A knock on the door awoke me, causing me to wonder when I fell asleep last night. I rubbed my eyes as I sat up. My head felt so heavy, it was just hard to wake up this morning. Yesterday was mental, but there was nothing I wouldn't do for my friends. I needed to see her, and I still needed to see Jerry. Last time I saw him was brief and he looked like hell. I just hope that he is alright. I just need to keep finding ways out and make a solid plan. But so far, everything is failing miserably for me. All the boats move and park in different places and I couldn't find anywhere ideal for us to hide once we got out. I rubbed my eyes again as I placed my legs on the floor.
"Come in." I groaned, not moving from where I was sat. Only Leon entered the room, holding his hat in one of his hand. He didn't have his gun or bullets strapped around his chest. A heavy black gloves were on his hands and his red and black vest was open, to reveal a well exercised body. Apart from that, he wore his normal gear. He looked tired, even his expression looked tired.
"I guess you want a word before you take me down to the truck." I asked, placing my hands into my lap. He nodded as he sat himself down on the chair next to my bed. I sighed before I could even start.
"Leon, I freaked out. I got pissed. My friend was in a bad state, she had a black eye with god knows how many other injuries. I got angry, I threw at chair at him to get him away from her. He's Baqir's groupie, the one who tried to touch me up before. So I am going to get pissed." I explained slowly, I was too tired for this. Leon just listened as I explained. "So, are you going to tell me off?" I asked, straightening myself up. "Because, I don't regret it and honestly, I would do it again."
Leon nodded as I continued. "I really don't. I managed to get her away from that creep. He was even going for his gun at the sight of me." I linked my fingers together as I spoke. "Also, before you do. Can I ask what did you do to him after I left?" I asked, taking another breath just as he spoke.
"I knocked him out and placed a needle in his arm." He explained. "Looked like he was getting high on the job. Carlos gave him a good high-ding when he found him." I smirked a little at his answer.
"Is Carlos one of the men?" I asked, un-linking my fingers and gesturing it randomly as I spoke. Leon sighed before looking back to me. "He's Vaas' second hand man. He's normally with him, almost wherever Vaas goes, Carlos goes. he's been with Vaas since he joined. Also, he's normally the one on the radio if Vaas has a message for us." I nodded along, showing that I was listening.
"Beth, you can't do that again." Leon finally said, the one thing I had expected to hear today. "Hoyt will have both you and Vaas' guts if he found out. I helped so he didn't. Vaas would more likely beat the crap out of me if he knew what I did." I nodded, I need to be more careful. I like Leon, he's a nice guy. As Nice as you can be when you're talking to a hostage.
"Carlos said he spoke about you yesterday, he didn't say what but we can only guess." I raised an eyebrow at his comment. "You can only stay in Vaas' good books for so long, if you keep doing crap like yesterday. Got it?" I nodded in response to his answer.
"We do stick our neck out for you, I would like to keep doing it. So don't keep playing hero. Driving you around is a lot more interesting than staying at an outpost day-in day-out. You would do the same for us?" I nodded again, it felt almost like I was telling myself the lie. Because, I knew it wasn't something I wouldn't do for them and I don't know what I would do if I find out something else has happened to them.
"So, no more bullshit?" He asked.
"No more bullshit." I repeated, as I got up to leave.
Leon stood up and walked to the door, which was opened just a crack. I followed until I remembered, I placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He turned towards me, he looked really pissed off. I couldn't blame. I did make more work for him then he needed to.
"Leon, can I quickly just brush my teeth first?" I asked, pointing at the bathroom. He nodded. I sorted myself out as quickly as I could. I was late enough as it is, I had literally just been told off. I don't need to push their buttons anymore then I already have. I came out the bathroom to find him starting in the doorway. He's going to keeping me on a tighter lead. I walked out of the room.
"I forgot to say." I blurted out, as he let go of door. "Thank you, for looking after me. I know I'm still getting my head around everything, so I'm going to do some dumb things. Thank you for keeping safe." I stated. Leon smirked back to me. He nodded his head towards the door, I stepped out of my room and he closed the door behind us.
We slowly walked down the stairs, my hands were in my pockets as I went. "You know, you remind me a lot of my sister. She does crazy shit too." He chuckled as he hopped down. I focused on him as he spoke. Smiling softly. "You would get along with her too." He explained. "She lives with her wife and two kids, from her last marriage, back in France; she owns a pretty damn nice nightclub. When she was a teenager, I was always getting her out of trouble. But she did what she thought was right." I smiled.
