In a rocky, mountainous jungle, a team of twelve men led by Captain Garcia was trekking. The rebels' camp was located amid this dense forest making it hard for the military to infiltrate without alarming the enemy. Their team's mission was to map out the rebels' base camp for the military's planned offense. The rebels' constant violent assaults are one of the reasons why this island's poverty rate is high and the government is determined to suppress them.
"We will rest here for the night. Lieutenant Ruiz and Lieutenant Salvacion, inspect and guard the surrounding area. Later, I will assign the next shift."
"Yes sir!"
It was the second day of their mission, the night was approaching and the soldiers were exhausted. The group settled to rest and started preparing their dinner. The bold Sanchez still managed to show his unconvincingly thoughtful moves towards Jester throughout their journey. His unnecessary assistance whenever their captain isn't paying attention, annoyed Jester.
The team ate their meal. Sanchez was sitting beside Jester, occasionally giving him food with an innocent smile. Their captain's face was stiff but didn't scold them This made the numb Sanchez's confidence rise and moved closer to Jester, but the latter distanced himself. His intuition told him to, or else he might receive an unreasonable punishment in the middle of their mission.
The night was getting deeper. Some of the soldiers were setting their hammocks to rest. Jester was about to set his hammock in his chosen trees when Sanchez came, smiling.
"I will also hang my hammock here."
"The place is big, don't cram here."
"No, I want to sleep beside you. The forest is dense, not to mention we are in the enemy's territory. It's dangerous. I feel secured if you are closer to me." Sanchez was sincere, but to Jester, it was cringy.
Jester was racking his brain to refuse him politely. He knew Sanchez's concern is real though he is cheesy. He felt that he should turn him down politely. Before he could find the right words, he heard Vince's voice.
"Caballero set your hammock here!"
Jester immediately picked his hammock and walked towards Vince. A single command of their Captain and his body will automatically follow, even if it's a petty one or out of line sometimes.
Sanchez's face twitched, but Jester ignored him. If not for Vince's position, Sanchez might have refuted him long ago.
Jester hung his hammock beside Vince, who was lying still, eyes tightly shut. Jester sat there for a moment, curiously stealing a glance.
"He looks cute when he's judgemental eyes are closed."
Jester's thoughts giggled. Vince looked adorable in his sleeping posture, looking calm and peaceful.
"With your looks and good career, I wonder why you're still single until now."
Jester's thoughts were getting crazy again.
"Go to sleep."
A faint, yet deep voice pricked Jester's ears. He immediately shrank on his hammock. His face was burning.
"Captain's senses are really sharp. I guess self embarrassment is the new normal to me these days... My dignity is shattered, I have to develop a plan to retrieve the pieces and mend them back!"
Jester slept with a messy thought.
The soldiers woke up at dawn break. They needed to cross another massive mountain to reach the target site.
"Get ready. Make sure to hide our tracks!" The captain ordered.
"Yes sir!"
The team trekked for another day before they stealthily reached the summit of the mountain which they suspected the rebel's camp was situated behind. It was already in the middle of the night, the darkness made them almost blind to their surroundings, but they weren't using any light to avoid catching the enemy's attention. Captain Garcia carefully scouted the surroundings and assigned his soldiers to certain positions.
The dawn was breaking. The sun rose slowly and made the surroundings come into sight. The soldiers were stationed in their designated position to get a clearer view. Below was a small valley with a creek running in the middle. There were no houses, but signs of dwellers could be seen. Few horses were grazing on the bushy creekside. The captain took out his laptop and started mapping the place. He's been mapping out on their way, and with the help of his soldiers, the entire map was about to come into view. It's a pity that they can only station themselves in this distance to avoid getting noticed, so they cannot put a perfect picture of the camp. But, some things are clear like their base camp was a cave, and they were busy storing dozens of suspicious containers all day. They use the creek as the path of their goods, mounted on their horses.
After mapping out, the captain securely stored it in USBs since the please is too remote and internet connection isn't available in the area. He kept in touch with his higher-ups via satellite phone only. The captain gave his soldiers a copy of the map just in case something will happen.
The sky shaded. In the dusk, the wild birds and insects were buzzing. Vince ordered his soldiers to gather and carefully prepare to return. But when the group assembled and was about to leave, a flock of wild birds was alarmed and flew together.
"F*ck!" Some of the soldiers cussed. A few seconds later, a whistle echoed followed by a loud gunshot!
"Drop and cover!" Vince yelled.
A loud bang was heard. A mine exploded at their backs. The gunshot was aimed at the rope that controlled a mine.
"Quick, let's go back!" Vince ordered. Their mission was to scout the slimy enemy. They were outnumbered, so they could not face them head-on. The mountain is massive and it will take time before the enemies reach the summit, so they have enough time to flee.
