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FUBAR
Mar 24, 2014 22:47:52 GMT
Post by Rock114 on Mar 24, 2014 22:47:52 GMT
Chapter 3 New Orders Wind whipped through Conner’s hair as he bounded into the helicopter’s cabin. Farley was right behind him, assault rifle in hand, and took the seat to his right. Dorn stepped in next, followed by Carter, a short red haired boy of 18 barely out of high school. Sergeant Keenan was the last onboard, slowly stepping in as the vehicle began to ascend.
Conner glanced out of the aircraft as it buzzed over the base, and saw a disaster area. The undead swarm was enormous, with more joining it every second, drawn by the flashing lights and loud noises of battle. The horde must have stretched for a mile, maybe more as it slowly encircled the base. He hoped Mark would be okay.
The vehicle was dark, running only a few necessary lights on the interior. They cast an eerie red glow across the cabin and gave Conner a surreal feeling as the intercom crackled and the pilot cleared his throat. “Welcome to Warner Robin airlines, this is your pilot speaking. Name’s Lieutenant John Kelley, with copilot Flight Officer Jared Hanson, and I’m the slickest stick this side of the Atlantic Ocean. The time is currently 8:15 PM, and the temperature outside is… well, it’s Georgia, it’s hot out. But who cares!” He chuckled into his headset and the static distorted it, giving it a slightly menacing inflection. “Sit back and enjoy the ride folks. Hanson?”
Hanson began flipping switches as he spoke. “Coming to you now, courtesy of flight 1099 out of Robins AFB, one of our personal favorites and an all time classic from The Eagles…” Kelley’s copliot flipped one final switch, and the vehicle’s intercom system began blasting Hotel California through the speakers.
Conner heard Kelley chuckle from the cockpit. “Shit Hanson, I love this song! This is why I keep you around.”
Farley nudged Conner in the side. “How long you think those two have been together?” Before Conner could reply, Keenan pounded the aircraft’s ceiling with his gloved fist to get their attention. His face pale, more so than usual, and it clashed sharply with his dark, tattered uniform in the darkened vehicle.
“We’ve just gotten word that the civilians we were assigned to rescue in downtown Macon have managed to escape,” Keenan bellowed, “and that they have managed to secure the Travelier Motel on the outskirts of the city.” Keenan paused for a moment and let the soldiers enjoy what might be the last good news of the evening. Uncharacteristically, he was trembling slightly as he continued.
“Our mission priorities have been temporarily changed due to this development,” Keenan said. “Checkpoint Echo is guarding Interstate 75, the last road out of Macon that leads to Atlanta. They’re under heavy attack, and if that outpost falls, everyone in Macon and the surrounding area will be trapped. All of your friends at the AFB, the refugees at the Save Lots in town, even those folks down at the Travelier. We can’t hold Macon, but if we can hold Checkpoint Echo long enough, the survivors here have a chance at making it to Atlanta.”
Keenan looked around at his battered and bloodied squad. “I ain’t saying that everyone’s counting on us. All I’m saying is that we have to do our duty. That’s it. At 0800 tomorrow, we’ll be leaving this madhouse of a city for Atlanta, and I don’t want to lose any more of you than I already have. Not this close to the end.”
Conner raised his hand, but didn't wait for Keenan to acknowledge him. "Something wrong Sarge? You seem a little-" As quickly as it had started, the music was cut off by Kelley yelling into the intercom. “We’re coming up on Echo ladies and gentlemen! Don’t forget your luggage when exiting the aircraft, and have a pleasant day!” The music came back on as they closed in.
Glancing out of the vehicle once more, Conner saw the battle below. Humvees, cargo trucks, civilian cars, and even a tank had been parked alongside the interstate in several places to serve as barriers against the undead. Between the vehicles, sandbags and concrete road dividers had been assembled into ramshackle barricades hastily covered in barbed wire. Soldiers manning vehicle mounted weapons fired nonstop into massive crowds of undead approaching the perimeter, while soldiers inside the secured area were digging holes and fortifying the outer barricades with whatever they could find.
Still not quite himself, Keenan yelled. "You heard him ladies! Grab your crap, load your rifles, and can the chatter!" Conner felt the helicopter touch the ground, and without a second thought he jumped out. The heard the moans of the dead converging on Echo were audible as soon as he escaped the noise generated by the vehicle. A chorus of the damned that shrieked for his blood, unceasing, echoing over the landscape and biting deep into his core.
