Army Strong

Chapter 8

Fire. Smoke. Chaos. Everything was moving so fast, yet it was in slow motion. People were running everywhere, carrying others out of the burning cabins. The sergeant approached us. He had 4 guns with enough ammo to last for a while

“Go to the cafeteria. In the kitchen, behind the stove there are  more weapons. Keep yourselves armed, we are under attack,” the sergeant shouted.

They heard the faint sound of alarms ringing, but it was masked by shouts of pain. We had been ambushed.

“You heard him. Nikita and I will lead, Madison and Barrett follow. Hannah follow them and Brayden and Andrew tail. Let’s go. Stay low. Try not to get shot,” Garrison commanded.

“Let’s move,” Nikita shouted.

Garrison and Nikita made a run until they reached behind a cabin. The rest of the squad followed. Nikita looked at Garrison worry in her eyes. She didn’t know if the current plan was going to work. She thought that the whole team going to get guns would be too risky, but so would leaving them behind.

“We shouldn’t risk the whole squad. Garrison and I will get the guns. The rest stay back for search and rescue. As soon as we get the guns we'll find you," Nikita shouted over the chaos.

The team nodded in agreement. Two guns were designated for Brayden and Barrett, the other two for both Nikita and Garrison.

"Stay safe," Madison told her.

They had grown closer since Garrison and Nikita started hanging out. Mainly because Madison and Brayden started talking as well. Madison and Nikita were so alike it scared her. Hannah on the other hand was disgusted by everything that went on between anyone. She was just jealous. Garrison and Nikita took off toward the cafeteria.

They passed the women's cabins with ease, though shortly after, there was trouble. A group of about six Russians made their way toward them. The Russians hadn't seen them yet, but would soon. Garrison pointed toward a tree and signaled for Nikita to use it as cover. She did. They waited for the perfect time. At the exact moment the Russians saw them, Garrison opened fire. He was able to hit two of them, their bodies crashing to the ground. Nikita reached outside her cover and took out three. The last one turned and fired back at her. She ducked behind the tree just as the bullets whizzed past the tree and into the tree. Garrison reached out for a shot, and nailed the Russian. Garrison nodded toward Nikita, and they moved on.

They made it to the cafeteria doors. Nikita glanced into the window to see if it was clear. Not a person was in sight. To be safe they stayed with standard protocol, she was by the frame and Garrison was at the door, ready to kick it in. He held up three fingers and mouthed the words "on three. 1,2,3,". His foot slammed into the door, and he went straight into the building. Nikita following. Guns up, moving carefully they made their way through the cafeteria and into the kitchen. Nikita stood guard as Garrison moved the stove. He opened the gun panel, and grabbed three guns, then handed her three guns. They also stocked up on ammo, enough to last for a long time. Just as they moved the stove back into place, they heard voices in the cafeteria. Nikita ran to the door peeking out. She saw an extremely large group of Russians each carrying lots of weapons.

"Front exit blocked. We gotta find another way out," Nikita informed him.

"I know a back way," Garrison saved.

They made their way to the door, and shoved it open. Shock filled both the Russians and Garrison as they stared inches from each other's faces. For a split second, nothing happened, but then it was chaos. A large Russian yanked his gun up and began shooting. Nikita grabbed Garrison and yanked him back inside the kitchen.

"What's the new plan genius?" Nikita asked.

"Go out shooting?" Garrison answered with a question.

She nodded. He looked at her with a mix of sadness, anger, and confusion. Gunshots ricocheted off the steel door, as they stood there. This was the last thing he wanted to happen. He saw a future past the military. He saw happiness, which was more than most people saw. Though it didn't seem like they had any other options. He looked down at the ground, and then back into her eyes.

"I'm sorry for this," he said.

"What do you -," she began, before he kissed her. She kissed back, until he broke away. Shock filled her face, and a certain sadness filled Garrison's.

"I had to do that one last time," he began, "let's go,"

They burst through the door. Machine guns on full fire. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 knocked out. 6, 7, 8 down. Nikita glanced over at Garrison. He was in full fire, the machine gun going nonstop. He was a fighter, sacrificed himself for the people he loved, she admired that. 9, 10, 11 down. Nikita aimed for the 5 Russians left as they fired back. Nikita and Garrison ran with guns still firing toward the tree line where they would get more coverage. Garrison glanced back at Nikita for a second before a sharp pain hit his shoulder. He fired off 2 more shots killing another person, before he collapsed to the ground.