Against Hope

[08] bomb

[08]

❝ you guys are either really brave or fucking crazy.but i'm going to stick around to find out ❞

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For a moment or two, everyone is quiet, unmoving in the still darkness of the yellow house we have taken refuge in.It's like someone has cut one of our limbs, an important one like a hand or a leg because we stare into space, confused with what our next step should be now that Ben has been taken.
"Where did they take him?" Nash snaps out of the daze first, triggering me and Ringer to do the same and pay full attention to the scene playing out in front of us.
"I think I saw them head a few doors down," Ringer contributes as she peeks carefully out the living room window.I half expect bullets to come flying in but it remains as silent as a graveyard.
"There's a couple of houses further down with army vehicles parked in the driveway.Looks like the ones back in base," Ringer comments, her eyes darkening at the mention of the base.She sits back down and hugs her rifle to her chest, like the Others were going to come and take her away.Even the strongest of people are frail sometimes.Ringer always seemed so tough, but even her mask fails her at times.
"So they're here then? The Others.." I trail off.Everyone has been contributing useful information to help our cause in rescuing Ben and there's me, stating the obvious because there's nothing much I can do.I haven't been trained in combat, the only thing I know how to do is to pull the trigger of a gun and hope for a half decent shot.
"And they have Ben.I know what they're trying to do.The aliens are gathering every single kid they can find to be their test subjects.That's why they didn't kill any of us on the spot.They need us alive," Nash states, his hands propped up by his knees as he sits across from me, thinking deeply.I hope he and Ringer take charge in our mission to rescue Ben because I'm a hopeless mess.It's silent for a while as I look up to observe Ringer's face.She's thinking deeply, the frowns on her forehead deepening and the gears inside her head spinning.
"Okay.We're going to get him out of there, and flee our asses away from this town as fast as we can," Ringer finally speaks, leaning forward to gain our attention.The three of us are hunched on the floor of the living room which has a blue sofa and a dead television set.The coffee table is shattered, pieces of glass littering the floor.I imagined how it happened to be.Occupants fleeing the house, knocking over the table or was it because of the break ins by people who no longer cared what punishment they would receive for the crimes committed because surely, there was no worse punishment than an alien invasion and a broken planet we called home.
"How?" Nash asks, his blue eyes glinting off the evening sunlight that seeps through the curtains.
"They haven't made a move to ambush us.That's good.It means they knew we were here from a lucky guess.They probably spotted Ben's ugly head since he was in full view.Look around for any weapons.Guns, knives, anything that might help form a plan to get him out," Ringer stands up and positions her gun as she observes the house, walking into the direction of the kitchen.Nash follows, heading for the wooden stairs by the door that reaches the second level of the house.I stick to the living room, scavenging drawers and looking under furnitures.Where would I hide a gun in a house? I imagined it would be under wooden floorboards.The floor beneath us was made out of wood.Nothing else seemed worth a shot so I took hold of the corner of a white woolen carpet which lay thickly in the middle of the living room.
I was about to yank on it when I spotted a bright red stain on the left side of the carpet,staining the purity of the white.Fully blooming and screaming out a message with it's fresh red colour.I quickly crouched beside it and stretched out my fingers to touch it.It was still wet and the blood stuck to my fingers when I brought them closer for inspection.Someone has been here recently.I open my mouth to warn my allies but as if on a silent cue, gunfire opens upstairs and leaves a ringing in my ears.
"Nash!" I yell as I pound towards the steps, the same time Ringer comes plowing full speed from the kitchen, her eyes wild.
"Stay here in case anyone tries to make a run for it!" She barks a sinple order as she pushes past me and runs up the stairs.I take up post by the corner of the stairs and aim my gun at the narrow space in which anyone could appear at any time.I tell myself that I would pull the trigger when it came down to it but as every second ticks by, my resolve cracks like an eggshell.Was I ready to kill again?
More gunshots are heard followed by groans and then its silent.What if Ringer and Nash are dead? I could escape now, a clean and fast one out the door.But I know I couldn't leave them behind.My sweaty palms threatened to drop my M16 from my hands as I slowly let my boots climb the first stair.
"Sullivan!" Ringer's sharp voice rings out and startles me.Never have I ever thought that hearing her voice would conjure a wave of relief to rush through me.I pound up the steps onto the second floor of the house.It's dark as I turn into the room on my left where I see Ringer standing in the doorway, gun trained on something inside.I don't see Nash anywhere and my stomach drops.He couldn't be dead.Not when the guilt of murdering his brother is eating me up alive.
I approach her and peer into the dark room, dreading what I might see.I see a bald man lying motionless on the cream carpeted floor beside another younger man with a mass of blonde hair on his head.Both are motionless but I can just make out the rise and fall of Blondie's chest.Standing hunched over them is Nash, looking a bit frozen, the features on his face indecipherable.
We stand quietly, not uttering a single word so when Nash speaks, it's like a clap of thunder through the silence.
"I've got a plan," he utters, stepping over the bald man's body and towards a white closet in the far end of the room. He throws the doors open and rummages through the many fabrics and clothes inside as me and Ringer glance at each other.The clothes belonged to a male, judging from the ties and shirts he owned.
Nash picks out a plain grey t- shirt with short sleeves and a pair of jeans.He tosses his gun aside and his fingers tug at the button of the army uniform he was wearing.
"Ladies, avert your eyes or take it all in," Nash smirks as he pulls of the army jacket and starts to strip the shirt he was wearing inside.Any sign of his previous look of remorse disappears from sight.
