My goodness :/ I thought I'd never finish this chapter. More than half of it was forced out of me in the past two days because all I could think was "My GOD I need to update."

All this moving and college prep has really taken its toll. Before I knew it, a freaking lifetime had passed by, and then I realized that this chapter wasn't even halfway done. Plus, I've been re-watching an old, favorite show of mine, and every time I actually got the urge to write, I had to force myself to not ramble on about half-demons and giant sword fights. *Elaborate face palm* Well, it's finally complete. I hope you enjoy reading. Also, at the end of this chapter is an important author's note :) so if you've got the time, give it a read.

I'm going to go take a much needed nap now.

Chapter Eleven: Onward

Justin

I couldn't breathe. I was on my back, and something pressed down on my chest, heavy enough to make breathing a constant struggle. My throat burned. I had to get it off. I had to move it, or I would certainly die.

But my limbs were dead. I couldn't even feel them. I tried opening my eyes, but damn was I exhausted. The thought of moving was instantly chased away by the thought of staying there, unconscious, keeping me still in the darkness.

What happened? Trying to remember anything was as slow and vigorous as swimming through mud. I'd get too tired before I even reached a coherent thought, so I just stopped trying.

Maybe if I lay here for a little while, the pain will stop. Or someone will find me. Or not.

I don't know how much time passed until I decided to try and open my eyes again, but this time, I was more aware. And I could feel the pain a lot more. There was definitely something on top of me. It was cold and flat. And heavy.

I coughed. Man, it hurt to do that. And the pain radiated not only from my lungs, but from my sides. I coughed again. Ouch.

It was nighttime. I could tell by the blackness behind my eyelids, the cool air and the chirps of all kinds of different bugs. Carefully, I tried shifting my body. Grunting with pain, I coughed a few more times before calling it quits. Crap, I thought. What the hell am I supposed to do?

Very faintly, I heard footsteps. Multiple pairs, seeming to come from all directions.

In a massive wave of panic, I suddenly remembered what had happened. The Raven, the Reaver, the crash…My eyes shot open and I shoved against the steel on top of me with all of my strength. It didn't even budge.

It was dark, and my breaths were shallow. I couldn't see anything. I heaved against the metal again, grinding my teeth and squeezing my eyes shut against the pain. The footsteps were getting closer.

No. I started scrambling in desperation, water springing from my eyes. My sides hurt so bad. The Locusts are here. They saw our chopper crash, and they've come to kill who isn't dead already.

My struggles abruptly stopped when I remembered something else.

Are the others dead? Where are they? Melanie? Oh god, Melanie!

I began squirming again, with urgency. A sharp, choking pain shot through my torso. Bracing my arms against the steel above me, I heaved with everything I could muster and tried to move out from under it. For a second or so, I was able to move the flat surface just off of my body. But then my arms gave out, and it came right back down. I cried out, my voice strangled and raspy.

Someone near by gave a sharp gasp. A girl. Then the other footsteps ceased.

"Justin?" someone called out. I hacked, trying to clear my throat. I couldn't even speak. "Justin!" she cried again. "Justin, where are you?!"

I went into a raging cough fit, the pain in my chest flaring mercilessly. "M-Mel!" I sputtered out. "Melanie! Over-" cough, cough. "Over here!"

"Oh my God!" I heard her as she scrambled towards me, her breathing rapid. "Hunter! Finn! He's over here, I found him!" Two more sets of steps came running over, both stopping somewhere near my head.

"Come on," Melanie urged. "Let's lift this off. One, two, three!"

The heaviness of the flat, steel surface was suddenly lifted from my chest, and I gasped wildly in relief and pain. I began coughing again, and then after I managed to stop, I groaned.

Melanie kneeled down next to my head, panic written on her face. "Oh my God," she said again, a whisper this time. "Justin, look at me. Are you okay? Is anything broken, can you walk?" One of her palms pressed against my cheek, the warmth of it shocking my chilled skin. My eyes wondered around aimlessly, skating across their faces and the dark sky. I was disoriented as hell. My muscles ached.

"He's dehydrated," Finn said in that smooth voice of his. And as the word slipped out, I realized he was right. My mouth was bone dry, and I was so terribly, incredibly thirsty.

"Water," I rasped out, giving another cough. Melanie leaned in close, her ear next to my lips.

"What? What is it?"

"Water," I repeated, as clear as I could manage. I braced my arms under myself and tried to sit up, my whole body feeling like it may fall apart.

