Life Denied
It was an ambush. The town inhabitants were running scared, scattering in every direction. They thought the woods would be the dangerous place. Their friends and allies ventured into those trees, risking their lives. This town was supposed to be the safe area.
A firefight raged maybe a block from where she was standing, uncertain and panicking inside. Every direction the enemy appeared to be coming. This was chaos. She didn't know where Joe was.
"Elena, come on."
She followed Evelyn across the road, heading for the hotel. They ran past the body of a friendly mercenary laying close to the front entrance. Another one dashed around the corner of the building, frightening them by his sudden appearance. She recognized him though, relaxing a fraction.
"Stefan! How many are there? What do we do?"
Gunfire drove them through the door. The soldier glanced to the gun in her hand.
"I'm empty. Are you?"
Elena shook her head. "No. I only fired a few times. Don't think I hit anything though."
"Look out!" Evelyn screamed.
They dropped themselves to the floor as a projectile broke through the window on the door. It smashed through a table and sofa, stopping when it embedded in the far wall. Someone started screaming outside.
She offered her gun to the soldier and he snatched it quick. Rotating, he rose slightly and aimed, firing two rounds. There came a strangled shout. Stefan continued to survey the area he could see.
"Joe was helping fight last time I saw him. He told me to run and take cover. I don't know how to do that!"
She turned to Evelyn and clasped her hand. "Calm down. Don't lose it."
The woman was practically petrified. She might have experience in war zones and the like herself, but it didn't mean she was great in them either. Elena could read a situation though, and she was sure they needed to get out of here now.
Stefan stuck his head out the broken door farther. He retracted it fast, lowering himself back into a crouch.
"Four headed this way."
He checked the clip. "There are seven bullets left."
Huh. She must have shot more rounds than she thought. He put the clip back in and patted his belt.
"I have a grenade. There's possibility I win."
But what if he lost? The familiar panic welled up, unwelcome. Perhaps sensing her worry, he removed something from his vest and held it out to her. He was giving her a knife.
She tucked the weapon in her belt while Stefan peeked through a jagged splintering in the door. Whatever he saw prompted an order for them to act.
"Go upstairs. Hide."
"What?" Evelyn cried, terrified.
Taking her hand again, tight this time, Elena hurried for the stairs with Flynn's sister in tow. They were nearing the top when Stefan's gun went off. On the second floor, she leaned over the railing and saw him retreating into the lobby center. Three mercenaries wearing black gear kicked apart the remnants of the door and swept in.
When a grenade lobbed toward the attacking party, she didn't wait around to witness what happened. She jogged down the hall, keeping firm grasp on Evelyn's hand. Below, they could hear shouting and two gunshots followed. An older woman opened her room door, peeking out.
"Stay in your room, ma'am."
Whether she didn't understand or was paying her no mind, the woman ran past.
"It's not safe!"
The hotel guest reached the railing near the staircase and stopped, turning to look at her.
"Yes. Come with us. We have to-"
Blood spattered as the woman's head burst open. She thought she might vomit. What kind of ammunition did they fire to do something like that?
Evelyn sobbed a cry in a hand, biting her teeth into a finger. She slid to the floor, leaning against the wall. Heavy footsteps on the stairs. Elena helped her back up, whispering loudly they had to move.
She stumbled with the other woman a few steps and made it to the room the recently deceased civilian came from. Pushing her in ahead, Elena glanced to the stairs and caught a glimpse of black. She stepped inside the room and shut the door as quiet as she could. The door locked, she hustled Evelyn to the double bed.
"Get under. Go."
Elena pushed her way beneath the bed after her. It was a narrow fit. They were breathing really loud. She set her hand to rest on Evelyn's arm, hoping to be a reassurance.
"Be quiet as you can," she instructed, covering her own mouth with a hand to better stifle the breathing.
Evelyn copied her, eyes round circles of fright. There were noises in the hall. Sounded close. Now voices, too muffled to make out. She stared up at the bottom of the bed, waiting.
A loud bang. She jolted in place and Evelyn gasped, whimpering a little. She squeezed her companion's arm.
She wouldn't be here in this situation if it wasn't for Nate. Just deciding to restart a relationship with the man and now she was cowering under a bed, praying soldiers intent to slaughter anyone they discovered wouldn't find them. Navarro wouldn't want to kill them so bad if it wasn't for Nate interfering on his damn treasure hunts. He was obsessed with showing up other thieves and investigations.
