Capítulo 32: Chapter 7.4

By dawn, we were nearing the border; each of us scanned our surrounding for military hiding in the shadows. To our left was a derelict field of wildflowers that spanned about 6 feet tall. Several of the flowers were bright blue and the size of a plate. It shone brilliantly in the moonlight, but in equal to its beauty, was the hazard of the inch-long thorns coating its stems. If it weren't for the massive thorns, it would have been the perfect place to hide.

To our right, was a forest of pine trees. That's where the danger lied. The moonlight cast long shadows in the treeline, and it would be near impossible to see anyone hiding there from the road.

Rickon drove cautiously, his free hand hovering over the gear stick for a quick getaway. Soon, we could hear sounds of a distant fight and he stopped the car.

We remained unnoticed from afar, but I recognised the shaven head cutting his way through the soldiers like butter. "It's Jay." I muttered.

He clicked his tongue with annoyance, "Well he got himself into the situation, he can get himself out."

I was shocked at his indifference, if Rickon cared about anyone I thought it would have been Jay. He put the car into reverse when a second Reagan truck blocked the road behind us. He revved the engine, preparing to either escape down the grass verge or ram into it, but in the next second dozens of soldiers emerge from the treeline and point their guns at us, as if they were lying in wait for an ambush.

"Take your weapons out and throw them out the window. Then slowly get out the car." The front soldier orders, signalling with the barrel of his gun.

He was considering ramming them over, I could feel the gears turn in his head as his eyes scanned the soldiers. Slowly he took his gun from his holster and the knife at his waist and dropped them out the window. Then without taking his eye off him, he rose from the car. He gestured for us to do the same. We did. One by one.

The young solider closest to Rikon shifted uncomfortably, sensing vacillation, he grabbed the barrel of the gun, pulling the soldiers arm under his as he elbowed him in the face and stomped on his foot. Twisting his hand, the gun dropped. He used the hidden knife strapped to his back to stab him in the neck and took the smoke grenade from his belt before the body hit the floor. He threw it into the mass of soldiers, spinning round and round igniting the entire area in smoke and confusion.

At the same time the other two moved, they grabbed the guns of the soldiers closest to them and emptied the clip of bullets into the soldiers closest to them.

The young man Rickon killed was nearby; his eyes were glassy, but blood continued to leak from the hole in his neck, the pool of blood now almost at my feet. Ignoring it, I took the knife strapped to his side and prepared myself, back against the car.

The smoke bomb made the other soldiers change from guns to close quarter combat- something Rickon specialised in, and his shadow flitted from one enemy to the next, finishing them off in a few movements.

I desperately scanned the smoke for enemy movement, trying to calm the fear threatening to send me over. But with both the darkness and the smoke, I couldn't see much of anything. At every nearby sound I flinched and spun in that direction, lashing out blindly at any nearby movement, hoping it was the enemy.

I thrashed out at a soldier who almost stumbled into me, leaving a shallow cut in the middle of back, but otherwise unharmed. He whipped around and thrusted his knife down, I desperately parred out it out of the way. I strike up at his face, but he easily knocks my arm away. His expression was consumed with hysteria, he kicks me in the stomach, and I bounce across the floor. Leaving the safety of the car at my back, I spin, trying to cover all angles. But it was impossible. Shadows played just outside of my vision, the smell of blood and gunfire, and the sounds of men dying were disorientating enough to confuse me of which direction I came from.

From the chaos of sounds and smells, a knife comes hurdling towards me, I block his strike and stab forward at the same time, hitting the flesh in his stomach. I'm sure I hit him, but he continues at me, using his weight to push me back when our knives clash. Struggling against his strength, I knee him in the stomach where the wound should be. He flinches, hunching over slightly, giving me enough time and distance to elbow him in the throat and slash him again with the knife. He stumbles back and I lunge again, stabbing him higher this time, near where his heart should be.

Where's the car? I thought desperately, searching the mist for any sign of it. I felt like any second, I could get stabbed in the back. Out of the corner of my eye I see a dark shadow appear behind me.

I pivot, knife striking up at the same time, near the neck, but the blade passes right through him, and I release it was Shadow. Through the smoke it looked even more sinister, but it really was my ghostly protector.

"Hell! You almost gave me a heart attack!" I yelled at him without thinking, as my heart rate settled into a more acceptable beat.

Although he never had much expression, I became more attuned with his intentions, and when he dipped his head, he was beaconing me to follow. Slowly, he navigated our way out of the fighting and most of the smoke.

At the end of the road Jay's group had finished their fight and was continuing with looting their victims. Like Rickon, Jay didn't seem concerned with the outcome of their fight. Either he was that confident they wouldn't be beaten, or he just didn't care.

The smoke starts to dissipate and Rickon, Leon and Xeon appear unharmed from the fight; their clothes a little more tattered and smeared with blood. "Into the woods!" He yelled and the sounds of car engines indicate the arrival of more reinforcements.