"We'll help you." Marie smiled as she began to help pack the things away in to the USPF issue saddle packs. Susan was impressed and imagined they must have a lot of practice with this to get done so quickly. They left the guns out and the rest of the things were packed away quickly with four people working on the task. She stashed the tent in the brush but horror hit Brazen when she looked up.
There was a stampede of pack animals and people; women, children and old, heading right for them. She could clearly see the black clad horsemen starting to break free from the fighting on the far end of the camp.
Calm came over Brazen as she watched the scene. For the first time since she started out on the road she felt confident that she could truly be useful. The first of the fleeing Indians made it to Brazen's camp site and she started looking around. These people needed to get to cover.
"Help me stack these!" She screamed over the noise grabbing one of the USPF packs. They were bulletproof material. Some stopped to help while others kept running into the woods. Brazen caught a hold of a teenage boy as he moved in the group.
"Can you fire a gun?"
The boy nodded and Brazen immediately shoved her AR into his hands motioning toward the other three still nearby.
"Get a couple friends."
To Brazen's surprise Marie picked up one of the rifles giving Susan a determined and confident glance.
"Get behind the packs and take the horses into the woods" She barked the orders like the seasoned officer she was. Brazen knew the tactics their opponents would use. They had to hold a front. Brazen hit the ground hearing the bullets start to whistle into the campsite. They were coming.
The boy was next to her in the makeshift trench. He was watching her every move for guidance. Others were joining them with bows, knives, tomahawks any weapon they could get their hands on.
"Aim for the arms and legs." Brazen knew that body armor could stop a high caliber bullet. "And the neck." She added hating the feeling of saying it. They were The Force she had been part of but now, now these were her people. The feeling of belonging was a great motivating factor but it did nothing to dissipate the lump in her chest. She still felt like she was shooting on her own. She felt like a traitor.
Brazen glanced at Marie on her left. The two small children were huddled between them. Which one was really "her people"? The Force? The Indians? Marie's little girl buried her face in Brazen's coat sobbing. If they got here they would slaughter everyone, men women, children probably even Brazen herself. Susan looked up at the black clad riders and made her choice.
Susan brought up the rifle sight and took aim at the squad leader high up on his hip. Her finger squeezed the trigger without hesitation. The leader fell from the horse and a breath passed before it was all out war. Bullets, arrows, tomahawks were whistling by her head.
"Fight them!" Marie called out over the cacophony.
Brazen took aim again but a scream behind her brought the gun down. There was a struggle in the woods with the horses. The Indians seemed to be holding here. Susan turned and made a run for the woods.
Clearing the brush she saw an older woman with a young child in her arms fighting a blackbelly. She was screaming but Brazen couldn't make out the words. When it came down to it she didn't care what was happening. She kicked the blackbelly full force in the side of the head. They went down and Brazen kicked his weapon away.
"My girl!" The woman grabbed Brazen screaming in a panic. "My girl!"
Another scream, a high pitched child's scream came from deeper in the woods. Brazen shoved her rifle into the woman's free hand.
"Watch him." She grabbed the pistol from the downed blackbelly before running toward the screams. She hit a clearing in the forest to see a black dog dragging a girl by her hair through the pine needles. This was too much for Brazen to handle. For the first time since they met she truly understood why Plissken hated the Force so much.
Brazen came in fast and kicked the dog in the small of the back. He spilled head first over the girl landing in the snow. His helmet was still tumbling away when Brazen jacked the slide on the pistol on him. She wanted to pull the trigger but hesitated. It was one of Malloy's squad members. Brazen had met him once before in LA.
"Brazen?" His voice was shaky but Brazen kept the gun on him. The girl at her feet crying. She was bleeding, stabbed, cut. He'd cut up a child! Brazen looked away and pulled the trigger. No man deserved to live after commit this kind of crime.
Susan knelt down and checked the girl. The cut wasn't bad despite the blood. Brazen got to her feet carrying the girl with her. Her eyes watching the woods. All the noise had died down and she was afraid to see the aftermath. Slowly she stepped warily into the camp clearing.