Word count: 3.7k

Chewing at my lip, my eyes followed Ghost and Soap's silhouettes running off. Shaking my head and sighing softly, my feet began to moved quickly under my frame, quickly catching up to them, my boots splashing against small puddles of deep, red blood. The village was decorated with the corpses of fallen cartel members, fallen AQ soldiers, fallen Los Vaqueros. Alejandro was right, the streets of Las Almas were undoubtably laced with death. The three of our guns were raised high, firing endless rounds of shots into anybody who dared to block our path. Just about anywhere we ran through was drenched in a sea of red, the smell of iron hung thickly in air, so much so I could almost taste its metallic nature on my tongue. The further we went, the loud ringing of gunfire continued to exemplify.  

The three of us worked well together, guarding each other's sixes, taking out enemies in either one of our blindspots, like a well oiled machine. We were a team. After running for a few more moments, weaving through crumpled buildings and narrow alleyways, Alejandro and his men came into view. My eyes fell to his fingers clicking on his comms, probably saying something important to the rest of us. This must be my karma, of course, I smashed up my fucking earpiece, why the hell did I even do that? Everyone nodded their heads in return, looking around at one another. My eyebrows furrowed as I approached Alejandro, wanting to receive some sort of clarification, but he had already turned on his heel, sprinting between a clearing of two cobblestone walls.

My eyes widened as I followed him alongside the rest of the team, the edge of a mountain ridge as our trail. Well, here's my second dose of fucking karma, I'm horrified of heights and here I am, running down the outskirt of a three hundred plus foot drop. "Down the hill! We'll lose them in the mountains," Alejandro yelled out, looking behind at the rest of us for a moment before turning his head back around again. At least I was able to get that vital piece of information. The world fell away directly to my left, the expanse of open space stretching deep into the valleys below was almost dizzying. 

The wind ruffled my clothes and hair as I continued to progress forward, trying to keep my body as stable as humanly possible. The soft soil beneath me became more sparse until my feet were left smashing against the rough and rocky terrain. The scent of pine and gunpowder filled my nose, I'd take that smell over the dead body iron smell over any day of the week. Every stride I took was a calculated risk, one wrong turn or misstep, and I'd be flying off the edge of the damn mountain. My eyes remained focused on the ground, side stepping out of the way of rocks, leaping over fallen branches, and barely managing not to trip over my own feet. "Straight to the bridge!" Alejandro ordered from in front of us. Are you serious? A bridge? This is my own personal hell. Maybe I did get hit with that bullet.

Following closely behind Alejandro, my eyes bulged as I watched him begin to jump down steep jagged edges of rock the further we went. Groaning loudly, I repeated the same process, managing to keep my footing, truly defying all odds. The fact I didn't topple over and my bust my ass into a trillion pieces was nothing short of amazing. Nervously, I continued to leap off the steep rocks, mimicking Alejandro's motions as best I could. My eyes flicked back at Soap for the briefest second, making sure he was doing alright. Then came my third dose of karma smacking me right in the face. Literally. As I turned my head back around, a tree branch that appeared quite literally out of nowhere slapped me in my face. Cursing loudly, I shook off the stabbing pain and continued to run forward.

As if it couldn't get any worse, bullets began to fly in our direction from behind. The pained grunt of a Los Vaqueros soldier echoed through my ears, I was too busy trying to not turn into human Swiss cheese to figure out who it was. Quickly, I began to weave through towering, thick trees and dense underbrush in a zig zag pattern, doing my best to outsmart the bullet's owners. "Cover!" Alejandro called out loudly as he bent down, grabbing one of his injured comrades, Rodriguez, and dragging him behind a large, weathered rock. The man quickly stood up like a fucking champ, "I was only hit in my back plate, I'm good," he muttered through gritted teeth before sprinting off again.

Alejandro nodded before yelling out, "We gotta move, let's go!" Thank God he wasn't using his earpiece and is instead just screaming out orders, I would've been dropped to the floor like a big ass sack of potatoes if I had no idea what was happening. All of us continued hurtle down the rugged slopes in a heart pounding sprint. Imagery of the towering peaks, and vast valleys surrounding us was actually very beautiful, and I would've probably enjoyed it a lot more if I wasn't currently running for my life. Soap glanced over at Alejandro, "You know these trails?" he asked, narrowly avoiding fallen rocks in his path. "Very well... but so does the army," Alejandro replied in a grim tone, his lips pulling to the side. Ghost sped up next to me, his eyes darting toward Alejandro, "We can't hold off an army, we need extraction," he grunted.

