by Alex Just
~ Island – pacific ~
Stanley had made sure the girl was out of sight before he picked up a silenced pistol and checked the bullets. She’d done very well. Surprisingly so. She was a resourceful young girl. Carefully he picked his way through the trees, emerging onto the road. Immediately the guards stood alert, raising their rifles. It was too dark to see anything so they had to speak.
‘Who goes there, rank and ID number?’ The response was two quick pffts and both guards collapsed onto the ground, gaping holes in their foreheads. Bending over one of them, Stan collected the keys.
‘I’ll take this, thank you very much.’
He then unlocked the prison and stepped inside.
As the door to the prison opened, Tom was on his feet before he even knew what he was doing. Half the room was still awake, shell shocked after the horrific events that they’d been forced to witness, so as the door opened again, they were alert, expecting the worst. A spotlight swept the prison slanting in through the windows shedding light on the figure. Tom stopped in his tracks as he recognised Stan. His heart soared to unknown heights. So he and Julia had survived the plane destruction without being killed and now they were here to break them all out.
‘Wake up everyone, now,’ Tom hissed at the nearest people sitting down next to him. It must have been the urgency in his voice that jolted those around him into action. Soon the room was buzzing with confused whispers. Some people had recognised Stan and were pointing excitedly.
‘Quiet.’ It was Rose, Tom’s mother who’d spoken, and everyone turned around in surprise for they’d never heard the woman speak a word before now. A hush fell on the crowd, as they looked between Stan, Tom and Rose.
Stan spoke with quiet authority.
‘We don’t have much time before this complex is going to start blowing up. Julia and I have managed to secure weapons for those of you who wish to fight.’ At this a large group of men jumped to their feet, a scattering of women stepped up too. Most of them were sailors who saw this as their chance to get off the island.
‘Wait.’ The single word was spoken slowly halting everyone. ‘You’ll have to be quick and follow me to where the weapons are stashed. I’ve no idea how many soldiers we’re up against and how many of them will die from the explosions. You’ve the choice of automatic weapons, grenades and pistols. I’ll give a quick tutorial on how to use them. We can’t all rush out at once or we will be slaughtered. There has to be some basic form of attack plan or we’ll all die and this’ll have been for nothing.’ He had their attention now. He was aware he was running out of time very fast. ‘You must get into groups of two’s or three and we have to spread out in a line when we head into the middle of the complex. Each group must have at least five smoke grenades which I want you to throw every time the smoke clears and make sure you’re shooting into the smoke. Are you following me?’ There was a murmured consent from those who were now standing.
‘Who can run... fast?’ six people stepped forward: four men and two women, they were surviving sailors from the cruise.
‘Skirt the entire complex and come in from the other side. You can’t be seen and you attack them from behind. They won’t be expecting co-ordination like that from us. Those of you not fighting make sure that you stay inside this building and don’t leave. I’ll need four volunteers to act as guards. Now for those in need of weapons follow me quickly.’
He made sure they could all see him as he crossed the road into the jungle. He was engulfed in a sea of people grabbing rifles and handfuls of grenades as well as ammunition. When he thought everyone was ready he showed them what to do.
‘Those with rifle’s listen up. The safety catch is on the left side of the trigger. You simply flick it up to release and then you’re good to shoot. When re-loading, press the small button on the magazine and simply slide in a replacement.’ He demonstrated it for all to see and got them repeating the movement. It took a while but at the end all those with rifles and pistols knew how to operate them.
‘Our best strategy is to surprise them, aggressively and fast. Almost none of you picked up the knives.’ He pointed to a small box filled with cruel looking blades. ‘You’re going to waste your bullets, it’s unavoidable, and when you run out of spare ammo you have no way to defend yourselves. Take a knife or more so you’re not defenceless.’
He was met with a fearful silence. Then slowly different people stepped forward and picked up one or two knives. It gave him hope that they had a chance, seeing the determined looks on their faces fuelling them to go through with this. Suddenly everyone was still again looking up at him. They all had what they needed. There were about thirty of them. It would have to do.
‘Group’s!’ he barked. Within seconds they were ready, the group of six runners had already been sent on their way.
‘You all know the drill. Most of you haven’t fired a gun before. Careful with the kickback, it’s strong with those rifles. Also I’d suggest firing one at a time, so that you’re always covered when re-loading. Good luck, I hope to see you on the other side.’ He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way. Adrianna appeared at his shoulder, as their small army began its careful walk towards the camps heart.
‘You’re coming with me,’ was all he said. ‘I want you to stick by my side the whole time, and keep an eye out for Julia. She should be here any minute now. We’re going to have to go somewhere else, but first we need a jeep.’
‘You’re not planning on leaving them to themselves are you?’ she looked horrified at the slightest notion.
‘There’s no time to explain. Just trust me.’
