Sixth - Prequel to Oleander: One of Us Series

by Faulks, Kim

  He leaned forward, gripped Stickler by the straps of his pack and heaved. That fighter roared now…pushing him beyond anything humanly capable.

  But he wasn’t just human.

  He was a Marine.

  He was my friend.

  I made for them, gripping Hartman around the waist with one and Stickler as he slipped from my buddy’s grasp. “I got you,” the words resounded in my chest as we stumbled for the wall.

  Boots scraped against the ground as we staggered and heaved, leaving the darkness behind for the light.

  And in the distance the most perfect sound echoed…whoop…whoop…whoop…motor blades carving through the sky as help headed our way.

  “Go,” Hartman growled next to me. “Go. Sixth, go find Walker, bring him back…bring them all back.”

  Pain mingled with desperation in his eyes as I lowered Stickler to the ground. The blistering sun beat down on us, and for a second I couldn’t move…I couldn’t force myself to leave his side.

  Until with a punch to my shoulder Hartman did what he did best.

  He put his mates need before his own. “Go, Sixth, and for God’s sake come back.”

  Chapter Ten

  Boots thundered, driving the sound through my head as I left Hartman and Stickler behind. The echo of the chopper grew louder, moving in at full speed for a rescue.

  I’d left him with what I could; one fresh magazine and the words you’re going to make it…just hold on, buddy. Help is coming.

  But help had already been there.

  And help was leaving him once more.

  Good people doing bad things…

  Or was it the other way around?

  Purple Hair filled me like a blinding neon light. Her panic…her fear, became my own. Pain sliced through my head…

  She was stronger now.

  Stronger than I’d ever felt her before.

  And so was I.

  This power…this sight hummed through my veins as behind me the growl of a gun-truck stole my focus. I pumped my legs, driving my boots into the dirt and wrenched my gaze over my shoulder.

  Green filled my view as the truck swerved, moving around me and then slowed. Windows wound down. “Get in!” A Corporal roared and then shoved the door open.

  Shots came from all directions, hitting the rear of the truck with pings as I lunged for the open door and scrambled in. We were already moving as I grabbed the hand and yanked it closed.

  “Snowman?” A savage wheeze tore free.

  I tried to swallow the burn and slipped one strap from my pack. Water trickled from the bullet holes as I dragged my canteen free. My fingers burned, pulsing with a beat of their own as I twisted the cap and emptied what was left into my mouth.

  “Here.” Someone shoved another canteen from the back seat. I didn’t look, only twisted the cap and drank, smothering the fire in my throat and then tried again. “Snowman?”

  “Just past Rt 611 and headed for the Center.”

  I nodded and leaned back, draining what was left of the water before I handed the empty canteen back. “Thank you.”

  My words were met with a careful nod. The young private stared…and stared before finally speaking. “Your eye.”

  I flinched at the words and dragged my gaze toward the side mirror. Not shattered, like the last truck. Silver light bounced back…blinding.

  And inside me Purple Hair raged.

  Her fear was like lightning through my veins. I tried to breathe, tried to hold on as her voice filled my head…something doesn’t feel right.

  “No shit it doesn’t,” the Corporal behind the wheel growled and glanced into the side mirror.

  Shots rang out, peppering the side of the truck as he punched the accelerator to the floor and aimed at two wrecked cars in the center of the road. “Hold the fuck on.”

  I gripped the bar above my head as we bore down, aiming for the gap in the middle. IED’s were all over this place…and this was the perfect set up.

  But the Corporal knew… “Right or left, Sixth.”

  Right or left…

  The future played out inside my head, we hit, catching the explosion on the right hand side…tipping the truck…killing those inside. “Left…Left!”

  He jerked the wheel at the last minute, catching the end of the rusted mess head on. The brunt threw me forward a second before the boom!

  The back end of the truck lifted and slid sideways. But the Corporal was already working the wheel, countering the swing as we charged through.

