Elena
It takes me a few seconds to recognise the guy holding his gun pointed at me. I don't know him in person, but I used to see him on meetings in Vortex. My fingers are itching to either use the rifle to defend myself or grab a knife and stab him in the gut.
"Seth's been looking for you," he informs me, a smirk curving his lips. "It'd be lovely if I brought you back to him, wouldn't it?"
Yeah, I don't think so.
Anger and fear combined wash over me and in a split second, I use the rifle to kick him in the shin, a groan leaving his lips in response. I push myself up, kicking the gun away from his hand and colliding the rifle with the side of his face, his head swivelling to the side from the impact, blood spurting from the wound. He mutters a curse as his palm presses against the wounded area, his hand reaching for another gun when I punch him twice more, applying more force, watching as he loses consciousness and slumps on the ground.
I should kill him because he saw me. But I won't; Seth will find out one way or another, he always does. Besides, who can guarantee someone else won't see me? Everyone knows what we look like, I assume our pictures are all over Vortex with a price written underneath.
Adrenaline is coursing through my system, my senses on alert. The pain in my ribs is not as strong as it should be, surely because of the adrenaline. My eyes survey the area, locating Tori, Louis, and Liam, who have managed to get close to the woods. My heart sinks into my stomach as I try to find Alex, knowing his vehicle was closely behind ours. I widen my eyes when a terrifying sight of my brother lying on the ground with Vortex soldier on top of him catches my attention, noticing a knife pressed to his throat. I notice Jess standing frozen nearby, doing nothing to help him.
My feet swiftly carry me toward them while I aim the rifle in my hand, shooting at the soldier trying to kill him. The bullet hits his arm, distracting him enough to let Alex push him away and grab the knife from him, pressing the blade against the soldier's throat and slitting it quickly.
"You okay?" I ask as I approach him, extending my hand for him. He grabs it and I pull him up, my eyes scanning his appearance, searching for any wounds. It appears he has none beside a few scratches on his face and blood patches on his uniform that don't belong to him.
"Ew, blood. Fuck, I hate blood." He scrunches his face in disgust. "I'm. . . I'm fine," he adds, letting out a sigh. "Thanks, Lenny." He smiles, pressing his palm against the back of my head and pulling me toward him, his lips leaving a quick kiss on my forehead. Alex hates killing and I know how hard it is for him when he has to take someone's life no matter what the person did to him. He's way more compassionate than I am and I admire him for that.
My lips pull in a smile briefly when the realisation where are we strikes me, my focus shifting on the battle. "Where's your team?"
"Dead," he says. "Jess and I are the only ones who survived. They're fucking slaughtering us, I don't understand how did they know about this."
"Let's go, we need to reach the woods, my team's there," I inform him. "We need to leave this place before they kill us all." If the situation was different, we would surely have a chance. Unfortunately, it appears they knew about the attack, so they welcomed us prepared.
Alex calls Jess and the three of us run toward the woods, all the while shooting at Vortex soldiers trying to kill us. When we reach the safety of the trees, my finger presses the earpiece I'm wearing while I'm scanning the area. "Louis, you guys okay?"
"Yeah, we see you, El," he responds. "Turn around."
My body spins, noticing Louis jumping and waving at me behind the bushes a few metres away. "Let's go," I say and lead the way as Alex and Jess follow me.
"Shit," is the first thing Louis says when we reach them. "This shouldn't have happened."
"I know," I exasperate. "They knew. I'm sure they knew. We can't stay here any longer."
"Ugh, I hate everything," Liam mutters, sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree. There's a cloth wrapped around his leg, preventing the blood from leaking.
"Calling all units," H's voice comes through the earpiece. "Retreat to the base right now. I repeat, retreat to the base right now."
"This is our cue," Tori says. "We just need to get out in the open where the bloodshed is happening and leave. Totally a piece of cake."
"How are we going to leave? They blew up half of our vehicles," Louis reasons.
"We can steal one of Vortex's or try to find a place for us in one of ours," I say. "Let's improvise."
Louis and Alex pull Liam to his feet while the three of us slowly leave our hiding place, preparing for the run. A frown twists my features as I inspect the death and chaos surrounding me and I can't help but feel a pang of guilt. I obviously couldn't know they will be prepared for us, but I was the one who was claiming we will win this fight.
