Prologue - War Never Changes (3/3)

Wrapping things up had been quick, while there were some wounded to the point of not being able to help, most of his team members were still hearty enough to move the equipment and the supplies into the jeeps.

Asad didn't question where the supplies came from, it was obvious that they were filled with medical aids. Probably from Storm preparing for anyone who had pressing wounds.

Lightly touching his shoulder, Asad bit back a hiss at the burning sensation. Thankfully it was a clean shot, so they applied the necessary medicine and their medic got to stitching on both sides, a more extensive medical examination would be waiting for him once he got home, but for now, it would do.

They were silent, the only noise in the forest was the jeeps as they drove through a broken-down dirt path that Asad had no idea existed and didn't show up on any map they had. And they did extensive research on the area.

How Storm knew about it he had no idea, just another thing to write up about Storm being inhuman.

Speaking of the devil, he was driving the jeep up front, being the first on the front in case any enemies popped up, he would have the fastest response between both sides.

Hopefully, they would be able to leave without encountering any resistance.

Fuck, he jinxed it, didn't he?

Not a second after Asad said that, one of his members who was on the first jeep, screamed out in panic.

"RPG!"

The world went white, and his ears exploded in ringing, Asad felt his car stop from the driver hitting the brakes, but the rocket hadn't been aimed at them. It was aimed directly at the first car, where Storm and three others had been.

Shit! Rubbing his hand over his eyes, Asad quickly threw himself behind the jeep, pulling another teammate with him to use the jeep as cover.

Sight returned, and the ringing toned down. He glanced at the situation. The enemy's entire platoon was here, almost thirty men.

They were all on one side of the clearing, taking cover behind the hills and trees, his team on the other hand was returning fire from behind their jeeps, their cover much more limited.

Asad put those thoughts away and looked towards the jeep that contained Storm. He was baffled to see that it was on its side, yet seemed no worse for wear, in fact, it didn't even seem to have been hit by the rocket.

Holy shit, did Storm fucking dodge the Rocket by capsizing the jeep?

How insane was this guy? How did he even manage to do that?!

Questions for later, right now he just needed to make sure his subordinates were alright and to create a good enough tactic to survive this shit show.

Shots rang out, from the first jeep, and Asad turned to see who was doing it.

He froze upon seeing who it was. While his uniform was the same, the cloth that clung to his head had entirely fallen off during the skirmish, allowing for a full picture of the person beneath.

He was a kid. Storm, the super veteran, inhuman assassin, and monster of war, was a kid who didn't look a day over fourteen.

What the actual fuck, he was just a kid. A damn kid was fighting in this godforsaken war. A kid younger than his daughter was killing people left and right.

I mean, he was small yes, but without seeing his face he just seemed like a really short adult. This kid didn't look like a hardened soldier, nor an unfeeling merciless monster. He looked soft, with the only indication of war being a slight scar on his cheek and large ones running down his arms.

(Picture Here)

Shit.

A kid was sacrificing himself to protect his team.

In his shock Asad lost sight of him, Storm expertly throwing in a flash bang which blinded the enemy. It blinded none of his team even if Storm hadn't said a word, did he time it exactly when everyone, but the enemy was taking cover, what kind of battle awareness did this kid have?

Fuck fuck fuck, he was just a kid.

He lost sight of the mercenary, probably having moved under the cover of his flash grenade. But to where? Asad would bet his life that it wasn't to leave them behind, so where exactly was the kid?

His Radio – One given to him by Storm while on the clearing, - came to life, and Asad quickly turned it on.

"Copy who is this?"

"Captain Asad, be ready to break away with the other jeeps." Was the response. It was Storm.

"You have a plan?"

"Yes sir." There was no response after that, Asad was simply silent waiting for further input. When it became clear that he would have to ask for more, he sighed out loud.

"What is the plan boy?" It came out impatient, and while Asad would never talk to him like this face to face, with bullets raining down and their cover slowly breaking away, he could be forgiven for being slightly forceful.

"I'm currently hidden within the enemy ground, they have not yet noticed me. I can create a diversion that will allow the other two jeeps to run freely."

Asad stayed quiet. How? With so many enemies, it should be impossible for them to have missed him, and how did he close the distance so quickly? So many questions, and not a second to answer them.

"What about you?" That was the most important question, what about the kid who would act as a distraction, the savior whom he couldn't even begin to think about how to repay.

His voice leaked of desperation, and Storm must have sensed it too, "Captain?" his voice now sounded so young, and at the same time monotonic.

As if risking his life to save strangers was an everyday occurrence, as if he didn't care about the outcome as long as he held the mission.

The Mission to save them.

Asad glanced at his friends, his teammates, and grimaced at the way they were being pushed back, some gaining wounds from bullets while others clung to already bleeding injuries.

They wouldn't survive if the situation stayed the same, they knew this, the enemy knew this.

Storm knew this.

Gripping his radio strong enough he was scared to break it, Asad whispered "Are you sure?"

Silence and static was his answer for a few seconds Asad thought he wasn't just ignoring his question, but probably staying quiet to not alert the enemies around him, until Storm brought his radio closer and spoke.

"Go back to your daughter Captain, you all have families and friends waiting for you." The unsaid part was what broke Asad even more.

The fact that Storm probably had none to go back to.

It made sense, how this kid was so reckless in his actions, and in the way he fought. He didn't care, not about if he lived, not if he died. Because at the end of the day, he had nothing to go back to.

"You'll die."

"…maybe, but you'll live, and that will be enough."

He wanted to say no, Asad wanted it so badly. But it wasn't just him, this wasn't just about what he wanted but what was needed.

He was still a senior officer of the resistance, with perhaps the largest number of members in his squad. A blow to him would be a crippling blow to UHLA, losing not only military-oriented personnel with training, but medics, and logistics officers.

Without them, UHLA would be much weaker, enough for the Soviets to decide that they were sufficiently weakened to be pushed off the scene entirely.

He couldn't allow that to happen. But it would mean sacrificing a child younger than his daughter.

In the end, the choice was taken off Asad's hand. Before he could even think about a response or any plan that would not lead the kid to die, the shots thrown at his troops stopped as disorder and chaos exploded behind enemy lines.

Storm had already begun.

Gritting his teeth, Asad shouted orders "Everyone! Back to the jeeps, they won't be able to follow us!"

It was a testament to the trust his subordinates had in him that not a single soldier questioned his orders, helping each other jump into the vehicles, they pressed on the gas and violently fled the area.

Some soviet troops tried taking potshots at them, but a large explosion quickly had them turning around to help their fellow soldiers in dealing with whatever the fuck Storm was cooking up in the back.

It didn't take long for them to reach actual roads, and before long they passed through the broken-down city into a large long road.

The tension in everybody's body suddenly evaporated.

They did it, they got out of there alive.

While some cheered, and others whooped in joy, Asad could only look back at the forest where they came from, melancholy and sadness in his eyes.

He hopes, that whatever happens, Storm will be okay.