Part 21~ 27

Part 21
------------->

“Ring… Ring…”

I scrambled up from my bed and reached out for the phone.

“Hello? Amanda speaking.”

“Hi, I’m calling from the Peacekeeping Division and I am happy to inform you that Joseph has been found and is currently on his way back to Singapore.”

“I… I… Okay. Thank you for calling”

I lay back on my bed, tears welling up in my eyes. I heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

“Joseph? Joseph is alive?”

It has already been a year and a half, I did not know what to think. I didn’t know whether to feel happy, excited, or sad.

I grabbed my pillow, covered my face and cried my heart out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Joseph! Good to have you back! We have a military jet prepared to shuttle you back to Singapore. Apparently HQ over there wants to see you urgently. And we have a lot of paper work for you when you get there!”

My commanding officer exclaimed.

“Nice seeing you too.”

I replied while keeping a sarcastic smile on.

I couldn’t care less who I spoke to. All I had on my mind was Amanda. She had been on my mind the day I left for Taiwan, the time I fought against the guerrillas even while I was being tortured.

Her face, her sweet smile. That image of her pulled me through the darkest hours of my life. I wanted to embrace her and hold her close to me. I needed her. She had been my lifeline.

My heart cried out for her, I wanted to see her. I wanted to see her badly.

Part 22
----------->

When the plane finally touched down in Payar Lebar Air Base, I quickly dashed out looking for a nearby phone that I could use to call Amanda, but I was promptly stopped by 2 MPs whom grabbed me by the arms and dragged me towards the Main Office.

“Welcome back soldier! We have a lot of work to do.”

“Figures” I mumbled to myself.

All that followed were quite expected. Tons of reports to write, meetings with different departments. I couldn’t even have time for myself. I tried to set aside some time to make a call to Amanda. But time simply pit itself against me.

That was how my first 2 days were spent back in Singapore.

I took some of the reserved cash and my cell that was in my office safe and quickly made my way to Amanda’s house.

“Ding Dong…”

I couldn’t wait to see her, my heart was pounding, I felt like barging in but I kept my feelings under control.

When the door finally opened, I spread my arms expecting her to jump towards me and embrace me.

“Honey! I’m back! I've missed you!”

But I was greeted with a solemn face.

“Hi Joseph, welcome home.”

My heart sank.

“Amanda, what’s wrong?”

“Its nothing; Joseph, come and sit here with me. I have something to tell you.”

Part 23
------------->

As she led me to the sofa in the living room , I felt a sudden heavy heartedness come upon me.

She grabbed my hand in hers and let out a heavy sigh.

“Joseph, you’ve been gone for over a year and a half. I’ve long given up on hope that you’d still be alive and it took me great pains to get over you…”

I cut her off before she could continue. “Baby, I’m here now aren’t I? You were what kept me going. I suffered a lot when I was in Taiwan, in that rural wasteland. All I had in my mind was you… of returning back home to hold you in my arms like I did before.”

She started to sob and her hands shook uncontrollably. “Joseph! Listen to me! I went through so much in that past year and a half! I looked all over for you in Taiwan, I searched for over half a year. Do you know how tiring it was?!”

She shouted with tears that filled her beautiful eyes.

“Now that I’ve given up and finally moved on, why do you hang on? Please Joseph. I have a new life now, I’ve found somebody else…” The one sentence that every man dreaded hearing when they came back from war. I never dreamt that I would be the one to hear it, not this soon at least.

I clenched my other fist as rage, sorrow and confusion filled my now stoned heart. I tugged my hand away from hers, stood up and left the house. I could hear her weeping as I made way out, but I did not feel the least sorry for her. She cheated on me. She never meant to wait for me.

Part 25
------------>

The next day

“Hello? Ryan? I’m sure you’ve heard the news that Joseph is back. I… I’d like to meet you and talk about something.”

“Huh? Alright, where do I meet you honey?”

