“An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind”
~~Mahatma Gandhi~~
Why can’t all men treat each other with respect? If contempt, scorn, and selfishness were expelled from this world, there would be no reason for war or conflict. Why can’t men jus--
“MOVE!!”
It was near midnight when something exploded near our armored car and sent my best friend Theodore flying into a nearby wall. Luckily I was already out of the way, but Theo didn’t get away in time.
We were in the midst of a battle. The gunfire, smoke, and the explosions were overwhelming. It was incredibly dark, and we were battling the enemy in the dim light of two street lamps. I dove behind our truck for protection, reloaded my semi automatic rifle, and signaled two comrades to cover me while I made my mad dash across the alley to the other wall, where Theo was laying down.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine,” he said when I sat beside him to check for wounds.
“Theo, your ankle’s broken,” I said after observing his leg. “It’s a flesh wound,” he replied.
“Your broken bone is sticking out of your freaking skin!!” I yelled, irritated that he would just shake it off like it was a paper cut.
“I said don’t worry about it. You’re becoming like my mother. Just get me some gauze, you idiot,” he said with a hint of a grin on his face.
His ankle wasn’t even fully healed, two months later, when a soldier reported back to our camp with news. There was an enemy base hidden in a city a few miles away. “Let’s find them,“ said Theo, who was already gearing up with a smile that stretched from one ear to the other. Boy, I thought, with this guy on our team, we could win every war we fight in. I laughed to myself and followed him.
“Hey Theo, I think we should split into two groups and search the city,” I said when we entered the gates.
“Why?”
“Why do you think? I want to find these terrorists.”
7:34 Post Meridian. At the heart of the city, Theo and I cautiously started in opposite directions accompanied by four men each. We planned to meet at a rendezvous point outside the city gates in exactly an hour. If either group was attacked, they would contact the other over the radio for backup. It was now 8:00, and it was getting dark. My group and I searched in vain for 26 minutes, and, out of boredom and exhaustion, we decided to head back to the city gates early to wait for Theo and his group. We walked for another ten minutes before we realized that we were lost in this huge city. “I think we’re lost,” said Brian, our best sniper who was at the front of the group. “Thanks, Captain Obvious, for telling us. Now please tell us something we DON’T know,” Tyson mumbled sarcastically. Before Brian could open his mouth to retaliate, a shot rang in the air, and within moments, Brian was on the ground writhing in pain. Everyone dove sideways for protection as a massive tank tore out of a building, followed by four soldiers with large automatic weapons. I grabbed Brian by his shirt collar and threw a grenade in the general direction of the tank while running behind the cover of a few wooden crates.
Radio connection was lost because the first shot, the bullet that went through Brian’s left thigh, also destroyed the radio strapped to Brian’s leg. I ran into an empty building with Brian over my shoulders, put Brian down, and from the second story window, I gunned down the other three men surrounding the tank. The tank itself was unstoppable by four men with small guns, and with two deafening blasts, the three of my soldiers who were fighting on the ground were blown into next Tuesday. When the tank passed and everything was peaceful again, I brought my mangled friends to the room I had found earlier and laid them of the floor next to Brian. Tyson was dead, and the other two soldiers, John and Brett, were in critical condition. I let out a deep sigh and tended to their wounds in the dark.

PART TWO IS COMING SOON, SO LOOK FOR IT IN ABOUT A WEEK OR SO. THANKKSSSSSSSS ?:)