FRAGMENTS ; Simon Riley

Chapter 8.

ROSALIE

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"But we cannot simply sit and
stare at our wounds forever."

WITH a pained grunt, I helped Ghost get up from the ground, his groans filling the air as soon as his feet pressed against the ground. He was putting all his weight on me, one arm wrapped around my shoulders, while my arms were holding him up. He was very heavy, my stomach still hurt from the bad blow, but I couldn't leave him.

With small steps, we moved towards the exit and the thousand corridors to walk through. The thought alone made me want to simply throw myself on the ground and die.

The intercom didn't work for either of us. There wasn't a soul around except the dead bodies of the soldiers we had taken out. The silence wandered with us, Ghost did nothing but pant in pain and cling to me, until we got out.

I would've expected our group to be out there waiting for us, but there was absolutely no one there. Several helicopters could be heard in the distance, and they definitely weren't ours, so I turned to Ghost and gave him little slaps across his masked face to keep him awake.

"We have to move, we can't stay out here." I urged quietly, my gaze wandering around the base on fire.

I tried to trust my instincts, and directed our bodies in the directions we had come from before the mission, but I soon spotted a group of enemies making their way from there. "Fuck.." I cursed, quickly turning our bodies to the opposite side.

I dragged him with me with difficulty and we entered the forest. I didn't know where my instincts were taking me, I didn't know the area and my dear lieutenant was about to pass out on me from blood loss. I absolutely needed to find a safe place.

With at least a hundred curses, and falls, we found ourselves in front of an abandoned place--more or less a house. It was decent, we could stay indoors and that was all that mattered. Until our teammates found us. We climbed the steps and I kicked the door open. With stumbling steps, Ghost entered and at the first soft place he found, he threw himself on it with a thud and a pained groan.

Hastily, I struggled to move a piece of furniture in front of the door, and collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily.

I didn't even have a minute to recover. He was there on a couch pressing against the wound, so I had to do something. I sat down next to him and took the medical kit out of his vest. We didn't have scissors, nor sharp utensils, so the only way was the combat knife on my belt.

I tore the fabric of his pants without warning him and studied the wound to see how deep the bullet was. "Rosalie.." He grunted between pants, a hand wrapping around my wrist to stop my knife. "I know what I'm doing, Ghost."

I saw panic in his eyes, but also confidence. He let go of my wrist and took a deep breath. "Hold onto me." I told him, and without even giving him a warning I dug the blade into his flesh. He screamed and tried to move, while I desperately tried to get the bullet out as quickly as possible.

"I know, I know. I know. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I repeated like a mantra, before digging out the bullet. His fingers dug hard into my waist, almost leaving bruises, but I let him do it. There was no alternative.

From the medical kit, I took out a needle and a thread, managing with care the stitches.

It took a long time, but I finally managed it. I helped him settle better on the sofa, took off his gear and opened his uniform slightly. I put all our gear and weapons next to the sofa and sat down next to him, on the floor.

I listened to his deep and calm breathing, after all that he had endured. I let him rest in peace but my eyes fell on the dogtags around his neck. It wasn't just one but two, along with the usual wedding ring.

Curiosity got the best of me, and I gently flipped one over.

Lieutenant Simon 'Ghost' Riley.

On the other one, it was kind of ruined, but I could make out a tiny rose engraved on the cold metal. An R and an H, a date too.

Who knows. This man carried with him so many mysteries, each stranger than the last.