You wont be needing that, Martinez yelled over the rumbling of the humvees in the background.

Its just a security patrol. We havent even seen a hostile in days. The flak jacket will just weigh you down, exhaust you and make you sweat like three nuns in the back of a van I laughed at his dumb joke and thought for a second. We really havent seen any action in about a week. Maybe things are dying down. I dont need the extra 35 pounds of weight while walking around, let alone the extra heat factor. Better safe than sorry though, I thought as I put it on, smirking at Martinez for not listening to him. Youre gonna be the one regretting it when you get shot in the back for running away like the coward you are, Martinez! I yelled back at him Hey, fuck you! Id be running trying to catch up with you to get your sorry ass back on the frontlines! he said, laughing. Alright, shut up and get your rifle private. I said as I finished fastening the armor. I grabbed my M4A1 and my 9MM along with two magazines for each, and walked over to the gate awaiting orders.

First Lieutenant Dillard stood up on the cross sections of our fortifications. Listen up! Today were I cant tell you what he said after that. Mission briefing is always classified. But what I can tell you is that it was a normal security patrol from point A to point B. No mission objectives, no HVTs, nothing. So when I say fall out, fall out, grab your gear and form up with your squad to get ready to move out. Well be leaving at 0950. Delta, form up by the Humvee. Well go over our orders in a second. As a lance corporal, I was in charge of my own squad, consisting of four people including myself Private First Class Alonzo Martinez, Private Carl Rodgers, and Private Gabriel Jones. These three people trusted me with their lives, and I trusted each one of them with mine. I would gladly give my life to save any one of these three men. We went over our orders while meeting some of the men from the Army that wed be operating with. We double checked our gear Rifles, armor, canteens and radios. Everything was good and we had a green light from Command. I looked down at my watch as we left, and it read 1009. A little behind but nothing major. It was going to just be another normal security patrol of this barren wasteland.

We were about 40 miles out from FOB Delaram, the Marine Corps forward operating base in this sector. We came across a small town, with a market right in the middle. The roads were blocked off by cement road blocks which immediately sent up a red flag in my head. The Humvees stopped and everyone who wasnt assigned to them hopped out, which was standard procedure. My squad and I hopped out and met up with Sergeant Charles Murphy.

Has this town always been blocked off, Sarge? I asked while adjusting my BDU. The heat was making me sweat which was already starting to make everything even itchier than it already was. Last time, we rolled through without any blockage at all. Yeah, command said the same thing and said to advise caution. We are to proceed on though. Well just go around. Spread the word, and were going to get mobile again, he said. You heard him. Go tell the other squads. Martinez, come with me. Were going to the head of the convoy to inform them, I said while motioning him towards me. We started walking towards the front of the convoy, but something seemed off. The town was still. There were only about five people in the market. No sounds other than the occasional dog bark. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Martinez, and his head was constantly on a pivot, scanning every single building like I was. I couldnt put my finger on it, but the longer we waited here, the worse the feeling got. This seem weird to you, Marquardt? Martinez said from my right, breaking the eerie silence. I dont like this at all. Sitting here, all in a line.. Were like sitting ducks, waiting for something to happen. We need to move. Soon. His eyes never rested on one spot for long. He scanned every rooftop, every door, every crevice. While I didnt like what he was saying, I felt the same way. I just couldnt show fear. I couldnt show weakness. Dont worry, we just have to wait for Murph to get everyone back in the Humvees and well be gone. Were just going to go around the town instead of through it. Quit being such a puss, I said, trying to lighten the mood. aye, shut the fuck up. Im serious man. This shit is worrying me, no joke. As he said this, I looked at his face, and Ill never forget the look. Fear, plain as day on his face. He wasnt kidding when he said it bothered him, and it mustve have really been stressing him out. There was blood coming from one of his fingernails where he mustve bitten it too far. Its alright, Martinez. Relax. Were almost out of here, I said while putting my hand on his shoulder trying to relieve him of at least a little stress. We kept walking in silence for a minute, and we approached the head Humvee on my left. I slapped the trucks ass as I walked by. Hey! Candelle! I yelled trying to get the lead engineers attention. GET DOWN! someone yelled from behind me, but it was too late. Just like that my day took a turn for the worse. It went from a boring patrol of a dull desert to the most intense couple of hours of my life.

