CHAPTER 1:
Emily raced through the rain...jumping over puddles so as to not get her feet wet. There is only one thing worse that having to sit through a day of lectures and that was having to sit through them all cold and wet. She finally reached the door to the sports building and yanked it open hurrying inside, she was on the verge of being late. Taking the stairs two at a time and rounding the corner to the lecture theatre she saw the doors still open. She took a second to compose herself and catch her breath before she walked in.
Two hours and five pages of notes later, the lecturer told the students they all had a 10 minute break. Emily studied sports science and coaching at Bristol University; she was just about to finish her final year and had loved every second of it, apart from the fact that Naomi was half way across the world, fighting in a war. After finishing college Naomi joined the army and Emily went to uni. They'd been happily together ever since Naomi's confession in Freddie's shed. Emily didn't like the fact that the love of her life was in the line of fire and she couldn't be there to protect her, but it was what Naomi wanted to do so she supported her. They talked as often as they could Naomi tried to e-mail at least once a week, but it was hard being in the middle of the desert or always out on patrols. Phone calls were rare but they always put a smile of both their faces.
Emily quickly flicked open her phone and logged onto her e-mails to see if Naomi had written since yesterday. She knew she was out on patrol but didn't know when she'd be back. 'NO NEW E-MAILS' flashed across the screen, Emily's stomach dropped a little all of a sudden and got a burning pain in her chest. 'That isn't normal' she thought. He had a gut instinct something was wrong with Naomi. She gathered her notes and stuff together. "I've got to go," she told April her classmate. Can I borrow your notes tomorrow or something, "Sure you can pet, everything alright?" said April. "I'm not sure, I've got a gut feeling something is wrong with Naomi" whispered Emily, "I'll give you a txt or something mate, see ya later." And with that Emily left. As soon as she was outside on her way home her pulled out her phone and rang Gina.
Naomi's feet pounded hard against the ground bringing up sand everywhere. Her gear weighed her down, meaning it slowed her escape from the Iraqi rebel pursuers. Rounds were being continually fired and whirling past every inch of her body. She topped the dune that she had been racing up and saw the camp in the distance. Not risking a glance behind, Naomi raced on. Her legs felt like they had lead weights on and her lungs burned from the amount of running she had been doing. Suddenly she felt a searing pain rip through her shoulder, then her left hand side of her torso. She'd been hit, the rebels had finally found there mark. Naomi stumbled to the ground, feeling the blood starting to soak through her clothes. 'This is it' she thought. She closed her eyes and saw those piercing brown eyes staring back at her, that fiery red hair and Emily's slender figure. The adrenaline kicked in once again. Naomi spun around, aimed her rifle and let lose the rest of her rounds left in the magazine. Two of the five pursuers went down. Chucking the rifle on the floor Naomi turned and ran once again for the camp.
'Keep going, keep going' muttered Naomi in her head. She could see a squad of range rovers heading towards her... 'They must have heard the gun shots'. The rebels still continued to fire at her, 'hurry up' she thought willing the range rovers to move quicker. Another bullet ripped through her thigh muscle causing Naomi to fall to the sand. 'Fuck, get up!' She felt the nuzzle of a weapon come down to rest upon her temple, the ragged breathing of the Iraqi soldier in her ear. "Say your prayers" he whispered, in the thick accented voice. Emily's face flashed through her mind once again.
"Lower your weapon!" shouted an English voice. The range rovers had finally reached Naomi but a fraction too late. They were now in a hostage situation. Pain shot through Naomi's body, "Shoot him!" She shouted. Naomi squeezed her eyes shut and hoped to god the soldier was a good marksmen and the bullet found its mark.
Seconds later a flurry of shots rang out. What felt like an eternity passed until she heard the familiar call of "ALL CLEAR". After that everything went black. The pain became too much for her already weak body.