“Fort Canning Park, tonight at 8pm. Don’t be late!”

“Okay sure, love you!”

For Canning Park - 1930

“What am I going to tell him? More like, how am I going to tell him? It’s unfair to him, but what choice do I have? I feel that he has just been a substitute for Joseph. Am I that cruel? How could I treat him this way?”

Thoughts ran through my mind, one thing led to another. I decided to go earlier so I could plan how to tell Ryan about it.

Seconds seemed like minutes, minutes seemed like hours. Time passed so slowly, I could almost feel as if time would stop.

Fort Canning Park – 2000

“Wow, lucky aren’t I? I made it in time! Haha… so what was so important that we had to come all the way out here to talk? Couldn’t we just do it at your place?”

“Ryan, things have become quite complicated, I’ve given this a lot of thought and…”

“Ouch!” Someone somewhere grabbed my hand forcefully and pulled at me.

The man pointed at Ryan with his other hand.

“You’d better sit your ass down, you move and you'd wish you hadn't.”

“Come, I need to speak with you.” The mysterious man said to me.

“… what?! Wh.. who are you!”

The light from the nearby lamp post slowly shone on his face as he pulled me away.

“… It can’t be! B.. But… How did you…..”

Part 26
------------>

As he pulled me away from Ryan and brought me to a place where we were alone, he turned to me and said: “I followed you from your house.”

“But why? Couldn’t you have just dropped by? Why go to this extent?”

He was looking in Ryan’s direction and wasn’t paying any attention to what I was saying.

“Who was that guy? Your new lover?”

“Ye… yes… Please don’t do anything rash, he has nothing to do with anything, I am the one who brought this upon him.”

“…”

I had to get away, this wasn’t the time, much less the place. Everything was going wrong.

“Please… I was about to tell him, let me go back and finish what I had to say to him. Wait here, I’ll be back. I promise.”

“Alright, go. Don’t keep me waiting.” Yes, he had given in. Now is my chance.

I made haste walking back to where Ryan was only to find him gone. I panicked, what could possibly go wrong went wrong.

As I let out a heavy sigh, I heard police sirens close in on my location. There he was, Ryan was standing on the curb waving to the oncoming police cars.

I turned back to look at the man, he was already gone. Ryan turned around, and when he saw me, he ran towards me and gave me a big hug.

“Amanda! Are you okay? I called the cops, I thought he had kidnapped you.”

How silly, I said to myself. I continued to embrace him while he gave his statement to the police.

Part 27
----------->

I wondered about that day long and hard, my heart sank every time I thought about giving up Ryan. I still had feelings for Joseph, and now that he is back alive and well… I could not possibly just leave him in the lurch.

I hated how clichéd this whole thing was. Boyfriend leaves for another country only to go missing and presumed dead. Just when I had given up on him and found someone new, he appeared in my life once again.

I had decided to meet Joseph to clear this entire thing up.

“Hey Joseph? Can I meet you at the MacDonalds near my house? I wanna tell you something.” I said.

“Sure, give me 5 minutes.”

[MacDonalds]

“Joseph, I want to know if you still love me.” I said, hoping to hear the answer yes.

“Amanda, I do love you, I have never stopped loving you. But what about you? It seems as though I am insignificant to you…” Joseph said in a composed manner, but I knew he was hurt deep inside.

“I do, I still do love you. But now that I’ve got Ryan, I can’t possibly just dump him. I still want to be with you, but could you give me time to sort things out first?

Joseph nodded his head and held my hands.

That warm touch of his brought back so many memories.

The next day I went to Ryan’s office to ask him out for lunch. “Hey baby! Why didn’t you call before coming here? I could have finish up earlier!”

“Nah, it's nothing. Let’s talk over lunch.”

“Ryan, you remember Joseph that I once told you about?”

“Joseph… oh Joseph! Your ex boyfriend who… you know. And yes I remember.”