Everything flashed in front of me, and I was blown off my feet and flew a few feet back. Then everything went black. I couldnt move, I couldnt see, I couldnt hear. All I could do was lay there. I managed to push myself back up onto my knees, then back up to my feet. I couldnt walk though. My ears were ringing, my eyes were burning. I slowly bent over and wiped the warm liquid that quickly flowed down my face. I tried to open my eyes, but couldnt.

I had no idea what happened, but my body couldnt handle it and wanted to just shut down right then and there. Light started to flood back into my eyes. I forced myself to stand back up, and almost instantly the ringing in my ears was replaced by the chaos that ensued The bullets whizzing by, the explosions and the yelling, all disorienting me even worse. My eyes slammed open, and I realized my goggles were shattered. I ripped them off my face right as Martinez grabbed me and pulled me into cover behind one of the cement blockades that stopped us in the first place. I didnt understand what happened. I couldnt. I was shell shocked. Colin! Marquardt!! Martinez yelled at my face while shaking my shoulders. Are you okay?! Can you hear me? Your eye is fucked up, can you see? he was yelling over the sound of gunfire and explosions. And instantly, I snapped back into reality. The reality of putting my life on the line for the country. Every servicemans worst night mare was now my reality. Yeah, I can see fine out of my right eye. Fuck! I think Im blind in my left, I cant see anything, I said while trying to cover my right eye and see out of my left. I felt warm blood ooze into my eye. I slammed it closed, giving up trying to look through it. Hows the bleeding look? Its pretty bad, not gonna bullshit you. We need to move, were vulnerable here. Cover me, Im going to move to the Humvee, grab my rifle on the way, and check for survivors. Got it! Martinez yelled as he peaked over the concrete barrier and returned fire. I ran from the blockade back onto the road. I dipped down and grabbed my rifle on my way. A few scratches and chips taken out of the finish, but still fully functional. I pulled the action back and was ready to fire. I kept running towards the twisted wreck of a Humvee and once I got there, it was clear there was no one to save. The Humvee took a rocket to the front, and instantly exploded spraying oil and gas all over the inside and outside, and ignited. The screams I heard coming from the inside will never leave my mind. It lasted for what seemed like minutes, the men inside slowly burning to death. I checked my rifle one last time and fired a shot to make sure it was still good. I yelled for Martinez and motioned to the nearest building where there were a group of hostiles. I peeked above the wreckage and multiple bullets whizzed by my head. I ducked back down, clenching my eye from the pain and letting a few select words loose. I popped up and let off a few shots from my rifle at where the shots came from. A tango popped his head over the ledge on a building to the left, and I immediately turned and fired. It took four rounds until I met my mark, the round hitting him in the chin. Blood sprayed from his head, and a cloud of pink mist exploded, blowing brain matter and blood all over the wall behind him. My heart dropped. While this wasnt the first life I had taken, there is no amount of training in the world that can prepare you to take a life. Doesnt matter if its the first kill, or your 50th, it hurts just