“Conner,” Keenan screeched, “Get over to the far edge of the perimeter with Dorn and Farley. They say they're about to be overrun.” Conner locked eyes with his two friends, and without another word, led them into the fray.
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FUBAR
Mar 25, 2014 0:31:15 GMT
Post by Autobot Sonic on Mar 25, 2014 0:31:15 GMT
Oooh this is getting interesting...
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FUBAR
Mar 25, 2014 21:04:00 GMT
Post by Rock114 on Mar 25, 2014 21:04:00 GMT
Chapter 4 The Deserters It was like something out of a movie. Conner couldn’t stop thinking that as he sprinted toward the edge of the secured area with Farley and Dorn at his side. The sound of gunfire drowned out almost everything else. The tank he had seen earlier let off a massive BOOM every time it fired its main gun, cutting massive swaths in the horde of walking corpses as they approached. Officers were shouting orders, shell casings clinked against the concrete of the road as soldiers fired, and great explosions spit out flames and showered nearby soldiers in dirt and debris.
Everyone was shouting. “Fire in the hole!” “Left flank, left flank!” “MEDIC!” “I’m out, get me some ammo!” Many of these calls were cut short, some being drowned out due to the noise, others ending alongside the life of their owner. It was disorienting, overwhelming. He couldn’t make sense of any of it as he, Dorn, and Farley maneuvered through the chaos. A flight of jets screamed by overhead, dropping their payloads in the midst of the horde outside of Echo. The horizon caught fire as they flew over, sending the smell of roasting flesh over the area as the undead outside of the perimeter burst into flames. Through the fire, through the steel rain and lead death they advanced, oblivious to the meat grinder they stumbled through in their pursuit of flesh.
As Conner, Dorn, and Farley reached their assigned, one of the combatants stopped firing and looked at them. He had a deep scar running down the left side of his face, ending at his jawline, and bright blue eyes that contrasted sharply with the dark green camoflauge patterns on his uniform. “I don’t recognize you,” he rasped, “ You ain’t from this platoon, are you?"
Farley responded while Conner and Dorn took up positions and began firing. “We just got here. The Cavalry has arrived.” Relieved, the scarred man stood up and put his hand on Farley’s shoulder in a gesture of gratitude. The rest of Scarface's squad stopped firing as well and turned to look at their reinforcements. Farley brushed the man’s hand away and shrugged. “No need to thank us, saving the day is just what we do.”
Scarface pulled his sidearm out of its holster and shot Farley in the chest.
Scarface yelled at the top of his lungs while Farley collapsed, struggling to breathe and clutching at his chest. “New meat just arrived! That means we’ve got a way out of this insane asylum, boys! Let’s book it!” In unison, Scarface’s squad grabbed their rifles and fled, dashing back the way Conner, Dorn, and Farley had come from. An entire section of the line, originally intended for ten men, was now manned by only three.
“Jesus Christ!" Conner yelled, swinging his M4 around and firing shots back into the perimeter as Scarface and his killers made their escape. Dorn rushed to Farley, groaning in pain on the ground, while Conner pushed away the urge to give chase with an audible "Fuck," and turned back to the barricade. The field in front of him, once a lush green pasture beside the road broken occasionally by a tree or two, looked like an old World War Two picture. Shell craters were everywhere, bodies lay strewn throughout the once peaceful field, and severed body parts were scattered as far as the eye could see. Through it all, the horde marched toward him, unyielding in the face of overwhelming firepower, driven by a single minded determination to eat, to kill, to turn.
Conner pulled the trigger as quickly as he could, sending as many of these creatures back to whatever dark abyss they crawled out from as he could. For every one he killed, two more seemed to crawl over its body and take its place. He let his training take over, as he’d been taught in boot camp. He detached, letting his body go through the motions without thinking. Pulling a grenade from his pack, he yanked the pin, yelled "Fire in the hole!" and was showered with blood and dirt when it went off in the midst of a group of them mere feet away.
A yelp of pain from beside him snapped him out of his trance, and he finally saw just how close the corpses were. In a minute, maybe less, they had closed the distance he’d been trying to hold. Without Scarface or his squad holding down their position, the horde had managed to advance the last few yards to the barriers. They were reaching over the wall and into nearby vehicles, spilling over in ones and twos. The soldier manning the machine gun on one of the Humvees nearby was being yanked out by the collar of his uniform, and dragged over the side of the vehicle into the waiting hands of the undead. The driver, panicking, slammed down on the gas pedal as the dead swarmed his vehicle. The Humvee shot away from its position on the barricade as the driver made a futile attempt to escape, opening a wide hole in the barricade. The gap it left in the perimeter was the final nail in the coffin for Checkpoint Echo.
