2: Beneath Orion, Worlds Apart 05

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Spartan22
Spartan22
608 Followers

---

It felt like he had been walking for several hours. Each step was cautious and deliberate. Luke heavily relied on his ears due to the darkness, using his NVGs only when necessary. Any time he heard the slightest noise, he immediately crouched and froze in position regardless of how far away it sounded. He wouldn't move a single muscle for what seemed like hours, almost to the degree of cramping; each time he prayed that the noise was only a far away nocturnal animal. Eventually he pressed forward.

Off on the horizon an orange glow radiated dimly, outlining what could only be a small village. Luke was fairly certain this was Gomasad, one of the most inhospitable places across the forlorn country -- if you could call it a country. In fact, according to Intel, it was less of a stable country and more of a chaotic terrorist breeding ground. Luke took a deep breath. This was also the town where Operation Burning Rain first began, not long ago when precision bombing rained down on an enemy compound just outside of town, but the town was populated enough that it was exactly what he was looking for.

His mind flashed to 1 Kings 18. He thought of the lone prophet of God who stood up against the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. Despite being alone, he believed the Lord was with him, which gave him the confidence to challenge every last one of them. Miraculously, the prophet came out on top.

He wouldn't dare compare himself to Elijah, but Luke was fairly certain he could relate to the prophets feeling of isolation. There was no doubt Luke was about to enter the mouth of the lion and, just like the prophet from thousands of years ago, he too would walk alone but with God by his side. If there was any other way to avoid the unwelcoming town, he would have taken it, but he didn't have a choice.

What he needed would be in that village.

Walking towards Gomasad with his rifle in hand, he remained confident knowing God would have his back, but the lingering feeling in the back of his mind told him that didn't necessarily guarantee that he would come out of there alive.

---

Three Days Later

His patience had paid off. The crystal oscillator he held in the palm of his hand was the last part he was looking for, and right now, he wouldn't have traded it for a million dollars. Luke held his breath, trying to contain his excitement. For the first time in as long as he could remember, things were finally going his way.

Still, he had to be careful. The last thing he wanted was for someone to hear him make a noise as he snuck around inside a third world equivalent of a pawnshop. After several nights of working his way through the village without being detected, dodging and hiding from a swarm of unsuspecting enemies, he finally located the last and most important part he needed to build a transmitter radio. Hope was slowly returning; he was beginning to believe that he might actually have a chance at making it out alive.

Luke remembered seeing a soldering iron in the storeowner's workroom in the back of the shop. Patiently low crawling through an aisle of junk between two large plywood shelves, he slowly and quietly made his way to the back room. He felt his heart rate elevating; once he soldered the radio pieces together, he could finally leave this forsaken town, head for higher ground, and try once again to contact U.S. or Allied Forces. The closer he came to freedom, the harder it was to remain patient and move slowly. All he wanted to do was build the radio and bolt out of town as fast as he could.

Luke had almost finished soldering the components, working slow and meticulously knowing he'd only have one chance, when he heard the door to the shop open. Silently cursing, he unplugged the soldering iron. He'd have to go with what he had and could only hope his handiwork was good enough.

Two men engaged in conversation entered the shop, speaking in a foreign language. Luke was pretty good at speaking and understanding both French and Spanish and not surprisingly these two were speaking anything but.

Quietly clutching the radio and ducking down underneath the table, Luke remained cautious and quiet, staying out sight.

For now, the two men didn't seem to notice Luke. He didn't know if one of the men was the shop owner or not, but both were heading towards the back room where he hid.

In his heightened state of awareness, the slightest of sounds were magnified. He tried to control his breathing, remaining as still and silent as possible. No matter how hard he tried Luke could hear himself inhaling and exhaling despite his closed mouth, his heartbeat loudly echoing through his eardrums. Removing his finger from the trigger of his rifle, not wanting to risk alerting the entire town to his presence, Luke instead elected to go for a quieter weapon. Slowly moving his hand to the knife sheath on his survival vest, he silently unbuttoned the strap holding the knife in place and wrapped his fingers one by one around the hilt, firmly grasping the weapon. Even slower Luke patiently drew the knife out, careful not to make a sound.

