FRAGMENTS ; Simon Riley

Chapter 7.

ROSALIE

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"He was just a fragment into her life."

THE door unlocked quickly, thanks to Kate as she managed to get inside the enemy's security servers. I watched as Ghost changed the mag to his rifle, fixing all the necessary into his gear. Me, on the other hand, grabbed a flash bang, ready to the use. There was tension in the air, he was so concentrated that he hadn't even turned to look at me.

"At my three."

He gestured me with his hands, every finger slowly going down, then he gave me the go. I unhooked the flash bang and threw it between the small peak of the armoured door. Groans could be heard coming from the other side, the exact moment when me and Ghost barged in, opening fire.

I followed behind him, just as he asked, as he advanced and I finished off the enemies he hit and knocked down.

We advanced like this, from floor to floor, every now and then he would gesture with one hand for me to stay behind and cover his back, other times, he would throw himself in front of me like a protective shield.

Every bullet pierced through every enemy, he was skilled and lethal, getting the job done in one go.

I was almost shocked, I didn't work much in these units, but he was the first one I had seen so careless. I was a simple nurse, specialized in the SAS unit, hoping to be placed as a support in some group. And so it happened. Although I never imagined myself in such a skilled Task Force.

But watching, being close to the 141, it was as if I was already part of this camp. As if I had already worked here, and not as a medic support. It wasn't difficult for me to handle weapons in the open field, in addition to the training I had undergone precisely for the SAS teams.

"Are you okay?" I was pulled into reality when a couple of hands cupped my cheeks, a panicked and desperate voice reaching my ears. My heart stung for a brief moment. Ghost was standing tall in front of me, his thumb brushing on a wound over my cheek, making me grimace.

I slightly pulled away from his grip, taken aback from his sudden shift of behavior. 

We were in a room full of dead soldiers, blood covering every corner and wall. The metallic smell reached my nostrils, a smell I was already used to, but in that moment it made my stomach turn. "I'm fine. Yes. Just a little scratch." I muttered under my breath, dropping the empty mag of my rifle on the ground, before I switched it with a new one--the last one.

His gaze seemed agitated, for a moment I saw his irises move over my large scar. What the fuck was he looking at?

"Let's move." I urged, turning my back to him as I walked towards the last door. Without thinking twice, I opened it, a bullet flying past my head before I quickly took cover to the side. Ghost flew to the other side, cursing under his breath, meanwhile I attempted to retrieve a grenade from my vest.

I couldn't understand anything anymore, there were too many gunshots, the intercom came to life at the most critical moment, confusing voices and noises. "Shit!" I cursed out loud as a bullet hit my abdomen, the crash against the plate of my carrier made my stomach turn in pain. My head spun for a moment, many black dots gathered around my vision as I detached the ring of the grenade and threw it into the room.

"I repeat--retreat! The target is not in this base. The target is not here. Retreat, NOW."

The captain's voice came incomprehensible, and soon, the servers were cut off, an annoying buzz ringing into my ears.

The chaos stopped after a few minutes, I was huddled in a corner, breathing heavily and feeling light-headed. Then a deafening silence fell, before some pained groans brought me back to my senses.

Ghost sat on the opposite side of me, his gloved hands pressing against a bleeding wound on his thigh. But his gaze was turned towards me, desperate, fearful, worried. A mix of emotions that I had never seen in his eyes. He had a bleeding leg but he was looking at me, desperately asking with his eyes if I was okay.

Then after a moment, I heard it. "Rosalie.." He attempted quietly, another groan following right after. My name rolled off his tongue so well. He had never called me by my name, yet it was as if he had been doing it his whole life. "Rosalie, can you hear me?"

My ears were still ringing, I was too dazed to understand what was happening.

Rosalie. Bleeding leg. Ghost.

With a gasp, I came back to my senses from the shock, panting heavily--as if I had just taken a deep breath of pure air. I stood up, my legs wobbly, and ran to him almost stumbling. I fell between his legs with urgency, my eyes studying the wound he was trying to apply strong pressure on.

Without me having to say anything, he moved his hands and showed me. Blood, too much blood. Quickly, I tore off a piece of my uniform sleeve and used the piece to wrap it tightly around the wound. He groaned loudly, clenching his teeth and eyes, but he didn't push me away.

"I'm here for you. Can you trust me?"