Chapter 1

Middle East.

2003.

An American military convoy was making their way across a vast desert, sand expanding out every direction for hundreds of miles.

Dozens of armored trucks were driving on a road that no longer existed.

War, explosions, and death left more rubble than flat and paved street.

The trucks continued to drive, each one with a large machine gun mounted on top with soldiers dressed nearly head to toe in kevlar armor and helmets.

Inside one of the trucks, one man sat with his hands clasped together. He was leaning forward as he stared blankly, an M16 rifle slung over his torso attached to a long leather strap.

He was clean shaven, young, and had a look of innocence that covered his face, even if his eyes had a burning hatred and rage that was unmistakable.

The other soldiers around him sat, silent with heavy faces.

The only sound was the trucks themselves driving over uneven sand, occasionally running over pieces of gravel or rubble.

It was a quiet day.

Almost too quiet.

The trucks continued to drive forward, ever so slightly shifting and buckling as they moved.

The suspensions of the trucks withstanding all of the bumpy terrain, seemingly having no issue.

After a few seconds of tense silence.

A massive explosion shook the ground beneath them.

The young man turned to look through the windshield, seeing one of the military trucks flung high into the air with smoke and debris flying in every direction.

“Get down!” One person screamed at the top of their lungs.

Another massive explosion erupted from underneath the ground, sending the trunk flipping into the air. The man standing with the machine gun was flung out of his space, his shoulders dislocating as he tried to grip as hard as he could. He screamed in agony, but was then crushed by the trunk landing on top of him, his blood splattering back through the hole and all over the soldiers.

The young man’s eyes went wide as he felt the liquid splash over his face and body. He looked down at all of the blood covering him.

The back doors of the truck flew open as the soldiers quickly ran out.

The sounds of bullets whizzing by made them drop as the young man was the last one to get out from his seat.

He ran towards the doors, but was flung back when a soldier fell on top of him.

The man looked down at the body on top of him, bullet holes all over their head and chest, blood pouring out onto his body and face.

He pushed them off, getting back off and grabbing the gun the corpse was clutching.

He stepped out onto the sandy ground, looking out to see all of his fellow soldiers laying on the ground. Pools of blood large enough to fill ponds staining the dark ground.

The soldier could continue hearing gunfire and bullets flying past his head.

His blood covered body and face with wide, panicking eyes.

Everything was pure chaos around him, the remaining trucks having parked with soldiers firing from the cover in one direction.

But as they sat, bullets suddenly fired out from the opposite direction, turning the men into swiss cheese with ammo that cut through their bodies as well as the metal of the trucks.

The young man took a single step forward.

An explosion of fire and smoke erupted from the ground and sent his body flying into the air. All he saw was black smoke and shrapnel when his leg emerged and became visible, seperated from his body as he came crashing down to the ground.

He didn’t scream in pain.

He just laid on his back staring at the sky.

The bright blue sky with the only clouds being black and gray smoke billowing from the ground.

The man was breathing fast and short breaths as the sounds of violence and suffering only became quieter and less frequent.

The dead bodies were more numerous than the living, fighting soldiers.

Bodies piling up as the trucks were left as pieces of scrap metal held together by screws and bolts.

The young man slowly sat up despite his body being filled with pain and shrapnel.

He looked down at his torso.

His uniform and bullet resistant vest were torn to shreds to expose his skin.

Multiple wounds and holes in his body slowly leaking his own blood.

He looked down more. His right leg was completely blown away below his hip.

The other was a mangled pile of muscle and bone that was struggling to stay attached with a few strings of tendons doing their best to hold on.

He reached around and gripped the M16, the leather strap ripping and tearing after pulling with the slightest amount of strength.

He raised the gun up as figures began to walk towards him from the horizon.

They resembled hallucinations, wavy through the hot air as the soldier continued to breathe the best he could.

The figures became clearer until he was able to make out multiple men dressed head to toe in robes, wielding AK47s and pointing them at each of the soldiers laying on the ground.

One moved ever so slightly, a flurry of bullets suddenly firing out into the body.

The young soldier still alive tried to squeeze the trigger of his gun, but his hands were too weak. His fingers didn’t have the strength to squeeze and fire.

His arm was too weak, dropping to the ground as he continued to sit up.

The men in robes made their way to his body, pointing their guns at him.

He very slowly turned his head to look around to see the five men pointing their guns at him.

He looked back to face forward, then looked up at one of the men.

He tried to spit, but his body struggled to get the momentum to fire it. The blob of blood and saliva barely escaped his lips, falling to the ground as he let out a very pained and hurt sigh.

“Why are you here?” One of the men shouted at him in Arabic.

The man stared, not knowing what they were saying.

“Why are you here?” They shouted louder.

The man stared in extreme pain, yet still had hatred and rage in his eyes.

“Go **** yourself.” He could barely get out as more blood came from his mouth.

The men all began to softly chuckle.

One lifted his rifle, staring right into the man’s eyes.

The barrel moved forward until it was pressing into into his forehead, the still burning metal creating a red ring of burning flesh.

The young soldier gritted his bloody teeth and continued to stare with hatred.

A few seconds of tense silence filled the air as fire and smoke continued to surround them both.

Then, the bullet fired into his brain.

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