Suffering: Male Reader x TWDG

Chapter 42: Today

The foliage is so thick that you have to cut a path for the others with your machete. 

"Hey Ghost, you still having nightmares?" Bug asks.

You have, for months now; ever since the night you killed Ethan, but you're not gonna admit you're still having them, admit that you have a problem.

"No man, that was just a one off" you say, hoping you've convinced him.

Anderson hushes you both and you continue on in silence, cutting through the flora as you go. There were rumors that a nearby hospital is being used by the Delta as a forward operating base to launch attacks on the Militia. You and the rest of the Rangers were sent to have a look and destroy it if possible.

"We're almost there" you whisper to the others as you chop away some more branches blocking your path. Anderson had insisted that you take the long way to the hospital instead of going by road as he was worried about potential Delta patrols that have been sighted before in this area, this means that you're walking through the overgrown forest to get to the town, something of which you and the others weren't too pleased with.

You push through more of the brush and exit the forest, just on the outskirts of the town. "So in theory" you say, pausing to check your map, "The hospital is a block away in that direction". You point down a road and the others nod, beginning to set off that way. You struggle to put your map away and rush to catch up with them.

You're all already wearing your masks, mostly due to the fact that it's still quite cold this time of year and it helps keep your face warm. You sheathe your machete and make sure to keep an eye out for any Delta soldiers, you don't wanna be ambushed so far away from any Militia reinforcements.

The road you're walking on seems to be a bit overgrown so the likelihood of the Delta using this road often is pretty slim but it pays to be cautious. Captain Anderson, who had been leading the group since you emerged from the forest, stops and holds up a hand.

You grip your rifle tighter and prepare for the worst but instead, Anderson turns to you all, "I can see the hospital just down the road there" he whispers pointing into the distance, "And I'm not seeing any activity".

You follow where he's pointing and see a red brick building with an obnoxiously large "Hospital" sign attached to the front. You'd expected to see armed guards patrolling the perimeter but there aren't any. Then again, you're 15 minutes away from their main base so maybe they think it would be a stupid idea for the Militia to attack them here, maybe they're right.

Hulk takes his backpack off and places it carefully on the ground, unzipping it to reveal a big heavy duty radio set sitting snug inside. Without removing the radio set, he extends the antenna until it is reaching out of the backpack and switches the radio on.

"I can't believe we have to use this thing or we'll not be able to reach Fort Summer" He groans, "It would've been so much easier just to have a handheld one instead". 

After a couple seconds, the radio whirrs to life and static emanates from its speaker. Hulk pulls out a piece of paper with the correct frequency written on it and twists the dial until it's in the correct position. All of a sudden radio chatter from Fort Summer can be heard through the speaker. Captain Anderson grabs the mic and flicks a switch.

"This is Captain Anderson from the Rangers to Fort Summer, do you copy?" he asks professionally.

You hear a muffled reply through the crackling speaker but aren't paying attention because you swear you just heard something down the road.

"We've found the hospital, no signs of Delta just yet but might as well get the air support over here to blow the place to kingdom come" Anderson says enthusiastically.

Again, you hear something moving from down the road but you can't see what it is. The others however, seem completely oblivious. Anderson switches the radio off and you watch as Hulk begins to pack it all away again into his backpack.

"Did you guys not hear that?" you ask. Everyone stops what they're doing and a sudden silence befalls on you all. In the distance, a bird crows before taking off from an overgrown tree.

"I don't hear anything unusual" Bug says frowning. You hear something again, some sort of clattering but before you can say anything a half empty plastic bottle rolls out from the open doorway of an abandoned bookshop. Everyone turns their attention to the building.

A shotgun blast leaps out at you from the bookshop's doorway and a figure sprints out, making his way as quickly as possible towards the hospital. You all dive for cover, grabbing for your weapons. Your hand clasps around your sidearm and you pull it out, aiming for the ambusher.

You blast 3 shots at him in quick succession and he goes tumbling down, his shotgun clattering away from reach. You swiftly approach and, without thought, level the pistol to his head and fire one last shot nailing him in the face.

"So much for this being a stealth mission" Bear sighs with a glance over towards the abandoned hospital, "Let's just hope they weren't actually using it as a base".

You open your mouth to reply but are cut off by a salvo of automatic fire coming from the hospital. You all duck down and shuffle back into cover.

"Well this is shit" Cutter groans as you all try and keep down to avoid getting hit.

"Nah it's not that bad mate, we'll just reposition and wait for the heli to arrive" Bear says, patting him on the shoulder.

Cutter shakes his head and coughs up a gob of blood. Your eyes widen as you look down at him and realise he's been shot in the chest, not once but twice.

"Shit!" you exclaim, grabbing at Anderson's arm, he glances over at you and his eyes widen too, seeing Cutter's pale face as he struggles to breathe.

"He's been shot in the lung" Anderson says in shock, "He isn't gonna make it".

The others have realised what's happened now and are silently watching Cutter, his chest rapidly rising and falling as he fights to catch his breath. Cutter tries and fails at removing his own mask, all the while coughing up a huge amount of blood and mumbling to himself, your own breath catches in your throat; this is hard to watch.

"What do we do?" you ask, a panic in your voice, "We can't just leave him".

Bug and Captain Anderson lock eyes. A common understanding flickers between them and Bug grabs your arm. 

"Come on Ghost, you and me are gonna reposition" he says, almost dragging you away. You both keep your heads low and run down a side street to get out of the line of sight of the hospital.

"If we attack the hospital from behind we can draw fire away from the others" he says in a monotone voice, as if he's done this a thousand times.

"And what then?" you ask sarcastically, "We die like Cutter, like Goldilocks, like Gandalf?". You're getting agitated, you adjust your mask slightly and let out a sigh, "How many people need to die?".

Bug doesn't reply. He continues leading you towards the rear of the hospital, a harsh silence enveloping you both.

You reach the rear of the hospital, it looks abandoned, you know it isn't. At this point you're not even upset. You are so, so angry. The Delta need to be stopped, they need to be culled, for the safety of all those who live in this area. For the safety of Dixieland, Richmond, Old Beaver Ranch, and all the other settlements under Militia protection.

The Militia are like the old Roman Empire. You can't just fuck with them and expect to make it out alive. This is a lesson the Delta need to learn.

This is a lesson the Delta will learn.

Today.