Chapter 28: The Battle Begins
"Wake up, Anna. It's time for the final meeting before we head out." Brittany whispered, kissing Anna's neck gently right under her ear as they lay there in each others arms at 6 a.m. in the morning. "We have a debrief in fifteen minutes."
Anna moved around in her sleeping bag, her eyes still closed for a few more minutes before she sat up, moving some hair out of her face and rubbing her eyes. "Good morning," she mumbled, leaning over and kissing Brittany's lips softly while she was still waking up.
"Good morning baby." Brittany said with a smile when Anna kissed her lips. She lingered there until Anna pulled away. "How are you feeling about today?"
"I'm still nervous, but not as nervous as I was yesterday, so that's good," Anna replied, absentmindedly running her fingers through Brittany's hair.
"I'm nervous too, but I'm happy that our squadrons will be close to each other." Brittany mentioned, smiling softly while Anna's fingers traveled through her thick blonde hair. She leaned up and kissed Anna once again, just to help calm the brunette's nerves a little.
Anna smiled into the kiss, sighing with content. "If you need anything while we're out there, don't hesitate to radio me, okay?" She murmured as their lips parted.
"I will, and you can radio me if you need anything too." Brittany said linking their hands together. "I'm gonna miss not having my partner in crime beside me out there today." She mentioned running her thumb along the back of Anna's hand.
"Me too. It's going to be weird not having you by my side during the battle," Anna said, squeezing Brittany's hand gently. "That being said, I'm still going to be with you in your heart, even though I'm not physically there with you."
The two of them shared one more gentle kiss before getting up to get dressed. They both headed to the final debrief together and sat in two chair right next to each other, waiting for everyone to arrive.
Everyone slowly began to fill up the chairs, talking in low voices as they waited for the debriefing to begin. Josh and Gemma came and sat with Anna and Brittany. "Hey, guys. You nervous for the mission?" Josh asked.
"Honestly? I'm just ready to go and get it over with." Brittany said, tucking her hair back as she sat in her chair. "So yeah, I'm a little nervous. But I'll be alright."
Josh nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I get how you feel. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous myself. We just have to hope that everything goes as planned, and that we don't lose anyone," he replied.
"I think that we're all going to be alright, even if we get injured in some way, I think we are going to cause a lot of damage to Heinrick and his army today." Gemma said smiling hopefully.
Anna nodded. "We've got to make the most of this chance that we've been given, because we might not get a chance like this again. This battle could turn the tide of the war in our favor," the brunette said.
Britt squeezed Anna's hand and smiled at her before Terry walked into the middle of the circle. "Today is the day, the day we flip the war in our favor. You all have been training for this day for a very long time. I hope all of you know that I chose you because I believe in you to carry out this mission and do it successfully." She stated. "Now, that's not to say that injuries won't happen, and it does not mean deaths won't occur. It just means I believe that every single one of you will fight for what's right, and give everything you have in order to turn the tables. I have told leaders of the squadrons who they are and what part of the base they will infiltrate. They will be given a list of people in their group, once they call your name, the mission has begun. I suggest you speak with your loved ones now. Dismissed."
Anna immediately looked over at Brittany, taking one of the blonde's hands in her own and bringing it up to kiss it. "I love you, baby," she murmured, gazing into the blonde's eyes. "No matter what happens today, I love you and I'll find my way back to you if I have to."
Brittany leaned her forehead against Anna's, closing her eyes and squeezing Anna's hand. "I'm going to find my way back to you, love. I'm all in for life, Anna." She whispered, leaning in and closing the gap between their lips.
"All in for life," Anna repeated, lingering on Brittany's lips for a few extra moments before she pulled away from the kiss, a soft smile on her face. She then turned to her brother, who had just shared a moment with Gemma, and hugged him tightly. "Good luck out there, big brother."
"Good luck sis," Josh said, hugging his little sister close to him. "You go kick some Healer ass out there today, okay?" He said smiling.
Anna chuckled at Josh's words. "Yeah, I'll do that as long as you promise to do the same," she replied with a smile.
"Come on, you know I will." Josh said once they pulled back from the hug, and he left a kiss on her forehead. "Be safe." He said.
"You better be safe too. I almost lost you once and I don't want that to happen again," Anna said in a serious voice.
"I will be, and you better stay safe. I can't stand the thought of actually losing my little sister. I've almost lost you twice, now that I think of it." Josh said before pulling his sister into one more hug.
