"Lieutenant Leonard Bane!" Sergeant Hitchen called out the minute my feet planted on the grounds of Nha Trang.

I thought this mission was supposed to be one of stealth, so to be yelling my name is compromising our location.

My eyes drifted to Sergeant Hitchen and I gave him a short nod to imply that I was listening, as were Lieutenant Collins and Private Keys.

"I need an answer, Lieutenant!"

I released a sigh and addressed him formally. "Yes, Sergeant Hitchen?"

"We made a plan. I want you to stick to it and not derail me for the hundredth time."

A chuckle erupted from my lips. "I wouldn't be derailing your plans if your plans actually work. We need to have a backup plan in case things do turn to shit."

Lieutenant Collins and Private Keys laughed at my comeback but knew I had a point; we can't have a single plan in place and pray that everything works in our favour.

Sergeant Hitchen only scrunched up his nose and held his head high. "My plans do work. You just don't listen." He paused. "Let's just- make our alliances and get the fuck out of here-"

I simply shook my head and followed Sergeant Hitchen deeper into Nha Trang.

The deeper we went, the more I felt unease. Something didn't feel right.

The streets are bare.

The lights on houses are switched off.

It is a total ghost town.

"Is this part of our plan too, Sergeant? To walk through an empty village?" Private Keys spoke up in a hushed tone.

We didn't get an answer, Sergeant Hitchen just continued to walk until we made our way to the underside of an arched bridge.

The meeting point is where we are to make deals with the chief who caters to and looks after this place.

However, no one was waiting.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Lieutenant Collins queried.

Sergeant Hitchen looked around the village, ensuring we were right where we were supposed to be. "Yeah... this is supposed to be the place."

"Then where are-" I couldn't finish my sentence as explosions sounded off, causing the bridge to collapse.

We were lucky to have avoided being crushed under the rubble but we are now trapped in the city of Nha Trang.

There isn't a way out.

I turned to Sergeant Hitchen in hopes he would start barking his orders for us to get the fuck out of this mess but no.

He was equally as thrown off as the rest of my brothers-in-arms.

"I say we turn around and back off. They clearly don't want us here." I tried to pipe up but Sergeant Hitchen didn't take my suggestion openly.

"I am your commanding officer. YOU listen to ME not the other way around. This must have been a big understanding. I say we continue heading towards the heart of the city. See what we can find."

I had to bite the inner of my cheeks to stop myself from arguing back. If I were to give him back-talk, I know my legs will be sore in the morning with the amount of laps he's going to make me run around base.

That is... if we even make it back to base in one piece.

We did as he ordered and ventured closer to the heart of Nha Trang down narrow alleyways and behind factories.

These machines should be running, where is everyone?

It wasn't until I heard Lieutenant Collin's voice echo from a hall that I finally snapped from my thoughts.

"I've got gunfire!"

What?!

Then the bullets sounded.

I raced as fast as I could to assist him as did the others.

1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6...

Fuck, we are outnumbered-

"We need to get the blazes out of here, NOW!" I barked back.

"We would! But the chopper is still 10 minutes away from the extraction point! We can't hold off that long like this!"

"Come on Lieutenants! Pull your heads out of your asses and use those trigger fingers of yours to kill the motherfuckers!" Sergeant Hitchen argued back.

He can't be serious...

We are surrounded and yet he expects us to fight?

The odds aren't in our favour; we have the disadvantage of a lack of numbers.

I bared my teeth and began firing into the abyss with the hopes of actually hitting something other than the brick walls or a piece of machinery.

"Don't listen to your commanding officer! Our safety comes first! Retreat!"

Sergeant Hitchen only glared at me for a brief moment before he started throwing fists with two men. "This is the shit you boys signed up for! We make our stand!"

Private Keys pointed towards an opening, a hole in the wall caused by a recent explosion. "That's our way out!"

"Nice work, Private!" I praised and began clearing the way for all of us to make our escape.

First, Lieutenant Collins.

Then I guess Sergeant Hitchen followed soon after as he fled from the fight with a bloodied nose.

Serves him right.

It was my turn to leave through the opening but gunshots still rang out.

Private...

"Leave him!" Sergeant Hitchen barked.

"I am NOTHING like you. I will not leave a man or woman behind on the battlefield for dead." And just like that, I rejoined the fray and killed anyone that came between me and my brother-in-arms.

When all was said and done, silence began to fill my ears. My gaze shifted to the opening in the wall.

It's just myself and Private Keys; We're on our own now.