Ringer doesn't seem too happy about it and shifts her gaze to the men on the floor but doesn't turn around.I on the other hand, turn my body away from the scene.This may be the end of the world but I guess bits of the old Cassie is till stuck to what is left of me now.
Nash has changed into regular clothes and explains his plan to us.Judging from the gunshots that were fired and the approximaty of our enemy's location, they were bound to hear our ruckus.The advantage would be that they didn't know who was alive or dead.Nash suggests we use Blondie and make him up as a soldier that went through the experiment Ben told us about.The 'experiments' were failed ones, the Others's slaves, left behind to kill the remaining of us.A poorer version of a Silencer but just as deadly.The boy who blew himself up with a hand grenade earlier today at the highway proved that.
"You're just going to send him strolling in there with two of us playing dead?" I ask.It's a big risk if you ask me.Blondie might not even want to cooperate.What if he really does approach them and blows our cover? What if they shoot him on sight? So many things could go wrong with his plan but seeing as how Ringer is silent, she's considering it as an option.
"Not dead, they need us alive remember? It'd be like bringing fresh new meat to them for their experiments," Nash retorts.
Half an hour later with Blondie still knocked out cold on the floor, we perfect our plan to get Ben back.With the utensils we have in the house, Nash tinkers with a digital alarm clock so it displays a countdown before strapping it onto Blondie's chest with duct tape.If I didn't know better, I would think it was a bomb.I manage to contribute and find a small remote device which would be used to trigger the 'bomb'.It was a hopeless shot,strung together by a couple of teenagers but it was a shot none the less.
Nash strips Blondie and changes him into his army uniform and he's carried down into the living room.
Ringer brings us canned food from the kitchen cabinets and we eat as we wait for Blondie to rouse from his sleep.It's decided that Nash and I will play dead, and Ringer would supposedly be the lone survivor of our group since she's the most likely to survive anyway.The lamb stew I'm eating doesn't ease my nerves as the plan runs over and over again in my head.
A groan sounds from Blondie and we immediately train our weapons on him.Blondie is about 30 years old judging from the wrinkles and stubble on his chin.He opens his eyes and recoils in shock as he eyes the guns pointed at him.
"Our friend has been captured and we need you to help us got him back," Nash begins, talking in a low voice.He sure doesn't beat around the bush at all.
Blondie doesn't talk but a smile stretches across his face.
"And why would I want to help you do anything?" His voice is rough, like he's spent the night screaming.He observes the clothes he's wearing and a cloud of confusion passes his face.
"Because it's the only thing keeping you alive right now," Ringer says.
"Well, aren't you a pretty little thing?" Blondie ignores Ringer's threat as he leans forward towards Ringer with a sick smile on his face.Something tells me he won't enjoy what's coming next.Ringer slams the butt of her gun into the man's face so hard that he's thrown back wards into the chair he's strapped into and he falls to the floor.Blondie struggles with his restraints, spewing profanities at Ringer as his spit flies everywhere.Blood is gushing down his nose.Time is running out and with every minute that passes Ben is slipping further away from us.Up until now, no one has voiced out the possibility that he might be dead.
This thought ignites something in me.All the moments I've had with Ben the past few days comes whirling into my mind and feeds itself into the growing fire.
I stand up from my seat and point the end of my gun directly between his eyes, as he grows silent.
"He's not going to help us," I say, my eyes trained on his and my voice hard and cold.Blondie doesn't know that compassion keeps me from killing, he doesn't know that I would never kill someone and I have to use that to my advantage. "He's better off dead.We can carry out my plan," I nudge the gun harder into the man's forehead.
I can feel Nash and Ringer's questioning glare on my back at my behaviour but I ignore them.Blondie lets out a small whimper. If he doesn't compromise soon, we won't have another plan.
Maybe its the glint of fury in my eyes or the threat of the gun to his head but Blondie finally caves into my request. "Okay! Okay! I'll help!" He says, urgency in his voice as he squeezes his eyes shut and turns his face away from me and the gun.I nod satisfyingly and set his chair straight before going back to my seat.Nash eyes me and I look away.
"Perfect."
Nash explains our plan to him, going through each step with Blondie nodding solemnly once in a while.
"If you're planning to hand us in to them I suggest you take the idea out of your head," Nash finishes, tapping his head lightly.He gestures to me and my eyebrows shoot up in confusion.Blondie doesn't notice our exchange.Nash wants me to elaborate on the part where if Blondie steps out of line, he's going to blow into a million pieces.Probably because I scared the crap out of him the first time with my acting skills.
"Ringer, get the timer running," I order in my best commander voice.Ringer shoots me a glare, knowing I would never order her around if it weren't for Blondie in front of us.She grunts in disapproval but leans forward and yanks Blondie's military jacket aside to reveal the hastily strapped alarm clock to his chest.Ringer presses a few buttons, satisfyingly making them beep loudly as she sets the timer feature to countdown.
"Ready to blow on signal,Sarge." Ringer leans back into her chair, not even the slightest smile tugging on her lips.Oh how I love the sarcasm in her voice.Everyone maintained a serious expression.That action alone hinted to Blondie that we meant business.
"You so much as breathe a word you're not supposed to and you'll be blasted into a million bits of flesh and blood," I say, my voice deep and serious.I feel like I'm in a play.
Blondie breaks out into a cold sweat for a moment.His eyes etlle uncomfortably at the device strapped to his chest.Then it morphs into something like shock, confusion.Finally, he breaks into a strained smile.Has he figured out that we fooled him? "Both of you will die with me," Blondie states plainly, like he couldn't believe that we would sacrifice ourselves for a friend.Did it touch him?
"That's part of the plan," Nash says, standing from his seat.No more discussions.We fly into action.