Yeah, Elena. Great. Blame Nate for all your problems while you're at it.
But still, he wouldn't stop chasing after a war criminal over a dumb treasure and proof he could beat Flynn in revenge. It was absurd the things he liked to do for thrills and a little exploration on history. She didn't know how to feel.
Another loud bang. This one sounded closer. She realized what the noise was. They were searching the rooms one by one, kicking the locked doors in. Okay, okay. She could handle this.
Reaching to her waist, Elena took the knife from her belt. She rested the blade on her breast, making a point to breathe even breaths. Tilting her head to look at Evelyn, she waited to speak until eyes were on hers.
"We're not going to die."
/
The room stank of body odor, blood, and sex. He crawled across the wooden floor to lie beside the fireplace. Scents given off by the fire filled his nostrils. Hot ash drifted occasionally to fall on hair and the skin of his arms and face. He didn't care.
Alek sat near his head and reached for him, maneuvering his bound arms into his lap. He had to pull him a few inches closer to get him situated with his elbows resting on the leg nearest. Forced to lie on his belly to have a more comfortable position, the soldier brushed the back of his hand against bloody fingers.
He flinched, releasing a grunt of displeasure. That hurt. Ratko approached while Alek toyed with the fingers on the undamaged hand. He warily watched the soldier seat himself diagonal from his companion, removing a pack of smokes and a lighter out of his jacket.
"These belonged to Sava. He was the smoker." Ratko took a cigarette out to light, holding it between two fingers. "I'll find another use for them. You'll help me, won't you?"
Like he had a choice...
A hand gripped his leg to hold the limb still. The tip of the cigarette pressed to vulnerable, exposed flesh. He sobbed through his teeth. Eyes watering, he was contemplating the use of a struggle to dissuade the abuser when Alek slid his knife out of the sheath and made sure he got a good look.
"Should I shave layers of skin? The fingers on your right hand... Should I cut them off?"
Burning pain had him clenching that one good hand to tolerate it. He peered above his shoulder, seeing Ratko grin at him while he tossed the cigarette in the fire and reached for a fresh one. Lit, he stared into his eyes, slowly bringing it to the leg held in place.
The door pushed open and Flynn looked up to see Nate and Sullivan cross the threshold. Damir studied them from his seat at the table in their direct line of sight and they looked back. Their attention quickly switched to the three of them below. Navarro was behind the two with a gun aimed on their backs, a pair of armed mercenaries trailing him.
Silent staring by the mercenaries to the additional captives. Ratko must have gotten bored because he felt his leg burn again. He hissed, lower half squirming. The uncertain, somewhat fearful expressions of the hostages darkened. He wasn't surprised Nathan did the reckless thing.
"Stop that!" he demanded, walking forward.
Damir raised his discarded rifle to point it at him. "Shut up. Don't do anything stupid."
He was surprised the guy ignored the warning and kicked Ratko's shoulder, making him fumble a cigarette. Regaining his balance, he retrieved the smoking item and threw it into the flames. The mercenary shifted his seat to be facing the door and his attacker. Alek put the blade beneath his chin, leading Flynn to cease any movement.
Drake hadn't noticed. Drake was going to get him killed in a second. Drake was an idiot!
"Stop hurting him. What did you do to him? This is over for you people. Your guys are losing out there and you know it."
"Nate," Sullivan warned, and it let him like the man a bit more.
Hearing him, his gaze was drawn lower and he saw Flynn's precarious situation. He clamped his mouth shut. He stayed pretty steamed and glared at their enemies in turn. It was like he was daring them to do something.
Didn't he get it? They planned to.
"A number may be depleted in the forest, but I sent my main force elsewhere."
Flynn lunged to get up from the floor, knife nicking the skin under his chin when he toppled out of its way in the process. "You son of a bitch!"
He managed two feet before he was brought down, Ratko and Alek holding him flat. Barely able to see upward, Navarro did him the favor of coming closer to look down on him. Smiling, his eyes strayed along his nude form and then returned to his face held to the ground.
"I see you proved thorough entertainment once again."
"Fuck you!"
"I did you the one time, and you weren't much as a limp fish."
