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Jason's death was painful and slow. He was pretty sure god or the universe or some higher power was mocking him right now because no death needed to be this brutal. Sure, his brain had blacked out the moment the creature's jaws closed on his abdomen but he still distantly felt the agony of being pulled every which way like a bone to a dog. He heard Salim's desperate fighting very close to him, probably trying to fend off the vampires that hadn't been drawn towards Jason's dying body being thrown around.
All this just because Jason had tried to save Salim, the Iraqi who was supposed to be his enemy, when he could have just left him. Despite this, he found that one of the only thoughts in his mind as his vision darkened was that he hoped Salim went faster and suffered less than Jason had.
His last thoughts were a prayer to God asking him to keep the rest of Jason's team safe in the face of the consequences that happened because of reckless decisions that could never be taken back.
……….
He was falling, that was the first thing he recognized when he came to. The second was the sound of rocks crumbling and hitting the ground, the earth splitting apart. His back hit the rocky floor with a thud and when he looked around at the cavern he was in, he felt a sense of deja vu, a sense that he should be dead now and never should have opened his eyes again.
“The fuck,” he muttered, squinting into the darkness of the crumbling cave not lit up by the overhead sun. “What in God's name-” he stood up and quickly turned on his flash light “did we get ourselves into?” He whipped his head around to pinpoint where the ominous creaks and screeches were coming from. Just as he opened his mouth to yell and locate his team, he heard the distant voice of Nick, who seemed to have the same idea as him, yelling out for Jason or Merwin.
His feet moved quickly through the dark tunnels almost like Jason's mind knew exactly where to go. He continued his call and response with Nick barely focusing on what steps he was taking until he reached another open area where he was greeted with the familiar face of his friend and a subsequent flash of light in his eyes from the others flashlight.
Nick's eyes met his, the other's eyes seemed to soften with relief, though Jason also noticed the flashes of fear in them at every echoing sound.
Jason didn't think too hard about it, the other marine had been weird and distant lately, his mind always elsewhere, this was probably just another product of that. Instead, he jumped into analyzing and formulating a plan to regroup him and Nick with the team and get out of this Iraqi infested place.
“Where in God's green earth have we landed?” He muttered, looking around for any possible exit from this place. When he found none he decided the best plan of action was to trek through this cavern and find everyone else the old fashioned way.
“Eyes wide, Sargent Kay!” He barked when he noticed the zoned out look in the other's eyes, very clearly not listening to any of the words coming out of Jason's mouth.
“I saw something,” was the first thing that Nick said when he decided to start talking, “it wasn't human,” he continued, his voice rising slightly in volume. Jason sighed, annoyance rising in his gut, just fucking great, first Nick wasn't himself and now he was seeing things. “You're not yourself Sargent Kay, this sure as hell isn't a weapon silo but still, the only things crawling in here are a whole bunch of Iraqis,” He said, fighting to keep his voice calm like he was talking to the wild animals he used to hunt.
Minutes later when Merwin's scream echoed through the chambers, it felt familiar, not familiar in a warm and comforting way but in a way that sent ice down his spine, cold and dangerous.
His knife whacked through the rope holding tight on Merwin's ankle and with every sound it made his brain screamed again and again, warning Jason of someone, or… something. Now wasn't the time to get cold feet though, ‘get yourself together Kolchek’ he forcefully thought as Merwin finally hit the floor, free from his restraints.
Screeches echoed around them and then– Clarice was gone
The two of them dragged Merwin along, blood pooling behind them leaving a trail of it, all of them just trying to escape the thing chasing them.
He fought to inject the morphine into his comrade and then– Merwin was gone, in a flash by something as simple as getting strangled by Nick
And they still were running, the creature chasing them un-relentlessly, left with no time to grieve, and the deja vu still lurking, drawing out an exact path to run through as if he had already lived this.
He felt a danger stirring in his gut from the moment the two of them had rounded a corner and escaped from the pursuer, his jaw tightened a fraction when his eye caught a motionless figure, bleeding out, dead. “Keep your nerve Kolchek,” he muttered to himself. Just because a stupid gut feeling told him that he didn't want to see the face on the body, doesn't mean it held any truth.
Nick's breath hitched behind him when he too saw the body, and no matter how much Jason wanted to deny it, they both knew who it was.
Eric, dead on the floor of the cave and teetering over the edge of what looked like an abyss, a bullet right through his skull.
Jason looked back at Nick who couldn't meet his eyes, only looking at the body of Eric, Eric who was supposed to retire honorably years from now, not die in a dank barely lightened cavern with the killer nowhere to be found. He felt bile rise in his throat, everything felt familiar, every turn and action he made in this hell was ridden with deja vu. ‘Focus Kolchek,’ his conscious reminded him, always unrelenting.
(though it probably didn't help much that the voice in his conscious sounded suspiciously like Eric)
They stood there just the two of them in silence until they were forced to move by an ever nearing screech.
The next hour, or hours, he didn't really have a way to keep time, were spent being hunted by a pair of Iraqis, well more like one Iraqi who had a loyal follower listening to most of his commands while simultaneously trying to lend an olive branch to the Americans, playing both sides say to speak.
Salim was his name, and when his commander died, mauled to death by the creatures (vampires, demons, Salim says), he joined their small group in pursuit of finding Rachel and finding a way out.
They found Rachel minutes? Hours? Later. They finally could escape, finally reunited with the remaining member of their team.
So close to the surface and yet so far, Jason fucked it. They were climbing the ropes up to the surface, he was ready to get out of this deadly and somehow familiar place.
His hands gripped the rope, getting ready to climb the rope when he looked towards the darkness beside him, something not right, all his instincts screaming to move, dodge, do something.
He ignored his brain and chopped it up to paranoia. Future him in heaven would be cursing him out for this dumb decision. A sickly body lunged from the waterfall, faster than lightning and claws outstretched.
Faster than he could blink, talons met his throat, his last view of this world being the face of Clarice, a pale and undeniably dead Clarice tearing his throat out, ready for a meal.
He should have reacted faster, he was in the military for fuck sakes, but no amount of what if's or should have's could reverse his stupidity. He felt the tear of some important piece of his body and pain shooting up his body, all of his nerves felt as if they were on fire.
Stars in his vision— then nothing.
…………
He was falling
He hit the ground with a thump and when he looked around, panic seized him.
Darkness, surrounded by cavern, dirt crumbling around him. Familiar, everything so so familiar
‘It was just a dream,’ he tried to reason. The brain was a weird thing, it could have created a very realistic dream.
It has to be a dream, there was no reasonable explanation.
It was harder to reason when right on cue, Nick's voice sounded through the darkness for Jason.
Harder to reason when he knew the exact moment that Clarice would get pulled into the darkness, and that he knew to forcefully take Nick's hand away from Merwin's mouth, preventing suffocation.
His feet hit the ground faster than he ever thought they could, Nick not far behind him, half dragging a still injured and half conscious Merwin behind him. His breaths came in short gasps, screaming for a break but ever too aware of the approaching threat of the monster (vampire?)
Fuck. A rocky tunnel stood in front of him, blocking their path completely, only leaving a small opening “We have to go around,” he quickly whispered to Nick, trying not to attract any unwanted attention. His head hurt and a small feeling of annoyance burst in his chest when Nick offered his idea, “going through would be faster.”
He knew Merwin wouldn't be able to get through the small sharp rocks in his condition and Nick should've known that too. “Follow me,” he said without looking back, his voice slightly louder, as he went with his initial plan, the longer but safer way.
He quickly came to regret this decision, the three of them pinned in a corner, the creature's clicking sounds only meters away as it searched for its prey. The three men kept their breathing as quiet as they could, Jason's heart was pounding in his chest and he yearned to take a deep breath for the first time in minutes.
He didn't know who, but somebody must have made a sound, a slight movement, a rustle of clothing because faster than he could blink, Merwin was pulled through a square opening in the wall, pulled until he couldn't be seen anymore. The last memory of him in the two Marine's brains was him being crumpled like a piece of paper, neck immediately snapping, before disappearing into the darkness.
