RUSTY | frank castle

SIX

The dark. The fire. The bombs. The guns. 

The nonstop exchange of fire like the bullets were simple rain, not killing machines. They hurt my ears, they hurt the dogs' ears.

The men shouted, and they panted; though the dogs stayed silent. 

Frank was going to go in.

"Frank!" I called. He heard, and he looked at me. His eyes told me there was no way he wasn't going in. Stubborn ass. "Please! Frank, don't you dare go in there alone!"

He heard me. He heard my wavering voice but he went in anyways. I barely heard him whisper an apology  to me, but he went in anyways. 

I left the Major on the ground, his arm somewhere beside him as the blood seemed to splutter out of the veins and the flesh looked so fresh and pink, but it soon became red and dripping and oozing. It was chaos. Chaos in a human body. 

I ran into the building, though I told Fender to wait outside. I left him under Billy's command. Lexi came with me. I held onto her harness, though I knew she wouldn't run off. She was a good dog. She was a good dog.

I saw blood. I saw men. The red seemed to rain from clouds of ghosts like it was water. It wasn't, it was blood.  Frank. I need to find Frank. 

"Find Frank, Lexi. Find Frank."

His helmet was here, but it wasn't covered in blood. That was a good sign. Right?

Fire. There was fire. 

And yelling. They yelled in another language. 

I heard his groans. Frank's pained groans. I wanted to call out to him, because his distinct vocalisations were like home to me. He was my best friend. I needed to find my best friend. My poster boy. My poster boy.

Lexi heard a gun clatter. I heard it too, though her large ears detected it better. "Find him." I muttered again, insuring myself that she will find him. 

"Come on!" I heard him shout. It pained me not to shout back. 

Lexi was impatient. I saw her legs shake as I heard more men grunt and more fire being shot one way and the other. Then a bomb went off and my ears seemed to ring a little. I ignored it, albeit it hurt. 

"Find him." I said again. 

I shot an enemy. Then another. I shot them like they were nothing.  Then she found him. She ran, but I ran too. His face was covered in blood and. . . the blood was everywhere. 

"Goddammit, Frank!" I shouted at him. He was panting and he was weak, swaying like a diamond chandelier would in a ballroom. I let go of my gun and I took his face in my gloved hands, looking into his eyes. "You're an idiot, Frank. A stupid bloody idiot!"

I shouted at him, but he just looked at me. His eyes told me he was sorry as he couldn't say anything through the pants and the shock of what he had just done. I hugged him. I hugged him so tight that he groaned but I didn't let go. "I was so scared, Frank. So scared that I would lose you." 

"I'm sorry." He managed to mumble. His gruff and coarse voice brought nothing but comfort and care and butterflies in my stomach at the fact that he was actually here. He was alive. 

  •••  

Her body was rigid. 

She sat up again. 

Her mind was spinning as she looked at the clock.

It was early morning again. 

5:50 am.