His face reddened and he muttered a curse under his breath while he tried to burrow into the floorboards. Predictably, he got nowhere but rubbing his nose on the wood a bit. He felt so ashamed and humiliated everybody in this room knew how he was weak and easy to use.
Nate slugged Navarro in the jaw. The two soldiers behind reacted. The first grabbed Nate by the wrist, yanking him away from their boss, and the other poked the tip of his rifle into Sullivan's ribs. He had no option except cooperating and didn't resist when the soldier shoved him to drop to the floor beside Flynn.
Alek and Ratko climbed to their feet, backing off. Flynn shifted to sit and a hand fell on his shoulder. He instantly jerked away, body shuddering.
"Don't touch me!"
The hand returned to his shoulder and another hand touched his face, trying to turn it. Anger surged. What in the bloody hell was wrong with his ears?
"Hey!"
"Flynn. Come on. It's me, man."
He heaved an annoyed breath, accepting the unwanted attention. "What?"
"We're leaving here together," Drake murmured quiet. "Don't bother stressing."
Navarro didn't appear to have heard any of their conversation and glanced to the two soldiers by the open door.
"Wait outside."
One of them grunted confirmation and they went out, shutting the cabin door.
"Let's get to business."
Sullivan eyed Flynn. He dropped his arms in his lap, concealing his junk. Like it mattered. The older man turned his attention to the other occupants of the room, examining their current plight.
Navarro began lecturing all the various ways they earned what was coming. Flynn tuned it out, not in the least interested to hear his bullshit. His gaze wandered to the captive next to him, hand gripping his wrist in lieu of his hand.
"What makes you think we're getting out of this?" he asked, careful to keep his voice low.
He was skeptical to believe any such idea. They were cornered, trapped, and unarmed. What chance did they have?
"You're not the only one who has hard times," said Nate. "The truth is, everything I touch turns to shit."
"What? Cause you laid a finger on me, we're in this mess?"
"Hey, is that the one who threatened Elena?"
Flynn slapped the finger pointing at Damir. "Yeah. Can we not?"
Navarro grinned in Sullivan's face, telling him his worthlessness. He was really laying it on thick. The man was certain he would be executing them here in this cabin in a minute.
Their hands slid together, clasped firm, and he wasn't sure if it was him or Nate who made it happen. Maybe both. Nate's hand was kind of cold compared to his own which felt warm.
He'd been left behind too many times for loyalty to be his thing. It took two sides to make trust work, however, and Nathan, Mila, and the rest were proving it was worth it. They came for him. People never did, but they did. He felt convinced just from having Nate on his side. They were getting out of this.
"You're not shit, Flynn. Now when I move, go for the ugly one's gun."
"What?"
"Sully, think it's gonna rain right there?"
Sullivan looked at Nate. "Huh?"
"Rain. Right."
Comprehension dawned. Not for him. What were they babbling about?
Narravo narrowed his eyes on Nate, highly suspicious. "What are you saying?"
Nathan flung himself backward, slamming his body into Ratko's legs. The momentum brought them to the ground. When he saw Sullivan shove a pissed Navarro, he figured it was time to move.
He hurled into Alek's stomach, using his head for a battering ram. Hands scrabbled to gain a grip. His nudity actually paid off, fingers slipping on sweaty skin and failing to grab hold.
On the floor, he punched him in the face and a fight began over his sidearm. There were shouted curses behind him and sounds of ongoing conflict. He hoped the other two were on the winning side like him.
Flynn held the handgun tight in his hands as he fell on his rear. Alek turned away, going for the rifle left by the corner between the door and the fireplace. He shot him in the leg and then back when he kept trying to reach his weapon. The mercenary fell and he rotated to assess the other threats.
Sullivan was dealing with a raging Navarro coming at him bare-handed. Ratko appeared unconscious, but Nate had gotten bested by Damir. The soldier sporting a bruised cheek had his rifle aimed to his chest.
He shot blindly in Damir's direction, unloading the clip. He couldn't say how many shots hit or missed. Flynn simply cared that he went down and didn't move anymore, leaving Nate in no immediate danger.
Navarro knocked Sullivan to the ground and searched for his shotgun, lost somewhere during the scuffle. He was promising the seasoned thief they would die soon while he was at it. Despite his gun clicking empty a moment ago, Flynn raised it level with the man's head.
"Stop."
Inches from picking up his shotgun, he looked up. A deep scowl promising bad things met his confident stare. He started for the weapon again.
