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I awoke, and I was groggy over the previous night. It slowly came back to me. I sat upright on the bed, and mulled over all of what I had been through in the last 24 hours. I had been accepted into the tribe, had become a warrior, got an unwilling haircut, and had gotten a second family. And I was sober the entire time. I call that a record!

I looked down at my watch, and it read 9:00a.m, so I changed into one of the deerskin pants, and put on my boots. I was happy to shed out of my uniform. I walked outside, and I noticed that everyone else was already working on cleaning up the party. I walked over to all of the burnt wood, and started to help move it to a separate pile. I did this to completion, and then set off to help the next person. I was about to help wash some of the bowls and pots used to cook, when Storm came over.

"Enapay, may I borrow you for the rest of the day? I seem to be short on guards. A few of them partied a little too hard last night." He said, and shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, what are you going to do?

"Sure, but let me change. I would rather have on my uniform when I am carrying weapons. I will be ready in ten minutes." I said, and thought if I had given myself enough time to prepare.

"That would be great! Find me when you are ready, and I will show you where you will be guarding." He said, and walked off with a spring in his stride. I chuckled to myself, and headed back over to Ahote's hut.

Out of habit, I knocked first. Nobody answered, and I walked into the hut. I walked over to my bed, and changed quickly into my uniform. I had stashed my weapons under my bed, so they would be out of sight and out of the way. I pulled them out, and strapped everything into place. I walked out of the hut, and took a deep breath. It felt good to be back into a combat uniform and have my weapons. I also made sure that the tomahawk was strapped where it was easily accessible. I liked it over my combat knives, because it was a gift I was proud of, and because it was more versatile.

I found ganolvsgi agasgi, and stood at attention before him. He smiled, and showed me where I would be guarding.

"How do I contact you if there is a problem?" I asked.

"Fire a burst from your weapon, but do not hit them. I will come running, as well as a few other warriors. We will be there as fast as possible." I nodded, and he walked off. I set up my mg, put the m82 within a reachable distance.

For the first couple of hours, I saw all kinds of nature. From birds, squirrel, even a raccoon! I also saw multiple deer, which reminded me how much I missed meat, but out of respect to the others of the tribe, I did not kill anything.

A few hours later, I noticed the birds had stopped singing, and I hadn't seen any deer either. I wanted to talk to ganolvsgi agasgi about this, but I didn't dare leave my post.

My replacement came at noon, and my next shift would be at 1:00p.m, so I had an hour to eat and relax. I thanked him for taking my shift, and I told him about the absence of noise.

"You are right. I do not like this." He said, and looked around warily.

"I am going to go talk to Storm about it. I will be back soon enough." I said, and before I even grabbed lunch, I went and found the black rabbit, who seemed to be in charge of security.

"Sir. May I have a word with you?" I asked, once I had found him.

He stopped talking to the others, and turned to face me. "Sure, what's up?"

"When I first started guard duty, the birds were singing, and the other animals were out and about."

"What are you getting at? Are you worried about the birds and other animals attacking us?" He and the others laughed, and I even chuckled.

"No sir, but do you hear them now? I haven't heard them for about an hour now, and that is what worries me." I stood there, and Storm had the others get silent.

"I don't hear anything." Said a brown rabbit, who was on the left of Storm.

"Alright, go get me Canowicalete. He will go and scout for what is the problem have him check out near the town, and make sure the humans aren't being stupid. No offense, Enapay." Storm said. One of the other warriors ran off to go find Canowicalete.

"Storm, I will be right back. I am going to go grab something for your scout, which will make his life a little easier." He gave me a questioning look, but said nothing. I ran back over to my hut. Wow, that felt weird to say. I shook it off, and grabbed both of my radios, and ran back out to Storm.

"Here. This will help you immensely." I said, and handed one of them to him.

"Ah, thank you. The sooner I am able to process information given to me, the better I will be able to plan."

I gave the other radio to Canowicalete, and he saluted. I returned it, and he went out.

"Good luck." I said, and he smiled, and then ran into the forest.

I looked at my watch, and it read 1:37p.m. I forgot about lunch, I was to worried about Canowicalete. I relieved the guard at my post, and he thanked me. I stood at my post, carefully scanning the horizon for any signs of trouble. I did not find any, but at about 3:00p.m, a replacement guard came for me. My replacement wasn't due till 5:00p.m.

"Storm wants to see you. He said it was urgent." I quickly grabbed my gear, thanked him, and ran off to find Storm.

I found him talking with other warriors. He saw me, and motioned for me to hold on a minute. Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was actually about 5 minutes, he sent the others off and motioned me over.

"Canowicalete has reported in. The humans in the adjacent towns have revolted against the animorphs. The Chief has invited the Animorphs here to talk about sending support. I have to ask you two questions. One, are you okay with them being around? I know you are okay with Ahote, but what about other breeds?"

"Storm, I am used to some other breeds. At our camp, we have a very large bear by the name of Garret, and a lynx by the name of Sean. I am perfectly okay around the animorphs, as long as they treat me as an equal."

"Alright, I have a very important second question. Are you willing to fight humans if the Chief calls for it?"

"Without a doubt. I am committed to the tribe till the end, if necessary."

He slapped me on the back, and said, "Good. They are sending a few representatives to the camp. They are going to take as many people as possible. You and Ahote will go, as well as the other teens. I am going to put you in charge of them."

"When do the representatives get here?" I asked, seeing if I could work with the other teens on teamwork and following commands.

"They will be here in 10 minutes." Well, there goes that plan. "Find all of them, and make sure all of them are ready. They already know you will be leading them. Make sure they say goodbye to their families, just in case."

"Yes sir." I saluted, and headed off to make the necessary arrangements.

I had found everyone, and made sure they said goodbye, and to grab their gear and come with me. I walked over to my new mother, and gave her a hug.

"Come home safely. Both of you." She said, and grabbed both of us, and we shared a hug. She had started crying. She wiped her tears away, and then said, "Now go. Do the tribe proud."

By the time we got back to the center of the village, I saw the representatives had already arrived. There were four of them in total. A Timber wolf, a Bald Eagle, a German Shepherd, and a huge Bengal tiger. The tiger seemed to be the one in control of the small unit, and he was talking to the Chief, who seemed short compared to him!