as much every time. Its hard to live with that fact that you have taken Gods greatest gift to man away. The fact that somewhere now theres one more family that will never see their husband or brother or father. One more child will be orphaned. One more father will have to bury his son. Another tango popped up right next to where the other one was. Two shots were fired at him, the first slamming into the wall behind him, blowing a chunk of cement off, and the second hit has shoulder, blowing him backwards and knocking him off his feet. As soon as I saw impact I got up and ran back to where Martinez was. I dove from a few yards out, sliding a little too far and hitting Alonzo, knocking him off over into the dirt. He got up with a crazed look in his eyes, brushing himself off. The fuck, dude?! Come on! Be more careful, this isnt the time to fuck around! he yelled. He held eye contact with me as I started to smirk. He shook his head, grabbed his rifle and backed up against the barricade again. Shut the fuck up. Quit being so butt hurt, I can barely see right now, I said as I rolled over and got back into a squatting position. Look, we need to move from this position into a more secure overlook. If we can get into a second story of a building, like that one I said pointing to one of the eastern-most buildings with two fingers, then we can get a good overlook of the fight and set up a good crossfire with any remaining soldiers. Got it. When are we mo he said as he went to look at me. I had already started to move out, since the noise had died down, and there was gun fire at a different part of the town. I took about three long, quick strides and was riddled with bullets, screaming past my head and hitting the ground next to me. I quickly turned around and ran back to Martinez behind cover. Hey mother fucker, I said fucking cover me while I moved out! You could have just gotten me killed, dick head! I yelled at him while I popped over the cover and fired off a few rounds toward the general area the bullets came from. You think I can hear you one hundred percent with this? he yelled back as I ducked back down to reload my rifle. He turned his head and pointed at his ears. There was blood dripping down from his ears, clearly a popped eardrum, at least. Jesus, were a fucking mess. Have you seen or heard from any of the other squads? Where is everyone else? We cant be the last people. I said while scanning backwards to where everything happened. My eye burned worse than it had before. I must have gotten dust or dirt in it when I was running, or diving behind cover. I tried wiping it to clear it or any other debris from it. It didnt cross my mind to make sure that the piece of cloth I pulled out to wipe it was clean, and wiped it anyways. When I wiped it, I felt my eyelid pull down farther and the slice tore even further. I screamed out in pain. I have never felt worse pain in my life, but knew that if we dont get out of here soon it could be much worse.

After a minute of holding my eye, trying to clear the pain, I continued scanning the convoy. The five Humvees were still there, remaining in their perfect line. The first Humvee was a pile of twisted metal, still on fire like a forest inferno. I canned around them and counted somewhere around six bodies. I stared at them for any signs of life. After a long few seconds, I gave up and started to look away. As I was turning my head, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. My head quickly jolted back as I saw someone raise their arm partially. My heart split. Someone was still alive, and had survived through all the chaos and the wreckage. But should I risk myself to possibly save someone who might be pretty much already dead? The answer seemed crystal clear in my head Yes. I hit Martinezs shoulder and yelled Cover me while I go grab this guy and bring him into cover, while motioning towards his direction. I gripped my rifle. Im about to risk my life to try and save someone whose wounds might kill him in a matter of minutes anyways. But were all brothers Brothers in arms. He would do the same for me if the roles were reversed. I heard the click of a magazine entering a rifle, and the sound of the first round being forwarded into the chamber. My heart sped up. Alonzo and I made eye contact, and I nodded. Time paused for a moment. Covering fire! Go! yelled Martinez as he popped out from cover and returned fire at the enemy. Almost instantly, instincts took over and I pushed off against the barricade. I ran back towards where the survivor lay, as fast and hard as possible. Time was not my friend right now. The longer I was out here in the open, the higher the chances of being shot were. I ran faster and harder, pushing myself to the limit. When I was about ten yards away, a bullet smacked into the ground less than a foot from my boot. My body instantly jerked left, without me even making the conscious decision to. Rounds whirled past me in all directions, getting closer and closer. I need to move faster. I cant keep dodging bullets. Two yards, one yard I slid up next to him and checked him for wounds. My hand ran all over his chest, nothing. Moved my hand to his arms still nothing. My hand was running down his leg when it hit a sharp metal piece of shrapnel protruding from his thigh. He screamed out in pain and I looked down at his face. Everything around me died out, as if time came to a halt. Everything was quiet except for the ringing in my ears. I couldnt believe my eyes at first. I wanted to blink and awaken from this dream. Shit Reeves, youre doing good man. Just keep hanging in there, Im going to get your out of here, I said to him, trying to reassure him and give him some hope. Something anything to hold on to. His wound was covered in blood, soaking his BDUs in a dark, reddish brown. His skin was pale, there wasnt a single bit of color to it. His lips were blue, and spit had built up in the corner of this mouth. He had already been in shock and was clearly losing the fight. The

