was one… On the top floor… of the building… I’m in… on a catwalk…” Kodi said, barely able to speak anymore, “Is… my Dad there?”

“No Kodi, he’s gone home… Your mother’s here though…” the Colonel answered.

“Tell her… that I… love her…” Kodi said his vision spinning and darkening and his heartbeat, however slow it had become, was heard in his head now. He pushed the red alarm button on his radio, a low beeping now emanating from it.

“Kodi, don’t talk like that… There’s only one last thing you need to do…” the Shepherd said, letting his words sink in before finishing, “Kodi, you need to take your cyanide capsule now… Do it now…”

Kodi reached into one of the pouches on his belt and pulled out the small, white capsule. He stared at it for a moment before taking it in his mouth and swallowing. Another powerful sharp pain ran through his chest and Kodi groaned loudly, clutching his chest as he fell forward and his heart stopped beating. A continuous high-pitched beep came from the monitor in the Operations Room as Kodi’s heart stopped.

“Kodiak!” Jenna screamed out, about to burst into tears until Colonel McIntyre placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry… Kodi’s still alive… The cyanide capsule just temporarily stopped his heart, preventing the digitoxin from flowing through his bloodstream anymore…” he explained, and then turned back to the radio, “Agent Kirby, this is HQ. Come in, over…”

Kirby smirked as he pushed the body of another guard out of sight and reloaded his handgun. Just then, his headset beeped, signaling a call from HQ. He quickly turned on his radio and leaned against the wall.

“This is Agent Kirby. What is it HQ? Over…” he replied, casually looking back and forth down the hallway.

“This is Colonel McIntyre. Listen Kirby, the mission is in Code Red right now…” the Colonel explained, “Agent Kodi’s been infected with a digitoxin. He’ll only last for another thirty minutes, since we told him to take his cyanide capsule…” Kodi quickly stood up straight again, rushing back to the exit of the Barracks.

“Oh my God! Where is he?!” Kirby asked urgently.

“He’s on the Third Floor of the building he remained in… He said there is a serum for the digitoxin on the top floor of that building on a catwalk… Once you find him and the serum, call us back and we’ll tell you what to do… Over and out…”

Kirby didn’t need to be told twice what to do. He turned off his radio and ran down the hallways of the Barracks until he came to a side door in the wall. He pushed through it and out into the cold desert night once again. He checked his SOAW; they had only a few hours left until sunrise, which was their extraction time. He dashed through the shadows until he came to the tall Weapons Building once again, pulling the door open and running inside.

Sprinting down the desolate white hallways, Kirby could just hear his heartbeat and the sounds of his boots hitting the tiles and pushing off. His breathing had become panting; he skidded around a corner, grabbing the edge to turn faster and kept on running until he arrived at the elevators. He skidded to a halt in front of the set of metal doors, nearly falling but catching himself and rapidly pressing the button over and over again.

As soon as the elevator came, Kirby moved inside and pressed the button for the Third Floor. C’mon Kodi, please be where I think you are… he thought to himself. The second the cold metal doors opened, Kirby was out and down the hallway, rushing until a sound caused him to freeze in his tracks. It was a low beeping; the beeping of Kodi’s radio alarm. Kirby followed it down the hall until he came to the door marked Storage Room, pressing his ear to the door. The beeping was louder than ever.

Kirby pulled back before kicking the door open and spotting the deep red and white husky face-down on the floor.

“Kodi!” Kirby cried out and knelt down beside his teammate, looking him over. He hadn’t been shot or harmed, so he still had a chance. Kirby checked his SOAW. It had taken him ten minutes to find Kodi and get to where he was, which meant he had twenty minutes left before Kodi expired.

“Don’t worry Kodi… I’ll get that serum…” Kirby promised before standing up and walking out, closing the door to hide Kodi’s body from sight. He rushed back to the elevator and pushed the button again. However, as he went to step into the arrived elevator, he saw a Border Collie staring back at him, dressed in a green military uniform. From the symbol on the sleeves, it was apparent the dog was a Lieutenant.