Me an Ahote joined into the line of the rest of the teens. They all smiled at us, and all of them had their weapons slung on their shoulders. I looked over at Ahote, who had his Ak slung over his shoulder.

"I feel a little overdressed."

He laughed, and then replied, " Aren't you always?" I chuckled, and then got quiet. The Eagle was looking over the teens. Ahote and I were last in line, with me on the actual end. I had all of my weapons, and my tomahawk on as well. I stood at attention.

I heard the Eagle speak to each teen, and he moved steadily along the line. When he got to Ahote, he talked about how he was a nice looking kid, and asked if he was willing to serve. Ahote explained that he had already served, and received a discharge for wounds taken. The eagle thanked him, and then moved over to me. He didn't say a thing, but just walked right by me.

He joined the others, and walked over to the Chief. He pointed at me, and started talking in hushed tones. He was also conferring with the tiger. While they talked, the German Shepherd walked over to me. He was about 6'2.

"What is your name, Junge?" He said, in a heavy German accent. So literally, he was a German German Shepherd. That was a little complicated. Also, I remembered a little German from my school, and Junge meant boy. He also carried a Walther p38, a very old German pistol.

"Christopher Geier, Mein Herr." He smiled, and I was able to see most of his very sharp k9 teeth.

"Ah, so you know Deutch, ja?"

"Ja. Not too much, but I am able to get by." I said.

"It is a good language, and a good country."

"That it is. You Germans know how to make some good weapons." I said, as I unslung my mg3. He took it from me, his eyes agape in wonder.

"It is beautiful. I am happy to see you with such a fine weapon. You seem to be taking very good care of it. It isn't even dirty, yet it is used. Take good care of it, and that's an order!" He said, in a half kidding way.

"Yes sir!" I said, and snapped a salute. He smiled, and headed over to the tiger and the Chief.

They all talked for about 5 minutes, while the timber wolf looked over the adult warriors. The Chief and the others seemed to have resolved their problem, and they all walked over to talk to the wolf. They all inspected the adult warriors. They smiled and headed over to see us.

They all started over with Tohate, who was first in line. They all asked him questions, and his answers seemed to please him. They all shook his hand, and then saluted. He returned the gesture, and then the group moved on to the next person in line. It was Rowtag. They kept up the pattern until they go to me.

The Tiger loomed over me. He had to be about 6'6, and was just a complete wall of muscle. He carried a Smith & Wesson .44 magnum. It fired a bullet almost as big as my m82!

"Well, what do we have here?" He asked, looking down at me with bright golden eyes.

I saluted, and then answered, "Christopher Geier, sir."

"Well, you have a lot of firepower, don't you? And I am sure you are packing more, but it is hidden."

"Yes sir." The others in the group chuckled, as did the tiger.

The Timber wolf asked to see all the weapons I had on me, and to set them out. I took of my mg3, then my m82. I then pulled out my Spectre, which had been hidden from sight. I also pulled off my colt .45, as well as 2 combat knives, a holdout knife, and finally my tomahawk.

"Well, you certainly are quite the puzzle, aren't you?" Asked the tiger, as I started to put all of my weapons back on.

"How so, sir?"

"Well, you are a child, no offense, that has more weapons than the average mercenary. You are also very well trained, because you check all of us for where our weapons are. And finally, you are living among a tribe of animorphs, and you are calm around us as instead of trying to shoot us, or calling us names. THAT is why you are a puzzle." He said.

"Well put sir." I said, as if that were to explain it. They all laughed, and everyone, including the Eagle that had ignored me, shook my hand. They then walked over to the Chief.

The tiger proclaimed loudly, "All of them are fit to fight. We would be honored to have them fight for us, and God willing, we shall have all of them back soon." The Chief shook hands with the tiger, and the tiger saluted to all of us, as well as the rest of the representatives. They then ordered us to follow them. All of the teen girls stood at the entrance, and handed out flowers to everyone. Even I got a few!

About half an hour later, we reached a road, and sitting there were three trucks.

"Alright, the adults will take the first two trucks, and the teens have the last. You have your order, now move." Shouted the Eagle. I moved all of us to the back end of the deuce and a half truck, and ordered everyone in. I was the last in, and I shut the tailgate of the truck. We moved not even 30 seconds later.

It was an hour ride until we go to the outside of the town. I could already hear gunfire in the distance.

"Alright ladies, get out. Move it, move it!" Shouted the Timber wolf, as he opened the tailgate of the truck. I quickly scrambled down, and helped the others out of the truck.

"Line up, and be quick about it!" I shouted, and they all fell into a single line. The adults had not stopped, and I watched them go to a different part of town.

"Gentleman, you will be part of the assault on the town. The humans are poorly equipped, and are not bright. You will fight for honor, and because it runs in your very veins! LONG LIVE THE ANIMOPHS!

"LONG LIVE THE ANIMORPHS!" All of us shouted as loudly as possible. The Timber Wolf just smiled, viciously.

"My name is Sergeant Antwone. I will be leading this team. I do not discriminate, and you WILL follow my orders, or you will suffer. This understood?"

"Yes Sergeant!" We all shouted.

"Good. We attack the town at dawn. You kill anybody who is wielding a weapon. Try to keep civilian casualties down, but if you hit one, don't feel bad. Just keep moving."

Tohate spoke, "What is the name of the town?"

"The name of the town is Anderson. We have the airfield secured, so we will be having air support. We will travel in by chopper. Now, I am going to organize you into smaller groups of four. I will even allow you to elect the leader of each squad."

He put Ahote, Mahpee, Gosheven, and myself into one squad. We called ourselves the Reapers, and I was elected to be in charge. I became Reaper 1, Ahote Reaper 2, Gosheven Reaper 3, and finally Mahpee Reaper 4. The other squad named themselves the Warriors. Tohate was elected leader, so he became Warrior 1, Canowicalete Warrior 2, Wahchinksapa Warrior 3, and finally Rowtag Warrior 4.

"Good, now that that is worked out, listen up. We are going to insert via helo tomorrow. Our objective is to grab City Hall and take the leaders of the operation alive. We will be rappelling down on the roof, and that is what we are going to practice now. Lets go." He jogged off, and we all followed him.