"You're French?" I asked, as we reached the bottom of the stairs.
"That surprises you? You're not the only European around these parts." Leon chuckled back, shoving both hands into the pockets of his vest.
"No, no, no. It's just you don't have the accent." I added quickly.
"My mother's from Réunion, an island of the coast of Africa. She moved to France to get a better life for herself, she knew more French then English so that's why she moved there. Met my father while she was there." I listened to his story, it was interesting to learn about his past; as it made him more human to me.
"How did you end up here? If you don't mind me asking." I asked. Leon still focused on me with a smile. We started walking out of the building.
"My father knew Hoyt and I wanted to see somewhere other than France, as well as a history of dealing made it hard to get a job. So I asked him for work, I was only seventeen when I came here." He explained, opening the door for me. "I joined roughly around the same time as Vaas. He's only a few months older than me; would you believe." He chuckled, my jaw dropped. Leon didn't look like a young man, I assumed he was in his thirties, his stubbed hair was starting to grey already. "He had better hair than too, it had these braids where his Mohawk was that; and the rest of his hair, that finished just above his a…"
"Hurry up!" Hisham called from the car, hopping like an annoyed toddler. Majid, on the other hand, was sat in the back not bothered about Hisham shaking the car with every bounce. We walked quickly to the car.
"Morning." I greeted them both as I climbed into my seat, as Leon put his gun and extra bullets on; followed by his beret. Majid nodded and Hisham jumped into the back.
"We're needed at Nat's repairs, they found Cal in the jungle with a arrow in his shoulder." Hisham explained. I entered the car and put my seat belt on. Leon didn't bother and went straight to starting the engine as soon as he was in the car.
After Leon said he was from France, I started to notice accents more. Hisham sounded like he probably came from Thailand, and I had to wait until Majid spoke again in order to place it. Maybe I could ask, if it somewhere I haven't been then I could ask what it's like there.
"Call them back and tell them not to remove the weapon until we get there." I ordered, Hisham nodded and almost screamed it down the handheld.
Leon got into the car and we were off, speeding down the road as this outpost was far away from where we were. The car was silent throughout the journey, everyone was just eager to get there before it's too late. It felt like by the time I got my belt on, we were there.
I grabbed the first aid box from the car and jumped out first. One of the men, carrying a sniper rifle stated that they put Cal in the building. I noticed the patrol pump outside it, taking a mental note of it for later. I bolted inside the building to find Cal laying on the ground in pain, with an arrow sticking out of him at an angle. Based on the blood spatters on his shoulder, it looked like they were halfway trying to before I ordered them not to. I kneeled down and placed a hand on his stomach carefully to hold him down. It was a clean cut, barely any flesh was ripped and it didn't go all the way through. I tried to think what was the appropriate way to remove the arrow. I thought back to my days in medical school and a particular lecture which dealt with inflected injuries like being shot. You mustn't just yank them out as it could do more damage then intended. This is very much more dangerous then being shoot by a gun. The location was closer to the acromion, since it didn't go through. The bone must have stopped it in its tracks. Cal's blood had soaked the shaft of the arrow.
"Cal, breath slowly. I need you follow my instructions first. Then you can explain what happened." I explained, in a calming tone. He nodded, hissing in pain through his teeth. I flipped open the first aid and there was nothing that could numb the pain. Hisham came into the room and kneeled down on the other side. "OK, Hisham. I'm going to need to enlarge the wound and twirl it out. I need you hold Cal down and not move him so much. If I get the arrow out, appeal pressure onto it the second it's out. Get a clean cloth." I instructed as quickly as I could. Hisham looked around, to see where the closest one was. "Cal, this is going to hurt. You'll need to remain still. I'm going to have to do this slowly or you could end up losing too much blood. I'm sorry I don't have anything to numb the pain. Unless you want to get drunk, but that's not going to make this any fast."
"Just Get It Out!" Cal shouted, he was crying now. I nodded and pressed my finger and my thumb to either side of the wound. With the tips of my fingers and thumb on the arrow. I looked up Hisham to find that he decided that since he couldn't see a cloth, he had taken his shirt off to use instead.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Ready." Hisham nodded.
