Witness

16 - The Path to the Mountains

The patter of gunfire woke me from my fitful sleep. Thaïs was already awake, gripping her rifle tightly. There was no sign that the fire was aimed at us, at least for the moment, and the truck still growled along the rutted road. Brygos's cheerful humming stopped abruptly as he realized what the sound was. The window separating us from the cab slid open.

"We've got a skirmish up ahead. It's off to the left, but it's closer than I'd like."

"Who is fighting?" I asked, straightening up. I was still exhausted, but the very mention of combat sent an electric current through my veins. It was that seductive mix of excitement and absolute terror that I would always feel in battle. They say you are always at your most alive when dancing with death.

Brygos frowned, worry lines etching themselves into his brow. "I don't know. No one from our little caravan."

I shifted to get up. "I will see. Slow your pace to where I can catch up, but keep moving."

"You are not going alone," Thaïs said fiercely.

I knew that fighting with her on that point would only cost us precious time. She was far more stubborn than me and had a way of getting her way. "I suppose."

Our driver reached through awkwardly, holding a pair of binoculars out to us. "Take these. They work for watching birds, so they should work here."

Brygos slowed the vehicle so we could jump out. I grabbed the binoculars and led the way out of the truck's covered back, with Thaïs following close behind. The entire area around the road was rolling hills and craggy desert, with a few dried river beds lined with creaking dead brush. Like desert lizards, we scrambled up the back of a rocky hill, tall enough to give us a good look at the raging combat.

Even without the binoculars, those monstrous military trucks heavy with armor were obvious. "Well, the State is here," I muttered, lying flat on my stomach and keeping my head low between two rocks.

The other side hid in the rock formations to the east, rifle fire peppering the trucks to little effect. The heavy machine gun mounted on one truck pivoted to spray its barking bursts of bullets towards the heads and torsos that popped up occasionally with that rifle fire. I raised the binoculars, praying that the reflected light from the lenses wouldn't alert anyone.

Thaïs watched from another crevice. "They're about to have a bad day."

I caught sight of a cylinder resting on the shoulder of one rebel figure as he popped out of cover. "Maybe not."

I assumed it was just a rocket-propelled grenade, something that would damage the truck but maybe not demolish it. Instead, it fired and there was an enormous explosion. Thaïs's eyes widened in alarm at the boom and sight of destruction.

"What the hell was that?"

I bit my lower lip for a moment, watching the other trucks pull away as fast as they could. Another shot followed them, hitting another vehicle in the rear and blowing it to pieces. "Wire guided missiles. I wish we had some of those." As I watched them, the rebels abandoned their hiding places to celebrate once the military was out of range, one holding up a flag. We were too far away to hear their cheering, thank God. "Thaïs, what does the Burning Star's symbol look like?"

Her whole body tensed, particularly her grip on her rifle. "A crimson five-pointed star with a circle at the center."

I crawled backwards away from the slope before they spotted the gleam of the binoculars. "Three guesses on who sent the government packing."

"Everyone's favorite religious extremists?" Thaïs's tone was as dry as the desert earth beneath us.

I nodded. "We need to get back to the trucks and get out of here before they spot us."