Chapter 7
1739words
The medical team's deployment period had officially ended, and the military transport plane waiting on the airport runway stood quietly, like a massive gray beast about to embark on a distant migration.
The atmosphere of the entire airport seemed somewhat somber. There weren't many people seeing us off, mainly just a few core members of the SEAL team. Mark patted our medical team leader's shoulder, offering some formulaic well-wishes.
Eva hugged me tightly, whispering in my ear: "When you get back to New York, explore Fifth Avenue for me, try on all the beautiful clothes."
Her voice carried a barely noticeable choke, and I could feel that invisible wall between her and Mark seemed to have grown a little higher.
Leo stood in front of me, silent. He wasn't wearing his imposing combat uniform, just a simple black T-shirt and military green pants, making him look less like the fierce Captain Apollo and more like the gentle Leo Kane.
We just stood there gazing at each other, the surrounding noise and voices becoming like blurred background sounds. Countless words were stuck in my throat, but in the end, they transformed into the simplest yet heaviest of promises.
"When you get back to New York, send me a message," he finally spoke, his voice a bit hoarser than usual. "I'll come find you. No matter what corner of the world I'm in, after my mission is complete, I'll come to New York to find you."
"Okay," I nodded, forcing a smile, though my eyes began to heat up uncontrollably. "You promised, don't go back on your word."
"I never break my promises," he reached out his hand, gently wiping the corner of my eye with his fingertip. That rough, slightly calloused touch spread like electricity through my entire body in an instant. "Until then, take care of yourself, Chloe."
The final boarding announcement sounded, like a command urging our separation. I walked up the boarding bridge, looking back every few steps, each step feeling like I was walking on cotton.
In the last moment before the cabin door closed, I looked back. Leo was still standing there, like a solitary sculpture, gazing at me from afar. His silhouette gradually blurred in my tearful vision. I waved to him vigorously, both as a goodbye and as a promise.
The cabin was quiet, with only the gradually increasing roar of the engines after they started.
I chose a window seat, greedily gazing at the familiar, barren land outside.
This was once a place I tried to avoid, but now because of someone, it had become a place I was reluctant to leave.
The plane began to taxi on the runway, moving faster and faster. I pressed my face against the cold window, trying to find that tiny black dot on the ground.
Just then, a sudden, violent turbulence hit without any warning.
The entire fuselage seemed to be seized by an invisible giant hand, shaking furiously. I felt as if I had been thrown into a tumble dryer, my head banging hard against the window.
The cabin was instantly filled with piercing alarms and passengers' screams, while items from the overhead compartments came crashing down.
"What's happening?" someone shouted in terror.
"Is it a missile attack?"
In the chaos, I instinctively gripped the armrests of my seat, steadying myself, forcing myself to look out the window. After just one glance, I was petrified.
In the distance, the city of Hadram was disintegrating before my eyes in a surreal manner. The ground looked like a canvas being torn apart, with enormous fissures spreading across the surface.
Buildings collapsed like dominoes, raising clouds of dust that darkened the sky. Immediately after, the airport's power system completely failed, plunging the entire world into darkness.
And at the end of that darkness and dust, in the direction of the largest refinery at the edge of the city, a massive fireball suddenly rose up, dyeing half the sky a terrifying orange-red.
Accompanied by a tremendous explosion that seemed capable of rupturing eardrums, even through the thick cabin windows, it still made my heart pound violently. The billowing thick smoke resembled a demonic hand crawling from the depths of hell, clawing and reaching toward the sky.
It was an earthquake.
A cold chill ran up my spine to the top of my head. This wasn't a drill, not a movie, but a real, devastating natural disaster. Hadram, this fragile city, had transformed into a living hell in just a matter of seconds.
The plane made an emergency stop, coming to a halt after leaving a screeching trail on the runway. The cabin doors were thrown open as the crew members directed everyone to evacuate, their voices hoarse from shouting.
I rushed off the plane with the crowd, and as soon as my feet touched the ground, I could feel the earth still trembling beneath me. The airport was completely transformed—the control tower tilted precariously, and shattered glass from the curtain walls lay scattered everywhere.
People were running around like headless flies, with cries and screams mixing together to form a requiem for the end of days.
