Fruits of War
Note: I was going to do this as a series, but after reading it over, I decided it'd be better as a standalone story. This is an edit.
Fruits of War
"McBrien!" the Captain shouted.
"Here sir!" I replied quickly.
"You'll lead your platoon down the road from Goldenrod City to Azalea Town. The enemy's advancement has stretched their supply lines thin, so an attack from behind should cut off their support. You'll be traveling through a heavy Combat Zone, so make sure your platoon is well equipped. You'll report back to us once you have the supply lines severed. Do you understand your orders, Lieutenant?"
"Yes sir," I responded, nodding my head. I saluted, and left the tent.
We were in the midst of a violent civil war on the continent of Johto. People who say that war is hell haven't been through true warfare. The fighting I experienced there was like taking a trip to hell and back several times over.
I was the First Lieutenant for 4th Platoon D Brigade, a platoon with 30 men: 2 machine gunners, 1 RTO, and the rest all regular soldiers. When arming my group, I armed the gunners with M249s, my RTO with a simple M4 with an M9 pistol, me with an M16 with my .38 revolver that I brought from home, and the rest with M16 rifles and the M203 grenade launcher attachment.
My platoon left our camp just a couple klicks west of Goldenrod City. It was a bright, sunny afternoon, and we were in the middle of a violent Civil War.
The Separatists had wanted to secede from the rest of the continent of Johto when the government declared that Pokemon could not be bred to create hybrids unless granted permission by the Wildlife Officials. The Separatists believed that the right to breed Pokemon at their will was their right and theirs alone. They said that the government could not dictate how they raised their Pokemon as long as they didn't turn them against other trainers.
There were many heated debates between the Separatist party and the Federal government, and eventually war broke out when a Separatist radical group bombed a Federal transport jeep.
I pulled the map out of a pocket of my green fatigue pants, and checked our route once more. It had us go through the forest rather than take the trail, and end up in Azalea well behind enemy lines.
My platoon moved quickly and quietly, noises of snapping twigs and the crunch of dead leaves were drowned out by the sounds of gunfire and aircraft in the distance. We'd been out in this continent for about a year and a half. My men were getting tired of warfare, and I honestly say I was too. It was taxing to a soldier to have to sleep only a few hours then expect to cope with ambushes, marching, and firefights.
We were still advancing when all of a sudden a machine gun opened up across the road and forced us all to scatter. I still had my map in my hands. At that time, all I focused on was returning fire.
I pulled myself up and fired on the enemy soldiers. Over the rattle of the machine guns and the sounds of my soldiers' rifles, I could hear the shouts of the men on the other side as our bullets tore through their flesh like a drill through soap.
Eventually, everything became quiet. My men relaxed a bit, and carefully and slowly stood up. I reached down to the ground to pick up my map. Or, what was left of it anyway. The surprise gunfire had blown holes all through it. I couldn't read it at all.
Somewhere off in the distance, I heard the engine of a helicopter. Whether that was Separatist or Federal I didn't know at the time. I shifted my M16 to my other hand as I removed my helmet. God, it had to have been over 100 degrees. I ran a gloved hand through my sweat-soaked hair and put my helmet back on. I sighed as I took a swig from the canteen of warm water at my side and tried to look through the trees.
I honestly had no idea where I was, but my men were already disheartened and scared enough. Last thing they need is a Lieutenant that got them lost. I instructed all my men to take a break as I rooted through my pack for my compass. I looked around again and tried to get a vague location.
My calculations put us somewhere between the shoreline and the heart of the continent. I shut my eyes and tried to think.
Which is when it happened.
I will never know exactly what took place in the last several seconds, but all I remember is one of my men screaming "Napalm!" at the top of his lungs. Soon afterward, my ears were assailed by the screams of my men as one by one they were incinerated by the deadly substance.
I got up and ran. I have always hated myself for running away. Running away when my men needed me. I left 30 men behind to save themselves. As I ran, rifles cracked all around me. They were like demon firecrackers, bullets flying past me as I ran, ran from my men, ran to save myself.