I slowly widen the wound and rolling the arrow with my fingers and lifting it upwards. Cal was screaming, but doing what I told him. Hisham kept him down, he even offered him his hand to vent into. Cal didn't. The arrow moved smoothly, it was still for debate if it was pointed end or it had a metal head that was still inside his shoulder. Based on the wound's shape, it was circular so there wasn't a metal head.
Once I pulled it out, Hisham pushed his shirt down onto the wound as hard as he could. I quickly looked over the tip, it had a pointed base which had entered the skin. But there were indentations that it had a metal head. I couldn't feel anything that could confirm that there was still something in his shoulder. No lump or trouble during getting it out. Whoever made this, designed it so that it could do damage with or without the metal tip. The position of the wound and angle of the arrow shows that the mostly event was the head was loose when it fired and never enter the skin.
"I Don't Want to Die!" Cal yelled, digging his nails into the wood below him. I checked his pulse; his heart-rate was increasing. I'm going to need to close the wound. The wound wasn't close enough to have gone through any veins, it had gone between the axillary vein and artery. His breathing was fine and he wasn't overheating. If I don't close the wound before he starts to dehydrate, he could go into shock. I went into the first aid and grabbed the needle and thread to sew him up. I looked over Hisham as I threaded the needle, who had been watching me this whole time.
"Ready?" I asked once more.
"Ready" Hisham nodded.
He lifted his shirt and pitched the wound together, I started stitching the wound together. This is going to make a nasty scar once I was done. Cal was seething in pain, he followed my instructions and was doing it well. I wish I had better equipment to handle this situation. I never did get any paper or pens to make that list, I'll need to chase someone up about that.
Gun shots and screaming were heard outside. Hisham started to get a little jumpy, I tried to force it to the back of mind and focus on the task at hand. Cal had shut up as soon as the first shot was fired. Nothing should distract you while dealing with a patient. What were they doing out there?
I had finished stitching him back together and grabbed a cotton swab, cotton tape and bandages. "Hisham, can you get check what's going on outsid…?" He was gone before I had finished my sentence, bolting out the door with his gun in hand. That was not a good sign. I turned back to my work and made quick work of dressing the wound. "Cal, keep those bandages and that wound clean. Don't forget to rest. You're not going to be using that arm for a couple of days." I explained, pulling out the only sling in the first aid kit and put it on him properly.
The door swung open. "How's everything going?" I asked, assuming it was Hisham. I placed the remain bandages and tape back into the first aid box. Cal shot up next to me and stared at the door. I turned to see what he was looking.
There stood a man in a blue shirt holding a machete. He was covered in tattoos, with an AK47 hanging on his back. He stared at me in confusion, he probably wasn't expecting me to be there. He pulled into a run at us.
"There's more in here!" He raised machete and screamed. Before I could even register what was happening or what I should even do. Cal had grabbed a pistol from his leg holster, with his usable hand, and fired it at Rakyat. The gun was right next to my ear, it rang terribly. He fired three times, the first two missed. The third went right through his skull.
"Doctor! GO!" Cal ordered. I had trouble hearing through my ear. I sat there, just looking at him. He kept repeating himself. Pointing madly at the door with his gun. The message finally got through to me. I Left the first aid kit and climbed to my feet. I ran through the open door.
The base looked like hell. The sound of firing was everywhere. Everyone was either firing around cover or charging at each other. One of the entrances to the base was engulfed in flames. I could see Leon close to the flames, he had gun down two of the Rakyat soldiers before he noticed me. I had frozen to the spot in fear. Leon dashed across the base and head a head start on me.
"Beth! Get in the car! NOW!" He shouted, it took me a second to register it. He was already at the car when I started running. I kept looking around in case somebody aimed for me. The car was parked at the other entrance, the one not on fire. I heard someone grunt behind, I looked over my shoulder to see one of the Rakyat throwing something. It went over my head.
"LEON!" I called out to him. His hand had already opened the car, he was looking over to me. It hit the engine of the car, for a split second I saw what it was. "LEON! GRENADE!" I yelled. But I was too late.
The car exploded, knocking everything around it to the ground. I was thrown onto my back, banging my head against the ground. The left side stung in pain the moment of impact. I didn't look away, as my ears rung. I could barely hear anything. I saw Leon lying on the ground. I clumsily got back onto my feet and went towards him, trying to avoid the flames.
He wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing. His eyes were open. He wasn't registering anything around him. His face was in permanent shock. I could see so many wounds all over him. He was badly burnt. I knelt down and placed two fingers on his neck. His skin was boiling, it burnt when I touched him. I couldn't find a pulse.
