Back to the Real World: Operation Ghost Step part III

the left wing of the airplane is completely destroyed. Blowfish is trying to keep control of the aircraft as he tries to force a landing.

Blowfish screams with excitement. there is a bright light in his eyes. he salivates like crazy as he keeps trying to keep everyone alive. there is no one who can robbed him from the adrenaline he has been searching for his entire life.

White Shark is covering his eyes with one hand. with the other hand searches for pills. White Shark feels like he is about to get a heart-attack.

as the aircraft keeps descending everyone inside is trying to keep themselves alive. there are a few bones that make loud noises as they break. in the middle of all is Luther trying to hold himself alive in the center of all chaos.

as the airplane keeps descending it starts to reach the top of the trees. a branch pierces through Blowfish's shoulder. he looks at White Shark with a stupid smile. then another branch pierces right through his heart. Blowfish dies instantly.

the aircraft keeps descending even more abruptly. Guppy went to use the bathroom about four minutes ago. while he was trying to close the zipper without cutting, he slips and breaks his neck in less than four seconds.

Odd Dog is sitting by himself. he starts to cry loudly. he then looks at Luther who isn't far, no more than a meter away from him. he opens his mouth trying to talk, he then closes his mouth. he wants to feel ready to talk.

"I am sorry. I sold us out, it wasn't intentional."

the motor crushes where Odd Dog was sitting. he ends up chopped up into tiny pieces. he wasn't able to explain how he betrayed them. it was only visible how regretful he felt.

Squid fells off the airplane through a hole. as she is falling she breaks her back. and a big heavy piece of the airplane falls on top of her head.

Owl jumps off the airplane. as he is falling, he breaks his left leg. Wendigo falls behind Owl. they are a dynamic duo. Wendigo helps Owl to treat his leg. it didn't look so bad, but Owl seems to be in really a lot of pain.

White Shark is looking at Blowfish's impaled corpse. somehow White Shark only has some minor cuts on his arms. he is wondering if he is even in danger at this point. another stick nails White Shark's corpse.

Octopus is expelled from the aircraft attached to his seat. somehow he survived without getting wounded as the seat falls in the middle of the jungle. Octopus then looks at others who fell around of him. then a corpse fells in front of him.

once what was left of the aircraft lands. Killer Whale, Hammerhead Shark, Swordfish, Golden Sheep, and Lobster exit the airplane. Golden Sheep by been the one with a superior position gives the order to search for Chicken Wrath.

inside of the airplane there is Dolphin's severed left arm hanging. it is hard to tell if he survived or if he died in the fall.

Luther put Samson's wig on when he fell off the aircraft by mistake. without the protection of the wig, he would have died and break every bone in his body. fortunately, he is safe with few minor bruises in his whole body.

next to Luther are Tuna, Salmon, Doctor Octopus, and Turtle.

the five of them were able to find each other. now in the middle of the jungle with no route nor directions to take. they can feel the fear of the unknown.

"we may be in the middle of a fucking jungle, but we have a doctor. it isn't so bad, it could had been even worse."

"what counts as worse for you?"

as Tuna was about to answer. Octopus steps in a mine by accident. he blows up into many tiny pieces. the explosion was big enough to destroyed half of Tuna's left leg.

"that. that is what I meant when I said worse."

Tuna falls unconscious. Salmon and Turtle try to stop the bleeding. now they have to wonder if her wound will get infected. she won't survive the night.

Luther grabs Tuna. they all walk careful trying to avoid any other possible mine. Luther sees a light a few meters away from them. then a bullet hits him in the chest. Luther falls unscratched dropping Tuna.

Salmon and Turtle hide behind some trees. most of the weapon are either on the airplane or fell off around the jungle. Salmon is holding a butter knife. Turtle has nothing less than a pen to defend himself.

Tuna wakes up. she looks at a gun in the ground. she drags herself violently towards the gun with desperation. she barely touches the gun, when she hears a strange sound. with tearful eyes she looks at the ground. then a mine blows off her head.

Crab comes out of nowhere holding two revolvers. he shots down about twelve men like a shadow without been detected. Crab takes the weapons and bullets from the corpses. he then walks towards Luther.

"Chicken Wrath? I am here to protect you sir. where to next? boss."

"I don't know. I just know that sooner than later we will find the reason why we are here. the jungle is big, but that isn't enough to hide its secrets from us."

they followed Chicken Wrath without asking more questions. it was obvious he didn't had a damn idea of what was happening, nor where to find the path to his destiny. all that Chicken Wrath had was his instincts and motivations to not give up.

