Leave Me Behind

Jefferson is sprawled out on the ground and coughing up blood, his gloved hand clutched across his chest as red blooms from his vest.

My brain works on overdrive. I don’t have time to be distracted by his wounds. I drag my gaze across the battlefield. The smoke is quickly fading with the pounding rain falling heavily on my shoulders.

A flash of movement draws my attention and I raise my M16, finger on the trigger. The soldier is dressed in different camo than ours, though it’s a close resemblance—the difference of only a few pockets and designs on the front vest. I pull the trigger and don’t blink as the soldier tilts back with the force, falling to the ground and twitching with their last breaths.

What the fuck is going on here? This is more than just an ambush. This is organized and they knew exactly where we were landing.

Any trust I had left in Bunny fades.

A gruesome snapping sound redirects my attention to a group of bushes. I approach with caution, aware of the fact that I don’t see or hear any of my comrades or Ghost soldiers.

The leaves of the bushes are bathed in blood, lingering longer now that the rain is tapering off. The thick drops fall to the earth slowly, infusing the brisk air with a sting of iron. It hits the back of my throat and claws at the worry that this blood might belong to one of my squadmates.

A lone figure rises from the underbrush, wobbly from a fight. I still and unsheathe my KA-BAR, keeping low and waiting for the soldier to turn. With our uniforms looking so similar, it would be foolish to cut their throat before I’m certain.

They breathe heavily, the hot clouds of their breath plume around their mask. Then they turn their head and look right at me. My chest constricts as I instantly recognize her in my own image. For a moment it feels like I’m staring at myself, drowned in blood. The matte black of the skull mask and helmet are slick and glossy with red. She looks like a devil. The same one I see when I look at myself in the mirror.

I don’t say a word and neither does she.

Bunny jerks her head up and her arm flashes before I manage to follow the motion of it. Twenty feet away a soldier cries out as her knife burrows deep into his spinal column. He falls to the ground and she’s already darting toward him to finish the job.

I force myself to keep her pace and grip her wrist before she can pull her knife out of his back. Her head flicks up to me. God, I wish I could see her eyes past those goggles right now. Does she even look like herself when she kills like this?

“We need to keep one for questioning,” I order in a low voice.

She hesitates but finally nods.

I take a breath and look back to the empty forest. Jefferson was in bad condition.

“Clear, half a klick west from the intended drop zone,” I mutter through the radio.

Bunny remains settled on the soldier’s back but keeps her head up and alert.

After a few terribly long minutes the radio clicks in my ear. “Clear on the eastern front, quarter klick from landing,” Eren says calmly. Where the fuck have you been? My teeth grind together, but I wait for everyone else to respond before slowly standing. A few more gun shots ring out in the distance.

Jefferson was the only one who didn’t respond.

“I’m going to go check on Jobs. Stay put,” I tell Bunny. She doesn’t acknowledge me, but I don’t have time to wait for a response.

It doesn’t take me long to find Jefferson. He’s still groaning in pain and exactly where I saw him a few minutes ago. He clutches his stomach painfully and gasps for air.

I fall to my knees and start unzipping his vest. “You’re okay,” I bite out, but I’m not sure he hears me. Jefferson keeps taking in long unwavering breaths.

After I remove his vest, I quickly lift his shirt to inspect the wound. Jefferson groans again but I dismiss it. The bullet went straight into his gut, probably hitting mostly intestines, being so low. Hopefully it didn’t hit his kidney.

“We need an evac, Jobs is down,” I say as calmly as I can through the radio.

Eren responds instantly. “We’re on the way. Don’t leave his side; we’re pulling out and regrouping at the alternate drop after we get Jobs out of here. This site is compromised.”

I hold down on his stomach and watch Jefferson’s expressions go from fear, pain, then to confusion. Shit. I’m not sure he’ll make it through this.

A sharp cry rolls through the trees and my head snaps toward Bunny’s direction. She wouldn’t kill our only hostage, would she? I grit my teeth and force myself to stay put. If I leave Jefferson right now, he might not make it.

Pete and Harrison appear through the brush and spot me. I raise my hand and signal them to come quickly. They move silently and kneel beside me. They’re covered in blood and their eyes are wide with adrenaline.

“Take care of Jobs. Sarge is on his way for an evac to the second drop location. I need to get Bunny and find Colt,” I say with a ragged breath. They nod and replace the pressure I was keeping on Jefferson’s stomach.

The blood in my veins pounds rapidly against my eardrums as I run back to Bunny. If she killed the hostage, then there’s no doubt in my mind, she’s a traitor.

I’ll have to kill her. My fists curl tightly at my sides.

Her helmet comes into view and it’s immediately apparent that she’s no longer seated atop the soldier. I unhitch my handgun and point it at her. She turns as a branch snaps beneath my foot.

Her goggles are off and her blood-smeared eyes widen at me.

“Where is the soldier?” I bite out, finger caressing the trigger.

She stares at me callously for a few seconds before standing slowly. Her shoulders are slumped with weariness and my chest constricts at the realization dawning over her darkened eyes.

“You’re going to shoot me?” She barks out a sharp laugh.

My jaw tightens and my eyes narrow with anguish. “If I have to.”

Bunny nods down to her right, I follow the motion and find the soldier, dead and with her knife sticking out of the center of his chest.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

Beside him is Ian.

Ian stares aimlessly at me with his mouth wide open. Blood leaks from his lifeless lips. My eyes widen and my voice booms with shock and fury. “What the fuck have you done?”

“He was going to kill me.” Her tone is empty. “I found your rat.”

She killed Ian?

No. She’s fucking bluffing.

She stares at me like she’s trying to read my very thoughts. Ian couldn’t have been the rat. Could he? I don’t know what to fucking do.

Abrahm’s voice shifts across my thoughts, something he once told me. “Don’t pull the trigger until you’re sure. Until you know you won’t regret the last breath the other person will take.”

He wouldn’t kill her. Not until he was certain of the facts. Fuck.

“Turn around!” I order her. She doesn’t budge. Instead, she takes a step toward me. I secure my grip around the pistol, aiming it straight at her head. “Bunny, fucking stop. I swear to God I’ll fucking shoot you.”

Her grin is visible only in the way her eyes narrow at me. “If you’re going to shoot me, then get it over with, Bones. If I’m going to die today, it will only be at your hands.” She walks until her forehead is pressed against the gun, leaning against the weight of my hold and shutting her eyes. My hands are trembling uncontrollably. “I’m tired, so it’s okay. If this is where it ends, it’s okay.”

My throat swells with emotions I won’t dare to acknowledge.

“Give me your wrists,” I say quieter, hoping she’ll concede.

“Either you trust me, or you kill me. I won’t let you keep me as a prisoner.” Her eyes find mine. I’m entranced by her unwavering devotion, so much so that I don’t realize her gun is pressed against the bottom of my jaw until the cold steel burns my skin.

I almost smile.

She’s fucking good at killing men like me.

My lips part with words that get lost in the sound of the forest being blown to bits. A wall of fire sucks out all the air and the two of us are thrown violently to the ground with the aftershocks.