Touched By A Marine (Book 1)

Epilogue: Sand and Blood

Sand and blood littered the desert sands as the Humvee came to a stop in the center of town. Stepping out of the vehicle my men scoured the surrounding areas, searching for any signs of the Taliban or incoming rocket propelled grenades. As the dust settled I saw an unknown civilian lying on his side with his body riddled with bullets. A vulcher perched itself on the ground in front of the man's body a few feet away from me as it called out to it's brethren. I turned away and searched the other remaining buildings before I heard somebody shout out, "Incoming!"

I braced myself against the doorframe as I looked out and saw a rocket launcher flip the four-hundred-ton Humvee like it was a kid's toy. Bullets torn up the ground as I shouted for my men to take cover and call for backup. I took a few deep breaths before rushing out of the building and running clear across the vast empty courtyard between us. My men shouted for me to run faster as they waved me over to them. I didn't have to look back to know that the enemy was shooting bullets at me. I dove through the air at the last second as I landed into the arms of my second in command. Whatever household items remained where now being used to barricade the door and parts of the windows as my men returned fire on the Taliban.

"We're taking heavy fire, Sir!"

"They have us surrounded!"

"Where the hell's that backup? I'm running out of ammo!"

A terrible ringing in my ears sounded as another rocket launcher struck the upstairs bedroom. I looked at my second in command as he yelled at Central Command to send more troops to our location. Groaning in defeat he slammed the phone down and picked up his rifle.

"What's the status solider?" I asked.

"ETA's fifteen to twenty minutes, Sir!"

"Shit! All right, hold them back for as long as you can. I'm going upstairs to see if I can take out the gunner."

As my men continued returning covering fire, I headed upstairs to see the entire second floor reduced to a pile of rubble. I kept my head down as I braced myself against a broken down piece of a wall that was somehow still standing amongst all the chaos. Reaching for my rifle that was still strapped to my chest, I armed it as I crouched down low and peeked around the corner, looking through my scope until I found the bastard with the rocket launcher. My finger itched upon the trigger as I calmed my breathing down and then held it steady. With my target in my sights I closed my eyes for a brief moment as I thought of James back home safe and sound. I squeezed the trigger just as the rocket launcher went off and headed straight for me.

My men shouted for me to take cover as I jumped from the second floor and landed on the ground before coming to a rolling stop beside a burnt out vehicle. The force of the impact destroyed the last portion of the wall I was hiding behind as it came crashing through the ceiling and into the main living room below where my men were busy returning covering fire. Dust and debris blanketed my vision as I called out to my men to see if any of them where still alive. After a few moments I heard nothing not even a flicker of movement that is until I saw something move from the alleyway behind me. A voice rang out amongst the group of six men as one of them grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to my feet.

"It's good to see you alive, Sir!" One of them said.

"You guys as well. Hell of an exit strategy though."

"What do we do now, Sargent?"

I looked at my men as gunfire continued to erupt behind us followed by fast moving vehicles as they circled around the center of town. Backup would be arriving soon and we need to stay hidden until then. But completing the mission was our top priority. As my men checked their weapons and ammo I knew we wouldn't last long in a fair fight. I looked around at the remaining buildings until I saw one that appeared to be untouched by the hands of war. An underground parking garage would prove to be useful when hiding out from the Taliban. I ordered my men to go there as they sprinted to that location and jogged down the ramp into the darkness below. We would hide out here until helped arrived.

As I sat against of what felt like a cement pillar, I winced as I looked down and felt the warm feeling of my blood as it coated my fingers. Damnit! The wound didn't feel big nor was it bad, possibly a stray bullet struck me as I was running across the courtyard earlier. As I positioned myself better I felt the bullet move inside of me as I groaned.

"Are you okay, Sargent?"

"Yeah. It's nothing. Just a pulled muscle."

Above ground I could hear the gunfire starting to cease as the vehicles came to a halt just a few feet away from where we were hiding. A large patch of sunlight blanketed the far fall that faced the ramp as a darkened figure stood at the entrance. My men saw the shadow too as it stood there for a few more minutes until it moved on again with a few more bodies trailing after it. I breathed a collective sigh of relief as I rested my head against the cool cement pillar and closed my eyes. My thoughts turned to James. My future. My lover. My partner.

The mission was simple yet critical. Kill the last surviving member of a drug cartel and marry that boy who was patiently waiting for me back home.