Turtle found a bottle of water in the ground. he takes it. he looks around of him. he drinks it and keeps walking behind the others.

"how foolish of me to asks for freedom thinking it was for free, jet that freedom came with the cost of my sanity and probably my life too. what a foolish gangster dares to dream of freedom, when his whole life was free of consequences until this point."

"it looks like we have a Shakespeare among us. he is kind of cute, but not as cute as my darling Luther. my future fourteenth and final lover."

"both of you shut the hell up. we're under a strict confidential mission, not a barbecue. let the boss lead the way. and keep your thoughts to yourselves."

as they kept walking they found an unlikely member of the group alive. in front of their eyes was Dolphin hanging from a tree. the chain attached to his right hand got stuck in the tree. even after losing so much blood, he was still lively.

"someone please pull down that thing. it may be a danger to society, but that is part of our team. and an important member to throw away or use as a shield in a dangerous situation."

Dolphin started laughing like a maniac. he couldn't believe the audacity of Chicken Wrath to look down on him. after all he is the greatest evil in the middle of the jungle.

In the meanwhile. at the other side of the jungle.

Hammerhead Shark, Killer Whale, Swordfish, Lobster, and Golden Sheep move quietly. each of them is heavily armed. they have with them every necessary thing. they even have some basic food and first-aid kit.

even the smallest sound is heard by them. those are the professionals. not even the smallest creature can escape from them. not even a quiet being can step in front of them without been found by them.

the members to take part on this mission were too many. and about half of them are useless and worthless for the mission. there were about only ten useful people. the reason why Ryker chose the extra heads was simple. they are meant to be cannon fodder.

Ryker can find another pilot like Blowfish, or even better ones. he was just a pawn to throw away if it was needed. the same goes to Octopus. he was a doctor, but he wasn't the only one with knowledge in medicine. some of the members had a basic knowledge.

and then there are people like Odd Dog, he was a traitor. this mission was meant to be his grave since the beginning. and he isn't the only one who was send to die. and of that are aware Wendigo and Owl. at least one of them is also a traitor.

it couldn't be Luther as he is too loyal. nor Golden Sheep as he is just a dog with no ambitions following his owner's demands in exchange for a bone.

and that is precisely why Owl and Wendigo stayed close to each other. that is also why they didn't left each other's side. one of them is the other traitor. it could also be one of their teammates with a dead sentence. but they came in here mostly blind.

but because that possibility is still in the open. just for that possibility they haven't cut down each other's throat jet. they are hoping to find the slightest clue to use as a green light to cut down the other one. to eliminate any lose ends.

like it was mentioned before, Owl was a spy once. so it ain't hard to believe that he is still doing the dirty work as an spy. on the other hand Wendigo is an idealist, his ideals can get twisted at any given moment leading to a dark twisted side of him.

it isn't hard to believe that either of them can walk the wrong path by a twisted game of destiny or life. that leads to a lack of trust.

Owl's left leg looks like shit. it is infected. it may lead to amputation later. right now Wendigo with a friendly smile offers his help to Owl. he accepted the help fully aware of how fake was that friendly smile, or how little trust there is among them.

the world in which they live doesn't give space for the grow of brotherhood. nor any other type of bond among men. their world is full of blood and distrust. there is too little faith in human kind these days, and it is justifiable.

Owl and Wendigo had become greedy with time. they became an obstacle for the future that Ryker has dreamed about. a wild beast in the lose. but they won't accept it.

just like that the 14 surviving members of the team are trying to survive. of course that also includes White Shark, the co-pilot that somehow is still breathing. and Shrimp, the only person walking at his side.

White Shark is consuming his medicine as he advances. his hands are trembling. his skin seems to be paler than normal. his face seems to be creepier than usual. he looks like a walking corpse that accepted his fate.

on the other side Shrimp is full of life. she refuses to give up now. there are thousands of things she left behind in her youth. things she lose after getting inside of prison. all hope and dreams came back after accepting the offer. now is just the beginning of a new life.

White Shark accepted a long time ago that his life was short. that he would die soon. the day he faced the doctor he cried and denied it all. now there are no tears nor time to be in denial as his days become shorter. and there are some things left to do.

"surviving that fall gave me some hope. what a hopeless old man had I become? was it the desperation? no, it has to be something else."

White Shark looks at Shrimp with a tearful smile. there are things that can't be said. but to clarify he sees in her the daughter he lose long ago. a young bright lady with a future ahead, a young lady who didn't deserved the pain she suffered in the past.

"this sure is hell, isn't it? old man."