Page 20 of Rescuing Ryder

Now Ryder wished the blast didn’t disorientate him.

His ears stopped ringing as someone started shooting. Frenchie shoved supplies in his arms and held him to theground. The copper scent of blood mixed with charred flesh filled the air.

Ryder swiped his forehead as something wet dripped into his eyes. The sounds of gunfire and bullets flew over him. He watched as Oreo fell to the ground. Breaking loose from Frenchie’s hold, he crawled toward his wounded friend. Oreo’s hand and face were charred. Slater’s screams filled the air and Ryder glanced up to see Slater’s leg missing. Gunner ran toward Ryder and pulled him behind the vehicle.

Hightop fell, and Ryder scooted on the ground, helping Shortstack before moving on to the next. The men counted on him. The insurgents pressed forward and Gunner shouted for them to take cover. Another explosion rocked the area. Silence fell over them.

Gunner grabbed the first man he came upon and dragged him behind a stone structure, taking a gamble no insurgents hid behind the crumbling wall. Ryder grabbed Oreo and followed. His heart pounded in his ears as he returned for Slater while Gunner shouted orders and shook Hightop until he slowly nodded his head and picked up Shortstack. Seven injured team members and one of him. Ryder grabbed his pack and his gun as they heard the insurgents steal supplies from their Humvee and search for them. Slater fell unconscious as Ryder attempted to stop the bleeding. Ripping open a packet and pouring it over the wound, Ryder glanced up to find the men securing the area as he tended to the injuries of the others.

“What do we do? Will they send us backup?” asked Shortstack, the new kid who was maybe nineteen. Fear seeped into his voice.

“We fight. Another unit will come for us, son. Hold your position and protect your brothers. Patch will check your injury and Oreo will cover,” Gunner ordered the scared young man.

Patch glanced worriedly at Gunner as he checked Oreo’s burns and dug into his pack.

In the dark hours after the attack, they moved through the barren land as a group. Gunner figured they walked two clicks away from a small village. With no choice but to move forward, they searched for a place to hunker down and evaluate their supplies. Slater never regained consciousness while they moved. Each wounded man leaned on another.

Toward daylight, they came across an old rock shelter. The roof was blown to shambles, but the tired, injured group never complained. He triaged the men and portioned out the supplies. They lacked water and medical supplies.

Patch waited until they switched shifts and urged the young man to get some shuteye. Within minutes, he fell asleep and Patch turned to Gunner. “I need medical supplies and we’re low on water. Are your coms working? I didn’t want to say anything in front of the kid. It’s his first stint, he’s scared shitless.”

“Welcome to war. Don’t baby him. He signed up like the rest of us and this may be the first time, but I doubt it’ll be his last. How’s Oreo?”

“He’s running a fever. The burns seem pretty bad. Three of the new guys have bullet wounds, but I plugged ‘em. The kid’s got some burns and a nasty cut. Slater’s the worst. I don’t know,” he whispered. “The others appear stable for the moment.”

“Get some shuteye. I’ll keep watch with these three. In the morning, we’ll scout for water and see if we can find some supplies.”

Patch hesitated before he made one more pass among his patients and lay against the wall. The stone hid his buddy's form, but he knew Gunner stood watch on the other side.

Now, he dwelled on what his friend didn’t say.

By morning, troops should be searching for them, if not sooner. What about coms to base? He shut his eyes and forced himself to rest. The men needed him at his best.

He woke to the sound of gunfire and the smell of smoke. Jumping up, he immediately searched for Gunner. Clutching his gun, he held his head down as he went to one of the new men, Hightop.

“Where’s Gunner?” he asked as the man pointed his weapon and took the shot.

“I don’t know; Frenchie, Shortstack, and Gunner left a while ago. They went to find water. These bastards came out of nowhere,” he answered as he discharged his weapon.

“Shit, why didn’t he wake me?” Patch checked Slater before moving on to Oreo, Jaws, and T-rex.

“Said you’d have your hands full as it is; let you sleep unless something changes with Slater,” Hightop yelled.

It signaled the beginning of the end. His buddy returned, but none of them anticipated what occurred in the remaining grueling hours.

Whiskey’s voice sounded through the cabin. “Ryder?”

He stood to pull the patio door open and greeted him.

“I didn’t expect you this evening. Did I forget an appointment?”

“No. Claire asked me to stop by and check on you. I brought you a piece of Miss Bryanna’s chocolate mousse cake. I don’t know about you, but I developed a taste for sweets when I returned. And bacon, I ate lots of bacon, too. It’s funny what you think about when you can’t have it anymore.”

“I’m fine. You can tell Doc you did your duty and checked on me,” he responded. Ryder fell back into his seat as Whiskey entered the deck area with Hope, his service dog, beside him.

“Ahhh, she hit a nerve, did she? It’s part of the process. If I got a dime…”

“Claire said I didn’t have to talk about it. She kept her word and didn’t bring it up again. I think it’s time to realize nothing will change,” Ryder confessed quietly.

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