  “Snowman’s leading a team heading through Wishtan,” the Corporal snarled, and watched his mirrors.

  Insurgents were everywhere, hiding outside range of the IED’s they burrowed into the hard dirt. I stared at the blinding glare of silver in the side mirror and tried to think. “He’s heading for the Center.”

  There was a nod, before he muttered, “Mutherfucker,” and jerked the wheel right, narrowly missing a child as he ran across the empty street. “That’s what Snowman said. Crazy fucking sonovabitch, why the Hell would he go there alone?”

  There was only one reason…one reason why someone would go into a place that was a complex urban maze covered in mines. Money lived in there; high profile suppliers and financiers, men with power who specialized in bait and ambush, and there was no greater prize than a Marine.

  The gun truck surged forward, taking the corners a little faster and wider. Seemed the Corporal had answered his own question.

  Black flames billowed in the distance. I held on while we swung wide and caught sight of the burning truck in the middle of the road.

  The Corporal glanced at me and then back to the wreckage. “Can’t get you much further.”

  I was already reaching for the door as a new canteen was shoved against my arm. “Here. You’re gonna need this.”

  I glanced back to the Private First Class, gave a nod, and then shoved the door. Energy surged through me, pulling me in different paths.

  Panicked thoughts crowded my head…gotta get out of here…just gotta get out. Walker…

  The roar of the marketplace drifted through to me. Car horns honked, before the crack of a shot tore through the air. Snowman was there, hunting…desperate—and closer.

  I lunged in that direction and pressed the mic on my headset. “I’m coming, Snowman. Hold on, I’m almost there.”

  Harsh breaths filled my ear, under the heavy thud of boots he barked directions. Energy raced, tearing through my head with a deafening sound.

  Tick…tick…tick…

  I grabbed my rifle and raced down a narrow, darkened alleyway as his panic became my own.

  A car horn blared in front of me. I flinched, and then lunged to the side as a tiny piece of shit Corolla rattled past.

  Jesus… I slammed against the wall and tried to breathe. Pain was searing, like flash bombs inside my head. Purple Hair was calling me…just as she called me all those years ago in the playground. And under that was Snowman and Walker… Three of them…three needing, three frightened…

  I lifted my gaze to the blur at the end of the alleyway and surged forward.

  We’ve got incoming…the words filled me.

  “We’ve got incoming,” Snowman growled into the mic.

  I charged ahead, turned left, and then left again. I knew where he was now. Knew exactly how to find him.

  Hard eyes watched me from high above. I could feel their gazes…an unwanted American ruining their country. They’d kill me, if given the chance…just as they’d kill Walker.

  I swallowed arid air and turned left along the busy street. Shops were open. Men and women crowded the doorways buying and selling their wares. They stopped and watched as I stumbled past.

  Gotta keep moving…keep pushing.

  Quiet now, Purple. Not a sound, you understand me?

  The Irish voice filled my head, sinister and cold.

  I gave into her, unfurling my hold and felt my power slip. She was right there, raging like an inferno, and I caught it al
l…the aching loneliness…the need to know—to understand…

  You wanted to find out who you really are? Here’s your chance…

  The strangers voice filled my head, bitter and strange.

  And under the voice came her panic. My heart sped, slamming against the confines of my chest. She was scared now…thousands of fucking miles away and scared.

  “I’m here,” my whispered words barely made it. “I’m right here, Purple Hair.”

  She was cornered, cornered by animals.

  “Run,” I growled, staring into the harsh midday sun. “Get out of there now…”

  I lifted my rifle and slowed as I came to a corner. They watched me high above with dark, beady eyes. I found them in my sights, and in my mind as Purple Hair held on.

  There’s nowhere to go, that calculated voice crowded in. Nowhere to run. This is going to happen either way. You wanted to see what you really are, then do what I’ve told you to do…

  “Sixth, we need you in this goddamn maze.” Snowman’s panic mingled with hers.

  A punk’s voice followed. What’s the bitch gonna do, tickle me to death?

