SOTD- See You Again by Tyler The Creator ft. Kali Uchis
This was the final ending. The last act. Maybe it would end in blood and tears. Maybe it would end in happiness. Certainly there would be a few fatalities... and I expected one of them to be mine.
~
The smell of smoke of Price's cigar wafted through the air. We stared at the base from afar. It wasn't much. I wouldn't exactly describe it as a base. It was basically a compound. The night air felt cool against my skin. I had worn a tank top and a bulletproof vest over it along with black cargos. I inhaled the cool air and slowly exhaled.
I could feel my heart beating into my chest and my grip on my gun was tight. My stomach twisted in knots and it felt like I would throw up. This wasn't the adrenaline I was used to.
Something deep down inside of me told me something was going to happen... somebody was going to get hurt.
I looked over at Ghost. He seemed fixated on the building that was a small distance away from us. His eyes locked onto the building and his stare was dark and brooding. He clenched his semiautomatic rifle in his hands. I knew he craved revenge. I knew that's why he carried a duffel bag with explosives. Retrieve Soap, release the innocent civilians, and the army with nothing.
Reinforcements rolled in- heavy tanks were in position. We were ready to make the first strike. "Move in!" Alejandro ordered. A few soldiers stayed back to take targets down at a distance. "Sightless, I'm going to need you to kill all the lights," I say through the coms.
"Roger that."
The bright, blinding lights that illuminated the base had shut off. Soldiers were left in the dark, the moon barely a source of light for any of them. I cut my night-vision on. Hues of green glowed through the lenses and I looked at the targets more clearly.
To me, they were nothing but a target. My bullet would rip through their flesh and into a vital organ just as I had practiced on the cutouts. Before that, they were nothing but a confirmed kill... a number to increase the score.
And after that...
They're nothing but a body.
Who they were... their names didn't matter. Their lives before this or the family they have or had didn't matter either. It was just another beating heart inside of a bag of flesh and bones. The trigger that my finger was wrapped around was their fate. Squeeze the trigger and they die. The bullet would seal their fate.
It was easier thinking that way while I watched their bodies drop. It was easier to think of them as nothing when I sprayed my bullets into their chests- watching the harsh friction nearly rip them apart.
It was easier while watching their blood spill beneath them. To become so numb to death and killing was both a blessing and a curse. Before, I would see their lifeless eyes haunting me in my dreams. Now, I took them down like it was nothing. Like they were nothing.
The adrenaline began kicking in. The nauseous feeling subsided as I continued squeezing the trigger. The butt of my gun harshly into my shoulder- but the kickback gave me more fuel.
I kept my eyes forward- watching the soldiers blindly shoot through the dark. I knew Sightless had already hacked into their system so they couldn't call for reinforcements. Either way... they were fucked.
Alejandro's soldiers departed from us to free the civilians on the west side. The explosions from the Tanks made the ground beneath my feet shake. They targeted all buildings except for one. That's the building all the captives were inside.
Bright flashes sparked through my night vision goggles and the flames grew higher. I eventually cut my night vision off since the flames gave us enough light. "The captives are held underground beneath the building." Price informed us through the coms. "Knives, Ghost, Gaz, Alejandro, Landon, Amelia, Rudy, and I will take the underground. The rest split and take out the upper levels." Price gave us our orders and we continued pushing through to the building- taking out soldiers left and right.
We neared the doors and tried taking it down. "The doors are too heavy!" Price called out.
"Ghost, come here!" I said as I pulled him close to me. I reached into his duffel bag and grabbed out a stick bomb. "A solution to our problem," I said. I handed Price the sticky bomb and he thanked me while taking it.
Ghost grabbed onto my arm as he pushed me forward to keep a safe distance from the explosive.
The heavy metal doors that loomed overhead, seemingly impenetrable. We knew we needed to get inside quickly, and a sticky bomb was our only way in. After Price readied the bomb and detonated it, the explosion shook the ground beneath us. The doors were reduced to rubble, and me and the rest of the squad poured into the building, moving with purpose and determination. The chaos of the explosion echoed through the base, but we were focused on our mission. We quickly split into groups, and prepared to move onto the next stage of our plan.
Price and Alejandro took the front as they led us underground. As we entered the underground building, the darkness enveloped me like a thick cloak. The stale air hung heavy in the air, and the sounds of distant screams could be heard echoing down the hallways. Thankfully, the night vision goggles that I activated enabled me to navigate the building with ease, casting a green hue over everything I saw. Although the darkness was still overwhelming, the night vision lenses gave me some sense of comfort and control in the tense situation we were in.
