Episode 25 : Zephyr

"Why is Zawaq here?! Israeli soldiers?! Kill him!!!" Qusay shouted to the Arab soldiers who arrived with the base commander at the new base now under Qusay's control.

"Qusay. He's on our side." The base commander calmly replied.

"Are you blind? Many of our bases were destroyed by the cursed Israeli soldiers because of him!!! As long as he is alive and with us, we will be followed by the Israeli soldiers! You all trust the enemy more than your own comrades!" Qusay raged at the base commander.

"Qusay, Zawaq has been protecting us. Before we arrived at the base Captain Zahir was tasked to manage, the base was already destroyed. Captain Zahir was martyred earlier on." The base commander explained.

"Lies. I knew from the start that Zawaq couldn't be trusted. Zawaq himself killed Zahir through spies under his command." Qusay retorted.

"Qusay. Zawaq is on our side." The base commander replied calmly.

"On our side? Where are the other officers? Where? Are they here now?" Qusay asked the base commander and Zawaq.

"The other officers were killed in an attack while we were on our way to Zahir's base." The base commander answered.

"That's because of Zawaq's presence, revealing our movements to Israel!!! Get lost, Zawaq!!!" Captain Qusay yelled at Zawaq.

"No need for violence." Zawaq said as the Arab soldiers under Qusay's command started to raise and aim their weapons at Zawaq, who stood near the Arab soldiers under the base commander's orders and beside the base commander.

"I'll leave myself." Zawaq said.

"Zawaq. Let me handle this problem. Don't act on your own." The base commander told Zawaq.

"It's pointless, I'll take my leave." Zawaq replied and then began to walk away from the base under Qusay's administration.

"Shoot!!!" Qusay ordered.Several soldiers from Qusay's base fired at Zawaq. Zawaq kept walking away from them. A hail of bullets hit Zawaq's body and fell to the ground with the dented bullets scattered.

"Impossible. He's still not down." Qusay said in shock.

All the soldiers under Qusay's command looked at each other and then turned to Qusay.

"Give me a weapon!" Qusay shouted, then grabbed an FN FAL assault rifle from one of the soldiers and aimed at the back of Zawaq's head as he walked far from them.

The base commander grabbed the barrel of the assault rifle used by Qusay and lowered it toward the ground.

"Save your bullets for yourself. You'd be better off shooting yourself than wasting bullets on Zawaq, whom you claim to be the enemy." The base commander said, staring sharply at Qusay.

A week later, in the morning, Zawaq looked at the sky. A flock of ducks flew across the desert. Zawaq picked up a rock the size of his fist and threw it with all his strength.

Luck was on Zawaq's side. The rock hit two duck heads flying in the sky. The two ducks fell to the ground. Zawaq quickly ran to retrieve the two dead ducks.

Zawaq burned the two ducks after plucking their feathers and removing their organs. He began eating the ducks after cooking them. Zawaq started coughing.

"No spices. Not tasty. Bland." Zawaq said, then continued eating the two large ducks.

Zawaq heard something. He quickly finished the remaining duck meat and jumped to hide behind a large rock nearby. A military truck approached the campfire Zawaq had made. The truck stopped, and three soldiers in full tactical gear with firearms in their hands got out.

"Someone is here." One of the men said in Arabic.

"Zaqwan? Zaqwan? Have you returned?" Zawaq asked, raising his hands in the air as he came out of hiding.

The three Arab soldiers immediately pointed their weapons at Zawaq.

"Zawaq?? You?! You're still alive!" Zaqwan said in shock."Yes, I'm still alive. How are Naseer and Yasser?" Zawaq asked Zaqwan.

Zaqwan and the other two soldiers lowered their weapons.

"Naseer and Yasser are stable. How's the base commander? Zahir and Qusay? I heard from headquarters that you all moved bases. Why are you here?" Zaqwan asked Zawaq.

"Zahir is dead. I was expelled by Qusay because Qusay is in charge at his base. The base commander is healthy. The other soldiers were killed during our journey to Qusay's base." Zawaq explained.

"Terrible. So, how long have you been alone outside the base?" Zaqwan asked.

"More than a week." Zawaq replied.

"Get in the truck. Headquarters has a gift for you, but I have to give it to you at the base. These are the orders from headquarters." Zaqwan explained.

"Wow, I'm very honored to receive it. Alright." Zawaq said, then got into the truck, accompanied by the other three Arab soldiers, including Zawaq.

The truck arrived at the base. Zawaq got out with the other Arab soldiers from the military truck.

