The Afterlife

Chapter 4: The Mission

Rukio and Gordromic got to the hospital, both at the same time. Shy and Alex were both already there, since they used the sewer system. Gordromic and Rukio were covered in blood. Shy and Alex rushed to their aid, helping them to anything they could use to lay down on. Rukio was excessivly bleeding from his neck. Gordromic had massive blunt force trauma to the chest and ribs. Alex ran to the third floor, trying to find any kind of drug that could help. Shy went to the bathrooms to try to find paper. Alex could not find anything that could help, and Shy found maybe half a roll of paper that was in water, no doubt it was too dirty to use on an open wound. Gordromic unhooked his armor, and let it fall to the floor. His chest was covered in purple bruises. He had massive internal bleeding.

Alex pulled chemicles out of the bag she brought and clearned a neaby table. Shy grabbed the sleve on Rukio's shirt and ripped it off, using it to stop the neck from bleeding. Alex ran by and stuck a syrenge in the skin above Gordromic's heart, and released the liquid into his body. Gordromic passed out, the sample in the liquid caused an adrenaline overload, slowing down a large part of his brain. Alex slumped herself agianst a wall and sat on the floor. Shy left the cloth on Rukio's neck. The way he was laying down, the sleve was securely in place. Shy did not notice it, but Rukio was passed out.

Shy sat down next to Alex. Alex was breathing hard, and was shaking. Shy put her hand on Alex's arm. "I almost lost him." Alex said.

"But he will be fine." Shy replied.

"Yea, I guess you are right."

"Do you want to go lay down? You don't look well."

"I'm just shaken up, I will be fine later."

Alex has never been this shocked about something. Even in her first time in combat, she seemed so relaxed. Shy was worried. Alex never showed any weakness. Alex was the strong one.

"Okay, it's time you told us!" Alex yelled at Rukio. Rukio and Gordromic had been awake for a few hours now, Rukio saw the dog tags and Gordromic explained everything. Alex confronted Rukio in a small metal room in the back of the hospital, what used to be the supply closet. Gordromic and Shy were standing in the doorway. Rukio stood there, staring into Alex's eyes. Alex stood strong.

"Tell me what happened on that mission!" She exclaimed again.

Rukio stared at the ground. "I dont know what your talking about."

Alex narrowed her eyes and punched Rukio. He fell to the ground. Alex knelt over him, grabbed his neck, and pulled him close. "Tell me, now." She said.

Rukio sighed. "Fine." He looked over at Gordromic. Gord nodded his head. They said in unison, "Unit 312 Spec Ops is in position and waiting orders, Sir."

The storm showed no sign of pulling out, meaning Gordromic and Rukio were stuck in the heart of the forst until the tropical storm settled enough for the choppers to pull in for extract. Gordromic was sitting against a neaby tree, and Rukio wrote in his pocket sized journal. The radio buzzed, "Alright team, since there are minimal chance for extraction, your mission will continue." Gordromic looked at Rukio. Rukio nodded and Gordromic readied his gun. "We believe the slave caravan is about nineteen miles NorthEast from your position. We want you to intercept the caravan and take out all hostiles." Rukio and Gordromic exchanged glances. "And the slaves, sir?" Rukio said. The radio cracked up again, "Acceptable losses."

Gordromic and Rukio looked at each other. "Come again, Sir?" Rukio said. "Acceptable losses." The voice said again. Rukio threw the radio against a nearby tree. The radio was still working, but it was damaged. Rukio stood up and loaded his gun. "We are saving them." Rukio said. Gordromic stood up. "Hell yea we are."

They started walking to what they thought was east. Will all of the rain, it was almost impossible to tell. But they had to get moving before the sun went down or they will lose all sense of direction. Nothing stopped them, except grabbing food from their packs every few hours. When the moon came up, they started to feel fatigued. "Any idea for how long we have been walking?" Gordromic asked, about to colapse to the ground. "No idea. I think we started around noon." Rukio said, breathing deeply.

"How long would it take us to hit the caravan?" Gordromic asked. Rukio stopped and pulled out a map. The map was large, so they placed it on the ground. "We are here." Rukio said, pointing to an area near a river. Gordromic studied the map for a few seconds. "Ninetine miles is here" he said. He extended his arm across the map, near to the edge. Rukio looked at their starting point, then where they were now.

"Three Days." Rukio said.

"Three Days?!" Alex exclaimed. The group of four sat in a circle in the storeroom. Gordromic and Rukio looked at each other. "Yea, three days." Gordromic said.

"What did y'all eat?" Shy asked.

"I ate three rolls of bread and gave Gordromic the rest." Rukio said.

Shy glared at Rukio.

Gordromic and Rukio started again. "We found the caravan in a canyon. It was making camp for the night."

They had an excellent vantage point. The caravan was not guarded at all. If there were guards, they were asleep. It was about midnight, Rukio and Gordromic laid face first in the dirt along the ridge. Rukio had his rifle ready, and Gordromic was already marking targets.

"High Priority not in sight." Gordromic said. "Orders, Sir."

Rukio did not hesitate. "We get survivors first."

"Understood."