“What does it look like?” Luke said.

“Uh, about twenty… scratch that. Thirty fighters or thereabouts, emerging from two stone buildings, and converging on a cluster of tents.”

“We’re in those tents!” Luke shouted.

“Roger that. Keep your heads down, boys. It’s about to get hot down there.”

“Watch the tents!” Ed screamed.

A few seconds later, a sound came. It was low at first, building and becoming louder, a whistling sound. Then it was a shriek, still coming, impossibly loud.

Still coming. It split the day apart. Luke tore his helmet off and covered his ears.

It screamed by overhead. Somewhere nearby, an explosion rent the air.

BA-BOOOOM.

A blast of heat roiled the air inside the tent.

Luke crawled like a worm toward the edge of the tent. He pulled a canvas flap up an inch from the ground.

Outside, men were running. One of the low outbuildings was on fire. The bad guys were no longer interested in Luke and Ed. They knew what was above their heads, and they knew how bad it was. There was nowhere to run, but they tried anyway.

The sound of a chopper’s rotor blades beat the ground as it made a low pass. An ugly blat of automatic gunfire ripped the sky as its mini-gun opened up. Luke saw men come apart as they ran, arms, legs, and heads flying in different directions, foundations spraying blood before falling to the ground.

He looked away.

Another Hydra rocket sounded, the missile whistling, then shrieking.

Luke rolled away from the tent edge and curled into a ball. He saw that Ed had already done so.

BA-BOOOOOM.

Now another mini-gun opened up.

The choppers were up there, just above them, clearing this space. He prayed they didn’t clear this tent by accident.

Luke went into a vague state of mind. It almost seemed like he was dreaming. Somewhere, Becca lay on an operating table, giving birth to his son. Somewhere, Martinez lay in a hospital bed, begging Luke to kill him. Somewhere, Captain Ahab’s ship was sunk by a gigantic white whale.

At some point, the shooting and bombing stopped.

Quiet descended, and Luke could hear the sound of the desert wind again. Outside, it was evening, and the sky was dark, and it was also red, yellow, and orange. He could hear the crackling of flames.

“Ground Hog…” the radio said. “Come in, Ground Hog. This is Viper One. Viper One, calling Ground Hog. Stone, are you alive? Stone!”

Luke crawled to the radio.

Across the way, Ed was still curled into a ball, staring at him. Ed was smart. He still had his helmet on.

Luke picked up the radio.

“Viper One, this is Ground Hog. We are alive and well.”