“The thing is… He is back and alive”

“WHAT?!” Ryan exclaimed in disbelief.

“Yes I know it’s shocking, he is the one who pulled me away the other night.”

“So… why are you telling me this now?”

He asked now looking serious.

“The thing is, I’ve never really gotten over him. I know you will hate me because of what I am going to do, and how selfish I may be. But this is something I believe not many people have gone through. Ryan, I want to go our separate ways.”

I could see his eyes filling up with tears, but he still maintained a composed composure.

He took deep breathes before telling me how he felt.

“I… I… I understand. I will be fine. So long as you’re happy, I will be fine. I will be.”

“I’m sorry Ryan, I really am. But I can’t pretend to love you now that he is back.”

“I get it Amanda, it’s alright.” I felt really bad, I felt like a total jerk. But I had to do it.

“Thanks Ryan, you’re still so understanding even after what I said. It means a lot, thanks.”

Part 1~20

Part 1
------------->

"Hey! I'm leaving now! Catch ya in a couple of weeks! I promise I'll call!" Joseph yelled.

"Alright, have a good trip ok? And come back straight once you're done. Don't go flirting ya?" I retorted.
That was the last conversation Joseph and I ever had.

We were still a couple, but cohabiting.

That fateful day, Joseph had been on call to do peace-keeping in Taiwan. He was considered KIA after a 5 day nationwide search was conducted after a fierce collision between the Guerrillas and the Peacekeeping forces.

2 weeks after Joseph's departure to Taiwan, I received a call which felt like a knife stabbing through my heart 10 times over.

The phone rang and I instantaneously ran to answer.

“HEY! HONEY! ITS BOUT TIME YOU CALLED!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"Hello, is that Amanda? I am Captain Wong Tze Chu from the Taiwan Peacekeeping Division. I have a very unfortunate piece of news for you. Your boyfriend was killed in action after a fierce collision between the Guerrilla and Peacekeeping forces."

I felt my body go weak, my knees were shaky and eventually gave way and I collapsed on the floor. I did not know how to react; All I knew was that the love of my life was gone. Forever.

Part 2
----------->

2 Weeks later.

May 23 2005

"Steph, I've decided. I can't live my life here any longer. I want to go to Taiwan. I want to live closer to him. Go with me will you?" I begged.

"Amanda, I really don't know what to say... But if you really insist on going to Taiwan, I'd follow you. We'll start anew over there." Stephanie replied.

That phone call was followed by a lot of packing. I met Stephanie a few days later at the airport. As we were about to board the plane, I felt my heart drop once again. I couldn't bear to leave this place, but I couldn't live my life here any longer either.

While on board the 8 hour flight to Taiwan, my mind was still flooded with thoughts of him. I was oblivious to my surroundings.

“Amanda, Amanda!” Stephanie raised her voice slightly.

She grabbed my by the shoulder and shook me gently. That cleared my mind, and I was back into reality.

“Oh, I’m sorry Steph. I was... I was thinking of something.” I replied.

It was so obvious, and she knew. She kept to herself while I did the same throughout the journey. I didn’t feel like talking.

“We will be landing in 5 minutes, please remain in your seats and buckle up.” The captain instructed over the PA system.

Once we got off, I knew I had to start searching for him. I hated having to lie to Steph. My intention had never been to live here; All I wanted to do was search for him. Find him and live the way we did more then a year ago.

I never once thought of him dead. I knew he was alive, just somewhere…

Somewhere…

Part 3
----------->

"Ahh! Feels good to have my feet on solid ground once again!"

"Yup, lets hurry on to the hotel. Its getting pretty late!"

It was around 9pm when we checked into our hotel. By the time we had unpacked and settled down, it was already too late to go anywhere for a quick bite. So Steph decided to take a bath, followed by her rushing into the toilet as if she hadn't seen a furnished toilet in ages.

