I woke up a few moments later. I opened my eyes only to slam them shut from the blinding light above me. I slowly opened them again to let them adjust, but the light had dimmed. All around was the sound of war. The sounds that one never forgets. I stood up and saw many of the men and women I had known shouting and shooting. I heard a voice and felt someone shake me to my senses.
"Woods! Orders! We're pinned down! We need orders!" I stared blankly at the private shoving the M4 in my hand. Moments later he was down. Then it all hit me. Sound was intensified, and a sharp stabbing in my arm went off. I woke up and shoved my self against a rock to use for cover.
"Get to cover! We need to flank their asses! Private, take 3 men and go right! Gonzales, 3 men, go left!" The eight men all nodded in agreement and took off. "Suppressive Fire! We need to cover those men!" I heard an explosion go off to my right, and the screams of the men it hit rang in the hills. I heard many of the people yell angry war cries before throwing grenades and charging after the booms. It took an other 20 minutes but we did it. We won at a high cost.
Celestia POV
"James! Wake up! James!" I glared at the guard who hit the man "Twilight! Go get a doctor here now!" As the young alicorn ran off, I turned to the guard who coward away from me. "You are off duty until a Court Marshal can be filed. Dismissed." The guard hung his head in shame as he walked off.
"No! Get down. Get down now be-" I turned to see James thrashing around on the ground. I couldn't wait for Twilight and the doctor anymore. I illuminated my horn and teleported us to the nearest hospital.
I hurriedly walked down the halls of the hospital looking for a doctor as my sister walked by us with a smile on her face that soon disappeared when she saw my face.
"Sister? What is the matter?" I ignored her as I continued my search for a doctor. All the while James still on my back muttering about what I can only assume was a traumatic battle in a war.
James' Subconscious POV
I rose in my barracks one Tuesday night. I woke because of an eerie silence while light streamed around the room.
"What's going on, guys?" I stood up and walked to the TV to see a news cast from New York, America. I watched as a plane flew into one of the Twin Towers. I stood, wide eyed, as the plane made contact, and exploded. I could almost hear the screams of the countless people who died in that split second. I was in shock. Then, minutes later, an other plane hit. Then another. Finally, the buildings collapsed. I watched as men and women dove out of the burning buildings. I heard many of the men near me start to cry. A few of them had friends and family that were either in the planes or in the building. Myself included. My Mother and Father both worked there. My mom as a secretary, my dad as security. I sank to my knees as the tears ran free. I felt many emotions as I watched the towers fall, seemingly in slow motion. What kind of luck does one have to have ones parents killed in an act of terrorism?
US Marine Corps Base, Afghanistan
"Where is SGT. Woods? He was due back at 14:00." Major Montgomery was pacing the area worried about his brother-in-Law. "I knew I shouldn't have sent him out. I feel like something happened. Sgt. Hatch, I want you to assemble a team and go find James. Is that clear?"
"Yes Sir. Right away Sir." Grant dropped the salute he gave before leaving to assemble said group.
"Jay, I need you, Jose, and Kevin to get your gear and meet me in the Armory. We've got Search and Rescue duty."
"Whose asses do we need to save this time?" Jay set forward in his seat with a thick cigar in his mouth.
"Woods and his group. Montgomery is worried about them. Not that I blame him. Especially after the loss of his dad, sister and the family in the 9/11 attack. Now lets go." Grant was a man of almost absolute silence. His favorite weapon is the M40A5 Sniper. His trusted side arm is the M9 Beretta with a laser sight and silencer.
Once Sgt Hatch reached the Armory, he grabbed his famed M16 with ACOG Scope, Canted Iron Sights (Side Mounted Iron Sight), Laser sight, and a Vertical grip.
"Sgt! What's the emergency?" Lance Corporal Kevin Wilson ran in with his M4 on his back and the others behind him.
"We are going to find my friend."