Chapter 3 3

Once everything was packed, everyone climbed into the chopper and Sergeant Jake was at the cockpit. As the sun began to rise, I gazed forward into the distance and watched the sky transform into a range of different shades of purples, oranges, and yellows with a very dull stare.

We arrived at the border of Nha Trang, the minute we left the aircraft and continued on foot to the village, I couldn't help but get a sense of how quiet it was. No crickets chirping, no bushes or trees rustling, nothing. Just the sound of our footsteps squelching in the muddy terrain disturbed the silence. It didn't take long for me to smell blood, death, and smoke from what appeared to be abandoned or at least ransacked buildings stretching out for miles in every direction.

"Hello?! Is anybody out there?!" Lieutenant Chris called out.

"What are you doing" Lieutenant Alex nudged him with her elbow.

"Are you trying to give away our location? Because if anyone didn't know we were here, they definitely do now"

Colonel Carter added. He tried to keep her tone hushed, but he still sounded mad nonetheless. Sergeant Jake shot them a glare full of daggers as a way to tell them to keep their fucking mouths shut before we actually do get compromised.

They seemed to pick up on it pretty quickly as their bickering stopped instantly. Suddenly, we could hear loud noises consisting of gunshots, explosions, screams and shouts. We started moving towards it, keeping our guard up as we searched for any of the terrorists that may cross us. Everything falls silent again and the place starts to become eerie.

"This place is a goddamn ghost town! Why aren't people attacking us?!" Private Kai yelled out as he pushed back his black curls out of his eyes, his hands soon gripping tightly onto the straps of his rifle as we moved closer to the source of the commotion we heard moments ago.

"Shhh! They must be hiding somewhere... watching... waiting for us... they most likely heard us come in thanks to your loud mouths."

I suggested in an almost whisper. Private Kai looked around for the source then continued walking along the street, following behind me like my shadow.

As soon as the six of us reached where we thought the gunshots came from, it was obvious that the building wasn't a house, it was an abandoned factory. A building that had been completely destroyed, looks like it has been completely emptied out. The floors were cracked in some places, the concrete walls were crumbling apart and covered in graffiti.

Before I could take in the art, I could hear shuffling from further inside the building, almost as if someone was running. Towards us. I never reached for my .50 GS pistol so quickly before. I waited for them to pass so I'd at least have the advantage of having their back turned before I took the shot the moment I saw a uniform embroidered with the lettering The Resistance in bright yellow thread. A silent and deadly kill. "Nice one, Private Casey."

Lieutenant Chris commented before helping me hide the body behind some pallets that were scattered around the place. I couldn't tell if he was trying to compliment me or if he was being sarcastic as I could've easily compromised us if I missed the shot.

"I say we split up, cover more ground. People are definitely here. Terrorists or hostages. Stay alert."

Lieutenant Alex spoke and we all agreed. It is the best idea as we could easily surround them, evacuate the hostages, and take care of the terrorists once and for all.

We all separated into three groups, pairs. Private Kai and Lieutenant Alex, Lieutenant Chris, and Sergeant Jake, and with my poor luck I'm left with Colonel Carters.

I kept my head down and walked slowly through the ruins, keeping my ears perked out for any sounds of movement that weren't our own. Every step I took felt heavy.

I hated this feeling. I am a soldier, I have been trained to kill and have killed before when I was sent on scout patrol as a young, green Cadet. So why am I feeling like this? I guess it is the fact that we were outnumbered, or is it the lack of intel we have on the situation?

I glanced over to the side and saw Sergeant Jake walking alongside Lieutenant Chris. I could feel my heart wanting to leap out of my chest and my palms becoming sweaty. Soon after, my breaths became short and ragged as I gripped tightly onto my gun to regain a sense of security and take a minute to recompose myself. Something was wrong, I knew it.

This entire mission felt strange the moment we sat together in the debriefing room. This sense of unease continued to linger and continued to make my heart race. This couldn't be good. The longer I clenched my gun, the closer I felt like something big was going to happen. The hairs on the back of my neck began to stand on their ends.

We found a large doorway that leads into pure darkness. The floor creaked loudly from all the fallen debris that we had to walk through. I quickly glanced around and found two bodies. They weren't wearing a uniform of any kind, they were most likely from the group of hostages.

My mind instantly relapsed to the gunshots and screams we heard moments ago... they were their deaths. We weren't fast enough to get to them on time, we didn't save them. I know that I can't save everyone in this world but it still hurt and made me very aware of the time limit that we are on.

Who knows just how many more will die before we do manage to evacuate the hostages and relocate them safely. With that time pressure in mind, my eyes narrowed with determination as I turned to the group.

"Lieutenant Alex, Private Kai. Clear the area, find out if there is anyone else here"

I ordered in a hushed tone and was surprised they listened to me as they followed my instructions. After all, I am just a Private.

While they were doing that, I began to move through the remnants of the factory. The further I went, the quieter everything got. I kept glancing at every inch, around every corner, but I couldn't see any further than a few feet with this darkness. Shivers ran through my entire body and sweat began to form at my brows. I felt cold. The building had completely lost its warmth, meaning that anything living being here was most likely dead. Again I questioned if we really were too late. That is until I heard voices. Voices calling out for mercy. Voices that were pleading for help... but there wasn't a response to their cries.

Soon I heard Colonel Carter through our radio comms.

"Hostages found. Move to my location and assist."

Within minutes, we were all advancing. Then the silence was broken by the sounds of gunshots, we were taking fire, forcing us to take cover around corners and whatever pieces of machinery we could use to shield ourselves. We waited until the shooting stopped before we proceeded and used the darkness to our advantage to stealthily advance further. My grip never left my gun as I moved in with Private Kai and Lieutenant Alex, listening for anything that moved, or even a glimpse at the rebels that fired away while Lieutenant Chris, Colonel Carter, and Sergeant Jake scanned the area for the hostages to extract them safely as planned.

The second I entered the room, I spotted the rebel scum. Five of them.

Judging by their figures, three men, and two women. They all wore black jackets and dark navy pants. Their weapons were held defensively, ready to fire at anything that moved. I watched as their eyes darkened and we began firing at one another.

Neither of us was making any hits to injure or cause lethal damage. I was about to shoot one of them before I realized that I had used up all my ammo. "Shit!" I yelled in pure frustration and simply took cover to hide.

"Hostages obtained! Get yourselves the fuck out of there! Now!"

I heard Sergeant Jake shout through our comms. I turned to Lieutenant Alex and Private Kai and we all exchanged a nod. Private Kai passed me an extra magazine of ammo since I was the better shot out of the two of them and made a quick reload.

"Alright, on 3. You get behind me and run. Ready?" They all shared a nod and I started to count down. "3.2.1."

We all charged out from behind the pallets. They ran. I fired. Our plan of escape failed as my sight was blinded by a smoke bomb. I couldn't see a thing but I fired into the grey abyss aimlessly anyway. I heard Lieutenant Alex and Private Kai's footsteps fade out. I knew they had gotten away unscathed. I tried to follow suit but just as I was at the exit to leave the building.

**BANG!**