“Another agent?” the Lieutenant asked in shock, “Well, I guess there’ll be one less now then…” Kirby didn’t hesitate; he hit the Lieutenant square in his jaw, sending the dog reeling back into the elevator and against the back wall. Drawn wiped a smear off blood off of his muzzle and returned the blow to Kirby’s stomach, grabbing the agent by his suit and throwing him into the elevator before walking out of it. Kirby hit the back wall and turned around to see the Lieutenant pointing a pistol at him.

“Easier than your partner…” the Lieutenant said distastefully. Kirby quickly kicked the button for the top floor and the doors closed as Drawn pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting the doors as they shut. “No! Damn it!”

Kirby sighed with relief and slid down the wall. That had been his closest brush with death yet. Thank God that Lieutenant didn’t pull the trigger fast enough… That guy must’ve been the bastard who got Kodi… he thought to himself. A few moments later, the doors opened again and Kirby walked out, his boots clanging against the metal floor as he looked around the lab.

“Alright… The Colonel said that the serum was on a catwalk, so… Ah!” Kirby said as he spotted the partially destroyed catwalk above him. He looked around, circling the room as he searched for a way up to the catwalk. A minute or so later, Kirby found a metal ladder against the back wall leading up to the metal walkways. He ran for it and climbed upward swiftly, running down the catwalk as he searched for the serum.

Kirby was beginning to get frustrated with searching. All that seemed to be up here were bullet casings and empty ammunition magazines for various weapons. As he came to the destroyed section of the catwalk, he spotted the vial of clear liquid balancing on the edge of where the catwalk had broken off. Kirby gasped slightly and ran for it, reaching it just as it began to fall.

“No!” Kirby cried out and dived down after it. His hand gripped around it a split second before his body made contact with the metal floor beneath him. He groaned out in agony at the force of the impact, letting his body take the pain for a few moments before slowly getting to his feet again. He stared down at the small vial of serum, grinning triumphantly. Kirby then quickly grabbed a fresh syringe from the table and ran back to the elevator.

As he went to press the button to call the elevator, the doors began to open up. Thinking fast, Kirby pressed his back against the wall by the elevator door, watching as the Lieutenant came into view, gun drawn and ready to fight. Kirby snuck behind him and into the elevator as the doors closed, hastily pressing the Third Floor button and feeling the elevator descend. He checked his SOAW and felt his blood run cold. He had less than five minutes left before Kodi would die. C’mon… Don’t let me be late… Don’t let Kodi die… he mentally pleaded, hoping he’d make it…

            Back in the Operations Room, Jenna sat staring at the picture of her son up on the wall monitor. His smiling face seemed so distant to her now. Crystalline tears began to well up in the corners of her amber eyes as she listened to the string of beeping signaling Kodi’s heart had stopped. It had been going on for the last twenty five minutes and now Jenna was beginning to think Kodi would never come back.

Colonel McIntyre walked back into the Operations Room. In his hands was an opened manila folder. As he looked over the documents, he took his seat next to Jenna and sighed heavily, looking back up at the display of Kodi and Kirby. He looked at Jenna and saw the look of sorrow, pain, and distraught in her eyes. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile.

“He’ll be fine…” he said softly, “Trust in him and Kirby… He’ll come back…”

“I know he will Colonel… It’s just…” Jenna began, wiping the tears from her eyes, “It’s just… I’m afraid I may never see him again… I keep telling myself he’ll come back home, but… I just feel like something’s going to go wrong…”

“Don’t think that way, Jenna… Keep faith in Kodi… He’s been trained by the best; he will be alright… He will come back home…” Colonel McIntyre said reassuringly.

Kirby nearly pushed the elevator doors open as soon as they opened up. He sprinted faster than he ever had before down to the Storage Room and pushed the door open. Inside, he found the guard Kodi had tranquilized beginning to get up, holding a pistol and ready to shoot Kodi. Kirby ran in and kicked the gun from his hands before slamming his boot into the dog’s forehead, kicking his head against the wall and knocking him out again. Not bothering to check how much time he had left, Kirby knelt beside Kodi and turned on his radio.

“This is Agent Kirby. I’ve gotten everything I need. Hurry Colonel, Kodi doesn’t have much time left!” Kirby said urgently, listening desperately for a response from HQ.

Both Jenna and Colonel McIntyre jumped when they heard Kirby’s voice come through the radio. The Colonel scrambled for the headset and put it on, turning on the radio as fast as possible.

“Alright Kirby, you only have a minute or less to do