"Stella!" Miles exclaimed. Stella stopped running to turn around and saw Miles pointing at a group of houses closely packed and people being brought out and forced to kneel in front of men with rifles. Stella and Miles ran towards it and took cover behind a tree. "Ready?" Miles asked. Stella nodded. Miles and Stella both flipped long scoped rifles over their shoulder and open fired on the armed men killing nearly half of them. "Now!" Exclaimed one of the men and a gunshot was fired. Miles and Stella open fired on the remaining people as they were aiming for those who kneeled before them.
With all the armed men dead Stella and Miles ran into the town. Everyone inside the town was alright except for one. An elderly woman who had been holding a small child had a gunshot wound on her chest and the infant laid next to her on the ground asleep. One of the men from the village approached the woman on the ground and checked her heartbeat. Stella and Miles comforted him and moments later he approached the baby. "She is sick with a strange condition that we know not how to treat. Will you please help her?" pleaded the man. Stella picked up the baby and the man handed her a wool blanket. "I'll see what I can do. Is anyone else her sick with this condition?" Stella replied. "No. She picked it up after we took her on a boat ride through the Malang river to the east. The man said. "We'll take her back to our camp we can treat her there." Stella told the man. "Stella wait! What if they come again? Someone needs to be here to protect them. "We'll arm them" Stella replied. Miles and Stella proceeded to their ATV and opened a trunk that was in the back. Stella and Miles worked together to carry the trunk into the town where people came to receive rifles. When man had a rifle they took out two ammo cans from the trunk and placed them on the ground. Miles used his rifle as an example of how to load it and shoot it for the villagers. "Thank you." the man who had given Stella his baby to treat said. "No problem" Stella replied. "Here." Miles handed the man who thanked Stella a radio. "Use it to call me if anything happens. Press this button to talk. Miles told the man. "Thank you. I will call if anything come up." The man told Miles. "Oh one thing. If I am going to call I must know your name. What is your name?" The man asked Miles. "I'm Miles. What's your name?" Miles said. "My name is La Sombra." The man said. "Nice to meet you La Sombra." Miles said. "And you." La Sombra said.
Miles and Stella enter their ATV. Stella sat with the baby wrapped in a blanket held close to her. Miles drove the ATV down a rugged path with a distinct dirt road. "How much longer?" Asked Stella after a few minutes of driving. "About five minutes." Miles replied. Stella put her ear to the babies heart and counted about 18 beats per minute. "Her heart beat is dropping." Stella said. "We're here." Miles said. Miles and Stella ran out of the car and into the medical tent. "What is wrong?" The doctor asked. "She's sick, her heart beat is dropping." Stella said anxiously. Stella handed the baby to the doctor. "She's from a village south of here." Miles said. The doctor injected a shot into the infants left arm; about a third of its contents. "Go over to the pharmacy and me the Acetaminophen!" the doctor exclaimed. Stella ran to a tent set up at the other end of the camp, opened a box with a red ross on it and grabbed a bottle of Acetaminophen. "Miles go get me a vitamin B12 pill from the infirmary." The doctor said. As soon as Miles left Stella returned with the Acetaminophen. Stella handed the doctor the Acetaminophen and the doctor poured it into a medicine cup filling less than 1/5 of it. "She is to young. I can only give her less than she needs." The doctor said sadly. "Is there anything I can get her?" Stella asked. The doctor looked up at Stella and said "Get me ibuprofen." The doctor said. Stella ran to get the Ibuprofen from the medical tent.
"Miles we are being invaded from the north, most likely from river pirates from the Jahango river!" La Sombra said over the radio. "Are you alright? Are the people taking care of themselves alright?" Miles asked. "They lack skill. I fear we have lost too many and people are beginning to flee." La Sombra said. "Alright I'm on my way. Do whatever is necessary to survive." Miles responded. "A man approached La Sombra as he began open firing on the invaders. La Sombra open fired on the man approaching him. Two men came up to La Sombra from behind and pinned him to the ground. One of the men holding La Sombra took his gun while the other held him in place. La Sombra rolled onto his back and punched the male holding him in the throat. Laying on the ground with difficulty breathing the man began to asphyxiate. The man's comrade checked on him, and La Sombra kicked him in the temple causing him to land away from his comrade. La Sombra drew his machete and charged the man. The man surrendered as La Sombra got near and kicked his gun towards him. La Sombra holstered his machete and went to pick up his gun when the man had tackled him and drew a dagger from his belt. La Sombra grabbed his wrist preventing him from stabbing and used his other hand to choke the man above him. The mans comrade got and ran over to La Sombra when La Sombra kicked his knee backwards causing him to fall and cry out in pain. La Sombra put him thumb on the man's eye and began pushing as hard as he could. The man above him used his hand to pry La Sombra's thumb out of his eye but to no avail. The man dropped his dagger to try using both his hands and La Sombra grabbed the dagger and stabbed him in the throat. La Sombra pushed he bleeding man off of him and stabbed the man's comrade in the temple. La Sombra grabbed his rifle and proceeded to check the camp. There were no signs of any people there; citizens or invaders. La Sombra entered his house and grabbed his backpack; with all his food and emptied the ammo cans into it. La Sombra did one last search of the town and left out into the woods.
Next chapter tomorrow.