The Only One

Prologue

The Only One

     By: John Peterson

I let me finger rest on the trigger for a few seconds, knowing that I had to end this, even if it meant my life. I took a deep heavy breath and kicked the solid steel door in front of me rights off the hinges. The world slowed, like air was made of jello. I raised the Sig Sauer P226 to my eye, gazing through the iron sights across the slide and the silencer. I moved the sights around the room, my eyes immediately processing every little detail. The room was decently sized, about the size of a guest room, the walls were a dull, light gray and the floor was covered in a thick wooly carpet. Three rows of fluorescent light bulbs were on the ceiling. I searched the empty room for signs of anything ranging from cameras to bugs to well…… ANY SIGNS OF LIFE. The room seemed devoid of ANYTHING!!!! My “soldier sense” as we call it was tingling, my “soldier sense” is when my instinct from training recognizes danger or a mistake. When it tingles it means, HEY…… THERE IS SOMETHING COMPLETELY WRONG!!!!!! Then, I hear  a voice in the back of my head. I knew the voice well it was the one and only John Runo my old commander before he was killed during a firefight against two tiger tanks and 400+ enemy soldiers. He said to me in his gruff, raspy voice, “ Come on Jack use your brain, all the facts are here… just like an open book, do NOT disgrace me you idiot think!!!!!!!” I cringed at the harshness of the imaginary voice in my head. Then, my brain finally registered what I was missing “ Uh-oh,” I said aloud. My ears then registered my least favorite noise… “ Man Down, Clear out” a gruff voice followed. Following that was the ping ping ping of a grenade rolling. I jumped shielding my head with my arms. I heard the explosion and thought, well, there’s worst ways to go.