He turned his head, and there she was. His daughter. She stood barefoot on the bloodstained floor, her favorite doll clutched in her hands.
"Why didn't you save me, Dad?" she whispered.
The room melted away. He was back in their house—the smell of smoke thick in the air, the walls blackened and crumbling. His daughter's body lay limp in his arms, her tiny frame charred and unrecognizable.
"Daddy…" Her voice pulled him back, cutting through the memory like a knife.
He blinked. The squad wasn't there anymore. They were monsters—horrid, shapeless creatures dripping with blood. His rifle felt heavy in his hands, but his grip tightened instinctively.
"Stay back!" he roared, raising the weapon.
The first shot shattered the silence.
The soldier closest to him barely had time to react as the round tore through his chest, blasting him backward in a spray of blood and shattered bone.
