Hurtling through the trees, Hex struggled to stay with the group. His breath came in ragged gasps and his head and stomach ached. Amber dropped back and ran beside him.
'Come on, gadget boy!' she yelled. 'Keep going!' Hex stumbled and fell, landing with a thump on the sloped ground. Amber stopped and pulled him to his feet. Alex ran up to them and helped her support Hex. Alex gave Amber a worried look.
'He can't go much further,' he said. Hex glared at him.
'I'm still here you know,' he grumbled, but his voice sounded weak. Paulo and Li appeared and the five of them ran behind a huge boulder. The guards sounded like they were further up the hill and Alpha Force allowed themselves a brief break. Hex lay on the ground, his face twisted with pain. Amber sat beside him a worried look on her face. Paulo gave Hex two painkillers, and he swallowed them gratefully. The crashing sounds came closer and Alpha Force started to run again.
Amber bounded along, Hex by her side. He seemed to be coping ok and she turned her full attention to running. She didn't notice him slowly dropping back and the next time Alpha Force stopped, he was nowhere to be seen.
'Where is he?' Amber asked, peering through the trees. Alex came and stood next to her and they strained their eyes trying to catch a glimpse of Hex. There was a cluster of large and small rocks about 20 metres away from the boulder that Alpha Force was using to shelter behind and through the darkness they picked up a familiar figure near it. Alex sighed with relief and was about to run over and help his friend when a shout stopped him. Torches shone through the trees and Hex bolted into the rocks. It was no use though. The guards spotted him and surrounded the rocks. Amber gave a cry as Alex pulled her behind their boulder and she sat in shocked silence as they listened to the sounds of the guards. Maybe Hex had snuck out. Maybe he would... All of their hope died as the guards started to fire. Amber gave a sob and buried her face in Alex's chest as the listened to the bullets being fired. Alex held her close and tired to tune out, but the shots were so loud. Paulo was holding onto Li who looked furious and distraught at the same time and was trying to get free.
'Do not be stupid, Li,' Paulo hissed. Li's face turned angry for a second before she slumped in Paulo's grasp and began to cry.
They were vaguely aware of the shots subsiding and the guards moving away. The four remaining members of Alpha Force sat in stunned silence, shocked by what they had heard. Alex stood up and turned to Paulo.
'We should get moving.' Amber stared at them in shock, then started to make her way around the boulder. Paulo grabbed her arm and Amber tried to shake him off.
'Where are you going?' Amber had a desperate look on her face.
'Maybe he's alive,' she said, but she was doubtful. Alex shook his head.
'I'm sorry Amber but he couldn't be.' Amber tried to move off again but Paulo still had a grip on her arm.
'I want to make sure.' Alex shook his head and tried to reason with Amber.
'You don't want to...' With a scowl on her face and close to tears, Amber twisted out of Paulo's grip and sprinted towards the rocks where they had last seen Hex. Li, Paulo and Alex followed her.
As they arrived, Amber disappeared inside the cluster of boulders. Alex glanced around him warily, in case the guards were still about, but everything was quiet. The guards had obviously thought that they were further up the mountain. He didn't want to see what was inside the boulders but he forced himself to walk around. The huge pieces of rock formed a network of hiding places. A glimmer of hope sparked in Alex's brain but then quickly died as he saw the discarded bullets scattered over the ground and. There was no way that Hex could have survived after all of the bullets that had been shot at him.
Amber picked her way carefully around the boulders, checking every little cave that she came across expecting to see Hex's body lying in front of each one. She paused outside one cave. Li, Paulo and Alex were a bit further behind her and Amber wanted to wait for them to catch up before she went on. Tears still trickled down her face and she sniffed every now and then.
Suddenly something slammed into her body and she was grabbed and dragged into the cave. Amber gave a scream and wriggled.
'Let go!' Whatever had grabbed her stopped.
'Amber?' Amber stopped struggling and peered at the face in the dim light. Hex. Amber gave a sob and threw her arms around him, hugging him hard. Hex hugged her back, then, after hesitating for a moment, kissed the top of her head. Amber either didn't notice or didn't care because she just hugged him harder.
Li heard Amber's terrified scream and sprinted towards the sound. Paulo and Alex pelted after her and they all arrived at the cave at the same time. They peered inside, dreading what they might find, but were surprised to see Amber hugging someone. The someone bent their head and kissed the top of Amber's head lightly and they could all see who it was.
'Hex!' Li cried and hurried into the cave. Hex and Amber sprang apart and Li gave Hex a huge bear hug. Paulo and Alex followed and grinned at the sight of their friend, alive and unharmed.
'What the hell happened?' Alex got straight to the point. Hex held up his hand and shook his head.