A sense of failure rushed through him and an image of five candles flicker through his head, a man smirking at him, before he was on his feet and running again, the creature luckily nowhere in sight.
They were nearing the exit of this tunnel and into an open part when they heard the sound of the Colonel’s panicked voice and Rachel shouting. He sprung into action the moment he saw the other two's predicament, body filled with adrenaline, his brain too foggy to make rational decisions. Eric held tight onto a rope, his heels dug into the rock and soil underneath him, although he couldn't see Rachel, he could assume by the rope dangling over the edge that she was hanging precariously over a drop to god knows where.
So close, they had been so close when a sharp snap interrupted them, halfway through pulling Eric up and away from the edge. Jason stared at the edge where Rachel had just been hanging over, something uneasy stirring in his gut, despite the almost hysterical Eric and a barely holding his anger and tears in Nick beside him, he didn't feel as sad as he should be, felt as if mourning her was unnecessary.
She wasn't dead. Both his heart and brain knew this, no matter how crazy it seemed seeing that he had just plunged to what should have been her death.
And that scared him. Because how would he have the knowledge of whether Rachel survived the fall or not?
Rachel was a fighter, he told Eric
Rachel can take care of herself, he told Nick
He didn't tell himself anything, his belief in Rachel's survival came solely from a gut feeling and a whisper in his brain, he didn't know why he felt this way (he probably did, he just didn't want to put it into words), but he trusted it.
Joey's voice continued to haunt the path they were walking down no matter how much the three of them called out to him. It made no sense, Joey had died, Nick had sworn on it, so this couldn't be him, but if it wasn't him then what was it?
There was no logical explanation and so Jason kept trudging forward, Semper Fi, even if there was the smallest chance in hell of Joey being alive he was still going to try his darndest to get to him. Leave no man behind.
In hindsight this wasn't his brightest idea, Jason had kept moving towards the voice even when Nick and even Eric warned against it and now here they were, Jason and Eric separated from Nick, his brother in everything but blood, by something as simple as collapsed rocks.
He would never admit it but fear was creeping into his mind.
Fear for Nick.
Fear for Rachel.
Fear for Eric.
The rational part of his brain was failing him and he didn't know why. Maybe it was Joey's voice bouncing off the walls all around them without a source, or the screeches of unholy creatures coming from every dark corner, or the fact that Iraqis that had it out for their heads were still roaming around. But nonetheless shivers were wracking his spine, sending ice through his body. His heart was racing, adrenaline pumping.
They had found Nick minutes later, relatively unharmed and looking more worried than before. One of the creatures lay at his feet, dead, and behind him stood an Iraqi, not threatening anyone or trying to shoot anyone, but Jason's already adrenaline filled brain and body reacted.
He raised his gun, shouting commands. He should have neutralized the situation, tried to calm everyone down, but instead he immediately threatened the other soldier, his brain screaming ‘danger, danger, danger!’.
It was too late to go back when the Iraqi also raised his gun, training it on Eric.
His brain was already fucked, fucked from these creatures down here and fucked from the Iraqis roaming this cave and the lands on top of this place.
He shot
The bullet flew through the air, almost in slow motion before-
It hit the rocks directly to the left of Salim.
He froze, trying to remember how exactly he knew that name and when nothing came to the forefront of his mind, he subtly cracked his knuckles trying to fend off the sudden onslaught of worry.
Nevertheless, he had bigger problems than a random name popping up into his head.
He missed.
He had one chance and he missed. The bullet had barely even made the cavern rumble when it hit the wall, no less hitting the Iraqi.
Before any of his comrades could finish what Jason had started, the enemy's own bullet fired, and he didn't miss.
One moment Eric stood beside Jason and the other he was on the ground, hole right in his forehead and bleeding, really fucking bleeding.
He was dead the moment he had hit the ground, Jason could tell.
He turned to shoot once again at the man, but the enemy was gone, leaving only a dead soldier in his wake. Jason's chest tightened, red creeping into the edges of his vision, this had been his fault, if he had aimed correctly or just hadn't shot for God's sake, their colonel would still be alive.
He shook himself back into reality, and pulled Nick away, back into the darkness, away from ever approaching creatures and away from that dead body.
“I'd feel a lot safer with a gun,” the Iraqi blatantly said when Rachel had tried talking to him, the Iraqi Captain right beside his partner in a similar tied up situation, no doubt muttering curses towards the Americans under his breath.
“No chance in hell,” Jason simply said, before returning his focus to keeping a lookout for any signs of the demons sneaking up on them
Clarice had been coughing up a lung, skin unnaturally pale, but Rachel had refused to let her be put down or abandoned which led them to here, the Iraqi leader with his throat torn out and a dead Nick, his skull crushed like an ant that had been stepped on, killed by something that wasn't quite human but also wasn't fully vampire.
Too distracted by the hoard of creatures ambushing the small group and a turned Clarice who had a particular hunger for blood, they hadn't noticed Nick in a headlock until it was too late, dead and clutching Joey's cross in his hands like a starving man with food.
The creatures had taken their numbers from six to five to four, and finally to three
Fear For Eric
Fear for Nick
Fear for Rachel
Their small group stood in the desolate cavern, Rachel holding back tears, still crouched over Nick's body, now holding the cross to her chest. Salim (he had finally learned. No matter what his subconscious said, Jason has never heard that name in his lifetime) stood with numb eyes, still looking like the most capable but a new hint of grief shone in his eyes
Jason stood there stoic and on edge, ‘fucking focus Kolchek’ repeated like a mantra in his mind for about the thousandth time. He wanted to grieve, his heart burning, he had just lost his best friend, his brother in arms for God's sake.
He didn't allow himself that though, he simply stood at a grieving Rachel's side for support like the havoc and death didn't faze him at all.
He needed to be strong.
“Is your consciousness clear Jason?”
Rachel had died, she had somehow gotten bitten at one point and seeing what had happened to Clarice and the chaos she had caused, decided it was the perfect time to use the white phosphorus they had brought along.
“The vampires must be getting close”
The two of them stood there in that cave for a while, Jason wanted to be strong but he couldn't convince his legs to move or his vocal cords to work and so he stood there just staring. The body was unrecognizable, mangled everywhere, her face almost completely melted off, the expressions that could still be distinguished were scary peaceful, like she had already made peace with death.
He had lost them all. He didn't care anymore.
“We need to strike from the inside, blow those demons to bits”
He had left Salim for dead and travelled back to the surface alone.
Jason stood unmoving, eyes trained on the sky, the moon moving in front of the sun, the eclipse was approaching and the creatures knew it. He tried to fight, he wasn't going to lay down and let his team's death all be for nothing. He was tired though, and deep down he knew even if he lived, the universe wouldn't take that as an answer.
Jason's deja vu told him to step left, he stepped left, swing, duck, retreat, repeat.
Jason's deja vu told him to swing, he stepped back.
Claws pierce his back, spinal cord immediately split into two.
“Oorah!”
………..
The last candle was blown out.
It lit all five again.
……….
He was falling, his back hitting hard against the rock under him.
He couldn't deny it anymore, this wasn't a dream or deja vu, this was the universe fucking with him.
He didn't know why he was in a time loop or how to get out, but surely it would be simpler to survive and figure out why this was happening now that he knew what to expect.
Right?
Wrong.
When he acknowledged the vampires instead of brushing Nick off, they had stopped to talk about it, and when they got to where Merwin had always been hanging, and Clarice always shouting in annoyance, they were already gone, taken by the creatures. Too slow.
They had found Eric alive and well, though the same couldn't be said for Rachel. The rope had snapped again, she had fallen at a slightly different angle than usual and had gotten impaled by a stagnate. Too slow.
