His Deepest Regret

Chapter 2

It was dark by the time Liam had reached the woods. He stopped running and fell to his knees

under a large oak tree. Breathing heavy, he scanned the area, no one in sight, he was in the

clear. He remained motionless for a moment and then began to punch the ground, over and

over again. Hitting it harder with each blow as if the ground would open up and bleed. He was

the only survivor of his platoon. They were gone, it was his responsibility to bring them back

safe and he didn't. They were gone. They had been ambushed as they attempted to leave the

complex but, his men made sure that he made it out even if they didn't. A single tear escaped

his eye as he turned his back to the tree and leaned against it. He looked around again to see if

he was followed. There was no one. This was the safety point that was marked on the map

before the mission. The rescue chopper was already on its way. PFC Jones had radioed for it

before he was taken down by a sniper. Jones, Liam thought to himself, he was only 20 years old.

I'm sorry, he repeated again and again in his head; he felt his eyes burn as more tears

threatened to come. He didn't have time to be emotional right now he had to focus. He

strengthened his resolve and walked towards the tree line. He waited, the chopper was going to

land on the other side of the field by that large tree he could see in the distance, silhouetted

against the sky in the dark of night. He felt his emotions trying to overtake him but, he refused

to give in to them as kept thinking to himself, "how am I going to face their families? They were

my responsibility and I failed them." The mission itself was a success all the information was

retrieved and the machine that contained it destroyed. The mission was a success with one man

left standing, he thought bitterly to himself. He vowed that he would make it up to his platoon

somehow, some way. He also swore that while he was making amends, he would find "her", his

Mia, and apologize. He brought his hand up to the pocket over his heart and patted it. I won't

need you today. He heard the sound of the helicopter in the distance and he knew it was time

for him to focus. He scanned the area, looking for any sign of enemy movement, it looked clear.

As soon as the chopper landed he had to run one mile across the field to be air lifted out.

The chopper came into sight and he readied himself, his heart beating faster as it drew closer.

The moment that it touched the ground, Liam took off like a gunshot. He pushed himself to run

faster than he ever had in his life. He thought of his sons as he sprinted, and how he couldn't

wait to get home to them and play baseball with them. He pushed himself harder, he was

almost to the tree when he heard yelling coming from the helicopter, he stopped...There was an

explosion in front of him and Liam felt his feet lift off of the ground, he felt an excruciating pain

in his middle and he could feel himself dropping back to the earth. He hit the ground with such