He led us to a wooden platform that had been setup. It was about 50 feet off the ground, with a ladder as the only way up. On the other side of the wooden platform, where two thick black ropes which led back to the ground.

"Alright, listen up. You are to climb up here one at a time with the ladder, and then you will walk over to the rope, and slide down it. It is the exact height you will be rappelling tomorrow. If you are afraid of heights, now is the tie to get over it. Warrior squad, you are up first."

Tohate scrambled up the ladder, with Rowtag close on his heels. Both slide down at the same time, and landed safely. We all cheered for them. Next Canowicalete and Wahchinksapa went up. I could tell Wahchinksapa was a little nervous, but he went forward all the same. Both touched the ground safely, and everyone cheered.

"Again. Three times in a row." Called Sergeant Antwone from the top of the platform. All of them repeated the process, and all of them had the same success again.

"Good. Reaper squad, you're up. Don't disappoint." Called Sergeant Antwone again.

Ahote and I were the first to go, and I slipped on a pair of gloves that I had brought with me. It probably would pay off in the long run. As Ahote got to the top of the ladder first, he waited for m to reach the top. Once we were both there, we both grabbed onto the rope, and slid down. We landed at the same time, and then quickly stepped out of the way. I looked over at him, and just smiled. He smiled back, and headed over to the others. We did it twice more, and once we were all done, Sergeant Antwone did the same.

"Alright, that is enough for today. Go grab tents, and get some sleep. We are to be up at 6:30a.m tomorrow. Goodnight guys." He started to walk off, but then turned around. "I almost forgot, these are going to be very useful." He handed all of us earpieces, so that we could stay in touch. "They are only useful if they are IN YOUR EARS! SO KEEP THEM THERE AT ALL TIMES!" He shouted, and walked off. The others looked at them, and fit them into their ears. I did the same, and was happy to see it fit all right.

I thought that while I had the time, I would clean my weapons. I sat down, and stripped the mg3 and started cleaning it. Ahote sat down next to me, and did the same. Soon, the others did the same. By the time I was finished, it was 9:00p.m, I decided that now would be a good time to go to sleep. Everyone else followed, and I knocked out pretty fast.

The next morning, Ahote shook me awake, and I got up, now full of adrenaline. I strapped everything into place. I made sure I had everything I might need, and I stepped out of the tent. Everyone else was awake, and the Sergeant strode over to us.

"Good morning everyone. Are we ready to go?" We all nodded, and we followed him to the deuce and a half, which stood in the same place as yesterday. I opened the tailgate, and helped everyone in. As I was about to hop into the back myself, the Sergeant closed the back. I thought he was going to leave me behind, and I was about to argue.

"Come on, you are going to sit in the cab with me." He pointed to the passengers seat. I hopped in, nervous about why I had been singled out. Yea, there was the obvious reason, but I had a feeling that that wasn't it.

Once we had gotten moving, he asked, " Where did you get your weapons and training? I want the honest answer. I already trust you to fight for us with no problem."

"Me and my friends attended a training at Camp Freedom, a U.S. Army base on Ruby Mountain. I got all of my weapons and equipment from them. We ran for our lives when the animorphs first started to shell the camp. Does this answer your question, sir?"

"Yes. I am glad you are willing to give me the truth. Just one more question, if you wouldn't mind. Did they happen to give you a rank while you were there?"

"Yes sir." I answered, and smiled.

"And what rank did they give you?"

"I am a captain in the United States Army, sir."

He stayed very silent for a long time.

"You okay sir?" I asked, thinking that I had offended him somehow.

"Yea, just trying to wrap my head around me having to salute you. Scarily enough, I am easily able to see the picture." I busted up laughing, and he did too. His laugh was almost a bark, and it was a very strange combination of the two. I enjoyed not being in trouble, and having even a moment of relaxation.

We arrived at our destination perfectly on time, at 7:00a.m. It was a huge, flat field of just grass. The chopper would meet us there.

"Sergeant, what type of chopper is it?" I asked as we waited. I was really hoping that it wouldn't be a Blackhawk. It just felt too soon.

"A Russian Hind. I love that chopper, because it can stick around and give us fire support just in case. Also, we have a small bit of armor in the area, too."

"Why doesn't the armor just blast the living tar out of City Hall?"

"They might have managed to acquire multiple rocket launchers. They have a few assault rifles, but mostly hunting rifles and shotguns. There are about 50 of them. There will be 5 teams in total, so we have the number advantage. But, lets just focus on our job, and secure the leaders."

"Sergeant, in all honesty, why are they sending a bunch of kids to do a job that should be done by professionals?" He didn't say anything, and I continued, "So this is a suicide mission?" He just put his head down.

I turned to the others, and said, "We will destroy them. If they even resist for a minute, they are to be shot. We take no chances." The others nodded, and they now had a determine look in their eyes. Just as I finished, the chopper came into view.

It was very intimidating, with a 30mm gun, and this one also had rocket pods and door mounted machine guns.

"Lets go." Said the Sergeant, in a voice that was almost lost in the sound of the choppers blades. We quickly ran over to it, and hopped in. I ignored the strange looks from the crewmembers as I got in. The pilot took off immediately, and we headed to the town.

When we reached the town, I saw red flare go up. I watched all of the troops on the ground go rushing into outskirts of the town. I also watched 5 armored assault vehicles head into the town as well.

As we approached the City Hall, the chopper pilot put on a red light to signal for us to be ready to go. Once we where about 50ft above the roof and where hovering, the green light sprang on. Warrior squad went first, and they quickly landed on the roof, and Reaper squad was next.

"Lets go boys! Stay close behind!" I called to the other two, and we slid down. They were right behind us. I saw both of the ropes drop, and the chopper got out of there. Sergeant Antwone hadn't even got of the chopper.

"When I ever see that son of a bitch again..." Whispered Gosheven. I didn't even want to know what he would do.

"Forget him. We have a mission to do. Team, on me." Everyone fell in behind me. We moved over to the only door on the roof.

"Stack up on me." I said as I crouched next to the door. Ahote followed, but everyone else just there.

"Uh, what does that mean?" Asked Tohate.