I always believed that taking the bullet in my leg was God's punishment for my cowardice. I was sprinting through the trees, and the next thing I knew I was face down in the dirt with a sharp pain in my upper leg.
I struggled to my feet and continued limping forward. The pain in my leg was excruciating, and once again I fell to the ground. Only this time, I couldn't get up. The first thing I noticed was that I felt like I was being watched the other I noticed was that the gunfire had stopped.
The birds were silent, and there was a tension as though I was in the middle of a standoff. The last thing I heard were careful footsteps and something whispered "Nine..." ever so softly.
I woke up several hours later on a cold stone floor, my flak jacket folded underneath my head to form a makeshift pillow. The pain in my leg was gone, and there was a crudely tied bandage around the wound. The knot looked as though whoever tied it did it without using their hands. I tried to sit up, but something pushed me back down. It was a gentle touch, telling me to lay down, but forceful enough to not make me want to argue. It was dark inside this cave, so I didn't see exactly who was in front of me. All I saw were two glowing red eyes. They didn't have a sinister light to them, but they still made me uneasy.
I laid down again, and my unknown companion walked almost silently over to me and sat down. There was a brief blast of heat, and soon a fire crackled brightly, revealing the identity of the other being.
It was quite possibly the most beautiful Ninetales that I've seen in my life.
The glow from the fire lit up her fur like drapes covering a window during a sunrise. The orange and yellow danced over her body fleetingly. One minute the flame was there, another minute it wasn't. Watching the glow from the fire on her fur made it seem as though you were observing many dancers upon the plains.
"Excuse me," I said, "But what happened?"
She said nothing. She merely turned her head to the mouth of the cave. It was dark outside, and the sounds of gunfire were still in the distance. Then she pointed to the wound on my leg.
"Did you bring me here?" I asked. She nodded. "I really appreciate what you did for me, but I really have to go. My brigade commander's going to want to know what happened to me." I started to get up, but the Ninetales leapt over me gracefully and pushed me back down.
"Nine," she commanded, still holding me down. Now if I wanted, I could have thrown her off. But I didn't really want to. No, it wasn't because of the 1,000 year curse they put upon you if you upset them, I just didn't want to anger this beautiful creature.
"Why are you taking care of me?" I asked. She simply shrugged and lay down next to me and closed her eyes. I opened my mouth to mention the lack of blankets when she quickly wrapped her tails around my body.
I was never able to figure out what exactly it was about me that made her care for me while I was wounded, but I guess it was for the better that I didn't. It was her caring nature towards me that made me want to stay. I didn't want to leave her at all. For some reason, I believe she thought that she was responsible for me in a way. I was lost in these thoughts as I fell asleep next to her warm body, her soft tails still over me.
The dawn arrived with the crack of distant gunfire and the quiet boom of artillery. I awoke on the floor alone. The heat from the sun had already set in, and the temperature in the cave was a little cooler than the day before. I stood up and immediately felt a burning in my leg where I was shot. I stumbled against the wall, accidentally kicking my helmet in the corner.
The sound of my helmet striking the stone floor brought the Ninetales dashing back to me, and she tackled me to the ground yet again.
"What are you doing? I have to get back out there," I protested.
"Nine!" she barked.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, with a little force to my voice, "I need to contact my general so I can get out of here."
She responded by laying her head on my shoulder. She nuzzled me and licked my neck softly. I suddenly knew why she didn't want me to leave. Almost involuntarily, I wrapped my arms around her back, running my fingers through the warm, soft fur.
She lifted her head, licked my cheek and sat up. The feeling of her weight upon me caused my cock to start growing. I was dimly aware of it. She must have felt it, since I then noticed that the green T-shirt I had on was becoming wet where she was sitting.
I think she was embarrassed about her body's reaction, because at that moment, she blushed and looked away. I slowly lifted myself up and hugged her. She interpreted that as saying it was alright.