While she occupied the toilet, I decided to take a breather at the balcony. I peered into the night scenery that was before me.

There were many high rise apartments accompanied by the brightly lit roads. The roads were occupied by a vast variety of cars honking away. Night life here in Taiwan isn't really much different from that of Singapore.

I fell back into my chair, let out a heavy breath and closed my eyes.

How was I going to start my search? Taiwan was huge, he could be anywhere. I thought long and hard.

Slowly I drifted off to sleep. Slowly… Slowly…….

*BANG*

“OH MY GOD!!!! AMANDA!! YOU HAVE GOT TO CHECK OUT THE TOILET!!!”

Damn, that bang jolted my heart so bad I swear it skipped at least 5 beats. Steph can be so rough sometimes.

“Oh! I’m so sorry; I didn’t know you were sleeping….”

“That’s a little too late isn’t it? Haha, doesn’t matter. Now it’s my turn!” I grinned.

After my warm shower, I got dressed and hopped onto the bed beside Steph.

‘What am I going to do tomorrow? How? How? How?’ I thought to myself.

‘Ah yes! Got it all figured out’ I smiled and closed my eyes a few minutes later.

I hoped that the night would pass quickly. Soon… soon morning will come, and my search will finally begin. I couldn’t wait any longer.

Part 4
------------->

*Beep Beep*

The alarm clock sounded.

Ah yes, morning has finally arrived.

I took a bath and got dressed. I sneaked out leaving Steph still dead asleep in bed.

I sniggered to myself. I wanted her to panic when she realized I was missing.

*Muahahaha*

But I couldn’t be so mean, so I left a note for her, telling her that I was out looking for a job.

I ate at a MacDonald’s for my breakfast, and drafted out a missing person flyer. Now all I had to do was to find someone who could help me print everything.

After hours of searching and telephone calls, I managed to find a kind soul. However he told me that it would take at least a whooping 5 working days. The capital involved also was no small sum.

Thank goodness he agreed to let me pay by installments.

When I opened the door to my apartment, I saw Stephanie seated on the bed. From where I was, I knew she was fuming with anger.

“Why didn’t you wake me up to go job hunting with you?!” She screamed at me.

“Oh oh, you were so sleeping so soundly, I couldn’t bear to wake you up. Com’on don’t be like that~”

Only a few minutes of persuasion was all it took.

So much for day 1; I felt as though it was a day wasted, I didn’t accomplish anything.

Part 5
--------------->

*Ting ting*

“Hi, I’m here to collect my flyers?”

“Yep, as promised, all towards the left of the counter. Count it aight.”

Yup, 20,000 flyers as promised.

I met Steph and we went all around our district putting up flyers on almost every lamp post and notice board.

After we burnt half a day, we decided to have our tea at Pacific Tea House.

“Amanda, why didn’t you tell me what your real motive was for coming here?”

“I was afraid you might not understand, since you’re always so headstrong. And that I would have to come here alone…”

“You know I would never do that~ com’on. In future just be honest with me ok?”

Woah, there was actually another side of her!


Part 6
-------------->

“Doink doink.”
My phone rang. Kind of an irritating ring tone I used to have.

“ARGH, who the heck can it be so early in the morning?!” I muttered to myself, still groggy and half asleep.

“Hello?”

“Hi, I’m calling with regard to the missing person’s flyer.”

When I heard the caller say that sentence, the little flame of hope inside me turned into a pillar of fire. My heart pounded wildly.

“Yes yes, what do you know?”

“I believe I’ve seen someone whom matches with the description and looks somewhat alike with the picture….”

Before she could finish her sentence, I cut her off asking madly.

“Where?! Where did you see him?! Are you sure?!”

“Yes, I am now currently in Taipei city, Dihua Street in the Dadaocheng area.”

“Please wait! I’ll be there shortly. Thank you so much!”

I got dressed, forced Steph out of bed and together we rushed down to Dihua Street.