The dead surged through, a tidal wave of rotting flesh and hungry faces. Conner turned his toward the breach, eyes wide with fear, and held down the trigger. His trusty M4 shredded the first dozen corpses that came through with fully automatic death, bullets tearing flesh from bone, blowing holes clean through the reanimated bodies as they lurched toward him. The empty click of his rifle seemed deafening as the final bullet left the weapon and the horde advanced unchallenged. He frantically searched with his eyes for Dorn and Farley, but they had disappeared. Taking one look back at the horde pouring into the Checkpoint, he did the only thing he could do. He ran.
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FUBAR
Mar 26, 2014 21:11:39 GMT
Post by Rock114 on Mar 26, 2014 21:11:39 GMT
Chapter 5 FUBAR Conner scrambled under the nearest cargo truck as everything began to fall apart. One soldier, a Captain with his arm in a cast and a bandage around his head, barely had time to yell that the perimeter was breached before he vanished under a writhing mass of undead. Another trooper, a woman bleeding profusely from a large wound on her arm tried to fire her pistol at one of them as it came within arms’ reach of her. The weapon didn’t fire, and the monster pulled her to the pavement by her hair and began to eat.
A familiar voice pierced the veil of death that lay before him as Dorn and Farley ran into view, rifles clutched tightly in hand while the rest of the soldiers at Echo began to react to the breach. Farley leveled his weapon and fired, taking out two of the corpses that had been closing in on him. “Conner,” Dorn wailed, “We’re getting out! Sarge says we’re leaving as soon as we get back to Kelley!” He paused as another approached, and he emptied his last few rounds into it. “Conner? Man, where are you?”
“Here!” Conner shouted, dragging himself out from under the truck. Dorn covered them as Farley extended a hand and Conner took it. “What happened? I thought you got shot,” he inquired as he was pulled up.
With a massive grin, Farley motioned to his uniform. “And you told me I wouldn’t need Kevlar for fighting corpses.”
“Hey assholes, we need to get out of here! This place is a deathtrap,” Dorn commented.
The next few moments would be seared into Conner’s memory forever. A soldier from another squad held a grenade in his hand, and the distinct click of the pin being pulled was somehow still audible over the surrounding massacre. One of the walking corpses tackled him before he could throw, and sent the man to the ground where his head let out a sickening crack upon contact with the pavement. In slow motion, the grenade rolled out of his limp hand and come to a rest a few feet away. No time to put his arms up, shield himself from the blast. It would go off, he would be hit, and then he’d never leave this hellhole.
“Goddamnit…” Dorn sighed, defeated. Then he gave out a cry and lunged forward. His body came to rest on top of the explosive, and in the split second before it went off, Conner could swear he was staring right at him.
The grenade exploded, and the muffled blast tore Dorn open. He rolled over, smoke rising from the remains of his charred uniform and burnt flesh. His eyes were completely still and dull, the faintest sign of fleeting life all but invisible. His face was warped into an expression of pain and terror, frozen in death forever. Conner had to force himself to keep moving, but whenever he closed his eyes, he saw Dorn’s staring back at him.
A group of soldiers with heavy weapons had set up a second line of defense amid the destruction. With superior firepower, they held back the dead who had breached the line. The squad wouldn’t do more than buy time, though, as the horde seemed limitless. Already, cries of another breached wall were cropping up on another side of Echo. A mud caked Captain was screaming into a radio for close air support as Conner and Farley dashed by him, begging for any support available. He couldn’t be sure, but Conner swore he only heard static from the device as he ran by.
Conner and Farley rounded a parked humvee to the landing zone, and freedom, but true to form, their luck continued to worsen. A squad of soldiers was standing in front of the helicopter, their backs to the pair of soldiers, with weapons covering Keenan and Carter.
Keenan was holding his rifle up with one hand, while the other had dropped to the pistol he secured on his belt. Carter’s rifle was pointed directly at the man closest to him, a short fellow with a shotgun whose uniform looked a little too large. One of them, likely their leader, had his pistol pointed right at Keenan in front of the formation.