"It means get behind me, or you are liable to get your head blow off." He and the others quickly lined up behind Ahote, and I just shook my head. I kept going thought, and kicked the door in. It caved immediately, and I rushed in. The others followed.

Once inside, it took me a few minutes to see correctly, because the room was dim. One I was okay, I started to move down the long hall to a spiral staircase, which led to the bottom level. The hallway had only one wall. Where the left wall should have been was a balcony, which overlooked the bottom floor.

"Warrior 2 and 4, secure that balcony. You are going to provide over watch to us on the bottom floor. Watch your backs, and stay safe." I motioned of the others to follow me. We made it down the rest of the hall, without a hearing anything. I swiveled the mg3 around the room to make sure everything was safe for my team.

Once we reached the stairway, I told the others to hold. I edged forward, and looked down at the bottom of the staircase. That almost cost me my life. I watched as an overweight man in his 40's point his shotgun at my face. I quickly ducked, and he fired. The round hit the ceiling above me, and dust rained down on me. Ahote ran over to me, grabbed a handle on my back, and dragged me back. He pointed to Tohate, and motioned a grenade pin being pulled, and pointed to the bottom of the staircase.

He nodded, and did as he was told. The grenade exploded, and I heard multiple screams. I got up, and quickly ran down the steps.

As I hit the bottom, I saw a kid who couldn't have been older than me trying to hold a wound on the shotgun wielding man. I pointed my weapon at him, and he tried to grab the shotgun. I fired a quick burst into his chest. I checked the area for any others. I noticed a blood streak along the floor, like somebody had been dragged out of there while bleeding. I pointed to Reaper 3 and 4, and pointed to the trail. Gosheven smiled, and took off after the trail. I told everyone else to find cover. We weren't leaving anybody behind that we didn't have to.

I heard a single shot, and then both of them return. I nodded to them. It was their judgment call. I saw Tohate point his weapon to the shotgun wielder, and then he shot him in the forehead.

"Lets move." I said, in a whisper. The others nodded, and waited for me. I stepped over the dead bodies, and headed into the office section of the building.

The office section was a long hallway, with separate offices in individual rooms. There were 11 offices in total. As we walked down the hallway, I noticed a very old looking cupboard with a mirror attached to it. I walked over to it, and smashed it with my elbow. The others looked at me with shocked expressions. I ignored them, and grabbed a piece of the mirror about the size of my palm. I walked back over to them. I walked over to the first office, and instead of sticking my head around the corner; I used the piece of mirror to look instead.

As I peered into the first office, I didn't see anybody. It was very simple, and thankfully the offices weren't interconnected. Before I moved on to the next office I grabbed a second piece of glass, same size, and handed it to Tohate. I then pointed to the other side of the hallway. I wanted him to check the other side, so we didn't get flanked. He nodded, and took Rowtag with him to the other side of the hallway. Once he signaled that the room was clear, I moved my squad up to the next room. I used the mirror, and looked in. Nobody. I waved him up. He moved, and checked the next room. Again it was clear.

As I looked into the next room, I was about to call it clear; then I saw feet from below the desk inside the room. I tapped Ahote, and he nodded. I quickly opened door, and rushed in. Ahote quickly ran and secured the person inside. It was an elderly woman in her 50's.

"Hello ma'am. I need to ask you a question that may save a few lives. Are there any others in this hallway?"

"Traitor! How dare you-" I covered her mouth with my hand. She was smart enough not to bite it thankfully. I took out my knife, and cut part of her coat. Her eyes grew wide, and she started to shout through my hand, but I quickly removed it and gagged her with the cloth.

"Have a nice day. Lets move." I called to Ahote, and I locked the door as I left.

The others waited outside. I pointed to Tohate, and he proceeded to the next room to clear it out. He signaled the all clear. We had finished four of the rooms, and I moved up to the next one. Looking using the mirror, I didn't see anybody. I signaled for Rowtag and Tohate to move up. Rowtag looked into the room. He signaled all clear. I moved up.

The next room was clear for me, and we all moved up. At the next room, the 7th in total, Rowtag motioned for us to stop. He put up one finger; to show us he saw at least 1.

"Any weapons?" I asked. I got my answer pretty fast, but not from him. A bullet fired from what sounded like a pistol broke the window, and glass rained down everywhere. There were still jagged edges of the glass on the doorframe. I put my fingers up to my lips to show the others, and then I started screaming. Everyone aimed at the now gaping hole in the door, where the glass partition used to be.

My plan worked, because the man wielding the pistol came up to the partition. He looked around for where the scream came from. But, by the time he found me, he was riddled with holes. He fell forward, and impaled his neck on the glass from the door. It ripped open his neck, and he fell to the ground inside the door.

"You okay?" Ahote asked, calling to Rowtag.

"Yea. You guys?" He asked.

I looked back at everyone. They all gave me the thumbs up sign. "Yea, we are good to go. Lets move quickly." The others nodded, and we moved up to the next door.

I checked my mirror. The room was clear. I signaled the others, and they moved up. This was the last room on the right. It was clear. Now, the only room that was left was the one at the very end of the hall. It was the mayor's office.

"Alright everyone, eyes open. This will hopefully be where the mayor is. If he is in there, I am going to use teargas to get him out. Ahote and I have our masks, and the teargas will smoke the others out if they are hiding. Warrior 1 and 2, make sure that our flank is safe. Reaper 3 and 4, wait outside for us to exit out of the room, and then close the door behind us. Cover it, till we get out of sight. We are going to head back up to Warrior 3 and 4's location for exfil out of the area." They all nodded. They ran to get into position.

I used my mirror to look into the room. What I saw surprised me. It was the mayor, just sitting at his desk, playing cards with a man with an AR-15 on his back. The AR-15 is the civilian brand of M-16. I did not see anybody else in there. I double-checked to see if it was the actual mayor. I had been given a picture of what he looked like. It was confirmed.

"Alright, change of plan. Ahote, can you grab the guy with the rifle?" I asked, and handed him the mirror so he could see.

"Yea. He coming with us?"

"Yea. I have a feeling he is important. Ready Shilah?" I asked, and he smiled.

