Chapter 9

James sighed in annoyance, they had found nothing, and neither had any of the other teams. They were heading back to base in their Jeeps, when something caught James' eye. Two figures were racing across the open ground. 'Stop the convoy.' He ordered, before undoing his seatbelt. Usually he wouldn't have stopped, but something about these two that made him stop. Then he realised what it was. They were being chased. And their pursuers seemed to be armed. The other men in the unit were already arming themselves.

Helen's feet pounded on the dry ground. She was ahead of Kim. Up ahead she could see a convoy of Jeeps. Her heart sank, but it was the only way for her to go. Suddenly she heard a cry from behind. She skidded to a stop and looked around. Kim was on the floor. 'Kim!' She screamed and began to run back towards the older woman. Strong arms prevented her from going back. 'Get her back to base.' A male voice commanded. The arms carried her over to one of the Jeeps, where she was passed up to some other men. She struggled, but decided it wasn't worth it when the vehicle began to move. She looked around at the men. They were not the men after her. They were soldiers.

James saw the back girl fall to the ground. He ordered one of his men to get the other girl while he and another went on. They reached the other girl and turned her over. There was a bullet wound in her left hand side. 'Cover me.' He told the man, while he worked to stem the flow of blood. He spoke into his radio. 'Get one of the trucks over here, now!' He ordered. Within minutes one of them was beside them, and the medic on board was working on the girl. That was when James first noticed the girl's clothes. 'No way.' He muttered. The girl wore a one-piece outfit. A flying suit.
'Corporal.' The medic said. 'We have to get her to base hospital now, otherwise she won't make it.'
'OK, get her on board.'

Peter called off his men when he saw the soldiers. He growled in frustration. How could he have been so stupid. he should have made sure the gate was properly closed, or left a guard on the cell and the main gate.

Kim drifted in and out of conciseness. She heard me talking, and she felt pain. Would she live? She wasn't sure, and she didn't want to die before seeing her family again. The pain was in her left hand side and was intense. She had never felt this amount of pain before. A thought came into her head. Was Helen alright? She truly hoped so.

James watched the medic work on the girl. The bullet was no longer in her body, but she was losing blood fast. Her short-ish hair was discoloured and incredibly dirty. Her clothes were ripped and filthy. Beneath the suit he could make out lots of cuts and scratches. The other truck that had been in the convoy was waiting for back-up, before they would storm the complex that had been spotted where the girls had obviously escaped from.

Helen shook with fright as the Jeep turned into a military base. One of the men lifted her down from the back and carried her into a building. A hospital. She was out of focus as the medics checked her over. She heard them say that she was under-weight, dehydrated and covered in bruises and cuts. But otherwise she would be ok. Her mind was on Kim. All she could picture was Kim's cry and looking back to see her on the floor. 'Kim.' She mumbled.
'What?' One of the medics asked.
'Where's Kim?'
'Who's Kim?'
'My, my sister.' Helen replied.
'Was she the other girl.'
Helen nodded in reply. 'She's not really my sister, but that I may as well be.'
The medic crouched in front of her. 'What's your name?'
'Helen.'
'Ok Helen, how old are you?'
'Fourteen.' Helen replied, the medic was writing notes.
'Ok, and how old is Kim?'
'I don't know.' Helen admitted.

James watched as the medics rushed the girl into the hospital, and then left to report to his commanding officer. He entered his superiors office and saluted. 'Sir, we've found the girl, and another.'
'Another?' The officer asked.
'Yes sir, she has been shot though, that's why we asked for back-up. To storm the place where they were being kept. The other girl seems to be wearing a flight suit.'
'What's the significance of that.'
James took a deep breath. 'It appears to be an International Rescue flight suit sir.'

The medics worked all day and all night to save Kim's life. In the end they were able to give her a blood transfusion and stitch up her side. She was still unconscious, and now in a coma. She was not out of the woods until she awoke. She was also severely dehydrated and underweight. She was covered in bruises and scratches. These would fade with time, but her side would be scarred for life and the emotional damage was unknown. They were unsure what to do. They did not want to alert International Rescue, only for them to be let down if Kim did not recover. On the other hand they ought to know. Eventually it was decided the second something changed in Kim, International Rescue would know.