Conner grabbed Farley and pulled him back around the cover of the vehicle as he recognized the grating voice of the man threatening Keenan. “Ya’ll just step outta the way real slow and peaceful now, and things won’t have to get ugly.” Keenan responded with a few choice curses as Farley tried to step back out and see what was going on.
Conner pulled him back again. “What the fuck Conner? Those guys are going to take our ride out of this graveyard and leave us to rot. We have to help Sarge.” Nearly paralyzed with fear, Conner shoved Farley up against the Humvee and motioned for him to be quiet. “Shit, that’s the guy from the perimeter.”
“The asshole who shot me? He’s trying to desert?”
“Yeah,” Conner confirmed, “And I don’t think he’ll let anyone stand in his way.” Even above the chaos unfolding around them, Farley and Conner both heard the familiar sound of a bullet being chambered. Scarface barked an ultimatum.
“You dead men better move out of the way before we have an unfortunate case of friendly fire. I ain’t killed an actual living person since this thing started, and my trigger finger is starting to twitch.”
Note: Shit's just gotten real at Echo. Things are just going to get worse in the next few chapters (which are most definitely my favorite of this whole story).
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FUBAR
Mar 26, 2014 21:53:25 GMT
Post by Autobot Sonic on Mar 26, 2014 21:53:25 GMT
Awesome! Keep it up.
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FUBAR
Mar 26, 2014 22:01:34 GMT
Post by Rock114 on Mar 26, 2014 22:01:34 GMT
I'm glad you're enjoying it, Sonic. Unfortunately, Chapter 8 and the Epilogue (which I HAVE decided to do much like 400 Days had Day 400 with Tavia) may not come out on schedule due to some pretty big rewrites. It's about a 50/50 chance at the moment.
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FUBAR
Mar 27, 2014 21:00:10 GMT
Post by Rock114 on Mar 27, 2014 21:00:10 GMT
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is only Part One of a Two Part chapter. As this is only a part of the whole, I'm willing to put up Part Two later tonight, provided you guys want that. Let me know if you want it tonight or not, and if you don't, I'll treat separate parts as full chapters and put them up daily. The next chapter will also be two parts, and what you guys want me to do for this one will be what I do for the next one. If no one responds, I'll just put them up daily as separate chapters.
Chapter 6, Part 1 EVAC Keenan scowled as Scarface pressed his pistol against his forehead. “Your time’s up old man,” he grunted. “Step aside.”
Keenan stood still, shouting to be heard over the massacre taking place around them. “I guess you’re right. We can’t do anything because Conner and Farley aren’t here.” Conner and Farley threw each other confused looks in their hiding place as Keenan continued with his strange speech, seemingly emphasizing words at random. “I guess we should tell Kelley that the fat lady is about to sing. In about 30 seconds, right? A minute?”
Carter looked over at Keenan dumbfounded. “What? We’re letting them leave us to die? You’re giving up.”
Keenan shook his head. “Son, like I'm trying to tell Kelley, we have to face the music in about half a minute.” Keenan looked out beyond the group of soldiers and glanced around. At one point it almost seemed as if he made eye contact with Conner, then continued to speak. “Like I said, Conner and Farley aren’t here. Those two would be all fired up, but we can’t do anything without them."
“You think Sarge has lost it?” Farley asked. “He's not making any sense."
Suddenly, it dawned on Conner. It was so obvious that he silently cursed to himself for not realizing it sooner. “No, he’s getting us out of this. Follow my lead, man!” Silently, Farley did as he was told. The two crept closer, staying in cover as Keenan continued. They had closed to within 20 feet when the signal came.
“Well, it looks like Conner and Farley aren’t with us,” Keenan stated. “After we’re done facing the music now, they are going to be fired.”
Scarface’s expression turned from one of confusion to horrified realization as Keenan’s gaze flicked over to Conner and Farley behind him. At that same moment, the speakers mounted on Kelley’s helicopter began booming at maximum volume. Scarface’s soldiers flinched, jumping visibly as Don’t Fear the Reaper blared out of the helicopter’s speakers at full blast. In that split second of confusion, Conner and Farley opened fire on the deserters from behind.
