Bounding

"Shit, the kid's bleeding out," I said. I caught my breath and depressed the PTT. "Red, I need Doc. How copy?" I said.

It wasn't long before Red answered. "Solid copy." I heard the intensity in his voice. "Doc is oscar mike!"

There was covering fire from every position as I watched Doc sprint towards me. I let off five bursts as he came close. I turned my rifle muzzle towards the ground as Doc ran through my line of fire. Sprinting into the barn, Doc jumped over the T-Man I'd just killed. He looked at the body, then at me.

"Jesus, Kelly, you okay? You hit?" he asked.

I nodded no, keeping my eyes on the firefight before me. "I'm good, Doc. The kid's in bad shape, though."

"Yeah, well, your face is all bloody, Kelly. Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

I smiled, the reality of my kill sinking in. "I'm all squared away, Doc. Not my blood," I said as I looked for another target.

As he moved to care for the boy, I heard my mother's voice. Peter, Hook, and Wendy were now haunting me more than ever.

From far within him, he heard a creaking of rusty portals, and through them came a stern tap-tap tap, like hammering in the night when one cannot sleep. "Have you been good form today?" was their eternal question.

"I'm in at your six," yelled Theo. He rushed into the barn. "We need to set up a casualty collection point," he said.

T-Man was still assaulting the village, fanatic in its annihilation. We had driven them beyond the poppy house, Viking and Kilo Three holding the stone wall.

Kilo Two was gone. Only the old man remained. The young boy was most likely black-tagged. He wouldn't make it.

"I'm sending the Elder with Kilo One to the cane near the stony reeds. Support Red," said Theo. "That's the fiercest fighting right now."

I suppose that's what made Theo, Theo. He was quick to stay with the hot hand, so to speak. His observation skill, especially in combat, was what kept us alive.

"Kelly, snap to and support Red at the Elder's hut. Shit is hot up there, and he needs another rifle."

"Roger that," I said as I readied myself.

"Red, Kelly is inbound from your six. Over." Theo released the PTT and nodded. "You ready, boy?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Red, Kelly is bounding."

Theo nodded and then yelled, "Go!"

Under covering fire, I sprinted from the barn, breathing steadily, rounds whizzing by my head. I stopped at the rear of the poppy house, my back against the wall. The gunfire increased. To my right, I could see the friendlies firing, heads bobbing, using the reeds as camouflage. Even though they didn't see me, I feared T-Man might as I revealed myself.

"Chief," I yelled. "Give me signals. I need to get over to you." I ducked as I took more fire.

Hand signals were the only way Chief would not compromise his position. He hid well, blending with the roof and the moon. He was like a ghost, methodically picking and smoking his targets.

He held his hand to his eye, forming a monocular: Lookout.

Holding his arm straight out, he showed me his palm: Stop.

I was anxious, waiting for him as the rapidity and fury of small arms fire picked up. It seemed angry, spiteful, and insulting. We were strangers in their strange land. We were invaders, at least in their eyes.

He locked his elbow at ninety degrees, motioning towards his head: Advance.

"Bounding!" I said. Gunfire became more accurate and threatening. I ran towards the back of the Elder's hut.

"Set!" I said. I slammed into the wall back first. Though my camelback softened the blow, the thud of my helmet rang in my ears.

Taliban riflemen had me pinned down. Semi-automatic fire laced the front of the wall. As I heard their rounds zipping over my head, I realized I needed help. I was only five meters and a corner away, and I could get inside. My body was tense with anticipation. I'd take the risk and bound, but I couldn't pinpoint where they were.

"Chief, I'm pinned down. Someone has a line on me. Can you get eyes on?"

I crawled up tight against a crumbling clay oven, my knees tucked into my chest. With my back to the wall, I winced as the small cover it provided was being chipped away by AK rounds.

"Chief," I said sarcastically. "I would very much appreciate it if you would find the freaking dick-weed and light that- mother-fucker-up!"

He broke his silence, aggravated by my plea. "Are you kidding me, Kelly? Hold on a second, for Christ's sake."

I was impatient, attempting to peek over the oven to see if I could get a visual on my shooter. Mistake. A burst of rounds splintered pieces of clay and block into my eyes, cutting my cheek, chin, and lip.

"Hold on," Chief shouted. "I got 'em."

I waited and heard the shot.

"You're clear."

"Kelly to Red. Break. I'm coming in at your six. How copy?"

"Copy, Kelly. I'm in the back room, nine o'clock to the reeds."

The moonlight showed through the window on the western side of the elder's home, creating a runway for me to enter. I sprinted towards the door, following the moonbeams. The gunfire and disturbed moondust made a strange mistiness, almost like a fog. It made visible the chill in the air and something more gruesome.

Bodies lay on the floor, gaping wounds. There were five, six of them almost stacked upon each other. Dead or alive, I didn't know. Heat rising from their torsos and limbs, their fixed gazes stared at nothing.

I looked for Aaina and her caretaker. They covered Aaina on the floor with blankets, and her IVF hung from a homemade hanger on the wall. Her caretaker was dead. Aaina looked up at me, pleading in pain. For that moment, I could hear nothing but her high-pitched wheeze. I couldn't help myself as I touched her cheek. I smiled at her, watching a tear fall from her swollen eye. I feared I would cause her more pain. I felt her hair with a single finger and shushed her.

I heard the SAW's nonstop bursts, Red giving orders to a villager in the room. I walked in, and Red's muzzle flash lit the inside like lightning. Quick reoccurring flashes, so brilliant, they'd blind and deafen simultaneously.

"What's the sit-rep, amigo?" I asked.

He only spoke in between bursts. "I don't know, Kelly. We're strong-pointing a village... With nineteen freaking guys." He finally looked over his shoulder, but not out of courtesy. Instead, he was checking his brass pile, his way of knowing how many rounds he had left before changing out. "They're lighting our goat-humping friendlies the fuck up!"

No sooner did he turn towards the fight than rounds flew through the window, the door. It left holes now filled with moonlight. The villager inside screamed out, holding his ear. The bullet had taken it off, blood spurting through his hands. I quickly replaced him at the window, returning fire with multiple trigger pulls.

"Freaking Chief," Red said. "He's the only reason we're still holding."

I moved away from the window to assist the villager.

"This is crazy," I said. "We need to get out of here."

I went to my PTT. "Theo, break. We need to egress. We're getting lit the fuck up over here. How copy?"

Theo answered immediately. "Roger that," he said. "Egress to the corral. We'll give suppressing fire on your mark, out."

My stomach turned as it left me with a decision. Red and Chief weren't my primary concern. I loved them and would die at their side. And would give up my life in place of theirs. However, from the moment we first saw Aaina, we were bound to her fate.

She was the reason we were here, the motive for the killing. Perhaps knowing her name, hearing her cries, and looking into her face was the worst I could do. The first rule of situational awareness was to observe everything and ADMIRE NOTHING. I forgot about that. When I looked into her eyes, I experienced the frailty of humanity.

"We're taking her with us- leave the rest," I said as Red paused and looked over his shoulder.

He raised his eyebrows. "It's thirty yards to the rally point. We're going to be under heavy fire... And you want us to carry her?" he asked.

I fired another burst, feeling the weight shift in my rifle. It was almost time to reload.

"Yep," I said, nervous about my decision. "And Chief's gonna maintain over-watch until we get to the rally point."

Red shrugged, grimaced, and then smiled, showing his teeth. "Oo-freaking-rah, Corporal. Let's get some."