Anna embraced Josh tightly, knowing that it could be hours or even days before she saw her brother again. "You've taught me everything I know. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be as strong as I am."
"Just remember that I'm just a radio away." Josh said smiling. "I'm going to be alright, and I'll radio in all the time so that you know I'm okay."
"And I'll do the same for you," Anna said, smiling softly at her brother. A few tears welled up in her eyes and fell down her face, but the brunette quickly wiped them away. "Just promise that you'll be okay?"
"I promise I'll be okay." Josh said smiling at his sister before it was time to call out their groups.
Everyone got into their groups as Terry called out the names. Anna looked at the members of her group, nodding her head a little as she thought about the plan. Once everyone was in their groups, Terry spoke again. "You are to listen to your group leaders while on the mission. They have the instructions for your part of the mission, which they will explain to you shortly. If we follow our plan, we should be victorious."
Once everything was discussed, they all got in the cars and headed the fifty miles to the main base. Each car took a different route to get on their side of the building.
When Anna's group reached their spot, they hopped out of the car and got ready. The brunette radioed in to let her aunt know that they were in position. "We're in position, Terry. We can see the building from here, but we're hiding behind some trees so any guards shouldn't be able to spot us."
"Good to hear, how many guards are at your entry point?" Terry called through the radio as Anna's group sat off the entrance.
Anna took out her binoculars and looked over at the entrance, seeing a couple guards by the door. She looked and saw that there were a few more standing on a balcony a couple floors up. "There's five that I can see right now. We should be able to take them out pretty easily."
"Just keep your eye out for any more, it's not going to be easy to get in. Heinrick has all kinds of traps that the guards know inside out, so just be on your guard, over." Terry said through the radio.
"Alright, I'll radio in again if anything changes. Let me know if and when you want us to move forward with the next step of the plan," Anna said to her aunt through the radio.
"Standby while I check in with the other squadrons. Over and out." Terry said before the line went silent.
Once the radio went dead, Anna turned to the other members of the group. "We're going to stay put for now until we get further orders. Keep an eye on the guards; we don't know if they can see us and we can't risk being spotted."
Brittany then radioed in. "Hey, how is everything looking from your side babe?" She asked, hoping to hear a quick response from her girlfriend.
"It's not looking too bad over here. There are some guards over here, but it's nothing that me and my group can't handle." Anna replied. "How's it looking from your side?"
"About twenty guards from my entrance, and knowing Heinrick he probably has some sort of mine field or booby traps around here somewhere." Brittany stated. "Has Terry radioed you?"
"Yeah, I talked to her a few minutes ago actually. She'll probably be radioing you to check on your group any minute now," Anna said to her girlfriend.
"She actually just radioed me." Brittany mentioned, tightening her pony tail a little as she talked into the radio. "After she went to another line I thought I'd radio you."
Anna smiled softly at Brittany's words. "Well I'm glad that you did. Knowing that you're okay is helping to calm me down," the brunette said through the radio.
"Same, I needed to know if everything was good on your side." Brittany mentioned. "I'll radio back in a little while, okay? I love you."
"I love you too. Stay safe and don't hesitate to radio me if you need anything," Anna replied, adding another "I love you" before the line went dead.
When they got the green light from Terry, Anna called her bow and arrow people forward. "There should be sensors to trigger traps," she said. "If you can, try and figure out where they are when you shoot the men."
The brunette squinted her eyes, scanning the area ahead of her to try and figure out where the traps were. After a few minutes, she decided to worry about that later, instead aiming for the nearest guard and watching as the arrow flew towards him and struck him in the neck, killing him instantly.
"Nice shot, Anna." Gemma said from behind Anna. "What did Terry say?"
"She just told me that we can go ahead with the next step of the plan, which is to take out the guards. We also need to figure out where the traps are and disable them so that nobody gets hurt when we move towards the base," Anna said, already picking up another arrow and aiming for the next guard.
"I mean, I know it's a long shot, but what if we threw something there. They won't really care for a rock or two. The trap will go off if the rock lands on it." Gemma mentioned. "All we have to do is find one that is light enough so they won't hear it hit the ground."
Anna shot the arrow, watching as it hit one of the other guards. She then paused, thinking about Gemma's idea. "You know, that's actually a good idea. Can you get some of the other people to start looking for rocks while I take out the rest of these guards?" Anna asked her.
