After deciding that we would not send reinforcements to Alfred, we began to move towards the extraction point. We were two hours into the mission, and the extraction point was 20 kilometres from our position. We had covered 15 kilometres. On the way, we encountered 7 enemy soldiers. Our numbers remained the same, ten.
We remained at a rapid pace. The path was moving towards the north. We were at the point where Alfred and I had to meet. But there was no sign of them.
"Alfred…Alfred? Where are you?"
After a long pause, he finally responded.
"The enemies only kept increasing, and there was no opening for us. So I decided to move further south, bypass them and then again get on the southern road. The plan succeeded, and now we are 5 kilometres south of your position. I suggest that we meet at the Talsak highway."
I opened my map. The highway led straight to our extraction point. So I accepted his suggestion.
"Okay, fine…We will meet on the highway." I said, and then was about to ask a question, but the line cut. There was no response. The enemy had cut the signals.
"Ferry, can you hear my words on your earpiece?" I asked Ferry.
"No, I can't hear anything except for a faint buzz."
My speculation was right, they had cut the signals. We had no way to contact Alfred now.
"We will continue our journey and wait for them at the highway. We can't waste time here."
I was still shocked at why… Why isn't Michaela spitting a single damn word? He was looking at me all the time, but no response, no words. That was very unlike him.
We resumed our advance. And then we reached a small pit. It wasn't deep, but from there, towards the north, the area opened into a vast plain. And in that plain I could see multiple ruins of houses and buildings, and a small hill beyond the ruins.
There was a bridge. Michaela and his guards moved first, then the special corps, Ferry and me. After the first group moved, the special corps began to cross as well. When Ferry and I reached the mid. The soldiers hiding in the pit opened fire at us from below. They missed us, but the bridge broke under me and Ferry. And both of us fell. The special corps engaged with the enemy and killed them before they could harm us.
Ferry fell first, and I had fallen on him.
"Get off me, Martin…" Ferry spoke as he grunted.
I gathered some power in my bones and muscles and got off Ferry.
"Captain, Lieutenant…Are you alright?"
I got up, put my bag on the ground, and placed my hand on my back. Neither of us broke any bones, but our backs ached like hell.
"Yes…Yes, I am fine." I said as I groaned.
"Same." Ferry stood and stretched his body. He also groaned with pain.
I looked around and then opened my map.
"You continue to move forward. 3 kilometres from here, the road joins the plain. We will meet there. Be on high guard, and no matter what, you will not divide. No matter what. Got it?"
"Yes, sir." The sergeant responded.
"Fine then…" I said and picked up my bag. Ferry handed me my rifle, and we left the pit. The area was a vast plain and the ruins of a small town. And a small hill beyond it.
"Moving beside the ridge is unsafe; we will go through the ruins."
"So we are going to travel a kilometre extra?" Ferry asked.
"Seems so…"
Ferry chuckled, and we kept moving forward.
"How long has it been since the two of us were alone?" Ferry asked.
"A long time," I answered.
He put his left arm on my right shoulder.
"We aren't on a tour…"
"Yes, on a mission…"
"…In enemy territory."
We both chuckled.
After a walk of ten minutes, we reached the town, and then we began to move westward.
"You have changed a lot, Martin. You now look like a leader."
I laughed. "So I wasn't a leader before?"
"You were…but it didn't feel like you were."
"Well…time changes."
He smirked and nodded.
As we were passing through the ruins, I adjusted the sniper on my shoulder, and suddenly a bullet came from my right and hit the sniper. I ran and hid behind a rock. Ferry stopped before me and also got behind a rock.
"It's a sniper."
Ferry tried to peek, and the sniper fired. The bullet barely missed his eye.
'Ferry…don't. He's mine; I will deal with him."
He nodded, sat below and reloaded his rifle. I placed my rifle on the ground and got the SVD in my hand.
I signalled Ferry to show his cap to the sniper. Just as he revealed the cap, the sniper fired at the cap. I turned and fired at him. He fired back as well. Both of us missed. His reloading was fast. He wasn't just a sniper; he was a seasoned killer.
I signalled to Ferry to stay where he is. I looked to my right, and there was another rock in the distance. I had to change my position. I took a deep breath, held it and sprinted towards the rock. The sniper fired but missed. I picked a rock from below and lifted it in the air, high enough so he could see it. And instantly I turned and fired. I missed again. I tried to do it again, but he didn't fall for the trick, and I barely saved my head.
I looked around. There were small pieces of glass. An idea struck me. I searched through the broken glass and picked the largest piece. I tore a bit of cloth from my uniform, wrapped it around the glass, and showed it to the sniper from my left. I adjusted the angle, and he fired. But I saw him. Instantly, I grabbed my rifle and turned right. Just as I expected, he got up to change his position. I saw him and aimed at his leg. He fell, and then I shot him in the head.
"Killed," I said to Ferry.
"That was good," Ferry clapped. "You really are a good sniper."
"You know I am a good sniper."
We were three hours into the mission. Ferry and I continued our march, and after twenty minutes, met Michaela and the soldiers. We climbed the slope and joined them.
"Are you alright?" The sergeant of the special corps asked me.
"Yes, I am alright. Though my back still hurts."
"How far are we?" Michaela finally spoke.
"Approximately, 16 kilometres."
It was almost 3 pm, and the sky was grey. The dense clouds have dimmed the day's brightness. We travelled two kilometres and then reached the Talsak highway.
"We are stopping here. We will wait for Alfred and the rest." I ordered as we stopped in the forest near the highway.
"Shouldn't they have reached by now?" The sergeant asked me.
"According to the route they took…" I said and looked at my watch. "They should be here in 20 minutes."
"So we wait now?" Ferry asked.
"I think I told you why we stopped."
Ferry nodded and sat on a rock in front of me. I also sat on the ground. He looked uneasy, a bit nervous. Ferry's hand was on his chest, and he was looking here and there.
"What happened, Ferry?" I asked him.
"I don't know. I feel a bit uneasy. There is a strange feeling in my heart." He said. He looked tense.
I don't know why, but when he said this, I remembered Barnett and Valkin. Soon it began to rain. Ten minutes have passed, ten remain till Alfred's arrival, according to my estimate. The rain was light, but it was rapid. We were under a tree.
Ferry then began to look at me. He stared at my eyes. I did the same. He wasn't smiling. There was no happiness on his face. His expressions were sad, uneasy, and nervous. The eyes had tears in them. I…felt pain in my heart.
Then, from my left, a bullet came and pierced through Ferry's ears. He was still sitting, looking at me. But…it was empty.