<strong>~Lcpl. Roman “Rome” Beneke - In the clearing with Predator~</strong><br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z466/Corvus269/Characters/Roman.jpg)</div>Gunfire roared in his ears, the glare from the muzzle flashes lighting their faces in a spooky light. After what seemed like seemed like 10 minutes, Sgt. O’Shay gave the order,<em>“Cease fire!”</em>waving his hand in front of his face in to relay the same command in case he couldn’t be heard over the sounds of combat.<br/><br/>Rome let off the trigger at nearly the same instant as the rest of the squad filling the jungle with an eerie silence, the remnants of gunfire echoing in the distance. Everyone stood motionless for a few moments, trying desperately to see through the smoke from the gunfire to determine if their attacker was down. The distinct ‘tic-tic-tic-tic’ sound of the barrel of the M56 cooling was joined by similar sounds from the pulse rifles. For a moment, it was the only sound that could be heard.<br/><br/>The silence was broken suddenly when Sgt. O’Shay began moving towards Senjo, shouting another command to what remained of 1st squad.<em>” "Watch the perimeter!"</em>Rome tilted the M56 on his mounting and rolled to one knee. Lowering his weapon once more, he grabbed his helmet and put it back on, adjusting the sight reticle over his eye. He gave a heave and pushed himself up to his feet, moving position so that he was covering DeSilva’s six. Glancing at her as he moved past, he gave a little smirk.<strong>“You handle yourself pretty well, baby girl,”</strong>he shot at her.<strong>“And I love a woman who knows how to handle herself.”</strong><br/><br/>As he turned back to watch the perimeter, he noticed stains of bright green splattered on the jungle’s undergrowth.<em> "Cover the perimeter.  I'll grab Cybertits here and..."</em>He was just about to comment on the fluid when the Sgt. O’Shay trailed off. His senses became keenly alert and suddenly became acutely aware of the rhythmic beeping sound coming from the device in the center of the clearing.<em> "Something's not right...,"</em>He heard Sgt. O’Shay say to himself.<em>"Cover the perimeter. I'll grab Cybertits here and..."</em>Sgt. O’Shay began. Rome slowly turned his head towards the device, realization slowly dawning on him causing his face to dissolve into a grimace of horror. “It’s a goddamn bomb,” the thought came to him even as Sgt. O’Shay.<br/><br/>Rome was already moving when Sgt. O’Shay yelled<em> "Fall back towards the crash zone! It's a bomb!"</em>Rome turned back towards the crash site, releasing his grip on his weapon and letting the gun sit free on its mount. He reached out with both hands grabbing both Zippo and DeSilva and giving them a push forward.<strong>”Move your sorry asses, Marines!”</strong>He jogged behind them, moving as quickly as his bulk and his gear would allow him. He glanced back at Sgt. O’Shay, checking if he needed any help carrying the out-of-commission Senjo, but he seemed to managing just about as well as Rome was. The sounds of devilish laughter drifted after them as they raced back to the crash where this nightmare had all began.<br/>