"Always." I nodded to him, and faced the door. I put on my mask, and he did as well. I pulled the pin on the gas, and smashed the window, and tossed it in. I waited for about 5 seconds, and then I opened the door, and rushed in. Ahote was close behind me.

Once in the room, I jumped over the desk, and planted my feet right in the middle of the mayor's chest. He flew back from his chair, and I landed on the desk. I quickly rolled and jumped on him. I zip tied his hands together, behind his back. I checked him for weapons. All I found was a small pocketknife.

"Clear!" I shouted, through the gasmask.

"Clear!" I heard Ahote shout back.

"Lets get them out of here!" I said, and I dragged the still coughing mayor out of the office. He was very skinny, and also quite short. He was only about 5 10', and couldn't have weighed more than 150lbs.

Gosheven and Mahpee covered our flank now, as me and Ahote ran for the steps. Tohate and Rowtag ran ahead of us, making sure it was safe for us to advance. We bounded up the steps, and headed for the roof.

"Tohate, grab the other two, we are going for an extract." I called as I ran, carrying the mayor fireman style. Tohate ran off, and Rowtag barreled ahead of us, and crashed through the door, which led to the rooftop.

I had been given a call sign for the chopper, and I took me a moment to remember it. I remembered, and called to him "Scorpio 1, Scorpio 1, do you read me Scorpio 1, over."

"We read you, Reaper 1. What is your situation, over?"

"We have the HVT's (High Value Target), and are ready for exfil, over."

"Ugh, roger that Reaper 1. Stand by for confirmation on exfil, over." I waited for a reply for about our way out of this hellhole of a town.

"Alight Reaper 1, we got the green light. We will be there in 10 minutes, be ready to go. Out." I switched my radio back to our chat.

"Alright everyone, we have to protect the HVT's for ten minutes, and then we are out of here! Warrior 3 and four, cover the staircase below. Warrior 1 and 4, cover the back way up to the Town hall, to the south. Reapers 3, cover the east side. Reapers 4, take the west. Reaper 2 and I will cover the main entrance. Good luck, and call over the radio if you need help." They all ran off, and I moved quickly to get to my position. Once there, I set up the mg3, and set the m82 within close reaching distance. My biggest worry was if they had any kind of armored car or truck, because we had nothing to hit it with.

We hadn't even been there a minute, when I heard a rifle bullet hit the side of the building. I ducked quickly, as did Ahote. I had kept the mirror, and now used it to look over the edge of the roof to see if I could see the shooter. What I saw scared the living shit out of me.

"Ahote, we just got very busy." I said in a very calm voice. I handed him the mirror. He looked, just as calmly as I had, and gave it back to me.

"Yup."

What lay below us was an angry mob of sorts marching toward the City Hall. They were armed with kitchen knives, baseball bats, hockey sticks, and a few even had rifles. I told the others this over the radio. They all headed to the front entrance. I ordered Reaper 3 and 4 to come over and help us out. They called negative, they had people approaching both sides, and I heard Warrior 1 call that he had people coming his way too.

We were completely surrounded, cut off from the others. And what I saw below us was a lot more than they had predicted to fight against us.

"How many do you think are down there?" Called Ahote, checking on his ammo count.

"There have to be at least 250 of them, but it only looks like 20 of them have firearms." I said, as I checked my ammo count. I also thought of one more very important thing.

"Warrior 3 and 2, DESTROY THE STEPS! We have to block them from reaching the roof at all costs!"

"Got it. We are going to blow the steps with a few grenades, and then block the hallway." They called. A few seconds later, I heard a load explosion, and then a huge crash.

"You guys alright?"

"We're fine. How does is look out there?" Warrior 3 called.

"Not good. 8 minutes till extraction." I said. I then switched my radio to the main chat channel. "This is Reaper 1, calling to all units, we are completely surrounded. There are about 250 of them. We are stuck on the top of the City Hall. Any assistance would be great, over."

"We read you, Reaper 1. We will double-time it to help you if we can. Out." I turned my radio back to our squad. I turned and looked at Ahote. I reached out my hand, for him to shake. He looked confused, but took my hand. "Till the end." Was all I said, and he nodded back. "Till the end."

I stood up, and I heard another rifle shot fly way over my head. I fired a single bust out in front of the crowd, hoping they would turn and run. It actually had the opposite affect, and they all ran as fast as they could toward the building. I started firing 3 round bursts into the front of the crowd, hoping to slow them down. Ahote fired single shots, and he was aiming for the men with the rifles.

As I shot, I watched all kinds of people crumple to the ground. Old, young, men, and women. They all fell, by my hand. I did not have time to reminisce over what I was doing. I did not want to do this, but they forced me. My team was more important than they were. So, I kept firing murderous burst after murderous burst toward them. By the time they got within 100 yards, they began to realize how hopeless their cause was, and I hoped this would turn them back. Instead, it encouraged them to press on. More and more dropped, and with my peripheral vision, I saw that both Mahpee and Gosheven were firing as well.

No matter how many rounds we put down range, the just kept coming. Nothing that we did stopped them. Eventually, they reached the doorway of the City Hall, and they smashed through it. They were followed by a steady stream of replacements that ran over the bodies of the dead, which littered the ground.

"Warrior 3, Warrior 4, expect company! Hold them BACK, or we are done for!" I said, and refocused my attention back to the stream of replacements. I checked my watch. We had 5 minutes before our ride would be here.

"OH SHIT, WARRIOR 3 IS DOWN. WE NEED HELP!"

"Reaper 4, go help them Warrior 2, take Reaper 3's spot. Move, damnit!" They hustled to do what I ordered. I just hoped that Rowtag wouldn't be overwhelmed by the mass that was surely headed his way.

I watched as Mahpee pulled Wahchinksapa out to the roof. He had been hit in the right thigh. He had a torn piece of shirt, which was being used to bandage it. I flashed him the thumbs up, and he gritted his teeth and returned the gesture. I ran over to him, and put my pistol in his hand.

"Make sure they don't make it up here." He nodded grimly, and flipped the safety off, and focused on the doorway.

"Should I take back my spot sir?" Asked Mahpee, who was standing around, waiting for my orders.

"No, go back down and hold them off. We have three minutes till our ride is here. We all are making it out alive. Now go." He saluted, and ran back down the staircase to help out Warrior 4. I ran back over to Ahote, who was still firing. I hopped back onto the mg3, and continued to fire. I kept my eye out for anybody who could help us, but saw nothing.

