The Fallen {Jason X Salim}

Current Day

We had just escaped an ambush at the Temple, making a run for the catacombs, and escaping with our lives; although our courage had been severely scarred. I was fucking ecstatic to be alive, yet something in my gut, told me our small victory would be very short lived.

Nick, Rachel, Eric, and I, all made our way through the dark tunnel, practically holding our breaths. Too scared to breathe or peep a noise in case of alerting any possible nearby creatures, to our location.

I cocked my rifle, making sure the ammo was at full capacity. If we ran into those ugly motherfuckers again, we all needed to be prepared. Again, I had a gut feeling that it was going to be much sooner than we anticipated, and quite frankly, that scared the living daylights outta me.

The dust settled, as we snuck down a winding chasm. It was so dark, it were almost impossible to see! Even with our flashlights, it barely put a dent in the darkness.

Nick coughed, as a thick cloud of dust settled around us, from the explosives that were set off just mere minutes ago.

"Sshh! Listen." I said, just loud enough to be heard. "Can you hear them?" Everyone stopped moving, and strained their ears to hear anything that seened out of the ordinary.

When no-one responded, it confirmed what I thought. "Blast must have cut us off. We should keep moving." I said, still just loud enough to be heard. Sure, we couldn't hear or see them, but that didn't mean that there weren't more of those things around, lurking in the shadows.

We pushed forwards. Nick had chosen to take the lead, despite me telling him to stay back. I would have preferred for him to let me lead the way, in case we ran into any trouble; but I let Nick push on. I got the feeling he was trying to put a bit of distance between himself, Rachel, and the Colonel.
What a time to get messed up in some crazy fucking love triangle shit.

"You all good, Lieutenant?" Rachel asked, falling into step with me. I acknowledged the woman, before turning my focus back towards the path ahead of us. "Fine. Why do you ask?"

Rachel was silent, as I checked a few inlets in the cave walls, making sure they were all clear before passing by.
"Eric mentioned the Iraqi who you were keeping hostage. Said he got under your skin. Colonel saw you rattled for the first time since working with you. Kinda sad I wasn't there to see it!" Rachel explained, an almost smug expression plastered upon her face. It wasn't one of insult or offense, but it was almost as though it was a pleasant surprise to see me not look my usual, confident self, for once.

I stopped in my tracks, and turned to look at her, "This really the kinda stuff ya' guys make bets over?" I asked, curiously. "I bet fifty bucks that Kolchek cries when an enemy combatant brings up a painful memory from his past." I mocked, doing my best Rachel King impression.

She turned her nose up at me out of pure shock, "Is that really how you think I sound?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Don'ow honestly. All women sound the same to me." I joked, flashing a slight semblance of a smirk, that was gone as quick as it came. Rachel was a bit taken abcak by the notion, but she returned a slight smirk of her own, "You're just always so... so... well, this!" she said, waving her hand towards the entirety of me.

"What do ya' mean?" I asked. I could have left it, but my curiosity got the better of me.

"You know? You're always so serious, confident, and determined. You barely crack a smile, and you never engage in civil conversation on base, unless it's work related. You keep to yourself, and you're always prepared to charge into battle. You barely blink an eyelid when put in high risk situations that could get you killed... You're like a fucking machine!" Rachel spat, looking a little irritated by the fact. I truly didn't know why it bothered her so much.