FRAGMENTS ; Simon Riley

Chapter 6.

ROSALIE

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"The scariest moment is always

just before you start."

I was cradled in a warm, familiar presence, my head resting in a safe place, banishing every nightmare that had plagued me every night for years now. Despite the circumstances, I managed to fall asleep--even though it really wasn't supposed to happen.

For a moment I felt like I was entering another dimension, where my heart seemed lighter and happier. Then I heard that sweet melody, the usual one. My love, where are you?

I'm right here. Can't you reach me?

With a gasp, I flinched awake from my slumber. My head was resting against Ghost's shoulder, who sat still and serious as he stared at the bonfire ahead. He hadn't moved an inch. He could've shoved my head on the ground, instead he let me sleep peacefully on him. "I told you to go to sleep." He grumbled, as if he had heard my thoughts.

"You're so stubborn." He added, arrogant. I almost wanted to laugh in his face. "Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked, sitting straight as I stretched my arms in the air. The sky was slowly getting lighter, it was probably five in the morning, and we would be leaving soon.

He grumbled something incomprehensible under his breath, "For how long have you been working in the SAS?" I changed the topic, bringing my knees to my chest slowly.

A strange atmosphere had formed between us, almost as if we could get to know each other in peace. I had no intention of hitting on a married man, for me he would've been just a colleague and nothing more. And it seemed that he was fine with that too.

"More than you, surely."

This man. Was really something.

"I asked for how long?"

"Does it matter?" He retorted, a hint of sarcasm in his deep tone. I had changed my mind about what I had just thought. It was impossible to talk to him normally--at least for me.

For a moment it seemed like he had let down all his walls, for a moment I thought he wanted to open up to me. What was that look then? So different from the other hard looks?

I wanted to say something harsh to him, as usual, but the captain soon made himself alive and came out of his tent, with the weapon in his hands while he checked the magazine. They all woke up slowly, little by little, while Ghost and I hadn't deigned to even get a minimum of rest. Maybe I had, but less than an hour at least.

It was hoped that I would make it to the mission, I couldn't risk getting hit somewhere, causing a retreat.

They were all gathered together to listen to the next move, awake. The tents were dismantled and the evidence of our temporal sojourn was immediately destroyed.

So we walked for another hour to the enemy zone, and finally reached the place. At our arrival, we would've warned Laswell, and the jets would be called in to surprise the base with an airstrike, then we would go in and split up in pairs to find who we were looking for. The fucker was hiding in a bunker.

In less than a few minutes, all hell broke loose. My eyes reflected what was happening, black clouds rose to the sky from the fire spreading through the enemy base. Reinforcements were called, I heard gunfire all around me.

I was momentarily in shock, but as soon as I felt a hand wrap around my wrist, I came to my senses. I was dragged by Ghost, his steps compared to mine were quicker and wider. "Sergeant Nova, are you with me?" I heard him confirm through the intercom, all the loud noises behind us fading away.

We were getting closer to a building, perhaps the main one, while the others checked the little hangars around the base.

"Yes, sir." I simply replied, snapping back to reality and snatching away my wrist to gather my weapon in my hands, taking off the safety.

Everything was in ruins, we had to move carefully through the rubble and the fire. We were looking for the entrance to the bunker, but that bastard had hidden it well. "Fuck. This is Ghost to Laswell, nothing is--" But before he could continue on with his talk, "Watch out!" Grabbing the knife from my belt, I threw it towards the enemy had just turned the corner, the blade piercing through his neck.

With a thump, his body fell on the floor.

Ghost squinted and let out a loud sigh, before deactivating the intercom and looking at me. "Good job." Words that felt unreal, I simply smiled at him before making my way down the hallway, with force taking out from the soldier's neck my knife. "No waste."

"That's one of the many reason I loose all my knives. I hate taking them back." Ghost commented, following after me like a shadow, ready to take down whoever.

There was no one else there except that poor soldier I had killed. Where were the others?

 Following my instincts, I walked through the corridors until we reached a reinforced door. Bingo.