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The Aftermath of Ghosts

Chapter 21

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

2 Days Later


 

 

LOGAN

As Hesh and I walk carefully through the brush around the large Federation convoys travelling down the road, I feel anxiety creeping up in my chest.

As we've gotten closer and closer to Santa Monica, the number of Federation soldiers has been steadily increasing. Hesh and I have already taken out six patrols, and had to keep down from multiple convoys. I just hope that all of this is worth it.

Suddenly Hesh spins around and pushes me to the ground, lying down. I stare at him with wide, fear-filled eyes.

“What? What is it?” I whisper urgently, and Hesh shakes his head quickly, putting his finger to his lips, then pointing to our right.

Slowly turning my head, I see a multitude of Fed soldiers advancing down the road, and in seconds they're right next to us, only about three feet away from us, the tall grass the only thing hiding us from their view.

My eyes widen, and Hesh clamps his hand over my mouth as they walk by. My heartbeat quickens, and I feel the anxiety I was just trying to push down rise in my stomach again. After what feels like hours, the soldiers finally pass, and Hesh slowly takes his hand away from my mouth, and meets my eyes with a stressful expression.

“Well damn. That was close.” He breathes straightly, and I stare at him with widening eyes.

“Close?! Any closer, and they would have stepped on us! Hesh, we have to get away from the convoy area! It's just too densely occupied!” I hiss with urgency.

Hesh sighs, glancing around watchfully, then nods.

“You're right. Follow my lead.” He says, slowly getting up to a crouch. I do the same, and follow him as he leads us through the tall grass, to the treeline about fifty yards from the road.

He glances back towards the road, and takes a deep breath.

“Okay. We should be good. But just to be safe, we'll hug the trees as we move.” He says, and I nod.

“Let's go.”

We move further down the stretch, weapons at the ready, fingers on triggers. After about twenty minutes, we reach a river, and Hesh looks up and down the banks. Watching him intently, I raise my eyebrow.

“What is it?” I ask warily, and Hesh shakes his head.

“Just checking for any Feds. This river is one of the drop off points. We have to be careful.” He divulges. We carefully jump down the bank, and start to cross the river.

Suddenly a shout makes us both switch to high alert. A bullet shoots between us, and we both jump back, wide-eyed. Looking upstream, I can see about thirteen Federation soldiers aiming at us, shouting. My eyes widen.

“HESH!” I yell, and he turns to see the soldiers, and his eyes narrow.

“Dammit!” Raising his gun, he starts to shoot, and I follow his example. The soldiers start to fall, and the water runs red as their blood makes its way down the stream to us. The shouting slowly ceases as the thirteen dwindle down to three.

One shoots his gun, and the bullet just barely grazes my arm. I curse, but pay no heed.

Pulling off a shot, my gun takes him out, then the other two fall from Hesh. I sigh, and turn to my brother.

“That was way too close.” I say, and Hesh nods, breathing hard. I notice his shoulder has a small stain of blood at the top, and his lower leg has a red spot.

“Hesh, you got shot?!” I exclaim, and he shakes his head.

“Just grazes.” His eyes fall on my arm, and he nods towards it.

“You, too?” He says, and I nod.

“Let's keep moving.” He says, and I nod, following him as we climb up the bank.

After having just climbed to the top, the tree next to us suddenly explodes, cracking down the middle. Hesh’s eyes widen.

“MOVE!!” He shouts, and we both scramble away as the tree falls right where we were two seconds prior.

Spinning to look behind us, I can see more Federation soldiers filtering out of the trees, then my eyes fall on one crouched on the shore, holding a rocket launcher.

“Hesh! We got RPGs!” I shout, and he grabs my hand, pulling me to my feet.

“RUN!!” He yells, and I sprint after him. Another shot echoes through the trees, then the ground next to us explodes, sending me flying to the side in a spew of dirt, grass and rocks.

“LOGAN!!” Hesh screams, and I groan, struggling to get up, my sight a little foggy. Blood drips down the side of my head from where a rock hit, and I cough at the dust. Then an arm around my shoulder is lifting me up, and Hesh takes a breath.

“Come on!” He shouts, and I blink away the blur, my balance returning.

“I’m okay...I’m okay…” I mutter, then a hail of bullets splinter the trees behind us, and I shove Hesh forward.