It was then that a huge explosion filled the night air and flames stretched for the skies. The storage area had gone. That was good. A second later Julia was at his side, panting slightly from the run. Alarm bells were going off like crazy, wailing desperately, and lights flicked on in the barracks and the central tower. It was like the entire camp had been thrust into daylight as giant floodlights thundered on, beaming their light onto the ground. The barracks door’s furthest away from them burst open and a few soldiers streamed out, armed and ready. Two rushed straight for the burning building, the others unsure of where to go stood around. As Stan watched from their vantage point he saw one of the guard’s head disappear in a cloud of red mist. Then black smoke seemed to seep out of the ground. One of the men looked down and leapt back in horror, turning and trying to make a run for it. That was when the grenade went off, sending him hurdling through the air, where he face planted onto the concrete path, his neck breaking instantly. The smoke had completely engulfed the entrance to the first barrack and the clatter of machine gun fire could be heard faintly.
Turning to Julia, Stan whispered, ‘We need to get a jeep and fast. The first one you see, I want you to shoot the guys inside and get it for yourself. Understood?’ She nodded gravely, her face pale white. Suddenly Tom was at her side, hugging her tightly.
‘You’re alive!’ delight and admiration took over her expressions.
‘It’s a long story, you won’t belie-’ four more explosions shook the ground as Stan’s bombs went off.
Two of the barrack’s roofs crumpled in on themselves and flames leapt up off the ground as bits of timber caught alight. A huge gash was blown in the tower, choking smoke poured out of it like blood from a wound and a patch of bush in between the concrete paths simply evaporated in flames. It was chaos, just like Stan had wanted. He looked along the sides of his line of fighters and shouted above the noise to be heard.
‘Move, move, move, grenades now!’
As one, each member launched smoke grenades into the air in different directions. They arced with dangerous elegance, bouncing off the ground and excreting their pungent smoke. Immediately afterwards gunfire opened up into the smoke. After the first wave of smoke cleared the prisoners squinted at the area to see soldiers running towards them, rifle muzzles blazing, as bullets pockmarked the ground. Not every soldier�
��s aim was thwarted by the smoke and a handful of prisoners crumpled with agonising screams. Acting on basic survival, the groups split off in different directions, some chucking grenades as they dived for cover.
In the mayhem Tom got split off from Stan and Julia and was left alone amongst burning vegetation. Instinct warned him of danger and he immediately ducked down morphing as he did so, avoiding a spray of bullets from an AK47. Spinning round, his teeth bared in a large snarl, he saw three soldiers staring with open mouths at him. Not wasting a second of this opportunity, Tom was amongst them in a flash. Before they could react and fire their deadly bullets at him, he swiped a large paw at one of the men, snapping his head right round with the force of the blow. Continuing his attack he bounded upward his jaws wide open and closed them with stunning force around the neck of the second man who convulsed horribly. He wasn’t quick enough. He knew it. On his last turn to kill the third man, he realised the guy had quickly stepped back away from the melee and had raised his rifle to his sights, pin-pointing Tom to the spot. He tightened his grip on the trigger and fired. Out of nowhere a giant black streak knocked the soldier over, causing the bullet to fly stray. Two powerful paws pinned the man to the ground by his chest and then the flash of teeth snapping shut was the end. Turning around, green eyes bored into Tom’s and before he could react the shape was over at his side. Up close Tom could see that the creature was another panther, except its coat was a shiny navy blue. Before his eyes it morphed and changed into his mother.
‘I see that you inherited part of my family lineage,’ she smiled at him sadly.
‘I guess I did,’ he replied slightly unsure of himself. Grief, despair and hopelessness surfaced every time he thought about who his parents were. His whole life had been a battle and it seemed that his parents, both of them alive, only meant even more sadness.
The angry chatter of bullets caused them both to shift back and bound to the side, as the ground erupted where they’d been standing not two seconds ago. Together they leapt for the cover of the undergrowth and stealthily bounded through to the other side. There was chaos everywhere; the air was alive with bullets, smoke and roaring flames. Not wanting to leave their allies to themselves they leapt into the fight. They made a formidable pair, claws glinting in the flames as they slashed at anything that moved, and their jaws snapping shut left right and centre. Nothing could stop them. Tom let his wrath take control of him and he became lost in his fury, stopping at nothing to destroy. Rose was the same, after years of imprisonment she released all her pent up hate, an impressive sight to behold.
The fight was based around the tower, they headed there, darting in between the soldiers and taking them down as they did so, too quickly for the men to draw a bead on them. It seemed as if they were winning, and the prisoners in the area sensed this, advancing towards the tower, throwing grenades at the soldiers. It was the biggest mistake they could’ve made. Tom saw it before his mother, for through the smoke sped five jeeps, with swivel guns on the back and soldiers lining the sides. Their weapons blazed into life cutting the first brave prisoners to pieces, as they made their entrance. It had been a decoy. The guards had used the same principles in their attack as Stan had wanted to do with the six runners. He didn’t think it was possible but it got worse. Muzzle flashes could be seen from the windows at various points of the tower, controlled bursts of gunfire. Snipers. Around him prisoners dropped to the floor, their bodies pummelled by bullets. It was then he knew how he could help, and not bothering to explain to Rose he burst into action.
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