"Help him up," Melanie told Hunter, and each of them grabbed one of my arms as I sat upright, causing me to grunt and cough a few times in the process. "Here," she said, holding something up near my face. "Drink." She put the canteen to my lips and tipped it forward. The water was warm, but it was wet and clean. I drained the container quickly, upsetting my stomach, but quieting the ache in my throat. My breathing was quick and rapid, but it was a whole lot easier now.

Closing my eyes, I slumped forward a bit, my energy draining from me while relief took its place. I focused on slowing my breathing, calculating each breath as they moved in and out, in and out.

After a moment, I looked back up at everyone, fighting to keep my eyes from drooping closed again. Now that I'd finally gotten a good look at them, they certainly looked almost as bad as I felt. Finn, who at times I thought was indestructible, was covered in abrasions and had a busted lip. A gash over Hunter's right eye bled with persistence. Melanie's hair looked insane, and I could see burn marks scattered across her exposed skin. And all of them shared a dark, black tint of dust that seemed to coat them from toe to scalp.

Well aren't we an interesting crowd.

Then something dawned on me, and I furrowed my eyebrows. "Where's Sergeant Decarlo?" I asked, swallowing afterwards. My throat was dry again.

Melanie and Hunter each casted their eyes to the ground. Finn stayed cold and collected, and then he informed me with a nod of his head: "Sergeant Decarlo is dead."

I stared at him for a long time, my face and mind blank. The news should have made me feel something. But the only emotion going through me was shock from the fact that I hardly felt a thing at all.

I looked back down, shook my head, and then muttered, "Well shit."

Melanie

We helped Justin up made sure he could still walk before making our way over to the largest area of chopper wreckage, using the massive Raven carcass as temporary shelter. The poor bird was missing all of its rotor blades, and its pilot laid passed out and bleeding next to it, barely hanging onto life. She would die if we didn't do something soon, but honestly, what kind of help were we going to get out here?

Where the fuck were we, anyways?

Justin sat next to our pilot, Martha Carter, and propped his elbow on a raised knee before hanging his head. Martha, who'd muttered her name to me before nodding off, was bleeding from the ears, and deep colored bruises were forming around her ribs and stomach. I was almost positive she had internal bleeding. We did what we could to make her a bit more comfortable, resting her head on a hip pack and using a small, portable thermal blanket to keep her warm. But her lips were slowly turning blue, and shivers racked her body every few minutes. I propped her legs up with another pack to fend off any symptoms of shock, then sat to her right and hoped for the best.

Hunter sat down crossed legged next to me, and we both watched warily as Finn made his way over and kneel next to Martha's head. With a small square of white gauze, he gently placed it against one of her ears and held it there until he acquired an acceptable amount of blood. Then he brought the gauze square close to his eyes and watched, silent and patient.

Nearly a minute ticked by until Finn finally spoke. "Cerebral fluid," he murmured, holding the cloth up for me to see. The splotches of red on the gauze were now bordered by the thinnest line of yellow. "She's experienced head trauma. Even in a hospital she wouldn't have much of a chance."

I hung my head and swallowed back another wave of emotion. I'd expected his answer, but it still hit hard. Our situation was getting more hopeless by the minute. Decarlo had yet to even explain to us the true purpose of our mission, and now he was dead. He'd been flung the furthest from the crash, found meters away from the wreckage with blood seeping from his mouth and a good sized gash on the back of his head. He had been dead when we found him. His tags resided in Finn's pants pocket.

Martha let out a groan, fading in and out of consciousness as she shook against the cold night air. I turned and looked down at her, feeling awful because I couldn't do anything to help.

Martha muttered out another sound, and I leaned down close to her. "What is it, ma'am?" I whispered.

She fought to form words, swallowing and wheezing. "Waste nothing…" she murmured, her voice nearly too dry to understand.

I furrowed my eyebrows and glanced up at Justin. He was listening too, his brows knitted together with concentration. "Waste nothing?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

Martha whimpered and tried clearing her throat. Then she coughed. "They will come," she continued, struggling. "Soon. Less than two days. You've gotta survive-" Coughs smothered her words momentarily. "You've gotta survive until then. Waste nothing. Conserve ammo. Be smart." Martha's eyes slipped closed again, her breathing shallow and feeble. She looked so exhausted.

"Get some rest, ma'am," Justin insisted. "Save your strength."

