the day before last. Shaking, crying, and gasping for air, Rose tried to stand up but soon met the floor once more with a loud thud. Her vision grew blurry, and soon went black. 

Silence. 

It was all that was near. The occasional crunch of dried plants underfoot was the only thing that accompanied the unit as they made their way through the open desert like field. A group of seven, led by Rose Savig. Slowly they moved through the field, scanning the horizon for anything, but there was nothing but a vast openness ahead.

Savig walked in the front of the group, an automatic held tightly in her hands, and flanked by six soldiers, three on either side. Each person was good twenty yards away from the other.  "Keep your eyes open." She said in a low voice over the head piece that she wore. 

As the wind blew the dust into the air and to the side, she began to notice that the terrain began to change. But the most obvious thing, was the change was not natural. "Halt." She said raising a hand in the air. Upon order, everyone in the unit stopped. Rose saw small mounds of dirt here and there, plants had been ripped away or moved to other spots. "Mines," she said looking around her. "Everyone look were you're stepping, and tread lightly."

The unit began to move once more. It was very unlikely that the mines were dead, or perhaps taken out of the ground and relocated. The chances of that would be one in a hundred. 

The group continued on for another fifty feet before a loud cracking sound came from Rose's right. Turning her head to yell at Ranger, she was too late. He lifted his right leg off the ground and was met with the explosion. The force of the detonation sent Rose flying in the opposite direction. The loud bang had left her ears ringing, and when she hit the ground, the wind was knocked out of her. As the ringing in her ears began to subside, she could hear the yells of the unit members around her. She opened her eyes and looked at what was left of her comrade Ranger. Slowly she turned her gaze down to her right and noticed one of the small mounds only inches away from her elbow. She then looked up around her and noticed a small incline of dirt only ten yards away. As her gaze fell upon Jessica, who was running over to her to see if she was alright, Rose held up a hand and yelled. "No! Stop!" 

But her words meant nothing. Rose was bombarded in a shower of dirt and blood. The explosion sending her back down onto the ground and sending shrapnel into her side. She rolled on the ground and covered her head with her hands, waiting for the nightmare to end, and for her vision to come back.        

Rose awoke to the smell of cigarette smoke and stale beer lingering in the air. Her eyes were watering and stung, but she could see the ceiling to her bedroom. Her fingers clenched the soft sheet underneath of her. When did she get back into her bed? The next thing she noticed was something heavy, cold, and wet on her aching head. 

"So I finally get the chance to see my girl, and this is how it happens?" A low slurred voice came from Rose's right. She turned her head to the side and saw the shadowy figure of a man sitting in a chair next to her night stand. He was dressed in a cowboy hat and a black leather vest over his tan skin. His long black and grey hair fell over his shoulders as he leaned forward. Resting on the table next to him was beer, and hanging from his mouth was a lit cigarette, behind that was a smirk. 

Even through her blurred vision, Rose knew that man. She could tell it was him from a mile away. 

"Papa Tool..." Rose said in a weak voice but with a smile.