Insurgency Read Online Free PDF Page A

like a rag doll under him. Realising what he was doing but not knowing why or how to stop, Black sank his teeth into the sand encrusted neck of the Taliban fighter. He bit down and then felt the blood seep into his mouth as he sucked at the artery. His eyes rolled and his vision reddened. At that moment in time the heat, the exhaustion and the danger vanished. He could hear no sound, could feel no heat from the sun and most importantly did not register the first round from an AK47 tearing into him.
    Black was aware of the Toyota carrying on for a few feet before it skidded to a halt. He stood and turned. Two men with Kalashnikovs ran at him. Firing on the move, they peppered the dirt around him. A second, third and then a fourth round hit Black causing him to convulse but he did not fall. Teeth bared, he sprinted directly at them. As the men closed Black fell as more rounds entered his flesh. For a moment his vision blurred, the beating of his heart was loud in his head then he rolled over and sprung to his feet as the first man came within striking distance. Black landed a fist on the man’s bearded chin which caused the fighter’s head to snap back. As the insurgent fell, Black grabbed his Kalashnikov and cut down the last remaining man at point blank range. Black steadied his breathing as he went to each man in turn and double tapped their skulls to make sure they were dead. He collected their weapons and climbed into the cab of the Toyota. There he saw several bottled of water. He grabbed one and poured the contents into his mouth. Almost immediately he retched as the water mixed with the blood of his first kill, projected out of his mouth as a crimson cloud. Black poured the rest of the water over his head and hands, washing away some of the blood and sand. It was then that he adjusted the rear-view mirror and saw that his eyes were red and his canine teeth were protruding from his mouth. As he stared in disbelief, images of the thing that had attacked him in the cave flashed before him. He shook his head and slapped his face. Heat exhaustion did strange things to people including causing hallucinations, he told himself. He screwed his eyes shut and then as he opened them saw that both eyes and teeth had returned to normal. He put the Toyota into drive and headed for Firebase Python.

TWO: Fire Base Python, Pasaband District, Ghowr Province, Afghanistan
    Gonzalez glared at the Russian whose requests he had been ordered to follow. Rockbridge had told him a sanitized version of the truth, that he and his team may have been exposed to a biological agent. After Gonzalez had pushed, Rockbridge had admitted that it may be Ebola.
    “General.”
    “Good evening Sargent. This will not take long. All I require is a sample of blood. Once I have that Vaha will analyse it and we shall know within minutes if you are or are not infected.”
    Gonzalez looked at the dark haired soldier who accompanied Dratshev. “Vaha? Strange type of name.”
    “It is Chechen.” Vaha stated and turned away.
    “If I could have your arm?” Dratshev held out his hand.
    “So are you a scientist or something?” Gonzalez rolled up his sleeve and thrust his arm out.
    “Something.” Dratshev looked at the veins pulsating. He plunged a needle into the American’s arm and drew a sample of blood. “Next.”
    Gonzalez moved away holding a piece of cotton wool to his forearm as Miller entered the room and prepared to have his blood taken.
    Rockbridge appeared in the doorway. “Did it hurt that much Gonzalez?”
    “Funny.” Gonzalez started to walk away then changed his mind. “The Russian is going to the cave. I am formally requesting permission to accompany him in order to retrieve Black’s body, sir.”
    “No.”
    Gonzalez felt his face flush with resentment. “Maybe it wasn’t a lesson they taught you at West Point sir, but you never leave a man behind.”
    Rockbridge let his lips curl in amusement. “If your screening is clear, you will