Joey's voice rang through the halls.
every instinct in his mind screamed at him for betraying the kid that was like a brother to him. The three of them all ignored the disturbing sounds, walking straight past the tunnels the voice was coming from.
that had to be Joey so why weren't they saving him? (it wasn't Joey, never was, never will be)
His first burst of luck was when they had the confrontation with Salim. Jason remembered the past run through and forced himself to think this time, try to talk civilly before resorting to guns and weapons. Salim had run away the moment the Marines got distracted talking to Nick but nobody had gotten shot, he would consider that a win if he did say so himself.
The screeches echoed from the tunnel outside the barricaded temple. They hadn't tied Salim up this time, Eric reasoned that they needed his help and for once Jason agreed with him, he wanted to get as many of them out as possible, it may not matter he had realized beforehand, he had already failed at keeping them all alive, but may as well test his options.
The Iraqi that had usually accompanied Salim was nowhere in sight and when Jason had asked about it he was pinned under Salim's suspicious gaze “how do you know about Dar?” He growled and Jason realized he may have already fucked up, apparently the other Iraqi hadn't been brought up yet and he had no reason to know that there had been 2 Iraqis.
“Colonel King had brought up an Iraqi shooting at him, I simply was assuming you were traveling together,” he coldly said, praying Eric had indeed brought up being shot at and he didn't seem insane.
“He's dead, mauled by those demons,” Salim responded in an equally cold tone, though Jason caught grief creeping in his tone. He nodded and turned away to continue exploring the cave, not wanting to dig himself into a deeper hole.
He felt eyes on his back and a hand landed on his shoulder, “I never ment-,” Eric began before stopping mid speech due to the sound of sharp claws tapping against the cave walls and floors, a scrape of the vampire's nails trying to break their barricade that sounded closer than ever.
Saved by the bell– or by the demons trying to kill them for dinner.
“Is your conscience clear Jason?” Salim had asked when he had noticed Jason's lack of responses.
He had been planning on responding the exact same way as in the past ‘the vampires are probably close’ vague, simple, no need for emotions. But then for the first time he looked into Salim's curious eyes and decided fuck it, if this all went wrong no one but Jason would remember.
“Green zone. The check point,” he swallowed anxiety bubbling in his chest for unknown reasons. “Nick and I were caught in traffic, the checkpoint had been hit before by suicide bombers. There was a woman, she was carrying a bag, fuck.” He was tempted to stop, he didn't know why he was revealing all this to an enemy but he had rambled and now was living to regret it
“Tell me,” the other simply said, no anger in his voice, just a firmness that signaled he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
Memories rushed back, ones that he would've rathered to not deal with along with stress of this timeloop or whatever. “I ordered, I ordered her to stop. Loud and clear, but she didn't, just kept on walking.”
“I had to make the call, Nick.. shot her dead,” he said, akin to a kid admitting to scraping his dad's car . He expected anger, betrayal, something but when he looked at Salim's face it was a pure poker face, the only thing showing was concern. For whom? Jason didn't know.
After moments of silence, Salim spoke again, “What was in the bag?”
“Groceries.”
Silence
“I don't understand, why didn't she stop?” the older shook his head, confusion on his face.
This was it, the part that kept him awake at nights and had stuck in the pit of his stomach ever since “She didn't hear me, she had fucking headphones on.”
Salim's mouth opened to ask another question but Jason had already switched his brain off, answering without thinking.
“We can't just wait around, we need to go into that city and hunt them out ourselves,” now Salim was speaking Jason's language. Albeit, with a suicidal plan, but he just wanted to get away from this talk of emotions, and his rattiling regret ridden brain.
Explosions shook the cavern's walls, screeches from the beasts echoing as they died in a snap. He should have been overjoyed, they all should have been, a large part of the creatures were dead and their cocoons completely gone wiped off the face of the earth along with their offspring
He wasn't though. All he could focus on was the fact that Nick wasn't appearing with his raised fist and a grin on his face like he was supposed to.
And he never did.
Speared through the chest, one wrongly timed movement had all it took for the ancient one to snap its head towards Nick and throw the spread at lightning speed.
Nick had no weapon.
No chance to run or dodge.
One second he was alive and the next he was dead, leaving the explosion as his last legacy.
And then there were three.
three of them running from almost certain death, when it should have been five of them.
They shouldn't have been in this godforsaken situation anyways, but Jason would be damned if he wasn't going to try and get the other two out of here even if it cost him his life.
(It probably didn't matter anyways, if the universe wanted him to get them all out he had already failed, again)
“Semper fuckin fi,” those had been the last words spoken to Eric before Jason sprinted off to help Salim. Eric had been convinced it was suicide to go in there and try to help the Iraqi and it probably was but he wasn't going to live with the thought of abandoning Salim again especially of this scene kept popping up through every loop.
They fought like they had been training together for years, in a sense it felt like it had been years down in these caves and Jason and Salim had quickly learned each other's fighting techniques against the vampires.
They fought hard, they had a chance to get out. An opening left by the vampires gave them both hope. Jason was so tired, his legs felt like a new bone was breaking with every step but he ran side by side with Salim, so close.
‘Ha! Not a suicide mission,’ he thought as they neared the exit of this pavalon
‘Take that Eric!’ the back of his brain screamed, so close, just a few more steps.
Salim's cry rang out, shouting Jason's name seconds too late. With a sickening squelch the same weapon that had caused Nick's demise buried itself into his back and through his chest.
So close and yet so far.
………..
2 candles remaining.
All five flames burst back good as new.
…………
Merwin had died along with Clarice, Jason didn't even know if they could survive.
Eric was sobbing just like last loop, Rachel gone but both of them were alive.
Nick kept persevering, never falling to those vampires.
Rachel came back injured but alive and for the first time without Clarice in tow.
They were surviving, finally hanging on for the first time.
“There's no way for him to get back to us,” Nick said, his hand on Jason's shoulder. He didn't want to leave Salim, he really didn't, but with the elevator right there and his whole team alive it felt tempting.
The other marines waited for him to make his decision but their impatience wafted off of them in waves without them needing to say a word.
Finally Jason decided, he took a deep breath and walked towards the elevator not daring to look back at where Salim was fighting for his life less he changed his mind. Silence filled his mind on the way up, not even Nick's “Oorah” evoked happiness in him, he felt numb from all the regrets. The sun should have felt like victory but it just left the taste of ash in his mouth knowing what happened next.
The moon overtook the sun and the four of them were back to the fight of their lives. Death was right on their heels five minutes into the eclipse but Jason finally felt hope when gunfire went off all around him. Their military support had finally arrived.
He felt his eyes growing heavy in the helo, maybe he had finally done it he rationed, maybe he didn't need to keep Salim or Merwin or Clarice alive to escape god’s punishment for him.
Sleep finally overtook him and tried to convince himself he had done it.
……….
He was falling.
……….
This time, Jason simply walked past Nick and tugged him down the tunnel he knew all too well, they didn't have time to talk right now, he needed to at least try to save Merwin and Clarice before it was too late.
Nick's confused voice rang behind him the whole way, even turning to annoyance halfway through, “I saw something Jason! Listen to me damn it, there is something down here with us besides the Iraqi soldiers, where the fuck are we even going?”
“I believe you,” was all Jason said as they neared the opening of the cavern the others should be, he could sense the Sargent about to ask another question but everything cut off when a familiar yell and following swears echoed through the tunnel, he picked up the pace almost moving at a jog until he saw the two figures in a familiar predicament.
His hands flowed in a familiar motion, cut the rope strangling Merwin's ankle, break the others fall if only to not aggravate the wounds and cause him to bleed out before they could even take the morphine out, inspect the wounds, run for his, Nick's, and Merwin's life as the vampire jumped out of the shadows to eat them for lunch. Clarice got taken the exact same way, too slow to react and she was already gone leaving nothing in her trail, as if she had never been here.
They had tugged Merwin along for longer than in the past but no amount of morphine could stop the bleeding without proper medical attention or even bandages.
He bled out.
Jason shook his head, attempting to rid his mind of the dark and grief ridden thoughts, he had to get to Rachel and Eric, he suspected the universe wanted them alive if Jason was to leave the never ending day.
