Loyalty is my Honor

One last push

Word count -3190

As I checked my watch one last time, I realized there were only five minutes left. The sun had set, enveloping the surroundings in complete darkness. My squad was still in the process of evacuating the students, and it was up to me to buy them precious time. I gripped the machine gun tightly, ready to fight tooth and nail.

In the distance, I heard the helicopters approaching. I flicked the safety off, released the bolt, and shouldered the machine gun tightly. The first Black Hawk descended, and as the soldiers fast-roped down, I opened fire. With a stream of accurate machine gun fire, I took down five soldiers before they could return fire. I kept up the relentless gunfire, hitting two more soldiers, as grenades were thrown and reinforcements arrived. Detonating the claymores, I created a blinding explosion that momentarily illuminated the area, revealing a sea of soldiers and more helicopters arriving in the distance.

There had to be at least 50 soldiers in the tree line and parking lot, all swarming to enter the school. I hurled grenades like a machine, their explosions causing blood to spray everywhere. I continued to lay down a thick blanket of automatic fire, but the enemy crept closer. My gun's barrel ran red hot, and I swapped it out before continuing to unleash fire upon them. Despite my efforts, they made it up the stairs.

I held them off as long as I could, but a Little Bird helicopter returned fire with its Gatling guns, tearing my sandbag bunker to shreds. Determined, I aimed my stinger launcher and fired, sending the helicopter crashing into the woods. Almost overwhelmed by the swarm of shadows, I jumped out of the demolished bunker and shouldered the heavy gun, spraying down at them before retreating inside the academy.

Once inside, I realized I was pushed closer to the evacuation location and couldn't retreat any further. I activated my night vision and took cover upstairs, overlooking the grand door. I listened to the shadows as they entered, whispering commands and shining flashlights. One soldier warned the others, "Be careful, we're dealing with the Ritter." Another, seemingly a rookie, responded with fear in his voice, "The Ritter, the man who stopped the Azov Battalion, the Butcher of Las Almas."

I wasted no time and opened fire on the group with my M4, swiftly killing eight men. I reloaded as more shadows rushed inside, shooting at the pillar I was hiding behind. Chunks of stone flew around me as I quickly dove to the next pillar, returning fire to buy myself time to reload and assess my ammunition. My supplies were running low—only three magazines and one grenade remained.

I threw a grenade towards the shadows, the explosion splattering blood everywhere. Shouldering my M4, I prepared for more enemies to rush through the door. But my back was against a glass window when six shadows rappelled inside. One of them jumped on me, attempting to strangle me. I fought back desperately, eventually grabbing his chest knife and stabbing him under the jaw, drenching myself in his blood.

I threw the dead soldier aside and used his P226 pistol to kill four more soldiers. Frantically scanning the dark area, I found the last soldier behind me, pointing his gun at me. I fired, but the pistol jammed, and he pulled the trigger, only to hear a click. Seizing the opportunity, I hurled the pistol at him and pounced on him like a feral animal. Strangling him, he kicked and clawed, but with every movement, his life force diminished until he gave up.

Grabbing my rifle, I noticed a squad of shadows attempting to break down the door leading to the rear evacuation area. I ruthlessly gunned them down, crouching in front of the door, scanning for more soldiers. Suddenly, a rifle round struck my vest, causing me to fall to the floor from the impact. Another bullet pierced my upper right shoulder, leaving me groaning in pain. Determined, I got up quickly, spotted the remaining soldier, and ended him with a headshot, splattering brain matter on the walls.