shrapnel must have pierced his leg and severed the femoral artery. My hope in saving him was slowly diminishing, but I couldnt let him know. Come on, Im going to have to move you to safety. Just hang in there, bud. Youre doing fine. I slung my rifle over my shoulder and grabbed him by the straps on his flak jacket, and started pulling. I had a good forty to fifty yards to get back into cover. Gabriel wasnt a big guy, weighing around 150 pounds. But it was the flak jacket, a good forty-five pounds, and another twenty or so pounds of gear and equipment that made it seem like I was dragging a tank. I yanked and pulled, but the dirt was deep and slowing me down. Gentle was out of the question. PING! I felt a huge thud slam against my helmet, and I instantly hit the floor. My heart didnt beat, my lungs didnt breathe. Was I dead? My eyes were clenched and my hands were covering my head. I was lying in the dirt next to Reeves, and I heard Martinez yelling at me. My eyes opened, and I felt my helmet. The fabric was town and there was a dent in the metal. I just drew the winning lottery card. I will never be so lucky again in my life. I wont get another chance. Martinez had ran to me and was hitting my back, making sure I was okay. You better not have fucking died on my watch! Get the fuck up, or Im carrying you! Martinez yelled while still hitting my back. Multiple rounds went flying by, but Martinez didnt flinch. Right now my life mattered more to him than his own. I checked my helmet one last time, making sure I was okay. I couldnt believe what had just happened. If I was an inch higher, the round would have made solid contact and possibly penetrated my helmet. Yeah, I responded finally. The bullet just grazed my helmet. I think. I hope. I jumped back up to my feet instantly, still in shock. But now wasnt the time to stand around. Hey, help me drag him back to cover. Youre one lucky son of a bitch, Marquardt. Sure. You grab his right side. Who is he said as he looked down. Fuck man Are you kidding? Martinez said with his voice shaking. How serious is it, Colin? Serious I said and looked Martinez in the eye while dragging Reeves. The look on Alonzos face was heart wrenching. Fear. His eyes were tearing up. The realization that this could have been anyone of us, including him, just set in. I looked back down at Reeves, Its going to be alright. Just hang in there buddy. He didnt respond. His eyes were glazed over. He was staring at the sky, with absolutely no skin color at all. I looked up at Martinez. His eyes were completely filled up with pain. When he blinked, his eyes were at their maximum capacity, and overflowed. The single tear streamed down his face, clearing a clean path of skin, erasing the dust and dirt like clearing a line on a full board of chalk. I looked down and behind Reeves. There was a trail of dark red blood that started to turn a brownish color under the Afghanistan sun.

We finished dragging him behind the concrete barrier. Not a word was said for a minute. We just sat there, still in shock about losing one of our squad mates. A single tear built up in my left eye and I blinked, clearing it. My left eye was still on fire, a pain worse than ever imaginable, but that tear seemed to have made the pain stop, even if only for a brief second. I covered my right eye to see if I had recovered any little bit of vision yet. Nothing. Still a black screen covering my field of vision. I wiped at it, and noticed the amount of blood was considerably less. Good, I thought to myself. Anymore blood loss and the side effects would have started kicking in. I need all my wits about me if I expect to live through this. Look Theres nothing we can do for him now, I said, moving my rifle back to my chest in the ready position. I checked the mag, and had about seventeen rounds left. I put the magazine back in, and forwarded one to the chamber. We need to get moving. We cant stay here. I still cant believe this, man, Martinez said, rubbing his eyes back to their dry state. What do you think our chances are, Marquardt. And dont bullshit me. Right now? We dont have a chance. As far as I know, we could be the last people alive, but sitting here is only hurting us even more. If we can get into a building, preferably the second floor, we could set up a cross fire and keep an eye out for any other survivors. That would greatly increase our odds. Lets do this, then. He grabbed his rifle and pulled back the action, ready to fire. You go first, Ill cover you. I looked Martinez in the eye and nodded my head. Once again, Im about to run out into the open, attracting fire from all sides. Its a good 90 yards to the building, but with adrenaline its more like 40. I looked down at my rifle. I wouldnt have time to fire, and carrying it in my arms would only slow me down. I have to keep moving, as fast I can. I threw it over my back, making sure the strap was nice and tight so it didnt swing freely while I ran. I unbuttoned the clip to my combat knife, ready for any trouble that may come once I make it through the door in that building. I put my hand on Martinezs shoulder, looking him dead in the eyes. Good luck, brother. Wait for my signal once I get in the building. Then Ill move to the second floor and cover you as you run towards me. You better move your ass though once that signal is given. No hesitation, I said, trying not to show the fear that was building inside of me. Entry and clearing of a building is hard enough with a squad and now Ill be doing it on my own. With no back up. On your mark, Martinez replied, breaking eye contact. He knew what this meant, and no matter how hard I tried to mask my uncertainty, he could still sense every single bit of it. He knew the odds were against me against us. Ready? I turned to my left and pulled out my Beretta 92FS, our standard issue ninemillimeter pistol. Quicker for close range, easier to run with. My heart was beating so fast,