Looking underneath the table, Luke could see the feet of the two approaching men, but fortunately they were still oblivious to the American hiding in the room. He could also tell they were carrying rifles of their own, but weren't wearing organized military uniforms. He grimaced. As he suspected, they were insurgents. From his angle, he couldn't tell if they were holding their weapons or if they were simply hanging over their shoulders.

He prayed they would grab whatever they needed, turn around, and just go away. The last thing he needed was a firefight in the middle of the village. If anyone heard the blast from the rifles, it would be all over for him, even if he could get past these two.

They didn't turn around. They came closer, step by step, walking around the table.

Luke had already tucked underneath the table as much as he could even though he didn't fit all the way underneath because of all the clutter. Thanks to the shadows and lack of lighting in the room, the man in the lead initially didn't notice Luke.

It was the trailing man that caught Luke out of the corner of his eye; Luke cursed, realizing he must have seen his reflection in a small dirty mirror on the bench behind him.

Shouting something in a foreign language, the insurgent swung his rifle towards Luke, but Luke was ready.

Leaping forward, Luke blocked the AK-47 with his left arm and plunged his knife into the enemy's chest. Gasping, the man fell down; his rifle slipped from his hands, never having fired a shot.

The other enemy, startled and unprepared, fumbled with the rifle he had slung over his shoulder. As Luke moved forward with the falling body, pulling the knife out, he gave a quick, powerful sidekick. His boot forcefully connected with his chest, pushing the insurgent into a pile of junk behind him. Luke's heart skipped a beat, extremely concerned with the noise and racket, but at least no shots had been fired.

Luke quickly pounced on the man while he was down, trying to stab him just as he had done to the other man only moments ago, but as his arm went forward the insurgent blocked his wrist with his rifle, causing the knife to fling out of Luke's hand. With the butt of the rifle, he hit Luke in the jaw, knocking him off.

As the knife fell next to the insurgent, he reached for it knowing it would be much quicker to grab with a single hand instead of fumbling with his rifle. He still wasn't quick enough; Luke jumped back on him in a flash. Throwing two strong right hooks, Luke hit the man in the face with two glancing blows, both partially blocked since the insurgent went on the defense. Reaching up with one hand in desperation, the insurgent tried to choke Luke, or at least roll him off; Luke wasn't sure which but it was clear he was becoming desperate. Of course, they were both desperate, both fighting for their very lives.

Both men grappled on the floor, each one trying to gain the edge. Luke tried to push the arm around his neck away with one hand, while his other hand was balled up in a fist, trying to beat him into submission. He couldn't get a good shot in, and his face was turning red. With a quick change in tactics, Luke gave up the punch and instead threw his elbow down on the insurgent's ribs, as hard as he could. A loud cracking sound told Luke his shot was effective.

The insurgent screamed, bringing his arms in to defend his chest, unknowingly ripping off the dog tags around Luke's neck.

A surge of fear overcame Luke knowing others outside had probably heard the scream, serving to even further spike his adrenaline. Instinctively, Luke covered the man's mouth and nose, continuing to beat him with every ounce of strength he had. The man became weaker and Luke became stronger. Luke was oblivious to his prior injuries; he no longer felt any pain. Blow after blow, Luke savagely hammered him harder with each strike, unaware of the blood on his knuckles -- both men's blood. At one point, Luke grabbed his head with both hands and slammed it against the hard wooden floor. He lost count of how many times. It was as if he became possessed.

Luke heard more voices outside. Immediately he stood up and made a break for it. Dashing towards the closest window, he quickly looked outside to make sure the coast was clear. Fortunately he didn't see anyone; whoever was outside must have been on the other side of the building. With one swift motion he opened the window and rolled right through, making sure to close it carefully behind him. Just as he lowered the window, he heard more people entering the store behind him.

It was frightening; he knew what he had done, but it didn't seem real. He just killed a man with his bare hands. He turned into something he didn't recognize; something savage and primal. It was kill or be killed, but the monster within him broke loose and went overboard. Luke wasn't even sure if he suffocated him or if he beat him to death, but there was no mistaking he was dead.

