***TRIGGER WARNING FOR WAR LIKE ACTION AND INJURIES***

Petro hopped into the bed of our truck and once the tailgate was closed, I had Warren punch the gas. Once we started to drive through the field, I made the rest of the team open there windows incase there is an additional airstrike. Riding into the unknown, I pulled down my ear protection and snapped my night vision goggles in place. Just as we came over the ridge is when I heard it, a loud hissing coming from above, another missile.

"Missile inbound, all units stop, everyone down!" I yelled into the radio as Warren slammed on the breaks as I watched the red tail of the missile come down from the sky and hit the ground. The blast was muffled by the headset but we could feel the shockwave from here. We were lucky the windshield on the trucks withstood the impact, but that we were too close for comfort. From here, we could see the town. Cresting this ridge without the trucks would have taken to long.

"Warren lock it up, we need to get down there on foot. If we have another blast come in like that one, it can seriously damage the truck and we still have a mission to get too." I said before throwing the door open.

Everyone followed my lead and we watched as buildings started to crumble in the town below. Petro came out of the bed of the truck behind me and looked down.

"If you have a plan I would love to hear it, otherwise I'm taking control." I said and tighten the straps on my helmet.

"My team will follow your lead commander." Petro said looking back at me.

"Alright, breakout teams. Search and rescue is primary objective. If another missile is inbound, get out of any building you are in and hit the deck. Gloves, ear and eye protection a must, neck garters too if you have them, I don't want everyone to breath this stuff in for long unprotected. Petro, have your men split up into teams of threes or fours and spread out to search for survivors. Emmett and Cosima, you will set up a triage sight at the edge of the town by this grass, bring anybody you guys find to them for assessment. Clear?" I asked looking around.

When nobody had any questions I turned around and started to speed down the hill. The ridge top was about half a mile from the edge of the town, though it didn't take long to get down to it. Once we reached the streets, everyone split up.

"Morgan, if you are not on my ass at all times, I will kill you myself." I yelled behind me as I pushed my team of five towards a row of apartment buildings that looked unstable from a shell that went off next to it. People were already walking out of the building as we showed up but Morgan took the lead and directed them towards the triage area where Emmett and Cosima were waiting.

It didn't take long for us to clear this building. As the last apartment was evacuated I pulled the door shut and pulled a thick red marker from my pocket to write a giant zero on the door. The symbol was for two reasons, one to show that this building was already searched and emptied and the second was to show that there were no causalities.

The row of apartments next to this one, wasn't so lucky. The airstrike hit one of the apartments directly and half of the building has already collapsed under the tremors of the second blast. Pushing my rifle behind me, I used the back of my arm to check the door to see if was hot to indicate a fire inside. The door was cool so tried the handle. The door was locked so while holding onto my rifle so it wouldn't move, I kicked the door. It took a second strike for the door to splinter open. Morgan was right behind me with her flashlight to light the way into the apartment.

She started to speak Ukrainian while I pulled my rifle back around my body to use my own flashlight as I stepped into the house first. It didn't sound like anybody was moving inside but we had to check it anyway. The living room was clear, followed by the kitchen. Next we moved onto the bedrooms. Lucky, nobody was home. Once this one was clear, I marked the wall next to the door and moved to the apartment next door that had more damage.

The doorframe was already cracked and from that sign, I knew we needed to be quick in this apartment as it's unstable. I pushed the door open with more care and slowly moved in. I could hear voices in this apartment so I knew that people were inside, just a matter of where. Morgan started yelling out to them in Ukrainian while I took my time surveying the ceiling to make sure it wasn't going to fall in on us.

"It's a husband-and-wife pair. The bedroom is down the hall." Morgan said and pointed in the direction.

"Everything is unstable, we need to take an extra second to make sure it's not going to cave in once we get close, try to get them to calm down. Any injuries?" I asked and started to plot a way to get to the bedrooms. There were chunks of plaster and rubble in the hall of the apartment and taking the extra second to look down where were are stepping and then up for cracks in the ceiling is making this rescue more time consuming.