“What happened Colonel?” Jason asked as he assessed his superior for any injuries. It was an eerily familiar scene, Eric a blubbering mess while Nick stared down into the void as if he was expecting Rachel to just appear like, climbing up the canyon walls.
“We were being shot at,” Eric said, fear and despair still evident in his voice, “we both fell, I tried my best I swear but both of us were being pulled down…” regret singed his voice now as he caught both Jason's and Nick's eyes staring at him.
“We both were dead if I held on, it should have been me, it should have!” Eric ended up finally collapsing into sobs. They had to get out of this cavern Jason decided, the other two were currently too mentally broken to do anymore fighting and the last thing they wanted was any Iraqis coming by to shoot them before he could rekindle the alliance with Salim.
Interestingly enough, this time Eric was with them when they heard Joey's voice echoing off the walls, and whether it was from grief or just not wanting to abandon another man, Eric was adamant on following the voice.
Nick knew it wasn't Joey, he had watched him die in his arms and Jason knew it too from experience.
“I'll lead the way,” he finally said when it became clear Eric wasn't backing down, he knew the outcome but trying can't hurt, he'll never know if he doesn't at least try to see if Joey is saveable.
Semper Fi.
He isn't.
Right on cue the rocks fall and again Jason and Eric are separated from Nick. Hopefully the Iraqi had mercy on Nicky again.
Salim was nowhere to be found when they finally found a way around the rocks, Nick was more shifty than usual.
A creature lay lifeless on the floor and he saw in real time as fascination overpowered the grief in Eric's eyes. He should have been confused by the vampire on the floor– but he already knew they existed and that this exact scene would play out. Instead he was scanning every crevice and hiding place half expecting Salim and other Iraqis to jump out and kill them before anyone could react.
Well he wasn't going to complain if they finally got a moment to strategies without any vampires or Iraqis or anything else in this goddamned hell interrupting them.
Jason needed a break–or a drink.
Rachel ran through the doors just before they were about to barricade it shut, this time with nobody by her side. Clarice seemingly was dead or abandoned by Rachel.
Less likely of Eric's throat being torn out, Jason thought. he still felt that all his friends' painful deaths last time was his fault, caused by his mistakes and stupidity. So he wasn't going to argue if this gave him a higher fighting chance of keeping everyone alive.
Rachel never brought it up, and Jason wasn't going to either, they all kept on moving.
“We need their help,” Eric reasoned, slowly lowering his gun, signaling to the other marines to follow in suit.
Jason caught Rachel's gaze flash to annoyance and even anger before it quickly disappeared and she too lowered her gun. He could understand her anger, in the past he would have sided with her, that it was too dangerous to trust these two Iraqis that had been their enemies for so long.
But he knew better now.
He suspected he needed Salim to escape and he wasn't about to jeopardize the future alliance
Still, it was weird to feel Salim's untrustworthy gaze on his back when just hours ago in a different loop, Salim had been staring at him with the kindest of eyes.
Sometime between the first loop and now he had come to the realization that he needed Salim standing beside him, needed him as a friend instead of an enemy, alive and not dead.
In the back of his mind he realized that like a fool, he was always looking forward to the friendship with Salim and his brown eyes and kind heart.
His motto rang through his head ‘focus Kolchek’ he didn't have time to be thinking of kind eyes and unsaid trauma.
He had a team to save and a curse to escape.
He twisted in the creature's hold, twisting back and forth, every time he loosened from the death grip the vampire had on him, it would just dig its claws further towards his ribs, not killing its food but playing with him until it got bored of its toy and just killed him.
Feet hit the ground right beside his head and when he managed to look up while trying to simultaneously escape he saw that damned human vampire and he was walking straight towards Nick.
The corner of the wall hit his side, finally being dragged to the vampires deemed killing space, but he couldn't focus on that the only thing his brain narrowed down on was the humanoid creature lunging at his fellow marine and Nick, naive, dumb Nick, pull out a cross, not his gun a fucking cross.
He didn't see how it ended but based on the sharp crack that echoed through the cave seconds later and Rachel's anguished scream, he could take a guess.
He felt entirely to blame. He failed again. He had failed them
He didn't fight like he should've when teeth met his neck, he had presumably already failed this loop, no point in continuing when somebody had already died.
He let the vampire rip out his throat
…………
The candles sparked.
“Again,” the voice in the darkness spoke
“Try again.”
…………
He was falling.
Again.
It didn't really shock him anymore, sure it knocked the wind out of him but no awareness could stop that from happening.
He didn't lay there and rot, he couldn't, there wasn't enough time to wallow. He jumped up and started speed walking down the tunnel, grabbing Nick with him as soon as he spotted him.
“I know Merwin fell somewhere over here and I thought I heard screaming,” he relayed to Nick when he got sick of his fellow marine digging his heels into the sand floors and demanding answers.
A sharp yell and swear cut off whatever Nick was about to say, they paused for no less than a millisecond before running towards the voices.
Showtime.
Not-Joey lunged at them, Jason's ribs ached from the constant fighting and running, he felt as if his lungs would collapse at any moment.
He didn't know if he and Nick had walked slower or faster than usual but whatever it was, it caused creature Joey to find them.
They had been caught off guard, fear filling Jason's body before reminding himself that he was a marine, he shouldn't be scared by a vampire he had beaten in the past loops.
He had it, he had it backed into a corner and rearing up onto its hand legs, heart exposed to the stalagmite Jason had picked up in a haste, he drew his arm back trying to strike before the vampire could.
A shout filled the cavern.
Eric, fucking Eric, the man who had refused to be left behind for his own safety and instead followed them to this hellish battle.
His instincts screamed at him to turn around and he listened, just one second to turn around and make sure the Colonel was fully functional and hadn't led anymore creatures to this cavern, just one second and then he would finish the strike–
Red hot agony filled his body, he felt like he was on fire, claws digging into his shoulder blades, sharp teeth nearing his arteries. His mouth parted– screaming, someone was screaming, who was screaming despite the fact it would lead more creatures to them?
Bang!
The claws left his shoulders and in what must have been muscle memory, he swung the sharp weapon towards the vicinity of the vampire and by the grace of god, he hit his mark, creature Joey dropped dead.
His brain was fuzzy, like he was high out of his mind, and his vocal cords felt destroyed like he had been screaming– oh, that had been him screaming. His brain slowly turned back on and he shrugged Nick's hand off his shoulder like he hadn't just been screaming in agony, despite the fact that old Jason would never do that no matter the pain.
But he wasn't old Jason anymore, instead he was time loop Jason, too full of emotions to give a damn what happened, it wouldn't be remembered next loop anyways.
Bandages wrapped around his wounds, preventing the cold air from hitting it and attempting to stop the heavy blood flow, he stood up, brain still working a bit slower, and the three of them kept on walking.
He let out a laugh as he watched Rachel gunning down those vampires with the machine gun out of the corner of his eye.
She could have ran with the others, trusting his skills enough not to die while shooting as many vampires out of the air as he could. But she didn't. She was the queen bitch but she wasn't just going to allow one of her marines to fight alone.
Times like these gave him hope for this loop and the future ones, they gave him a reason to thank the universe for giving him another chance to save his team again and again.
Death always lurked though, and anytime it struck it overshadowed those moments and ripped away his hope and faith again and again.
He was able to claw away from the vampire this time, thwarting the savage's plan to drag him away for its supper.
To his relief he was able to prevent the Colonel’s throat from being ripped out by vampire Clarice, a simple bullet to the head to stun her and then the stalagmite through the heart, like takin’ candy from a baby with Jason's experience of stabbing the vampires in literally every loop since the 2nd one, muscle memory so to speak.
“Nice one, lieutenant, I suppose you're just gifted at killing those creatures,” Eric patted his shoulder when everything relatively calmed down, every marine and soldier taking a few moments to gain their wits back.