I moved against the flow of people, frantically searching for Leo among the chaotic crowd. My heart was gripped tightly by a hand of fear, making it almost impossible to breathe. He was just outside a moment ago, he...
"Chloe!" A familiar voice rang out not far away.
I turned around abruptly to see Leo, who was also searching for me.
He was safe and sound, with only some dust on his face.
Behind him, members of the SEAL team had quickly assembled. They were no longer friends who came to see someone off, but soldiers who had instantly switched to combat mode, beginning to establish temporary security perimeters and evacuate the crowd.
We ran toward each other through the chaotic crowd. Only when he finally held me tightly in his arms did my tense nerves begin to relax a little.
I could clearly feel his intense heartbeat and the uncontrollable trembling in his arms as he exerted force.
"You're okay, thank goodness..." He buried his face in the crook of my neck, his voice hoarse beyond recognition.
But we had no time to indulge in the comfort of reunion. Urgent orders came through Leo's radio from command, instructing them to immediately end their rest and return to base urgently to assess the disaster and prepare for rescue operations.
And I, looking at the towering flames and thick smoke in the distance, watching as injured people were continuously carried out of the airport, felt something switch on inside my chest.
I broke free from his embrace and looked at him with unusually determined eyes. "Leo, I can't leave."
He froze, his blue eyes filled with confusion and concern.
"I'm a doctor," my voice wasn't loud, but it was remarkably clear amid the chaotic environment. "They need me here, and my team needs me too. We can't just leave like this."
I turned around to face my medical team members, who, like me, had shock written all over their faces, but not a trace of hesitation in their eyes. Our team leader, an experienced veteran doctor, made the same decision almost simultaneously with me.
He said to us in a resonant voice: "Everyone, emergency medical protocol activated! Take inventory of available supplies and establish a temporary aid station! We are doctors, and this is our battlefield!"
"Yes!" everyone responded in unison, their voices carrying a resolute determination to survive against all odds.
Leo looked at me deeply as I took off my casual jacket, wearing only the T-shirt underneath, and began setting up temporary tents for the wounded with my colleagues. The worry in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a complex emotion - pride, heartache, but more importantly, a profound understanding and recognition as a comrade.
He didn't try to persuade me to leave again, just walked over and stuffed a spare walkie-talkie into my hand. "Stay in touch, call me immediately in any situation."
Afterwards, he turned and left, merging into his unit that resembled a steel torrent, rushing toward the city that had already become ruins.
Leo and I, thus reunited among the broken walls and ruins, quickly separated again, each plunging into our own battlefields. The rescue operation unfolded comprehensively in a chaotic yet efficient manner.
The collapsed refinery became the top priority for rescue efforts, with numerous workers buried there and the constant risk of secondary explosions. The SEAL team was responsible for the most dangerous areas, while our medical team established a front-line first aid station in the relatively safer perimeter.
The wounded were continuously brought out from the ruins like a tide, with wails and moans filling my ears. I mechanically performed debridement, bandaging, hemostasis, and stabilization, my mind highly focused, not even having time to feel fear or fatigue.
I don't know how much time had passed when, after treating a worker with a broken leg, I straightened up to find a pair of military boots stopped in front of me.
I lifted my head and saw Leo covered in dust. He looked exhausted, with a fresh bloody scratch on his face, but his eyes were still as sharp as an eagle's. He didn't speak, just crouched down, and that's when I noticed that the laces of my sneakers had come undone.
Amidst the ruins filled with death and wailing, among all the tense and busy rescue personnel, Leo crouched in front of me as if no one else existed, and with his hands covered in dust and blood, tied a supremely secure knot for me.
He stood up, tidied my messy bangs, and said in a tone that brooked no argument: "Be careful, Chloe, don't get yourself hurt."
I looked at him and nodded firmly.
In that moment, we were no longer lovers in the heat of romance, but comrades who could entrust their backs to each other.
But neither of us realized that the real test was just beginning.
When Leo turned and rushed toward the collapse site, a strange voice suddenly came through his walkie-talkie:
"Captain Apollo, remember me?"
That voice was cold yet familiar, carrying a hint of morbid delight.
Leo's steps abruptly halted, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