The duo’s initial shots slammed into the rear of Scarface’s squad, reducing their number by half almost immediately. The front half, however, remained standing, having been shielded from the initial blanket of lead by the bodies of their comrades. The short man wielding a shotgun sent a shell into Carter’s body before the young man could react, tearing him nearly in two. Carter’s twisted upper body landed in the helicopter, peppered with shotgun pellets and nearly unrecognizable from the damage. Too late, Conner and Farley finally found their target in Carter’s killer, riddling the small man with dozens of rounds that shredded his body and sent him flying to the ground.
Scarface sent a bullet into Keenan’s shoulder, knocking the Sergeant back and causing him to let go of his assault rifle. Keenan drew his own sidearm and sent his first round into Scarface’s neck, then followed up with two more to his stomach. Scarface’s hand began to spasm, and the quick jerks of his finger sent two rounds from his pistol into the ground, and another one into Keenan’s chest. A quick burst from Conner’s assault rifle stitched Scarface from neck to hip with assault rifle rounds, bringing an end to the murderer’s life. Keenan clutched at his chest with his good arm, and slumped against the side of the helicopter as he tried to stem the blood flow. Scarface hit the ground beside him, unmoving, expressionless.
In an instant, Conner was beside the older man while Farley jumped into the helicopter. Gently, Conner took Keenan's arm and draped it around his shoulder. Struggling to lift the heavy man from the ground, he heard Keenan speaking to himself, the words spilling out as if they'd been waiting just under the sergeant's tough exterior for years.
"So close... failed him... like the others..."
"Sarge, can it," Conner ordered, "We're getting out of here." Keenan didn't stop, and followed up by moaning Carter's name. He was somewhere else now, far away in his own mind as Conner tried once more to lift him from the blood stained ground and into the helicopter.
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FUBAR
Mar 28, 2014 20:58:56 GMT
Post by Rock114 on Mar 28, 2014 20:58:56 GMT
Chapter 6, Part 2 No Man Left Behind
Music still blaring, Kelley stuck his head out of the pilot’s door window. “Keenan? What’s going on?” In the background they could hear soldiers screaming as they were ripped apart, and one shrill voice echoed above the rest with a jarring “Every man for himself!” Farley hurled himself into Hanson’s now unoccupied copilot’s seat. “I thought he was here.”
Panic crept into Kelley’s voice. “You didn’t see him? Hanson’s still out there Farley, are you sure you don’t know where he is?”
“No. Why did he leave the damn chopper?”
“Some guys on the other side of Echo got creamed by friendly fire, so he went to help the wounded and get them back to the chopper. He said he’d be back any minute.”
“Hanson’s gone, man. Take off.”
The pilot exploded, face red with anger. “Fuck you, I’m going after him!” Kelley rose and drew his pistol as he stepped around his seat, but Farley grabbed him violently from behind. Jerking the pilot back, Farley drew his own sidearm and pressed it against Kelley’s temple.
“You’re getting us out of here, or you’re not leaving this bird alive.”
“You wouldn’t. You need me to fly.”
“Bullshit,” Farley spat. “If you leave this chopper, you’ll die out there and we’ll be trapped anyway. Now get us in the air. He’ll never make it back.” Kelley’s face contorted in emotional distress as the gun was pressed more forcefully against his head. He twisted, attempting to bring his own weapon into play, but Farley slammed the grip of his pistol into the airman’s throat. He fell to the floor of the helicopter grasping at his neck, but the damage Farley had done was only temporary. “Hanson’s dead,” Farley stated deadpan, pistol still aimed at Kelley’s head. “I’ll send you straight to him if you don’t sit down and fly us the fuck out of here right now.” Tears welled up in Kelley’s as Farley audibly flicked the safety on then off again. “Your choice, flyboy.”
“I… I…”
“You have five seconds before I paint the inside of this bird red at muzzle velocity.”
After a long silence Kelley slumped in defeat, holding back sobs as he lay on the cold metal floor. Farley gently eased the pistol out of the pilot’s hand, helped him up, and guided him back into his seat. He turned to Farley, face red, with tears cascading down his cheeks. Farley simply motioned with the gun, causing Kelley to scowl.
“I hate you,” he hissed in a low, husky voice through clenched teeth. “You selfish coward."
“I have to do this Kelley,” Farley stated. Kelley hunched back over his instruments. “It’s the only way you’d listen,” he said meekly. "If you go out there, we'd die."
Kelley kept staring straight ahead as he spoke in a low, even voice backed by anger. "It's not about living. It's about being able to live with yourself." Farley didn't offer a retort. Conner grunted with the effort of hauling Keenan into the vehicle. He propped him up in one of the seats and secured him there as best he could. The squad leader managed to croak out a fractured sentence.
