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A cacophony of bullets whizzed through the air, ominous whistles of rocket-propelled grenades, and the occasional explosions were all that the brunette could hear as she tightened her grip on her infantry automatic rifle with a squad day optic. She couldn’t hear her breathing anymore in the midst of the ruckus nor her heart pounding against her ribcage in fear. She pressed herself tight against the small slab of stone as she listened for more gunfire and explosions, dreading the thundering sounds that set off near her hiding place.

‘Not today,’ she thought as she momentarily closed her eyes to remember those whom she had sworn to protect. The people back home, the people she would fight this war for, so that those at home would have their peace.

She couldn’t retaliate for the enemy remained unseen. She sat there, hunched against the rock while her comrades were scattered in hiding places somewhere ahead. She could hear her brothers’ firearms blaring, spouting bullets in riposte to their enemies’ assaults.

“Sergeant Jung! We need you to cover for us!” Her superior screamed through the deafening rattles of bullets and random blasts of metal shrapnel. The young sergeant, the only female in the team, nodded and hastily adjusted her helmet, crouching low and setting up her rifle on the dusty ground before releasing a series of bullets as her comrades made their advance towards their awaiting backup and rescue who were a few paces away from them.

Her comrades ran for their lives as Sergeant Jung’s bullets covered for them, ensuring that their enemies do not dare retaliate with their gunfire and grenades. She and their team leader crouched up and sprinted for cover as their enemy found an opening at their assault. Jessica ran like she had never done in her whole life. She ran to elude death and so her legs pumped, her breaths ragged as she made haste, her arms numb to the weight of the weapon she carried.

She saw shadows of their enemies rise from the sands, her eyes widened at the sight. She scrambled to her team leader just as their enemies pointed their guns and took their aims on the commander. “Duck!” Jessica found her parched throat release a guttural scream as she scrambled to push her companion down to the ground.

Something hard and fast had hit her shoulder then, another punched air out of her lungs. A hard shrapnel of metal found its way piercing through her lower leg as she lost her balance, her weight crashing onto their leader.

Silhouettes ghosted over her fading vision as muffled sounds blared against her ears, her body shook, trembled. The faces of her family and her friends appeared in her hazy mind’s