After waiting for around ten minutes, there were knocks on the door and a voice outside.
"Dr. Paulo?" The voice sounded incredibly familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. "We're here!"
"Great!" Dr. Paulo clasped his hands together, stood up from the chair and walked towards the door. As he grasped the doorknob, he looked at me with a knowing smile.
"Are you ready to meet your heroes?" he asked in exaggerated mysteriousness. I chuckled; he was pretty funny actually, with great jokes and quips. I nodded, interested to see who's behind the door.
Doctor Paulo opened the door, light flooding the room as he opened it all the way. My eyes got blasted, but before my eyes closed I could make out five silhouettes. One of them looked oddly familiar, even just as a silhouette.
As my eyes adjusted to the light, I was shocked to see who they were.
"Karlos," Dr. Paulo introduced," meet your heroes, Alejandro Ventura, Isla Spinnet, Santos Carlito, Miguel Sanchez and Pedro Alfonso."
It took me a moment to register one of the names. "A-Alejandro...?"
Alejandro chuckled. "Surprised to see me bud?"
"Alex?!" I sputtered in confusion. "Wh-what are you doing here? I thought you were abroad!"
Alex started proudly. "Well I saw my home in need of assistance so, here I am!"
"Well...it's good to see you again Alex." I tried to give him a pat on the back but a stinging pain stopped me in my tracks. I flinched back to my bed forgetting that I was badly injured.
The girl—who's name I registered as Isla Spinnet—spoke up. "Woah, be careful man. Don't need you getting hurt even more."
"Well then," Doctor Paulo looks towards the 5 of them. "why don't you guys introduce yourselves to Karlos here?"
"I'm Isla Spinnet, reconnaissance specialist and US operative sent to aid the Freedom Fighters in Paraméncio." She flipped her hair, making the boys—except Karlos—roll their eyes.
"They call me Ninja. If it's not obvious why, let me show you." She went into a jumping pose and was about to launch when Dr. Paulo gave her a look. She scratched her head apologetically and started talking to me again.
"I guess I'll show you some other time. You can call me whatever you want though, most preferably Isla." Isla gave me a smirk and I smiled back. They started introducing themselves after Isla.
"Hola compadre, soy Miguel Sanchez. People call me Firefly. Explosives Specialist, you need something blown up? Hit me up amigo." Miguel Sanchez says to me.
"Remember Miguel," Dr. Paulo cut in, writing on his clipboard. "Try to keep it English unless you're alone. You know why." He glances at Isla slightly, but she catches it nonetheless.
"It's fine sir." She waves her hand dismissively. "I picked up Spanish from my grandmother, so I'm perfectly comfortable with it."
Dr. Paulo smiled at her. "Thanks Isla. Good to know." He then gave Miguel a pointed look. "But not all Americans will know Spanish like Isla, so keep it in mind." Miguel nodded, exasperated. It seemed obvious that this wasn't the first time.
Miguel Sanchez points to a quiet figure in the corner of the tent. "That's my childhood best friend, Santos Carlito; silent but deadly. He's a mute sniper with a killer aim." I nodded at him slightly as a greeting and he nodded back.
"We call him Killshot." Miguel continued. "Since he's a trained hitman from a young age, he knows various Martial Arts and how to operate various weapons to an expert's degree. He's a master of assassination."
YOU ARE READING
At What Cost?
AksiA boy fresh out of high school is dragged into a bloody civil war. He sees the bloody hell that he's trapped in and tries to figure out which side to help. As he navigates his new brutal life, he gets hit with bombs, gunfire and many other close br...