“Dorn… where’s Dorn… Carter… nobody left behind…”
Conner felt the reassuring vibration of the rotors spinning, a signal that they were on their way to being airborne. Head down, he struggled to give Keenan the somber news. He felt like he was choking on his despair. “Dorn’s dead, Sarge. Carter too.”
“Did you at least… bring them with you… can’t leave them… far away… from home…”
“Not Dorn. There was no time. But Carter’s here, Sarge. He landed in the helicopter when…” He couldn’t bring himself to finish it. His squad was almost gone. Just him, Farley, and Keenan left. What could he possibly say to make it all better? “But Dorn saved us. Me and Farley. He saved our lives.”
Keenan just nodded. Conner saw that even that simple motion was a struggle for him. The veteran slumped in his seat, resting his head on the back of it. Kelley was sobbing in the pilot’s seat as the aircraft lurched into the air at long last, ferrying them out of danger one last time. As he heard the pilot silently calling Hanson’s name Conner pulled Carter’s body away from the open door of the vehicle, and leaned it up against the back of Kelley’s seat. Finally away, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat next to Keenan, keeping his hand on the Sergeant’s shoulder in a show of reassurance as the man eyes fluttered open and closed.
Looking out of the vehicle, he gazed over the rubble and ruin that had once been the last checkpoint out of Macon. Like teeming locusts, the dead swarmed it, ending the National Guard's last stand as the few survivors left fled, delaying the inevitable. Through the billowing smoke, all that remained of so many soldiers, Conner thought he saw someone sprint into the landing zone they had just left. They were far away, but he could just make out the lighter shade of green that colored most of the standard issue pilot fatigues. The figure, whoever it was, waved their arms above their head in the helicopter's direction. Soon enough, they were far enough away that Hanson was nothing more than a speck in Conner's vision. And then he was gone.
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FUBAR
Mar 29, 2014 14:39:36 GMT
Post by Rock114 on Mar 29, 2014 14:39:36 GMT
Chapter 7, Part 1 The Calm It was a quiet flight for the four survivors of Echo. The only noise, aside from the helicopter’s rotors slicing the air, was Kelley’s subdued sobbing from the pilot’s seat. None of them found it easy to put the horrors they had just seen into words. Farley tried first.
“We left a lot of people back there.”
“Shut. Up.” Kelley kept staring straight ahead. The visor of his pilot’s helmet was down, concealing his eyes behind a tinted glass shield in order to keep the others from seeing his tears. “Not all of us had a choice.”
Farley, looking away, spoke again. “I’m sorry Kelley. I know he was your friend, but-“
“It should have been you,” Kelley stated, deadpan. “Hanson had a wife in Atlanta. A kid, too. What do you have?” Farley opened his mouth to answer, but Kelley cut him off. “You have a gun. That’s all people like you ever need. You just shove it in someone’s face and make demands. You’re fucking sick, all of you.” Looking back over his shoulder at Conner and Keenan, he spat at them. “So much for ‘no man left behind’.”
“Get used to it…”
“I don’t care how close you are to dying, Keenan. Go fuck yourself.”
Conner jumped in. “Hey, Sarge is a good man. He might be an asshole sometimes, but he’s a good man. Just like Hanson was. Show some respect.”
Kelley looked as if he were about to leap out of his seat and beat Conner within an inch of his life. “Never say his name again. You don’t have the right.”
“I’m sorry,” Keenan croaked. “I failed him. All of them.”
“Sarge, you didn’t-“
“You know what’s funny, Conner?” Keenan’s voice was weak as he began to ramble. “They wanted us to die there. At Echo. The cocksuckers in Command, they told me we had to stay at Echo, even though it was gonna fall. They knew we couldn’t win, but they kept sending guys there to get killed. This wasn’t the first time, either.
“I’ve been fighting in shitholes across this planet for 40 years now. ‘No man left behind’ is a nice slogan, but it’s just that. Something pretty for the recruiters to say to get stupid kids like you to agree to go around the world to some run down country they can’t even find on a map and get shot at for a few years.” He coughed, and a small stream of blood began to run from his mouth.