Alejandro glanced over at Ghost for a second, still carefully running in and out of different obstacles taking form as trees and rocks. "Llamar para extracto (Call for extract)," Alejandro ordered at Rodriguez, looking back at him before returning his focus back to ragged terrain. Rodriguez nodded his head, clicking a button on his comms. As we continued our way forward,  we were yet again met with bursts of gunfire shooting in our direction from behind. "Contact!" Ghost yelled before finding cover behind a large, light grey boulder. "Fucking great," I growled to myself before diving behind a tree, my back pressed against the rough bark.

After reloading my gun, I turned my body to peer out from the tall pine, steadily trying to aim it at the hidden threats lurking in the thick greenery. Gunfire began to hail down at us from every direction, a deafening bang rang out in my ears as a bullet buried itself deep into the tree mere inches away from my head, creating a fresh, splintered scar as shattered wood fragments and bark scattered around my feet like shrapnel. Instantly, I shrunk back into cover, my heart racing wildly in my chest. Fuck. This. Shit.

Taking a few deep calming breaths, psyching myself up again, I aimed out my rifle from behind the wood, peering through the scope as I sent out shots at every soldier I could see, their bodies dropping left and right. The sound of my heartbeat thrummed harshly in my ears, the hushed chatter of Los Vaqueros and my Task Force talking behind me drowning out because of it. After a few moments, I noticed that nobody was near me anymore. With furrowed eyebrows, I took a look over my shoulder, seeing everybody fucking else hidden behind different rocks. You have got to be kidding me.  

The Mexican army began to run through the trees, quickly closing in on my position. Gunfire was erupting from both sides, meanwhile my stupid ass was directly in the middle of it. My eyes darted back to Alejandro and everyone else, they all looked at me like I was a psychopath. Rolling my eyes, I pointed at my ear, the ear that was supposed to have an earpiece in it. They all grimaced in return before refocusing their attention back to the firefight. I had about 10 seconds before my position would be compromised and my body parts would decorate the forest like a fucked up Christmas tree.

Biting at my lips nervously, I made a split second decision, turning my body around, I started to sprint toward everybody else, praying I'd manage to make it without getting shot in the process. Ghost's eyes widened as he watched me do the stupidest shit he'd probably ever witnessed. Much to my dismay, he began to cover me, taking down the soldiers who had their guns aimed at my body ready to shoot. Bullets whizzed past my frame as I launched myself upwards, diving behind a rock. My face smacked against the dirt and I groaned loudly. This has just been so fucking peachy hasn't it. "Are you gonna help or just sit there with dirt on your fuckin' face?" Ghost growled at me. My eyes narrowed down at him as I picked up my rifle and began to shoot, muttering curses under my breath.

Many bullets later, the surge of soldiers began to stop, and their numbers dwindled. After the last one dropped to the floor, bleed leaking from his wounds as death overtook him, Ghost turned toward Alejandro, "We clear?" He asked as his fingers worked quick, reloading his rifle. Alejandro nodded his head and motioned to the trails, "For now, they'll be more. Vamos," he replied before turning on his heel, making his way down the mountain. Jesus Christ, how long is this trip down the mountain going to last? My thighs were burning in protest as I followed behind closely everybody else.

After a few minutes of never ending running, Alejandro looked back at Rodriguez, "Cualquier palabra de Rodolfo (Any word from Rodolfo)?" He asked, loading a new round of bullets into his gun. We were really beginning to low run on ammo, usually a knife would be fine, but not when you have an entire army on your ass. "No, perdimos las comunicaciones (No, we lost comms)," Rodriguez replied, his eyes veiled with intensity. Looking between them I realized whatever they just said definitely wasn't the most awesome sounding conversation. "Puta... let's keep it moving, through here," Alejandro stated, taking a sharp left turn.

The clear confusion on Ghost, Soap, and my face must've been pretty noticeable, well maybe not Ghost considering the stupid mask covering his most of his head. It really only took one look back at the three of us to quickly clarify what him and Rodriquez were talking about, "The mountain's blocking our comms," he quickly explained, giving a small nod in our direction before whipping his head back around, his feet moving insanely fast beneath him. "Was your man still able to get the call out?" Ghost asked, catching up to Alejandro. "Let's hope so," he muttered, glancing over at Ghost for a second. After the shit storm that has been today, I wouldn't even be slightly shocked if the call didn't go through.