“SHIT! They've got MGs, too!” I shout frantically as we sprint deeper into the trees. The shouts of the soldiers slowly fade away, as the bullets recess.

Following Hesh, we still sprint away long after we're out of range of the soldiers. When we can't run anymore, Hesh and I both collapse against the trees, breathing heavily.

Sliding down to the ground, I lean my head back, closing my eyes.

“We….we have to….be more….careful…” I gasp through my rapid breath, still trying to restore the air in my lungs. Opening my eyes, I glance over at my brother. He nods, standing with his hands planted on his knees, bent over as he regains his breath.

“Yeah….I know….” He takes a deep breath, then stands up with a groan. Meeting my eyes, his eyes are tired and stressed. Looking back over my shoulder at the way we came, he sighs.

“We should keep moving. Try to get as far away from here as possible.” I raise my gaze to the sky, then frown.

“It's about three hours till dark.” I lift myself up, and stand wearily.

“Let's get going.” I say restlessly, and Hesh nods. Gripping my gun tightly, I trace his footsteps as we run through the trees again.

Shaking my head to myself, I exhale loudly. It's still about 21 miles to Santa Monica. We're going to have to bed down somewhere tonight.

But the fear of the Federation soldiers has me on edge, and I know that even though my body is exhausted, I won't be able to sleep tonight.


 

 

9 hours later

 

HESH

I shake Logan awake from leaning against the tree.

“Logan, get up…” I mutter, looking around nervously. He stirs slightly, and I shake him again.

“LOGAN, GET UP!” I shout, and Logan snaps his eyes open, and looks up at me alertly.

“Wha...what?! What's happening?!” He shouts, and I look around again.

“We have to get moving. The Feds will be here soon. We can't just wait around.” I urge, and Logan sits up, nodding.

“Grab your gear, let's move.” I say, and Logan jumps up. We start through the woods again, and my eyes sweep the trees, carefully scanning for any movement. Logan follows me closely, looking around nervously.

“Hesh, how far till Santa Monica?” He asks, and I sigh.

“Maybe 5 miles. We'll be there soon. Don't worr-”

Suddenly five men jump out from behind the trees in front of us, holding guns at the ready.

“Drop your weapons!” The man closest to us yells, and I raise my eyebrow, then my eyes widen.

“Wait a second…” I mutter, and the man looks at me, then lowers his gun.

“Hang on….” He narrows his eyes looking at me, then a look of realisation crosses his face.

“Hesh?” He guesses, and Logan’s eyes widen.

“Davis?” We all meet eyes, and then we smile, laughing, lowering our weapons. I meet Logan’s eyes.

“I told you we'd find them!” I claim, and Logan smirks.

“Yeah. I know.”

Davis walks over to us.

“You were looking for us?” He asks, and I nod.

“I knew you guys were still alive. I don't know how I knew, I just knew.”

Davis grins, then looks behind us.

“Where are Merrick and Keegan and Kick?” He asks, and I tense when he mentions Kick.

Logan catches my eye, then turns to Davis.

“Kick was….he…..Rorke killed him in South America.” He covers, and I raise my eyebrow, startled at his lie. But I lay it aside.

I shake my head.

“Merrick and Keegan are in New Mexico. With the other Ghosts we found.” I say, and from behind Davis, Corporal Trent steps forward.

“Wait, there are more Ghosts?!” He says incredulously, and Logan nods.

“Yeah. We would still be with them, but Hesh felt that he had to come back to try to find you guys. Just the two of us.” He explains, and Davis nods.

“Okay…..Anyway, we need to get moving. We thought you were the Federation soldiers scouring the area.” He says, and I raise my eyebrow.

“How many are there?” I ask intensely, and Ramon shakes his head next to Davis.

“Too many. We can't fight them off, even now that we have you two.” He states plainly, and I smirk.

“That remains to be seen.”

Davis shakes his head at me.

“He's right, Walker. We won't be able to engage them in combat without casualties. Ones which we can't afford.” He says grimly, and Logan glances over at me.

“Hesh, we need to get to the fort.” He says, and Davis raises his eyebrows.

“What are you talking about?” He wonders as Logan and I share a glance.

“The fort? Fort Santa Monica? We're headed back there.” Logan says, and Davis exchanges a nervous glance with his men.

“Walker, the base was completely taken by the Federation. There's no point in trying to even go near it.” He states, and I sigh, rubbing my face with my hand, then meeting Logan’s eyes.