Martha shook her head, and made a noise that almost sounded like a sarcastic laugh. "There…there will be many of them," she told us, her eyes open again, gazing up at the sky. "Search the Raven for supplies. You'll need it." Then she glanced at me, Justin, Finn and Hunter. "And above all," she continued, closing her eyes again. "You must stick together."

Her words took on a tone of finality, so I leaned back, rolling her advice over in my head. I sat there in contemplation for a while, hands resting on my thighs. I would check on Justin every few minutes, scanning over his face for any signs of discomfort or pain. He only looked pale, dirty and exhausted, just like the rest of us. Martha faded into unconsciousness again. Then eventually, she stopped breathing.

"We can't stay here much longer," Finn told us, shattering the silence with his baritone voice. "It would be best if we continue to move."

I agreed with him completely, but still felt lost. Where would we go? What would we do? Questions burned in my mind, searing away and scrambling my brain. Think, Mel, think! What do we need to do?

Dropping Martha's tags into my pocket, I stood from the ground and scanned the Raven's carcass. "Alright, big guy," I muttered, moving towards the wreckage with calculating eyes. "What've you got for me?" A new mission in mind, I began climbing into the chopper with persistence. It was tossed on its side, making things as difficult as possible for me to get up to the side door. A few scraps came loose under my boots, and I stumbled a couple times. But then after some scrappy maneuvering on my part, I was up and over the edge of the Raven door like it was a chain-linked fence. I leapt over the other side, planting my feet back into the dirt as I landed. It felt strange being inside the chopper when it was utterly broken. I gazed around for a moment, taking it all in.

"Be careful, Mel!" I heard Justin shout, and I nodded, taking his words into serious consideration as an exposed electrical wire hissed sparks at me. Martha said supplies. Anything useful. What all does a Raven hold, exactly? Hesitantly, I headed towards the back of the wreck, squinting my eyes into the darkness. Wish I had damn flashlight.

After a few minutes of scavenging around, I'd found a Lancer ammunition box and tons of first aid. But no food, as I'd hoped, and nothing that seemed like it would turn the tides of a difficult battle. Then a crackling of static sounding off behind me, and I whirled with paranoia, my Lancer instantly held at the ready. My breathing seemed so loud to my ears, and I tried desperately to slow it.

"Mel?" Justin called, concern in his voice. "Find anything?"

I didn't dare make any more noise than necessary as I crept forward towards the front of the Raven. Taking careful steps, I narrowed my eyes, willing them to peer through the darkness.

Static crackled again. "H-llo!...is…cont-"

I let in a sharp intake of breath, than suddenly scrambled towards the front pit.

"Melanie!" Justin yelled, panic seeping into his tone. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

I gripped the edges of the door leading into the cockpit and hauled myself in, grunting with effort. "The radio!" I shouted. "Someone's trying to contact us! There's a voice on the radio!"

"What?!"

I continued my climb into the front of the chopper, holding onto anything I could grasp as I struggled through the darkness. "Shit," I muttered to myself. "I can't see a damn thing."

There was more static in the air. "Come i-! Unit…elve, are…there?" A tiny, red light flashed in the corner of my eye and my head snapped to the side. Reaching forward, I began blindly feeling around along the controls until my hands ran across something bulky and detached from the control board. I grabbed it and brought it up to my chest. It was a headset.

Hesitant and uncertain, I slowly slipped the headset over my ears. With delicate finger, I felt around on the sides until they slid across a small button. I clicked it, then positioned the mouth piece at my lips.

"H-Hello?" I murmured, barely above a whisper.

"Unit Twelve!" The woman's voice came in much stronger now. "This is Control, and I am Lieutenant Stroud. Do you copy?"

I stared straight ahead, my mouth open as I gaped for a moment. I couldn't believe our luck.

"Hello? Unit Twelve?"

I violently shook my head, snapping myself out of it. "Y-Yes! Lieutenant, this is private Melanie Santiago of Unit Twelve! My squad's chopper has crash landed, and our position is unknown."

Static filled my ears, and for a terrible moment I thought the radio might have gone dead again. "…Private Santiago," the Lieutenant said, with a strange and surprised tone. "Copy that, Private. We received your pilot's distress call a few hours ago. How are you able to communicate now?"

My fingers clutched at the headset mouthpiece. "I'm using the radio in the Raven, ma'am. It's still operational. Um…I haven't checked the tac-com in the last half hour, but it hasn't been working since the crash."