As we approached a much steeper and gravelly part of the mountain, Alejandro held his gun to his chest, dropping his legs down before sliding down the slope, popping up again the minute his soles hit solid ground, no doubt getting tiny rocks shoved into the skin of his ass and thighs. My eyebrows furrowed as I watched Soap do the same thing, followed by Ghost and Rodriguez. This wasn't part of my damn training. Shaking my head, I tried to mimic the same movements which only resulted in me tumbling down the gravel, small fucking pebbles getting lodged everywhere you can possibly imagine. And I mean everywhere. Cursing inwardly, I yanked myself upright, trying to brush off as many rocks as I could before giving up. Growling under my breath, I made my way forward once again.

"What's the plan?" Soap asked, running up closer to Alejandro. More short cliffs came into view, and instead of avoiding them or finding a safer way around them like regular people, Alejandro just started leaping down each one, somehow managing to not crash into the ground. My eyes widened, I've already smacked into the dirt and rocks a thousand times today, what's one more? As gracefully as I could possibly be, I began to jump off the mini cliffs, my feet landing harshly against the rough terrain beneath me. "There's a bridge at the end of the river. Extraction will be there," Alejandro replied, continuing to run off.

Thankfully managing not to bust my ass, I quickly follow behind him, my breathing becoming increasingly labored by the second. God, I would kill for a decent taco right about now. Groaning softly, I kept running forward, avoiding obstacles in my path narrowly. Because there can never be a second of peace in our journey, a fucking missile collided with a tree directly in front of us, the shockwaves from the impact almost knocking me off my feet. My eyes widened and suddenly I didn't feel as tired anymore. "Contact! RPG!" Ghost yelled out. Oh really captain obvious? Thanks for the clarification.

With one quick shot from Alejandro, the soldier wielding the RPG collapsed lifelessly to the ground, the weapon falling in front of him. We continued a few seconds more, nearing the end of the mountain, confusion flickered in my eyes. No... there's no fucking wa- "We will have to jump here!" Alejandro yelled out. "Can we make that?" Soap asked, a baffled expression on his face. Gulping harshly, my eyes darted from Alejandro to the side of the mountain and back again. "Hacer o morir hermano (Do or die brother)," Alejandro muttered in return. Yeah, I would like an answer I can understand, and the tone he used wasn't exactly the most reassuring.

My heart fell to my ass as I watched Alejandro launch himself off the side of the mountain, barely landing on top of a steep slope, sliding down it before crashing his feet onto a separate ledge. The chasm beneath him yawned opened, a seemingly insurmountable gap separating each different rocks, there was little to no room for error. Soap gulped before repeating the same process, soaring off the edge, sliding down a different one before landing on a small, unstable rock jutting out of the side of the mountain. "You'll be alright," Ghost darkly muttered behind me, his deep voice doing absolutely nothing to soothe my nerves. My eyes darted from the deep drop below over to the sloped edge that I'd have to just barely land on top of. Groaning softly, I took a step back. If this is how it ends, at least it's pretty badass. Running as fast as I could, I leapt off the rock, screaming loudly as my body slid down the second one before making contact with the final jagged ledge.

My hands clenched nervously at my sides as I turned around, watching Ghost and Rodriguez do the same thing without a single care in the world. That's it, these people are batshit insane. And, if you thought it couldn't possibly get worse, it fucking did. Alejandro turned to face me and Soap, "You two, push forward," he ordered before turning toward Ghost and Rodriguez, "Keep working the radio, and watch out for snipers." My breath was lodged in my throat, carefully I peered off the mountain, looking down at a rock 20 feet or so below, "You mean... down there?" I mumbled, my throat running dry. "Just follow Soap hermosa, you'll be alright," Alejandro reassured. Forcing a smile in return, I attempted deep, steadying breaths.

Soap patted me on the back before launching his body off the mountain, barely landing on the small, rugged rock below him. "Oh my... fucking..." I whimpered to myself, this was like fucking exposure therapy in the worst way possible. Shooting a glare at Alejandro, I took a large step back before running of the small ledge, my body colliding harshly with the even smaller rock below. "Fucking- FUCK," I yelled out, shakily standing back up again. I'd have to peel rocks off my uniform for days.

As me and Soap continued forward through an open clearing filled with grass and an assortment of colorful flowers, Alejandro, Rodriguez, and Ghost soon caught up with us. "Up the hill, the bridge isn't that far!" Alejandro yelled out, running forward. My eyebrows furrowed, I wondered what kind of bridge would be this far up off the fucking ground. We began to approach the side of the mountain again. "They may position shooters out here, watch your back," Alejandro stated, looking between each of us. Great, so not only do I have to climb around the edge of a mountain, I also have to worry about not getting shot.

How fun is that?

