Two Man's War

Delivering the message

Cam's POV
The commander gathered everyone in the bunks. It was time for everyone to go to sleep but instead we all waited, sitting on our beds, for Austin to come and go over the us the plan. Although none of us have seen him since he went the the Chief.

"Where the hell is he?" One of the soldiers in our group, Section A, said.

"He said he would be here." The commander replied. I looked below me to Henry who was sitting on the bunk below me. I was on the top while he was on the bottom.

"Henry." I said. I saw his head peer out from his bed looking up at me.

"Do you think he got kicked out? Remember July 4?" I asked him.

"Probably. The chief would kick him out in a nanosecond and then have a party like he won the lottery." He replied.

"Remind me never to turn to you for hope."

"You asked." I lightly laughed. My smile disappeared as I leaned back on my bed. I don't think we will save Zane and Tom.

Austin's POV
I was walking through the hallway next to the chief's office. He ordered me to report back to him when I finished. I believed I had finished. Everyone was asleep besides the chief who was in his office. The two guards let me in since the chief told them I was expected. I walked inside, the door closing behind me. The two guards inside watched me as I walked up to the chief.

"Sir, I had finished by cleaning." I replied.

"Good job. Now, go-"

"Hold on." I cut him off when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked to the chief's window. What I saw was like a horror movie coming to life. A bomber plane was headed straight towards us.

"Get down!" I yelled as I dove straight for the chief. In mid-air the blast caught me and sent me slamming hard into the ground. I closed my eyes. My ears were ringing and my arm stung. I didn't make it to the chief in time. I hope he was okay. Someone was shaking me, trying to get me to 'wake up' even though I felt awake. My eyes opened and to my relief, the general was the one shaking me. He seemed okay with no scratches. Once the explosion stopped and I heard no more planes, I grasped for my arm, laying on my back on top of shredded up pieces of wood. It was bleeding heavily, but I had to get up.

"Commander," I said while getting up slowly. "Are you hit?" I asked him.

"No. But your arm is hit pretty badly. That bomb knocked you right out. I'm glad your okay." He replied.

The commander's POV
While we were waiting for Austin to show up, I suddenly heard a large crash. I jumped off of my bed while everyone else stared in confusion as to what they heard.

"What was that?" I asked. Nobody answered. Suddenly, Austin appeared in the doorway, his arm tattered and bleeding badly. I walked up to him.

"Austin, what happened?" I asked him. His face was dirty and he looked like he saw a ghost.
"Bomb- from plane went- off in chief's- office." He said while taking breaths in between his sentence.
"Someone attacked us?" I replied in horror. He shook his head yes.

"Are there anymore planes?"

"No. The chief is okay. He didn't get hit as badly. The guards ran away for safety." I turned towards everyone in the room who overheard the whole conversation.

"Everyone report to the chief in his office. We will figure out what to do next." The commander replied.
"Or what's left of it." Henry smirked.

Everyone jumped off their beds and went into the destroyed chief's office. Wood was everywhere which probably explains how Austin got his arm hurt. The chief was in there talking to the general about the bomb. The general's position was basically to be in charge of almost everything. The chief was in charge of all the sections and I was in charge of this group of people, Section A.

"Sir," I began. He stopped talking to the general and looked at me and everyone else in our section who were awaiting orders. "We need to know what to do. Our section thinks that we should go back and try and save Zane and Tom. Everyone agreed that they were willing to sacrifice their lives to do so. It will be a rescue mission. We could stay in contact with you throughout the mission with our Walkie's and call a SOS if needed."

"Commander, you realize that once the general found out who the attackers were, we assumed Zane and Tom were dead? In case you didn't know, those attackers were the terrorists. Because of that, it is likely that Zane and Tom were shot and killed and then the terrorists came back for us for payback. The mission is the same as I told you. We are still going to an island to take it over. Nothing has changed." The general replied. He seemed frustrated.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." The commander replied. Everyone went back into their bunks after freshening up and Austin reported to the Med. But right before I exited the torn up office, I turned back towards the chief.

"Sir," I began. "There is just one problem with you saying that Zane and Tom are dead. You're assuming." At that, I turned and walked away. It was going to be a long day of training tomorrow.

Austin's POV
The med had pulled out a 3 by 3 inch piece of wood from my arm and wrapped it. Luckily, the Med never said I needed a cast, just wrap and a few stitches. Suddenly, I heard a nock at the door. I turned to see who it was while the med finished stitching my arm. The chief walked in.

"Austin, I'm sorry you got hurt. But you showed a great deal of strength and courage to try and save me. I know that it's very sad that Zane and Tom are dead, and I know you knew them as friends. So, if you want, you may deliver the message. I never knew them like you did." He said.

"Of course." I relied. He smiled kindly and walked out of the room. It was weird that he seemed so calm about this situation. Anyway, I knew Zane and Tom because they enlisted in the Army the same year I did. We met during a gathering for everyone that was joining. Since then we talked until Zane and Tom were put in a different section than me and that's how I met Cam and Henry. Once the Med finished wrapping my arm, she sent me back to my bunks.

Cam's POV
Once we got to out bunks, everyone laid down on their beds and tried to fall asleep since it was way past time. It was nearly 2 am! Nobody said a word because of what they had just seen. But I decided to break the silence.

"Is our plan still on?" I asked everyone. No one responded. Maybe they actually did fall asleep.

"I'm doing it with or without all of you." One responded. Soon enough, I counted all the people that agreed with him and I heard a total of 50 soldiers, which was everyone in this room. When we fought the terrorists, we had 53 soldiers but minus Zane and Tom. Austin isn't in this room, so we had 3 empty bunks.

Suddenly, Austin walked in the room and climbed up to his bunk. His was probably the most unfortunate bunk because (a) it's on the top and (b) guess who is below him on the bottom bunk? The commander.

Austin hasn't said a word since he entered and just laid down in his bed. I wonder what happened. I heard the commander ask him something in a low whisper and tuned in.

Commander: "Is the rescue still on?" Referring to saving Zane and Tom.

Austin: "Yes."

Commander: "Then what is wrong? Everyone can tell something is up with you. You've never been this quiet, no offense."

Austin: "Why does it matter?"

Commander: "I'm the commander of this section. I'm supposed to look after all of you. So speak."

Austin: "I have to deliver the message."

I heard no response after that. I can't believe Austin has to deliver the message to Zane and Tom's parents! We don't even know for sure if they are dead. And if we deliver the message only to find out that they are alive, it will be bad. Very bad. The chief is just assuming things. It's going to be a long day of training for us and heartache for Austin. Or will it? I wonder if Austin actually knows Zane and Tom. Were they friends? I kept thinking about things until my eyes felt droopy and I fell asleep.