Chapter 390 Shedding Tears in Silence
Chloe had been shot twice, both bullets hitting her legs.
She wanted to carry Larry and get out of there.
But she felt the blood flowing from her legs, and she knew if she moved, she might bleed to death. The pain was excruciating with every attempt to move.
She dared not move.
She held Larry tightly, letting his unconscious body lean against her.
Free got Abigail's distress call and immediately sent in the troops.
In less than half an hour, the forces arrived in the Dragon Mountain area.
The sky was filled with helicopters.
The helicopter doors opened, ropes dropped down, and fully armed soldiers descended rapidly.
The battlefield by the shore had been cleared.
The bodies of the deceased were gathered together.
A few mercenaries stood over the barely alive Howard.
"There's… there's an army…" a trembling voice said.
Hearing this, everyone looked up.
In the distance, they saw a swarm of helicopters approaching, with numerous armed soldiers jumping out.
Seeing this, the mercenaries were completely stunned.
The leader took a deep breath, holding his gun, pointing it at Howard on the ground.
They had kept Howard as a hostage to prevent Abigail from calling for help.
But they hadn't expected the army to arrive so quickly.
Seeing the troops descend, his hand trembled, barely able to hold the gun steady.
Gunfire erupted.
The mercenaries on the shore were instantly taken out.
Seeing the army arrive, Howard felt relieved.
Soon, the area was secured by the military.
Free got off the helicopter.
He approached Howard.
Howard, pale-faced, pointed weakly toward the river, "Larry went into the water, into the underground caves. The enemy has already gone after him. Quick, go support him."
Free immediately gave the order, "Get in the water now, find him."
"Yes, sir." Thousands of soldiers plunged into the water to search.
Abigail, who had been hiding in the mountains, finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the helicopters and the troops.
She was in a sorry state, her clothes torn, her face scratched by branches, her hair disheveled.
Her pursuers were quickly taken down.
Larry was unconscious.
Chloe had lost too much blood and passed out.
But the army arrived swiftly.
They found the two in the underground caves and took them to the hospital.
Larry didn't know how long he had been asleep.
He woke up to see a white ceiling.
"Am I… dead?" he whispered, realizing he was on a ventilator.
"Larry…" A voice came.
Larry turned his head slightly.
He saw a beautiful woman in casual clothes.
He wanted to sit up, but he had no strength; even the slightest movement was difficult.
"Abigail…" He spoke weakly.
Abigail removed the ventilator from his face, adjusted the bed to let him sit up.
She held his hand tightly, rubbing his cold fingers.
"How long was I out?" Larry's voice was weak.
"Three… three days."
"That long?" Larry hadn't realized he'd been out for three days.
"How is everyone?" Larry asked.
Abigail fell silent.
"Tell me," Larry said.
Abigail finally said, "Chloe's hanging in there. She got hit twice, lost a lot of blood, but she's in critical care. Mr. Cruz is banged up but he'll pull through. But the others… they didn't make it…"
Her voice cracked.
Larry was floored.
He leaned back, staring at the white wall, images of the soldiers flashing through his mind.
Tears welled up, spilling silently down his cheeks.
"They're all… gone?"
He couldn't wrap his head around it.
Dozens of soldiers had given their lives for him.
"Larry…"
Abigail hugged him, trying to comfort him, "Don't blame yourself. They wanted you to make it."
Larry turned to her, "Have their funerals been held?"
Abigail nodded, "Free made sure they got a proper send-off."
"Take me there."
"But you're not well enough…"
Larry yanked out his IV, trying to get up.
Abigail quickly steadied him.
"I'll take you, just hang on. I'll grab a wheelchair."
"Okay." Larry whispered, sinking back onto the bed.
Abigail left the room and ran into Free, who was heading their way in his uniform.
"Abigail, what's the rush?"
"Larry's awake. He wants to visit the cemetery, see his fallen brothers. I'm getting a wheelchair."
"Go ahead."
Free waved her on and stepped into the room.
Seeing Larry lost in thought, Free approached with a smile, "Hey, you're up."
Larry turned slightly, acknowledging Free.
Free offered him a cigarette, "Want one?"
Larry shook his head, "Nah, I quit."
Since the poisoning, smoking made him sick.
"How's Mr. Cruz?"
"He's hanging in there, just needs time."
"It's my fault," Larry said, guilt-ridden.
Free dismissed it, "We're soldiers, Larry. We know the risks. You're one of us, you know that."
As a commander, Free had seen his share of loss.
It hurt, but he had to keep going.
Soon, Abigail returned with the wheelchair.
She wheeled Larry out of the hospital, heading to the soldiers' cemetery.
There were dozens of new headstones.
Larry stood from the wheelchair, looking at the fresh graves, and saluted.
They were true soldiers, true heroes.
"You gave me life, you used your lives to let me live. Rest in peace, as long as I live, I'll take care of your families."
Larry wept quietly.
Beside him, Free and Abigail stood silently.
After a while, Abigail approached, "Larry, it's getting chilly. You're still weak, let's head back."
Larry took a deep breath, sat back in the wheelchair.
Abigail pushed him away.
Free followed.
Free said, "The box you were looking for is in the cabinet next to your bed."
"Okay." Larry nodded.
If he'd known it would end like this, he never would've called those soldiers.
Free added, "After this, I've ordered tighter border security. It'll be a lot tougher for mercenaries to sneak into Sunset City again."
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