Trying to push that agonizing thought aside, he tried to remember his objective. Adrenaline still pulsed through his veins, so he had to deliberately stop and think in order to maintain his focus. The important thing was he now had a custom-built radio, and all he had to do was make it out of town alive.

Luke already had the town mapped out and an escape route planned which would take him to the mountains; his patience in surveying the small village for the last several days would finally pay off. All he had to do was stay patient, disguise himself and avoid the locals.

The only thing he didn't count on was his missing dog tags.

---

X -- Taps

"I swear, that girl is never on time," Kaylee vented to Faith while sitting in the living room of the Patton household. "Can you believe she's half an hour late, and still counting?"

Faith giggled, "Kaylee, you just got here not even five minutes ago yourself. I was ready to go at eight o'clock on the dot, but two someones were absent."

Kaylee blushed, "Ok, so I was late too, but I wasn't as late as her!" It sounded better in her head, but it came out a little too childish. Kaylee shook her head in embarrassment. Faith laughed. Kaylee gave a weak smile and sighed, "Ok, maybe I'm not the princess I once thought I was. Sorry for making you wait, Faith."

Shrugging, Faith smiled and said, "It's really not a big deal to me. You don't need to apologize. Besides, the movie really doesn't start until nine-thirty. I already accounted for Audrey being thirty minutes late."

"Smart girl," Kaylee told her, somewhat bewildered. "How come I never thought of that over the years?"

"Probably because you've always been nearly as late as she typically is, meaning your concept of time has always been a little off," Faith said, trying to stifle her laugh.

Kaylee threw a pillow from the couch at her. Faith raised her arms just in time, giggling as the pillow bounced off and harmlessly fell to the ground.

After the doorbell rang, Kaylee popped up from the couch and walked to the door. "I don't know how you've been so patient with us," she laughed as Faith stood up, following her to the door.

Swinging the door open, Kaylee started to say, "Finally, Aud..." but was unable to finish her sentence.

She froze.

A wave of fear instantly swept over her. Her legs felt weak; she didn't think she could continue standing.

Standing in front of her were two Air Force officers standing at attention in their service dress uniforms. The somber, serious looks on their faces told Kaylee why they were there.

"Excuse me, miss, we are looking for Mr. Ryan and Mrs. Jessica Patton," one of the officers calmly and deliberately asked; he sounded compassionate, but it was almost as if his opening line was rehearsed.

Kaylee could barely stand; she took two steps back and braced herself against the wall so she wouldn't fall over. She swallowed hard, almost choking; she knew why they were there.

Faith gave a panicked shout down the hall, squeaking like a young teenager as her voice cracked out, "MOM!!"

Jessica shouted back, asking what Faith wanted, but Faith didn't reply. Eventually she came down the hall to see what Faith was shouting about when she saw the two men.

Kaylee's stomach turned when she saw Jessica's normal everyday smile instantly turn into a look of unfathomable pain. Tears streamed down Kaylee's face as she realized she had just witnessed the exact moment in time when Jessica's world would be turned upside-down forever.

"No, no, no no no no," Jessica cried as she started to fall apart. Faith ran up to her mother as she sunk to the floor. Kaylee couldn't breathe.

"The officer continued, "I... we regret to inform you, Luke Adam Patton has been listed as Killed In Action..."

Jessica screamed hysterically, tears falling to the floor, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BABY??"

"Ma'am, we're so sorry," the officer remorsefully said.

Kaylee had no idea what he said after 'Killed In Action/We're so sorry'. The words resonated in her head but everything else was a blur.

Her concept of time had vanished. The two military officers were now in the house, but she didn't remember them ever coming in. At some point Ryan had stepped into the room. Or, most likely he ran into the room; Ryan must have heard Jessica wailing and responded as fast as he could.

Tears streamed down Kaylee's face. She felt paralyzed; she couldn't speak, she couldn't even blubber. The drops just fell from her eyes, and her body wouldn't even allow her to sniff them up. She didn't remember how, but she ended up on the floor with Jessica, Faith, and Ryan, all holding each other in one giant hug.

All Kaylee could think about was Luke -- he was gone. Just like that.

