They followed us, and she sternly motioned for me to sit down on the flower bed, which I did obediently. She reached down into her pile of clothes, pulled out an ID from her skirt, and flashed it at them. She then showed the guards some paperwork and pointed at the electric collar around my neck, still speaking in her language. In the end, the three soldiers nodded apologetically to her, exchanging a couple words with each other before leaving.
“Well, you’re lucky they came, or you would have been toast,” she said playfully, trying to break the awkward tension.
“Yeah, right, just keep telling yourself that,” I shot back playfully.
I tossed over my swimming shorts to her and sat down on the flower bed. She set out two pieces of bread, an apple, and water beside me and then took off my electric collar, replacing it with my shackles. “Sorry for the small meal tonight, Lance,” she apologized, looking down at it as she packed up her stuff to leave.
“No worries; I’m used to it. And I got two pieces of bread instead of one! I’m basically living the good life now,” I said. I got up and walked her to the gate, stopping at the entrance. “Thank you for letting me out today, Lara,” I whispered.
She unlocked the gate and then turned to face me. She seemed to be thinking about something as she glanced around the abandoned courtyard. Without warning, she closed her eyes and leaned forward, giving me my first real kiss on the lips. She took a step back, giggling to herself in embarrassment. We stared at each other in disbelief of what was happening. “We can do it again sometime. Just ask, and I’ll talk to my superiors about permission to schedule another outing for us,” she told me, still trying to act like a professional guard.
I nodded, folding my arms and going along with it, as if nothing had happened. I could tell she didn’t want to leave as she whispered good night, but she stepped through the gate and locked it on the other side with a wink. I watched her head down the path to her dorm. She paused off in the distance, glancing back before vanishing into the base.
Holding onto the gate with one hand, I rested my head against the rusted metal. I let out an unsure sigh, knowing something between us would never be the same.
Chapter 5
Throughout the next few days, Lara needed information to keep her superiors happy, so I would tell her little things, like what units I served with, along with our routine, tours I’d been on, and basic stuff like that. It had been about two months now that I had been held captive by the fiends, and things were beginning to get restless among the prisoners of each compound. Something big was about to happen; I could feel it in the air. Prisoners were circulated from compound to compound in the fiends’ attempt to keep us out of contact with each other, to prevent a riot or escape attempt from taking place.
There were now nine other PLF soldiers, all chained in different sections of my compound. We couldn’t see anything through the thick foliage of the courtyard garden, but we could hear each other. The hatred for the fiends seemed to be growing stronger as each day passed.
“I think this place is going to explode soon,” I whispered to Lara that night as she was wrapping up our daily interrogation session.
“What have you heard?” she asked, quietly leaning closer to me.
“Nothing. I just have this feeling. The prisoner over there is an officer,” I told her, nodding toward the right side of the compound. “He has been communicating to us over the past few days in Morse code.”
As if on cue, we could hear tapping against the wall in the distance, followed by silence, and then a simple tap, ringing out from each side of the compound.
“What did he ask?” Lara whispered.
“He wants to know if all the interrogators are gone,” I replied, staring at the rock on the ground beside me that I had been using to communicate with them. “They all said yes,” I added as she stared at me anxiously.
“Say yes,” she urged me, but I just stared at her blankly.
“I can’t do that, Lara,” I told her, refusing to strike my rock against the wall.
She stared at me angrily for a second. I thought she was going to hit me at first, but she soon calmed down, probably realizing that I could have just as easily not given her any information at all. “What have they been planning?” she asked.
I shrugged, knowing if I gave her that information, the rest of them would realize I was a rat and kill me if an uprising took place.
She stood up, moodily grabbing her paperwork and dusting off her pants, which were stained brown from sitting on the ground with me all day.
“I’m sorry; I can’t betray my own kind,” I whispered to her.
She glanced down at me, placing her hands on her hips. “Why would you tell me this then?” she asked angrily.
“So that you can separate the prisoners before something happens.”
“I can’t do anything unless you tell me what’s going on,” Lara insisted impatiently.
“The officer has told us to stay strong. Our day of freedom is coming,” I told her hesitantly, not informing her about the upcoming rebellion plan that the soldiers had been devising over the past couple of days.
She shook her head unhappily. “You think my superiors will take the time out of their day to separate you guys based on pointless propaganda that a captured officer is spreading to his troops, just because his ego has been bruised by defeat and he wants revenge?” Lara asked irritably, getting up and slinging her assault rifle across her back.
“People are going to die, Lara. I don’t want anything to happen to us,” I told her urgently.
“Nothing’s going to happen to us, Lance,” she promised. She ignored my warning and gave me a kiss good-bye.
“But—”
“Goodnight, Lance,” she whispered, firmly cutting me off. “I’ll see what I can do.”
I looked away unhappily, knowing that she was just telling me what I wanted to hear. She headed toward the entrance. I heard the dull rattle of metal on metal a second later. Her leaving sent the clear reminder that we were not equals. I was the prisoner, and she was my guard.