"Yeah, but be quick. We don't want any of the guards running off to tell on us." Gemma said patting Anna's shoulder before she turned to everyone and told them to start looking for stones.
While Gemma lead the search for stones, Anna hit the final three guards, her aim accurate every time. She slung her bow over her shoulder and grabbed her quiver of arrows before joining the rest of the group in looking for rocks.
"We've found a few so far, my guess is we've collected enough to throw every ten feet or so." Gemma mentioned as they continued to look.
Anna looked out at the land ahead of them, then turned back to Gemma. "Alright, we need to start throwing rocks. But we have to be fast, because we don't want the Healers to figure out what we're doing before we set off all the traps.
Gemma and some of the others started moving forward, tossing rocks one at a time every ten feet for so. The girl would wave if it was okay for the others to move along. Surprisingly the first trap wasn't until about fifty feet from the base, and Gemma pushed everyone back when a few mines went off so no one became injured.
They continued onward, setting off mine after mine and creating a pathway towards the base. Once they got to the entrance, Anna reached for the handle of the door and tried to turn it, only to find it to be locked. "Shit. What do we do now?"
"Radio back to base." Gemma suggested. "My parents should know how to unlock the doors from the outside without a key."
"Alright," Anna said, taking her radio out of her pocket and doing as Gemma told her to. "Anna to base. Is anyone there?"
"Squadron Six Leader, we read you loud and clear, what seems to be the issue at hand?" A male voice, which Anna assumed to be Gemma's father on the other end.
"We took out the guards and got through the minefield, but the entrance door is locked," Anna said through the radio. "What should we do?"
"The lock is a deadbolt, you need a strong force." He said. "If you don't have a key, you need to break the lock."
"How should we break the lock?" Anna asked through the radio. She then turned to Gemma. "Search the bodies of the guards and see if any of them has a key for the door," she told her.
"A heavy rock, just something with a lot of force. Unless you can find a key, that's your best option." Gemma's father said.
As soon as he said that, one of the other group members came up to Anna and handed her a key. "Looks like there's no need for the rock, we just found a key," Anna said through the radio as she walked towards the door, smiling when it unlocked.
"Alright, once you're inside, the center of the base is about half a mile through some twists and turns. When you come up to conjoining hallways, let me know and I'll direct you and your group towards the center. Be careful in there." Gemma's father said, staying on standby in case Anna needed help or directions.
Anna nodded, relaying the instructions to the rest of the group before they went inside. They walked into a dark room and Anna signaled for everyone to keep their guard up as they slowly walked towards the next door. Opening the door, Anna carefully walked forward, stepping into the hallway. She made sure that there were no guards before the group began to walk down the hallway.
After making a couple turns, they reached the hallway that Gemma's father had described to them. "Anna to base, we've reached the conjoining hallway," the brunette said through the radio.
"I see you," Gemma's father said. "Head to the right, then take the second left. The hallway is clear for the next few turns for now."
Anna lead the group down the hallway, making the turns that Gemma's father told them to. She then stopped, hearing voices speaking ahead of them. "I can hear voices. Are there guards ahead of us?" She whispered.
"Yes, there are four guards around the left corner. My suggestion is you take them out as quietly and as quickly as you can. The longer you take and the louder you are, the more likely you are to get caught." Gemma's father said into the radio quietly.
Anna put her radio back into her pocket, bringing out her dagger and slowly walking forward. She pressed her back against the wall, waiting a few moments before peeking out from behind the wall. She saw the four guards, ducking back behind the wall for cover. "Quietly and quickly," the brunette thought, repeating Gemma's father's words in her head.
The young leader's hand reached forward, finding a light switch and flipping it off. The hallway plunged into darkness, the soldiers asking each other what had happened. Anna snuck up behind each one of them, taking the first one out by slitting his throat and helping him fall to the ground softly. The brunette swiftly took out the remaining three guards one by one, being quiet enough so that the others didn't notice until it was too late. "Coast is clear," she called out to the group once she had taken out all four guards.
Gemma switched on the lights again, revealing the fallen Healers bodies. "Nice stealth there Anna." She said as she walked up to the brunette with the rest of their group.
Terry then came in on the radio. "Squadron Six, this is Squadron One's leader, what is your current position?"
