Hunted

Chapter Seven - Green Light

Chapter Seven

Green Light

The minute Bailey dee med it dark enough, the two groups left the house together. We'd be together right until we reached the airfield and then split up. As I closed the door of the house, I wondered if I'd ever see Bailey, Jamie or Karlo again. Something told me that this attack was going to be our biggest danger yet.

We followed the route that Bailey had explained to us, staying away from the main roads and keeping within thick bush. No one spoke for the entire journey and the only sounds that I could here were the constant snapping of sticks and the chattering of teeth as the cold got to us.

The closer we got the airfield, the more inhabited the area became. We knew that the soldiers had begun to move their families into the area, but we didn't know that the numbers were so extreme. We passed countless houses that were lit up like Christmas trees, making us shrink further into the bushes.

It made me wonder how these people condoned what they'd done to our country. The soldiers had come in here without a regard for our lives or what some families had been working for their whole lives and taken it all from us. Then they'd moved their families into our farms and houses, like they were theirs to take. It filled me with rage.

I was so busy raging about the enemy in my head that I didn't even notice we'd reached the airfield until I ran into Nigel's arm. I'd almost broken the perimeter around the airfield, which would have ruined everything. Bailey had carefully explained the technology that guarded the airfield and how they could detect things up to a certain point. I'd almost blown the whole mission.

"We're going to head down to the front," Nigel whispered, holding me still. "Once you've called through to Bailey to give the all clear, head straight to the meeting point."

"See you there," I said in an attempt to be optimistic.

He whacked me hard on the shoulder and took his troops with him. Jen looked back at me and gave me a small wave and a smile. Then they were gone.

I got my troops to spread out down the tree line, keeping themselves concealed yet getting a good view on what was going on inside the airfield. From what I could see there were soldiers everywhere, which meant we were in no place to attack right now.

The artificial light that came with the airfield was making my head hurt. We'd been using candles as lights for so long that seeing real lights was foreign. The last time I'd seen a working light was in the prison, which still make a cold shiver run down my spine.

I crouched in the undergrowth, waiting for the soldiers to head into the barracks for the night and radio through the Bailey. It really seemed like forever before they did and by that point I felt like my joints were frozen.

"What's it looking like down there?" I called out to my group.

The lot of them gave me the thumbs up. It was time.

I pulled the radio from my pocket and flicked it on. The moment it came to life I heard the distinct voice of Nigel through the radio.

"Green light. I repeat, green light."

I held down the receiver and spoke as clearly as I could.

"Green light. I repeat, green light."

Then I shut the radio off and shoved it back into my pocket. I waved to the others, telling them to head back to the meeting point. They all obeyed, mostly wide eyed with excitement. Even Gerty was sober for the occasion, which made my job a lot easier.

Nigel and his group reached the meeting point the same time as I did, looking giddy with excitement. They obviously thought we had this in the bag, but it had barely begun.