“Don't you know sir, that we learn specifically how to stab vampires with stalagmites in our training?” He joked back as he scanned the area, Salim was gone as usual, slipped out as soon as the fighting ended, probably not trusting the Americans to not shoot him on sight when all the chaos was done.
‘Is your conscience clear?’
They were sitting on the overhang, the same one every time and for the first time, Jason allowed himself to talk, and talk, and talk– not just about the checkpoint like before, he spoke about his grief, about the only reason he was here, every word tore down a carefully crafted lie and he didn't know how to feel about it. All he knew was that by the end of the conversation his shoulders weighed less looking into Salim's warm eyes and telling him stuff he hadn't ever told anyone.
Their eyes met and for a moment the look in Salim's was different than usual, as inviting and honest as the moment they became allies but there was something else too– something that never should have been turned his way, something that stirred his own gut and caused his heart to beat faster. He opened his mouth to say something, to do something but a screech cut them off and the moment was over, both of them standing up in a flash, ready to fight anything that stood in the way of their plan to blow it all to bits.
‘Focus Kolchek’
They walked away from the overhang and closer to the cocoons, the only evidence of the vulnerability that had just taken place were faint bookmarks in the mud on the rocks and, if you listened hard enough you could probably hear Jason's own thoughts, conflicted between what might be love, and the fact that a friendship – no less a relationship could never work after this all was over.
“I have never been happier to see you,” Jason chuckled as soon as they were in the relative safety of this new cave. He had been sure he and Salim were dead men walking, creatures closing in from all sides, but thank God, Rachel and the 2 men she was practically dog walking showed up at just the right time, distracting the vampires enough for them all to get away wounded but alive.
The calm wouldn't last, he knew that, and minutes later he was proven right when Rachel let out a gut wrenching scream, WP gripped tightly in her hand.
It took some coaxing but she didn't throw the bomb to her feet this time, instead she sat there unshed tears in her eyes, trying to come up with a plan.
“We're coming back for you ma’am,” he comforted, lowering the infected Rachel into the slime like liquid, he saw the rare trace of fear in her eyes at the thought of dying like this. Jason decided that he was going to fight harder than he ever had in his past loops– or even his life. He wasn't going to let Rachel die here, alone and afraid.
All of them had made it to the surface, huddling in the hut, desperate to survive this eclipse.
Claws reached in at every angle, not relenting despite the soldiers best efforts. It seemed harder than usual– as of the universe really wanted to fuck him over again, he was convinced there were more lethal vampires than in the past when his team started falling one by one.
Claws finally pierced through his throat and his last thought was the fact that he failed Rachel, she was stuck down there.
It may all reset once he dies but in this timeline he doomed Rachel to the only thing worse than death, suffering for all of eternity, unable to move, or speak, aware but unable to save yourself.
The guilt ate away from him as he died and followed him into every loop after that.
Screaming, yelling at him every loop.
Again
And
Again.
………….
Loop 6 went similarly, and then 7, and then 8, and then 9, and then– you get the point.
With every loop the hope and confidence that had lingered in his body started to get replaced with hopelessness that got more prominent as each loop in.
And so as he went into loop God knows what, he pretty much had the first half down pat, it was just the second half, that everything got chaotic and there was less room for mistakes.
And start again.
He didn't answer this time when Nick called out to him, he just followed the all too familiar path, brushing past the other, and following the trail that would lead them to Rachel and Eric, trusting that Nick would follow.
He had learned after far too many loops that Merwin and Clarice were un-saveable, every combination he tried always led to Merwin dying, or Merwin dying too late which led to Eric's death.
He had never even managed to get Clarice to move fast enough, escaping the vampire's claws, no matter what he did she was always ripped away from the group in a blink of an eye.
“We're under fire!” Rachel's voice rang from the comns right on cue, Nick picked up the pace in a panic, passing Jason and taking the lead.
They hauled Eric up over the cliff, Rachel's last scream before the rope broke echoed through all of their minds. Jason didn't grieve, he hardly ever did anymore, for one he always knew he would get another attempt if any one of them died (that didn't numb the pain and regret in his heart whenever anyone died while on his watch but at least he had a chance for his heart to not hurt next loop), and secondly he knew Rachel wasn't dead.
Every time he watched Eric grieve his ‘dead’ wife and Nick grieve a married woman that obviously meant so much to him, Jason wanted to tell them that she wasn't dead, that they didn't need to lose their spirit this time because she was alive.
He couldn't though.
They would never believe his crazy story, it would only cause arguments and distrust in the group.
So he kept his mouth shut and tried to console the two men without screaming to the world that he knew she was alive and that he knew exactly what would be happening when she reunited with them.
Jason shoved Nick back just as the rocks crumbled, separating Jason from the other two. Another thing he learned more and more in each loop was that it's much easier to keep everyone alive if he was in control of every situation. And so he had started walking ahead of Nick or shoving him back whenever the tunnel was about to be blocked, this made it much easier to communicate with Salim and make sure Eric wasn't shot by him.
He had fucked up the first few times, worst case was getting Eric killed (he regret that everytime it was time for this scenario to play out),and the best (worst) case was Salim hating them, leading to more deaths in the future.
His musing was cut off when an all too familiar hand clamped over his mouth and spoke in a low tone, “be quiet, the demon is just around the corner,” blah blah blah. Jason had zoned out, he didn't need to listen, he could recite Salim's exact words by memory.
Instead all he could notice was the hand over his mouth and the welcoming familiar voice.
“You distract it, then I'll come in and stab it through the heart,” Salim said when he finally released Jason from his tight grip.
He nodded but deep down cold gripped his spine, he wasn't scared, of course not, marines were trained for anything, maybe not for vampires but he was trained enough to not cower in the face of a new threat. He just didn't like having his life in someone else's hands. Salim was the one with a weapon fit to kill these creatures, one second of hesitation could lead to Jason being mauled to death.
Another part of him trusted Salim, not in the way he trusted Nick like a brother, but in the way he would trust Salim with everything including his life, and not feel scared.
He wasn't going to open that can of worms right now and he would prefer if his mind never brought it up again, he hates confusing emotions, he hated them even more when he got them while in a life or death scenario.
Jason leapt forward in an attempt to stop Nick from even touching that damned radio, it was inevitable that the vampires found them, but if they weren't immediately alerted by the squealing radio, it would give Jason a moment to just think.
He failed to lunge fast enough. Failed like every other loop before this one. A sound like a dying pig echoed around the cavern, causing most of them to cover their ears. Jason simply flinched, he was used to the ear splitting sound; the only thing in his mind was to run.
Run before those demons crawled up from the void to consume them all.
Run.
Run.
Run.
Bang!
a gunshot joined the symphony of radio noises and vampire screeches. A bullet landed right next to Eric's ear, in the wall directly to his left. Right. Salim and his Iraqi captain, Dar, always showed up like clockwork, always with the same goals and plans.
He steadied the gun in his hands, this is when it all started getting messy– he had the worst hand of cards in the game but he still had to play them right and win. He had to do that if he wanted them all to survive.
He took a deep breath, aiming his gun at the Iraqi captain. Nick on his right following his exact moves.
‘Focus Kolchek’
Eric was on the ground, a gun to his head but Salim wasn't going to shoot, Jason knew that (he was pretty sure) he was just doing it for show to appease his captain.
He didn't have time to save Eric himself, all of their fighting being cut off by ever approaching creatures. The Iraqi soldiers turned tail first and the Americans followed soon after.
Show time.
“You let a fox into the hen house!” Dar spat as soon as Clarice started writhing on the floor, Jason hated to admit it but for once he agreed with the Iraqi. He knew what would happen if they held out hope for medicine to save her, the medicine was back where they had just been chased out by vampires.
Even if they did have medicine, with all he's seen, he doubted it would even help her at this point.
He didn't ask for permission to shoot her this time, Rachel would plead with him, Eric took her side every single time like a loyal puppy. He had to do this himself and hope they would understand.
One second Clarice was alive and the next she was dead, a bullet straight in the heart. Rachel let out a scream, turning on Jason with her gun.