Lara never came down the following day. Instead, a brunette female fiend with long shiny hair woke me up. I recoiled in shock as I glanced at her, confused, wondering what was going on. The fiend was trying to be nice; I could tell Lara must have told her to be gentle.
She kept a hand on her pistol holster as she placed a bag down in front of me. Then she took a step back to let me grab it.
“Where’s Lara?” I asked suspiciously.
“Sick,” the fiend said bluntly, the disgust of being in my presence written across her face. “Lara told me to tell you she would be back tomorrow.” Then she nodded and walked away, leaving me alone to my thoughts for the rest of the day. Lara came down the next morning, as promised.
“Wow, you’re pretty early,” I said, surprised to see her. Judging by the sun, I guessed that it was probably around nine in the morning.
“Yeah, well, I missed you!” she told me, smiling as she took her seat on the ground beside me.
“Aw, I missed you, too. How are you feeling?” I asked her, trying to make up for the tense conversation we’d had the last time we’d seen each other.
“Not too bad,” she informed me, pausing as she rummaged around in her backpack for my breakfast. “Sorry about the other day. I was a little bit moody. I’m thankful for all the information you gave me,” she added sincerely, handing me an apple for breakfast.
“Thanks!” I replied with a nod, accepting her apology.
“So how was Luna? Did she treat you all right?” Lara asked.
“Yeah, she just came down and gave me my food and then left.”
Lara smiled in relief. “She’s a good friend. I knew she wouldn’t let me down.” I finished my breakfast and tossed the apple core into the flower bed we were resting
against. We sat there in silence for a bit as the morning sun beat on us, listening to the peaceful sounds of the birds chirping in the distance. “You don’t understand how hard it is for me to do this job when I have such strong feelings for you, Lance,” Lara tried to explain.
I could tell she was in an affectionate mood as she stroked my hair away from my eyes, smiling faintly. “It’s okay. I know you have to do it,” I told her, paving the way for her to start her interrogation.
She nodded, thankful that I was okay with it, and pulled out her folder, giving me a kiss before she began. “So before the war—”
BANG!
A single gunshot rang out through the compound, breaking the tranquility of the morning air before Lara even finished her first question.
Lara motioned for me to get to the ground. She stood up cautiously, looking around. Her eyes turned red as she peered through the dense foliage surrounding us. I could hear muffled screaming in a corner of the compound, followed by the panicked yelling of fiends, indicating to me that the victim was one of their own. Fully automatic gunfire began to erupt around us, blindly spraying into the compound and ricocheting dangerously everywhere.
“Stay down!” Lara shouted, quickly grabbing her assault rifle and loading a magazine into it.
The gunfire stopped for a second, but panicked screams continued to erupt around us, followed by the cricket chirps of PLF soldiers communicating to one another. The gunfire seemed to strengthen, signaling that more prisoners had been set free. Shots blindly flew back and forth between the humans and the fiends, hissing over our heads. Within five minutes, it appeared that all nine of them were free, and they zeroed in on my corner. I heard the chirping of one of them, asking me where Lara was, but I remained silent. Lara shot blindly through the foliage, which was returned by a barrage of fire ripping through the walls behind us. “Hit me, Lara!” I cried.
“Huh?” Fear and confusion were plastered across her face.
“Just do it!” I yelled.
She obediently smashed the butt of the rifle against my face, and I cringed in pain. I felt my mouth, and saw that my hand was covered in blood.
“Give me your weapon, or you’re dead,” I told her as shadows began to form in the brush surrounding her.
She glanced at me in fright but obediently set her AK89 on the pavement beside me. I loaded another clip into it and then got up, knocking her over the head with the butt of it. It bloodied her face, and I placed my foot on top of her chest to make it look as though I had just overtaken her. “I got her, boys! It’s safe!” I yelled over the roar of gunfire, which instantly stopped. When the fighters emerged through the dense brush, I was standing there, pointing my rifle at Lara’s face. She looked around in fright and then up at me, defeated.
“Let’s kill this filthy monster,” one of them said, followed by a wave of agreement.
“No! Let’s keep her as a prisoner. We may need her to get out of here,” I suggested. My words were followed by silence.
An older man in his thirties took a step out of the crowd and patted me on the shoulder. “Good thinking, young lad,” he said. He bent down and went through Lara’s pockets, pulling out maps, folders, pens, keys, two fully loaded pistol magazines, handcuffs, and a 9mm handgun. The man uncuffed the chains attached to me, handing me the 9mm and mags, which I stuffed into my pockets. I put the 9mm in my belt buckle. “She dinged you pretty hard, hey?” he asked me, tapping the side of his face to indicate where I had been hit.
“It’s no big deal; just a scratch.” I shooed away one of the boys who came over with a rag to wipe some of the blood off my face. “Sir, were you the one sending the Morse code around the compound?” I asked.
He nodded. “Captain Myers. Thirteenth Mountain Infantry.” He introduced himself with a firm handshake. “Who are you?” he asked me as he handcuffed Lara.
“Corporal Lance. Tenth Company Light Infantry,” I answered proudly.
“Ah, I’ve heard stories about you. You’re that sniper, right?” he asked me.
