Reign of Fire: Rising from the Ashes

Chapter Fifteen- Distrust and rescues

"Creedy.."

"Don't."

"Listen to me damn it!"

"Never again. Don't even go there Holly! Fuck! And to think I actually liked you once, trusted you. You were right you know, you have outstayed your welcome. I should have just let you leave when you offered."

She tried to turn around, to find any sign of sympathy, but the five men who were now escorting her back to her room all looked down on her in contempt. It was useless. She could scream like a banshee and no one would pay her any heed. Kayleigh finally had her revenge on her. Quinn would kick her out of the castle and she would never know what had become of the friends she had failed to protect. She would never have a second chance with Creedy. She would be a loner once more, wandering the grey countryside with starving dragons and lust obsessed rebels as her only companions…

In a way Creedy wanted her to protest. He wanted her to show her worst side so he could actually get angry with her in return. He was wishing for a good fight right now. The overpowering guilt of failing to protect the castle, Kayleigh, and seeing all doubts built up against Holly confirmed made him boil inside. Just try Holly, just give me one good reason and I'll give you something to scream about! But her fighting spirit seemed to have left her and…was that an actual tear escaping her?

"You're staying here until Quinn has decided what to do with you. And don't even think of going anywhere, we will shoot on sight." And with that the door was slammed shut and locked into her face.

Holly slumped down on her bed, covering her eyes with her arms. What now?

"You've got to be kidding me!" Quinn sighed and looked up at his best friend, willing himself out of his chair.

"I'm not kidding Creedy. She's coming with us and that's final."

"Have you forgotten what she's just done? Kayleigh could have been dead if we hadn't returned in time! Who's to say she didn't help bring this all about?"

"And who's to say Kayleigh's innocent? Look, Creedy in the end we don't know enough about any of these newcomers to decide who's right and who's wrong. But I know Alex trusted…trusts her with her life, and that's a thing I can't ignore. I need to get her back safely Creed, her and the b.." His words stuck in his throat as he tried to force his tears back. "I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to them, and Holly's the best scout we have out here by far. She and Dog can trace these bastards at a quicker pace than ten of our men combined. She's our best shot here…let's consider it a test of loyalty OK?"

Creedy sighed. Much as he loathed the sight of her right now, he had to admit Quinn had a point. If they were to find these rebels quick enough to rescue the women and children, they needed every able hand they could get. And Sarah Lou's rescue was still fresh in all their minds.

"OK, I'll go fetch her, but if she so much tries.."

Quinn gave him a weary look: "I want you to stay here Creedy."

Another incredulous look, but Quinn continued before he could argue. "I need someone here I can trust. Someone to lead what's left of this mess. And I can imagine you're not exactly keen on leaving Kayleigh by herself either…or having to work together with Holly. You two would launch at each other before long, and that's not what we're going out there for. Agreed?"

Creedy nodded, suddenly feeling very tired. Quinn was right, Holly and he would be at each other's throat in no time, and the idea of helping Kayleigh back on her feet wasn't exactly a bad one either. "Very well, I'll stay. Now off with you!"

Holly was close to sleeping as her door slammed open once more and a team of guards lifted her off her bed, holding her in between them as Quinn strolled in. He studied her face carefully before speaking.

"Did you really mean to kill Kayleigh back there?"

"Yes." Her quick and honest response surprised him.

"Because she's with Creedy?"

"Because she's a slutty rebel spy and I hate the very sight of her." Again the fiery response, and no sign of falsehood in her eyes. These two women had quite the vendetta to sort out.

"Are you in league with the rebels yourself?" As he noticed fresh tears well up in her eyes he already knew the answer.

"Of course not! Please Quinn…trust me on this one…" Her proud and angry look had turned pleading now, and he found he could not doubt her words. Not then, and not now.

"Very well." He nodded to the guards who let go of her immediately. "Get your horse ready, we're leaving in ten."

Relieved to find a friendly face again, she bolted out of her room towards the courtyard, where she had last seen Scout. While properly saddling him this time she could sense someone watching her. Someone with a weapon… She quickly turned to see Creedy staring down on her, her Colt in hand. For a second she felt as if he was going use it on her, his face carved in stone. The silence between them seemed deafening, and the pain she felt in him was destroying her inside.

A pain she never caused, but one he blamed her for none the less. Slowly his hand came up, holding out the gun. "Here. You might need this out there."

She stared at Creedy and the gun in turn before cautiously taking it from him. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me, thank Quinn. Just make sure you get them back and get them back safe. That's all I care about. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a patient to tend to…" And with that he turned and returned to the castle, not looking back once.

For a moment Holly felt like running after him. She was desperate enough to try just about anything to get him back at this point, even if it meant grovelling at his feet for the rest of her life. "Oh Creedy, why is this happening..." A soft nudge from Scout shook her out of her sorrow just in time to join the others on their way out the gates.

They had been following the rebels' tracks for almost an hour and a half which had been far from easy due to the darkness and the men's complete distrust of Holly, causing them to keep their distance. To make matters worse, she had persuaded Quinn against bringing the trucks any further as the noise would have alerted the camp of their approach and Holly wasn't prepared to take that risk. The men weren't as quick on the ground as they were in their vehicles however, which meant she had to stop every five minutes and wait for them to catch up which was costing them valuable time. Her temper was shortening by the second and she wasn't sure how much more she could take.