"Squadron Six is currently inside the base. We disabled the traps near the entrance and took out guards both outside and inside the base," Anna said through the radio as the group continued walking down the hallway.
"Good to hear, Squadron Seven, One, Two, Four, and Eight have all made inside the base. Squadrons Three and Five are making progress. Keep moving forward and wait for the rest of the Squadrons once you get to the center of the base." Terry called out. "Over and out."
Anna and her group moved forward with the help of Gemma's father's instructions, only encountering a few more guards on their way to the center of the base. "We should be getting there soon. We've been in here for quite a while," Anna said to Gemma as they turned a corner and continued walking down the hallway.
"How far did my dad say the center was from our entrance?" Gemma asked, holding her machine gun up as they lead the group closer to the center.
"I remember him saying that it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes for us to reach the center of the base," Anna replied. "It certainly feels that we've been here for that long, maybe even longer."
"Well, we have had to be on the lookout for Healers, hopefully it's not that much longer." Gemma said as she and Anna continued to walk down the hallway with the other members of their squadron following close behind.
After they walked for another ten minutes, Anna took out her radio and contacted Gemma's father again. "Anna to base, how much longer do we have before we reach the center?"
"You've gone four tenths of a mile into the base." Gemma's father said through the radio. "You have three more turns and then you should be at the center. Just be on standby and I'll tell you where to go. You're almost there."
The squadron made the next three turns, only to come face-to-face with a wall. Anna raised her eyebrow in confusion and radioed back to Gemma's father. "There seems to be a wall where you said the center of the base would be."
"The center of the base is behind that wall. Terry gave two people in each squadron some drills to get through the stone wall. You have to be quick and quiet, and keep people on guard while they're drilling the wall." Gemma's father said. "Call out whoever has the drills and get them to the wall."
"Alright, we'll get on that right away. Can you keep an eye out for guards and let us know if there are any headed our way?" Anna asked him.
"Consider me your eye in the sky," Gemma's father said before the two people with the drills were called to set up and start tearing down the wall.
Anna and Gemma watched as the wall was slowly torn down, making sure that they never turned their backs from the hallway for too long in case any guards managed to slip by Gemma's father's watch. Once there was a hole in the wall large enough for them to climb through, Anna went first, followed by the rest of the group. "Alright, we're past the wall. I think we've finally reached the center of the base."
"Yes, you guys are there. Have a couple people stand guard in case any Healer's show up." Mr. Winters stated. "Wait for the other Squadrons, they're not far behind you. After they're all there, start setting up the bombs. Once they're set, they can't be unset and you'll have fifteen minutes to get out of the base."
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Winters. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere near as far in the mission without you," Anna said in a genuine voice. "You've been a great help, and I'll always be thankful for that."
"I'm just doing my job to keep you all safe, but thank you Anna." Mr. Winters said with a smile on his face. "I'd check in with the other Squadrons to see where they are, it may be awhile before everyone is there."
The line then went dead as Gemma's father radioed to the other groups. Anna looked around at the rest of the group members, who were all looking back at her with expectant looks on their faces. "It's going to be awhile before everyone else gets here, so we can just relax for now," the brunette told them. "We'll switch off who is on watch, for now Gemma and I will take it."
The two girls went and stood by the huge hole in the wall that they had drilled. "Have you heard from Britt or Josh's squadrons lately? It's been almost three hours." Gemma asked.
Anna shook her head. "I haven't heard from either of them, and the last time I heard of their groups, they hadn't made it inside the base yet. I'm sure they're doing fine though."
"Do you think you could check in on their groups? Sam is in Britt's and I want to know if she's okay. The same goes for Josh." Gemma asked, biting her lip nervously.
"Yeah, of course," Anna said, taking out her radio. "Britt, are you there?" The brunette asked. She waited a few seconds, frowning when she didn't get a response. "Brittany? Do you read me?"
Brittany and her Squad were just getting past a couple of guards and were past their entrance. She heard Anna calling in on the radio, so she picked it up. "Hey Anna, what's up? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. Me and my group just got to the center of the base. Where are you guys?" Anna asked, relieved when she heard her girlfriend's voice over the radio.
"We've passed the entrance and have about a half mile to go before we reach the center." Brittany mentioned. "Is everyone okay in your group besides you? Sam wants to know."
"Yeah, we're all safe. We took down all the guards we came across with nobody getting hurt. How's everyone in your group?" Anna said through the radio.