“Yes, sir,” I replied, grabbing one of Lara’s arms. We brought her over to where the rest of the fiends were held captive. Twelve were alive and seven dead.
“You have quite a good reputation,” Captain Myers said. “I hear you’re one of the best snipers in this war.”
“I have a decent shot, sir,” I told him, embarrassed as he laughed and took a better look at me.
“Don’t be so modest, son,” he chuckled. “Robinson?” he called out.
“Sir!” a boy about sixteen answered, appearing from behind me.
“Give Lance your sniper.”
The boy obediently traded me his L96A1 for Lara’s AK89.
“Well, I would love to sit around and chat, but we have a compound to fortify. Lance, try to find yourself a good position. The counterattack is sure to happen soon,” Captain Myers ordered me.
“Yes, sir,” I replied, saluting him and then strolling away in search of a place to perch myself.
For ten guys, we had ourselves locked down pretty securely. One had to guard the prisoners at all times, while the other nine were spread around the entrances. I found a position behind a cement statue, which allowed me to have a good line of sight to the pathways on my right and left, along with the windows of the base, if I were to peek around it.
I saw Lara watching me, emotionless, as I set up my firing position. I think that she thought I had turned on her, but I knew this plan to hold out until help arrived would never work. I was just playing along with the defense until we were inevitably overrun, so that I didn’t seem like a traitor.
Sure enough, the counterattack came, and I began to unload my clip at a group of fiends. I avoided the kill shots and only shot out their legs so they were no longer a threat. The battle raged on all night, with periodic lulls. I had shot about thirty-three fiends by the time Robinson came around, reporting to me that we’d suffered five deaths but managed to kill twenty-three fiends, plus the seven from this morning, and wounded fifty or more.
The fighting ceased for the rest of the night as the fiends realized they were just going to suffer more casualties in trying to take the compound. I went over to the fiends who were prisoner and relieved the sentry. I pulled out my 9mm for protection as they all stared at me menacingly. “Calm down, boys,” Lara whispered to them, holding out her hand.
“What are the stats?” Lara asked, wiggling closer to me.
“Twenty-three fiends killed, plus these guys, and fifty or more wounded.” I nodded toward the seven dead on the ground.
“And?” I knew she was referring to our casualties.
“Five PLF soldiers killed,” I told her, glancing around to make sure no humans were watching me.
“In the morning they’re going to storm this place and kill you, Lance,” she warned me. Then she asked, “Why did you save me?”
I ignored her question, confused about the answer myself. She knew I loved her; I didn’t need to tell her that. Plus, my saving her was kind of an ace up the sleeve, since I knew she was my only hope of surviving this.
“Did you kill anyone?” Lara asked me solemnly.
I shook my head, staring at the ground. “No … well, not today anyway,” I began and then paused to glance back over my shoulder, making sure no one was around. “I shot about thirty-three or thirty-four of them though,” I admitted.
She nodded, knowing I could have easily killed them.
“I have to go. It was nice knowing you, Lara,” I told her, accepting that I was going to die in a few hours.
She tried to whisper something to me, but I left, and she stopped mid-sentence as another PLF soldier took over as sentry. Not surprisingly, they brought in some snipers the next morning, and within the next five hours, as dawn began to creep over the walls, it was only Myers, Robinson, and I left to defen
d the courtyard.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I heard the sound of a pistol firing. I jumped to my feet and raced toward the prisoners. Myers was executing them, one by one, with his sidearm.
“What the hell are you doing? Those are prisoners of war!” I yelled at him, slinging the sniper rifle over my shoulder.
He glanced over at me with a careless shrug and pressed the mag release button on his empty pistol. He fumbled around in his pocket for another mag and put it in. I glanced down at Lara, who was staring at him, frozen in fear. She must have realized that she was next in the line. “Come on, Lance. Wake up. Fiends don’t follow the Geneva Conventions; why should we?” Myers asked me bitterly.
I tried to reason with him. “We are no better than they are if we start acting like them.”
“They’re not humans, Lance. They’re monsters. We’re doing this world a favor.” He laughed, waving his pistol in the air before aiming it at Lara’s head.
“Don’t you dare!” I yelled at him, drawing my pistol and aiming it straight at his chest.
“Drop your weapon, Lance!” Robinson screamed, quickly taking aim at me to loyally protect his leader.
The three of us stared at each other, and time seemed to come to a screeching halt as we remained locked in our Mexican standoff. Myers was a smart man; he glanced from his weapon to Lara and scanned the rest of the fiends. “Tsk, tsk, Lance. This one’s gotten into your head, hasn’t she?” Myers called over to me.
“It’s over, Myers; we’ve lost,” I called out, trying to reason with him.
“It’s over when I say it’s over,” he growled. His grip tightened around the pistol.
The air lit up with gunfire, and just like that, it was over. My shot had sailed through the air, connecting with Myers’s chest just as he fired his shot. It threw him off balance and grazed the fiend beside Lara. Robinson had unleashed a fully automatic barrage at me, just as I dropped to the ground on my back, firing a single shot that sailed right through the bottom of his chin and into his brain, killing him instantly.
The Unexpected War Page 4