Long Shot | 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Chapter 14

My head pounded as I finally opened my eyes again, and what had felt like hours with my eyes shut had only really been mere seconds. I knew this because I had remembered hearing screaming before I checked out, and now, as I laid flat in the dirt with my eyes glued to the bullets and other deadly objects flying through the air above me, I still heard the screaming.

"I'm hit! I'm hit!"

I could tell it was someone up on the roof that I had just been on, and even though it sounded like Dave, I had no real way to confirm nor deny that theory.

Drawing in a few deep breaths, I fought the urge to just lie there and forced myself with every ounce of willpower I had left to stand the hell up and keep fighting. Slowly, I rolled onto my side and checked for any major injuries. There was a large gash on my arm, but besides that I didn't think I had anything else; that was, until I pushed myself to my feet again and felt the throbbing pain that radiated from my right ankle upon putting the slightest bit of weight on it.

Dropping to my knees again, I felt around for any misplaced or broken bones, and when I came up somewhat empty handed, I concluded that it was probably just a bad sprain. Sucking in air through my gritted teeth, I pushed myself up one last time with my arms and fought through the pain that was pretty much coming from everywhere.

Focusing up again, I swiveled my head around trying to figure out which roof I needed to be on. Another explosion rattled the same building beside me and I looked up just in time to see Oz's body flying through the air. I heard Rone yelling for him, and I still heard Dave screaming, and I knew that I had to go back up there to help, even if my bullet supply was dangerously low.

"I'm coming up!" I managed to croak out.

Making my way carefully back over to the ladder, I picked up my AK from the ground and adjusted it in my arms in preparation for the climb. Step by agonizing step I worked my way up the ladder, and when I finally got to the top, I stopped for a second to take in the damage. Dave was still calling for help, but I couldn't see him, and Oz, who was in the middle of the roof with his arm in seriously bad shape, was groaning but otherwise calm.

Then I saw Rone. He was turning and heading for Oz, but a familiar sound forced my head to tilt up, and in the sky I saw it coming. Another explosive was flying right for us again, but before I could find my words to warn Roan, it hit. I dropped down a few rungs on the ladder to protect myself from the blast, but when the explosion occurred, I felt it nevertheless.

I held on tight as the building shook violently one last time, but I knew the structure didn't have much left in it at that point. Once the heat had died down, I climbed the rest of the way up and onto the roof, just in time to watch another explosive hit, sending me to the ground and knocking Glen into the air and off of the roof.

As debris dropped down on me the smoke dissipated, I crawled over to Oz, who was the only one still making noise anymore. "I'm here." I told him in a shaky voice as I looked down at his forearm, which was hanging on by a few pieces of skin and a few remaining tendons. "Don't move." I tried to stop him from crawling, but his sights were set on something, and that something was Rone's body, which was lying motionless a few feet away.

"Rone!" Oz screamed as he wiggled his way along the cement. "Rone!"

The explosives and bullets had stopped at that point, so all that remained was the wreckage of what was left and the knowledge that we would never forget this day for all of our lives. This day would haunt us as we sleep, it would haunt us as we cook breakfast, it would haunt us as we drove to the store. This day would be with us until we died.

Standing up once more, I limped over to Rone's body and dropped down beside him. "Rone." I softly called as I brought two fingers to his neck and my ear to his chest. I tried for as long as I could to pull even a single heart palpitation out of him by shaking, hitting, and yelling, but I heard nothing and I felt nothing.