During the bus journey, questions kept flooding my mind. Have I really found him? Has God finally decided to stop testing me? Is it really him? Will we be finally reunited?

“Dihua Street”

We got off, I dialed the number in my cell’s calls log.

“Hello? I’ve reached Dihua Street, where are you?”

“I’m standing in front of the Historic monument.”

There she was, only a few meters away, Steph and I rushed over.

Part 7
------------->

“You said you saw him, now hurry and tell me where!”

I know I sounded rude, but I could not contain my anxiety any longer.

“I saw him over there, by the corner, he was seated there. Dressed in ragged clothes, but before you go, may I request for my reward?”

The reward! I did not have any money on me. So I came up with an excuse. A very reliable one.

“I’m sorry, but you will only get the reward if I find him.”

This excuse was great because it served 2 purposes. One to save my money, the other was to protect myself from being scammed.

Good aint it?

I could see the displeasure on her face, but nonetheless she brought us to the spot where she had seen him.

“THERE! HE’S WALKING TOWARDS THE FOUNTAIN!!”

We ran as fast as girls could run.

As I grabbed him by the shoulder… My heart pounded ferociously..

My eyes widening with every millisecond

I shouted “JOESPH!”

The shabby looking man, heavily bearded, slowly turned around.

Part 8
------------->

No, no, no, NO! IT WASN’T HIM！

Tears welled up in my eyes. I almost broke down. I couldn’t help it; I thought I had finally found him.

Weeks passed, we received calls from people, some of which were genuine, and others from immature young punks. Nevertheless every call counted.

Every time we received a call, we would go over and check it out.

A small glimpse of hope kept me going.

Part 9
-------------->

Only a few months felt like an eternity. But the memory of Joseph was still embedded within my fragile heart.

Every now and then, I would long for him. I would recall the times when he whispered into my ear, telling me how much he loved me. The way he embraced me, the warmth I felt from him. It’s something that nothing in this empty world can ever make up for.

Since that phone call that crushed my heart, everything had taken a turn for the worse. I could not cope with the massive stress gained from work, leading to the loss of my job, and the one person that I could always turn to no longer exists.

Because of the constant mood swings, I’ve fell out with most of my friends. All but one, Stephanie.

Just a year after the death of my beloved, my closest friend Stephanie threw me a question which cut deepened the cut in my heart

“Hey Amanda, I don’t know how to broach this subject, but why haven’t you given up on Joseph? It’s already been a year. Isn’t it about time you moved on? Stephanie asked inquisitively.

I was consumed with anger and snapped at her unforgivingly. Only then did it occur to me that I had to face reality. I should move on, I had to let go. What mattered most was that Joseph remained etched in my memories.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Argh! Where the hell am I?”

I looked around me, fallen tree branches and empty casings littered the ground.

I tried to roll over on to my side. A sharp pain surged through my body, right up to my brain.

I threw my head back and screamed out in pain.

I looked down, and I noticed a piece of shrapnel embedded in my thigh. It was the size of an average 500ml bottle.

“Shit.”

From the time I saw the shrapnel, I knew I was in deep shit. I couldn’t move and what was worse, I was lost and stranded in some desolate pisswad forest in Taiwan.

At the corner of my eye, I saw a nearby bush shake lightly.

The next thing I saw was a pair of boots moving slowly towards me

My vision blurred, my surroundings started to blacken.

I blacked out.

Part 10
------------->

I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt as though they weighed a ton. I summoned all my strength, but could only manage to open them halfway.

My vision was blurred; I saw a fluorescent light hanging overhead, with a dark shadowy figure standing over me.

I blacked out again.

I slowly regained consciousness after what felt like a decade. This time I could open my eyes fully. The fluorescent light blinded me for and instance before I adjusted to it.

I peered at my surroundings,.

“This looks like, it looks like… like… like… like a hospital ward.”

I muttered under my breath.

