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Chapter 57: Before the First Light
Dawn crept over the forward operating base like a reluctant witness, pale gold slipping through layers of dust and smoke that never quite left the valley. The night’s chill still clung to the metal walls and sandbags, but the camp was already awake. Boots scraped gravel. A generator coughed to life. Somewhere, a kettle whistled, thin and sharp, like a reminder that ordinary rituals still mattered even here.Captain Daniel Mercer stood outside the command tent with a mug warming his hands, watching Echo Unit assemble for morning checks. He didn’t rush them. He never did. There was a rhythm to soldiers who trusted one another—no frantic movements, no wasted words. Each man knew where he fit, what the others needed before they needed it.Sergeant Lucas Hale tightened the strap on his vest and glanced toward Mercer. “Recon team’s back,” he said. “No movement overnight. Locals kept their distance.”“Any sign of the convoy?” Mercer asked.Hale shook his head. “Nothing yet. If it’s coming, i
Chapter 56: The Weight They Carry
Dawn came thin and pale over Forward Operating Base Kestrel, the kind of dawn that didn’t promise peace, only another day survived.Captain Aaron Mercer stood at the edge of the tarmac, helmet tucked under his arm, watching the light crawl over rows of armored vehicles and canvas tents. The desert held its breath at this hour. No wind. No birds. Just the distant hum of generators and the low murmur of men waking up to the same war they’d gone to sleep with.Behind him, Echo Unit gathered one by one.They moved with the quiet familiarity of men who had bled together.Sergeant Lucas Hale was first, rolling his shoulders like he was shaking off a bad dream. His jaw was tight, eyes shadowed. Hale had always carried more than he let on—responsibility came naturally to him, and guilt even more so.Corporal Benji Reyes followed, a thermos in hand, offering it wordlessly to Hale before taking a long drink himself. Reyes tried to joke his way through most days, but the humor had thinned lately
Chapter 55: What we Carry
Dawn came thin and pale over the hills, the kind of light that didn’t promise warmth, only clarity. Echo Unit moved through it in silence, boots sinking into damp earth, breath measured, rifles held low but ready. After everything they had endured—betrayal, pursuit, loss—the quiet felt heavier than gunfire.Mercer walked at the front, shoulders squared, eyes scanning the ridgeline ahead. He had slept barely an hour. None of them had slept much. When the body finally slows down, the mind takes over, replaying moments you wish you could rewrite.Behind him, Rafe broke the silence first. “Never thought I’d miss the sound of rotors,” he muttered. “At least then you know where the trouble is.”Lena huffed softly. “Trouble’s everywhere, Rafe. We just got better at recognizing it.”Navarro walked between them, steady despite the bandage wrapped tight around his ribs. Jace followed close, moving slower than before, still recovering but refusing help. He’d insisted on carrying his own pack tod
Chapter 54: What Survives the Fire
Dawn broke over Arclight Base like a fragile promise.The sun crept slowly across the horizon, casting long amber light over the battered structures and scarred earth. Smoke still lingered from the night before, drifting in lazy ribbons above the perimeter where Echo Unit had barely held the line against Iron Division’s probing assault.Mercer stood alone near the outer fence, helmet tucked under his arm, eyes fixed on the rising light. He hadn’t slept. None of them really had. The base had gone quiet in the uneasy way places did after violence—too still, like the world was holding its breath.Behind him, boots crunched softly.“You’re going to burn a hole in the horizon if you keep staring at it like that,” Rafe said.Mercer didn’t turn. “Just making sure it’s real.”Rafe stepped beside him, arms folded, gaze drifting across the base. Medics moved between tents. Engineers patched blast damage. Soldiers spoke in low voices, their laughter thin but stubborn.“They’re still standing,” R
Chapter 53: The Weight Men Carry
The rain came down in sheets, turning the forward operating base into a field of mud and shadows. Floodlights cast pale cones of light across the compound, illuminating soldiers moving with quiet purpose—cleaning weapons, securing perimeter lines, doing the small necessary things that kept fear at bay.Mercer stood alone near the edge of the tarmac, helmet under his arm, rain soaking through his fatigues as if he hadn’t noticed. The distant thump of helicopters echoed through the clouds, but none were coming for them tonight.Not yet.Behind him, Echo Unit gathered without being told. No formation. No orders. Just instinct pulling them together.Lena was first, shaking rain from her hair as she leaned against a crate. Rafe followed, cigarette unlit between his fingers, eyes sharp but tired. Navarro arrived carrying two cups of bitter field coffee, handing one to Mercer without a word. Jace, still pale from his wounds but standing on his own now, took up a place slightly behind them, a
Chapter 52: What Survives the Fire
The rain came without warning.One moment the jungle air around Arclight was thick and unmoving, the next it split open—warm sheets hammering leaves, mud, and men alike. Echo Unit didn’t slow. If anything, they moved faster, letting the sound and chaos swallow their tracks.Mercer pushed through the undergrowth at the front, rifle held tight, breath measured. Every step burned. His shoulder screamed where shrapnel had kissed it days earlier. His legs felt carved from stone. But he kept going.He always did.Behind him, Rafe dragged Navarro through the mud when the younger man stumbled. Lena took rear watch, eyes scanning through rain-blurred optics. Jace—still pale, still weak—walked on his own now, jaw clenched, refusing help.No one complained.That was the thing Mercer noticed most.Not the pain.Not the fear.The silence.They reached the secondary rally point just before dusk—an old logging shelter half-swallowed by the jungle. It wasn’t safe. It was just less exposed. Mercer rai
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