"Reaper 1, can you hear me?" I heard Warrior 2 calling.

"What?"

"I am desperately low on ammo. What do I do?"

"Take Warrior 3's weapon. And don't waste shots finishing them off. We can't waste the ammo." I saw him run up on the roof, and grab Wahchinksapa's weapon, and dash right back down.

"Alright, we have about 2 minutes before they are here. WE CAN HOLD THEM OFF!" I called, and hoped what I said was true. I heard the others bellow out war cries, and it seemed to fuel them on. The people still came in great hordes toward the town hall, and Ahote and I were having a very hard time trying to thin them down so Warrior 4 and Reaper 4 could hold them off.

"Oh god." Was all I heard over the radio from Reaper 4, and than an eerie silence.

"What happened?" I called, very nervous about the sudden silence.

"Warrior 2 is down. Oh god, they blew his head off. Those bastards!" I heard a pickup in fire from down below.

"Can anybody relieve him?" I called, desperation filling my voice.

"I got him." Called Gosheven, and he headed down.

"Reaper 4, Reaper 3 is on his way down. Kill any of those bastards who get near you. Kill everyone of them." Hatred filed my voice, and red filled my vision. I mowed down more of them who tried to enter the building. How DARE they kill one of my team? Before I had shied away from their screams of pain and anguish. Now, now I relished them. It was if their pain and suffering helped ease the knot that had grown in my chest from me failing again and getting another teammate killed.

"Where is our exfil, over?" I called, anger now fuming over into the radio.

"We are thirty seconds out. We have a medic on board for any casualties, over."

"We have one with a leg wound, and one missing half his skull. Can your medic do anything about THAT?" I yelled in anger.

"I am sorry, so so sorry." He said, and then the radio got very quiet.

I couldn't reply. I did however see the chopper fly in. Its 30mm cannon ripped into those still advancing to the building. They quickly realized how out gunned they were, and turned to flee. The chopper crew did not stop firing. More and more dropped, and I just watched, no emotion on my face.

Also, the armored vehicles entered the square, and started to rip the knot of people who now where hiding in the building to pieces. Their cannon fire and machine guns decimated them. In about 30 seconds, the fighting was over. People exited the City Hall with hands raised, and the other animorphs squads now entered the square from all sides. They took the hostages, and lined them around the square, so they could process them. The chopped swung down, and landed in the very middle of the square. I watched as the tiger, which had first recruited us, hopped out from the chopper. Close behind him was Sergeant Antwone. I looked down on them from the roof. The tiger saw me, and saluted. I returned the gesture. Sergeant Antwone also saluted, but I just turned my back and walked away.

Once we walked out of the City Hall with the HVT's, I walked over to the tiger.

"Here you are, sir." I said, and plopped the Mayor down at his feet.

"Well, what do we have here." He said, as he smiled viciously, and as he smiled, I got to see his razor sharp teeth. It was enough to scare me, and I couldn't even imagine what the Mayor was thinking. The tiger leaned down, and with one of his claws, cut the gag, which was in his mouth.

"Pl-please, don't kill me! I will do anything!" He blubbered. I scowled at the cowering man. He wasn't worth the life of one of my men.

"Oh, why ever would I do that?" The tiger said. " I have much better plans for you..." He said, and lifted the Mayor up with a single paw, and threw him against a wall. The tiger turned back to me, which scared the living daylights out of me.

"You have my personal thanks. You have done far greater than I ever imagined, Captain."

"So the sergeant told you. I am sorry for not bringing it to your attention before. But, I did not want to be left behind, away from them." I said, and looked toward the others. They all smiled at me with tired, hollow eyes.

"It is alright. I completely understand, and besides, it is very easy to see where your allegiance lies."

"It lies with those that I care about most, sir." I said, with a harsh tone. He just smiled.

"Wherever your allegiance lies, I will forever be in your debt for this. Take this, and if you ever need anything, you give me a call." He handed me a card, with his name and phone number on it. It was the first time I have seen his name, let alone his rank.

"Thank you, General Abdullahi. I will remember your offer." He just smiled, and walked off to go collect the mayor, who still was laying on the ground in a fetal position. The General just grabbed him by the nape of the neck, and the mayor started to kick and scream, and the General just laughed a loud, malicious laugh. I almost felt bad for the mayor, but then remembered about Wahchinksapa, who was wounded, and Canowicalete who would never be able to see his family again. I had failed.

I walked over to Wahchinksapa, who was being loaded into a civilian car to be taken to a hospital to have his leg looked at. He saw me coming, and he smiled.

"We did it! Against all odds, we did it!" He shouted, pumping his fist into the air, jostling his leg. He cringed in pain, and the medic who was standing nearby told him to not move so rapidly. He then handed over my pistol.

"We lost Canowicalete. How is that a victory?" I asked, tears filling my eyes. I played with the safety on the pistol, wanting to hurt those responsible, badly.

"Enapay, it is a great honor to die in battle. He would have been proud to die the way he did. We shall mourn, yes, but it should not overlap our victory!" He said. I watched the medic get into the drivers seat.

"Stay safe. I will see you soon." I said, and closed the door. He put his paw on the glass, and I put my hand on the same spot. I then tapped on the glass, and the medic took off toward the hospital.

I looked over at the crowd of prisoners, and with pistol clutched tightly, walked over to them. I grabbed a wooden crate, put it in front of the majority of them. I then stood up on it, and addressed them.

"Look at me! All of you!" They all turned and focused on me. "Who's idea was this?" I called, as loudly as possible. Nobody said a word. I got off the box, and walked forward and grabbed a 13-year-old girl who was covered in dirt and blood, which didn't belong to her. I hauled her over near the box, and told her to stay put. Everyone focused on me more intently.

