A series of Scars

Flee Home

  Mage called in"Three birds are en route for you,Charlie division and the objectives.The man Lock's found is one of your objectives, the guard and the ambassador.One bird for wounded, another for you,your men and the objectives.Another bird for Charlie team.ETA's fifty minutes.Your status, the status of the destruction objective?Respond when you can,radio."
    I responded "My status, I'm wounded yet I'm stable, no need to fear, a few of my boys are missing in action.Sour Rain's damaged.Most of my men are wounded,status of destruction's unknown."
     I ordered Pine,Explosion and Buffalo to fire into the surrendered  forces.The bloody ground,covered with deceased hostiles, burnt by the flames.The ground littered with seared papers, I order everyone to scavenge for munitions, medical supplies,any remaining documents.
      Pine whispered "You don't look too decent Scar, looks like you got hit by a freight train...I found some papers you might like to see-"I walk to his location and glance at the paper.An image in color of my wife and kids, an image of Lone Star I,a traitor to the country.A red X over his face, an image of a few members of Bull's team before an earlier mission.All spare three of them had red X's over their faces, one of the three has a blue question mark over his face.Bull and Lone Wolf had green check marks over their faces.
  The back of the page had a bunch of typed orders "Kill them all, people with red X's over their face are confirmed as deceased, a blue question mark"?" means that the person's status is unknown.A green check mark means that their status is still alive.Execute everyone in these images, leave no survivors,shred when all objectives are fulfilled, ENSURE it cannot be traced back to us."
Another page fifteen yards away,a sheet of paper with a picture in color of our team , together.Shark's face had a red X over it,Micro a presumed deceased member of our team had a blue question mark over his face,another image of Frog's family, they all had red X's over their faces, an image of Bull's team shortly after the failed operation killing the majority of the members. Everyone apart from Gator,Silverback,Greyhound,Gorilla,Bull,SlitThroat,Toad,Acid had a red X over their face.
  Muttering under my breath"This is too eerie,lifelike,patch me to Mage five minutes ago,Pine check the computers for any other hits.Explosion,tend Acid's wounds.Tank,go kill any remaining forces."I heard light footsteps as Acid said"Tower,shot down as we were in our descent.I went to check on him,he went dark, I found no body just a blood trail,tried following it. Found his body no armor, headless.His head was on his Bizon rifle, a few yards away,had one jaw and neck was shredded.I swore to kill the men who did it,little did I know that it was hell."
  Buffalo's dark gaze; brutal yet hopeful,pleading into my eyes as I question to put this man down and end his misery or try to save his life.Yes, because it would put the poor boy out of his agony;yet no because he's doing the best he can to save the world.
  In the end, I decide to grant Acid mercy.Bull and Greyhound walk in, the latter's machetes unsheathed.Bull's mighty voice echoes over the raging flames,"What's  the situation?"I gesture for Pine to tell Greyhound of the situation,Bull to come over to me.
    "Who else is here with you three?Is there an ethical decision requiring to be made?The status of your soldiers?"I nod in approval,replying"Acid,Buffalo,Pine,Explosion,yourself, Greyhound,and I are here.Acid's critically wounded, a broken jaw, shattered rib,a broken arm,his stomach was tore out his body, that's excluding the cuts, the bullets.My soldiers mostly are wounded, yet are acquiring medical operations as we speak.If you wish to do the deed,then do it.Tower was decapitated,suffered worse than Acid, Pine wishes to speak to you about the papers."
   I radio in"Tower is deceased, ETA?Acid's mortally wounded,we're gonna bless him with mercy.Rest their souls,there's suspicious papers here."An abrupt reply"a minute inbound,What are the papers of?"As our conversation continues,Bull uses his forty five caliber and dispatches Acid,as the rest of us bite back our tears, we solemnly walk abroad the helicopters,a lack of words for our friends, our brothers,flesh and blood.
     Not out of sorrow or grief per say,yet out of love,compassion and respect do we not speak on the way home.I do not  know which of the three things felt longest:Was it the flight to the battle?The battle itself?Or the ride out to American soil,to inform the families, the loved ones of the departed lies for our safety?