The floors were made of concrete and the smell of mold and mildew wafted through the air. I nearly gagged because of the horrid smell- but managed to push through it.
One by one, Gaz, Amelia, Landon, and Rudy unlatched each of the metal doors that kept the captives inside. The loud explosions and gunfire echoed throughout the entire underground hallway- yet the noises seemed pretty distant. "Soap!" Price called out.
I listened carefully, but he never responded. I unlatched a metal door myself to see a man backed against the wall. His knees were brought to his chest and his head rested in his arms. I had my gun drawn- careful to make sure he didn't make any movements that would indicate he wanted to cause harm. "Sir?" I spoke up.
He raised his head. His eyes pierced into mine. He didn't look scared or happy... he looked defeated. His cheeks were sunken and his eyes were filled with exhaust.
His hair was disheveled and his beard was unkempt. The clothes he wore had dirt and dry bloodstains scattered onto it- as well as a few rips. "Soap... mohawk." His voice was raspy as if he hadn't drank water in days. "You know him?" I asked.
"He's in the upper level- top floor. That's where they kill their captives."
I could feel my heart drop. I left the cell- leaving the door wide open. "Ghost!" I called out as I pulled him to me. "Soap is on the top floor! We have to go before they kill him." Ghost could hear the panic in my voice.
"Go! Go! Go!"
Ghost and I turned the opposite way from everyone and Landon followed us. We ran out the doors and to the staircase. I could feel my legs burn with each step I skipped past. We ran up the top floor and I felt like collapsing to the ground.
I kept pushing and we busted through the door. Rows of bodies lay scattered on the floor. "Those soldiers... they're Alejandro's..." Landon spoke up.
"Yeah, but some of them are from the other side." Ghost kicked one soldier from the opposing army. The doors were wide open and the gunshots from inside the building and the explosions from outside were louder.
I caught a glimpse of a door at the end of the hall. It was shut unlike any of the other doors. "Stay behind me." Ghost's eyes looked into mine.
I gave him a head nod as Landon and I followed behind him. As we approached the door, my emotions ran the gamut. Part of me was filled with hope that Soap was safe, that we could rescue him and bring him home. But another part of me was consumed by fear, fear that something horrible had happened to him and we were too late. That fear mixed with the hope, creating a sense of nervous anticipation that kept my heart racing. As we reached the door and Ghost slowly opened it, I held my breath, almost unable to bear the suspense.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" A taunting voice stopped us dead in our tracks. "Why don't you do me a favor and lower those guns for me?"
The lights flickered back on and a man stood behind Soap with a gun pointed to his head. "Soap!" Ghost went to take a step forward, but the sound of the unfamiliar man cocking his gun stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Drop. Your. Weapons." His tone was more stern and threatening. I let go of my gun, as did Ghost and Landon. The sounds of our guns hitting the floor danced in my ears with a clattering sound. Normally that sound would've been satisfying if I wasn't the one dropping my gun. "Who the hell are you?" I raised an eyebrow.
Landon, Ghost, and my hands were all raised and my eyes glared into the unfamiliar man's. I noticed his Russian accent but I wasn't too familiar with him. "How rude of me," He said sarcastically. "My name is Sergei." He paused for a moment. "Sergei Sokolov."
My eyes widened a bit. "As in Andrei?" Ghost asked. "Yes, exactly. You guys killed my brother," He seethed.
"Actually! Graves did," I pointed out. Sergei gave me a look and I shrugged my shoulders with a grin. "I mean, if we're getting technical," I added. "And she killed Graves," Ghost added also.
"I don't care! All I know is that it's your fault!"
He pointed his gun to Ghost. "And I will kill all of you."
Before I could even react, Landon had pushed me to the side. Landon lunged toward Ghost, knocking him out of the way as the gunshot rang through my ears. I reached for my knife and threw it. My knife tore into Sergei's neck and he dropped the gun.
Soap turned and yanked the knife and used it to stab Sergei repeatedly. I made my way toward Soap and cupped his face. "You're alive!" I laughed. Soap laughed along with me as he looked down at me. "You can't get rid of me that easily."
I engulfed him in a hug before turning over to Landon and Ghost. Immediately, my heart dropped.