Alejandro kneeled down at the edge of the mountain, looking out into the ground below, "There's the bridge," he called out, motioning toward the small structure nestled between two valleys. My eyebrows pulled together, my lips pursed, how exactly were we supposed to get there? Soap nodded his head, "No visual on extraction," he stated, eyeing the bridge carefully. I would peer down as well, but knowing me, I might sneeze and fall off the edge, so, no thanks. Rodriguez looked between all of us, "Comms didn't get through," he grimly mumbled, "Hijo de puta (Motherfucker)."

Alejandro growled in return before nodding his head, glancing over at Rodriguez, "We'll radio when we're down there," he replied. Looking between the rest of us, he motioned toward yet another rock we'd have to jump down to. Just a few moments later, he had already leapt below and stuck the landing. Groaning loudly, I was the next to follow him. My legs trembled beneath me as I made contact, this was way, way too fucking much. I'll probably die of a damned heart attack before the age of 30. My mouth fell open for the third time in thirty minutes as I watched Alejandro shimmy across the tiniest walkway ever that just so happened to be sticking out of the side of the mountain. He had his back pressed against the rocks behind him, his feet shuffling together as he progressed from the side.

Looking behind me, no one else seemed concerned, or fazed, or even slightly freaked out. I must be the only fucking sane person in this group right now. The drop beneath my feet seemed to go on for miles, small rocks fell from the slippery slope of the ledge I was currently approaching. The air was thin and crisp from how high up we were, the echos of wind carried through mountain's craggy crevices. Keeping my eyes trained on my feet, I side stepped onto the narrow, stoney ledge, Rodriguez, Ghost, and Soap quickly following. My fingers lightly brushed against the rough surface behind me, steadying myself as the path narrowed even further. 

A loud bang echoed throughout the air, causing me to jump, my feet almost slipping. My eyes bulged as I heard Rodriguez's pained scream from next to me, his body doubling over as he clutched his abdomen, falling face first into the abyss below. With rapid, uneven breaths, I began to shuffle foot to foot at a much faster speed, adrenaline coursing its way rapidly through my veins. Many gunshots narrowly avoided both me, Ghost, and Soap's bodies, chipping the rocks surrounding us down to our feet. 

The second the rocky edge grew thicker, I launched myself onto the stable surface and sprinted toward Alejandro's direction, Soap and Ghost repeating my same action. Sniper bullets continued to zip past our forms, loud cracks and bangs created a symphony of dread in the atmosphere around us. After running between bullets, maneuvering our bodies through the many twists and turns of the jagged path, Alejandro stopped in front of a fifty foot, massive drop with inky blue water sloshing at the base of it. My eyes widened at Alejandro, there was no way I was doing that. "You led us to a dead end mate," Ghost barked at Alejandro. He didn't understand what was about to happen, but I sure fucking did.

Alejandro glanced over at Ghost before peering off the ledge again, "We jump from here," He replied back, looking between us collectively before launching himself off the ledge, "Don't lose your weapon," he called out halfway down the fucking drop. Soap smirked, backing up before following Alejandro, soaring his body outwards with his toes pointed and rifle clutched at his chest. Two large splashes sounded out from below. Ghost looked over at me, glaring. "Come on, we don't got all day," he growled, annoyance laced between his words. The hairs on the back of my necks stood up as I approached the ledge, my legs shaking.

Biting my lip harshly, I turned my body around to look up at Ghost. "I- I can't," I pleaded, shaking my head. Gunshots continued ring out around us, the rocks surrounding me and Ghost chipping apart with each bullet driving into them. "We're getting compromised," he stated angrily, "You need to jump!" My eyes widened and I took a shaky step back, my footing faltering. "Ghost, I can't swim!" I cried out before I lost my balance, my body slipping off the edge. Ghost yelled out my name, lunging forward as he tried to catch me. But, he was too late. For the first time I met him, I saw a look other than anger, resentment, or annoyance in his eyes. Fear. 

A scream ripped itself from my throat as I fell, my arms windmilling in an attempt for my body to regain control as tears flooded my eyes. A gut-wrenching feeling of weightlessness filled my senses as I continued to plummet into the deep abyss below. The wind whistled loudly in my ears, drowning out my desperate screams. The world above me began to blur into a maelstrom of colors, the deep night sky, the white stars, the greenery--all mixing together. The cerulean depths of water seemed to be calling my name from deep down below. Clenching my eyes shut, I braced for impact.

The second my body hit the water, everything went black.

A/N: take a shot every time i wrote ledge or mountain, you'll be blacked out half way through the chapter, lol.