I closed Leon's eyes as I was slowly started to hear again. I looked back to see where Hisham and Majid were. Majid stood out, with the fire roaming behind him. He was carrying the biggest gun I had ever seen. I started to pick up words. He pointed to the exit behind me and yelling 'RUN!' at the top of his lungs.
I jumped to my feet and bolted out of the base and down the road, successfully avoiding the fire still. I didn't want to risk going into the Jungle. I didn't know what was in there, apart from tigers. I kept running for a long as I could. I can't go too far or they will never find me, if they survived that is.
I stopped by an unused car that was parked by the side of the road. I looked back to see that only smoke rising from the base. No wonder they needed a damn doctor, if that is the type of fighting they have to deal with on a daily basis. I leaned against the car as I started to catch my breath. This would have been some much easier if I actually knew had to drive. I could just take this car once the smoke was gone.
I turned and looked in the opposite direction, hearing an engine sound. Of the car I could see mostly blue. I was about to wave it down when I heard a small voice in the back of my head. My voice. "You're not being guarded. You know where your friends are. You can escape." I was alone. I had a chance.
I ducked behind the parked car and watched. The car driving towards me was mostly blue, I could see a lot of blue behind the wheel. The same blue as the Rakyat had on. I panicked. They can't see me. If that one saw me and chose to attack me, these ones might do the same. I'm wearing a damn red tartan shirt. I looked around to see if I could ever dump my shirt until they pasted by or a place to hide. I couldn't risk the jungle and I'm facing a cliff. I looked to the car, the truck was open. I could lie in it.
I walked over and pulled my tartan shirt off and placed it inside. I waited to see the car get closer. They were Rakyat for sure. I carefully climbed inside. I led on my side and waited. I am so grateful that I didn't have such bad eyesight or else I could have missed them. I listened for the car to pass. It crashed.
The car jolted with the sudden impact. How the hell did they hit the car?! It's off the road. The boot door swung open. My tartan shirt fell out. Before I could grab it, the door slammed shut. I remained still as I hear the car drive away. What the hell were they doing?
I pushed at the boot door and tried not to panic. No movement. My shirt was outside the car, someone could find it and start searching. I must have done something pretty bad to have this kind of luck. I had very little room in here. There were bullet holes that shun light through, so I wasn't completely in the dark.
I started to think about Leon. God. Poor guy. That is not a good way to go, but at least it was quick. He was kinda sweet and was nice to me, in this situation. Even helped me when I tried to protect Alison. He wasn't the first time I saw a dead body. Even before coming here, I had been around many. Some I couldn't save in time. It was always horrible. I remember one of my mentors explain that we need to find ways to not let it affect us and our work. I tried a few things but nothing much worked for me. A couple of times I had gone out with my friends to try and help, it was the most effective for a short while.
Time passed, I didn't know how long I had been in here now. I just thinking about everything. The last time I saw Alison. Being grateful that Jerry wasn't working for them. Those weird little moments I keep having with Vaas. Wondering how much of a conniption fit Vaas would have if I didn't show up back at base. And what would happen to the others if I didn't show up. Oh god, please let someone find me! I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me. I was following orders.
I could hear someone walking around outside. I didn't care who it was. I need to get out. "HELP! PLEASE! I'M STUCK IN THE BOOT!" I screamed as loudly as I could. I banged on the lid of the boot. I heard someone walking towards me. Their footsteps getting louder. "PLEASE! I'M NOT ARMED!"
"Good enough for me." A male replied on the other side.
The light burnt my eyes when the man flipped open the boot, all I could see was the sun behind the man who stood over me. I shielded my eyes to the beams shining, but it didn't help. I felt like I was on the beach when Vaas was pinning me down. Yet, he didn't grab hold of me. He was just looking me over and it felt as dirtier than every other time, curse my low necklines. His hands were on his hips and I could only make out that he has a beard, but he looked like a shadow towering over me. I just prayed that if he was going to kill me, that he would do it quickly. So, I didn't have false hope.
"Well, well, well." A voice chuckled at me, he sounded like an Australian. "A poor little cub must have wondered away from her pack and into the boot of my car, now are we going to get you back before one of the alphas rip my head." He chuckled, but his tone changed dark. I stayed in the boot, waiting for something to give me a clue if I was safe or not. "The name's Buck. What's yours?"