Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Maddox – 23

"Move your fucking ass!"

Grabbing the soldier next to me and shoved him behind the building and into the dirt just as the bullets flew.

No way was I having some kid killed on my last fucking day in the field. That would've been some bad karma for the rest of my life. Not to mention the paperwork I'dbe forcedto fill out.

"That was close, Maddox," my friend Ames said and winked as we returned fire. "I'd hate for you to have paperwork on the last day."

"Me too, me too," I gave him a crooked grin. Ames and I were good buddies these last few years. I wished he were getting out with me, but he had re-upped.

Something had beenpushing me back stateside, but Icouldn't determine what it was.There wasn't a lot for me to return to, no friends or family to speak of.I hadthoughtabout staying in for another four years, but the uniform was chafing now, andthe orderswere notsitting as they had in years past.

I'd been encouraged to go into the army by my last foster mother. She didn't know how else to help me since I was aging out of the system, andthere was nowhere else for me to go except the streets or jail. Itcertainlyhadn't seemed like I was going in a positive direction.

With Pike ghosting me,I hadn't anything elseto do.Enlisting seemed like a pretty solid choice. Then I just stayed in since I was making good money. There had been no reason to leave. It was solid work.

"Move, move, move!" I shouted and returned fire as Ames and my unit moved to cover. Raising my M4, I waited one breath, two breaths, aswe sprinted.

"Nice work, Sarge," Ames shouted opposite me. I didn't lower my weapon, though. Over time, I learnednot to relax my guarduntil I wassurethe threat was over.

Moving as a unit, we swept the area, turning the bodies and snapping photos to take back to base for verification.

This whole mission had been a shit show, and I was just glad I was ending it in one piece. Of course, I had zero ideas on whattodo once I was out. That was a problem for another day, though.