Serena sighed as she cracked her back. It had been a long day of travel, and the bed that she had slept in the previous evening had been less than comfortable. Still, she knew that every hour brought them closer to finding Bernie, being reunited with her, and she felt anticipation thrum through her body.
"Is your back in as much agony as mine is?" Charlotte whispered as she tugged off her boots and plopped down onto the cot that was hers for the night.
"Probably a little more, since I am older than you. I'm trying to ignore it because it's a small price to pay for getting this close to being reunited with your mum. Adrenaline can help you ignore the pain for as long as possible, but in these quiet moments, where we can rest, everything just comes rushing to the forefront. Or in this case, the spine. And the feet. I don't think that I broke these boots in well enough before we left on this adventure."
Charlotte nodded as she turned onto her side to look at Serena. There was a quiet desperation on her face, and Serena reached across the small gap between them to stroke her cheek tenderly. "I just want to see Mum again. I know that she might be injured, that she might not be entirely her, but the fact that she's almost back in our lives is so tantalizing that it almost beggars belief."
A sad smile spread across Serena's face as she gave the young woman a small nod, drawing her hand back to her chest and sighed. "It feels like we're still chasing a ghost, because there's no guarantee that Shermarke is correct and that Bernie is truly alive and ready to be smuggled into the night to a safe space. I want to believe wholeheartedly, but I feel like I have to hold myself back and just not think about that hope. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment, even though I miss her so much and want her to be all right."
Charlotte returned her sad smile as she shrugged. "Pragmatism is best, yes, but I still cling to hope." A wide yawn split her lips and she snuggled into the cot, obviously trying to make herself as comfortable as possible before she let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. "I'm going to sleep tonight with the hope that tomorrow, I'll see my mum again. And you'll see your partner again. Love you, Serena."
Those sweet words formed a lump in Serena's throat, and she turned the lantern in their tent off before flipping onto her back and staring up at the canvas roof, a few tears rolling down the sides of her face as she tried to calm herself enough so that she could sleep. And it felt like she had just drifted off when the zipper to their tent was roughly drawn downwards, and Shermarke stuck his head inside. "Doctor Campbell, wake up! We're leaving now to go and rescue the people being held hostage. The guards have been knocked out by the sleeping agent that we managed to slip into their coffee, and this is the best, and only, time to do this. We'll need your expertise to determine how to best move the three hostages, since they are all injured in some manner."
She nodded as she threw back the sheet and got off the cot. Her back and feet protested at the movement, but she ignored them as she rummaged around in her rucksack before pulling out fresh socks and rolled them on her feet and then stuck her feet in the boots that were still warm from when she had taken them off. Just as she was tying the boots, Charlotte was sitting up and blinking blearily at her. "Serena?"
"I have to go now, I have to assess how to best move everyone. Wait here for us, Charlie."
"As if that would ever happen! If you're going to rescue Mum, I am definitely coming along. I might not be able to diagnose or assess like you or Cam, but I can be another pair of willing hands to work with, and I need to go."
Serena looked at Shermarke, and he nodded, giving his assent to Charlotte, and she let out a long breath as she gave her a small smile, watching as she tugged on the previous days socks before pulling on her boots and bouncing to her feet as if she wasn't even tired at all. Letting out a small chuckle, she shook her head and followed Shermarke out of the tent, Charlotte hot on her heels. It didn't surprise her to see that Cameron was waiting for them near one of the vehicles, and they all clambered in the back as Shermarke climbed behind the wheel and turned it on, driving quickly into the night.
It was hard to gauge how far they drove, since there was no moon and the headlights were off on all the vehicles. Serena understood that this was a necessary evil, since there was the smallest chance that not every guard drank the doctored coffee, and so were still awake. They couldn't afford to take any chances, after all, not when so many lives were at stake. Unconsciously, she began to tap her foot lightly against the floor of the truck, anxiety filling every cell of her system as they continued to drive into the dark.
Finally, Shermarke stopped the vehicle, and Serena checked her watch to see that they had travelled for approximately thirty minutes. That surprised her, and she quickly followed Shermarke out of the vehicle as she looked around to see that there were already a few of their group at the campsite, and that they were hurriedly coming over to the vehicles. It was clear that all three people were injured, but Serena couldn't tell the extent of the damage due to the lack of proper light, but she knew that they needed to get all of them back to their camp as soon as possible.
"Will it be safe for us to head back to our camp?" Charlotte asked as she looked fearfully in the direction of the other camp, and Shermarke nodded. "How do you know that?"
"Because they have no idea what direction we came from, and so have no idea where to look once they wake up from their drugged sleep. And we'll only be at our camp long enough for Doctor Campbell to patch them up enough so that they're able to travel back to the city. Hopefully, that will be shortly after daybreak, and I'll have the others break down as much of the camp as we can once the morning comes. Obviously, we'll take things based on the expert opinion."
Serena nodded as she watched the men load the three injured people into the back of one of the trucks. She longed to rush over to Bernie's side, but knew that that would have to wait, since she couldn't show favoritism. That would be wrong in this situation, and so she took a deep breath and jogged over to the truck that contained the patients, Cameron hot at her heels, and glanced everyone over. They all appeared to be stable enough to be moved, and she looked up at Shermarke and gave him a small nod. "Did they drink the drugged coffee, too?"
"The scouts slipped as small an amount as possible into their water so that we could move them without their making noise as we fled this area. Will that be all right?"
"It should be," she murmured as she checked everyone's pulses, finding them strong and even. Now, let's head back, so that we can get a few hours of sleep before we head bac to the city at daybreak." Shermarke gave her a small smile as he nodded, and she climbed into the passenger seat of that vehicle as everyone else climbed into the other trucks. Soon enough, they were underway once more, and as they drove back in near silence, Serena sent up a prayer to whatever deity that might be out there that everything would be all right, and she would be able to fix Bernie and the others.