All of a sudden, I heard murmuring of a few males voices that came closer by the second.

I quickly shut my eyes once again, and feigned unconsciousness.

“There he is”

“Thank you doctor.”

Part 11
--------------->

“Joseph, we’ve finally found you.”

Followed by a sinister laughter that I had not heard in a very, very long time.

Joseph? How did they know my name? Who were these people?

The anonymity of these people was stimulating my curiosity genes. My heart thumped harder, I could hear the meter beeping faster and faster.

I felt like taking a peek, but I decided not to.

“He’s probably dead asleep; the doctors said they had him heavily sedated before they removed the shrapnel.”

Who were these people?! I needed to know!

The door swung open, the air turned heavy.

The room was clouded with the scent of perfume, as far as I could tell, a woman entered the room…

Part 12
-------------->

The lady whom entered spoke in Cantonese, at first, her voice seemed agitated, but after awhile it seemed as if she was flirting with the men in the ward.

The room was silent. The lady lowered her voice and spoke to the men.

They whispered something about getting information from the previous patient. Which was unsuccessful, resulting in death.

After a few moments, I heard her heels clattering as she walked over to me.

Then there was an awkward silence, it was too much for me to bear. So I took a peek.

To my horror, I saw her filling a syringe with a thick needle with some translucent liquid. She lifted my arm, applied some pressure which made my veins visually “pop out”.

I clenched my teeth as I felt the needle tear through my skin and piercing my vein, followed by the liquid forcing itself through my bloodstream.

I felt light headed, I had been sedated again. Shit.

My head whirled, I fell asleep.

Part 13
-------------->

“Squeak… Squeak…”

I felt drowsy, but I manage to open my eyes.

I saw an illuminated light-bulb swinging from side to side.

I realized that my arms were tied behind my back.

“Oh where the hell can I be now?”

I asked myself. I took a closer look at my surroundings; the place looked more like a shit hole.

Pieces of cloth strewn everywhere, bags of garbage with flies feeding of them.

The stench of the place, damn it. How could anyone live here?

I looked on and I saw a trail of blood.

I followed the trail of blood, which led to a person, tied up in the same manner. But I knew that he was dead, his face was so badly bashed that I couldn’t make anything out of it.

His arms and legs had deep lacerations, rats were feeding off his wound.

But his uniform… Peace Keeping 4th Division. He was in my Division!!

HE MUST BE THE ONE THE LADY IN THE WARD SPOKE OF!!

“OH ****”

I was in a frigging interrogation room!!

Part 14
-------------->

I tugged at the coarse ropes violently, I had to free myself!

I shook and shook the ropes, only to have them cutting deeper into my skin each time.

I bled, my skin split open and the smell of raw flesh started to attract the flies.

This was bad.

“ Haha, so whatcha gonna do to that twerp? Beat him to a pulp like the last one? Ahahaha”

“Nah… Give him shock therapy! Watch his muscles contract till they tear! Ahahaha”

“Nicely thought, nicely thought. Well then, I’ll go get the bucket of water, you go on ahead.”

Oh shit.

As I struggled, an impending doom awaited me as I heard the thumping of heavy boots come closer. I was at my wits end.


Part 15
-------------->

I stared at my torturer, the look of malice in his eyes told me I was going to go through one hell of a time.

I named my torturer Mr. Kraing.

He was a man of 6 foot 5 inches, with eyes burrowed deep in his shadowy sunken sockets. He had biceps the size of my thighs and a chest larger than an average body builder.

He seemed to be enjoying the fact that I was staring intently at him, while he set up the machine and did the necessary wiring.

Glancing over his shoulder with a grin from time to time, taunting me over and over.

*krangg krangg*

Another 2 soldiers, I mentally called them Stumpy and Shorty. They were short but masculine. They dragged a metal bed frame into the room and placed it behind me.

After doing so, they cut me loose from the ropes and handcuffed me to the bed frame.

