Heroes: Dont leave a man behind

Was it yesterday or day before or even before that??

I don’t remember that, having blanked out after I ejected and having being shot.

My pistol mag ran empty as I tried to shoot my pursuers.

Before I realised, my jet gets hit, and I’m ejecting at Mach speed.

Now I don’t know where I am, all it seems, is a dark cell with no communication, cut off from the world.

I hope the fallen comrade is safe, coz we never leave the man behind.

My injuries are taking the better of me, pretty soon my existence would vanish namelessly just like my memory and I’ll be another MIA name for the people.

Until then, I stare into oblivion and just wait for my fate to unfold.

In an alien land, it’s a fight in itself to be sane all the time.

The survival training helps the most in the field, in a confined solitary cell it just gives the hope to live the day as it unfolds.

Never leave a man behind... 

The motto we all live and die for.

It’s time to bring our comrade back, back from behind enemy lines.

We are the Para SF – the ghost operators and we have the green light to go ahead with the search and rescue.

He helped us when we were rescuing one of our own, now it’s payback time.

He might be a fly boy, but he’s still a comrade.

Till we are there, he won’t be another MIA or KIA.

We moved like phantoms in the dark to catch our adversaries by surprise.

Stealth is our cover, lest anything should happen to our man.

We breach the place and bring the rain, the rain of bullets.

In this rain, we might be outnumbered but we would not go without taking our asset.

As bullets find their mark and grenades explode bringing up a storm of dust, all that can be heard are just cries of pain and slumped bodies to stewn all around.

We keep moving, still firing, the piping hot empty bullet casings trailing the path of progress.

We reached the cells and see a long corridor with cells on either side.

We have reached our objective... We never leave a man behind.

I remiscind the mind to that moment and the noise of bullets richocheting off the ground close to me.

I hear the noise of the bullets coming near, very near...

Jolted from my trance, I feel the noise in reality.

Deafening explosions rocked the earth outside my cell and all I see is just a cloud of black smoke.

Temporarily blinded, I see maroon berets outside my cell.

I step aside as they breach the wall to extract me.

My comrades have come, to take me home.

I’m surrounded by a protective ring of men, asked if I’m able to walk.

I answer in the affirmative, the legs able to keep pace with the team.

Swift as lightning, they take me to the extraction point.

I am thanking to them for my life, I debt I might not be able to pay. 

They came back for me, my comrades.

For we never leave a man behind..

*KIA- Killed in action,   MIA- Missing in action 

The story behind this – This prose captures a search and rescue mission to bring a man from behind enemy lines. 2 parallels events are happening in this- A captured Airforce pilot is voicing his thoughts as well as the rescue team also speaks his thoughts.  Although this series is about the Indian Armed Forces, this particular post is devoid of any geographical restriction because all the Armed Forces of the world follow the motto of “Never leave a man behind.” It also speaks about the common brotherhood between the people or the various branches of the forces. This post is a much darker and advanced version of the post, which was written 4 years back. 

That post can be read here-

The Angels: My comrades