pumping the healthy red blood cells and platelets all over my body, mixed with adrenaline my newly addicting survival drug. As I was about to say go, a bullet screamed by my, smacked the ground behind me. My heart dropped. Am I sure about this? Doesnt matter anymore. Go!

I came barreling out from behind the concrete blockade. I tried running faster than I should have, which ended up throwing me off balance and slowing me down. I was leaning too far forward, I was too top heavy. I readjusted my position and leaned up and turned a bit to the right. I was at a full sprint, holding my breath. 20 years had already passed in an instant. A bullet whirled past my head, causing my heart to skip a beat. I cant stop, no matter what. If I turn around, Im dead. If I panic, Im dead. The only way is forward now. I kept running. Martinez was letting off rounds left and right, providing good cover fire, but not enough. Bullets were riddling past me, like a carnival game. 40 yards left. I wasnt watching where I was going, my eye was fixated only on the door. 30 yards. Everything was going fine until all of a sudden my foot landed on a rock and twisted, throwing me off balance. I tried catching myself with my other foot, but I couldnt. It was too late. Pain shot up my foot, through my ankle and into my shin as I tucked and rolled, bracing for impact. I landed on my right shoulder, my rifle breaking my fall. I hit the ground, and rolled twice completely, then using my momentum rolled back onto my feet. The strap on my rifle had broke and my rifle was laying in the dirt behind me, but I couldnt go back. I kept sprinting towards the door, pistol in hand. The firing behind me had stopped, but I couldnt look back now There was no time. 10 yards, 5 yards I was white knuckling my pistol. The wooden door was all that stood between me and safety, but there was a catch. There was no telling who or what was in there, but I had no option. I threw myself at the door, completely leaving the ground. As I hit the door, the whole door caved in, shattering itself off the rusty hinges. As I was falling through the door frame, I noticed two tangos who I had caught off guard. The first had been sitting in a chair leaned against the wall. As I hit the ground, I let off four rounds while moving back up to my feet. The first one smacked against the wall behind him, ricocheting across the room. The last three made clear contact with his torso before he even got his rifle out. I quickly turned around to eliminate the other target, but he had reacted quicker than the other and was already running at me. I only got one round off out of pure fear, which completely missed, before he tackled me, knocking the gun out of my hand. His momentum overpowered mine, taking me to the ground. He had landed on top of me, and several of his hits had made contact with my face, including one to my already messed up eye. I froze in pain, my body instantly set into shock. I tried wrestling back, and pushing him off, but my body was working against me. He outweighed me, and easily over powered me. My body

was going more and more limp, until finally my arms couldnt hold themselves up. I was bested. He wrapped his hands around my neck, shouting something in his language that I couldnt understand. Everything was fading to black. My life was flashing before my eyes. This was it. This is how it all ends. I failed my men. I failed myself. Everything went silent.