"We're good, no deaths or injuries so far." Brittany said, holding a gun up as she continued to walk down the hallway.
"That's good to hear. It seems like you guys are pretty busy, so I'll get off the radio now. I love you, and make sure you stay safe," Anna said.
"I love you too," Britt said before getting off the radio.
"It seems like everything is okay, Sam is with Britt and they're making progress." Anna mentioned. "I'll call Josh now if you want me to." She said, turning to Gemma.
Gemma smiled back at Anna. "Thank you. I just want to know if he's safe. I mean, he probably is. I just can't help but worry."
"No, I get you. I've been wanting to radio Brittany every minute just to make sure nothing's happened to her." Anna said, nodding her head before radioing Josh. "Squadron Six to Squadron Eight." She said.
A few seconds later, Josh's voice came over the radio. "Squadron Eight's leader here, is there an issue Squadron Six?" He asked.
"No, there isn't. We just wanted to check in and make sure everything was going well for you guys." Anna said to her brother. "We just made it to the base, how's everything on your Squadron, big bro?"
"Everything's going well over here. We made it inside the base around ten minutes ago and we haven't encountered any guards inside yet, but I'm sure that will change," Josh replied with a chuckle.
"Gemma wanted me to check in on you," Anna said with a smile. "I'll let you talk to her a moment." Anna added before handing the radio to Gemma.
Gemma took the radio from Anna, a smile spreading across her face. "Hey Josh," she said in a soft voice.
"Hey, babe." Josh said as he kept his guard up and watched for any Healers. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. How are you? You're not hurt, are you?" Gemma asked with a worried tone of voice.
"No, I'm good." Josh said, smiling softly at her tone of voice. "We're not too far from the center, we only have like a quarter of a mile from the entrance to the center from our starting point. So it won't be long before we're the center, hopefully." He stated, pausing for a moment, as he heard footsteps from around the corner. "Hey babe, I gotta go for a little bit. I love you alright? I'll see you in a bit."
"Okay. Stay safe, Josh. I love you too," Gemma said before the line went dead. She handed the radio back to Anna after their conversation ended. "He said that he's alright and that his group will be here in a little."
"That's good to hear, I hate not being able to protect him or Britt. I wish they were here with us, in this Squadron instead of somewhere I can't keep them safe." Anna said, sighing as she got the radio back from Gemma.
"Me too. Not having Josh here with me makes me worry a little bit more, because I don't always know where he is or if he's safe," Gemma said, sighing as well.
"I wanted to ask you, is Sam alright?" Anna asked, reloading her gun as they waited. "She's just seemed unhappy lately."
Gemma paused, not sure how to answer Anna's question. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice anything change in her. I have noticed that she hasn't been as happy lately. I'm not sure why though," she replied.
"Oh, all I know is she doesn't really respond to me when I talk to her. And I don't know if I did anything to make her upset." Anna said, scratching her head. "Has she mentioned me at all? Or Britt?"
Gemma bit her lip and looked away from Anna. "Well, uh," she started, once again not sure how to answer Anna's question. "Yes, she has mentioned you and Brittany."
"What has she said?" Anna asked, cocking the gun in case any Healers showed up. "I won't be upset."
"I don't know if she'd be okay with me telling you that. I think if you want to know, you should talk to her yourself," Gemma replied.
At first the brunette was reluctant to nod, but she knew that Gemma was probably right in this situation. "Yeah, okay. I'll try and talk to her."
Then a sound came from one of the other walls, and Anna held her gun up just to be on guard. She then saw the wall break open and Josh's squadron came climbing through the hole in the wall that they had created.
Gemma smiled when she saw Josh come through the wall and she ran over to him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly. "I missed you so much."
"I'm just happy that you're okay." Josh said as he hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close to him.
"Me too. I'm so happy that you're okay," Gemma said, pulling away from the hug after a few minutes so she could kiss Josh.
Anna watched on as they hugged, but gave her brother and Gemma some privacy when they kissed. She began to tap her foot anxiously as she waited for Britt's squadron to get there. She needed to know if her girlfriend and her mom and dad were okay.
One of the other squadrons arrived a couple minutes later, but Brittany, Joan, and James still weren't there. As time went on, Anna began getting more and more nervous. The brunette started pacing back and forth around the room, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.
