The Love Within The War

The Reunion

Leon's POV

It's been a long time since I last saw her... This war has taken so much from me and my brothers. We have been out here for only a month, but so much has already happened. Our enemy is forcing their way slowly into our city limits inside the streets where we are trying to hold.

I am Sgt.Sulleven of Platoon 2175 Hotel Company 2nd Battalion. My battalion has been ordered to be the first line of defense for Paris. We have been here for some time now and have defended it well with minimum casualties, thankfully due to our positions and defense. Except the Russians are getting smarter and have held back any more attacks for the time being. We overheard news that there was a mass of four whole regiments to attack my battalion line. To push us back and overwhelm our forces. We are destined for failure, some say, but we are determined not to give up and lose our positions because if we do.... next stop for the Russians is ..... The U.K. then..... Home.....

Unfortunately for us Marines, we aren't supported by the Main French forces. All of the main French forces have stretched out thin all throughout France with the U.S. Army and British forces.

My 2nd Battalion here is already stretched to the max due to the constant attacks and artillery shelling we receive outside the city. The only support we have here is a company from British Royal Marines and what is left of the French police who surprisingly all stayed to fight back with us and lastly, resistance fighters who sprang up from all types of French people who want to help and protect their homes. Some ranging from 15 to 70-year-old civilian volunteers are with us.

In total, that's probably just around 400 Marines with 300 armored and vehicles, 600 British Royal Marines plus 100 tanks, 800 Police/Gign officers, also their armored cars and vehicles. Lastly, around 2,000 French volunteers are poorly equipped and are not trained well enough for head-to-head combat.

Simply in total, that's around forces of 4,100 troops and armor put all together in defense of Paris against 8,000 regular hardened Russian soldiers..... the odds are stacked against us, but we are determined .... we just need to stick together.

I was brought out of my thoughts as I finally saw the C-130 Transport jet land on the runway fully. I was assigned today to pick up Alice Pierce.... world-famous reporter who is going to be attached to us to cover the war..... she is also my best friend and childhood crush.

I got the news this afternoon, maybe about 4 hours ago, that I would be the one to go pick her up. It's a leader's duty to pick up or drop off any personal coming in or out of the unit. Except this time, it's different, I didn't expect to see her so soon. I remember the morning I woke up and peeked into her room, her eyes closed and body peacefully relaxed as she slept. That was the first night she slept through the night, not having any nightmare. I'm not sure how I thought seeing her again would be. Honestly, I wasn't sure I'd see her again with how brutal this war has been, the bloodshed I had seen. This is no place for someone who doesn't know anything, except she isn't just another regular journalist or activist. She's Alice Marie Pierce, a daughter of a Marine, my crush, and most importantly, the strongest woman I have ever seen. The strength she shows just by being here, I don't think any other person would want to go into a war filled country and do a piece on the exact war and area their father had just been announced missing within all just a month.

As the hatches of the plane open, I drive the jeep towards the plane's door. I stopped only a couple of feet from the hatch, which turned into a ramp for passengers to step off from.

That's when I see her.... wind blowing her unruly curly hair to the side, making her look as beautiful as ever. Her hazel eyes widened in astonishment, betraying the depth of her emotions, while her parted lips quivered slightly, as if unable to articulate the whirlwind of thoughts swirling within her. It was as though time itself had halted, suspending us in a moment of shared recognition and unspoken longing. She wore khaki cargo pants with standard civilian black boots with a leather jacket over a plain white t-shirt. She had her sea bag in one hand and a Nikon camera bag and notebook in the other.