𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐌𝐀 • 𝐬.𝐬

Chapter 17

LATER THAT DAY, ANYA AND SAUL stood in the greenhouse with Ben as he treated Marcos wounds.

He groaned as another Zanbaq was applied to his wound. Saul and Anya stood with him, understanding what he was going through.

"I still cannot believe that the two of you have finally gotten together," Marco said with a laugh, "I remember in training, watching you two fight side by side and it was like, perfect,"

Anya smiled to herself. Her and Saul were like two pieces of a puzzle when they fought, practically knowing what the other one was bound to do.

"Well I finally had the guts to ask her out," Saul said with a smile, wrapping his arms around Anyas waist and pulling him towards her.

"Yeah, him being injured really put everything into perspective," Anya explained, smiling up at Saul, listening as Marco made a fake gagging noise.

Marco knew the connection that they had and how perfect they were as a team, he'd always wanted something like that.

"All right, be honest. Am I doing better or worse than old man Silva here?" Marco questioned through gritted teeth, looking up at Anya.

"Well your first Burned One wound is always the most painful," Ben explained, dabbing on the wound, "Consider it a right of passage."

"That means worse by the way," Saul said, placing a hand on Marcos shoulder.

"Did your girlfriend and Andreas's son really play a role in taking down the one that got you?" Marco asked, smiling at Saul and Anya.

He had grown up with these two teachers as his mentors and finally seeing them together warmed his heart through the pain.

Saul had his arm wrapped around her waist, the two still sort of in the honeymoon stage of their relationship. However sometimes, it felt like they had been dating for years.

"Don't go yelling out that we're dating, we don't want the kids to know just yet. And yes, Sky will make a fine soldier," Anya explained, looking up at Saul with a smile.

"Does he have any of Andrea's less ideal qualities, his bloodlust?" Marco asked, practically spitting out the last word.

Nobody was too fond of Andreas, Anya probably the leader of his hate fan club but she had had to hide her negative feelings for Skys sake, wanting him to grow up with positive memories.

Saul sighed, looking to the side, "We've taken out time with him, he's his own man," he explained.

They had raised him in a way that he was an honourable man, a good human being. Sky was ten times better then Andreas ever was.

"We'll need to keep doing this twice a day because it will spread," Ben explained as Marco flinched away from the Zanbaq.

"I ain't worried, Noura and the battalion will track it down by the end of the day," Marco explained.

Saul thought of Anya when he said that, about how he would trust Anya with anything on the exact same way.

The phone went just as he started talking about her and he chuckled, "Would you look at that, there she is now" he said, picking up the call from Noura

He answered her call, looking at Noura as she appeared on the screen, her face covered in mud, "Whats the status?" Marco asked.

"They're dead," Noura stated with recourse, her breathing heavy as she stared at the camera.

Anya and Saul looked at each other, not knowing what to do, "What?" Marco asked and they all looked on to see what was happening.

"The entire battalion, they're all dead," she explained, sobbing slightly, "I think my leg is broken, I can't fight"

"We'll send someone for you," Marco said desperately, looking at his best friend on the screen.

Saul and Anya leaned over his shoulder to look at Noura. She had always been one of Anyas favourites; resilient, fun and a kind person.

"You don't understand," Noura said, a tears slipping down her cheek as she heard the Burned One snarl.

"Get yourself to the barrier Noura, come on," Anya encouraged, furrowing her brow as she saw a Burned One appear in the back of the screen.

"Noura, it's behind you! Run!" Marco explained, he was desperate to help. Noura started running with an evident limp, her face out of frame.

"I'm so sorry Marco. I couldn't kill the one that attacked you," she said with a sob, trying to keep running.

"Keep moving. You've got this. Remember what we trained for," Marco said, trying to encourage her to keep running.

"I can't outrun all of them," Noura said, letting out another defeated sob as she limped her way towards the barrier.

"Them?" Marco questioned. Anya sighed, looking over at Saul who was equally as distressed as she was.

They heard the roar of a Burned One and the phone fell to the floor. Marco screamed as a Burned One jumped into frame, tearing Noura apart.

Anya lay her head on Sauls shoulder, trying to avoid looking at it as she heard Nouras screams echo through the phone.

"I need to get to her, I can't sit-" Marco yelled out, tyring to stand up with a groan.

"Wait-" Saul said, placing a hand on Marcos chest to hold him back, "-she said them,"

Anya looked up as she heard silence, Nouras screams stopping. They watched as what must have been a dozen Burned Ones ran across the screen.

"It can't be! How many of them are there?" Marco questioned, enthralled by his phone

"We will take care of this Marco, you have my word," Anya said, looking at his shocked expression as they messaged Farah about it.

Her heart was pounding as she realised how many there were. This could be the end. They'd never fought this many before and they were both horrified at the idea.

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