"Hey!"
Instead of freezing, the guy was spurred into motion. Since he ran for the exit and not a weapon, Flynn didn't protest. He watched him flee out the door and squeezed the trigger twice to no effect.
"Bang, bang," he muttered, knowing Navarro alive kept the guy a danger.
There was a lot of blood pooled around Alek's legs. He wasn't moving. Dead?
"That thing wasn't loaded?" Nate asked. "Are you crazy?"
"Drake, you idiot!"
Nate's expression lifted like he thought he might need to defend himself. Could be he came off angrier than he meant. Ah well, it couldn't be helped.
When no attack happened, he got mad in place of the worry. Flynn put his back to him and went looking for his clothes.
"This idiot just freed us," he mentioned, indignant, before becoming serious. "I'm guessing he sent the rest of his guys to town so let's go."
Boxers and pants pulled on, belt buckled, he smirked Nate's way. "I've been saved the horror of dying a slow, torturous death. We're gonna be fine."
Tugging on his socks and boots, he clarified, "Everyone is gonna be."
Now where the hell had his shirt gotten to?
Cloth slapped him in the face. Dragging it downward and letting it fall into his hands, he looked at Sullivan standing a few feet away. He fixed his shirt from inside out and put it on.
"Thanks." He smiled big at Nate. "Let's go be plucky heroes!"
"Did they dope you or something?"
Flynn strode up and wrapped his arms around him in a hug.
"I'm happy I'm not gonna die, so sue me."
Nate was grinning like he had no control over it. "Still time. Come on."
They scrounged the remaining weapons and ammunition left in the cabin. The three of them were determined to rush through the forest as fast as they could to reach the hotel. There was worry in the faces of his companions but not on his part. He felt fortune was on his side for once.
On alert for Navarro or any other soldiers, they put the enemy camp behind them and hurried for their destination.
/
The door to the hotel room they were hiding in kicked open with a startling volume. Even expecting the eventuality, it still made them lurch. Bodies tense, breath sounding deafening, the women stared into each other's eyes to calm again.
Elena counted two sets of feet. She put her fingers up to indicate the count for Evelyn, who kept her hand on her mouth. No longer relaxed, the woman seemed close to hyperventilating.
The footsteps diverted directions, right and left. A chair was kicked on its side, a closet door opened. She realized she was gripping the knife handle to the point it was painful and lightened the hold.
A pair of boots appeared in her eyeline, striding along the bed. She turned the knife in her hand, shifting to raise as far as she could on an elbow. Her hair brushed against the bottom of the bed, soft static popping in her ear.
The mercenary turned to the bed. Elena prepared for what would come. It's okay. You can do this.
He knelt on his knees, hands resting in front of them. The long gun in the left hand was set on the floor. His head began to lower. They were staring eye to eye.
His mouth opened, she assumed to warn his friend. Elena drove the point of the knife into one of those eyes and blood spurted. He started screaming. It was awful.
The knife came out of her grasp when the soldier fell over. Rolling on the floor, wailing, his hands hovered near the object protruding from his eye. She pulled herself out of the hiding spot and grabbed the weapon he'd set aside to confront the other soldier.
Shouting in a language she didn't understand and moving to raise his weapon at her, she fired the gun in her hands. It made a loud barking sound and missed him by a mile. Elena held a sniper rifle. She held the weapon steadier, eye near the scope, and shot another round.
This time she hit him in the neck and he spun, falling to the floor. Approaching with caution, she only breathed easy when he didn't move even after she kicked the handgun away from the reach of his fingers. The mercenary still had the knife in his eye but he was on his feet and staggering toward her.
"Bitch!"
Elena dropped the rifle and picked up the handgun. She shot until he stopped coming for her, crumpling to the floor. Evelyn's head dipped out from beneath the bed to meet her eyes.
"Is it okay?"
She nodded three times, reassuring herself in the process, and confirmed, "Yes. Yeah. It's safe now."
While she checked the ammo in the gun, Evelyn crawled out and stood. She walked to the open doorway and hesitantly peeked into the hall. Elena didn't hear anything outside the room.
They proceeded to the hall and slowly moved to the balcony. Still nothing to hear or see. The danger might have passed. She held the gun firm in her hands and looked at the other woman.
"We should wait here for the others to find us."
The others would be coming back. She had to believe that.