A few vehicles rumble loudly while traversing a dirt road in the middle of nowhere inside a forest at night. Inside are soldiers in a serious mood. After the previous close calls with IEDs, the atmosphere has been tense and everyone is on a close lookout at the road and the trees that they pass by. The roads are barely lit by the headlights as there is a fog rolling down the mountainside.
Inside the lead vehicle is a man in the middle of his thirties with dirt on his face and scratches all over his limbs. He turned towards his left looking at the driver of the vehicle that he was in. In the driver seat is a woman with short hair of similar age, focused on holding the wheel.
"Ange, how long till we get out of this damned forest?"
The forest they are in is inside the country of Burma which is currently in the middle of the civil war between pro-democracy and the military junta. They are to deliver food and supplies to a small village in the middle of the mountain. The Mountain is the only terrain that has enough elevation that oversee the large plains around it. A highway is on the side of the forest, it's a former scenic route but is now used as a humanitarian corridor recognized by both sides. The only safe zone in the area.
"Jan, we're still about 30 minutes away at our current pace. Just keep on looking out. We're still inside an active warzone. We never know what we're gonna encounter. We already had danced with death earlier."
The road that they are currently on is highly contested by both sides as it is the only way up and down. Mines, and IEDs along with destroyed vehicles on the road are a common scene here, and random firefights in the forest can be heard regularly.
The locals usually have to farm, hunt, and forage in the forest to survive or make a living. They only go down the mountain to sell their products in the town nearby. But with the civil war going on for almost a decade, the paths down the mountain are so dangerous and roads are so full of unknown dangers. The village turned to the United Nations for food and supplies.
So the UN sent a couple of trucks along with a squad of armed peacekeepers to protect it. With the civil war already going on for almost a decade you'd think it would be easier but it only gets harder as there are more frequent attacks on the peacekeepers. This is the last delivery as the UN has negotiated with the village that they would evacuate to a safer town to live in, they would be housed and be given jobs by the UN.
An hour ago, an IED detonated on the side of the road. Fortunately, it didn't directly explode in the convoy and only sent fragments and debris to it. That's how Jan got his injuries.
Jan looked at Ange again. "Ange, what are you gonna do after this?"
"Probably eat and sleep" Ange replied curtly.
"C'mon, that's not what I mean. What are you gonna do after this deployment is over?" Jan asked curiously. Their 12-month deployment is about to end next week and they are gonna be back in their country then.
"Oh yeah, I'll attend my sibling's graduations and have fun. What are you gonna do Jan?"
"I'm probably just gonna go take a rest and sleep a lot"
"You're not gonna do anything fun? Why don't you join me?" Ange looked at Jan for a second with her eyes off the road.
"Are you sure? If you're not joking I'll take your offer" Jan smiled
"Mom would love it. I'm sure Dad would be surprised too. He would've never guessed that you're a soldier now and an officer to boot" Ange replied.
Jan just smiled at Ange and turned his focus on the road looking for roadside bombs.
The two of them have been childhood friends since they were a child. From the first grade through middle school, they've been always classmates. Unfortunately, Jan's parents were in a car accident and he was orphaned and was forced to move in with his grandparents. He lived with them until they also died due to their old age. Fortunately for him, they left enough to sustain himself while he went through his education and graduated with an economics degree.
After a year of corporate work. He was bored so he enlisted in the Army. He worked his butt off in the army until he became a commissioned officer after going to Officer Commissioning School. The competition was tough be he got in.
His first deployment after becoming an officer was in the southern borders where piracy and insurgency ran rampant. After that stint, he was deployed to a peacekeeping force in Burma as the country was being torn in the civil war. This is his second time now as a peacekeeper in this country. He met Ange again at the ceremony, she also works for the UN as a coordinator for civilian operations in this country.
The more time he spent in this country the more pessimistic he became about the situation. After less than a decade of peacekeeping, the civil war just kept on worsening as the country also became a battleground between two superpowers; the US and China. It's an open secret that the US is helping the pro-democracy movement and China helping the junta. Nothing can be done as both powers have a stranglehold on the Security Council and have veto powers. They also don't admit to anything even though it is so obvious.
While looking at the road Jan suddenly saw a mother and child walking down the dirt road. They are frantically waving at the convoy and look like looking for help.
"Ange, stop" Jan ordered Ange.
"Halt, we've got civs on our twelve. Dismount and pull security. Order her to put her hands up and pat her down. " Jan radioed to his squad members who were in the other car and the convoy behind them.
Even though it's risky, he halted the convoy because it's one of the mandates of peacekeepers to help civilians in harm's way and this road is not safe.
After stopping, Jan also got out and walked towards her after knowing it was safe along with the translator that was with them.
The woman is crying and dirty with mud as if she crawled through the mountain. The child, about 5-7 years old looks the same. The mother was pleading with the soldiers and the translator was listening and translating what she was saying.
"Sir, they need help and want us to take them with us." the translator said.
"Pat and secure them. We'll take them with us." Jan ordered
The woman started to frantically talk again.
"It seems that they are being chased, sir. She said that she was being chased by her husband and his men and they are closing in on us. She said we need to hurry. They going to kill them along with us" said the translator.
Jan got a bad feeling about the situation
His men patted down and secured them and then put them into the truck. The convoy started moving again and they were only 5 minutes away from the highway when suddenly gunfire erupted from the trees.
The first vehicle to get hit was the front vehicle, taking most of the shot. Inside, Jan was holding Ange down trying to protect her. He ordered all the civilian vehicles in the convoy via radio to push past through and break contact as it is dark and pushing through has a higher rate of survival.
"Suppressive fire, get 'em boys! Protect the trucks. Draw their fire towards us! Once the convoy is out, break contact and push through this damn road!" Jan exclaimed in his radio
The escort vehicles stopped and started returning fire while the rest of the convoy continued to push its way out of the ambush killzone and continued down the dirt road. Fortunately for Jan's squad, their vehicles are protected against small-arms fire.
"Watch out RPG!" one of his squad members shouted
Jan who was inside the vehicle was taken by surprise and didn't react immediately and was greeted by a rocket flying towards him with a bellowing sound.
Bang!
The impact was devastating. It immediately toppled the vehicle on its side, shrapnel flying and smoke was rising. Inside the vehicle, Jan blacked out for a second. After waking up he found himself slammed on the door. He frantically looked around until he found Ange.
Ange was bleeding from the neck and was gasping for air. She was looking at Jan and was trying to talk but it was barely audible.
"I ...ish ..at we c.n st..l go t...th.r" Ange gasped for air while Jan was trying to reach her.
"I lo.e ..u" Ange said gasping with her final breath. Jan looked at her with eyes filled be tears and expression filled with regret.
"I love you too" exclaimed Jan while looking at Ange.
After taking a moment to regain his composure Jan started to look at himself to see if there were any injuries. Unfortunately for him, he lost his right leg and his left arm broken. In this bleak situation, he knows that he is not coming back alive too. He radioed his squad to mount their vehicles and try to get out of the ambush zone towards safety. He was met with opposition from his squad.
"Just get out, that's an order! There's no hope for me! Just get out! It's an honor serving with you guys! Live your lives well." said Jan with a regretful voice. He was met with crying and shouting be he could only smile wryly.
"Goodbye, if there are next time I hope we can meet in better circumstances," he said to himself.
After that. Everything went black.