Disclaimer- I don't own them, maar ek wens ek het!
Notes: sorry for the long wait, again, I had tick-bite-fever, which wasn't fun! But I did manage to write another chapter- yippy!
I just want to say a HUGE thank you to:
Dolphinology- You should know my stories by now, and you know that I love ending off with a cliff-hanger. I will try to write faster this time so that you don't have to wait too long for each chapter. Thank you for your review.
KatKnits00- Bingo! You got it right, I was going to end it off, and let them go home, but then I thought it would be more fun to carry on…Thanks for the review.
Warning, There are going to be some very gory details soon, so somewhere in the middle when you get to a "Z z Z z Z z" sign- all people who can't handle gory details, please stop reading, there will be a short explanation in the next chapter. But it's not that bad, but better to be safe than sorry.
O o O o O o O o
Chapter Eight
Nathan woke with a fright as he saw how light the sky was becoming; he looked around to see that everyone was fast asleep, which was very bad.
He looked at the sky again, and guessed that it was near three, maybe four o'clock in the morning, which meant that they had about six hours sleep.
Nathan stood up quietly, not wanting to wake anyone yet. He lifted his head up slowly, hoping that his head wouldn't be blown off.
He stopped as soon as he could see the surrounding area, he looked around, and much to his surprise, there was nothing out of place.
The woods were quiet, too quiet. It was an eerily silence. Nathan looked around again, there were no movements.
No little creature, no wind, nothing.
Nathan felt the hairs at the back of his neck stand up as a cold shiver went down his spine.
Something was wrong, something was not right, he could feel it.
Nathan didn't have time to duck as he heard a loud band, followed by dirt flying into his eyes as a bullet hit the ground right near his face.
He immediately fell to the ground as his hands went straight for his burning eyes.
The others jerked awake as they heard the gun firer followed by a loud thud right next to them.
They turned to see their Captain holding his eyes.
"Captain!" Kirsten cried as she made her way to him on her hands and knees.
Ford and the others quickly reached for their guns, ready for the fight they knew was going to happen.
"Ugh!" Nathan cried as he tried to open his eyes.
Kirsten knelt before Nathan; she moved his hands away from his eyes.
"Nathan, stay calm. And don't touch your eyes!" Kirsten warned.
Nathan nodded as he lowered his hands.
Kirsten looked at Nathan's wounded eyes with concern. She quickly tore a piece of her shirt before opening her canteen. She wet the torn cloth just so that it was damp, before she started to wipe away the dirt around his eyes.
"What's wrong with my eyes?" Nathan asked in fear.
"You weren't hit, but it looks like some dirt went in your eyes. Just sit still for a bit while I clean you up," Kirsten said.
Nathan signed as he felt the cool cloth against his burning eyes.
O o O o O o O
Ford immediately took over from the injured Captain. He looked at Tim, Miguel and Katie. He was responsible for their safety. He winced as he heard another shot going off, followed by the flying dirt as the bullet hit right above their heads.
"Stay down, we have to wait till they stop shooting at us," Ford said softly.
Everyone nodded as they tightened their grips on their guns, each hoping that they will survive.
Tim closed his eyes as dirt came falling on top of him, covering ever inch of his upper body.
Katie winced as she heard another shot, this time, it was coming closer.
Ford realized that they had to do something, because they would be sitting ducks if the enemy came any closer.
"On my mark, we shoot," Ford ordered.
Miguel closed his eyes and sent a silent pray.
Ford looked at each person face; he could see the fear in their eyes. He couldn't blame them; he knew that the chances of getting killed had just gotten higher.
"You are all very brave, it's been an honor," Ford said quietly.
"It's been an honor Sir," Katie said.
"On my mark," Ford said loudly.
Everyone turned to face the sand wall, as they prepared themselves.
Ford listened to the shooting; he heard that there was a three second gap between every two minutes.
Ford mentally counted, waiting for the best possible moment, knowing that if he said it too soon, it would mean their deaths.
"NOW!" Ford yelled.
Wasting no time, everyone stood up, raising their guns and fired. They didn't wait to spot the enemy, knowing that every second counted.
"DOWN!" Ford yelled.Everyone dropped to the ground.
Ford did a quick scan over his friends.
"Anyone hurt?" Ford asked.
O o O o O o O o O
Kirsten blocked out everything in the background, focusing all her attention on her patient.
She had used the cloth to wipe most of the dirt away from Nathan's eyes, but what scared her, was the fact that the bullet must have impacted on the ground very close to his face.
The dirt had hit his face with such a force that it could have damaged his eyes, and that is what Kirsten feared most.
Nathan's face had scratches all around his face, they were tiny, but it still worried her.
"How do your eyes feel?" Kirsten asked.
"They are ok, they sting a bit," Nathan answered.
Kirsten didn't say anything, as she carried on to wipe away the dirt, and little patches of blood.
She turned back to his eyes.
"Nathan, when I tell you I want you to open your eyes, I need to wash them out, do you understand?" Kirsten said.
"Yes,"
Kirsten smiled as she got her canteen ready, with one hand she held the canteen, the other she used to hold Nathan's jaw.
"Open your eyes," Kirsten said.
Just as Nathan's burning eyes opened, Kirsten poured some water in each one, forcing his eyes to close again.
"Ouch!" Nathan moaned.
Kirsten just smiled as she lowered the canteen. She tore another piece of her shirt to wipe away the muddy trails on his check.
