The government commander's entire body broke out in sweat, his hairs standing on end as he instinctively lay flat inside the vehicle.
Numerous spiderweb-like cracks had appeared on the windows.
Upon rising to his feet again, the commander looked out in a panic.
Through the blurred glass and with the aid of night-vision goggles, he saw bodies strewn haphazardly on the ground.
"God..."
He was beyond describing his own fear.
"Turn around! Break out!"
Staying here meant certain death. The crackling sounds from earlier were steel balls shooting against the car's body when the Directional Bombs exploded.
He was unclear exactly how many Directional Bombs the ELN ambushers had planted here, but judging from the sound of the explosions and the bodies on the ground, there were at least ten.
Suddenly, a terrifying thought popped into the commander's head—the ELN were definitely getting outside support.
This wasn't his first encounter with this guerrilla group, yet he had never seen such high-volume use of mines from the ELN, who typically made their own IEDs, throughout these many years.
If not now, when was the time to escape?
Under his urge, the driver, in a panic, continued to turn the vehicle around.
But just as he began to reverse, it felt as though the wheels had rolled over something, and the cabin jolted fiercely.
A government soldier lying behind the vehicle had the worst luck.
He had been struck by the steel balls from a Directional Bomb and had fallen to the ground, still alive and possibly savable.
Yet when the two or nearly three-ton Humvee rolled over him, it stuck to his stomach, crushing him flat, forcing out a chilling, blood-curdling scream.
"We've run over someone..."
The driver, his face a mask of terror, gripped the gearstick, unsure whether to shift into drive.
"There's no time for that, we have to run, or we're dead!"
The commander, with a much harder heart, grabbed the driver's hand and pushed it into drive, bellowing, "Go!"
The driver clenched his teeth, jerked the steering wheel, and floored the gas pedal.
The Humvee turned in the middle of the road, crushing over bodies and soldiers still barely breathing several times during the maneuver.
With each crush, a scream could be heard.
The driver's complexion grew greener, his lips trembling, as he silently prayed to God for forgiveness.
Finally, after creating a bloody path, the Humvee successfully turned around and began to make a rapid escape back the way it had come.
Along the way, seeing the bodies and destroyed vehicles, the commander and the driver were both silent, without words.
A Humvee ablaze suddenly appeared ahead, likely having been destroyed by an RPG or similar anti-armor weapon, blocking the road.
"Run it over! Run over it!"
The commander, sitting in the passenger seat, had eyes red as flames, like a Mad Dog.
The driver accelerated, aiming for the front of the burning Humvee.
Just as the two gritted their teeth for one final push, they saw a figure flash by at the side of the road.
"Look out!"
The commander shouted, pointing at the figure darting onto the road.
"Hit him!"
Before the shout could land, a flash of fire erupted from the shadow's shoulder.
Boom—
The Humvee's hood was sent skyward.
The commander felt the temperature in the entire cabin surge as if he'd been thrown into a furnace with the ignition switched on.
The engine of the Humvee instantly died, the front veered off, and the vehicle crashed into a roadside ditch.
The shadow threw down the M72 launcher on his shoulder and, gun in hand, charged over.
The commander at this moment was in a dazed state.
The explosion had made him feel as if his clothes were about to ignite; his whole body ached.
The door was quickly pulled open. He tried to reach for his gun, but was swiftly knocked on the forehead with the butt of a rifle, stars dancing before his eyes, making him even dizzier.
He was dragged ruthlessly from the passenger seat, thrown heavily to the ground, then dragged like a dead dog, and finally dumped on the roadside.
The shadow seemed to take pleasure in his handiwork. Upon recognizing the commander's rank, he burst into laughter, "We've got a captain here—the highest rank!"
The commander pleaded weakly, "Spare me... don't kill..."
"We've been ordered not to leave any survivors."
With that, the shadow raised his hand, and the muzzle flashed with fire.
Bang, bang—