"Now, who was responsible for this?" Again, nobody answered. I pointed the pistol at the girls' head, and pulled the trigger. She crumpled to the ground. I walked forward, and this time I grabbed an elderly male. I made him stand in the same spot, which was now soaked in blood. I got back up on the box. "I will ask this again. I have no problem ending all of your lives. You ended one of my squad member's lives, and he was worth about 100 of you. I have no problem paying that debt in blood. I will, however, allow your debt to be erased if you give me the name of the man or woman in charge of this stupid uprising." Again nobody answered. I think they were still in shock from me killing the girl. I looked at the old man, and fired into his head. It disappeared into a red mist, and his lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

"It was Leroy Jenkins!" Shouted a woman from the crowd. Everyone turned and looked at her. She was standing with her 6-year-old son at her side.

"Come up here. Now!" Everyone parted away so she could walk over to me. "Where is he." She didn't say anything. I repeated myself. " Where is he!" I shouted, directly into her face. She wouldn't look up from the ground. I called Mahpee and Gosheven.

"Grab her arms." They did as they were told, and they picked her off the ground. She offered little resistance. I walked over, and grabbed her son. Now she looked up, fear in her eyes.

"You had best have an answer by the time I get back, or you will not see your son again." I said, and picked him up and walked back to the City Hall. She started screaming and kicking, trying to get out of their grips so she could go after her son. They held her fast, ad I stepped inside of the building with the boy.

Once inside, I shut the door, and then set him down. He backed up into a corner, and just sat down. I did not feel like being friendly. I checked my watch. I was going to give her 5 minutes, and if she didn't answer me, I was going to kill them both.

As I reached the 2-minute mark, I noticed that the boy was peering at me thought the crook of his arm. I sighed, and walked over. After all, it wasn't the kid's fault. I went over and sat down on a folding chair across from him.

"What's your name?" I asked, my voice coming out a little gravelly.

"I-it's Raymond mister." He said, his voice wavering in fear.

"Are you hungry Raymond?" I asked. I had an MRE on me, and I figured he would just want the cookie that came in it as the dessert.

"Yes, mister." He said, and slowly approached me. I opened the MRE, and removed the cookie. I handed it to him. He smiled gratefully, and started chewing on it. I checked my watch. I had about a minute before I had to go get his mother. That would be the real fun part. But for now, I just enjoyed the minute of peace and quiet.

"Mister, why did you kill those people?" Raymond asked, looking at me with very big blue eyes.

"I wanted revenge. You see, they killed my friend." I said, and looked away. He too said nothing. Instead, he walked over and put his hand on my knee.

"Its okay to cry, mister. My mom always told me it's okay to cry." He said, as he too started to tear up.

"Your mom seems like a very smart person. I must bring her in here, but we have to have an adult conversation. Do you mind if I stick you in another room real quick? I can even see if I can find one with a television, if you want." He nodded enthusiastically, and he grabbed my hand. I started to tear up again. He reminded me so much of my little brother.

I found him a room with a working television, and I told him to stay put, and that I would get him as soon as I was finished talking with his mother. He smiled, and turned the TV on. I closed the door, and locked it from the outside. I then headed outside to grab his mother and extract the information that I needed.

I waved over to Mahpee and Gosheven, and they dragged her over to the building. I put a new clip in my pistol.

They put her down in a wooden chair, and stood either side of her. She was going nowhere. I pulled up a chair in front of her.

"Now, what are we going to do with you?" I asked, and leaned back, lifting the chair onto 2 legs.

"Where is my son?" She asked frantically. She started to lean forward, but Gosheven shoved her back into the chair.

"He will be in danger, unless you tell me where this Leroy Jenkins is."

"I can't. If I do, I put my life and my son's life in danger." She said, staring at the ground.

"I will make you a deal. If you tell me where he is, I will find you a safe spot for you and your son. If you do not, I will kill your son, and I will make sure they use you for bayonet practice. Now, what is it going to be?"

She sat there quietly at first. "I will take your deal. He is the priest at the church in town. He no longer holds services, but instead arms the people to fight against the animorphs. He believes that the animorphs are the devils, which have been released upon the earth."

"Alright, now I am going to kill you." I said, and she snapped her head back and looked me in the eyes.

"But what about our deal?" She asked, hysterically.

"Don't worry, I am going to fake kill you, so that you or your son's lives are not in danger. Nobody will go looking for you. Also, we will have you moved away from here." She slumped back in relief.

I looked at Mahpee. "Go grab two body bags, and bring them here. We are going to transport them out of here that way, so the others see their bodies, but don't have a full and detailed look at them." He nodded, and went off to go get them. I told Gosheven to back off, and helped the mother to Raymond, who was still watching TV. She ran into the room, and wrapped him in a hug. Tears filler her eyes.

She turned to me. "Thank you. I am sorry for your loss. Truly I am." She said, and Raymond waved to me. He froze up when he saw Gosheven. I asked Raymond to come over to me.

"Raymond, this is Gosheven. He is an animorph." I said. Gosheven stuck out his paw, and Raymond shook it.

"You're a rabbit!" Exclaimed Raymond, excitedly. Gosheven laughed loudly, and Raymond giggled to. I myself chuckled, as did the mom.

Everyone got very quiet once Mahpee returned with the body bags. "I also found a civilian car to put them in, so we can get them out of town quickly." He said, as he laid out the bags.

I slapped him on the back. "Great thinking!"

I then turned back to the mother. "Alright, here comes the awkward part. I need you to get into the body bags. We are going to leave them a little bit open, so that you can still breathe. I need you to explain to Raymond what is happening, and he needs to hold very still." She turned to him, and started speaking in hushed tones. They both laid in separate body bags, and Gosheven zipped them most of the way up.

I fired two shots from my pistol. I turned to them, and they lifted the mother's bag, and I grabbed Raymond's. We walked out of the building, and I watched as all of the prisoners watched us load them back into the back of the car. I closed the trunk. I told Mahpee to take them to the edge of town, and then to let them go. I told him to find me in the town center as soon as possible after. He saluted, and hopped into the drivers seat, and took off.

I walked back to the center of the square, where the chopper was. The Sergeant was sitting in the door, looking at the carnage in the square. He saw me approach, and stood up to full height of about 6 '3.

"Sir." I said, and saluted. Gosheven just stood there, fuming. I elbowed him gently, and he grunted and saluted.

"No, Chris, he has the right to be mad. I was too afraid to go with you. You said it right at the field. This was to be a suicide mission, and I didn't want to go down. But, you proved me, and the General wrong to. That is one HELL of an accomplishment!" He said.