“Well, shit.” I mutter, then a shout to the side of us makes us all tense.

Immediately raising our guns, we turn to see a mass of Federation soldiers running towards us.

My eyes widen, and I turn to my men.

“GET READY! SHIT’S ABOUT TO GO DOWN!”


 

 

LOGAN

I look forward with determined eyes at the advancing Federation soldiers. Hesh and Davis stand behind two trees, and I behind a third. The other four soldiers are behind various bushes and other trees.

Looking around the tree, Hesh takes a deep breath, then motions to me to flank around. I spin around the tree, out into the open.

“GO LOUD!!” Hesh yells, and we all start to fire on the Feds. Davis and I step forward a bit, and I narrow my eyes as I try to keep out of the way of the bullets.

Holding down my trigger, I can hear my mag running low. After six more shots, it's empty.

I spin back around behind the tree.

“RELOADING!!” I yell, and Hesh nods.

“I GOT YOU!” He says as the empty mag drops to the ground and I replace it with a full one. Readying my gun, I spin back around and keep firing.

“I’M OUT!” Ramon yells, and Trent tosses him a mag.

“HERE!”

Davis glances over at me, and nods. I pull a grenade from the stack on my vest, and rip the pin away. Hucking it towards the Feds, I close my eyes as the bright explosion of it brings screaming from the now dying soldiers.

“Keep pushing through!!” Hesh encourages, and I set my jaw. Stepping forward again, I steady my gun, taking down more of the soldiers.

A pain in my shoulder alerts me I've been shot, but the lack of agony tells that it's not serious. Another shot grazes my leg, and I grit my teeth.

I can see in the distance a soldier with a rocket launcher, and I turn to one of Davis’ men, Cameron.

“CAM! RPG, 11 O'CLOCK!” I shout, and he nods.

“GOT IT!” He pulls his sniper rifle, and finds the soldier in his sights. I watch as the soldier falls before he can pull the trigger of the RPG, and I sigh, still firing on the soldiers.

“Jeezus, how many are there?!” Hesh shouts, and Davis groans.

“I TOLD YOU THERE WERE TOO MANY!!!” He yells, and Hesh rolls his eyes.

“Save it, Davis.” He degrades, and Davis frowns.

Spinning back behind the tree, I glance over at my brother. He has a shot in his shoulder that drips blood down his arm, and a small graze on the side of his head lends a blood trickle down his neck.

“David!” I yell, and Hesh steps back behind the tree to get cover, then looks over at me.

“What?” He shouts, and I glance around.

“I don't exactly see how we can really win this one!” I say defeatedly, and Hesh shakes his head, pulling off his hat and wiping his brow, rubbing his hair with his hand.

“We can't just lay down our weapons and give in to them, Logan! I will not bow to them!” He yells resolutely, and I groan.

His stubbornness can't be reasoned with.

I've tried before.

It just doesn't work.

I grumble under my breath, and turn back to the battle. There aren't any more soldiers running out into the field, which gives me a small amount of hope. Trent and Ramon step forward, with Cameron and Sam behind them. They all fire their guns, letting Davis and I step back.

The front line of the Federation falls, then I see five of the soldiers step up, and my eyes widen.

“MGs!!” I shout, and we all dive for cover as the bullets start to fly. They splinter the trees we hide behind, and I close my eyes, feeling the bark flying off around me.

I blindly shoot around the tree, and the MG fire stops for a moment. In that small opportunity, I jump out and hold down the trigger of my gun, felling about ten more soldiers. Sam fires his gun, and two more fall, then four from Trent’s gun.

Two of the soldiers with the MGs start to fire again, and Davis shouts in pain as a bullet hits him in the leg. I feel one tear into my arm, and I squeeze my eyes shut in agony, then raise my gun, despite the intense shooting pain in my hand as I hold down the trigger.

Only three soldiers remain, and I fire with gritted teeth and narrowed eyes.

These fucks took everything we ever had.

They murdered dad.

They took me.

They tortured Hesh.

They killed Match.

My anger pours out of me in a roar as I shout incoherently towards the Fed soldiers. As the last soldier drops to the ground, I fall against the tree, breathing heavily. Lifting my head up, I meet Davis’ eyes, and he nods with a smirk.