She licked my face again and I lay back down. She lowered her head and touched her muzzle to my lips. I took the hint and kissed her. She returned the kiss and slipped her tongue into my mouth. And dear God, the heat. Her mouth felt as hot as the air outside. Kissing her made me feel like my tongue was being burned.
I suddenly got the urge to pleasure her; to make her moan. I reached down and stroked the soaking wet patch of fur between her legs. The pleasure from me rubbing her caused her to accidentally breathe a slight stream of fire. It dodged our wrestling tongues and shot down my throat, burning the entire way down.
The sudden burning sensation in my mouth caused my muscles to tense up, and my middle finger penetrated the entrance to her vagina, and she whimpered softly. I inserted both my index finger and middle finger inside of her, and was starting to stroke inside of her when she quickly got off. She turned around and nuzzled my crotch. I understood what she wanted and slid my pants down as far as I could without disturbing my wound.
She took my cock into her mouth slowly, giving me time to grow accustomed to her heat. She lowered her dripping pussy to my face, and I started licking. I simply licked the fur near her vagina, making her want more. She was gently sucking me, so I parted the opening to her cunt with my fingers and licked inside her. She shuddered, and I stuck my tongue deeper inside of her.
The heat from her mouth was nothing compared to the heat in her pussy. I felt her start using her tongue as well, so I picked up my pace and tried going in as far as I could. I felt my orgasm coming, and it was gonna hit hard. I guess she could too, since she was sucking my cock pretty fast.
I tried holding it down as long as I could, but her relentless effort had taken its toll. I fired off inside of her mouth, and as my hot cum shot down her throat, her pussy exploded in a torrent of sticky fluid that covered my face and chest. I licked off what I could from her as she cleaned the rest of my cum from my cock.
She climbed off of me slowly, but didn't turn around. Instead, she raised her rear into the air, parted her tails, and spread her hind legs.
I got behind her, and placed my cock at her entrance. I wasn't even inside of her, and I could feel the heat emanating from her. I slowly pushed in, causing her to growl in pain and grit her teeth. She was extremely tight, and the heat of her fire and her body assailed my cock.
I went in as far as I could, and slowly started thrusting. She embraced me with her tails, and all of them caressed me as I continued to thrust. I noticed that with each thrust, she released a small burst of flame from her mouth. I leaned over her and hugged her. She raised her head and licked my face.
I soon felt the heat building up between my cock and my balls, and I started thrusting faster. I was battling with myself, trying to decide whether to cum inside her or not. Time ran out, and I hadn't made a decision.
My cum flowed from my cock as I absentmindedly thrust into her one final time.
"NINE!" she cried as she felt my seed pour into her hot womb.
She hit another orgasm, this time drenching my cock and pants. I came for what felt like forever until I was empty. I didn't want to pull out of her; I loved the feeling of her tightness holding my cock firmly in place.
But I did, and she lay down on the floor of the cave, panting heavily. I zipped up my pants and lay down beside her. She licked my cheek one final time before she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
I woke up a few hours later, and the sun was setting. The gunfire had quieted down, and I sat up. My stomach growled, and the Ninetales was still asleep. I got up and hobbled over to where my gear was. I searched and realized that neither my pack nor my weaponry were there. The only weapon I had was my Bowie knife.
I put on my flak jacket and helmet and headed out to hunt. Being over here for a year has taught me how to hunt without using guns. I quietly climbed down the face of the cliff, and unsheathed my knife. The sun was rapidly setting; I had to move fast. I slowly made my way down a cleared path in the brush, and hopped over a fallen tree.
I didn't see the landmine beneath it.
I never actually realized that my left leg was gone until I fell over. All I heard was a loud pop, and suddenly my leg wouldn't respond. I tried walking, made a little half-step, and collapsed. I looked down, and saw only my bandaged right leg. Blood was pouring out from where my left leg was supposed to be, soaking the ground. Then realization hit me and my mind flew away.
