The Shadows Below

Chapter Twenty-One

 Both of us realised something was happening. Captain Reid, of course, as he was able to venture outside the tent and see trucks rolling in and leaving with men and the base itself, being packed away.

And he wasn't leaving with them. His questions fell on deaf ears and it seemed I wasn't getting my pass out either.

I knew there would be an effect from my dad going public but even this seemed extreme and I wondered how much of this was sanctioned by the people that Marion worked with.

When it began, he moved quickly and started stockpiling my medicine, no one was caring by that point but we still hid it under the canvas floor of the tent for safekeeping. I could have called my dad by this point but the phone he had found had stopped working.

'You should raid the rest of the first aid tent,' I tell him when half the base has left.

'I don't want to push it.'

'I may be a raging monster on my worse days but we're both still human.'

'I've grabbed a few weapons, some ammunition,' he mutters. 'First aid can be tomorrow.'

'We might not have it.'

'I'm still meant to be guarding you throughout this.'

'The base is leaving. I don't think the usual rules still apply.'

'While there is still a CO here, I'm still following his orders.'

I don't push him on that. Whatever else has been happening, he's still a soldier for the time being.

'How far out was that town?'

'Quite a hike and we didn't even get that far close to the town itself.'

'But we could make it.'

'How much have you been moving around lately?'

'Hah - hah.' I've kept fit, despite everything. Full on Sarah Connor in the mental hospital kind of fit. 'I can keep up.'

'Do you want to put money on that?'

X

The next day, everyone has left and my tent is the only thing that remains. The Captain has stashed his pack in here and found another one for me, both loaded up with food, first aid, bedding from my tent and ammunition, if we get separated at any time, we'll be okay.

'They're gone.'

'Let's go.'

The millisecond we're out of the tent, it's in flames. We don't wait for another bomb to hit, we're off and moving.

Running, the pack on my back feels like nothing and for once in so long I'm moving properly and my body relishes that fact. The adrenaline is a boost of energy and the ground feels soft but before long that burst of energy has gone and so has that speed.

'This is where I found the phone,' he mutters to me, in short staccato bursts.

'Is there another one?' I reply, my words coming out in much the same manner.

His laugh is short-lived, 'We can stop here for a second.' He pulls me down behind a small hillock.

'I'm going to have my medicine.' I pull out one vial, shaking it as I do so I can scull it quickly. The blood hits the back of my mind and I hear her voice again, muffled quickly by the medicine. But she's still there.

'Are you okay?'

'Fine.'

The ground starts vibrating and I look at the horror on his face and we're running again. The fact we can't outrun something with horsepower is apparent to both of us but we still keep moving.