There was another pause. "Okay, we'll get to work right away on getting them back online. Is your sergeant available for briefing?"

I bit my lip. "Sergeant Decarlo was killed in the crash. Our pilot, Martha Carter, is also dead."

The line went quiet again. "You're stranded with no sergeant or higher ranked soldier of any kind?"

I swallowed nervously at the worry in her voice. "Yes ma'am."

She sighed in exasperation. I thought vaguely for a moment about the fact that I'd never heard an officer from Control show any kind of weakness over the radio before. "Okay," the lieutenant continued. "Private Santiago, I am now naming you acting sergeant of Unit Twelve until other arrangements can be made."

I coughed a couple times, choking on my own shock. "W-What?!" I sputtered out. "Forgive me, ma'am, but that's…that's just crazy."

"I know it may seem like a bit much to take in, but remember, it's only temporary," she assured me. "Now I'm going to give you your orders, and then you'll pass them on to the rest of your squad."

Swallowing again, I nodded. "Okay. Tell me what we need to do."

"Alright. First things first, let me see if I can trace your position. I have the coordinates from where you were when the distress call was made, so you can't be too far from there. But what's very important is that you keep moving.

"Head east, and don't stray from the course unless you absolutely have to. Hopefully, we can get the radio working so you can inform me if you do. If you stay on this path, Delta will be able to catch up with you and find your squad easily."

I gasped, a sudden jolt shooting through my chest. "Delta's coming?"

"Yes. They're on their way via helicopter. Remember how long your trip lasted? It'll take Delta Squad just as long to reach you, maybe even longer if I'm not able to pinpoint your exact position. However long, your squad will be on its own until then."

"After Delta reaches us, what will we do then? Continue the original mission?"

Lieutenant Stroud gave another sigh. "Unfortunately, those orders have yet to be delivered to me. But let your squad know if you are ordered to continue, even with Delta Squad, it won't be easy."

"Wait," I said, furrowing my eyebrows as Decarlo's frustrated expression flashed through my mind. "Before our sergeant was killed, he hadn't even briefed us on our mission yet. So…what are we doing out here, exactly?"

Another pause. "You and your squad were sent out to survey an area that has been untouched by the COG in years. Your mission is to explore, collect data and search for human life. Of course…" She trailed of, hesitating. "The exact reason why such young soldiers were picked to be shipped out is what's been causing all kinds of commotion."

"Commotion?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. It's not really my place to say, but…word is, your squad is being treated as…expendable."

I blinked, unsure I'd even heard her right. "Expendable?!" I screamed, fury and realization striking me simultaneously. "What do you mean expendable? Better we die out here then some other squad that's more important?!" I instantly felt immature for getting so worked up over the radio, especially while speaking to someone who outranked me by quite a bit. Taking a deep breath, I willed myself to calm down. "Sorry," I muttered, unsure of what else to say.

"It's okay," the lieutenant answered. "I understand where you're coming from, but remember. It's just a rumor, something you can't be distracted by. Your only priority right now is to stay alive and keep moving. Can you do that for me, Private?"

I told myself I was imagining the concern in her question. "Yes ma'am. Keep moving, stay alive. How hard could it be?"

There was a tense silence, each of us thinking of the answer that no one wanted to imagine. "Alright. Watch your six, Santiago. Control out."

Anya

My god. She sounded so young over the radio. How old had Hoffman said she was? Eighteen? I tried to picture her, a teenage girl with dark hair and a resemblance to the woman in the picture Dom had pulled out of his pocket so many times in my presence.

Dom had spent many years searching for his wife. And even though the whole world had the right to mourn, no one blamed Dom needing a little time when they heard about what he had to do.

Poor Dom. I knew he hated it when I gave him those sympathetic looks, but sometimes, I just couldn't stop myself.

If anyone deserved happiness, it was undoubtedly him. I wouldn't rest until Delta and Unit Twelve were home safely. Hoffman would understand if I favored them a bit for a few days. Dom had always been one of his favorites.

Standing from my chair, I switched tac-com links and pressed a finger to my ear. "Control to Delta Squad, over."

"Go ahead, control," Marcus chimed in. I scooped up a large file of paperwork from my desk and left my office, deciding to walk and talk.

"I've got good news, Marcus," I said as I marched down the hallway towards Hoffman's office. My heels clicked across the linoleum floor. "Most of Unit Twelve survived the crash, Melanie among them. Their pilot and Sergeant Decarlo were killed, though."