  Bloated face. Blood choked eyes.

  Her terror buckled my knees.

  I did that…I did that to him.

  Two-story houses came into view. I could feel Snowman and the others. Fingers fumbled as I stabbed my mic. “On your six, brother.”

  And out of the panic something else. Hate. Rage. Insurgents waited for us…waiting with knives. Waiting with guns. Waiting to claim one more American Marine. “Wait! Snowman, stop! Stop where you are…do not fucking move.”

  “Sixth?” The Sergeant’s voice cut through the mic. “Hold on…I said hold the fuck on. Do not go through that door…”

  I was trapped…trapped one goddamn house away.

  Trapped by Walker as he filled my mind.

  Trapped by my Purple Hair as she lunged for escape on the other side of the goddamn world.

  Trapped by myself as I tried to control the power in my head.

  Starbursts exploded in my eyes as I raced for the back door.

  Snowman…

  Walker…

  Purple Hair…

  I stepped through the doorway and into the foyer.

  The glint of steel never registered—for I was somewhere else fighting…

  Fighting for her…

  I caught the movement far too late as the Insurgent on the landing above took aim and pulled the trigger.

  And all I thought about was her.

  Darkness claimed me…

  Darkness and danger…

  I couldn’t help anyone…anymore.

  Chapter Eleven

  The beast…her voice slipped through the darkness.

  The beast lives…

  They want it…

  It’ll kill me Sixth…it’ll kill me and they don’t even care…

  I cracked open my eyes to grainy white light. Deep, warped voices slipped away from me…tick…tick…tick…became beep…beep…beep…

  Shadows moved close. But I couldn’t feel a thing. Sleep was what I needed.

  I closed my eyes once more.

  Tired…so goddamn tired.

  I dreamed of her…my girl with the purple hair. I dreamed of monsters closing in around her, dark, vile fucking things I couldn’t see.

  I was there…pistol drawn, muzzle flashes blinding as I emptied magazine after magazine into the dark.

  Cold whispered…cold so bitter it gnashed my teeth. I turned to her, panic racing through my veins…we have to run…but we weren’t alone…there were two others.

  Men, like me.

  And just like I was surrounded by their energy. We stood on that field in my dreams, with grass skimming my thighs. One male stood beside me, red hair like fire in the warm, golden rays of the sun. If you’re not one of them, he growled, drawing my gaze…then you’re one of us. His thick shoulders flexed as he tested his muscles, ready to fight. Fear gripped me as he stepped toward the shadows.

  Don’t go any further, I warned. It’s not safe.

  He turned his head to find me and lifted his hands. Flames danced from the tips of his fingers, casting orange hues deep into the night. His lips curled into a smirk. Don’t you worry, we’re ready…

  And out of that inky darkness came another, a touch shorter, more muscled, moving like a fighter. Shadows clung to his back, like ribbons of night as he moved. Come find us, he urged. Come find us now.

  There was a whimper, and then a cry. All three of us turned toward her—our girl with the purple hair.

  She was strapped down on a hospital bed. Needles stuck into the crook of her elbow, a tourniquet tight around her arm. There was a glazed look in her eyes…drugged…that’s what she was.

  Hurry, she whispered, I can’t hold on much longer.

  And the darkness grew around her, like a predator…like a…beast. I stared into the abyss and shuddered…I knew fear…I knew terror—but this cut me to the core. My spirit flinched for a second. There was no bullet meant for this—no weapon ever made.

  How can there be?

  It was her…the girl with the purple hair.

  She was the infernal darkness wrapped up in one tiny body. She closed her eyes. The railing of the bed rattled as she held on. Hurry…she whispered. Please hurry.

  Urgency filled me. I wrenched open my eyes, and the grainy white lights became blindingly clear.

  Beep…beep…beep…

  “Hey there.” I turned toward the woman’s voice. She leaned closer to peer into my eyes. “How do you feel?”

  “Where…” I licked my lips. “Where am I?”

