“I can’t take this anymore, Josh. We’re never getting out of here,” I sob.
I was always classed as the Iron Maiden within my squad, because I was the hard-faced bitch. I could stomach anything; wounds, blood and guts, and I didn’t take any nonsense, even from the biggest, maddest guys. Now, here I am, a sniveling wreck, crying into Josh’s shoulder. I’m literally falling apart. There’s only so long before these burns cause blood poisoning and my body shuts down, piece by piece, organ by organ. Animals get put to sleep for less. All I’m doing is suffering, and that suffering leaves lasting memories that won’t fade.
Having a meltdown in the middle of nowhere is the last thing Josh or I need, but I just can’t control the emotions running through me.
“You can do this. You will.” He puts his hands on my cheeks and wipes away the falling tears, dirt, and snot. “I promise I’ll get you out of here, Shay. I don’t break my promises.”
I shake my head. “I’m the medic, Josh. I know what’s happening to my body. You can’t bullshit me. Stop feeding me lies.” I thump his shoulder.
“There she is. Keep up that fight.” He winks at me. “You need to fight through this. You can scream, yell, and punch me all you like. Just don’t give up hope.”
“You sound like Clay.” I smile weakly.
“And he certainly wouldn’t let you give up, so I’ll take that remark and own it.”
I look around us, taking in everything I can, but I can’t remain positive. Nothing looks familiar and nothing is shouting positivity at me. We’re in the middle of nowhere. We have no supplies. And we have no way of getting help to us. Yeah, I’d say we’re screwed, and we’re just putting off the inevitable. Josh is living in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks we’re getting out of here alive. He must have hit his head harder than I realized because his brain isn’t working.
A branch snaps behind Josh and he jumps to his feet. Three men dressed in camouflage gear step out from the trees. Their guns are pointed toward us. I can’t move, even though I want to. I need all the help I can get to get up from the ground. I’m an invalid. A burden. I told Josh to go on without me, but would he listen? Hell no. Now we’re both doomed.
“Who are you?” asks Josh, holding his hands up to show them we’re no threat.
Yeah, I mean, we really look like a couple of strong soldiers.
We’re literally falling apart, we have no weapons, and we’re alone. The U.S Army badges we wear mean nothing right now; we’ve been stripped of our strength and power. In fact, the badges could get us fucking killed.
The men speak in a language I don’t understand. I doubt Josh knows what they’re saying either. What could be worse than being ill in our position? Being in a country you know very little about.
“Do you speak English?”
Another man steps out from the trees and walks over to me. He bends down and inspects my wounds. He’s in the same camouflage clothing, but he’s minus any weapons. He looks relatively normal, or as normal as can be under the circumstances.
“This woman needs antibiotics.” He speaks in proper English.
“Who are you?” I ask.
“I’m your knight in shining armor. We have medical supplies back at our camp. It’s not ideal, but it might just save your life.” He shrugs and looks over at the other guys. “We can deal with everything else once we have her on the mend.”
“I’m a trained medic. I can take care of my own injuries if I’m given supplies. I don’t want to put anyone out,” I say breathlessly.
“Good to know. I’m a doctor. My name is Keir.” He smiles at me.
The other men start shouting at one another in their lingo. I want to scream at them to stop. It’s annoying, I don’t understand a word of it, and it’s hurting my head more.
“What are they saying?” asks Josh.
“They’re fighting amongst themselves.” Keir looks over his shoulder and back to us quickly. “Look, this camp isn’t ideal. You’ll see and hear things you don’t want to, but it’s your best chance of survival. They’ll put a bullet through your head if you don’t come with us now.”
A man walks up behind Keir and hits him in the head. I have a bad feeling about this, but what other choice do we have? We’re running out of options. We stay, we die. We go, we might die anyway. I see no other option.
Josh bends down in front of me and squeezes my hand. “You need help, Shay. We won’t get this opportunity again. We can get out of any situation if you’re well. Our training will come into good use.”
I nod, even though my gut is telling me the opposite. I know he’s right. We’re born fighters. I just need medical care and we’ll face the situation head on… together. It’s all we have left of our team, and we need to honor that. We need to do this for them.
“Okay. Keir, can you help me carry her?”
Keir and Josh wrap my arms around their shoulders and they both take one of my thighs and lift me from the ground. My thighs aren’t burnt, luckily. It’s just my lower legs. The pain shoots from my toes to my head. I don’t know which part of my body hurts more.
“How far away is the camp?” asks Josh. “She’s getting weaker by the second.”
The men walking behind us hit Josh, pushing him forward. I’m guessing that’s to shut him up. They clearly don’t like people talking any language other than the one they speak, and even though they understand basic English, they refuse to use it. Ignorance at its finest.
Keir leans into me and whispers, “Just go with us. It’s not far. I’ll do all I can to heal you.”
If I thought getting blown up was the hardest thing I’d faced, I have a funny feeling this next phase is going to be worse.
***
We’ve walked for what feels like hours. My body is getting weaker. Weak to the point that I’m not even feeling pain anymore. My head feels like it’s floating, and it isn’t a pleasant feeling at all. I don’t even feel in control of my body. If it wasn’t for Josh and Keir taking my weight, I’d flop to the floor, unable to move.
“We’re here,” Keir whispers.
I manage to lift my head off Josh’s shoulder and look at my surroundings. There are huts and tents everywhere. I can’t help but notice that the whole area is surrounded by a high electric fence. People are walking around with guards. It’s like a high populated concentration camp. I didn’t even think such things exist anymore. What the fuck are we walking into?
“What is this place?” I manage to ask.
“Your worst nightmare,” Keir says bluntly.
Josh looks down at me and I look back up at him. I know what’s being said, but I’m too far gone to make sense of anything. I can’t even worry for our lives or future.
I’ll get back on my feet and find a way to get out of here. I will.
I must get out of here.
Chapter 3
Present Day
Clay
I flop down at my desk and lean my head over my arm like a dead weight. Why did I drink so much last night? Urgh. I hope Chris is dying today, just like I am, with a herd of elephants stomping all over my brain. I hate hangovers from hell. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, because any little opportunity I have, I pick up a bottle to forget. One drink usually turns into a dozen. Like Chris said last night, it only takes the pain away at the time. The morning after, every ounce of pain and misery comes crashing back down ten times harder. Reality is a fucking bitch.