Josh could tell the long wait was getting to Anna, so he walked over and gave her a hug. "They're going to be here soon, sis. Don't stress yourself out too much." He said in a calm tone.
"I know. I just need to see them again, you know? They're all probably fine and kicking ass right now, but having them here will reassure me," Anna replied with a soft sigh.
"You know, I think mom and dad will be very proud to see you kept everyone in your group alive so far." Josh said, trying to cheer Anna up. "I haven't been so lucky."
Anna raised an eyebrow at her brother in confusion. "What do you mean? I thought you said that everyone in your group was fine?"
"They were when you radioed me," Josh said with with a sigh. "But as soon as we stopped talking, two of my men were taken out by a mine in the building.
Anna put her hand on Josh's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Josh. I'm sure you did everything that you could. Sometimes these things are out of our control, and we can't do much to stop them, no matter how much we want to."
"I know, that's war unfortunately." Josh said shrugging his shoulders. "I just can't help but imagine what will happen when their families find out."
"Well, the families will be upset, and they have every right to be. But they'll be able to take comfort in the fact that those two men died as heroes," Anna said, trying to reassure her brother.
"Yeah, I know." Josh said nodding his head. "But don't you go dying on me, little sis. I don't know what I'd do if that happened."
Anna chuckled and shook her head. "Don't worry about me, big brother. I'm not going to die anytime soon. I almost did once, and I never want that to happen again."
"Good," Josh said.
More squadrons started coming in as time went on, but Brittany's still hadn't shown up. Anna just sat down and closed her eyes, praying that Britt and her parents were alright. It had been almost three hours and Anna was beginning to worry even more as the minutes went on.
Anna walked back over to Josh, who was talking with Gemma. "Sorry to interrupt, but have you heard from Britt or Mom and Dad? I haven't heard from them in hours and I'm really starting to get worried."
"I haven't heard from them, Anna. I'm sorry." Josh said placing a hand on her shoulder her. "Have you tried to radio them?"
The brunette nodded and looked down. "I've tried radioing all three of them, but they're not answering. I don't know what to do, Josh." The brunette started to tear up a little. "What if they're-"
"They're alive Anna, you just need to have a little faith." Josh said. "I know it's hard right now, but they probably just got held up. They're going to be alright."
"How do you know that? We won't know that until they get back here, and they haven't been in contact for hours. So please, tell me how you know that they're gonna be okay," Anna said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Maybe something is up with their radio, don't get overly stressed. This mission is supposed take multiple days." Josh said, hugging Anna.
Just then, the wall next to them began to drill through. Anna looked over when she heard the drilling, and she walked towards the wall, hoping that it would be either Brittany or her parents that would come through. "Please be them, please be them," the brunette murmured to herself, tapping her foot on the floor anxiously.
About five minutes later, the wall fell down and a bunch of smoke popped up as the ruins it the ground. Anna waited, taking a deep breath.
Brittany then appeared, with a couple cuts and bruises but nothing serious. She had sweat and dirt on her face. The girl had been fighting hard, that much was easy to tell. Joan, James, Sam, and the rest of squadron walked through the hole. Brittany coughed and blew the dust out of her face to see Anna walking fast towards her.
Anna reached Brittany moments later and wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist, never wanting to let her go. "I was so scared when you weren't answering your radio. I thought I had lost you."
The blonde instantly hugged Anna back, keeping a tight grip on her girlfriend. "My radio was broken, I'm sorry. Some big group of Healers ambushed us and we were fighting them for a long while. And then our route was longer than we thought. I'm sorry I scared you." She whispered.
Anna held onto Brittany tightly, resting her chin on the blonde's shoulder. She pulled away from the embrace and then leaned in again, this time connecting their lips in a short but sweet kiss. "I'm glad you're okay," she murmured.
"I'm happy that you're alright." Brittany smiled and and then kissed Anna again softly, but a little longer than the last one.
Anna smiled into the second kiss, sighing with relief. After that kiss ended, she turned to her parents and hugged them. "And I'm glad that you two are okay as well," she said with a smile.
"We're happy you're alright darling." James said, hugging his daughter. "That girlfriend of yours is a true fighter. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for her."
Anna smiled and looked back at Brittany, who was talking to Josh. "Yeah, she's a very strong person. Definitely one of the strongest people I've ever met," she said, turning back to her father.