"Cuts and bruises." Morgan said as we got to the bedrooms in question.

"Is something blocking there path to the door?" I asked running through many different scenarios as I tried to push the door open. The door only opened a few inches and when I looked up I think I knew the reason why.

"This is a weight baring wall. The beam is stressed because of the extra weight its supporting making the ceiling sag which is causing the door to jam. I'm only going to push the door open just enough for them to get out of the room then we are rushing out of here. Tell them about the tight squeeze, not about the rest." I said and moved my rifle behind me again once Morgan started speaking. Once she gave me a nod, I started to push the door open carefully.

The more I pushed open the door, the more dust started to fall from the ceiling. I knew I couldn't push it open much more without having the ceiling come down on top of us. I took a break pushing the door open and waited for it to settle a bit before I started again. Once I got the door open to about ten inches, I knew they had to try and squeeze through. I looked back at Morgan and she got the message. The two resident's came into view and I held out my hand for the women. She grasped it and I was able to help pull her through. Once I handed her over to Morgan I turned my attention to her partner. The man was a lot taller and built and I knew it would be a tight squeeze, so I pushed the door open a bit more for him. Once I was ready, I held out my hand and he was able to get through the opening.

Morgan was speaking to them as I lead us back the way we came. Once we got outside she pointed in the direction of the triage while I wrote on the wall next to the door. The next apartment in this row is the one with the most damage. I leaned against the wall and looked back at Morgan to gage if she was ready. She was in the middle of pulling up her neck garter when she clocked my stare.

"Ready when you are." She said and picked up her rifle again. I nodded and turned towards the door. When I leaned my hand against the door, it was warm. The door didn't take much to push open and smoke started to stream out of the open door. Quickly, I got on a knee and let the smoke air out for a minute before I started to make my way inside. The fire was localized to the living room as most of that wall was in pieces all over the place.

All over the apartment were remints of the blast. The walls were mostly torn through as we pushed deeper into the apartment. We ran into a support beam that fell down and had to move over it to get to the bedrooms. Just like the apartment before it, the doors stuck a bit when I pushed it open. As I ran my flashlight across the room it stopped at the bed. Laying in it was a couple with a beam laying across their chest. I pulled my glove off and went over to the bed to check for a pulse. Neither had one. I put my glove back on before turning around.

I couldn't meet Morgan's eyes as we exited the room to push into the one across the hall. After taking a second when I heard the ceiling start to groan, Morgan and I were able to get into the bedroom. Once I stepped into the room, I stepped on something. When I looked down I saw it was a few toy cars. This room belongs to a child. I franticly ran my flashlight over to the bed and found two scared eyes looking back at me. The kid couldn't be older then 10 and was covered in blood and scratches. I pulled my neck gaiter down so the kid could see my face.

"Get his name and put some shoes on him." I said and searched the closet for a backpack. When I found one, I started to put some clothes for him inside along with a few toys on the floor while I heard Morgan speaking softly behind me. When I turned back around I found Morgan had him in good sneakers and a coat ready next to him. I gave him the backpack to put on and he did it.

"Alright little man, we are going to get you out of here." I said and helped him through the shock to put the backpack on.

"My arm hurt" He said in English and it threw me for a second when he showed me his clearly broken arm. I have no doubt that the shock is the only thing keeping him from fully feeling the break.

"My friend Emmett is going to fix you up when we get out of here." I said to him and looked over to Morgan.

"You need to carry him; I don't know if I'll be able to get him all the way to triage." Morgan said before she started to speak in Ukrainian. I held out the marker for her and she took it.

"What's his name?" I asked and knelt down.

"Kuzma" The boy said as I moved my rifle behind me.

"It's nice to meet you Kuzma, I'm Dani, I'm going to pick you up now and put the jacket over your head to get you out of here alright?" I said and waited for a nod from him before picking him up. Kuzma tucked his head into my neck while I adjusted him in my arms so I wouldn't put any more stress on his broken arm. Once I got him settled, Morgan wrapped the jacket over his head, she moved out of the room first with me trailing behind.