Mr. Kraing doused me with ice cool water which sent shivers down my spine.

“Thanks, that was refreshing, I really needed that.”

I smirked.

“Oh boy, smile all you want. Soon, you won’t even feel your body.”

“Bring it on baby face.”

Mr. Kraing took 2 wires with him and clipped them to the cold steel frame.

He switched the metallic device on and turned the knob. A loud humming sound followed. The light overhead flickered.

The machine was charging up.

Oh… I was screwed.

Part 16
-------------->

In LOAC (Laws of Armed Conflict), there is a section called Distinction.

Distinction means discriminating between lawful combatant targets and noncombatant targets such as civilians, civilian property, POWs, and wounded personnel who are out of combat.

The central idea of distinction is to only engage valid military targets. An indiscriminate attack is one that strikes military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction.

Distinction requires defenders to separate military objects from civilian objects to the maximum extent feasible. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to locate a hospital or POW camp next to an ammunition factory.

However, in my case, the area I was held in was in the heart of all military operations.

Apparently, Guerrillas weren’t really fans of Laws or Rules. Therefore, they could do anything they wanted to me, even if it meant killing me.

“Tell me when are they attacking our camp!” Mr. Kraing yelled.

“Staff Sergeant Joseph, S8615524A”

In war, we are taught never to divulge any other information than your name, rank and NIRC No.

If you do, it’s better to die there and then, then to come back alive and be charged with treason.

“You think I’m playing around with you boy?!”

He pulled the lever on the machine, releasing the charged electricity that flowed rapidly from the cables to the metal bed frame I was bound to.

“Arghhh!!!!” I screamed as the muscles in my body contracted.

The pain was excruciating, but I had no choice, I wasn’t the ranking officer in my Division. Which meant I had no intel on the impending attack. I was only given intel when the time came to execute any plans.

“I’m going to ask you again boy... WHEN IS THE ATTACK?!”

I looked at him and forced a wide smile.

Mr. Kraing heaved a heavy sigh.

“You asked for it.. Joseph.”

He charged the machine one more time.

Part 17
------------->

My heart pounded harder and harder as I braced myself for another wave of electrons surging through my veins.

Then he did it, he pulled the lever once again, freeing the electrons which were like packs of hungry wolves unleashed upon a wounded prey.

I gave out a silent cry as every strand of muscle tissue contracted violently.

When he stopped the machine, a searing pain surged through my lower limbs.

I went limp, fell on my knees, and head hanging low, with heavy beads of sweat dripping of every one of my facial features.

I passed out.

But that didn’t last very long.

I regained consciousness when a pungent scent filled my nostrils, sending signals to my brain that that was some nasty stinky shit.

“That was some pretty smelly shit. Was that your mother’s perfume?” I smiled while asking Mr. Kraing.

All I got was a bitch slap and no answer. Awww.

It was then when it happened.

A tall, but small built guy barged into the torture room.
“Sir! Sir! Our scouts have reported enemy sightings along the river bank, they seem to have discovered our headquarters!”

“Confirm it!” Mr. Kraing demanded.

The small built guy rattled something on his walkie talkie, then turned to Mr. Kraing and nodded his head.

Mr. Kraing stared at me, I could feel he really wanted to waste me there and then. But apparently, he had to deploy his troops into a defensive maneuver.

I smiled at him and said “Ooops?”

Mr. Kraing stomped out of the room.

Part 18
------------->

I leaned my head back against the metal bed frame, knowing that Mr. Kraing would not be back for a long time.

Soon after, gun fire could be heard in the near distance.

“tak tak tak, tak tak tak”

Was it time for liberation? Did the all-power and mighty higher ups finally locate the Guerrilla Headquarters?

I was feeling ambivalent.

Gun fire shifted from a couple of shots to full bursts, each side exchanging fire more and more aggressively.

The ground trembled each time an explosion could be heard.

