Memories

Author's Note: A couple thanks on this one. I have been writing these stories from the experiences of single games. Colonel xBoss gave me the idea to pull from a group of games. Thanks. My good friend Terry is the other character in this story. We always play together and I have no doubts that he would be there for me if this really happened. Enjoy and thanks for reading.

21:00 Local time
3/15/10
United States Military Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq
Sgt. Terry Leigh Callsign: Infliction
 
     The room emitted a soft multicolored glow. The constant chirp of the medical equipment was relaxing in it's own way. His friend lay in a peaceful sleep unlike anything they had experienced in the last 5 months. Terry wondered if his friend and captain would make it. He's a stubborn bastard,Terry thought. The men had been through a living hell together. This should be a walk in the park compared to the events that led them to this point.
 
They say you never hear the bullet that takes your life. He heard this one. The sound of a thousand screams filled the air as the rocket...
 
     The first mission they ever went on together sealed their trust and friendship forever. They were deployed to Kandahar to put down the first insurrection. It was enough to know what his friend was capable of. Fate had laid it out in the first orders he gave to the squad.

"Don't die on me. To much damn paperwork."

     The two men had worked their way through the raging storm that day without a scratch. Fate moved like liquid through a crack; neutralizing any threat that was near by. Their silenced weapons brought death with scary effectiveness. Harriers, helicopters and Predator drones filled the air at the captain's orders. He saved my life that day, Terry thought. 

     They were working their way toward the embassy when Fate slammed him to the ground. THWACK. Dust flew into the air as a single bullet buried itself into the concrete over head. His captain mouthed one word. Sniper. Fate popped smoke in the general direction of the shot. They ran forward to the next piece of cover and used a mirror to peak. It was promptly shot. Terry lobbed a flashbang and they sprinted to the base of the sniper's building. Fate gave him the signal to fire his M203 Grenade Launcher. Debris rained down on them. Followed shortly by pieces of the sniper's body.

      He didn't die and there was no paperwork. We survived, Terry thought as the hospital room came back into focus. All the while Fate lay unmoving.

Gunfire rattled in the night. Muzzle flashes lit the sky with a staccato of red/orange fire. The walls of the office complex were crumbling around them in withering gunfire. He raised his rifle and opened fire...

     Terry thought about the time they had been called in to ambush a Spetznaz base. The enemy had control of the Sub Base in Russia. Command had designated two high priority target areas. If they were able to destroy one of these sites it would cripple the enemy in that region.

     The water was freezing as they approached sea side. Three two man teams split off on their designated routes. Fate and Terry took the left flank. Again, as on previous missions, Fate moved like a lightening strike. He knifed one unaware soldier and double tapped another. Fate motioned for Terry to take point. They moved on carving a silent bloody path to their target. Terry set the charges as Fate stood watch. A flash of movement in the corner of his eye caused him to drop the charge, swing around and throw his knife by his captain and kill the enemy soldier attempting to ambush them. Now, they were even.

     His friend's breath came with shallow irregularity. He watched his chest rise and fall under the hospital blanket. Everything was so clean. They hadn't been this clean in months. If he lived they wouldn't be this clean again for a while.

He laughed loudly at Terry's unease. You would think that after dodging bullets, rockets and grenades he would be at ease talking to a couple women. Soldiers were a fickle bunch; you never knew what would make their skin itch. In the end though he trusted his friend with his life... and that was all that mattered...

     Terry dozed and slipped into the nightmare again. He had been separated from Fate moments earlier. The alley split and they had to check both flanks. He double clicked his mic to confirm all clear. Silence. Advancing, he peeked in a window just in time to see Fate slit the throat of the enemy. From a darkened corner of the room came a shout, followed swiftly by the cracking sound of an AK-47. Terry took aim as Fate dropped and rolled. He shot the man, distorting his face into a bloody indistinguishable mass. Fate gave him the thumbs up. Then he heard it. The rocket slammed through the doorway just as he ducked. The explosion rocked the ground. He looked back into the room at the destruction. Fate lay at odd angles against a wall bleeding. Filled with rage Terry exploded from the alley firing on anything that moved. He threw grenades, emptied his clip, and fired his Thumper, demolishing the men around him. The building where his friend was began to crumble. No man left behind, Terry thought.

     He ran in and grabbed his friend and captain. He ran without stopping to the extraction point. Fate was barely alive, but he had to make it. They wouldn't beat him. They couldn't beat him. The medics went to work instantly as they flew to the hospital. Terry willed him to live.

     A rustling across the room woke him. Fate was stirring. This was the first time he had moved under his own power since the disaster two weeks ago. He rose and walked over to the bed. Drain tubes ran from his chest, IV lines flowed into him and oxygen breathed life into him. His friend, the man, the soldier, opened one fierce eye at him. Fate raised his arm half way, clinched his fist, and gave him a thumbs up...

"Don't die on me," Terry said, "To much damn paperwork."