Not too far away, there was a Federal platoon on its way to an ambush. They heard the mine go off, and the lieutenant sent a soldier to investigate the explosion. The soldiers didn't relax until the grunt reported a downed fellow soldier.
The lieutenant led his platoon to where I was, and had a medic take me off to a clearing where a dustoff chopper could pick me up.
Naturally, they dragged me to the clearing near the cliff. The medic bandaged up my leg the best that he could, and called the chopper. He leaned me against a rock, and took off my helmet so that he could see my face.
"Lieutenant, we found McBrien," he called over his shoulder.
"Alright, that's two missions in one day," he responded from across the clearing. He was confirming the coordinates for the chopper.
"You alright, Liutenant?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied.
"You're lucky you didn't get captured. Who bandaged your leg?" the medic asked.
I didn't have to respond. The talking below must have awakened the Ninetales. She majestically leapt from rock to rock and growled when she saw the medic and other soldiers in the clearing.
I saw the medic reach for his pistol, and I stopped him.
"She took care of me," I said.
"We're sorry, but we have to take him to base. He's got a good chance of an infection if he stays here," the medic said to the Ninetales.
"I'll take that chance," I interjected.
Both the Ninetales and the medic looked at me. "I don't care what the risks are. I'm staying here."
"Lieutenant, you stay here, you're probably going to die. No offense to the Ninetales, but she's not going to be able to change the bandages and tie them properly."
"I don't care. I know you're not going to believe me, but I love her."
I'm sure the medic was going to say something, but the dustoff chopper landed and medics from the base jumped out with a gurney. They carefully lifted me up onto the gurney and started to take me to the chopper when I stopped them. I was going to explain why I was going to stay when the Ninetales did something I'll never forget.
She got up and nudged the gurney towards the chopper.
I looked at her in surprise. She had tears in her eyes as I ran my hand for the last time through her mane. The medics lifted the gurney into the chopper and instructed the pilot to take off.
Though I couldn't see her from where I was, I'm sure I got an image of her watching the helicopter take off, tears pouring down her cheeks.
I never saw her again.
Fruits of War
"McBrien!" the Captain shouted.
"Here sir!" I replied quickly.
"You'll lead your platoon down the road from Goldenrod City to Azalea Town. The enemy's advancement has stretched their supply lines thin, so an attack from behind should cut off their support. You'll be traveling through a heavy Combat Zone, so make sure your platoon is well equipped. You'll report back to us once you have the supply lines severed. Do you understand your orders, Lieutenant?"
"Yes sir," I responded, nodding my head. I saluted, and left the tent.
We were in the midst of a violent civil war on the continent of Johto. People who say that war is hell haven't been through true warfare. The fighting I experienced there was like taking a trip to hell and back several times over.
I was the First Lieutenant for 4th Platoon D Brigade, a platoon with 30 men: 2 machine gunners, 1 RTO, and the rest all regular soldiers. When arming my group, I armed the gunners with M249s, my RTO with a simple M4 with an M9 pistol, me with an M16 with my .38 revolver that I brought from home, and the rest with M16 rifles and the M203 grenade launcher attachment.
My platoon left our camp just a couple klicks west of Goldenrod City. It was a bright, sunny afternoon, and we were in the middle of a violent Civil War.
The Separatists had wanted to secede from the rest of the continent of Johto when the government declared that Pokemon could not be bred to create hybrids unless granted permission by the Wildlife Officials. The Separatists believed that the right to breed Pokemon at their will was their right and theirs alone. They said that the government could not dictate how they raised their Pokemon as long as they didn't turn them against other trainers.
There were many heated debates between the Separatist party and the Federal government, and eventually war broke out when a Separatist radical group bombed a Federal transport jeep.
I pulled the map out of a pocket of my green fatigue pants, and checked our route once more. It had us go through the forest rather than take the trail, and end up in Azalea well behind enemy lines.
