Another Night, Another Nightmare
Having somebody beside her helped Ninja fall asleep easier because, no matter the nightmare, they'll be there when she woke up.
Gunfire all around her. The Marine on her left dropped to the ground clutching his right leg. "Doc! Worley's been hit!" she bellowed while dragging the wounded man to cover.
"Cover me!" the Cherokee field medic shouted above the noise. She gave him a curt nod before popping up to see over their shield and shot her automatic gun one bullet at a time. Each one a kill-shot as she became increasingly aware of her dwindling ammo while Doc rushed to tend to Worley.
"What do ya think, Doc?" Worley asked, knowing that they can't complete the mission and get him out.
"I know what you're thinking, Worley, and we ain't leaving you." She snapped as her gun clicked empty.
Finished applying the bandage, Doc asserted, "If we die without finishing the mission then everybody will have died in vain. Go Ninja, Worley and me will hold out as long as possible." She threw a grenade in the direction she thought most of the gunfire was coming from.
"Good luck," Worley said, handing her his sidearm before she slipped away.
By the time she had reached her goal, she was out of ammo and her knife was slick with blood. Now all she had to do was take care of the guards outside the door. She killed the two guards by punching one in the face and grabbing the other's gun, pulling him close enough to slash his throat, before breaking the first one's neck. Busting in the door, she saw Hadar in the middle of the room holding a knife to Tom's throat.
"No!" Ninja yelled, bolting upright with wide eyes. Tom, jolted awake by her cry, asked sleepily, "Ninja? What's wrong?" Suddenly the light turned on as Doug stood in the doorway, "I heard Ninja shout. Is everything ok?" Squinting at the bright light, Ninja locked on to Tom's deep brown eyes as she flung the quilt off him while kneeling beside him. With skill and precision, Ninja's hands moved from Tom's face to his chest and midsection, while Tom laid still, savoring her touch, not knowing what else to do.
Satisfied that her partner was unharmed, Ninja answered their pleading eyes, "It was just another nightmare. Sorry for waking y'all, but I'll make it up by fixing breakfast." "At 4:30 in the morning? Forget it. I'm going back to bed." Doug grumbled as he walked back to his room. "4:30, wow. I haven't slept that long in forever." Ninja pondered amazed as she started to crawl out from under the sheets.
"Where are you going?" Tom growled playfully, catching her lean body with a powerful arm and pulled her close. When she started to struggle, he loosened his grip slightly, while still holding her close. "Calm down, Ninja. You're awake and the nightmare wasn't real." Tom reassured her, whispering in her ear as he buried his face in her silky hair. "But it was Hanson." Ninja sighed, melting into Tom's warm embrace.
Snapped out of his thoughts, Tom pulled away from her neck, "Your last mission?" Ninja dipped her chin, begrudgingly answering, "Yeah but a different part of it this time." And you had a knife to your throat. Tom decided not to press Ninja for her thoughts, instead, he just held her close as she silently fought back tears.
The alarm clock going off reluctantly brought the star-crossed lovers back to the real world. After turning off the alarm, Ninja dug a black shirt out of her bag and grabbed her jeans from yesterday before scurrying off to the bathroom. Seconds later, Doug was standing in the doorway, "Can I come in?" "Sure, Doug. Have a seat." Tom replied, patting the bed.
Doug exhaled, not knowing quite where to start, "What's going on with you, Hanson? We didn't know Ninja even existed two days ago but it seems to me that you've fallen pretty hard for her." Fighting the urge to snap at his best friend, Tom asked sheepishly, "Is it that obvious?" "Blowfish could tell." The bigger man chuckled, which made Tom defensive, "Well, what am I supposed to do, Doug? She's starting to trust me and the more she trusts me, the more she tells me. But for everything she tells me there are ten things she doesn't, making her even more mysterious than before. And …" "The fact that she's 17 makes her untouchable. I know you, Hanson; you're my partner and I just don't want to see you to get hurt." Doug interrupted.
Running his fingers through his tousled hair, the younger cop sighed, "I know, I don't want to see you get hurt either. But Ninja lost her innocence, kinda like I did, and I want to show her that the world won't end if she relaxes; like you all showed me." A thought struck Tom, "Hey Doug, do you think Ninja would've liked Jenko?" "You're kidding. She would've given him a run for his money." Doug laughed, clasping Tom's shoulder before leaving to get dressed. If you only knew how much I love her, Doug. Tom thought as he pulled on some torn pants, his black Anarchy shirt from the Klean Kut Kids case, auburn flannel, and sleeveless denim jacket.
Tom walked into the kitchen as Ninja came back inside. "It's humid. Probably means rain today or tomorrow." Ninja stated, laying the newspaper down on the table. "I could tell. Glad to see you're joining the rest of us 'kids' hairstyles." Tom smirked at her voluminous hair. "Haha. Very funny. Now shut up and eat your breakfast." Ninja ordered, holding out a plate of pancakes. Just then Doug barged in dressed in torn jeans, an obscure black band tee, and a green/purple flannel, saying, "You don't have to tell me twice."
The phone started ringing while Doug was busy devouring ten pancakes and could have eaten more, but Ninja had only managed to make twenty, and the other two needed to eat. "I'll get it." Ninja said getting up. "Touch my plate and lose a finger, Penhall! Hello." "Ninja. It's Judy. Can you guys meet me before school?" Hoffs spoke hurriedly. "Sure. Where and when?" Ninja replied. "The diner, Hanson'll know which one, at 6:30," Judy said, hanging up before Ninja could ask any more questions. "Who was that?" Doug mumbled through a half-chewed pancake. "Judy. She wants to meet up at 'the diner' at 6:30." Ninja stated, quickly finishing her remaining breakfast. Tom looked up from the crossword, "Which diner?" "She said you would know." Ninja signed because her mouth was full. "What?" Doug wondered, as much of what she said as how she said it. Clearing the table, Tom said, "I think she said I would know. Hurry up Penhall, we gotta go if we're going to make it by 6:30." Ninja snatched the puzzle page as they ran out the door, completely forgetting their backpacks and the homework inside.