Marcus left the line open as he made a low sound in the back of his throat. "A bunch of kids with no sergeant. Sounds like a recipe for disaster if you ask me."

I shrugged my shoulders, expecting the answer. "Maybe, but I gave Melanie strict orders and left her in charge. If she's anything like her dad, I'm sure she can handle it."

Marcus made a sound dangerously close to a snort. "Shit, you left her in charge? Bet she just loved that."

Pausing outside of Hoffman's door, I tapped it with the toe of my high heel as a knock. "She didn't give me too much trouble about it." I paused, readjusting the heavy file in my arms. "I'm outside Hoffman's office now. I'll see if he's been given anymore details about the mission."

"Hoffman, huh? And how did the old bastard feel about me commandeering one of his choppers?"

"Let's just say I had to convince him it was mainly for Dom's sake."

Marcus made another noise. "He'll get over it. Delta out."

And just like that, my conversation with Marcus had ended, and Hoffman was opening his door. "Anya," he said simply, then he turned with a tilt of his head, inviting me inside.

"Have you spoken with Prescott?" I asked, eyeing him as he walked over to his desk and poured himself a cup of what looked like watered down coffee. He rubbed a hand over his eyes, looking as old and tired as ever.

"The damn man's still throwing an ego-fit," he grumbled, sipping at his steaming cup of caffeine. Wisps of heat billowed over his nose. "He's already lost one Raven and now he's worried about loosing valuable front-liner's." With a scowl, Hoffman shook his head. "He's not fooling anybody."

I felt the blood drain from my face. "So it's true, then?" I asked, setting the heavy file in my arms onto a nearby table at my hip.

"He'll never come out and say it, but you've been in this long enough to know how he operates." Hoffman sat his coffee on his desk, the corners of his eyes crinkling with stress.

"Sir, if you don't me saying, you look exhausted."

He gave me a knowing gaze. "So do you," he accused.

With a bit of a smirk, I sighed. "Occupational hazard, I suppose. So what should I report to Delta?"

Hoffman rubbed the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "According to Prescott, the mission is too important to abandon. Delta Squad will be dropped off and once they meet up with Unit Twelve, both squads will continue with the original orders."

I had to stop myself from making a scoffing sound. "Doesn't that sound like a massive waste of time?" I asked. "By the time the Raven gets back, the mission will most likely be complete anyways." Looking down, I bit my lip at as every flaw began piling up in my brain. "But then if the pilot stays there, that's a stagnant Raven that's also in danger. The smartest choice would be to abandon the mission until a better plan can be prepared, or our available resources are improved."

Hoffman merely blinked at me. "Preaching to the choir, kid. Precott's got his reasons, and he's sticking with this one."

Another sigh escaping me, I nodded my head and turned to leave. "Yes sir. I'll give Delta Squad their orders and then begin working on maintaining communication with Unit Twelve." My hand on the doorknob, I raised an eyebrow at him. "And sir? Try and get some sleep."

Laughing once without humor, he turned back to his desk and began shuffling through paper work. "Only after you do, Lieutenant."

Nodding goodbye, I walked into the hall and closed the door behind me. Sorry, Colonel, I thought, pressing a finger to my ear and preparing to contact Delta as I made my way back to my office. Guess you'll have to wait a bit longer then.

WARNING. Beware of the long (but necessary) authors note ahead!

A bit of an uneventful chapter, but necessary nonetheless. You know what I'm supposed to be doing right now? Sleeping. Because my first day of college is in the morning.

Yikes. Wish me luck.

A quick question! Now that classes are starting, I'm assuming that getting out chapters in a short amount of time will be (for the lack of a better term) a bitch. So which would you guys prefer? Slightly shorter chapters (I average about 5,000 words/chapter these days, and I'll knock it down to about 4,000) which will ultimately result in faster updates? Or, would you like me to keep the chapter length as it is and just do what I can to get it out? Either way doesn't matter to me. So give me a shout!

As always, my beautiful readers. Responses of all kinds are forever and always appreciated! And don't forget, if you've got a POV you want to see, let me know!

P.S. I have made a Tumblr! Why is this relevant? Because it will soon be filled with all of my fanfiction goodness (update statuses, writing prompts, fanfic ideas, personal rambling, etc.) The link to it is on my profile. Feel free to follow, and shoot me a message if you came from here! I'll return the following favor!