"I accept your apology, if you can give us all a ride back to the village. We completed what we were told to do. Now it is time to go home." He nodded, and walked off to go find our ride out of here.

I turned to Gosheven. "Do you forgive him?" I asked, and looked him in the eye.

"I will forgive him if he can get us a ride out of here. He owes us at least that." He spat, and I could see the anger boiling inside him. I decided to change subjects.

"How are you feeling physically? You didn't injure yourself on glass, or anything else?" I said, as I walked around him, inspecting him for cuts or missing fur.

"Nope, not a single thing. I was lucky." He said, and looked directly forward.

"Lucky my ass. Or actually, yours." I said, as I poked at a blood spot on his left butt cheek. He winced, but tried to hide the pain. I grabbed him by the paw, and dragged him off to the medic. He started to fight, but I said, "You know, when my mother was mad at me, she hauled me off by my ear. Would you like me to do the same?" He looked at me to see if I was being serious. Once he noticed that I was, he let me lead him to the medic.

The medic looked him over, and put a gauze pad on it to stop any further bleeding. He also gave him pain medications. He then sent him off. Gosheven complained, but gruffly thanked me. I just patted him on the back, and told him he would do the same thing for me.

"I can kick you back there, and then tell the medic you fell." He said, sarcasm filling his voice.

"That would be a shame. You see, this sidearm has one flaw. If it is knocked to hard, it tends to go off..." I said, and smiled viciously. He just shook his head.

An hour later, we were back on our way to the village. We were in the back of another deuce and a half, all of talking quietly among ourselves. We were part of a convoy, which was made up of 4 trucks in total, and an escort of a few armored vehicles. In two of the four trucks, were the adults who had left with us. One of the other trucks was just supplies, which was headed of to another destination. The last truck held the dead of the tribe. The adults had suffered 4 dead, and also Canowicalete. I put my had in my hands, thinking about how we had just buried Ahote's father, and now we had five more to mourn over. All because the humans were too proud to allow anything but total rulers.

Ahote, who was sitting beside me, patted me on the back. The others did the same. They thought I was taking Canowicalete's death to hard.

"It was my fault. If I had been down there, it might have happened to me, and then the tribe would still be as it was." I said, to nobody in particular. Nobody answered me, and I wasn't really in the mood for one.

As we rode, they talked among themselves, in English, so that if I wanted, I could join in the conversation. As I sat back, I realized something. That Wahchinksapa, who was in the hospital, was right. Yes, his death was sad, but we should remember more than just his death. And thinking, there is no other place I would want to die, but fighting for what I wanted, with my friends at my back.

I sat forward, and talked and laughed with the others. They all smiled, and I heard Gosheven whisper, "He's baaack." Everyone busted up laughing, and we didn't stop till we got to the village.

Once we arrived, everyone stopped what they were doing, and ran toward the trucks. We all hopped out of the trucks, and everyone ran for there loved ones. I followed Ahote over to where his mother stood, crying. She looked up, and I could see that she mouthed "thank you". My smile got even bigger. She then ran over to us, and wrapped us into a big hug.

After she let s out of the hug, which wasn't for a good two minutes, I walked over to the chief, and I saw he was standing with Storm. I also noticed that the leader of the adults was talking with him. I waited patiently, and once the adult leader saluted and left, the Chief called me over.

"How did you fair in the attack?" Storm asked.

"We completed our task as asked, against all odds." I pointed to the rest of the teens, and continued, "They fought bravely, and stood up against all odds. Only I failed you." I said, and let my head drop.

"How did you fail us?" Asked the chief, confusion interlaced his voice.

"Canowicalete was killed on my watch." I said, ad the tears returned. I hated failing.

"Did he die an honorable death?" Storm asked.

"One of the most honorable. We were on the roof of the City hall, trying to hold off most of the town's people from coming in. There were more than 200. He died trying to prevent any of them from coming onto the roof and killing us."

"Then he died an honorable death. His family and the tribe are proud of him. We are proud of all of you, and I am sure that the Spirit Guardian accepts him into his warm embraces. There is no greater honor." The Chief said, and he saluted me. Storm did as well, and I saluted back.

I started to walk off, but the General walked over to the Chief, and he put his large paw on my chest to stop me.

"Chief, I would like to thank you for everyone. I would like to personally thank you for your 'pet'." He said, and looked down on me and winked. I just shook my head, and the others laughed.

I pushed against his arm, trying to get back to work. "Hold on, I want to talk to you." He said. I started to argue, and he just picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, laughing. The others looked surprised, and then they started to laugh. I struggled to get out of his embrace, but his grip on me was as strong as steel.

Once we had gotten outside the camp, he put me down. I straightened out my uniform, and looked at him with an unhappy look.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Completely." He said, smiling broadly. "But I did not just bring you out here to embarrass you. That was just a perk." He said, and winked. I just rolled my eyes, and he kept going, "I want you on my staff. Badly." He said, and stared at me with golden eyes.

"I am sorry, but I must turn down your offer. I need to get back to my team." Shit, that slipped. Hopefully, he wouldn't notice.

"And what team would this be?" He asked. Well, shit.

"It is a private team just trying to live in peace. We don't want to be on either side. That's it."

He stared at me thoughtfully. "And what if I take you?" He asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Do you really want to try that?" I asked, returning the humor.

"As a matter of fact, I do." He said, and he lunged forward and grabbed me. I tried to wrestle away, but he was just too strong. He bound my hands together, and then stuck a gag in my mouth. He then picked me up, and carried me back to the camp. As we entered camp, I saw all of the others were held at gunpoint. The chief and Storm looked at the tiger with a mixture of hate and remorse. He just laughed, and he threw me in the back of one of the trucks. I hit the back, and landed hard. The world became fuzzy, and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Well, we must be off. Have a good day, and when we are done, we will return his corpse to you." He said, as he laughed. I heard him slam the passenger door closed, and two of the guards got into the back of the truck with me. I felt the truck start up, and then felt us moving.

GAH! Finished number 7! Trying to get these out as fast as I can, but life is a daunting task! I will try to get another two chapters out before I ship out for Boot camp. As always, I love hearing comments and feedback!