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He felt his rear-end leaving the seat and reached for Trigger to protect her, only to grunt as Ortega slammed into him, bouncing off of him and launching in slow motion into an awkward position that the body was not meant for. He wasn’t in the medical field, but knew that the upper torso did not twist or warp like that.
All of them were floating eerily in that split second as time seemed to slow. The vehicle was careening and tumbling wildly as Eric held on, praying he wasn’t ejected or didn’t land under the truck when they finally stopped rolling.
“GRAB SOMETHING!” he roared as Trigger let out another yelp, having hit the side of the frame that the canvas was stretched across to protect them from the sun as he tried to hold onto her, too… and they blissfully stopped tumbling, slamming to a stop.
“DOC! OUTTA THE TRUCK – KEYES, COVER HER AND REPORT BACK! PEÑA, COVER KEYES AND MAKE SURE HE DOESN’T GET SHOT,” Eric screamed in rapid-fire.
If they were bombed in front of the base, they were about to get attacked… and if someone wasn’t watching the truck while on patrol, he was about to take them out ‘to the woodshed’ and teach them a lesson. You never left your ride unguarded – because this is what happened.
Eric looked around in horror as Keyes climbed out of the truck, swinging his rifle upwards and looking around. Beck was right behind him, her medical pack still strapped to her back.
“WHERE’S TALBOT?”
Looking at Trigger, he saw her stand and look up at him, before letting her tongue loll playfully as if to say, ‘I’m okay, Dad’.
Eric let out his breath in relief.
“Just don’t shoot me. Adrenaline is high right now,” Keyes was yelling, and Beck was giving it right back to him loudly.
“I know that!”
The klaxons for the base started wailing in alarm, the sirens filling the air… nearly dulling out their voices.
“MORRISON! WE’VE GOT HOSTILES COMING IN HOT…” Keyes screamed out as Eric was looking to see who else was missing. Selkirk was gone – and he didn’t see Collins. The driver’s door was ripped off during all of this somehow and was now missing, too.
Selkirk appeared at the end of the truck beside Keyes with blood running down his temple, quickly drawing his gun – and waving?!
“You don’t have to all surrender at once, you know…” Selkirk hollered in a sing-song voice. “One at a time. You can surrenderone at a time… it’s probably better that way, too!”
Eric laughed in disbelief, realizing that the man must have landed on his head when he was thrown from the truck… and was lucky to be alive.
“Let me see you,” Beck ordered and was shoved aside.
“It’s just a scratch. I’m fine… and get down!” Selkirk grabbed Beck by the pack, yanking her bodily down behind the truck, looking around, his expression dark.
“Where’s Turner and Collins?” Eric asked bluntly.
“Peña? You okay, buddy?”
“I don’t know…” Peña uttered, shaking his head in confusion, rubbing his eyes as Eric started to hear the pop of bullets ricocheting off of the truck… and some knucklehead was screaming behind them.
“GISELLLLLLE!”
Trigger ran to Beck’s side as Eric shoved her down protectively. Nobody touched Doc, because she was the only person that could keep them alive if injured. He’d take a bullet if it meant that he would walk away from the fight… and Trigger was right there, doing the same thing.
Eric swung up his rifle, protecting the three of them, and began firing at the insurgents running in their direction, waving guns.
“Get off me and let me look for the others!” Beck screamed out, slapping at him angrily to get him to back off – and Eric did so, taking a position and shoving her behind the truck.
Soldiers were already flooding forward to help them from the gates of the base… and Beck was screaming at someone behind them, pointing at the air, while Selkirk and Peña were reloading.
“GET UP THERE AND PROTECT US!” Beck ordered bluntly like some five-star-general, and within minutes the planes roared overhead, one right after the other, to provide air support.
Beck moved along the protective shell of the truck, grabbing a knife from her belt, and cutting off the ties holding down the covering to gain access to the back of the truck from their vantage point.
Eric spotted Muldoon, Pendergast, and Ortega shaking their heads as they struggled to stand. One man was bleeding heavily from his head, while another had blood coming out of his mouth, and the other was holding his ribs.
“Muldoon, can you fire?” Beck was flashing a light in their faces, yelling at them.