My platoon moved quickly and quietly, noises of snapping twigs and the crunch of dead leaves were drowned out by the sounds of gunfire and aircraft in the distance. We'd been out in this continent for about a year and a half. My men were getting tired of warfare, and I honestly say I was too. It was taxing to a soldier to have to sleep only a few hours then expect to cope with ambushes, marching, and firefights.
We were still advancing when all of a sudden a machine gun opened up across the road and forced us all to scatter. I still had my map in my hands. At that time, all I focused on was returning fire.
I pulled myself up and fired on the enemy soldiers. Over the rattle of the machine guns and the sounds of my soldiers' rifles, I could hear the shouts of the men on the other side as our bullets tore through their flesh like a drill through soap.
Eventually, everything became quiet. My men relaxed a bit, and carefully and slowly stood up. I reached down to the ground to pick up my map. Or, what was left of it anyway. The surprise gunfire had blown holes all through it. I couldn't read it at all.
Somewhere off in the distance, I heard the engine of a helicopter. Whether that was Separatist or Federal I didn't know at the time. I shifted my M16 to my other hand as I removed my helmet. God, it had to have been over 100 degrees. I ran a gloved hand through my sweat-soaked hair and put my helmet back on. I sighed as I took a swig from the canteen of warm water at my side and tried to look through the trees.
I honestly had no idea where I was, but my men were already disheartened and scared enough. Last thing they need is a Lieutenant that got them lost. I instructed all my men to take a break as I rooted through my pack for my compass. I looked around again and tried to get a vague location.
My calculations put us somewhere between the shoreline and the heart of the continent. I shut my eyes and tried to think.
Which is when it happened.
I will never know exactly what took place in the last several seconds, but all I remember is one of my men screaming "Napalm!" at the top of his lungs. Soon afterward, my ears were assailed by the screams of my men as one by one they were incinerated by the deadly substance.
I got up and ran. I have always hated myself for running away. Running away when my men needed me. I left 30 men behind to save themselves. As I ran, rifles cracked all around me. They were like demon firecrackers, bullets flying past me as I ran, ran from my men, ran to save myself.
I always believed that taking the bullet in my leg was God's punishment for my cowardice. I was sprinting through the trees, and the next thing I knew I was face down in the dirt with a sharp pain in my upper leg.
I struggled to my feet and continued limping forward. The pain in my leg was excruciating, and once again I fell to the ground. Only this time, I couldn't get up. The first thing I noticed was that I felt like I was being watched the other I noticed was that the gunfire had stopped.
The birds were silent, and there was a tension as though I was in the middle of a standoff. The last thing I heard were careful footsteps and something whispered "Nine..." ever so softly.
I woke up several hours later on a cold stone floor, my flak jacket folded underneath my head to form a makeshift pillow. The pain in my leg was gone, and there was a crudely tied bandage around the wound. The knot looked as though whoever tied it did it without using their hands. I tried to sit up, but something pushed me back down. It was a gentle touch, telling me to lay down, but forceful enough to not make me want to argue. It was dark inside this cave, so I didn't see exactly who was in front of me. All I saw were two glowing red eyes. They didn't have a sinister light to them, but they still made me uneasy.
I laid down again, and my unknown companion walked almost silently over to me and sat down. There was a brief blast of heat, and soon a fire crackled brightly, revealing the identity of the other being.
It was quite possibly the most beautiful Ninetales that I've seen in my life.
The glow from the fire lit up her fur like drapes covering a window during a sunrise. The orange and yellow danced over her body fleetingly. One minute the flame was there, another minute it wasn't. Watching the glow from the fire on her fur made it seem as though you were observing many dancers upon the plains.
"Excuse me," I said, "But what happened?"
She said nothing. She merely turned her head to the mouth of the cave. It was dark outside, and the sounds of gunfire were still in the distance. Then she pointed to the wound on my leg.
"Did you bring me here?" I asked. She nodded. "I really appreciate what you did for me, but I really have to go. My brigade commander's going to want to know what happened to me." I started to get up, but the Ninetales leapt over me gracefully and pushed me back down.
