11:47 pm Local Time
17-11-2021
Somewhere in the East Siberian Taiga Forest
Russia
Mission : Classified.


I tapped Greg on the shoulder and motioned behind me. “Get some sleep, we go operational at 0100 hours”, I said and leaned onto the rock just inside the cave mouth. I looked down at my silenced TDI Vector. That little devil could spit out 1100 rounds in a minute. Deadly at close range; perfect for defending a cave. I flicked off the safety and pointed at the mouth of the cave. “Here we go, come with me , There's a world out there that we should see , Take my hand, close your eyes , With you right here, I'm a rocketeer ” Greg was listening to a romantic song on his iPod . “Turn that off Greg” I said. “Oh c’mon dude! It’s an awesome song!”, he pleaded. “Turn that off Greg. Now.” I snarled. “Please? I’ll put my headphones on”, he begged. “Corporal Gregory Jones, TURN THAT MUSIC PLAYER OFF. NOW”, I burst out and pointed the Vector at him. “WOAH dude! Chill! I’m turning it off, see?” He put the IPod back in his pocket and raised both his hands up. I turned back and slowed my pulse. He sat next to me and put his hand on my shoulder. “You ok man? I’ve never seen you snap like that before”, He asked slowly. I shrugged his hand off. “I’m ok, get some sleep” I jerked my head towards the sleeping-bag. “Tell me. What’s wrong? Why don’t you like romantic songs? Reminds you of someone?” He raised an eyebrow “Tell me . I’m curious. Please. C’mon. Tell, please. Say something. Please. C’mon man. Spill.” ”ENOUGH! Ok I’ll tell you.” I shot back.


I took a deep breath. “Ok so there was this girl I loved. Back in 2009 or something; College days; when I was younger and life was easier. She was the ‘one’. She was perfect for me. We…we were made for each other. We had this SPECIAL connection between us. It was an amazing feeling. We clicked. She was the thing that kept me ALIVE. It’s really hard to explain. This kinda thing is better experienced than explained. I dunno how to say it. But I loved her. Really deeply. She was my angel; my butterfly; my…my soul. She was everything I ever wanted. She completed me and without her I felt lost; without purpose, like a blind man in a colored world. Without her there was no me. Her pain was my pain. I was always there for her. Always. She was my reason to live” I sighed. “Did she love you back?” Greg asked, both eyebrows raised. I sighed, “I dunno man. She never said she loved me. I was only a best friend to her; nothing more. I asked her a lot of times to be mine. She had a lot of reasons for us not to be together. I dunno if she was scared of a relationship or if she just didn’t want me.” Greg frowned a little, “What was she like?” I exhaled. “She was beautiful. She had the most beautiful eyes ever. They were a beautiful shape with a golden hazelnut shade of brown that glowed when you looked into them. She had a beautiful face with awesome dimples and had soft smooth cheeks. Her hair was like silk, so soft and smooth and smelled so good like strawberries and flowers or something like that, and I loved it when she kept them long. Her lips were pink and soft and full when she smiled at me not even an explosion would take me out of that trance. I loved everything about her. She was my angel.” “What happened? You broke up or something?” Greg asked eyebrows still raised. I sighed again and closed my eyes. “It’s a long story. She moved to the other side of the world and we had problems with the time difference. It was painful the day she left. I was depressed for a whole week. My grades and my weight dropped, I couldn’t sleep every night and my mind kept racing all day long. Life was terrible. I was lost, all empty and hollow and suddenly my colored life was a dull shade of grey. She never came back. We slowly drifted apart over time and then things weren’t the same anymore. She had changed. She told me we couldn’t be friends anymore and then that was it. She went her way and I went mine. She found someone else I found out later. It didn’t go good for her. She tried to contact me later I was told. But then it was already too late. I didn’t want her anymore. She had hurt me too much.”


I opened my eyes and exhaled. Greg wiped the tears from his eyes and sniffed, “Don’t worry dude, I’ll always be here for you, I’ll always have your back. If you ever want to talk I’ll be ready.” And then he hugged me. I smiled and pulled the trigger. He gasped and his eyes widened “w-h-h-why?” He choked. “No one gets to know about Nicole. Ever.” I laughed and dropped his body and walked out of the cave.

I pulled out my lighter and lit my cigar. The cave exploded spectacularly behind me .