audio audioduration (s) 0.56 37.5 | text stringlengths 15 280 | speaker_id int64 1 1 |
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It was like playing the old whackamole game. | 1 | |
Now I could make out the layout of the attack point. | 1 | |
It was crude at best and it was completely indefensible. | 1 | |
Who were these guys? | 1 | |
Could they really be that stupid? | 1 | |
I heard a twig snap behind me and I whirled around to take out the enemy. | 1 | |
He'd made it out of the ditch and he was hopping his way over to the command vehicle. | 1 | |
I waved him on and winced when Omak raised his rifle and shot something to my right. | 1 | |
I heard the body slip to the ground and Omak did too, grunting in pain. | 1 | |
Bolting from cover, I closed the distance as fast as I could. | 1 | |
My compatriot was in the open, a dead target for any enemy smart enough to take a shot. | 1 | |
I was just bending over to grab him when he pointed skyward. | 1 | |
It was unnecessary. | 1 | |
I heard the hovering engines, and then a light shone down like a tractor beam. | 1 | |
''Put down your weapons,'' came a speaker's amplified voice from inside the aircraft. | 1 | |
Omak wasn't scared. | 1 | |
In fact, he looked at me and then up at the bird as if to say we could take it. | 1 | |
''No go, buddy.'' | 1 | |
I shook my head and dropped my weapon. | 1 | |
Omak took the cue and dropped his as well. | 1 | |
''Put your hands over your heads,'' ordered the voice. | 1 | |
Omak got up on his own, and we both stood there, squinting into the sunlike beam. | 1 | |
The black aircraft hovered overhead for a long moment, and I wondered if they were calling back to headquarters for permission to fire on us. | 1 | |
It didn't look like we'd left anyone alive near the mortars, and no one disembarked from the command vehicle. | 1 | |
Something fell from the black bird and clanked on the ground. | 1 | |
Put the cuffs on, said the voice. | 1 | |
Was this for real? | 1 | |
If they were going to kill us, why didn't they get it over with? | 1 | |
Before I could respond, I saw Omak's hand shift. | 1 | |
I looked over and saw that he was giving the pilot the international screwyou signal. | 1 | |
I didn't want to die, but I sure as hell didn't want to get captured. | 1 | |
Therefore, in the tradition of soldiers supporting their brothers in arms, I gave the same salute. | 1 | |
I said put the... The voice was cut off by a thunderous boom that sent us flying. | 1 | |
Before I blacked out, I saw, with astonishment and fear, the winged menace as it fell out of the sky, careening directly toward us. | 1 | |
Chapter Fifteen | 1 | |
I came to slowly. | 1 | |
First to recover was my sense of smell. | 1 | |
Industrial strength cleaner with a hint of lilac, maybe? | 1 | |
It reminded me of Jane in the cabin. | 1 | |
She would pick lilacs and place the flowers in a chipped stone bowl. | 1 | |
Nature's air freshener after the apocalypse. | 1 | |
At least, that's what I used to call it. | 1 | |
And then Jane would roll her eyes. | 1 | |
If I kept pressing, the result was a playful slap. | 1 | |
Jane, where was she? | 1 | |
How were the kids? | 1 | |
And then I began to hear sounds, muffled at first like I was underwater, but over time the sounds became clearer. | 1 | |
I heard myself moan. | 1 | |
Next, I began to experience pain, not suddenly, but gradually I felt pain. | 1 | |
It spread from my toes, up my legs, gripped my midsection, and then shot out my arms. | 1 | |
I grimaced, which only worsened the pain. | 1 | |
Then I felt something warm on my arm. | 1 | |
There were more muffled sounds. | 1 | |
I tried to speak, but the words sounded hollow and echoed like pingpong balls in my head. | 1 | |
I was tired, so very tired, like I hadn't slept in months. | 1 | |
I let that feeling take over my very being, downward, spiraling further down. | 1 | |
When I regained consciousness, my first sense was the smell of flowers again. | 1 | |
I had the passing thought that maybe I was dead, but that couldn't be. | 1 | |
My brain was as muddled as before, and just for the hell of it, I tried to open my eyes. | 1 | |
They worked, and when they creaked open, the light that assaulted my senses wasn't too overwhelming. | 1 | |
I heard muffled sounds at my side, so I turned my head. | 1 | |
Initially, all I could see was a blur, but it got substantially better by the second. | 1 | |
Hearing didn't clear as well as my vision, but when the view cleared, I almost passed out. | 1 | |
My beautiful Jane. | 1 | |
I tried to talk, tried to say something, but it felt like I had cotton balls in my mouth. | 1 | |
Syllables wouldn't form. | 1 | |
Jane, I tried to say. | 1 | |
This time I heard a familiar voice, light and giggly. | 1 | |
I turned my head toward the sound and I felt a small hand caress my face. | 1 | |
I smiled and was rewarded by more caresses. | 1 | |
Mom, he's awake, came Sybil's excited voice. | 1 | |
Yeah, he's awake, said Andrew. | 1 | |
Awake, repeated Charlie. | 1 | |
I eased my eyes open carefully, the blur clearing faster this time. | 1 | |
There they were, my beautiful children. | 1 | |
My children were the center of my life. | 1 | |
The time I had spent with them was the best investment I'd made in my life. | 1 | |
I tried to reach out to them, but | 1 | |
My arms wouldn't move. | 1 | |
For one brief, terrifying moment, I thought I was paralyzed. | 1 | |
Oh God, not that. | 1 | |
But then Jane was there. | 1 | |
You're in restraints, she said. | 1 | |
Here, let me take them off. | 1 | |
I felt immediate relief, and as soon as one hand could move, I reached out to Jane and then the kids. | 1 | |
Everyone was crying, especially me. | 1 | |
I really had thought I'd never see them again. | 1 | |
Jane explained to me that the doctor was affectionately called Dr. Plato by the HQ inhabitants. | 1 | |
He declared that I was on the mend. | 1 | |
I still didn't like him, but I was exceedingly happy I would soon be able to leave the clinic. | 1 | |
'You've still got some hearing loss, but with some care and the therapy I've prescribed, I'm reasonably optimistic that you'll regain full use of both ears.' | 1 | |
His diagnosis complete, Dr. Plato turned to Jane with that same admiring look that I'd hated the moment we first met. | 1 | |
'I've got to tell you, Jane's been a real help around here.' | 1 | |
If I'm not careful, she may take my job. | 1 | |
I saw Jane blush, and that made me want to jump from the exam table and throttle the asskissing physician. | 1 | |
Does this mean I can leave? | 1 | |
Dr. Plato's gaze lingered on Jane before realizing I'd asked a question. | 1 | |
Sure, I'd recommend a wheelchair ride up to your quarters, but I don't see why you can't sleep in your own bunk tonight. | 1 | |
Thanks, Doc, but I don't think a wheelchair is necessary. | 1 | |
I slipped off the table and almost fainted, but I wasn't going to give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing me fall. | 1 |
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