Dog was loping allow just ahead of her, abruptly stopping at something Holly could not see. Dismounting, she led Scout by his reins and crouched down next to Dog. She couldn't see what it was, but moving her hand over the ground she realised there was an indentation. Grabbing an old match book from her pocket she lit a match and used the small light to see what she had felt. It was a tire track, a long thick single line which indicated a motorbike. Blowing out the match, she ran the rest of the way up the hill. Standing at the top she could see the glow from camp fires; the rebels had stopped closer to the castle than she thought. Damn fools must be really full of themselves, probably hadn't expected us to catch up with them this quickly! "But we did, didn't we Dog?" She whispered as she lovingly stroke the dog's soft ears. Squinting she counted the number of men she could see, the women and children were easy to spot in their huddled groups. It made her feel sick, no doubt the bastards had begun their 'celebrations'. She could see twenty men. She sighed, there was fifteen of them excluding herself; things could be tricky. They needed to think of a plan fast.

"Holly? What do you see?" Quinn said, climbing up behind her, the only one of the men willing to seek out her company. The others were still keeping their distance.

"Their camp, see? About three miles ahead. So far I've only counted twenty of them, but there could be more in the tents."

"I'll get the men ready for the attack."

"No!" Holly called. "We can't just storm our way in there, we need a plan."

"And what do you suggest?"

"An ambush. Split into two teams and come in from the left and right. The important thing is to get the women and children out- that is our main objective not revenge. We'll sort that out later."

"Alright." Holly pulled her Colt from her waistband and checked the chamber for bullets- it was full.

"I think its time the Black Wolf made an appearance."

Creedy made his way to the infirmary after receiving news their doctor had finished operating on Kayleigh. Her wound was a messy one, the bullet still there, nestled against the bone after barely missing the artery. As he peeked his head in she seemed peaceful, her face relaxed and her upper arm wrapped in a crispy white bandage.

"How's she doing doc?"

The doctor finished washing his hands as his aids were cleaning up the mess around them.

"Well, the bullet's come out, and I've pumped enough morphine into her to get her through the night. Plenty of rest should do the trick now…Whoever shot her had a lousy aim though. It must be the weirdest angle I've ever seen, diagonally up/down, like hovering over her. Very up close too."

Creedy nodded absently, his eyes never leaving Kayleigh's beautiful face. Holly had been standing very close, and she was standing up as Kayleigh was kneeling…but a lousy aim? Somehow he couldn't rid himself of the thought that the shot had been to sloppy. If Holly had wanted her dead she would be so right now. Straight at the heart. Or had this been a warning?

"Do you want to keep this one for a souvenir?" Turning round he saw the doctor holding out his hand to him, offering him a small object. As he took it he noticed it was a bullet, the one they had pried out of Kayleigh's soft flesh. On closer inspection however his breath caught in his throat. This one had definitely not come from Holly's Colt…it was a Beretta bullet.

By the time they had made their way down hill half an hour later, most of the camp had quieted down. Half of the men sleeping, with or without company, the other half too drunk to stand on both legs. Holly broke the neck of the only guard on duty, signalling to Tito, Callum and Mickey to start getting their people out of there.

Their anger only increased as they saw what had been done to many of the women and young girls, beaten and raped; they cowered from their own family and friends. Quinn's words echoed in their ears however, to have their revenge now would be too great a risk to the very people they were trying to save here. Despite their efforts, it only took one rebel to wake from his slumber for the deathly silence to erupt into shouts, screams and gun fire.

Holly could see her men grabbing any of the children or women they could, keeping low and trying to run from the chaos. So far, so good. With her perfect aim Holly killed three of the rebels in close proximity, Quinn and Tito doing the same.

Tents were set alight as the two opposing sides fought it out, and soon the air became thick with smoke, making it near impossible for most to breathe, let alone see anything. Those of the group still present watched in awe as Holly and Quinn continued towards the left over tents, seemingly unmoved by the smoke they had both gotten so used to over the years. Just as Holly tried to cross the square to reach Eddie an Quinn again, a bullet flew by barely missing her head. Throwing herself back behind a truck she curved her hand around the bumper and fired off shot after shot until her gun was empty. Looking out she could see the dead corpses of two more rebels, damn I am a good shot.

This did leave her with three more men now exactly knowing her location, and no more lead to fire off. Right then, time for my own weapons I guess! And with that she jumped out, hitting the first of the rebels in the chest with one of her boot-clad feet before he knew what was coming. The second had both his arms twisted out of their sockets before receiving a full blow to the jaw, the third had his body twisted away from underneath him, causing his neck to snap.

She now successfully ran to her two remaining companions, who looked at her with apprehension and a hint of pride.

"I think we're gonna have a clear getaway." She said, picking up her gun and putting it back in its place. She gave them a satisfied grin.

"Looks like we have everyone, I can't see any more." Eddie said turning to go move away from the intense heat and scene of death.

Yet suddenly Holly felt Quinn stiffen beside her, frantically looking around: "Alex! Where's Alex!"

Before he could recover from his shock Holly had already shoved him into Eddie's arms and ran back into the clouds of smoke surrounding them…