“Good job, kid.” He says as Cameron, Trent, Sam and Ramon stand up. Cam holds a hand on his bleeding arm, and Ramon sits on the ground, wrapping his wounded leg in a bandage.

I stop, then look around.

“Where's Hesh?” I ask, and everyone pauses, meeting each other’s eyes.

My heartbeat quickens, and my breath grows shaky.

“HESH!” I call out as our soldiers look at each other uneasily. I glance to near where he was, seeing nothing. A pit in my stomach forms, and I drop my gun to run over.

As I near, I see a gun fallen under a tree, and the fear grows. Running around another tree towards it, the other side of the tree comes into view, and I stop, wide-eyed, staring at the young man on the ground slumped against it.

“Hesh…” My voice comes out desolately, barely a whisper.

Sprinting to my brother’s side, I drop to my knees, my chest tightening.

Six bullet wounds in his chest quickly spread blood over him, and another shot in his leg has pooled dark red on the ground. His hand lays fallen to the side, fingers wet with blood, his right arm wound streaking red down his sleeve.

My breath shakes as I stare at his handsome face, blood running from his mouth, eyes closed.

“David…” I utter quietly, and I slowly pull him into my lap.

His head hangs lifelessly over my arm, his short hair rubbing against it softly, and tears wet my cheeks.

“No….” I lay him on the ground and my hand hovers over him, unsure of what to do.

Taking a breath, I press on his chest, trying to stop the bleeding.

“No, no, no….” I murmur, heart pounding.

Davis steps around the tree, and his eyes widen, as do Cameron’s when he follows.

“Damn…” Cameron mutters, and Davis crouches down next to me.

“Logan…” He says softly, and I shake my head, looking down at my brother’s still form.

My eyes widen, and I spring up to start CPR, hurriedly pushing down on his chest, then breathing air into his mouth. Frantically trying to bring my brother back, my hands shake in fear.

“David, please!” I shout, sending him breath again. But his body lays unmoving, eyes still closed lightly. A drop of blood falls from my lip, gained when trying to resuscitate Hesh.

My shoulders shake, and my breath stops, choking on air. Cameron puts his hand on my shoulder.

“Logan, I’m so sorry.” He offers softly, and I fall forward next to Hesh, tears now streaming down my face.

“No... NO!... IT CAN'T … HE'S NOT…” My words start to jumble together, and I collapse onto Hesh’s body, as I realise he’s never to move again.

“David…” I sob into his shoulder, grasping at his jacket tightly, the blood that soaks it now staining my fingers and streaking my face.

My brother.

My big brother.

My everything.

The only thing I had left.

He's….he's…

My mind won't accept the fact.

Cameron starts to pull me away, but I shove his hand back, holding David’s body with my life.

“NO! I CAN'T LEAVE HIM!!!!” I scream as my heart is wrenched apart.

The most important thing in my life, the only person I ever loved, the man that taught me everything I know, my brother, now lays dead in my arms.

Dead .

I can't….I can't.

Denial fills my being, and I shake Hesh’s shoulders, my head still pressed on his chest.

“DAVID, PLEASE!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!” I sob desolately, losing breath and gasping for air as my shoulders shake violently. I can hear voices around me, but my mind has blocked everything out.

Only my brother and I are left.

My David.

His life stolen from him, from me.

My everything is gone.

David is gone.

He's dead.

Only now do I feel the coldness that fills my body.

The fear.

The desperation.

My brother is dead.

My mouth opens in a scream silent to my ears as I’m pulled away from his body. Kicking and flailing in the arms that securely hold me, my world remains quiet.

No sound.

No color.

Everything has turned black and white, except the bright red blood that stains my hands and Hesh's body. It swims in my eyes, and every emotion running through my body is amped up to full volt.

My pain erupts in a cascade of tears, and my throat starts to hurt, as I realise this whole time I've been screaming.

I can see Davis and Trent kneeling next to Hesh’s body, and my breath stops, staring with wide eyes as my whole world is taken away from me.

Suddenly, my body shuts down, and I gasp for breath, then utter one word, the first sound to be heard by my ears in what seems like ages.

“David...”

My voice is hoarse and pained as I gasp for breath again. I feel another pair of arms take me, and I slump in their grasp as I drop into darkness, tears still dripping from my chin.

….... I’m so sorry, David……

…...I love you…..

Notes:

I promised depression. There you have it.
I am so sorry.
You all have no idea how painful it was for me to write this chapter.