“It’s always about the mission when you're in the army. Never about the people. That’s why I decided that Command, and my orders, could go to hell today. I’ve always followed my orders. I’ve left friends to die on the whim of a superior. I’ve been left behind myself. I always told myself it was for the greater good, for the mission, but those were just excuses.” He used the word 'excuse' much in the same way one would a curse. “I was just too afraid to defy my orders. Today I decided I’d to the right thing just once, but I fucked it all up. Dorn, Carter, Hanson…” He looked down at the slowly expanding blood spots on his uniform, “And now me. I figured that I couldn’t bring back Jules, or Cullin, or Peters, but I could make sure none of you got left in the first place. But I couldn’t even manage that. Nothing ever changes. The only thing we do is relive the past over and over, until it becomes all that we are and consumes us.”
None of them said a word as Keenan finished his rant. Even Kelley’s sobs had quieted. The eerie silence was so encompassing, so distracting, that none of them noticed Carter’s body begin to twitch from its position behind Kelley’s seat.
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FUBAR
Mar 29, 2014 15:39:58 GMT
Post by Autobot Sonic on Mar 29, 2014 15:39:58 GMT
Oh snap, shit's gonna go down!
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FUBAR
Mar 29, 2014 17:15:19 GMT
Post by Rock114 on Mar 29, 2014 17:15:19 GMT
Oh snap, shit's gonna go down! You have no idea exactly how hilariously accurate that statement is. Not that part 2 is funny by any means.
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FUBAR
Mar 29, 2014 17:17:04 GMT
Post by IDEK on Mar 29, 2014 17:17:04 GMT
Chapter 7, Part 1 The Calm It was a quiet flight for the four survivors of Echo. The only noise, aside from the helicopter’s rotors slicing the air, was Kelley’s subdued sobbing from the pilot’s seat. None of them found it easy to put the horrors they had just seen into words. Farley tried first.
“We left a lot of people back there.”
“Shut. Up.” Kelley kept staring straight ahead. The visor of his pilot’s helmet was down, concealing his eyes behind a tinted glass shield in order to keep the others from seeing his tears. “Not all of us had a choice.”
Farley, looking away, spoke again. “I’m sorry Kelley. I know he was your friend, but-“
“It should have been you,” Kelley stated, deadpan. “Hanson had a wife in Atlanta. A kid, too. What do you have?” Farley opened his mouth to answer, but Kelley cut him off. “You have a gun. That’s all people like you ever need. You just shove it in someone’s face and make demands. You’re fucking sick, all of you.” Looking back over his shoulder at Conner and Keenan, he spat at them. “So much for ‘no man left behind’.”
“Get used to it…”
“I don’t care how close you are to dying, Keenan. Go fuck yourself.”
Conner jumped in. “Hey, Sarge is a good man. He might be an asshole sometimes, but he’s a good man. Just like Hanson was. Show some respect.”
Kelley looked as if he were about to leap out of his seat and beat Conner within an inch of his life. “Never say his name again. You don’t have the right.”
“I’m sorry,” Keenan croaked. “I failed him. All of them.”
“Sarge, you didn’t-“
“You know what’s funny, Conner?” Keenan’s voice was weak as he began to ramble. “They wanted us to die there. At Echo. The cocksuckers in Command, they told me we had to stay at Echo, even though it was gonna fall. They knew we couldn’t win, but they kept sending guys there to get killed. This wasn’t the first time, either.
“I’ve been fighting in shitholes across this planet for 40 years now. ‘No man left behind’ is a nice slogan, but it’s just that. Something pretty for the recruiters to say to get stupid kids like you to agree to go around the world to some run down country they can’t even find on a map and get shot at for a few years.” He coughed, and a small stream of blood began to run from his mouth.
“It’s always about the mission when you're in the army. Never about the people. That’s why I decided that Command, and my orders, could go to hell today. I’ve always followed my orders. I’ve left friends to die on the whim of a superior. I’ve been left behind myself. I always told myself it was for the greater good, for the mission, but those were just excuses.” He used the word 'excuse' much in the same way one would a curse. “I was just too afraid to defy my orders. Today I decided I’d to the right thing just once, but I fucked it all up. Dorn, Carter, Hanson…” He looked down at the slowly expanding blood spots on his uniform, “And now me. I figured that I couldn’t bring back Jules, or Cullin, or Peters, but I could make sure none of you got left in the first place. But I couldn’t even manage that. Nothing ever changes. The only thing we do is relive the past over and over, until it becomes all that we are and consumes us.”