Sam walked over to her sister. "Hey sis," she said. There were a couple cuts on her arms a bruise on her face, but other than that she was okay.
Gemma smiled and hugged her sister. "Did you get hurt badly?" She asked with a concerned look on her face.
"Nah, nothing bad. Just a couple scrapes and bruises." Sam said as they pulled back from the hug. "You're okay, right?"
Gemma nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Because of Anna, nobody in our group got hurt," she said to her younger sister.
"I'm happy you're okay." Sam said smiling.
"Anna actually wanted to talk to you. You should go see her." Gemma mentioned, hugging her sister one more time.
Sam had a confused look on her face. "She wants to talk to me? Why would she want to talk to me?"
"She's noticed that you're not yourself, and she wanted to talk to you and see if you two were on good terms." Gemma said, patting her sister on the shoulder. "Go talk to her, she's coming over here anyways."
Just like Gemma had said, Anna was walking over towards them. "Hey guys, how's it going over here?" The brunette said with a friendly wave.
"We're alright, you?" Sam asked, smiling a small smile back at Anna when the girl walked over.
"I'm alright too," Anna said with a smile. "Hey Sam, could I actually talk to you for a second if you don't mind?"
"Uhhh, yeah I guess so." Sam said, walking over with Anna to a corner. "What's up?" She asked.
"I've noticed that you haven't really been yourself lately. You seem preoccupied with something. Is everything okay?" Anna asked her.
"I-I," Sam started. "I've been better, it just hasn't been easy recovering from the explosion awhile back, that's all really." Sam said, knowing what she said was only part of the truth.
Anna could tell that wasn't the full answer, but she figured that Sam would tell her more when she was ready. "Alright. But if there's more, you can always tell me, okay?"
Before the brunette turned to walk away Sam stopped her with words. "I can see why you love Britt," she started. "For awhile I didn't see what you saw in her that you couldn't see in someone like me. She's strong, smart, and beautiful, everything anyone should ever want. I'm not, and that's why you don't see me in the way I see you."
"How do you see me?" Anna said, raising an eyebrow.
"W-what?" Sam said, not expecting Anna's response.
The brunette just looked at her expectantly. "How do you see me, Sam?" Anna asked again.
"I-I see you how you see Brittany," Sam said in a shy tone. "And I know that it's hopeless for you to feel that way about me because you and Brittany are so happy and perfect together, but I can't help but feel the way I feel about you."
Anna nodded, expecting this response from Sam. "I figured that you'd say that. I don't know how I can help you, though. Like you said, I'm happy with Brittany. I know that you hurt when you see us together, and I'm sorry about that, but there's nothing I can do."
"I know that Anna, okay? I get it." Sam said with a bit of shortness in her voice, wiping a couple tears from her eyes before looking back at Anna. "And I know your life hasn't been easy, but at least you have someone who looks at you the way Britt does. I'm alone, and I have to see the girl I like be happy with someone else. It sucks because not only do I have to watch that, I have to hide my feelings away. I don't have anyone like you have Britt, and at a time like this, it fucking sucks." Sam rambled before sniffling and walking away from Anna.
Anna sighed and ran her fingers through her hair before she walked back to Brittany and Josh. "Hey guys," the brunette said, smiling and putting her arm around the blonde's waist.
"Hey, is everything okay? I saw you talking to Sam." Britt asked, raising her eyebrows as she waited for the brunette to answer.
"Yeah, everything's fine. I've just noticed that she's seemed a little off lately, so I asked her about it. That's all," Anna replied.
"Well?" Britt asked. "What did she say? Is she alright? She was kicking some Healer ass back there." She stated, linking her hand with Anna's.
"She said that recovering from her injury has been pretty hard on her, and I can understand that. It was hard for me when I was recovering from getting shot in the leg," Anna said, squeezing Brittany's hand gently.
"Ahh," Brittany said, nodding her head. "I honestly thought she was going to tell you she loves you or something." She said with a chuckle.
Anna bit down on her lip and looked away for a moment. "Actually, she did mention something about that as well…" she trailed off, waiting for her girlfriend's reaction.
"Wait, are you being serious?" Britt asked. "I'm not mad or anything, I'm just curious. Did she actually say that?"
Anna nodded. "Yeah, she did. I told her that I couldn't do anything that would help her situation, and she walked away after that."