Blackness surrounded me, a comforting silence amidst the chaos. An overpowering noise was slowly building from far away and was quickly heading towards me. It grew louder and louder, as if it were waves crashing on a rocky shoreline the sound of an ever-violent ocean. The noise continued to grow until there was no noise at all. It was quiet again for what seemed like an eternity until suddenly Boom! There was a sound louder than thunder. My eyes slammed open, and my body jolted up, pushing the hostile off me and over to the side. I was hacking and coughing my lungs out, remembering the sweet taste of oxygen. The light flooded into my eyes, but was too bright at first. Before I could even think, out of instinct, I was on my feet and had fired six rounds into the hostile. When I finally came back to full awareness, I was sitting in the corner with my hands on my head, elbows on my knees and weaponless. Martinez had been sitting there trying to talk to me for a solid minute, snapping and yelling my name, and smacking my face. But I wasnt able to respond until now. Marquardt! Hey! Its okay now. Come back, man, Martinez was saying, patting my shoulder. My eyes snapped directly to his. I lowered my hands down from my head, letting them hang limp from my elbows on my knees. I died. I was dead. How am I still here? What happened? I asked, clearly still in shock. Well, after you moved out I was covering you until I saw you eat shit and lose your rifle. I reloaded my rifle and ran after you. I tried yelling at you, and tried getting your attention. I wanted you to wait up at the door so I could help you breach and clear, but you didnt hear or respond. I grabbed your rifle as I was running, and as I looked up you were already crashing through the door. I ran as fast as I could, and heard several shots. Then it got quiet. Really quiet. AS I came through the door, that fucker was on top of you, choking you out. I saw your hands drop as I pulled up my rifle. I popped him twice, once in the head, and you jumped up and pumped him full of lead. You okay? Lets just sit here and rest for a few. We picked a good building theres only one entrance. As he was talking, my heart rate was becoming more and more stable, my thoughts were becoming clear and the coughing had subsided. I died, I thought to myself. But now Im
back. It isnt my time. Im not dying here. Give me my rifle. Lets move upstairs, I said as I stuck out my hand, motioning for my rifle. And Martinez? Thank you. I owe you my life.

He handed me my rifle with a small grin slowly building on his face. Lets not start keeping track of how much you owe me. I dont think either of us can count that high. I grabbed my rifle with my right hand, and set it to the side of me. I looked down, and brought my left hand up to brace for one last, huge cough. As soon as I went to cough, there was a thunderous roar, and my face was sprayed with a warm substance. My head jumped up as Martinezs limp body crashed into mine. I looked behind him, and there was a hostile holding a small pistol. I yelled at the top of my lungs, out of both anger and sorrow, and brought up my rifle and fired it, wrapping my arms around Martinezs lifeless corpse to grip the rifle. I fired my whole clip into him, still holding the trigger as I ran out, the rifles hammer clicking, hitting an nonexistent firing pin. This couldnt be happening, I thought to myself. This isnt real. I grabbed Martinezs body and laid it down next to me. Im still unconscious. Wake up, Colin. Wake up, God damn it!! I said, hitting my head. Wake the fuck up! No.. No no no This Martinez? Its going to be okay. Youre going to be okay. Just wake up, buddy, I said, tapping him. Red blood was still pouring out of his fresh wound, soaking his uniform. The bullet had went straight through his throat. His eyes were wide open. Glazed over. Staring straight into my soul. Alonzo. Wake up, buddy. Its fine, I started shaking him softly. Alonzo. Get the fuck up. Youre fine. You cant leave me, you cant be hurt, my voice was shaking, cracking. I was hysterical. Tears were streaming down my face, clearing his blood from it. I started shaking him violently. Alonzo! Get up! Youre fine! Get up now! Alonzo I was shaking, tears were falling and my heart had stopped. I couldnt believe it. I wiped the tears from my face, and looked at my hands. They were covered in blood his blood. I rubbed at my face, scrubbing and scratching his blood off, scraping at it, yelling. I took my helmet off and threw it as hard as I could against the wall. I picked up my rifle, and ran over to the hostile that killed Martinez and bashed his head in multiple times with my rifle. Swing after swing, becoming more and more hysterical, sobbing harder and harder. I bashed and swung and kicked and punched until his skull was no longer solid. Brain matter, blood and skull fragments lay in a pool on the floor. I couldnt breathe. I couldnt think. I couldnt live.