I left the village and then took out my map. According to it, the road passing through the village continued north, and after two kilometres turned west, towards the border. The valley was behind me. If they are alive, they wouldn't be inside the valley. They would have moved towards the border. So I decided to head north.
My thigh was still hurting, but I was able to walk without a support. However, slowly and steadily. I walked for forty minutes and was now approximately one kilometre from the village. I continued to walk, and then I heard gunshots from the west. I pulled out my pistol and began to move towards the sound. The land was rising slowly. I was climbing a small hill. As I got to the top, I noticed movement to my right. It was an enemy soldier. I placed the pistol back, took out my knife, and hid behind a tree. I studied his movements; he was finding something. I crouched and began to move towards him. At a distance of five metres, I rushed at him and stabbed him in the back. Before he could do anything, I grabbed his neck and broke it. I placed my knife back. And began to check him. He had an AKS-74 and had two magazines of 5.45x39 mm bullets. He had a pistol with a suppressor attached to it. I took the suppressor and equipped it on my pistol. After that, I took the rifle and the ammo and was about to leave. But I heard a sound coming from his corpse. I checked him again, and it was his communication set. I took it and began to hear.
"All personnel, the enemy has been found. Gather at point 9. I repeat, the enemy has been found, gather at point 9." Said the voice from the other end.
I checked the corpse again and found a map as well. On it, the points were labelled. Point 9 was towards the border, and approximately one and a half kilometres from my position. I took his radio and the communication set.
Again, I heard gunfire. This time it was continuous. I walked further ahead, stood on the edge of a small cliff, and, through my half-broken binoculars, saw some people ahead. It was Ferry and the rest, and they were engaging with the enemy. One of them was badly injured and was getting dragged. Due to the broken lens, I couldn't understand who it was. But it made me happy. My heart rejoiced that my comrades, my friends, were alive.
An idea struck my mind, and I tried to contact the HQ. After setting the correct frequency, I got a response. He asked who I was.
"This is Lieutenant Martin Arkila of the Emberfell squad."
After a while, he responded. "Lieutenant, where are you and what is your current status?"
On his question, I explained everything from the beginning of the mission to this point.
"…I request you to send an extraction team."
He talked with someone, and a new person talked to me. It was Colonel Yornus.
"Martin, are you alright?"
"Yes, sir."
"Are you sure that the rest of your squad is present there?"
"Yes, I am completely assured that it's them."
He then went quiet, and after a while, a response came.
"Okay, Martin, rejoin, and hold your ground. An extraction will arrive at your position in forty minutes."
"Forty minutes!" The time was too much.
"Sorry, Martin. This is the fastest they can reach. We have to clear the border security. So it will take time. Hold your ground, and defend at all costs."
"Okay, sir. We will try."
Then he cut off the line. I placed the radio inside my pocket on my chest and began to march towards their position. I walked as fast as I could. And after twenty minutes, I was about 50 metres away from them. The gunfire had stopped, and I could see them with my bare eyes. They were already captured, probably because they ran out of ammo. But they weren't dragged or something. General Argen was there as well, and his forces were around my squad. I sat beside a tree, loaded my AMR with a TMAP, and began to observe. Argen was talking to them. As I focused, I saw that the badly injured person was Valkin. The rest of the three were injured as well, but slightly. As I saw, Argen pulled Valkin towards him. And grabbed him by his hair. He kept talking. Then suddenly pulled out a knife. My heart beat got fast, and I held my gun tighter. Then he stabbed him in his wound on the left shoulder. Valkin screamed with pain. I could see the pain in his eyes. He was making him suffer. This boiled my blood, and in the next moment, I was aiming at the general. The scope was broken, and I couldn't see properly. Due to rage, I was shaking, preventing me from aiming correctly. In that moment, a soldier who was facing towards my direction noticed me and alerted the general. I, without aiming properly and without a second thought, fired.
On the soldier's alert, Argen turned and stepped back a single step. The TMAP bullet, which was aimed at his back, rather than creating a hole in it, pierced his arm and ripped it off. He screamed with the same pain and suffering, and it delighted me.
Ferry and Alfred saw me, took this chance, and attacked the soldiers near them. In the attempt to steal their weapons. I strapped back the M95, pulled out the AKS and began to fire and move forward rapidly. The attack was sudden, and the main piece was hurt. The enemy scrambled, and confusion caught them. Ferry and Alfred each got a rifle and began to fire back as well. I ran to them, grabbed Valkin by his collar and dragged him to a depression in the ground. The five of us got there, and I handed my pistol to Barnett, who had nothing.
"This is all I can give you," I said as I handed her the pistol.
"No worries." She responded.
We fired and fired, and held our ground.
"Martin, I thought you were dead, and I had finally gotten a chance to take command," Alfred said as he eliminated an enemy.
"Why will you take command?" Ferry asked him.
"The three of you are badly injured. Martin was absent. I am the one who is least injured. Only a broken thumb on my left hand." Said Alfred.
"I think you forgot who bandaged your abdomen," Barnett replied.
"The main question is, why did you think that I was dead?" I asked them.
"Well…You fell from a cliff." Ferry responded.
"Hmm…makes sense," I answered as I shot down another enemy soldier.
We continued our firing. Even after being injured and being near death. The humour hasn't left us. The enemy was stronger and better than the ones we had faced before.
"They are stronger and better." Said Barnett.
"These soldiers are the personal guard of the second-in-command. So obviously, they would be more experienced and fierce." I replied.
Valkin groaned, and I told him to be patient.
"Go…Good to see you, Martin." He said while patting my back.
The firing continued for about ten minutes. We were running out of ammo, slowly. But there was no end to the enemy.
"What do we do? At this rate, they will defeat us." Ferry warned.
"I had contacted the HQ. They should be arriving in five to ten minutes."
After five minutes, I had five bullets left. Others had the same condition. We all thought that defeat was imminent. But friends arrived. In the back, about three kilometres from our position. I heard multiple explosions. I turned my head and saw jets carpet bomb the ground forces. It was the Arkanian Air Force. And in the distance from within the blaze, I saw a helicopter approaching us.
"This is Extraction team 88. ETA to your position is three minutes." The pilot told me.
"Roger!" I responded.
This message gave us hope, and we began to fight with more zeal and zest. Finally, they arrived, and three Arkanian soldiers joined us. One of them tapped my shoulder. And began to engage with the enemy. I signalled my team to move, and we began to step back slowly. I extended my arm to Valkin. He held it and got up. Slowly and steadily, we stepped back, fired and got near the helicopter. Ferry, Alfred, and Barnett got in. As Valkin and I were about to get in. A bullet came and hit Valkin on the back right behind his liver. He fell, and my heart stopped. It was General Argen who fired that bullet from his pistol. Ferry and Alfred rushed while shouting Valkin's name and dragged him inside. I, now full of rage, turned, aimed and fired the remaining five bullets at the general. One hit his shoulder, and one hit his abdomen. The rest three missed. I couldn't understand why and how I missed. I missed my final and the second chance.
The three Arkanian soldiers got inside while firing. And the helicopter lifted. I stood on the edge, staring at Argen. I had failed, both as a leader and a soldier.
"Mar…Martin," Valkin spoke faintly, and I rushed towards him. And held his hand. His voice had sorrow, his eyes had tears. Blood was spewing from his mouth, and his wounds were terribly bleeding.
I held his hand tightly, "Relax, Valkin, relax. You will be alright. Just hold on for a bit." My voice was shaking.
His lips moved; he was saying something. "What?" I asked.
He again repeated.
"Lieutenant Martin…It was an honour fighting alongside you."