"Nine," she commanded, still holding me down. Now if I wanted, I could have thrown her off. But I didn't really want to. No, it wasn't because of the 1,000 year curse they put upon you if you upset them, I just didn't want to anger this beautiful creature.
"Why are you taking care of me?" I asked. She simply shrugged and lay down next to me and closed her eyes. I opened my mouth to mention the lack of blankets when she quickly wrapped her tails around my body.
I was never able to figure out what exactly it was about me that made her care for me while I was wounded, but I guess it was for the better that I didn't. It was her caring nature towards me that made me want to stay. I didn't want to leave her at all. For some reason, I believe she thought that she was responsible for me in a way. I was lost in these thoughts as I fell asleep next to her warm body, her soft tails still over me.
The dawn arrived with the crack of distant gunfire and the quiet boom of artillery. I awoke on the floor alone. The heat from the sun had already set in, and the temperature in the cave was a little cooler than the day before. I stood up and immediately felt a burning in my leg where I was shot. I stumbled against the wall, accidentally kicking my helmet in the corner.
The sound of my helmet striking the stone floor brought the Ninetales dashing back to me, and she tackled me to the ground yet again.
"What are you doing? I have to get back out there," I protested.
"Nine!" she barked.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, with a little force to my voice, "I need to contact my general so I can get out of here."
She responded by laying her head on my shoulder. She nuzzled me and licked my neck softly. I suddenly knew why she didn't want me to leave. Almost involuntarily, I wrapped my arms around her back, running my fingers through the warm, soft fur.
She lifted her head, licked my cheek and sat up. The feeling of her weight upon me caused my cock to start growing. I was dimly aware of it. She must have felt it, since I then noticed that the green T-shirt I had on was becoming wet where she was sitting.
I think she was embarrassed about her body's reaction, because at that moment, she blushed and looked away. I slowly lifted myself up and hugged her. She interpreted that as saying it was alright.
She licked my face again and I lay back down. She lowered her head and touched her muzzle to my lips. I took the hint and kissed her. She returned the kiss and slipped her tongue into my mouth. And dear God, the heat. Her mouth felt as hot as the air outside. Kissing her made me feel like my tongue was being burned.
I suddenly got the urge to pleasure her; to make her moan. I reached down and stroked the soaking wet patch of fur between her legs. The pleasure from me rubbing her caused her to accidentally breathe a slight stream of fire. It dodged our wrestling tongues and shot down my throat, burning the entire way down.
The sudden burning sensation in my mouth caused my muscles to tense up, and my middle finger penetrated the entrance to her vagina, and she whimpered softly. I inserted both my index finger and middle finger inside of her, and was starting to stroke inside of her when she quickly got off. She turned around and nuzzled my crotch. I understood what she wanted and slid my pants down as far as I could without disturbing my wound.
She took my cock into her mouth slowly, giving me time to grow accustomed to her heat. She lowered her dripping pussy to my face, and I started licking. I simply licked the fur near her vagina, making her want more. She was gently sucking me, so I parted the opening to her cunt with my fingers and licked inside her. She shuddered, and I stuck my tongue deeper inside of her.
The heat from her mouth was nothing compared to the heat in her pussy. I felt her start using her tongue as well, so I picked up my pace and tried going in as far as I could. I felt my orgasm coming, and it was gonna hit hard. I guess she could too, since she was sucking my cock pretty fast.
I tried holding it down as long as I could, but her relentless effort had taken its toll. I fired off inside of her mouth, and as my hot cum shot down her throat, her pussy exploded in a torrent of sticky fluid that covered my face and chest. I licked off what I could from her as she cleaned the rest of my cum from my cock.
She climbed off of me slowly, but didn't turn around. Instead, she raised her rear into the air, parted her tails, and spread her hind legs.
I got behind her, and placed my cock at her entrance. I wasn't even inside of her, and I could feel the heat emanating from her. I slowly pushed in, causing her to growl in pain and grit her teeth. She was extremely tight, and the heat of her fire and her body assailed my cock.
