The Next Warrior

Proving Grounds - Part 17

Romero wasn't prepared for that. Part of him knew he was dreaming, or perhaps... at least hallucinating. He knew that the weapon couldn't really be looking at him in that manner, but hadn't honestly expected the thing to reply. Perhaps he was losing his mind.

"Perhaps you are losing your mind, but that doesn't change anything. You said you could smash me. Can you?"

Romero suddenly lost his sense of confusion to one of anger at the implication.

"I'll do it." Romero said. "You know I will."

"I think you could. That doesn't mean that you will. Pull yourself up and out of the mud and do it. Otherwise just lay there until you die of being so pathetic."

Romero couldn't believe his weapon's brazen arrogance; it's pure and utter stupidity, to insult him like it had. Enraged, Romero took a deep inhaling breath. The pain was gone from him in that moment and he threw himself to his feet. He slogged through the mud, stomping furiously toward the belligerent weapon. As he had promised, he grabbed it by the muzzle and marched over to the tree, which already had nearly killed him twice. He raised the weapon up and took the stance of a professional baseball player, up to level a ball out into the nose-bleed section. Perhaps he would get revenge on both of them.

"See? You could do it." The rifle chirped in the moment before its demise.

Nathaniel paused. He looked at the weapon in his hands. What was he doing? Was he really about to punish his rifle for some ill-conceived plight he had put himself into? Was his rifle really just talking to him? Had he hallucinated the whole thing or had he really just lost his mind?

"Stay positive."

He heard another voice. No, not just a voice. This was a memory. It was the sound of Gunnery Sergeant Yafante's voice. "Stay positive." It was the first class he gave for the unit in preparation for their pre-deployment Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training. "Stay positive" was the mantra they were supposed to repeat when in situations just like this; keep control of your breathing, focus on the task at hand – stay positive.

The buzzing returned. The seeker was going to be close this time. Romero slung his weapon quickly and bolted for the trees at the edge of the ravine. He had to climb up a particularly rocky ledge, one which gave his feet just enough traction to move while using roots dangling from the side of the river's wall to pull himself up. Once at the top, he dove behind some bushes and waited for the drone's passing.

Romero could see the copter this time. It was following the river's path and moving much slower than before. Its masters were searching much more carefully this time. They must have lost him completely and were making methodical sweeps to regain his trail. The drone drifted towards the point where he had fallen from the tree before. It listed purposefully over the tree, then the mud hole he had lain in, and the loosened dirt where he had slid down the small cliff's face. Perhaps it sensed it was on to something. The drone drifted slowly. Then it stopped. It tilted downward, its camera faced toward the deck and the evidence of his near death experience. It lowered down and investigated the mud below where he was. It panned around, first looking at the mangled tree, then the broken earth along the cliff where Romero had fallen, then at the muddy ground where he had lain, disturbed unnaturally by his crawling and flaying about. Through the optical lens, the pilot of the drone must have seen Romero's telltale footprints. They led right from the tree to right where he was.

"Dammit!", Romero thought, crouching low behind the tree near him, just barely able to see the tiny quadcopter through the bushes. He crouched down as low as he could behind the bushes.

The little drone appeared excited with its discovery. As the devil hovered, it tilted and pitched to point its camera along the foot track's path and leered over until it pointed straight at the PFC. It rose suddenly into the air then screamed into forward action following the direction of the tracks. It was looking down directly on Nathaniel's position. Romero froze again as the deceptively deadly drone flew at him.

Romero's focus shifted to the rifle in his hands. In seconds, he would have to shoot down the drone if it found him. They would already know where he was, but at least taking out the seeker would let him move momentarily without its vigilant gaze. Surely, more would be along behind it, but he would buy himself at least a few more minutes. He gripped his weapon, thumbing the safety as the little copter drew piercingly nearer.

His eyes locked on his weapon. In the last second, as Romero's body tightened instinctively before he would have taken aim and dispatched the flying nemesis, the copter's flight carried it directly past him. It went right over him and on as if he weren't even there.

The pilot of the tiny drone must have followed the path of the footprints, ending at the tree line. He must have assumed that the prey had already escaped into the forest and moved on some time before. He was completely unaware that Romero was right beside the riverbank at that very moment. PFC Romero had avoided the drone's eyes, yet again. It soared with enthusiastic ignorance as to just how close it had come to finding him.

As it flew on, Romero's jaw hung with shock and amazement.

"Stay positive, huh?" he said through a nervous chuckle, "Well... that's something good at least."

He could see the direction the drone was moving in. It was going along a path back towards where he had come from. The young PFC certainly couldn't go that way. He'd have to find another route to the objective. Also, they had a much more recent grid location on where he had been. They would be gathering soon at the tree beside the creek, and would be on him soon if he stayed. He'd have to start moving again.

Romero again oriented himself to the destination he was directed to find. It was not far away by then, but he couldn't go directly to it, not anymore. The troops who tried to catch him before would likely be covering everything between where he was then and where he needed to go. He decided it would be best if he took a wide arc, and attempt to come around the side. It would take more time, but so what if it did? All he cared about then was surviving to see the end of this mission.

He began to move at a stiff pace. Invigorated by what appeared to be good luck in another capture evaded, his pain seemed to subside and he was propelled by a strong second wind, or perhaps it was by then his third or fourth. As he ran, Nathaniel thought about the "conversation" he had with his rifle and how he had pushed himself to the brink of insanity to get up. Had he not, that drone would have found him. For a moment, he was very thankful for his brief hallucination. Best, he thought, to keep that story to himself.

As he bounded through the forest, he said with the first smile he worn in hours, "Okay Rifle, that was embarrassing for the both of us. I won't tell anyone if you won't."

The rifle quietly smiled to itself, and acknowledged him with its continued silence.