The soldiers descended the mountain, but the danger behind them made the soldiers a bit disoriented. Lieutenant Salvacion was caught in a trap. He was hanging upside down with his right leg bound in a rope.
"F*ck!" The soldiers can't help swearing again.
"I will cut it now, don't worry buddy!" Sanchez told Salvacion.
"Wait!" Vince ordered while tracing the rope that bound Lieutenant Salvacion.
"This rope controls a mine, we cannot cut it easily. I will climb and cut it myself, the rest of you, head to the meeting ground first. The backup will be there soon. Lieutenant Ruiz, you are now in charge of the team." Vince ordered but Lieutenant Ruiz and the soldiers were unwilling.
"Move! We have to fulfill the mission, make sure to secure the map. Salvacion and I will follow later."
"Yes sir!"
The soldiers led by Ruiz descended the mountain. Captain Garcia didn't waste time, he quickly climbed the tree and grabbed the rope that bound Salvacion. He needed to put his weight on the rope before freeing Salvacion to keep the mine from exploding.
"Go and follow them!" Vince told Salvacion after cutting the rope.
"No sir! Let's go back together!" After saving him, Salvacion cannot abandon his captain.
"That's an order!" Vince yelled while clambering at the rope, trying to tie it to the tree branch a few meters above.
"I can't leave you, sir..."
"Quickly, leave!"
Salvacion helplessly descended, following his comrades' escape route.
Struggling his way up, Vince managed to tie the rope to the tree branch. On his way down, another gunshot was heard. Vince fell. The enemy's sniper caught sight of his silhouette while going down the tree. A piercing pain was felt from his back to his chest, along with a rusty smell. With his right hand supporting his chest, he tried standing up, but a hand supported him from behind.
"Sir!"
A soft, worried voice called.
"Why did you come back?!" Vince, holding his bloodied wound, yelled seeing Jester.
"I didn't escape with them, I was just hiding, waiting for you to come down."
Jester quickly cut Vince's upper clothes to apply immediate first aid. The wound passes through from the back to the center of Vince's chest. Jester quickly bound the wound with a piece of cloth and carried Vince. With the enemy fast approaching, he headed to his comrades' escape route.
"Go to the other side. At this rate, we have a low chance of escape, the other side is a cliff, go there."
Jester knew what his Captain was thinking. Still, he carried him towards the cliff. The rebels' voices were getting closer. With the darkness of the night and too much worry about Vince's condition, Jester stumbles on his way. Thanks to his good vision, he still managed to reach the edge of the cliff.
A cool night breeze that blows from the cliff soothed Jester's mind a bit. "Sir, we are here."
He put Vince down and checked the wound again. With blood continuously flowing, Vince's body was getting colder. With shaky hands, he applied more disinfectant.
"Sir, I'm sorry. I am useless in this situation."
As a doctor, Jester was used to seeing people in critical conditions. But, looking at Vince getting weaker and colder, his heart was pricked. This Captain is a big bully to him, but now he feels that he will break into tears at any moment.
In the dark, Vince was looking straight at Jester.
"Why didn't you leave when you had a chance to?" Vince's voice was weak.
"I...can't leave you alone."
Jester felt an intense gaze.
"Then you can't leave me now anymore. The enemies are here, jumping in this cliff is much better than getting caught. Will you jump with me?"
There was a brief silence.
"Actually, I can't give you a choice. I order you to jump with me, I can't let them capture you." With a weak yet imposing voice, Vince ordered.
"Yes sir." Jester cannot let his captain jump alone and getting caught by the enemy is far worse.
"Then get ready, they will be here at any moment now."
"...Sir?"
With a low but firm voice, Jester asked. Their lives were in immense danger. It could be their ends, so he wanted to ask the thing that confuses him for a long time.
"What?"
"Why did you...hate me?" Jester's voice was soft and timid.
"I don't hate you."
"Then, why did you scold me almost every day?!"
In the dark, Jester vaguely saw Vince evaded his eyes.
"It's because you look too innocent and obedient... I don't want someone to take advantage of you, especially Sanchez..."
Those faint but sincere words crept into Jester's senses. His eyes and face turned red.
"They are here!" A loud voice yelled behind them.
"Hurry up, they are coming!" Vince ordered.
"Yes sir! But wear my coat first, it's cold." Jester took his coat off and wrapped Vince's wounded upper body.
The cold night breeze coming from the cliff was very calming. With a peaceful heart and a determined mind, Jester carried Vince. He felt a gentle grip on his arm. Vince hand was cold, but it warm his heart.
The enemies were yelling, but Jester ignored them. He walked a few steps forward, hugged Vince tightly, and then... jumped!