If this was a planned attack, they would take into consideration that there might be the possibility of prisoners held in the camp.

But then again, if the Peacekeepers accidentally stumbled onto the Guerrilla Headquarters, then they would probably level the ground in no time.

Soon, artillery shells could be heard swooshing all around, followed by deafening explosions which shook the ground.

As the explosions grew louder, the ground beneath trembled more violently, causing the overhead lamp to sway, with bits of concrete falling off the dusty corners.

I knew at that point in time, there was no way in hell I could survive. Artillery fire would only be used unless HQ was sure that there were no civilians in range.

“This might be the end”

I closed my eyes and heaved a heavy sigh.

Part 19
------------>

And then it finally came, an artillery shell had found its way to the building I was held in, luckily for me, it exploded outside the building, but it was powerful enough to blow a hole through the decade old wall.

Lunging boulders of debris all over the place, accompanied with tons of concrete dust like a miniature sand storm.

Unfortunately, a debris the size of my fist propelled by the force of the explosion, hit me at my temple.

I suffered a temporary concussion, which left me in a daze for a couple of minutes.

When I regained my focus, I surveyed my surroundings, the bed frame was a heap of twisted metal, but I was still bound by the ropes to the side pole which was lodged into the ground.

I looked around for any sharp object that I could use to cut myself free, thank goodness, a piece of jagged metal laid a meter from me, and I reached out with my legs and dragged it towards myself.

I turned around, frantically tapped the ground to find the shrapnel, when I did get the shrapnel, I pressed a little too hard and it punctured the skin on my palm.

Damn, first I’m choking on dust and now I cut myself. Great.

I tore the sleeve off my uniform, with the intent of using it as a makeshift bandage. I wrapped it around my palm.

Limping on one leg, I dragged my bruised and battered body out of the leveled building. The first few rays of sunlight beamed into my eyes, I squinted, allowing my eyes to slowly come to focus.

Soldiers moving in tactical formations advanced across the road where I was.

“Here’s a straggler! Pete! Grab him!”

I fell on my knees, with my right hand outstretched hoping to be greeted with a firm grip. Instead, all I got was a butt in the face from his rifle by that soldier.

I wished I took note of his name. Damn.

Part 20
------------->

*Dump Dump Dump…* *Clang Clang..*

The sound of fallen branches and the uneven jungle terrain battling against the powerful suspension of the armored Tonner. Helmets of deceased brothers knocking against each other every other minute.

*DUMP… *

The tonner drove over a ditch in the ground, the force was strong enough to jerk my limp body before gravity decided to slam me back on to the hot steel plating beneath.

*Tock!*

“ARGH!”

I cried out in pain as my head slammed hard against the base of the tonner.

“Don’t you motherf**kers know how to drive for shits sake!?” I yelled at the driver. The peacekeepers around me keep their glum faces on and stared at me. No one said anything. Yet.

When I felt the dried blood under my nose, a new anger built up in me as I started to turn frantically to look for the little kid who hit me in the face.

I glazed around and finally spotted him crouched in a corner clutching his rifle in one hand and the other holding his helmet in place.

I curled my hands into a fist and stumbled to get up. I charged towards him, yanked his rifle from his sweaty hands and flung it across the tonner. I held him by the neck in one hand and the other ready to give him a facial makeover.

No one held me back, no one yelled at me to stop. I was baffled that no one did anything to protect this young kid.

He was quite a handsome lad, judging from his mildly chiseled face, I’d say he was only 19 years of age.

He stared at me blankly, tears welled up in his eyes. That look on his face, the look on every one of the other soldiers, I know that look…

It was… it was the look of one losing a comrade.

The rage that built up in me simmered down.

I sat myself beside him and studied each and every one of the soldiers’ faces. My ears blocked out the surrounding sounds, the only sound left was of the helmets clanging in the background.

I felt their loss, it was painful.

The silence was maintained the whole journey back to base camp.