The Ghost of Him |WWII Frerard AU|

-31-

In case anyone was ever wondering, trying not to scream like a little girl as I free fall into an enemy war zone is about the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.

I even almost forget to pull the strap on my parachute in my blind panic, but mere moments before I hit the ground, I tug it out of my pack and jerk to a slower fall.  Darkness envelops me as I roll to a stop, blood roaring in my ears and the distant sound of gunfire filling the night air.  Pieces of burning plane parts plummet to the ground with me like shooting stars, and when I look up at the sky above me, I see nothing but an army of planes, some still in flight and some nosediving to the earth in a fiery explosion.  It's an absolute massacre, and all of my senses meld my surroundings into one giant amalgamation of pure terror.

And to make matters worse, when I glance around me, I realize that I'm completely and utterly alone.

My mind racing, my heart beating out of my chest, I hurry into the cover of a nearby bush as the gunfire grows louder.  Where is everyone?  We all jumped right after one another.  Where's Ryan?  Brendon?  Mikey?  It's like as soon as I jumped, I fell into an alternate universe.  The sky is still littered with parachutes, yet I don't see anyone I recognize.  Not even anyone from Serpent Company.  Did the plane--

No, I can't let myself think like that.  There are still plenty of planes up there that haven't been blown up.  Everyone is perfectly fine.  We just got separated is all.  As long as I can keep my cool and find them, everything will be okay.  Everything will be okay.

I'm losing it already and I've only been in the fight for thirty seconds.  That can't be good.

Overwhelming fear begins to swallow me whole as I sit crouched in the bush, my head spinning and the ground swaying beneath my feet.  All I can hear is gunfire ringing in my ears, and it's coming from every direction.  A broken wing from another plane is embedded in the ground in front of me, still burning bright against the darkness.  It might as well be pitch black around here.  The only light I have is that of the fiery remains of wreckage and distant gunfire, and that only fuels the panic pulsing through me more.

I'm never going to make it out of here.

My hands trembling out of control, I fumble to take the rifle from my back and make sure it's loaded, just in case.  Gunfire is all around me, and I have no idea if there are any enemies nearby.  I sure as hell hope not because I can barely see straight, let alone shoot straight.  Spots start to block the corners of my vision.  Fear is taking over me, and I can't shake it out of my system.

Then I see movement coming from right in front of me.  I frantically aim to shoot, but a wave of relief surges through me when I hear their voice.

"Delta!  It's Frank!"  Stumbling through the grass, his helmet nearly falling off of his head, Frank hurries to meet me in the bush.  "Gerard!  Thank God I found someone who isn't trying to blow my brains out.  Where the hell did everyone go?"

I shake my head, unable to stop myself from trembling.  It's an absolute relief to have someone I know with me, but that still doesn't answer the question of where the rest of our company went.  "I don't know.  I panicked as soon as I landed and hid."

Glancing around, his eyes wide, Frank readjusts the strap of his helmet and straightens it.  "Yeah, there sure are a lot of fucking bullets flying around,"  he gripes.  "I can't fucking believe those fuckers knew we were coming and shot down half of our fucking planes.  We're damn lucky ours didn't get shot down before we jumped.  I thought we were done, for sure."

"Me too."  I heave a shaky breath, my skin tingling.  "Did you see Mikey anywhere?  I'm really worried about him."

His lips pursed, Frank shakes his head.  "No, I didn't,"  he says.  "I got knocked way off course and landed in a ditch all by myself.  I thought I was screwed, but I got up and started walking.  Luckily I found you within a few minutes.  I'm sure he's around here somewhere, though.  We'll find him.  Don't worry."