Building bridges [Vikklan]

Chapter 5- Revenge [Vikk]

The camp is quiet tonight. We have lost a partner, a brother, a friend.

And we may lose another.

I sit by the cow pen, stroking the back of one of the older cows. It looks at me with sad eyes, and gives a long wail, in sympathy. In my other hand I hold Rob's sword.

Rob has always been like an older brother to me.

And now he might die. He might die because of Lachlan's team. I had known from the start it was a bad idea to trust him. He's a red, after all, and reds don't change.

I stand up, and leave the sword in the sand on the floor. I begin to run across to the Cabana.

When I reach our makeshift hospital room, I stop. All it really consists of is a few planks nailed in a square, touching a wall, with a blanket spread out over them. Brayden will probably be in there tending to  Rob.

I gently squeeze through the gap, and see Rob, lying in bed.

Brayden is sleeping in a chair beside him.

Rob looks worse than ever. His torso is wrapped in gauze, along with his right shoulder and thigh. Blood is already starting to seep through this bandage on his thigh. Just the sight of him there makes me seethe with rage. I want revenge, now.

I leave the hospital room and run over to Mat, who is sharpening his sword on a rock.

"Mat."

He looks up.

"Hey. What's up?"

"We need to get them back. We have to get revenge, okay?"

He stands up and stretches.

"Look, Vikk. They still have nine people. Without Nade and Rob, we're quite heavily outnumbered."

"If we surprise them, we have a chance. Like, we lure them to our side and then jump them when they're not expecting it."

Mat thinks for a moment, then picks up his sword.

"I think you might be right. Lets call a meeting."

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The seven of us sit around a table in the Cabana.

A plan has been formulated, and all we need to do now is execute it.

We're all fully geared, because we have spare stuff from Rob. He should be stable while we're gone, but we're all anxious leaving him.

"Okay, gang. Spawn should be safe right about now, so when you're ready, we can start."

Mitch stands up and points to the hills with his sword.

"LEGGOOO!"

We sprint of together, all seven of us, into the tall grass. The boys are always complaining about it getting in their way, but I love it. The ability to hid just meters away from an enemy in plain view is exhilarating. We run in a sort of group, with Mat and Mitch at the front, Speedy, Side and Brayden in the middle, and me at the back.

We're all on edge. If this goes wrong, then...

I shake my head, trying not to think about it.

When we reach the bridge, we split. Speedy, Side and I run up the steps to the bridge, and the others take their positions. They are carrying a wooden box, about a meter and a half tall and half a meter wide. Here we go.

The three of us dash across the cobblestone bridge.

We reach spawn, and crouch in the shadows of the quickly setting sun.

The square is in view.

"Okay," I whisper. "Watch my back."

The two guys nod, drawing their swords.

I sneak out, towards the middle of the square, where we were attacked by red. Then I see him.

Nade. Or rather, what's left of Nade. His decimated body shines with blood, and I can barely recognise his face. The reds are savages. This is disgusting! How could a human being do this to another human being?

His body is sprawled across the cobblestones, surrounded by dried blood. Its all gone a dirty brown, apart from one piece on his hand. I lean down cautiously, and uncurl his stiff fingers. I gasp, seeing the red is not blood.

In his palm nestles a tiny flower, with red, wilted petals. Did the reds put that here? No, they wouldn't. Apart from, of course, Lachlan.

I glance at speedy and side, then remember I'm here for a reason. Ugh.

I lift Nade's body up, and carry it towards the porch of the house they are waiting for me in.

"Yuck." Side says.

We then carefully place him in the box, and prepare to cart the body back across the bridge, where he will get a proper funeral.

Speedy runs to a house, and scales it, quickly reaches the top, where he places our home-made beacon lantern. It's just a bunch of wood and sticks, but it will do.

He then sets it alight and jumps down to us, as we watch the flame flicker brightly.

The reds should be able to see that.

The two guys heft up Nade's coffin onto their shoulders, and start running back across the bridge.

As we reach the end, I place down a sign.

For Nade.