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I did my best to rise, but it was a no-go. The pain came back even worse than before, not so much flaring as searing its way through my brain, crushing any other thoughts of movement at all.
FUUUCK!
Nothing hurt like this. Nothing ever. I knew my femur was probably shattered, or at least it sure felt that way. I could hear and feel a crunching sound, a grinding, deep in my thigh. It happened every time I moved. And yet…
And yet I still had to move.
“Fall back! FALL BACK!”
I could hear Nanise, the big Samoan. His shouts boomed commandingly, even over the sharp report of a half dozen AK-47’s. The column had been split in half over an hour ago. I wondered if Ryan had made it to the village, or if he was still caught out near the little valley where we’d been ambushed.
Ryan…
Last I’d seen him, he’d been firing the .50cal. Spitting a non-stop line of withering tracer-fire in the direction of the hills — the same direction the rocket attacks had come from.
I could only hope he hadn’t chased them too far. Two of the Hummers had actually joined in, roaring off to squash the surprise offensive rather than retreat from it. But then the second attack came, from the opposite side. It had left us vulnerable. Sent us speeding off in the direction of the abandoned village…
A fresh spike of pain instantly obliterated all other thoughts. It made me bite down so hard I was sure my teeth might shatter.
You have to MOVE!
Staying here was a death sentence. I didn’t know the extent of the attack, or whether our enemy had reinforcements. Shit, I didn’t even know who our enemy was! But they were well-armed. Well-equipped with—
“MURPHY!”
Nanise again! Closer this time. I shouted back for him as I tried putting weight on my leg one more time. The agony was so great it cut me off mid-sentence.
“Here! I’m over…”
The door behind me exploded open. I whirled instinctively, training my pistol on a tattooed Samoan giant. He was built like a refrigerator, with the widest shoulders of any man I’d ever seen. He also had the brightest, widest smile.
“Ah, here you are!” Nanise declared. “Still relaxin’?”
His trained soldier’s eye took in the room first, scanning the exits, the windows, and then finally my shattered leg. The blood was still everywhere, but at least it wasn’t as red. The wound was clotting. It might even stay that way if I were to remain still.
“I’m on my fifteen-minute break,” I grunted, holstering my weapon. “You’re interrupting me.”
“Sorry boss. Breaktime’s over.”
I coughed. “But I didn’t even finish my coffee yet.”
I squinted as another explosion roared outside, this one louder and much more local. By the time I opened my eyes again I’d already been slung across Nanise’s broad back. He did it as effortlessly as a father might lift a toddler on his shoulders. A moment later everything spun dizzily, once we were back outside.
“I— I want you to—”
“Be better if you stop talking, boss.”
A wave of nausea washed over me. I wasn’t sure of direction, or orientation, or how far within range the enemy might be. Hell, I wasn’t even sure what day it was anymore.
The blood loss was getting to me.
“Nanise…”
Everything was a red-tinged blur. I tried to focus, to look down, but all I could see was feet. My savior’s boots moved quickly, one after the other, running fast and hard.
“Nanise, see if you can find—”
KA—BOOM!
