Sin: A Survival Romance Fiction (Her Story Trilogy Book 1)
Page 20
“Get out.” The order was shouted at them.
Unsure of their footholds, Bridger and Phil hesitantly exited the vehicle. The bags were pulled off their faces and Bridger squinted at the sudden light of the sun that hit his dark-accustomed eyes. The commander was standing in front of them with an impatient look on his face and his arms folded in front of him.
“You say you want to become soldiers, then prove it. Fight each other. Whoever wins can join our troop under my command.”
“And the loser?” Phil looked dumbfounded as his hands were untied and a large machete was given to him.
The question produced snickers from the soldiers around them.
“Will be dead.” The commander simply stated.
Bridger and Phil were pushed into a fenced yard in front of an abandoned house. They had driven to a small town where the rest of the commander’s troops had been waiting. Now, with the prospect of entertainment, the soldiers crowded around the perimeter of the fence to see which one of the strangers would survive a fight to the death. Bridger had been waiting patiently for his own machete, yet when it was given to him, his hands were still tied.
“Ready!” The commander started while he stood on the first rung of the fence to be higher than the crowd.
“Get these ropes off of me.” Bridger insisted, throwing his hands in the direction of the man who had given him the machete. Yet, the man pushed his hands away and ducked underneath the fence before Bridger could ask again.
“Captain’s orders.” He threw at Bridger as he joined his comrades behind the fence.
Bridger’s mind panicked as he looked back at Phil who was just now realizing his good fortune since both of his hands had been freed. Bridger’s eyes scanned the inside of the fence as he quickly brought his hands up to his mouth to pry the knot loose with his teeth.
“Fight!” yelled the commander, signaling to start.
Feeling the ease of his victory, Phil rushed at Bridger with his machete posed to run him through. The knot had gotten looser, but the immediate danger of Phil’s assault caused Bridger to forgo the rope situation and he gripped the machete with both of his hands bound together. He brought his blade up to deflect the blow Phil was bringing down on him. Phil’s blade would have hacked at Bridger’s neck, but as it was, it slid off of Bridger’s machete harmlessly. Bridger tried wriggling his hands to allow the rope to ease up, but Phil used this opportunity to slice at his arm, cutting into his bicep. The crowd of soldiers shouted approvingly as Bridger’s arm began to drip the first blood of the fight.
Phil tried to attack again but before he could strike, Bridger stepped towards him and swung his own machete so that it caught Phil’s knife by the hilt and locked the two weapons against each other. Bridger put his weight into the interlocked metal and started pushing Phil backwards, which resulted in a cheer from the audience. Phil tried to retreat so he could release his machete from Bridger’s pressure. However, seeing he was about to lose his advantage, Bridger twisted his machete and swung it out of his hands, bringing Phil’s weapon along with it as it sailed across the yard. Another yell of approval erupted from the crowd and Phil ran to where the machetes had been flung.
In a flash, Bridger tackled his back and they both fell to the ground. With Phil facing away from him, Bridger once again bit into the rope that was holding his hands back and at last it gave way. Phil tried getting to his knees to push Bridger off of him, but Bridger easily pinned him down and brought the rope around Phil’s throat. Phil thrashed out desperately as Bridger pulled the rope tight. The position Phil was in warranted him no chance of escape and soon he grew quiet and still as life departed from him. Contrarily, the onlooking soldiers began to cheer loudly at the surprising victory of the underdog who had earned the right to join them. Bridger stood up and nonchalantly brushed off his pant legs that had gotten dirty from the ground. He looked up to see the commander staring at him with a wise smile on his face. He beckoned Bridger to come out of the yard and follow him to a small house that was acting as his command post.
“It was clear you were the stronger man out of the two of you.” He started, speaking directly to Bridger for the first time. “I thought you would easily best him, but the true strength of a man can only be tried when the odds are against him.”
Bridger nodded, though he still didn’t appreciate the trick the commander had played on him by keeping him bound for the fight.
“I wanted you to understand,” The stranger continued. “What it feels like to be tied down when you were meant to rise.”
He passed a side glance at Bridger to see how his new champion fighter was taking the meaning of his words. Bridger’s face bore his usual stoic expression, but his eyes were active and showed the commander that he was listening.
“I am the captain of the Southwest region for the Oriole campaign. The only person above me is the general himself, who is now waiting for my return at our headquarters in the town I believe you Americans called Bisbee. He wants a report on the state of those who have yet escaped our detection and is obsessed with finding The Caravan. I couldn’t care less about this fabled group of stragglers, for I have found something of much greater interest.”
The captain went to the corner of the room where a bed was positioned and pulled out a wooden box from underneath the mattress. He brought it close enough to where Bridger could see and then slowly opened it to reveal three bars of silver about the size of a dollar bill, but much thicker.
“I had these melted down from the mines of Bisbee, but I have one problem. As second-in-command only, I do not have the power to transform the town’s population from idle prisoners to miners. I need someone from the outside. Someone I can trust to help me as I position myself to replace our general.”
“How will you do that?” Bridger interjected, liking where he thought this might go.
“I need you to kill him. It will have to be done quietly and quickly, but I will protect you once the news has gotten out. That is, if you are successful. If you fail, I will deny any knowledge of our arrangement and I assure you that any attempt to expose me will only end in your death. So, do we have a deal?”
Bridger looked hard at the man with ambition shining in his eyes. He was not a person to take lightly. Bridger could already tell that.
“We do.” Bridger finally responded, giving a small smile that mirrored the one he had received after the fight.
“Good, then get out of here and bandage up your arm before you lose too much blood.”
Bridger turned to go and made his way to the door of the house before pausing one last time.
“I agree to your terms.” His voice was low and deliberate. “But in return, I have a favor of my own.”
The commander raised his eyebrows as he waited to hear Bridger’s request. For the first time since he had been captured, Bridger knew how he would get his revenge on Summer and he cleared his throat to begin.
Table of Contents
Dedicationiv
Chapter 11
Chapter 218
Chapter 332
Chapter 437
Chapter 552
Chapter 658
Chapter 765
Chapter 872
Chapter 989
Chapter 10102
Chapter 11113
Chapter 12128
Chapter 13140
Chapter 14153
Chapter 15162
Chapter 16177
Chapter 17189
Chapter 18194
Chapter 19211
Chapter 20227
Chapter 21247
Chapter 22255
Chapter 23270
Chapter 24277
A Sneak Peek of the Second Book in the Trilogy: Her Fury283
Fiction (Her Story Trilogy Book 1)