#tazofthe141

Aaron’s breathing was surprisingly calm, but his heart gave away his stress; it thundered like a jackhammer in his chest. Every second felt like an eternity in which the Ultranationalists could sneak up on them and shoot them down from behind. He found a good spot behind a group of fallen trees. He could see through a gap in the branches to keep a lookout for approaching enemies.

Aaron shook his head, noticing the feel of the drying blood which trailed along the side of his face. “You’re good, man. It wasn’t your fault; this could’ve happened to any of us.”

He unscrewed the cap of the lieutenant’s water bottle and tilted Elliot’s head back so that he could drink.”You’re not gonna die, Kurtz. Not on my watch. Just stay awake, man, I need you here.” No way was he going to lose another teammate.

Aaron’s mind reeled with the possibilities of who could have sold them out. It was obvious the traitor was in the midst of the 141; how else would the enemy have known of this top-secret mission? But who betrayed them? Aaron’s anger flared; the sight of his downed comrade was enough to make him want to murder every last one of the Ultranationalists and enact revenge on the traitor. He wondered, not for the first and definitely not for the last time, how he had ended up here. He never would have imagined he would be in the 141. If only his family could see him now. If only Ava could…

Aaron’s movements were quick and practiced as he took out his medical supplies. He cleaned Elliot’s more serious wounds, disinfected them as best he could, and pressed gauze on them. With his knife, he shredded the handkerchief he carried and tied the bandages securely.

"There. That’ll have to hold for now." He only wished he could stitch the wounds closed as he watched the blood pool into the gauze.

"Goddammit, Taz. You could live, dammit. You CAN live, get the fuck out!" he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs.

Aaron could escape. He could sneak out of that dark, humid hell, get to the extraction point and still be home in time to take a shower and watch the last episode of 24 Hours while drinking a cold beer. Instead, he vowed to stay and die with him. He was stuck with a rookie W.I.A. soldier who couldn't even stand.

Kurtz could hear his own heart pounding in chest, each time stronger.

"Gotta stay awake... gotta... stay... awake... gotta..."

Everything was fading as he felt cold sweat running all over his face. He let his arm drop by his side, the gun slipping from his fingers and hitting the ground with a noise that seemed to echo through his mind.

"мы нашли их !!!" he heard someone scream. guns cocking, footsteps on the dried grass.  He thought he heard his partner swearing. And then, everything went black and he heard nothing but the echoes of death's steps.

__________

When Kurtz opened his eyes once again, he was still hearing shots. Machine gun shots, shotguns, maybe even grenades. All of them overcome by an even louder noise. The blades of a helicopter?

"Am I in hell already?" his own voice echoed in his mind, though he could not move any muscle of his face other than his eyelids.

He wasn't amidst the trees any longer.

His senses seemed to come back to him for a couple of instants. Someone put an oxygen mask in his face.

Voices... the echoes of someone's voices.

He felt a warm hand grab his. He felt this someone's voice's vibrations through it, though he could not make up any of the words. And yet, he knew they were reassuring words.

He grabbed the hand with whatever energy was remaining in him, which wasn't so much, but was enough proof of the only one thing that seemed important that day:

Aaron shook his head and coughed. The smoke and dust coated his lungs and made breathing difficult. With a groan, he lifted himself into a sitting position. His side hurt like hell and he could feel a trickle of hot blood coming from his left ear, but he steeled his mind against the pain. I have to focus on Kurtz. He’s hurting way worse than I am.

Elliot’s words made him crack a smile. “This is no time to be a hero, Kurtz. We’re getting out of here.” He placed a firm hand on the lieutenant’s shoulder and looked him in his good eye before adding, “Together.”

Aaron bit the inside of his lip as he took note of Elliot’s new injuries. He had to get him to a safe position in order to clean him up as best he could. Packing light was essential for a stealth mission, so Aaron only had the most basic of medical supplies. He only hoped he hadn’t lost his kit in the blast.

His training kicked into overdrive as he scanned the area around them. This was no easy task, what with the smoke still obscuring his vision. Aaron decided to look on the bright side of their situation. At least the enemy would have a hard time seeing them, too…As long as they didn’t have thermal scopes.

Aaron noticed Kurtz take inventory of his gear. He looked up at Aaron and Aaron gave him a stiff smile. ”I’ve still got a flashbang with me. Had to use my last grenade back there.” He reloaded his weapon and checked his own gear. Two clips left. ”Here,” he stated, handing Elliot his flashbang and his tactical knife. “If the enemy gets too close, I’m gonna set you down and it’s gonna be your job to cover me with that as best you can. Throw the knife if you have to; just do what you need to.”

Aaron could not make it more than a fast walk with his partner on his back. Meanwhile, Elliot tried to stay sharp for any enemies that might have been approaching. And it made him mad. Not the fact that he needed to be carried around like a child in the middle of an important mission, nor the fact that Taz was pretty much having to risk his own life to get them both out of that place.

It was the whole situation. The fact that they did not accomplish anything in that mission. The fact that Elliot allowed himself to be so badly injured he could barely walk.

But most of all, the fact that he would never be half the soldier his father and his grandfather were.

"Sorry, man. I screwed up." he said in what was almost a whisper after Taz put him down in a place that seemed to be well hidden. The young lieutenant's vision was foggy and the whole world once again seemed to be spinning.