"What about the others?" I ask, glancing over my shoulder. "Surely not everyone will be able to run away."
"That's why we're divided into teams," Louis says. "This might sound harsh, but you're supposed to only look after the people in your team. You simply cannot save everyone, you can only die trying."
I nod, holding my hand up to signal them to wait, my eyes surveying the area, trying to find a vehicle for the six of us. The remainder of Hazard's vehicles are way too far, we'd be risking too much if we tried to reach them. However, the ones from Vortex are fairly close, we could easily snatch one and drive away.
"We'll steal one of those," I say, turning my head to look at the guys. "They're bigger than ours, so all of us will fit." They all nod simultaneously. "Liam, you're able to run, right?" I ask and he nods. "Okay, Tori, Jess, and I will cover your back and the three of you run ahead toward the vehicles. Any objections?"
"No, captain," Liam says amusedly. "We're ready to run, just say when."
"You'll be able to handle it, right?" I speak to Jess quietly, accusation present in my tone. "You were rather reluctant to help my brother earlier."
Her dark eyes slightly widen in surprise, guilt flashing in them. "I'm sorry, El, I really am. I was frozen, he-- he came out of nowhere. Two of our team members had just been killed, I was stunned."
"It's fine, just. . . try to focus, alright?" I say, my voice softer than moments ago. Sometimes I forget everyone reacts to death differently. "Go ahead, guys."
Louis, Liam, and Alex begin to run out in the open, my heart starting to pound again. I'm the first to dart out after them, Tori and Jess following right behind me. I decide to drop the heavy rifle, pulling out a loaded handgun, my fingers clenching it firmly. I jump over the bodies lying on the ground, not paying attention to the bloodshed around me. Bullets start whizzing toward us repeatedly, hitting the ground beside our feet, my hand aiming the gun in the direction they came from, my finger pulling the trigger.
I manage to strike down two Vortex soldiers, injuring the third one. Tori and Jess finish the job for me, striking down the rest of them. My eyes immediately search for the guys, a brief smile flashing on my lips as I see Liam and Alex hidden behind the lined Vortex's vehicles, subtly waving us over. I spot Louis shooting at someone in one of the vehicles, opening the door and letting their body drop out.
A body suddenly collides with mine, sending a jolt of pain through my wounded area, but not with enough force to knock me off my feet. I quickly aim the gun at the person, my eyes widening at the sight of a little girl who can't be older than twelve, her frightened eyes staring up at me. She's wearing Vortex uniform, dread washing over me at the fact they're sending children in the middle of the war zone. It's sickening and inhumane.
"Run," I tell her firmly. "Run toward the woods. Now!"
Pure fear is radiating off her, but she nods nevertheless. I watch as she runs, her small body disappearing somewhere in the heaps of people shooting at each other. My heart clenches in my chest, my legs jerking in desire to run after her, to help her get to safety. I should've run with her. I somehow manage to locate her, wanting to make sure she's gonna make it. She never does.
A bomb hits the ground near her, her body, along with the few others flying from the impact. I find myself frozen at the spot, the scene already engraving itself into my memory. A small glimmer of hope appears within me as I expect her to stand up and continue to run, but she doesn't. She's gone. Only when I feel Tori's and Jess' hands and hear their calls I snap from my trance, resuming to run toward the vehicles.
I'm breathless and hot when I finally reach them, sweat trickling down the sides of my face, my body leaning against it. The images of the little girl flash before my eyes, but I force myself to push away the sadness that begins to spread through my chest. This is war, these things happen. Block it out, Elena.
Louis shouts, calling us to get inside the vehicle before he quickly slides into the driver's seat. Liam sits on the passenger's seat while the rest of us squeeze ourselves into the back seat, Louis hitting the pedal right after and we speed away.
. . . .
I don't know how many soldiers have returned to Hazard, I don't know how many enemies are dead, but most importantly, I don't know how did they know about the attack. I contemplate all that while Ethan works on my wounds, no sounds coming from me despite the pain I'm feeling. There's a large purple patch already forming on the skin under my ribs, the result of being shot. Perfect.