"Who? Why is Zawaq here?! Are you all looking for trouble?!" Qusay, who was lounging in the entrance area of the base, shouted angrily.

"We received orders from Headquarters. Zawaq must stay with us." Zaqwan replied calmly.

"Are you crazy?!" Qusay shouted, standing in front of Zaqwan with an irritated look on his face.

"We brought supplies sent by headquarters. Zawaq also received items that were a gift from headquarters." Zaqwan explained.

Several Arab soldiers unloaded many items from the truck. Two soldiers opened the luggage. Revealing a large amount of bullets.

"What is all this? These bullets are completely useless." The base commander, who was standing close to Zaqwan and Qusay, asked.

"These are no ordinary bullets. They were forged and combined with metal from the bodies of Israeli soldiers who have organic armor on their bodies. Even though it's organic, it's as hard as metal. Headquarters has ordered engineers to produce anti-armor bullets against Israeli super-soldiers." Zaqwan explained in detail.

All the Arab soldiers looked at each other in disbelief. The base commander smiled. Qusay, on the other hand, shook his head. Zawaq only stared at the bullets.

"Impossible." Qusay said.

"I'll try." The base commander said, picking up five bullets and loading them into a Mosin-Nagant M91/30 magazine.

"Where are you going to try? Shoot Zawaq in the head?" Qusay chuckled.

"Enemy approaching!!!" Zawaq shouted.

"Where?!" Zaqwan was startled."From the air! Everyone duck!!!" Zawaq ordered.

Something large plummeted toward them from the sky at high speed. The creature collided with five Arab soldiers. The bodies of the five Arab soldiers were severed into upper and lower halves. The base commander and Qusay saw the legs of the five Arab soldiers still standing, even though their bodies were cut in half.

"Enemy!!!" Zawaq shouted."Damn it!!! How did the enemy know our location?! What attacked us?!" Qusay said in shock.

In the sky, there was a human figure with the head of an eagle. Its entire body was made of shining metal. There were two fast-spinning fans on its wings. The front of its body was covered in blood.

"What is that?!" Zaqwan asked in disbelief."An Israeli creation. They're experimenting with creating various types of super-soldiers to conquer the world." Zawaq said, looking at the enemy flying fast in the air.

"It's coming back!!!" Qusay shouted."Everyone, take cover!!!" The base commander ordered.

All the soldiers jumped in different directions and lay flat on the ground as the enemy swooped down at lightning speed.Three Arab soldiers were decapitated. Two heads were in the hands of the enemy flying like an eagle in the air. Another head was pierced by the enemy's beak.

"Damn!!!" Qusay shot at the enemy flying in the sky with a pistol.

"It's useless! The enemy is high in the sky." Zaqwan said.

The base commander raised the Mosin-Nagant M91/30 and aimed at the enemy. The base commander aimed his shot away from where the enemy was. He pulled the trigger. The bullet flew into the air and hit the enemy's eagle-shaped head as it crossed the bullet's path.

The enemy fell to the ground from a high position in the sky. Zaqwan and the base commander looked at Zawaq.

"Go, Zawaq!!!" We will follow from behind." Qusay said.

"Finish the enemy!" The base commander told Zawaq.

"I will do my best." Zawaq replied, then sprinted toward where the enemy had fallen from the sky.

Zawaq arrived at the destination. The enemy was kneeling on the ground. Its head was bleeding. The enemy dug into the wound on its head and pulled out a bullet using its index finger.

"Damn. Since when did the Arabs have advanced bullets?" The enemy muttered to itself.

Zawaq leaped into the air and kicked the enemy. The enemy managed to block Zawaq's kick with its metal wing. Zawaq pushed himself into the air by kicking both feet on the enemy's metal wing, spinning in the air before landing back on the ground.

"You think you can defeat me, human?" the enemy asked Zawaq.

"You were once human. Don't think you're not human anymore," Zawaq replied to the enemy's words.

"You... I remember you. You were hunted by Israhell for treason. Dr. Zawaq," the enemy said.

"Did you come to hunt me?" Zawaq asked the enemy.

"I didn't expect to meet you here. I was ordered to eliminate any remaining Arab soldiers," the enemy replied.

"Remaining soldiers?" Zawaq asked.

"Don't you know? The war between the Arabs and Israhell has been won by Israhell. Our country received 55% of Palestine's land as a gift from the United Nations," the enemy replied.

"Won? Gift? United Nations? Damn. You want to kill the remaining Arab soldiers even though the war is over? Bastard," Zawaq said.

"Israhell will keep moving forward and won't stop at just taking half of Palestine. We will take all of it and then conquer the world," the enemy laughed sinisterly.