I went in as far as I could, and slowly started thrusting. She embraced me with her tails, and all of them caressed me as I continued to thrust. I noticed that with each thrust, she released a small burst of flame from her mouth. I leaned over her and hugged her. She raised her head and licked my face.
I soon felt the heat building up between my cock and my balls, and I started thrusting faster. I was battling with myself, trying to decide whether to cum inside her or not. Time ran out, and I hadn't made a decision.
My cum flowed from my cock as I absentmindedly thrust into her one final time.
"NINE!" she cried as she felt my seed pour into her hot womb.
She hit another orgasm, this time drenching my cock and pants. I came for what felt like forever until I was empty. I didn't want to pull out of her; I loved the feeling of her tightness holding my cock firmly in place.
But I did, and she lay down on the floor of the cave, panting heavily. I zipped up my pants and lay down beside her. She licked my cheek one final time before she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
I woke up a few hours later, and the sun was setting. The gunfire had quieted down, and I sat up. My stomach growled, and the Ninetales was still asleep. I got up and hobbled over to where my gear was. I searched and realized that neither my pack nor my weaponry were there. The only weapon I had was my Bowie knife.
I put on my flak jacket and helmet and headed out to hunt. Being over here for a year has taught me how to hunt without using guns. I quietly climbed down the face of the cliff, and unsheathed my knife. The sun was rapidly setting; I had to move fast. I slowly made my way down a cleared path in the brush, and hopped over a fallen tree.
I didn't see the landmine beneath it.
I never actually realized that my left leg was gone until I fell over. All I heard was a loud pop, and suddenly my leg wouldn't respond. I tried walking, made a little half-step, and collapsed. I looked down, and saw only my bandaged right leg. Blood was pouring out from where my left leg was supposed to be, soaking the ground. Then realization hit me and my mind flew away.
Not too far away, there was a Federal platoon on its way to an ambush. They heard the mine go off, and the lieutenant sent a soldier to investigate the explosion. The soldiers didn't relax until the grunt reported a downed fellow soldier.
The lieutenant led his platoon to where I was, and had a medic take me off to a clearing where a dustoff chopper could pick me up.
Naturally, they dragged me to the clearing near the cliff. The medic bandaged up my leg the best that he could, and called the chopper. He leaned me against a rock, and took off my helmet so that he could see my face.
"Lieutenant, we found McBrien," he called over his shoulder.
"Alright, that's two missions in one day," he responded from across the clearing. He was confirming the coordinates for the chopper.
"You alright, Liutenant?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied.
"You're lucky you didn't get captured. Who bandaged your leg?" the medic asked.
I didn't have to respond. The talking below must have awakened the Ninetales. She majestically leapt from rock to rock and growled when she saw the medic and other soldiers in the clearing.
I saw the medic reach for his pistol, and I stopped him.
"She took care of me," I said.
"We're sorry, but we have to take him to base. He's got a good chance of an infection if he stays here," the medic said to the Ninetales.
"I'll take that chance," I interjected.
Both the Ninetales and the medic looked at me. "I don't care what the risks are. I'm staying here."
"Lieutenant, you stay here, you're probably going to die. No offense to the Ninetales, but she's not going to be able to change the bandages and tie them properly."
"I don't care. I know you're not going to believe me, but I love her."
I'm sure the medic was going to say something, but the dustoff chopper landed and medics from the base jumped out with a gurney. They carefully lifted me up onto the gurney and started to take me to the chopper when I stopped them. I was going to explain why I was going to stay when the Ninetales did something I'll never forget.
She got up and nudged the gurney towards the chopper.
I looked at her in surprise. She had tears in her eyes as I ran my hand for the last time through her mane. The medics lifted the gurney into the chopper and instructed the pilot to take off.
Though I couldn't see her from where I was, I'm sure I got an image of her watching the helicopter take off, tears pouring down her cheeks.
I never saw her again.
Chapter End Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended, and is applicable for all consecutive chapters that follow.