"Sis, I hate to but in, but that probably hurt her more." Josh mentioned with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Well, what the hell was I supposed to say Josh?" Anna said, holding her hands up in defense. "I shouldn't give her hope that she could be with me when there is none."
"I don't know, maybe you could have worded it a different way," Josh said with a shrug of the shoulders.
"Probably it would've been best if you had said something other and 'I can't do anything to help.'" Brittany mentioned, biting her lip. "Because you can help her, you can help her get over you and maybe help her find someone who likes her."
"But how am I supposed to do that? Saying that I can help her find someone else is one thing, but actually doing it is another," Anna said, running her fingers through her hair.
"So then you help her find someone." Josh suggested.
"And how would I do that?" Anna asked, crossing her arms.
"Anna, you can't honestly believe that you, Sam and I are the only three lesbian or bisexual girls at the base, can you? There are at least two thousand people there, and every one in ten people are LGBT." Brittany said with Josh nodding in agreement. "Surely there's a girl who would be good for Sam."
"I never said that there wasn't going to be someone out there for Sam," Anna pointed out. "I just don't understand why I have to be the one to do all this. Am I supposed to go up to every person here and ask them if they're single?"
"You don't have to do that," Josh said chuckling.
"You just have to help her believe that there's someone out there for her besides you." Brittany stated, laughing along with Josh. "Everyone has a person, maybe if you help her believe that she can find love from someone else."
"I just don't know how I'll be able to do that. It's been months since I first told her that I didn't return her feelings, and she still loves me," Anna said.
"Anna, different people heal in different ways. Maybe if you tell her that she's gonna find someone, she'll believe it." Josh said, emphasizing the 'you' as he did so.
Just then, the final squadron made it inside the center and Terry called them all together. "I just want to take a moment and thank you all for your hard work today. You all fought like warriors, and this mission wouldn't have been successful without you," Terry said, getting some cheers and applause. "We did have some casualties and we will forever remember those men as heroes slain in the line of duty." Instead of cheering, there was a moment of silence after Terry said these words. "However, we cannot mourn now. We must continue with our mission. I'd like to ask the group leaders to come up here so we can discuss our next move."
Britt, Anna, Josh, Terry and four others came in while everyone else dispersed across the room. "We're behind enemy lines, good job folks." Terry said. "But this is where the tricky part comes in. We have to find the gas they used to heat this place. If we can find them we can set the bombs and get out of here."
"Alright, that seems somewhat simple. Do we have any idea of where that would be?" Anna asked her aunt.
"Look for a door that says 'gas room.' We just have to find some sort of source for the heating system." Terry mentioned. "If we can get our bombs on some of the gas tanks, we can increase the amount of damage to the base."
The group leaders nodded and then went to look for the door to the gas room, getting some of their group members to help. Anna and Gemma walked towards the far side of the room and began looking for the door. "Maybe we could radio your dad and ask him where the door is if we can't find it," Anna suggested.
"Good idea, why don't you radio him now?" Gemma said nodding her head in agreement.
Anna took the radio out of her pocket and called Gemma's father. "Anna to base, we're trying to find the door to the gas room. Can you tell us where it is?"
"Yes, do you see that generator in the center of the room?" He said, and all of them looked towards the center.
"Yeah we see it," Anna said.
"There is a secret door around there somewhere that will lead to the gas room. Go and look for it while I figure out how to disable it and get it open for you guys." Mr. Winters said before the line went dead.
Anna and Gemma walked towards the generator and began looking for the secret door. "Do we have any idea of what this door will look like?" Anna asked the other girl.
Gemma shook her head. "No, but maybe we just look for veins along the wall. We'll have to feel all around it and push against it. There has to be a door somewhere."
Anna ran her fingers along the smooth surface of the wall, stopping when she felt a rough part. She pushed with her hand, hearing a few gears click together. "Hey Gemma, I think I might've found something," she called out.
"Guys," Gemma called to the leaders. "Anna may have found the door."
Britt and the others walked over to Gemma and Anna. "Let's hope this is the entrance." Terry mentioned as they stood there.
Anna continued to push, seeing an outline slowly take shape in the wall. A few moments later, the door finally opened, and Anna stood there for a few seconds before turning back to the others. "Well, I guess we might as well see what's in here," the brunette said before turning around and walking into the dark room, followed by everyone else.
Let's hope everything works out for the rebels, let us know what you thought of the chapter and what you think is going to happen next.
Until Next Time!
