To Hell and Back // Alex Keller.

Denial / Survival.

The artificial white light was invitingly shining through the endless room. Tall, metal furnaces reached the ceiling as if trying to let the deadly gas out in the air and kill everything surrounding the laboratory. The building was quiet, as the last shells from the bullets fell onto the concrete floor with the lifeless body of an enemy. Despite the peaceful silence, the war was far from being over.

The dark brown eyes of the commander followed the tall silhouette of the man, as he ran towards the light just like a moth to a flame. His heavy steps echoed through the quietness of the laboratory, but no one else could hear them. Not even a single soul surrounded Alex, as he rushed towards the unknown, following another order. For as long as Keller could remember, he was just a man following someone's orders and finishing one assignment after another. Soldiers don't question the orders of their commanders, or do they?

Someone needed to light the fire, as the detonator turned into the useless piece of plastic in the gloved hand of a man. Years of service have left marks on his face, body, and mind. As soon as Keller joined Farah's forces, Alex knew there was no way back to the life he was used to. Desertion couldn't be left unseen, instead, it will be written in bright red ink all over his personal file once and forever. Soldiers are not meant to question or disobey their orders or question the assignments. Orders are meant to be obeyed, and followed, while the finished assignments will be hidden in the classified files for years in the deepest drawer of the archive rooms. This time, Keller's assignment could become a part of history or be left as a classified failure. But, it was the last thing Alex worried about, as his legs were taking him further into the building, and away from his own team.

This time, for the first time in his whole career, Alex Keller did believe in his assignment, as he followed the order of the commander Karim. 

The spark in the blue eyes of the officer was shining through the darkness of the room. Charges of the explosions were set throughout the building, ready to bury Barkov's laboratory and his men in the green forest surrounded by the cold peaks of the mountains. General Barkov was finally dead. The strong wind carried his body down to the cold ground as if putting a final dot on the story. But, it was just the end of the chapter.

"I'm not getting out of here. " Alex's voice reached his teammates over the comm, as the man checked the last charge that was planted inside of the laboratory. With a note of desperation, Keller tried to get the last drops of life out of the detonator. The luck wasn't on the officer's side that day, but it did not change his mind. No one is ready to die, even in sacrifice. Taking a deep breath, the man checked the last charge that was planted in the building, before his voice echoed through the comms again. "Let's do this."

"Thank you,"  The helicopter was flying above the plant, as Farah's eyes were focused on Barkov's body. High from above, the man who brought so much suffering to her life, family, and country seemed so small. Yet, the general's death brought a feeling of relief to Karim's mind, even if it just lasted a moment.

The countdown started by Captain Price echoed through the quietness of the room, as Alex kept his hands on the first charge. The assignment did not end the way he would want to, or planned for it to go, but the result was the only thing that mattered. The raspy voice of the captain was close, yet so far away in the distance when the bright orange flames rose up in the air with sounds of explosions setting up just like fireworks on the 4th of July. The windows of the old building were breaking under the power of explosions, throwing debris all around the chemical plant. Flames were travelling from one room to another, destroying everything that was hidden behind the tall fence and far away from curious eyes. Poisonous smoke rose in the air, escaping through the windows, and the destroyed roof. Barkov's secrets were finally buried alongside his own self.

Drops of the cold sweat were running down the deep wrinkles of the man's forehead, as the clock showed a late hour of the night. Hungirly, Alex was gasping for air as if his own dream had a stronghold around his neck, blocking all the air in the world from his lungs.

Back then, it wasn't hard for Keller to decide that sacrifice was the right choice. However, it was hard to live with the outcome of the decision, when he was supposed to be dead.