Aura ran to the bushes and made sure she was well concealed. The sticks poked uncomfortably into her back, but she'd bet her life that a bullet would hurt more. Her hideaway was only ten meters from the watchtower, and she watched closely as the man crouched down and balanced a large sniper rifle on the wooden rail. His chest moved rhythmically up and down until one moment, where he took a deep breath, released it and let his finger squeeze the trigger. There was a large bang from the gun, followed by a deafening one that was followed by billowing smoke and flames. There was yelling and shots from the other side of the tree line. Aura took a deep breath and flattened herself to the ground as she heard the sound of tires screeching approaching.
Her rescuer dropped the sniper and reached around four his fluorescent red rifle, it seemed he was no silent killer. In a flowing movement he chucked a grenade next the car. Its inhabitants scrambled out, yelling obscenity and ducked for cover. The grenade exploded and a storm of fire, dust and metal rained down, blinding Aura momentarily. She heard a thump coming from the direction of the watchtower and looked up in time to see the mysterious man jump over the rail of the watchtower and roll onto his shoulder as he struck the ground. He grunted, but it didn't deter him. He crouched and let a small burst of bullets fly from the barrel of his gun. They stuttered out and struck one of the men in the chest.
He ran straight to the heap of scrap metal that used to be a car and ducked down as bullets ricocheted off the doors. The pirates fired back without looking, lifting their guns above their cover to conceal their heads. From what Aura could see, there were four of them. One of them stood out, towering above the rest. He wore a helmet- somewhat like a wielders mask, but much thicker. Makeshift body armour adorned him and he looked to be around 6'7". In his hands, he carried a large machine gun; one that looked like it belonged bolted to the side of a chopper. He lumbered forwards, getting slightly knocked back every time one of her rescuer's bullets struck him, but not stopping. Her rescuer swore, and circled around the car, trying to go on the opposite side of the giant.
Aura watched, holding her breath, when she saw a figure duck by a window. One of the pirates had ducked into the house to her rescuer's left and was sneaking around behind him. Aura shifted for a moment, panicking. Before she could fully assess the situation, she had retreated from the bush, crouched over to the watchtower, and cowered behind a support beam. Taking a deep breath, she sprinted to the house and threw herself behind its tin wall. Her heart was racing in fright and she breathed deeply, gripping the handgun tightly.
There was a scuffle from behind the wall. Aura was sure that the pirate had seen her and was on his way. As quietly and quickly as she could, she snuck around the back, hoping to come around behind him. Just as she was about to turn the corner she heard more bullets; coming right from beside her. She froze and stole a look around the wall. Another pirate was standing there, half ducked behind a stack of boxes. Aura swallowed, knowing that as soon as she shot they would be looking for her too. She took a deep breath, and raised the gun, levelling it at the pirate's head.
A bullet burst from the gun, and then another, and another. Aura's fingers almost seemed stuck in a loop, as if she were unable to think about anything but making sure the man was dead. Her rescuer's head snapped up as he spotted her, and he urgently motioned for her to get down.
"Duck!" he yelled, pointing his rifle at her.
Without hesitation, she dropped to the ground, the rocks cutting into her hands. There was a thump as Aura felt a body crumple on top of her. Panicking, Aura wriggled out from underneath the corpse and kicked it away. She panted and heard a grunt from behind the boxes, followed by the sound of another body hitting the ground. Immediately, Aura looked around, scared that her rescuer had been killed.
What she saw, however, was the young man standing over the giant's body, a bloody dagger in his hand. He puffed, his knuckles tight and his muscles flexed as he tried to calm himself.
The world began to shake as if a volcanic eruption was happening. It turned from side to side until all Aura could see was the ground. Her rescuer ran over, propping her head up on his leg as he sat down and made her look at him. She gripped his arm tightly, becoming aware that she was the one shaking and that she had collapsed. Her vision swam; her rescuers face became a blur.
"I'm sorry about… everything." He muttered, gripping her hand. "Trust me, no one knows what you're going through better than I do. Did you know her?" He asked, nodding to Tara's body. Aurora nodded slowly. She didn't know what to think, she couldn't think. There was too much…Hesitantly, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and lifted her until she was leaning against his shoulder, but her head only felt heavier with the movement. "My name is Jason, Jason Brody. I was captured here about a year ago. Well, not in this exact spot,but on Rook Island."
"What's that?" She said dopily, trying to focus on his face for the moment, but it seemed as though he were underwater, or like there was something in the way. Slowly, black consumed her vision, until she could just see his eyes looking at her sympathetically.
"You're on it." And with that, the darkness won over.