“Why did you do that?!” She shrieked, seemingly forgetting of the creatures with echo location.
“She was turning, we had to do something,” Jason said calmly, “who knows how long until she turned.”
He sucked in a breath as Rachel came up close to his face, nobody moved to stop her.
“You don't know that, we could have saved her,” she said, voice quieter now, still holding a rage in it. Jason opened his mouth to retort, ‘with what medicine Rachel?’, but before it could go from brain to mouth a screech cut him off and they were running again desperate to escape the onslaught of vampires.
Eric gave him a look, it was the true look of a parent disappointed in their child, he half expected Colonel to break out the line ‘Im not mad im just disappointed’. He knew he was going to get a firm lecture later and he sure wasn't excited for that, he could picture it now, Eric shaking his head and berating him for acting without orders.
Nick's disgusted look thrown at him sat in his brain for a while, twisting Jason's gut every time he thought about it.
It was for their own good, he reasoned, they didn't know it yet and hopefully never would, but he had to do that.
Right?
“Is your conscience clear?”
Same question, same question as always.
And looking into Salim's curious eyes his walls fell once again.
“The green zone,” and once again with his walls came his deep buried trauma, issues, whatever they were. Salim didn't seem to mind, he never had, and so Jason talked and talked like always.
“That woman had a family, friends. She had her whole life ahead of her and… we snuffed it out with a single bullet. I mean what the fuck?!” he finally finished, taking a deep breath in as if he had been holding his breath for hours.
He was sitting now, legs dangling over the edge. When did he even sit down? He can't really remember.
Salim's hand landed on his shoulder and the other sat behind him, looking him in the eyes with something– pity maybe. He really hated pity.
His brain must have glitched for a moment because before he could even register it Salim was kissing him– or maybe he kissed Salim, like he said, he can't really remember.
His body froze at first, unsure of what was even happening, though as soon as he felt Salim start to move away, seeming to take Jason's surprise as rejection, his brain turned back on and he grabbed Salim's face and kissed him.
The back of his mind screamed at him, ‘traitor, traitor, traitor,’ but he found at this moment he didn't really care, his only focus was his forehead against Salim's as they pulled away, both taking deep breaths, seemingly in shock.
Finally Salim spoke up, “we have to kill them from the inside,” Jason let out a bitter laugh.
“let's destroy those motherfuckers”
They could figure it out all later but for now they had alien vampires to survive against.
He stood up and held his hand out for Salim, pulling him back onto his feet, Salim gave a small smile towards Jason as they began traveling further into the cocoons, he gave one of his own, trying to replace the fear of what they were about to walk into with optimism, praying for the best outcome.
Then everything fell apart again.
Rachel was infected, they couldn't stop her this time from going out with a bang (literally) when she threw the phosphorus bomb to her feet, destroying her body in seconds.
Nick died to the ancient one, Jason had tried to warn him, tried to get him to come back instead of charging forward to place more bombs. But whether it was his ego or his distrust in Jason for shooting Clarice, he didn't listen, paying for it almost immediately.
The remaining men didn't have time to mourn, instead they were forced to their feet moving as fast as physically possible to escape the enraged vampires.
There was no question in his mind when the choice came to either abandon Salim or go back for him. Eric had a disapproving look in his eyes but didn't try to stop Jason, he simply nodded when Jason said that he'd be back.
Leaving or saving Salim didn't really matter at this point, either way he would be right back here soon enough but he didn't think he could live with himself for the next who knows how many loops if he left Salim.
Jason couldn't explain it to Eric, that he knew in the back of his mind that leaving Salim would be equivalent to Eric willingly cutting the rope holding onto Rachel hours ago.
The grief would be too large.
It hadn't mattered, of course it didn't. Like watching a childhood show that felt so familiar but bits and pieces had left your memory, he knew what would happen with only small changes.
He knew Clarice would attack them, he didn't need to process her lunging out to shoot her, it was muscle memory at this point.
He knew they weren't safe when they finally got back to the surface, and hastily pushed all three of them to the abandoned house much to Eric and Salim's confusion.
He knew that wretched vampire was going to crush Salim's skull.
He shot the vampire, spooking it away from Salim
he failed to notice the vampire lunging at him.
Claws pierced his back, snapping his spine.
He probably wouldn't even know what had happened next loop due to the swift kill if it wasn't for Salim's desperate face and his mouth half open ready to tell Jason to move.
It was too late though.
It wouldn't have mattered anyways, he comforted himself (it only put more hopelessness in him)
…………
He was falling.
A thump rang through the cave from the force of his body hitting the ground.
He didn't immediately stand up and start moving like in the last loops, instead he lay there looking at the bright sun and cloudless sky he could see through the hole above him.
He didn't know how long he had been laying there, it could have been seconds to minutes. The only thing he was aware of was the birds chirping from above and the beautiful sky, a stark difference to the horrors he was about to encounter.
He clenched his teeth and stared up unblinking, he felt his eyes growing wet and a lump growing in his throat.
He wasn't going to cry, he wasn't. God what had happened to him in these past loops? He wasn't a damn baby, he was a marine for God's sake!
He stood up quickly and breathed in deeply, pushing his emotions down, he had to pull himself together– he had people to save.
Again
And again
And again
And again.
Every time he fell in the exact same way and spot.
Every time Merwin and Clarice died, there was also no saving Rachel from the rope snapping and her fall into the void.
Every few times he had something with Salim and sometimes he didn't, it was tiring.
Every loop he felt himself fall more for Salim and by god was he tired of Salim never remembering the past loops when he too fell for Jason, always feeling the cold hatred at the beginning, then the friendship, occasionally the love, and finally death and repeat.
It was all too tiring, his heart growing for someone it never should have, his friends' constant death, and his own.
He had grown fond of seeing the candles being blown out and then sparking back after every death and of the man holding the candles wearing a bowler hat, always there. Never helping, just observing, always at the edge of Jason's vision.
The universe didn't release him from its jaws yet though, he wasn't sure if it ever was, despite that he had to keep trying again
And again.
…………..
“You hold a lot of anger for someone that short,” Salim commented after Jason's calculated taunting started up again. He wasn't even doing it out of hostility towards Salim anymore, instead he did it to fill the void of silence with a conversation he knew front and back.
“ I ain't short!” He spat rolling his eyes, half out of annoyance and the other half from the stupidity of the joke he had heard every single loop for god knows how long.
How long had it been? He had stopped counting about 10 loops in, he really regretted it right now when he suddenly realized he could have been in this loop from weeks to years and he didn't know.
He shook his head, trying to rid the thoughts away, he didn't have time for an existential crisis.
“We're also literally the same height,” he added when he finally felt like he could talk without his voice cracking. He turned away to continue looking out, but in the corner of his vision he saw Salim's surprised face, like he had been expecting anger or silence as opposed to joking back.
They kept trudging along.
His vision blurred as he tried to keep a straight face.
‘Stop fucking crying,’ his brain whispered.
This was, what felt like the millionth time, he handed all of his emotions and feelings to Salim, it didn't even feel like he was letting down his walls anymore due to the sheer amount of loops he's had this exact conversation.
It didn't stop him from feeling immense guilt each time
“Touch it,” Jason taunted Salim, a coy grin on his face. He knew Salim wasn't going to touch it, no matter how much he trusted Jason, his common sense always seemed to win over, never taking the bait.
“You touch it!” Salim fired back, visibly taking a step away from the solidified creature.
Jason felt the safety of a familiar conversation calm his tired brain.
“Pussy,” he commented but took a step back, the vines underneath him crackling and sparking.
He was not going to fall for his own dumb idea being turned on him no matter how much the smug look on Salim's face made him want to walk right up to that statue and just poke it just to prove a point.
They walked deeper into the belly of the beast.
The sense of safety was shattered when the vampires came to life, silence bursting into screeches left and right.
He knew the routine by now, every twist and turn until they got into the safety of the cave they sheltered in every time without fail.