"There, all better," Kirsten said.
Nathan's eyes fluttered open, at first everything was blurry, but soon everything came into focus.
"How are your eyes?" Kirsten asked.
"Better, thank you," Nathan said with a smile.
O o O o O o O
"No, we are fine, Sir," Katie answered.
Tim, Miguel, Katie and Ford each signed a sign of relief. A small smile came to their faces when they realized that they had survived. For now.
O o O o O o O
Ben didn't know what to do.
Within seconds all his hopes, his dreams had broken into a million pieces. He heard the sharp intake from Lucas, but he knew why.
Ben knew he should turn back, to make his way back to the others, but he just could not move. His body just did not want to respond. His eyes just could not leave the horrific sight before him.
Z z Z z Z z Z z
There before them, was total destruction. The field that they knew, was no more. The ground was littered with pieces of burning metal and pieces of body parts; the grass was socked in blood.
Blood, which was once the life force of their friends.
"no," Lucas said barely above a whisper.
Ben knew the feeling.
Sure he was a solider, sure he was trained. Trained to withstand days without food and water, trained to survive days with aching bodies, trained to shoot, to sneak around without making a sound. But nothing, nothing could prepare them for the constants fear, the loud shooting, or the deafening silence. Nothing could prepare them to watch their friends being blown up in front of their eyes. Nor could they be trained to get used to the smell of decomposing bodies, or the reeking smell of blood and death that seemed to float in the air.
Yet, nothing could have prepared them for the hopelessness of defeat.
Ben's eyes searched the bloody field, their tanks were still burning, the Admiral's tent was nothing more than ash, and their only way home, was in flames.
"Ben, the helicopter, it's ….it's in flames!" Lucas said in horror.
Ben knew. Their base was destroyed. Their only way home was gone. They were trapped. Trapped on enemy land.
Lucas looked around in total despair, he looked at the ground beneath them, and it was all covered in their friend's blood. He saw their broken bodies; he saw the torn bloodied uniform.
"Ben, I'm gonna be sick," Lucas gasped.
Ben immediately lowered his friend down, just in time as Lucas threw up.
Ben gentle rubbed Lucas's back as Lucas lost the precious little liquid he had.
"Ou!" Lucas moaned as the pain in his stomach grew.
Ben knew that it had to hurt, and now, there was nothing that he could give Lucas. All the medicine was destroyed. That hit Ben the hardest; there was nothing that he could do to easy Lucas's pain.
"You okay bud?" Ben asked.
Lucas moaned as he rolled back onto his back.
Ben saw the pain-filled eyes, against the pale face.
"What we going to do Ben?" Lucas asked barely above a whisper.
Ben looked back at the battle ground below, and knew that it wasn't worth going down. Everything was destroyed.
The only thing they could do was to head back to Nathan and the others.
Ben forced a smile on his face as he looked back at his younger friend.
"We go to the Cap, he'll know what to do," Ben said honestly.
Lucas just nodded.
"Come bud, let's go, I'm sure Kirsten is just dying to see you again," Ben joked.
Lucas smiled.
Leave it to Ben to see the light, even in the darkest hour.
Ben started to raise Lucas when they heard a twig snap behind them. Ben dropped Lucas and grabbed his gun as he turned to be faced with a gun to his head.
Lucas and Ben looked in horror as they saw an enemy solider next to them.
He had dark brown hair, evil green eyes, with a smirk on his face. He wore his enemy dark blue uniform.
"Kyk wat ek het!" He yelled.
Ben didn't dare to move as the gun was pointed at his forehead. He didn't have to move to know that more enemy soldiers were coming, he could hear them coming through the thick bushes.
He silently cursed himself for taking to much time to stare at the dead. He knew that he was trained to forget the dead and focus on the living, because in the war, if you focused to much time on the dead, it would mean your death.
He silently cursed himself again because, he had not only signed his death, but Lucas's as well.
His only pray was that their deaths would be quick and painless, and that Nathan would forgive him, someday.
Ben stared at the man before him, trying not to show his fear. He would die as a solider.
"Waar is die anders?" The man asked.
Ben had no idea what the man had asked.
"I don't understand," Ben answered.
The man turned to his fellow soldiers.
"Wat moet ek doen met hulle?" he asked them.
"Vat hulle met ons," the one replied.
The man nodded and turned his focus back to Ben.
"Drop your weapon," He ordered.
Ben released his grip on his gun, allowing it to drop to the ground.
"Pick up the boy," The man ordered.
Ben slowly turned around and looked at the dirty glare Lucas was giving the man.
"Let's get you up," Ben said softly as helped Lucas up a bit before picking him up completely.
The man kept his weapon trained on Ben as he used his head to point to the direction he wanted them to walk in.
"Go!" the man spat.
Ben slowly walked past the man as he started to walk.
As he walked he saw five other enemy soldiers, who were all pointing at him.
"Looks like we get to see their base," Ben joked.
Lucas just snorted in response.
Ben and Lucas both knew there was no escape now. They were heading towards their deaths. They were going to die on enemy lands. Never to return to their families again.
O o O o O o O o O
I bet you didn't expect that one. I guess you are wondering if Nathan and the others will be able to save Ben and Lucas. OR will something happen and Ben and Lucas will be freed? Well, the answer to these questions will be in the next chapter. Till then.
K