• She crept quietly through the forest, crouching down ever once in awhile to compose herself. Her heart was drumming fast in her chest. The underbrush of the forest was not quiet, and to her, the sound was amplified. She stopped in a rut by a tree. Carefully, she pulled a flashlight from her bag. She clicked the flashlight on and off three times into the air. A few yards away there were three short flashes. She nodded and started up running in that direction. A pitch black battle field, littered with a forest of trees and growth. It was an exciting feeling running through, though she did fear for her life.
    Something moved to her left. She stopped, listening all around for movement. Everything was silent and still for a moment, only a few birds shifting in the trees and small animals running below her feet made any noise. Then, gunfire! She dropped to the ground, covering her head with her arms. There was a still silence for another moment. She tried to hide further under the underbrush, staying quiet, hardly breathing. She could not be caught. That would be the end.
    Her hand grasped at the small pendant around her neck, making sure it was still there. She kissed the little charm on her chain, and quietly tucked it back into her shirt. Everything quieted around her. Not even the animals dared to move. She knew she was almost there, to the checkpoint. So close, and He’d be there. She smiled slightly, then became serious again.
    After a full dash, she got to the edge of the forest. Excited to get to the end, she pushed her body to the limit, dodging gunfire. She saw the little cabin on the other side of the road, the checkpoint! Her heart raced with excitement. She started across the street. She was suddenly blinded by lights, and a horn. She gasped, a semi racing toward her. She got to the ground, flat, so the wheels straddled her. The truck when along on its way. She lay there on the road, her heart racing. She sat up, quiet surrounding her. “The Checkpoint!” she stood, and dashed the rest of the way across the street to the cabin representing the Checkpoint. “I’m here!” she went through the door. The whole cabin was quiet and empty.
    “Hello?” Her stomach flipped with nervousness. “Zarek?” She called out her husbands name. There was no reply. “Zarek?” She called into the darkness again. Nothing. Scared, she dashed up the stairs. “Zarek!” she panicked. She kicked open one door. A dead, bloody female lay on the floor, eyes staring into oblivion. “No…” she gagged. “Zarek!” she kicked down more doors, only finding dead team members. She had a hope that he escaped. But the fifth door proved different. “Zarek!” “E…Eva…” she barely heard from behind the bed. “Zarek!” she rushed to him, “Oh God, Zarek!” she gasped, and knelt beside him. He had gunshot wounds everywhere. His shoulders, his stomach, his legs. “No…Zarek this can’t be happening!” she cradled him in her arms, tears slipping down her cheeks.
    “Shh…Eva, my love…Its…your turn now. I love you…Eva…” he whispered, then, like the rest, stared off into oblivion. “ZAREK!”