He probably didn't even need the help of Nick and the Kings to get out of this situation, but to be quite frank he didn't want to find out, he would take all the help and bullets he could get.
Right on time like always,
Bang!
Gunshots startled the creatures away from their prey for just a moment but it was enough for the five of them to escape into their safe haven and regroup.
She didn't scream this time.
Didn't anything.
One moment she was standing beside him and the next–
Gone with one swift movement and a burst of flames.
He had gotten faith, Rachel hadn't tried to blow herself up at all in the last few loops and so he had taken his eyes off her, turning his attention to Nick who commonly died at this point.
Who's damn idea was it to bring white phosphorus anyways?
His. It was his idea, brushing off the colonel's concern and convincing him to let them bring it.
And this is what it got them, Rachel's body scattered, so broken and destroyed that if this was someone they didn't know she would be classified a Jane Doe, mauled beyond recognition.
Jason's shoulders must have been shaking or his face had taken on a distressed look because everything was silent and he felt numb until an arm wrapped around his shoulder and pulled him towards someone's side.
“It is okay, my friend,” the voice comforted, he could deduce that it was Salim when he saw Nick and Eric standing side by side trying to comfort each other while they both were on the edge of a breakdown (or already having one in Eric's case) metres away from him.
He should have pushed the comfort away, he didn't have time to take a break, didn't want to have enough time for all the emotions to catch up with him.
He didn't though, he stayed there, head on Salim's shoulder, his body giving random trembles every few seconds.
He let himself breathe. Just for a moment.
Eric and Nick weren't nearly composed enough to make plans anyways.
They had been so close, a mere meters away from saving Nick. Then that curséd wound on Salim's chest decided to start slowly bleeding again and sealed Nick's fate.
The vampires surrounded them, they escaped at the cost of being too late to save Nick, but just on time to see his skull get crushed into a shape the skull never should be in.
Failure had already happened and he knew living through this final battle wouldn't change anything good or bad. He would wake up again falling through the ground just like every other day.
But despite this, he fought tooth and nail, not only for Eric and Salim, but also for every death he had suffered, every time the universe placed him down before shaking him in its jaws again and again. He was done being the universe’s plaything and he wasn't just going to lay over and die.
He would live–
Talons gripped his shoulders, teeth met his neck, darkness.
The flame relit.
Again
The bowler hat man grinning at him.
Again
…………….
His back hit the ground.
It didn't really hurt anymore, not for a while.
Sure it knocked the wind out of him and left him wheezing for a few minutes but the pain didn't register into his brain anymore.
He laid there slowly breathing, just listening to the distant clicks and screeches of the vampires.
In
Out
In
Out
He knew he didn't have all these minutes to spare and yet he laid there for what could have been minutes until he felt well enough to face the world.
“Jason? Merwin?”
A voice echoed through the tunnels, that was his cue.
Nick's voice had called out and now it was time to face the music, pay the piper, swallow the pill, or whatever.
He stood up, brushed off his pants, and started walking.
Nick hauled Eric from his place kneeling precariously on the edge of the void, whimpering Rachel's name.
They followed Joey's voice knowing it wasn't him but the universe always refusing to simply allow the group to not follow the screams,
Either they found him
Or he found them.
A grenade was thrown, the rocks collapsed, Jason pushed Nick out of the way, keeping the other marine on one side of the wall with Eric and Jason on the other, alone.
Crunch
Crunch
Every step he took sent sounds echoing into the tunnels, sounding obscenely loud in this quiet place.
He kept his ears keen, waiting for the moment Salim would come up behind him, put his hand over his mouth, and repeat his plan to Jason for the millionth loop in a row.
Crunch
That definitely wasn't him.
He was currently crouched down, staring at the vampire around the corner, his feet weren't moving an inch.
A hand muffled him, breath fanned over his ear, he recognized the voice of Salim all too well speaking in a hushed voice.
Right on time like always.
He resisted the urge to lick Salim's hand just to mess with him, change up their routine. Instead he stood there like normal, body rigid, trying his best to seem like he was actually listening to the other man's plan.
“We do this together, okay?”
Salim muttered right into his ear as to not alert the vampire before removing his hand, still holding his weapon in a firm grip in case Jason decides to try anything.
“After you, Superman,” he finally settled on saying, if only for his own enjoyment at messing with Salim.
(It was quite enjoyable, he decided when Salim's face contorted into a barely hidden grimace, quickly turning away, trusting Jason to do his part in this plan)
Nick's rambling buzzed in the back of Jason's brain, he heard it but didn't process it.
Instead, he was fiddling with the radio, trying to fix it enough to request immediate evacuation. He twisted buttons with a quiet efficiency that would have been impossible at the start of all this had he not played around with this exact radio over and over again.
He wasn't their mechanic but he would be damned if he didn't at least try to learn new things to save them all.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the machinery made a noise of life, turning on and broadcasting the frequencies.
“This is Mailman One Two Actual, requesting immediate air support over,” he wasted no time in barking his request, trying to save valuable seconds.
“This is Coyote Two, air support is en-route, eta is five hours, over,” a calm voice spoke back at him and Jason could have jumped for joy when he realized it was the familiar voice of another marine.
As always, it looked like the one thing Eric got right about this mission was requesting air support.
He heard Nick let out a laugh of relief to his left and Jason let out one of his own.
Footsteps sounded behind him and he turned, ready to announce the one bit of good news in this hell to the Colonel.
“We were able to reque–”
The radio screeched, loud and constant.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, how could he have forgotten that this was going to happen. That the radio was going to crap out and let out an awful sound drawing every goddamn thing, from the deepest pits of hell to the heavens above, towards their exact location.
And then, if it already wasn't bad enough–
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the cave, joining the symphony and squeals from the radio and screeches from vampires.
Dar stood atop the steps like a God who really liked shooting first and then thinking never. Behind him was Salim, gun held to Eric's face, mouth moving rapidly as he spoke to the Colonel.
He didn't even think when he threw himself behind a rock and started shooting Dar.
“We have to flank him!” he shouted at Nick, already moving closer, trusting Nick to understand and watch his back
It seemed Nick did indeed understand when Jason got close enough and started firing directly at the Iraqi soldier's un-shielded body, successfully safe from Nick's attack but not his.
In the chaos Eric was able to get his gun back from Salim and, realizing the danger they were in from the Americans (but not the vampires apparently), Dar ordered a retreat further back into the temple.
The vampires got closer and the Marines followed in suit of the Iraqi duo.
He shot Clarice, though this time it was at Rachel and the Colonel’s order.
They were surrounded, like usual. Jason felt claws dig into his calves, pain spiking throughout his body.
He got dragged away by the wretched creature and, like usual, he fought like a cornered cat, claws, guns, and a whole lot of flailing.
“Teach you to mess with a marine,” he spat at the dead vampire, kicking it for extra measure that he hoped it felt even in death.
A shadow moved in the corner of his vision, it didn't slip past him successfully like it had in past loops, he grinned a little.
“I'm not blind y'know,” he said in the general vicinity of the darkness, looking at where he hoped Salim would be standing.
Low and behold, the other man walked out of the shadows, hands raised in surrender.
“I come in peace!” He said, voice calm like he was trying not to spook Jason.
“Well I should hope so considering what the real danger down here is,” he joked, stepping closer to Salim.
He held out his hand, “an enemy of my enemy is a friend after all.”
The other man looked slightly shocked at Jason's willingness to work together but his shoulders visibly dropped as if a huge weight had been taken off of them.
He took Jason's hand, “I am glad we agree on one thing.”
Vampires screeched in the distance but they paid no mind to it, staring into each other's eyes, Jason spilling out his heart again, feeling a weight drop off his shoulders again, no matter how many times he explained the same story it always felt like he could breathe easier after each time.
“We all have reasons, they don't have to be profound,” Salim said, looking away for the first time in minutes, towards the cocoons in the distance.
“Profound huh?” Jason let out a weak chuckle, not because it was funny but because that sentence always shook him.