Once we got outside I saw some of my team collected at the triage area already. I waited for Morgan to be done writing before she covered me as we made our way there to join them. There was already a crowd of people standing around waiting to be treated but I pushed my way through them.

"Emmett, I have a kid!" I yelled and a few heads snapped up to me.

"Bring them here!" Emmett said and stood up from who he was helping to come over to me. "Anything major?" He asked as I knelt down to put Kuzma down on the grass.

"Definitely a broken arm, cuts and scrapes everywhere else. This backpack doesn't leave him okay?" I said as I took the jacket off from over Kuzma's head.

"Kuzma, this is Emmett, he is going to fix your arm okay?" I said as Emmett came into his view next to me. Just as I was about to stand up to find Morgan, a little hand grabbed mine. I turned back around to Kuzma and saw his eyes watering.

"Mama and Tato?" He asked. My eyes watered as I looked down at the ground for a moment.

"I'm sorry buddy but they didn't make it." I said hoping he would understand.

Kuzma nodded through his tears but finally let go of my hand. Emmett murmured to me that he needed to reset the bone so it would heal straight. I made the decision then to sit down next to Kuzma and pull him into my lap. Emmett gave him some pain medication and while we waited a minute for it to kick in I called over the radio for a status update.

"We cleared the biggest apartment building, everyone alive is out. There were ten D.O.A. We are working on clearing the perimeter before returning to the triage sight with Monica's team." Rob informed.

"The rest of my squad collapse to the triage position. We will regroup here." I answered. When I looked up I finally saw Morgan again. I called her over and she explained in better detail to Kuzma what Emmett was about to do but the pain meds took over and made him drowsy. I nodded to Emmett and with a sickening crack, Kuzma's arm was back in place. Emmett stabilized it with a thick brace to hold it in place as I started to clean the blood and dirt off of his face.

When I saw the rest of my squad, I knew I needed to get back up and get going. Luckily Kuzma's neighbor ended up sitting next to us. She took him from my lap and I got up to be with my team.

"Are there any more buildings left to be searched?" I asked looking around at the broken town.

"There are two more down the road, a shell exploded the street in front of them. We were working on finding a back entrance into one as the front of the buildings looked unstable when you called us back." Warren filled me in.

"Alright, show me what you found so far, we'll work as a squad on these ones." I said and pulled my neck garter back into place.

We moved out into the night towards the buildings in question. As we got towards the buildings I could tell why they were all concerned about going in. The front of both buildings were basically ruble on the floor. Glass was everywhere and pieces of personal belongings were on fire in the streets. Warren pulled us behind the building and we found the back door to the apartment complex. It looked metal and reenforced. I tried to turn the handle and found the door locked.

"Anybody try that window?" I asked and pointed to the window on the second floor.

"No, we didn't have enough team members to try and get up there. What do you want to try?" Lionel asked.

"I'm going to shoot the window out, then it's going to be like running up the vert wall in the obstacle course. When I'm up there and clear it, I'll open the door from the inside." I said.

"You think it's the best idea to go up there by yourself?" Morgan questioned.

"Yes. I think the people inside this building are either dead or dying and I don't want to stand around debating this for much longer. Some just give me a boost then I'll go." I said.

"Squad two, I'm firing my weapon to break a window. Everything is secure, Cosima, please relay that to your father." I said into the walkie so everyone doesn't come running. Once I got confirmation, I pulled my rifle around my body and pulled it up to my eye to aim. I took a breath to steady myself and then fired three rounds. One to break the glass and two follow ups to clear some of it away.