'Wait a minute. Let's go get the supplies and bring them back here, then I can explain.' Despite his ordeal, Hex was determined to come with his friends to get the backpacks. Amber didn't leave his side for an instant. She still felt guilty about leaving him as they were running, even though he was safe.
Once all of the supplies were moved into the cave, Hex told his friends what had happened.
'I was running along and my stomach started to really hurt. I couldn't keep up and was dropping back so I stopped for a quick breather. Suddenly these five guards spotted me and started to chase me. I ran down to those boulders, deciding to hide in them until they went away, but I got this sharp pain here-' he gestured to his abdomen- 'and had to stop. I was so close but by the time I could move again, they had spotted me and knew that I was in the boulders. I scurried into a cave and wriggled along until I was right at the back. The guards aren't very good. They just shot blindly all over the place and hoped that they'd hit me. The bullets started to get to close to the cave where I was hiding so I wriggled back a bit more and found this narrow tunnel. It was stupid of me, I could have got stuck or trapped, but the tunnel eventually got wider and I ended up in here.' He waved his hand around to indicate the cave. 'The pains had come back again so I waited a bit. The guards had left, thinking that they must have hit me at least once, so I decided to make my way out and back to you guys. Next thing I know, there's this big shadow in the cave entrance. I tackled it and dragged it in here and then discovered it was Amber. Then you guys came and here we are.' Hex finished with a flourish. Li grinned cheekily.
You just missed out one bit Hex,' she said. Hex looked puzzled but Amber glared at Li, which made Li's grin bigger.
'What was that?' Hex asked. Amber groaned as Li sat up straight.
'You forget to mention you and Amber's little reunion.' Hex's face remained poker straight but Amber blushed.
'Well. Amber found me and I was just thankful that she wasn't one of the guards.' Li opened her mouth to reply- she wasn't finished teasing them yet- but Alex got in before her.
'We have to make a decision. Do we keep going or stay here and hope that they don't come back?' Paulo looked at Hex's drawn, pale face and shook his head.
'We stay. Hex cannot go further tonight.' Hex started to protest but Paulo was firm. 'You are no use to us if you are in pain or tired. All of us need to rest and have something to eat. We stay.' Everyone else agreed, glad of the chance to rest and recuperate.
Early the next morning, a weary group of five trudged through the now thinning forest. Alex stared at the city lights. They seemed so far away. And he knew that their battle wasn't over yet. Alpha Force hadn't accomplished their goal- to bring down the baby-trafficking ring- and they weren't going to give up that easily.
Finally the mountain smoothed out into gently sloping land and they glimpsed a black thread twisting its way along in the distance. Li grinned. A road. Finally. The road gave Alpha Force renewed energy and they hurried towards it. When they reach the tar, they walked along it until they saw headlights in the distance. Amber, walking beside Hex, gave a relieved sigh and waved her arms in the air. Suddenly she was pushed into the ditch of the road. Li gave a shriek as she was flung down beside her. The breath was knocked out of her as Paulo cannoned into her back. Alex and Hex dropped down beside her and signalled to her to keep quiet. What was going on? The headlights approached slowly and suddenly Amber realised. Why would a car be driving along at that slow a pace, on a road leading out to the mountains at this time of night? She buried her face in the ground as the headlights drew nearer. After what seemed like an age, they passed and disappeared around a bend further up the road. Alex stood up and grinned apologetically at Amber.
'Sorry about that,' he said. Amber shook her head.
'Don't worry. I think you just saved our bacon.'
It took another two hours to reach the city. The lights had looked deceptively close from up on the mountain and Hex was finding it difficult to keep up, but finally they stumbled around a corner and entered the outskirts of town. Hex gave a gasp of relief and sank to the ground. Amber shot Paulo a worried look and knelt down beside Hex.
'Are you ok?' she asked gently. Hex nodded and then grimaced with pain. Alex and Li had run up the street to find somewhere to stay and they returned triumphant.
'Two rooms at an unrated, run down hotel. Home sweet home.' Li shut up as soon as she saw Hex. His face was pale and sweat was beading on his forehead. 'But then again, it's better than nothing.' Paulo and Alex supported Hex between them and they walked over to the hotel that Li and Alex had booked them in to.
A small Chinese woman seemed incredibly pleased to see them. She shuffled out from behind her reception desk and handed them two keys. With a smile that stretched to her ears, she thanked them and bustled off.
'Mustn't get many visitors here,' Amber remarked. They climbed the rickety stairs, making as little sudden movements as possible in case the entire structure came tumbling down. Paulo and Alex said good night to Li and Amber and helped Hex into their room. Hex sank onto the bed gratefully, took two painkillers and shut his eyes. By the time Alex and Paulo had put away the backpacks, he was fast asleep.
A/N Small question. Should I drag it out a bit more, such as have them look for evidence to convict Cho and maybe have one or two of them get caught? Or should I let them get evidence and end it there? Reviews very much appreciated!