"You're all set," Ethan tells me, collecting the used supplies and removing his latex gloves. "You're lucky the bullet missed your ribs, but prepare not to sleep on that side for a while."
I nod, my hand reaching for my shirt. I carefully slip it on, trying to do it with minimum pressure on the wound, but a quiet hiss leaves my mouth nevertheless. "Thank you. It could've been worse."
"You're very strong," he says, his kind brown eyes looking into mine. His random statement surprises me, but I manage a small smile in response. "It's not your fault, you know? The attack," he clarifies.
"I. . . I'm trying to convince myself the same thing. But how do you know? I was sure everyone will blame us."
"I know that look on your face very well," Ethan says. "It's the look of a person wishing things could've been done differently. People will always have doubts, they always let prejudice cloud their judgement. If someone gives you shit, ignore them. All I know is that if David trusts you, I trust you."
I smile widely and remain silent, my head nodding. It bothers me, that nagging thought I could've done more, I could've prevented it. I disregard my thoughts with a sigh, my eyes snapping up as faint knocks are heard, followed by H peering inside the room, checking if it's okay for him to enter.
"You can come in," Ethan tells him. "How many are waiting?"
"Only a few," he responds, glancing at me. "All done?" I jerk my head in a nod, his hand motioning for me to follow him. "I need to have a word with you."
"Ooh, that doesn't sound good. Be nice," Ethan reprimands him jokingly.
"Am I not always nice?" H replies, clearly amused.
My mouth draws in a long breath while I prepare for the worst. I expect him to call me out for my mistake, to even ask us to leave the base again. I follow him outside and down the hallway silently, my eyes locked on the expanse of his back, his muscles prominent beneath a thin fabric of a black v-neck he's wearing. My gaze slides down on the tattoos covering the skin of his arms, my mind unable to shake off the thought how good they look on him.
He leads us all the way to his training room, waiting for me to enter before checking the hallway and closing the door. He spins, green eyes searching mine, his expression unreadable. Shit, I'm in trouble.
I decide to be the first one to speak, not wanting to let him accuse me. "I'm sorry," I start. "I know I said everything will run smoothly, I have no idea what happened out there. I know how this seems, but I swear we didn't know. They somehow knew we're coming, but I still think we did fairly good despite all the losses, and I know you said--"
"Breathe, Elena," H interrupts, drawing his lips inside his mouth to stop the smile so obviously trying to spread over his lips. Nevertheless, one of his dimples indents his cheek, making him look cute, I admit. "I didn't ask you to come here to criticise you. Louis told me about your actions on the field. He was watching you and is rather impressed. I wanted to thank you."
"Wait, wh-- oh-- I, uh, I don't know what he's impressed with, I didn't do anything," I say, confused, trying to remember the events on the field. "Wait, what's with all this act then? It seemed as if you were about to punish me."
"Because I knew it will be fun to see you all scared," he says, smiling widely. "You should've seen your face."
I give him a look, my face straight. My hand reaches for one of the knives tucked in my belt and his smile falters, his lips pursing.
"Anyway, Liam and Louis mentioned you kept your cool and took a lead," he says. "At first, I was pissed when I heard what was happening and I admit I was quick to judge and point fingers. Luckily, I had time to think things through and concluded it wasn't your or Alex's fault. David might've helped me realise it."
A faint smile curves my lips, my tensed shoulders relaxing. "Thank you for trusting us. It's important to find out who is the traitor now, if there is any."
"I don't believe there is one in this base, we do an extensive background check of every person staying here," H explains. "Well, your brother and you were the only exceptions, but I trust David. However, I don't want to deal with this issue today, it was a long day for everyone."
"Yes. Yes, it was," I agree quietly, not wanting to remember the battle. I'm very tired, not sure if it's because of what happened today is finally sinking in or I'm simply tired of the war itself.
H steps closer to me and it almost looks as if he wants to comfort me, but his eyes then glance at my shoulder, precisely at the black flame inked on it. His eyes suddenly pinch shut, his face twisting in a grimace as if he's in severe pain, or he's remembering something painful.
Sudden worry takes over me and I take a step closer to him, but he raises his hand to stop me, his green eyes cold and distant, his breathing ragged. As if someone's chasing him, he swiftly turns around and grips the handle, throwing the door open before leaving the room.