Once it was cleared the best I can, I took my rifle off and handed it to Morgan, not needing the extra weight. Lionel was waiting for me with his hands in position and I got a running start. I jumped before his hand, my right foot catching it perfectly and feeling the lift as I sprung through the air to the window ledge. I caught it and managed to clear away some glass before I pulled myself inside in a roll. When I landed, I pulled my pistol out of it's hostler and started to clear the apartment. There was one casualty inside, the person must have been standing in the living room when the shell came down because there are body parts scattered around the area. I quickly made sure nobody else was inside before leaving this apartment behind and going downstairs to unlock the door for my team.

Morgan handed me back my weapon as we split up into two teams to check the remaining units. Warren and Lionel went to the right while Morgan and I went to the left. We started from the top and worked our way down. Most of these apartments were either empty or the residents were dead on arrival. We did hear Warren and Lionel yelling from the other end of the apartment complex at one point so Morgan and I ran over to them. When we got there Warren and Lionel were trying to help a women around her 30's with a large piece of shrapnel embedded in her chest, blood pouring out all around it. They were trying but one look at the women and I knew she was to far gone to be saved.

"Morphine." I said to them as I pulled down my neck gaiter and took my helmet off so she could see my face.

Someone squeezed my shoulder and I brought my hand back for them to place the pre-dosed morphine in it.

"Dani, she keeps asking for us to leave." Morgan said quietly. I shook my head and looked at Morgan. I nodded my head towards the women on the floor in between us and she got my message.

"We aren't going anywhere. I'm sorry I can't do more for you. I wish I could. I'm giving you something to take the edge off." I said and injected her with the morphine. I reached into my own med-kit and found one of the morphine's and hit her again with it before sitting down on the floor with her.

"She think's we're crazy." Morgan said.

"Warren, Leo, go clear the rest of the building. Every apartment we went to already is marked on the door." I said wanting them out of here. When I heard the guys leave the apartment I popped up off the floor and found a blanket in the bedroom. Morgan helped me place it over her before I settled down next to her on the floor.

"This kind of job takes a special kind of crazy. What's your name beautiful?" I asked with Morgan translating, wanting to distract her from what's going on.

"Marta." The women said and gave me a smile.

"My name is Daniella and this is Morgan." I said in Russian hoping she would understand.

"You speak Russian well for an American solider." Marta spoke back to me in Russian as her breaths started to get swallow.

"It's just part of this crazy job." I said and gave her a smile. Marta gave me a breathy laugh and held her hand out. I pulled my gloves off and took it in mine, her hand already cold from the blood loss.

"You need a new job, a better one. This one no good for a pretty women like yourself." Marta said slowly as the morphine started to kick in.

"I'm trying. I have one more battle to fight. To help your people." I answered.

"This is not your battle to fight Daniella. The people of Ukraine will stand up and fight for our country and we will die for it as well." Marta said as her breathing labored now.

"I know that now." I said and swallowed hard to try and stop the tears from flowing.

"Thank you for staying, I was afraid to die alone." Marta said as some tears fell from her eyes.

"Know that you're not alone. It's okay to go now, you will be okay." I said and gave her a nod and squeeze of her hand. Marta squeezed my hand back and her eyes closed. It didn't take long for the wheezing of her breaths to stop and the silence of the night to take over. I held tight to her hand for a few minutes after as tears fell from my eyes. Finally I head some radio chatter from my helmet on the floor and I knew we needed to move again. I placed Marta's hand down on the floor and pulled the blanket up to cover her head before I grabbed my helmet.

Warren and Leo cleared the rest of the building and were starting to move to the other building across the street. I wiped my face before pulling my gaiter back up and putting my gloves on. Once I was standing, I made sure I was put together again before I looked over to Morgan. The light in her eyes was gone and I knew it would be a long time before it would come back.

a/n: All of the italicized sentences in this chapter are meant to be Dani speaking in Russian, I wasn't going to translate it when I wanted you guys to know what was going on. this one was hard to write, emotionally, to try and balance the good and the bad. I hope I captured that enough in this chapter. If Kuzma stole your heart like he did mine, he'll be back in the next chapter. Song on the side is Away from the Sun by Three Doors Down.

Let me know your thoughts and what's going to happen next.