Daniel Jurado

            Boom! The explosives activate and breach the door. The squad rushes in around the debris. The room is empty. The commander attempts a door to see that it’s locked. He tries another; it opens. “Let’s move, that explosion had to tip off someone.” They go through the door and into a long hallway. “Be on guard, men. We’re going to split up. Groups of three.” They split into four groups and get on their way. Group two goes tries a door. It’s locked so to solve the dilemma, the lieutenant shoots the doorknob and gets admonished by the commander.

            “What are you doing?” yelled the commander.

            “Sir, the door was locked,” stammered the soldier.

            “You might as well have yelled here we are!”

            “Sorry sir, it won’t happen again.”

            “It better not.”

            They continue to two other rooms, but when the commander opens a door, there is an explosion.

            “Man down, man down!”

            The team checks his vitals.

            “He’s alive but unconscious. Someone has to try and salvage this mission.”

            “Let me,” said one soldier. “I’ll commandeer this.”

            “Any objections? Okay, team one, stay here with the commander.”

            Teams two, three, and four go on. They manage to muddle through a few more rooms and find an elevator. Soldiers are predisposed to not go into elevators. Teams two and four diffuse to find a stair well. Team two finds luck and calls the others over to go down. Downstairs, they open into a hallway. The walk a few feet and a large cloud of smoke consumes the hallway. An ambush!