Ryan & Ella

Ella kept pacing around the compound after receiving Ryan's call, she was anxious to meet him again after two years.

"I can't wait to hug you again my love" she whispered while reminiscing the beautiful moments they shared before he traveled for a special operation.

Tears escaped from her eyes and she eventually went to seat in her small garden.

"It's really cold out there Ella, don't freeze before he arrives", her mom jokingly said just to bring Ella inside the house but she wouldn't listen.

She couldn't take her mind off the road and even though he wasn't there, she could smell his scent in the air.

A vehicle finally parked outside their compound and Ryan alighted from it. Ella rushed out of the garden immediately after she saw him and threw herself at him as he stepped into the compound.

"I miss you", she whispered into his ears.

"I miss you more, I am sorry I had to stay away too long", Ryan apologized.

They were at the spot for a few minutes before Ryan's phone rang.

"Who could that be?", Ryan said with some displeasure in his voice.

Ella gently gave way for him to reach his phone but won't remove her hands wrapped around him.

"Hello sir", Ryan said immediately after he pick up the call.

He was quiet while listening to the caller and his facial expressions could tell that he wasn't happy about the call.

Ella knew something was wrong but she didn't know what it was and couldn't wait for him to end the call.

"Okay sir", he ended the call.

"What's happening?", she asked.

Ryan sighed heavily.

"Don't tell me you are going back again this evening, you promise to be around for at least three months", Ella's eyes were filled with tears already and just one blink would let them out.

"I am not going anywhere, my commander just wants me to report for a short briefing and I will be back", he replied.

"But you just left there now, go to your superior and let me be. Why was I anxious to see you, it is annoying you don't miss me the way I do", Ella walked away with anger.

"Sweetheart, I miss you. I will be back in a short time", Ryan replied as he tried catching up with her.

Ella's mom came out immediately after she heard Ryan's voice.

"That voice, I knew it was you", she said immediately after she got outside.

Ella walked passed her and she could tell something wasn't right.

"What happened Ryan?", she asked.

"I got a call from the base, I have to be there shortly and Ella is not happy about it", Ryan replied.

"I will have reacted the same way too but it's fine. Come in, let me talk to her".

They both went inside and Ella was on the couch sobbing already.

"My girl, you have to be understanding. Ryan job is to protect us, please don't be angry with him", Mother sat by her side and patted her.

"I will be back, I promise", Ryan joined Mom in comforting Ella.

"Okay, I wasn't mad at you. I just felt sad because I can't stay in your arms for long after two years", she replied.

"Will you drive me there so we can be together?", Ryan asked.

"Is that okay? Won't your superior be angry having a civilian at the base?", she replied.

"It's okay, civilians are allowed at the base", he replied

Ella was happy and rushed to freshen up. They set out and she was happy driving him down to the base.

On their arrival, they saw some soldiers running with guns.

Ella didn't feel cool about it and she held Ryan's hand tightly.

"Is everything alright or is this how things are here", she asked with fright all over her face.

"Hold on for a sec", Ryan said as he quickly reached for his phone.

"Hey Bob, what's happening? The base looks unsettled", he asked and was quiet for a few seconds listening to Bob.

"An attack?", Ryan shouted and ended the call immediately.

He turned to Ella who was shivering already.

"Babe, I need you to calm down. The base is under an attack so I will take you to a safe place and we will leave once it is safe to do so", Ryan said to her and she only nodded.

He held her hand and they ran through some tanks to a more quiet place. They entered a warehouse and could hear a few gunshots close to them.

"We shouldn't have come here at all and you are submitting your resignation letter if we survive this", Ella whispered.

"Let's go into the woods, I know another safe spot there", Ryan said when he heard footsteps approaching them and they left through the warehouse's back door.

The exit led them into the woods immediately and they moved as fast as possible.

While they were running, Ryan stepped on an object and the loud beep of the object made him halt at that point.

"What's wrong?", Ella asked.

"I can't go further than this, I forgot here is a minefield, I just stepped on an explosive", Ryan replied.

"What does that mean?", she asked.

"If I remove my leg, the object underneath my leg will explode and I will be dead", he replied.

"You must be must kidding", she replied.

"I am not, you need to run as fast as you can", he replied.

"No, you can't be serious. I am not leaving you and if this is the end really, we are both ending it here", she replied.

Ryan did everything he could to convince Ella to go but she wouldn't listen.

"From the very first hello, my soul has been glued to yours. Without you, the world will mean nothing to me", Ella told Ryan and vow never to leave his side no matter what happened.

They were there for about thirty minutes confessing their feelings and suddenly, the place began to change. The trees slowly disappeared and the grasses became solid glass.

Ella turned around as the transformation happened.

"What's happening, this place is driving me crazy", She screamed.

"Don't be scared, there is no war or attack. Those guys with guns earlier were just parading and the gunshots were from the shooting range. The warehouse is the entrance to this place and everything you saw were just the latest stimulation program. This room is a newly developed stimulation for practice and one can barely differentiate the stimulation from reality".

Ella was speechless and wouldn't stop turning around as Ryan was speaking.

"There is no forest or a minefield, we are in a training facility built on over five acres of land. I can't think of any way to make this special and with the help of my friends, I planned all this. I know it is terrible but this was the best we could come up with".

The training facility lightened up completely and Ella saw lots of soldiers at a corner, they had balloons, cake and cards.

"You mean all this was for a proposal? You almost killed me, Ryan. I was scared to the bone", she burst into tears as she hugged him.

Ryan when on his knee after the hug and asked, "Will you marry me?".

Ella looked around and said "Yes".

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