Don't fear the reaper - Captain John Price

XV

The nighs in the mountains were quiet and peaceful, until finally they were not. Heavy footsteps of the captain were entering the last gate at the base that wasn't destroyed by an airstrike. On the other side, Gaz's silhouette was hidden by the tall trees as they were checking the area. The place that seemed peaceful and safe was turned into the burning ruins in the blink of an eye. Bodies of the personnel were covering the ground, and John was hoping to see someone who was able to make it out alive or add a couple of more bodies of the enemies to be buried by the flames.

One step after another, the captain was understanding that his mission was set to fail. No presence of life was around him, not even a single soul that was still breathing or fighting for the last breaths of their life. The fire had taken over the majority of the buildings of the base. The rooms where people were learning and developing their skills, sharing their life stories, and laughing out loud at the funniest jokes. Just in one evening, it all was gone, as the darkness fell onto the ground and one missle after another was getting into the walls of the base. Price's legs were taking him further into the area as if he were following one of the countless corridors at the base that were supposed to lead him somewhere. And finally, his legs wrapped into the dark uniform brought the captain to the first movement of the bodies he was able to notice for the last hour. A smirk was written on the edges of his lips, as the well-known silhouette of a woman finally caught his attention.

"Any survivors?" Amelia looked up at the captain, as her cold fingers were running along the wrist of the soldier hoping to find some presence of life in his body.

"You," Price unexpectedly whispered to himself. At this point, the captain buried way too many of his men, but a part of him hidden somewhere deep under the uniform was happy to see the officer in front of his eyes and not on the ground lifeless.

"Fucking hell, not what I expected to hear," Knight let her thoughts be heard by the wind. There were a couple of thousands of personnel at the base a brunette did not want to believe that they were dead at this point. Her eyes were focused on the building on fire, as the legs of the woman were ready to bring her inside of it.

"Get out of here before the fire gets you in a trap, Lia," John lowered his body in a heavy uniform, as the rough material of his glove touched the soft skin of Amelia's chin, making a woman look into his eyes.

"What if there are people in the building who need help?" A woman was biting her lower lip, thinking about all the people she used to see every day who could need her help while being trapped in the corridors as the fire was spreading along the area of the base.

"I would rather see Konni burn alive than risk it even more," Price looked into her brown eyes that were running all around the place. If not the bullets from his weapon but a fire could get Konni's into the deadly trap half of his mission was already accomplished. The fire was spreading fast, but all of them had an understanding that risks were too high at this point. "Be a smart girl, knight. Risking your life can be necessary, but not now."

"It's my job, John," Amelia looked away from the captain letting a few drops of tears flow down her cheeks as her hands were closing the eyelids of the soldier as he met his final rest. It is never easy to meet face-to-face with death, and even after seeing dozens of wounds every day and liters of blood, the job of a medic was never getting easier for her.

"Okay, go ahead get yourself killed in the fire, miss," At this point, Price didn't see any point in keeping the conversation any further if they both were planning to stand on a different side. After all, none of them had the time to find common ground. Maybe one day in civilian life, but not out there on the battleground.

"Alright, that sounds persuasive now," The gaze of the brown eyes looked around, as the final understanding of how bad the situation was came into Amelia's mind. The majority of the buildings were blocked by fire, and even if in one of them there were no russians, but some survivors, it was a suicide mission for anyone.

"See, and you could be a good girl since the beginning of this conversation instead of being bratty," John offered a hand to a woman, as she was getting up from the muddy ground. The radio was silent, and Gaz was still nowhere to be seen, they both still had no one but the possible enemies around and the flames of fire surrounding them.

"Wouldn't be so entertaining, captain," Despite the horror of the whole situation, the two managed the let a smile draw over their faces as the conversation faded away.

The sound of the weapons being reloaded was accompanied by the quiet steps over the ground that was a base a couple of hours before. Amelia was trying to keep up pace with the captain, as they both were leaving the area deeper into the forest. Her eyes were traveling around the unexplored area, trying to see any suspicious noises around. The smell of the burning materials along with the smoke was flying around the area, reminding me about the disaster somewhere far behind. Knight stood on a hill for a moment, watching the last buildings of the base being taken over by the fire as if she was saying goodbye to all the days spent at the base. Something inside her was telling that it was the ending of that chapter, but the beginning of a new one.

"Captain! The forest is clear," Ghost's voice suddenly ended the silence in the headset of the man. The whole team knew the great spot for the evacuation by the helicopter nearby. If only it wouldn't be spoiled by the presence of Konni.

"Rog Ghost, we need evac before the whole place burns down," John looked back, noticing that a brunette was far behind him. It was a good moment to catch a breath.

Dark blue eyes traveled along the figure of the woman and stayed on it for too long than Price was supposed to keep his gaze on her. Even when the whole world was breaking into small pieces with each passing second, there was something comforting the two were finding in the presence of each other. Maybe just for once, a captain could put himself first before anything else in his life. A hold palm of her hand landed in the captain's as the two were hiking deeper into the mountains and away from the base. 

THANK YOU for your patience with me loves!! I am finally back after the crazy festive season. And by the way, happy holidays to you!