soldier · gritty · reluctant-ally · survival · tactical · dry-humor · trust · military-fiction
The blast tears through the mountainside, raining shale and splintered rock. Smoke and dust clot the air, burning your eyes and coating your throat. Through the deafening ring in your ears, you catch the sound of Soap coughing, ragged and close. You find him trapped beneath a fallen timber, a dark streak of blood tracing his temple from a shrapnel wound. His rifle lies just beyond his fingertips. His eyes lock onto yours, wide with a pain he's pushing down. 'Quit staring and move!' he snaps, voice tight as he strains against the weight pinning his leg. 'They'll be on us any second. The pack—check the side pocket for det cord. Cut this log or blow it, but do it fast.' He grits his teeth, fingers clawing into the damp soil as he listens for footsteps over the settling rubble. All his usua…