Anciently Forbidden

Chapter 3: The Tough Mission

Amid a rocky, mountainous jungle, a team of twelve men led by Captain Garcia was trekking. The rebels' camp was located amid this dense forest making it hard for the military to infiltrate without alarming the enemy. Their team's mission was to map out the rebels' base camp for the military's planned offense. The rebels' constant violent assaults are one of the reasons why this island's poverty rate is high and the government is determined to suppress them.

"We will rest here for the night. Lieutenant Ruiz and Lieutenant Salvacion, inspect and guard the surrounding area. Later, I will assign the next shift."

"Yes sir!"

It was the second day of their mission, the night was approaching and the soldiers were exhausted. The group settled to rest and started preparing their dinner. The bold Sanchez still managed to show his unconvincingly thoughtful moves towards Jester throughout their journey. His unnecessary assistance whenever their captain isn't paying attention, annoyed Jester.

The team ate their meal. Sanchez was sitting beside Jester, occasionally giving him food with an innocent smile. Their captain's face was stiff but didn't scold them This made the numb Sanchez's confidence rise and moved closer to Jester, but the latter distanced himself. His intuition told him to, or else he might receive an unreasonable punishment in the middle of their mission.

The night was getting deeper. Some of the soldiers were setting their hammocks to rest. Jester was about to set his hammock in his chosen trees when Sanchez came, smiling.

"I will also hang my hammock here."

"The place is big, don't cram here."

"No, I want to sleep beside you. The forest is dense, not to mention we are in the enemy's territory. It's dangerous. I feel secured if you are closer to me." Sanchez was sincere, but to Jester, it was cringy.

Jester was racking his brain to refuse him politely. He knew Sanchez's concern is real though he is cheesy. He felt that he should turn him down politely. Before he could find the right words, he heard Vince's voice.

"Caballero set your hammock here!"

Jester immediately picked his hammock and walked towards Vince. A single command of their Captain and his body will automatically follow, even if it's a petty one or out of line sometimes.

Sanchez's face twitched, but Jester ignored him. If not for Vince's position, Sanchez might have refuted him long ago.

Jester hung his hammock beside Vince, who was lying still, eyes tightly shut. Jester sat there for a moment, curiously stealing a glance.

"He looks cute when he's judgemental eyes are closed."

Jester's thoughts giggled. Vince looked adorable in his sleeping posture, looking calm and peaceful.

"With your looks and good career, I wonder why you're still single until now."

Jester's thoughts were getting crazy again.

"Go to sleep."

A faint, yet deep voice pricked Jester's ears. He immediately shrank on his hammock. His face was burning.

"Captain's senses are really sharp. I guess self embarrassment is the new normal to me these days... My dignity is shattered, I have to develop a plan to retrieve the pieces and mend them back!"

Jester slept with a messy thought.

The soldiers woke up at dawn break. They needed to cross another massive mountain to reach the target site.

"Get ready. Make sure to hide our tracks!" The captain ordered.

"Yes sir!"

The team trekked for another day before they stealthily reached the summit of the mountain which they suspected the rebel's camp was situated behind. It was already in the middle of the night, the darkness made them almost blind to their surroundings, but they weren't using any light to avoid catching the enemy's attention. Captain Garcia carefully scouted the surroundings and assigned his soldiers to certain positions.