It felt like her life was over; it was that sudden. Her reason for living was gone. Even though she and Luke were no longer together, even though he had found someone else, the pain was excruciating. After everything the two of them had been through, he was no more. There was no more Luke, which meant there was no 'Kaylee and Luke'.

Her hero had been killed; she didn't know how she could go on. Breaking up was hard enough on her, but knowing he was gone was just too much. Everything in her world reminded Kaylee of Luke. Looking up in the starry sky, driving by the restaurants Luke took her to -- some how he always knew her favorite places, or even walking past the men's clothing section at the mall. It was hard enough knowing Luke had dumped her for another girl, but at least he was alive and walking around on this planet.

But now, he was gone. Just gone.

Audrey was also there; Kaylee didn't remember her coming in. Somehow Audrey also ended up on the floor with everyone else, crying her eyes out, too.

The agony was such an overwhelming, painful force. All she wanted to do was lie on the floor and die.

---

"Back up, you're going too fast. What do you mean the rescue operation failed? What do you mean he was shot down," Ryan asked, trying to process the Major's words.

"Specific details are classified, sir, but what we can say is they were ambushed," the officer exhaled. "When their helicopter went down, two of the four men survived, one of which was your son. The other helicopters in the area couldn't get to them because they were taking too much fire; they were also caught in the ambush and had to fight their way out."

Ryan pulled out a chair and took a seat, trying as hard as he could to focus on the man's words.

"When they relayed back to Command Post what had happened, the Four-Star General himself ordered the largest Search and Rescue operation the United States Air Force has ever conducted. They scoured the mountains, leaving no stone unturned. Eventually they made radio contact. Your son and the other surviving crewmember were taking fire. They were able to get the other crewmember to safety, but..." he choked. Even the Major was having a hard time relaying what had happened, "They couldn't grab Luke."

Lashing out, Ryan growled, "Then why didn't they do a second rescue operation? Did they just fucking give up on him?"

The other officer, a young Captain who had been quiet until now, calmly interjected, "Sir, it wasn't like that. They did try a second operation. There was only one problem." He looked at the higher-ranking Major, letting him take over.

The Major surveyed the room. He glanced at Jessica who had been sitting on the floor and holding Faith and Kaylee tightly. Audrey lay up against Kaylee, but Jessica's hand had reached Audrey's shoulder, including her. All four women were in immense pain, and they ran out of tears.

Shaking his head, the Major quietly turned his focus back to Ryan and whispered, "They... had a video. They had his dog tags and were celebrating. Look, I'm not supposed to be telling you this. Our experts analyzed the video footage, and the tags were genuine down to his serial number and blood type. They belonged to Luke."

Ryan wiped the tears from his eyes, trying to grasp what had happened. He angrily asked, "So Luke's body hasn't even been recovered?"

Both the Major and the Captain shook their heads no.

"Are they going to find him? We want him home."

The look of doubt on the Major's face shook Ryan, but he honestly admitted, "We're not sure. We are still looking for him, but as you can understand it's turned into more of a Recovery Mission than Search and Rescue."

Ryan was silent for a moment, taking everything in. He finally said, "So, when the brass saw that video, that's when they called off the search?"

The Major reluctantly nodded, "They were already putting numerous other lives at risk to find him... sons and daughters with their own parents, wives, and husbands waiting for them at home. They had to scale back. That doesn't mean they gave up searching for him, to still bring him home."

Ryan noticed the Major carefully avoided saying 'Bringing home his remains'. Ryan had already lost one son, his firstborn, a long time ago. The pain was tremendous, and he still carried scars from the day he first found out about his death.

Now he had to take in the fact that he just lost his only other son.

"I want to see the video."

The Major held up his hand and started to protest.

"I didn't stutter. If you can't even bring my son home, I at least want to see it," Ryan said again forcefully.

"I can't approve that, sir, but I can talk to my boss. I wouldn't recommend it; at least, I would ask you to take a few days to think about it."

"I don't need a few days to think about it. Talk to your boss, please," he said. Turning around and looking at the disheveled, disheartened women, Ryan felt lost and hopeless.

Spartan22
Spartan22
608 Followers