Two Man's War

One victory, one defeat

Austin's POV
Jets zoomed above us in the sky. The commander and I were just standing in the middle of the field having no where to go. Most of the enemy shooters around us stopped because the jets had shot them.

Both of our gazes turned to the main plane. It had began to lower to the ground. We sprinted towards it knowing it wasn't going to land fully.

Suddenly, planes flew above us with a symbol. A symbol that indicated it wasn't our team. We ran even faster to the plane. The bottom of the door had barely reached above my head. We both would have to jump.

The commander grabbed my sleeve as we closed in on the plane.

"One, two, three!" He said. We jumped together, closing our eyes in the air. I just hoped I hit metal ground and not grass.

We hit impact. I felt a hard ground underneath me, still having my eyes closed. Slowly, I opened my eyes. The commander was still laying on the ground beside me, his eyes still closed. I guess he was just as nervous about the jump.

I took in my surrounding. Some of the team members were looking at us, shocked. And some just laughed. A smile spread across my face from ear to ear.

"Hey commander, you can open your eyes. We didn't make it." I joked.

"Shit." He said when he believed me. He opened his eyes and he laughed while giving me a small push playfully.

"Hey Tom, Zane. Good to have you both back." The commander said. I looked at them both. Tom seemed okay. My eyes drifted to Zane where some teammates were sitting by him, keeping an eye on him.

"What's wrong with Zane?" I asked.

"The terrorists fed them some weird food and the water in it was contaminated." Someone replied.

Suddenly, the plane jerked to the side, almost throwing me out the door. I looked out the side and saw American jets shooting bullets at other unwanted jets. We had to move fast.

A few silent, nerving minutes later, we had heard the bullets stop. Everyone's gaze turned towards the open doors and American jets flew by our sides, celebrating in victory. We had shot them down. I just wondered how many American planes were shot down.

The base came into view and I pulled a mini object out of my pocket.

"Remember I said what I would do to signal victory?" I said and showed the team the object. Some chuckled and others smiled.

Chief's POV
Everyone was quiet, hoping that we had achieved our goal. All the sections were outside; some people talking because they were nervous.

Suddenly, we heard a buzzing sound and planes came into view. We stayed silent, waiting for the signal that they won.

Out of nowhere, a bright flare shot up into the air and the crowd erupted into cheers. We had won. News reporters began to broadcast everything.

Once the planes began to land, I walked over to the bundle of reporters.

"Shut the cameras off." I said to them. They looked confused.

"Why?" One reporter asked.

"Because I don't want any one of you filming if men come out of that plane wounded! Now leave." I spat at them. They grimly began to pack up their supplies and filter off the scene.

Men filtered out of the plane, most of them without a scratch. The fighter jets had flown back to the naval ship so I didn't know about their condition.

"Sir," the commander began. "Tom and Zane are being transported to the hospital. Zane is being treated for multiple whips on his back and Tom is being treated for severely injured hands." He said.

"I'm glad to see they are alive. Good job." I replied, happy in the result. My eyes noticed a blood streak matting his hair down.

"Commander, go get treated for a concussion." I said.

"Yes, sir. But, did you lose your job?"

"No. I quit. I had done my part." The commander began to walk towards an ambulance that would take him to the nearest hospital.

My regular phone in my pocket began to ring.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey. It's me. I have news that you need to give to Austin." The naval director began.

Austin's POV
Some soldier's parents had come. I wasn't expecting mine. Until I saw a male standing a few feet in front of me in the crowd. I couldn't believe it.

"Dad?" I whispered to myself. I ran through the crowd towards him and hugged him. Shocked that I did, he slightly hugged me back.

"After mom died, I thought you didn't support me going into the army." I told him.

"I know I was mad at you. Very mad. But once I saw the story of your team on the news, I had to come. It made me realize that you are fighting your ass off every day to protect your teammates and your country. I, sorry I didn't support you in the past." He replied.

"Austin." The chief said as he approached me. My dad and I turned to him.

"May I speak to you alone?" He asked.

"Sure." I replied and walked away from my dad.

"I have news about the navy planes. When they returned, a few were banged up and only a couple men got minor scrapes." The chief began. "However, Kevin was in one of the planes, as you already know."

"What are you trying to tell me?" I asked the chief.

"Once all the planes got on the ship, they took a roll call and Kevin's plane had not returned. To confirm his death, a surveillance camera was on one plane that had returned. They watched the tape and saw Kevin's plane crash. No ejection seat came out. No one came out of the plane for more than an hour. I'm sorry, but Kevin has died." He finished.

My eyes were burning with tears. I didn't say anything but instead walked away from him. I walked away from my dad who was waiting for me to return to him. I walked away from everyone.

I hopped into my car that has been here for many months and drive away from everything.