“When the towers were hit I was stoned out of my fuckin’ skull,” his voice rasied slightly and he took off his hat, running his fingers through his hair.
“didn't even hear about it ‘til a week later,” he looked back up at the other man.
“How's that for profound? I don't even know what I'm fucking doing here”
He shook his head, another dry laugh, emotions spilling out like a tidal wave.
“You're serving your country”
“That woman had a family, friends. She had her whole life ahead of her and… we snuffed it out with a single bullet. I mean what the fuck?!”
He let out a breath, looking straight at Salim.
He knew he wouldn't see hatred in those eyes like he had feared the first few times, he had never seen any anger or hatred, instead they held a sadness for Jason and something else that could never be identified behind it.
Arms were wrapped around him and a chin rested on the crown of his head.
Salim's own breathing was in sync with his own and his hand was shallowly rubbing his back.
Jason couldn't even remember the last time he had hugged someone genuinely.
He had grown up on strength and control, no room for emotions there, and when he joined the military those teachings were reinforced, they lived in a world of handshakes and high-fives, never a world of hugs and comfort.
And somehow this felt more intimate to him than the kiss they had shared all those loops ago.
“We have to destroy it from the inside, blow it all up,” Salim finally spoke, his voice close to his ear.
Jason pulled back, putting his hands on the other man's shoulders, a wolfish grin on his face.
“Now you're speaking my language!” He laughed and like all those loops ago, he stood up and held out his hand, pulling Salim up to stand beside him.
Salim gave a small smile.
He threw one right back.
They ventured further into the cocoons.
Rachel was alive.
Alive and fuckin’ well.
The parasite had been burned out of her and squashed beneath her feet when she had found it again.
He didn't allow himself to hope yet though.
Every time he got excited it always went downhill.
He almost thought they would be too late when he saw Nick in the distance, held in the air by the vampire-man gripping his throat and squeezing, Nicky's struggles getting weaker and weaker by every passing second.
By God's grace, Salim had lunged forward with the speed and agility of a cat and wasted no time in impaling the enemy, makeshift weapon straight through the heart.
And Jason would be lying if he said that when Salim turned around, blood covering his face, and more blood dripping down his weapon and around his wrists, it didn't make his heart skip a beat.
Maybe Jason did start hoping just a bit.
It wasn't even a question in his mind if he should save Salim or not when the time came around.
He hardly even spoke to the rest of his group about his decision besides a hasty,
“Semper fuckin’ Fi. I'll be back with both of us alive,” before darting down the rocks.
“You've come to join the fun?” Salim yelled above the screeching when he spotted Jason clambering over fallen rocks, nearly tripping every now and then.
“Well I couldn't let you get all the glory,” he quipped back, both of them knowing the real reason he came back to save the other.
He shot a vampire that was sneaking up on Salim and when Jason was almost caught off guard, the man returned the favour, chucking his weapon at the vampire and killing it hook, line, and sinker.
The sword and the shield.
It was all coming down on them. Rocks falling haphazardly close to the two of them as they sprinted back to the elevator, vampires on their tails, and everything they had known for the past what is probably the most traumatic hours of their lives falling before their eyes.
Pride swelled in his chest when nobody looked too surprised that he returned alive and with the Iraqi in tow, as if they knew he would succeed.
The elevator creaked and everything was still breaking piece by piece but the only thing he felt was happiness when Nick patted him on the shoulder, “I knew it was going to take more than a couple vampires to bring you down.”
Jason fist bumped him and turned to the others, Eric's motivational speech finally over.
He raised his fist up into the air, feeling more free than he had felt in a while and shouted, “Oorah!”
The others followed close behind, joy filling their own voices. Even the King's looked happy, a grin on Rachel's face that was nearly never there and Eric's stoic demeanor finally cracking as his eyes crinkled visibly, his smile widening.
He looked at Salim's wary eyes as if he didn't know if the celebration included him too, looking right at Jason and nobody else.
He nodded softly as Salim, and finally let hope take over him, the other man raised his fist and shouted his own solo “Oorah,” just as they reached the service.
One final stretch of the race. They could do it. He could do it.
Teeth neared his neck, and desperation set hold in his gut, resorting to kicking and flailing his legs as a last ditch effort to get the vampire off of him.
He was going to die.
He was going to loop again, and have to endure this all over again.
He was going to die.
He had failed them all, forcing their souls to relive all of this even if their brains didn't remember.
He was going to di–
Gunshots rang out, new holes actively being created in the already wrecked house, but he didn't really care about how damn destroyed these houses were when the vampires let out a scream, sounding eerily like a human dying, and tried to flee back into their caverns.
A breath he had been holding was released from his chest, and he was left lying there on the ground, vampires burning all around him, and the heat nipping at Jason's sides not enough to hurt but just to be uncomfortable.
He lay there panting, tears welling in his eyes. He was just so tired, he just wanted to sleep on this floor forever, not caring about anything else in the world.
But alas he couldn't. Voices rang around him and he still had a duty to the other marines even if they weren't on the brink of death right now.
He forced himself up onto his feet, firmly planting his heels into the ground in an attempt to not fall over. He felt like a baby deer just standing for the first time, legs jelly and his brain slow like his neurons were trying to fire through molasses.
An arm wrapped around his shoulder, a familiar voice and accent speaking to him.
His eyes met Salim's dark brown ones and he was falling. Literally. Right into his arms, his body finally shutting down.
Sleep fell over him, warmth filling his body as the voice distantly murmured to him, he felt safe.
His sleep deprived brain could only force one thought out of his mouth, “I think I love you,” as he tried to move impossibly closer to Salim.
The arms around him tightened, he didn't know if it was a hallucination or real but he was pretty sure he heard the other man say a simple, “I think I love you too, Jason.”
Nothing else processed after that as his body fell into a deep sleep, he really hoped it was similar to hibernation because he probably could sleep half the year away.
……………
The bowler hat man was clapping, clearly speaking to him, despite this observation, Jason noticed he couldn't hear anything but when he turned away to survey the dingy room for other clues as to where he was, his eyes immediately caught sight of the candle sticks. He wanted to run and jump in circles when no candles lit themselves back up, all the flames still flickering brightly.
The man snapped his fingers and then–
He was falling.
Despair ripped through him.
This was supposed to be it, he had saved them all so why was he falling again?
He couldn't open his eyes, didn't know what to expect, and so he instinctively braces for his back to hit the hard ground, winding him.
It never happened.
Instead he felt something soft under him and voices around him.
He cracked open an eye and was met with a blinding light and white all around.
He raised his head trying to gauge where he was and what was happening.
His eyes finally landed on a person in a hazmat suit with the Centcom logo on it, the person finally looked up and he heard them sigh.
“Oh good, you're awake. If you don't mind lieutenant Kolchek, we have much to explain and ask”
He was home. That was his only thought, he was looking at the interrogator but wasn't really focusing on the words being spoken instead he turned his ears to the distant voices of his comrades. He could hear Rachel yelling through the paper thin walls, unintelligible but familiar. It was something that would be concerning for anyone that didn't work with her but to him it was a comfort, something he could focus on.
“We would love your half of the story…” he answered on rapid fire, not really taking in the questions, just trying to focus on his breathing to remind himself he was alive.
He wasn't falling anymore, there were no more rocks collapsing around him, or winded breathing when his back slammed onto rocks.
He was alive.
It was over.
They were hell but Jason couldn't help but realize that he would take those time loops tenfold over returning back to America with his team, friends and Salim buried 6 feet under.
He hoped Salim was being treated well by Centcom, that was one of his recurring thoughts since waking up. (Knowing the fellow marines he worked with, he doubted he was being treated well but, a man could hope)
“Somebody else will come interview you shortly.”
The footsteps receded away and he was left in the silence with only the background noises of other people behind these tent walls. He played down and closed his eyes, not to sleep but just to sit there in the peace for a moment.
The desert sun kept shining, and the world kept spinning.