The Stars Will Align

Chapter 18

At base 107, things had been surprisingly slow. Ramona's only job for the day had been to sort through some shipments they had received earlier that morning. After all, she had nothing better to do, and no one else was willing to do the job. 

The nurse had spent the last few days with a scowl on her face; she was beyond irritated that she had not figured out Steve's HYDRA-raiding plans. How she longed for them to come back, just to see her loved ones once again; and then to scold them shamelessly. Yet the blonde merely sighed, brushing the thoughts aside, choosing not to dwell on bitter idea's. She knew they would be okay, they always would turn up in the end.

The morning was colder than usual; the winter had been mild so far. Ramona did not mind.

As she stored quantities of IV's, syringes, and Morphine bags in labeled bins, a single syringe slipped from her hand, rolling underneath a desk scattered in papers. She grumbled silently, the blonde dropped to her knees, crawling underneath the table to retrieve it.

Before she could grab it, a loud Boom had grabbed her attention. Ramona's head shot up, smashing against the underside of the metal table, and she had crumpled to the ground unconscious, the syringe laying forgotten. She could not hear the screams.

-

As the fires began to settle, the ones whom had dropped the bomb where long since departed.

The Howling Commando's had finally returned; speeding to the camp. Mikayla tore open the door of the Jeep, barely giving Bucky a moment to stop before she was out, searching desperately for her little sister.

She shouted for Ramona, racing to what had been left of the Nurse's tent. "Mikayla, be careful!" Bucky called out, as the girl had no mindset to avoid the burning ruble. Steve stopped his motorcycle, following Mikayla to the tent. The two had been greeted by two fairly-stable nurses, who were in the midst of helping Ramona back to her feet.

Mikayla's heart skipped a beat at the sight of her (surprisingly) not-too-severely injured sister. "Oh, thank God!" Steve cried as they reached the blonde. Ramona's ears were ringing, vision slightly blurred. She could feel blood trickling down her forehead. The smell of smoke and blood filled the air around them. Yet as her gaze focused on the two, she knew they would pull through. Just the mere sight of them was salvation. 

Steve picked up his pace, nearly pushing Mikayla out of the way. He took her from the nurses, ordering them to go search for and help the others. The blondes arms wrapped around her, holding Ramona close. "What happened? Are you okay? what were you doing?" he asked, a million words rolling off his tongue at once. Before she could answer him, another female's voice cut her off. "Hey, Jackass! Give me my sister!"

Mikayla pried Ramona from his arms, pulling her sister into a tight hug. "What the ever loving fuck happened?" she demanded, watching as her sister's eyes filled with tears. "T-they...they dropped a bomb...i was knocked out... oh god, they're all dead..." she sobbed, her head buried into Mikayla's shoulder. The brunette rubbed her sisters back, holding her close. "No..shh.. stop crying, damn it. There are more survivors than expected, we're gonna be okay..." she mumbled, trying to comfort the smaller girl. "What happened to you? You're bleeding..."

She froze at Mikayla's final question, her lips pressed together. Ramona was well aware she would never hear the end if she was to tell her sister the truth, and ignored the question. Mikayla (for once) chose not to push, and merely nodded. "It's okay...we're gonna be alright...i promise." 

Steve watched the scene, his lips slightly parted. Although he was upset, he decided to leave the task of comforting Ramona to her sister; his duty lied at helping the others, and he knew the sisters would join them sooner than later. The smell of smoke burned his lungs; at least it masked the putrid stench of death. Mikayla was right- the death count was far less than they were prepared for, yet it was immeasurably worse than hoped for. 

Bucky's shouting had pulled him from his thoughts, and Steve had rushed over to help his friend pull a few Soldiers from a burning tent. He recognized each one, and the Super soldier's heart had sunk into his stomach.

After what seemed to be hours, the fire's had been put out, and the smoke had settled. With a total 572 Soldiers and Nurses, 102 where claimed dead upon discovery, and 409 had been injured. That left 61 able men and women; including The Howling Commando's. 

Tragedy had struck them once again, and it had left lingering disaster behind.