Two Man's War

A hero means pain

Austin's POV
Explosions everywhere, some going off a few inches from where my feet ran. The commander ran ahead of everyone else and found a spot where the explosions won't go off. A few people were there with him encouraging everyone still in the bomb area to get to them so they will be safe. Finally, I reached them. Relieved that I was safe, I looked around for Cam and Henry. However, all I saw is Henry. I walked over to him and asked, "Is Cam still out there?"

"Yeah. He was right next to me but an explosion made us split apart. I don't know if he was hit or not. But it doesn't look like we lost a lot of people. Almost everyone is here." He replied. I looked back into the battlefield. Bombs were still going off after five minutes of anonymous and continuous explosions. I looked at the commander who overheard everything Henry and I just talked about. He knew what I was thinking about. I couldn't just leave a man behind waiting for them to die in the battlefield, whether it is Cam or not. He knew what I wanted to do and slightly shook his head no. But, you know me. I disobey people.

Suddenly, I took off running ready to avoid unexpected bombs. I could hear the distant shout from the commander begging for me not to go. But, his shouts stopped once he saw me disappear into the thick smoke that filled my lungs, making me cough.

"Anyone out there? Cam, can you hear me?" I shouted while coughing I between words. The explosions seemed to slow down but we're still going off near me. I tried to figure out a pattern that they were going off in but it was too anonymous. I could barely see through the thick smoke when I heard a fault cry for help. It seemed close, but it was very quiet.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" I shouted as I tried to run through the bombs without getting hit. I could hear the voice getting closer, closer, closer. Finally, I could see a figure laying down on the ground. As I reached the figure, I could tell it wasn't Cam.

"Where are you hurt?" I asked. My coughs were getting stronger and more frequent and I knew I had to stop inhaling smoke but it was hard since I had nothing to cover my mouth besides my arm.

"My keg. It's broken." The man said as he pointed to his mangled left leg. Okay. I'm going to bring you back to a spot that we found was safe. I put my arm under his hand helped him up. He was able to walk with a heavy limp. As we walked together, I heard another cry for help trough the explosions. Some of the explosions came so close to us that the next step we took I was sure we were going to die. Suddenly, I heard another call for help.

"Continue forwards but watch out for these bombs. You should reach the safe spot. Just go forward." I managed to say. He nodded and limped forward. I continued to cough, trying to use my arm as a shield. The noise of the explosions rang in my ears. I walked to the call almost to the person when a bomb exploded through the ground a foot to the right of me. The impact sent me flying through the air and landing hard on my back. I continued to cough through the pain. I slightly moved my legs and arms making sure nothing was broken and sure enough, nothing was. As soon as the pain died down in my head just enough to get up, I continued to walk through the thick smoke to the person. Craters were everywhere from the bombs. I was careful not to fall in any of them. Finally, I reached the person. It was Cam.

"You hurt?" I managed to say.

"No but I don't know where to go without getting blown to pieces. You look horrible." He replied looking at me from head to toe.

"You look great, too." I said sarcastically. "We need to go. The commander found a safe spot. Come on." Cam got up and began running through the smoke behind me. I stopped running as soon as I knew the safe spot was just a quarter mile away, short enough for someone to get there in 2 minutes if they ran.
"Go straight. You should reach the safe spot in a matter of minutes." I barely could get out the last word through my rough coughs.

"What about you?" Cam asked me worriedly.

"I'm just going to make a quick scout of the area to make sure no one else needs help."

"It better be quick. I should come with you."

"No, I don't want you getting hurt. I'm already hurt enough anyway." Cam waited for a minute and then slowly began to walk back to where I told him to go. I waited for a couple minutes trying to listen for anymore calls for help over the deafening bombs. As I ran through the smoke, I heard no more calls. So, as I began running towards the safe spot, I hadn't noticed the upcoming crater. It was about seven feet deep.

Suddenly, I slipped and fell into the seven for crater and landed hard. As I continued to cough, I noticed that in the crater, there was clearer air since all the smoke was above. However, by the time I fell into the crater, my lungs were already filled with smoke making the coughs go on stronger and more frequently. The last thing I heard was the most enjoyable sound I have ever heard. The last explosion occurred and now came the sweet sound of silence. And darkness.

A&N
I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It took me hours to find that good of a picture but it still was not what I wanted. But, it was good enough. I hope you enjoyed this chapter so please, if you did, vote and comment and keep reading!