None of them said a word as Keenan finished his rant. Even Kelley’s sobs had quieted. The eerie silence was so encompassing, so distracting, that none of them noticed Carter’s body begin to twitch from its position behind Kelley’s seat.
OH SHIT! A Title that isn't a acronym!
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FUBAR
Mar 29, 2014 17:19:37 GMT
Post by Rock114 on Mar 29, 2014 17:19:37 GMT
Chapter 7, Part 1 The Calm It was a quiet flight for the four survivors of Echo. The only noise, aside from the helicopter’s rotors slicing the air, was Kelley’s subdued sobbing from the pilot’s seat. None of them found it easy to put the horrors they had just seen into words. Farley tried first.
“We left a lot of people back there.”
“Shut. Up.” Kelley kept staring straight ahead. The visor of his pilot’s helmet was down, concealing his eyes behind a tinted glass shield in order to keep the others from seeing his tears. “Not all of us had a choice.”
Farley, looking away, spoke again. “I’m sorry Kelley. I know he was your friend, but-“
“It should have been you,” Kelley stated, deadpan. “Hanson had a wife in Atlanta. A kid, too. What do you have?” Farley opened his mouth to answer, but Kelley cut him off. “You have a gun. That’s all people like you ever need. You just shove it in someone’s face and make demands. You’re fucking sick, all of you.” Looking back over his shoulder at Conner and Keenan, he spat at them. “So much for ‘no man left behind’.”
“Get used to it…”
“I don’t care how close you are to dying, Keenan. Go fuck yourself.”
Conner jumped in. “Hey, Sarge is a good man. He might be an asshole sometimes, but he’s a good man. Just like Hanson was. Show some respect.”
Kelley looked as if he were about to leap out of his seat and beat Conner within an inch of his life. “Never say his name again. You don’t have the right.”
“I’m sorry,” Keenan croaked. “I failed him. All of them.”
“Sarge, you didn’t-“
“You know what’s funny, Conner?” Keenan’s voice was weak as he began to ramble. “They wanted us to die there. At Echo. The cocksuckers in Command, they told me we had to stay at Echo, even though it was gonna fall. They knew we couldn’t win, but they kept sending guys there to get killed. This wasn’t the first time, either.
“I’ve been fighting in shitholes across this planet for 40 years now. ‘No man left behind’ is a nice slogan, but it’s just that. Something pretty for the recruiters to say to get stupid kids like you to agree to go around the world to some run down country they can’t even find on a map and get shot at for a few years.” He coughed, and a small stream of blood began to run from his mouth.
“It’s always about the mission when you're in the army. Never about the people. That’s why I decided that Command, and my orders, could go to hell today. I’ve always followed my orders. I’ve left friends to die on the whim of a superior. I’ve been left behind myself. I always told myself it was for the greater good, for the mission, but those were just excuses.” He used the word 'excuse' much in the same way one would a curse. “I was just too afraid to defy my orders. Today I decided I’d to the right thing just once, but I fucked it all up. Dorn, Carter, Hanson…” He looked down at the slowly expanding blood spots on his uniform, “And now me. I figured that I couldn’t bring back Jules, or Cullin, or Peters, but I could make sure none of you got left in the first place. But I couldn’t even manage that. Nothing ever changes. The only thing we do is relive the past over and over, until it becomes all that we are and consumes us.”
None of them said a word as Keenan finished his rant. Even Kelley’s sobs had quieted. The eerie silence was so encompassing, so distracting, that none of them noticed Carter’s body begin to twitch from its position behind Kelley’s seat.
OH SHIT! A Title that isn't a acronym! You're right, I've failed. Time to delete the rest of the story and wallow in self pity.
And just to make sure, you know what the acronyms I've used mean, right? I'd hate to find out that someone didn't, which would make them confused as to why they were used as titles.
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FUBAR
Mar 29, 2014 17:20:39 GMT
Post by IDEK on Mar 29, 2014 17:20:39 GMT
OH SHIT! A Title that isn't a acronym! You're right, I've failed. Time to delete the rest of the story and wallow in self pity.
And just to make sure, you know what the acronyms I've used mean, right? I'd hate to find out that someone didn't, which would make them confused as to why they were used as titles.
EVAC, sounds like it's short for Evacuate, FUBER is Fubar, I don't know about no.2 and...
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FUBAR
Mar 29, 2014 17:20:50 GMT
Post by Teacakes on Mar 29, 2014 17:20:50 GMT
*slowly raises hand*
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