  “Bagram Air Base,” she murmured. “Do you remember what happened?”

  Remember? An ache speared through my head, and out of the pain a whimper…soft…frightened…I can’t hold on much longer.

  My arm was heavy as I reached for the covers.

  “Hey there, easy now. You’ve just come out of surgery.”

  Bagram…Bagram. I tried to make sense of it, tried to remember what happened. Hartman’s voice crowded my head. Stickler’s been hit…

  Need you, Sixth…

  Need you…

  I need you…

  It was her voice that smothered the others. Her voice that mattered to me now. My fingers clenched around the sheets and I yanked. Muscles trembled, body ached. I stared at the drip in my arm and an image filled my head.

  Purple hair strapped to a bed with needles in her arms. They were drugging her…hurting her. “Get this out.”

  “You need to stay in bed and rest, you’ve just had...”

  I gripped the needle and yanked. Pain flared in the back of my hand. Drops of blood splattered the floor.

  “Doctor,” the nurse yelled. “Doctor!”

  But I was already dragging my feet toward the side of the bed. Cold reached through my clothes.

  Cold. The sensation so alien to me…Blood trickled down my fingers as I clenched the metal railing and shoved. I knew the heat on my skin, knew the dust in my lungs, knew the sand in my eyes.

  But that’s my old life…

  I stilled, felt the room sway. But momentum had me, sliding my bare ass along the bed until my feet hit the floor.

  The thud…thud…thud…of footsteps crowded in. White filled my world as the doctor strode through the door and took one look at me. “You soldiers…you’re all the same.”

  I shook my head. “Yes, we are. But I’m not a soldier…I’m a damn Marine.”

  He unwrapped the coiled stethoscope from around his neck and came close. “You know what happened to you?”

  I shook my head, that memory just a blur.

  “You were shot in the chest, just missed your damn heart. You are one lucky sold- Marine. You’re one lucky Marine. One inch lower and we’d be shipping your body home in a casket.”

  I stiffened at his words as he pressed the icy metal against my chest. “Then do it. Send me home.”

  The cold slipped fr
om my skin as he stood. “You mean discharge you from service, is that what you want?”

  She was all that filled me now—my Purple hair. “Yes, discharge me from service.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to try a different position, not on the front line?”

  “No,” the answer resonated as I lifted my gaze to his. “I want to go home.”

  Sadness echoed in his gaze. “Five tours at Pangin. I think you’ve more than earned it. I have a few friends higher up. Let me make some calls, son, and see what I can do.”

  Power raced through me, and this time it didn’t carve apart my brain. I closed my eyes and felt the room sway.

  “For now, I want you to rest, and recover. The bullet might’ve missed your heart, but we still had a job in getting the damn thing out, and stop giving my nurses a hard time,” the last words were murmured in fun.

  But I nodded. I would’ve done anything at this moment to be on a plane and a ten thousand meters in the sky.

  I can’t hold on…she whispered.

  She would. She’d hold back the darkness. She’d swallow the pain.

  My thoughts turned to those who had her—who’d strapped her down like an animal—who danced with death. Part of me wanted her hold to slip, to let the darkness claim them.

  But that would kill her…just as the thousand empty stares I’d left behind killed me. Just a little bit, like a tiny nick of a blade…over and over and over again.

  Two more hovered in my mind…one towering redhead who carried fire in his veins, and another that danced with the kind of darkness that made you feel weak.

  They were waiting for me to find them…the man who saw it all.

  I sat back down on the bed and then lifted one foot after another back under the covers. I didn’t want to feel the crisp sheets…didn’t want to feel anything. I closed my eyes and she filled my mind. I wanted her…and only her.

  Redhead nodded, and his name echoed, Tex.

  Shadow…the whisper filled me as the other pushed to the front.

  They waited for me…she waited for us.

  Darkness came for me. Rest now, the two of them whispered. We’ve got a long way to go.

  I wanted to reach for her, to feel her in my dreams like I used to, but her pain pushed to the surface.