The Last Battalion

Chapter 4

He stared at me. "You said this Island was safe."

"No," I replied, "I don't think I did. "

15 seconds of sprinting and we reached the Jeep.

Suhail took the wheel

" Step on it" I screamed.

5 seconds later

He aimed the Jeep at a gap in the trees that looked too narrow, but we roared through with inches to spare on either side. I swore at him and covered my head, then looked up in blinking astonishment that we had not crashed even as Suhail floored the gas pedal and the tires spun clods of damp earth into their wake. For a few seconds they passed through a strangely uniform alley of trees and vines, the hush of the rain forest embraced them, muffling their engine noise.

The Jeep hit a rise, then topped it, and the tires spun without traction for a heartbeat before touching down in a small clearing. The boat was probably a hundred yards ahead. Stiff-armed, Suhail kept the wheel steady over the rough terrain, but they had run out of room. Thick brush bordered the clearing, and trees grew close and leaned together, conspiratorially close.

"Oh, my God, we're dead!" Suhail cried.

He drove full tilt toward the far side of the clearing, the trees rushing toward them. At the last second, he cut the wheel to the right and hit the brake, causing the Jeep to fishtail and then shudder to a stop. The engine kicked and died, ticking with the heat of its exertion.

"RUN!!!" I yelled.

We reached the boat and jumped below deck.

" Why didn't it detona-"

The island blew up. I could never describe what happened. An explosion, a wave of blinding light, a whirlwind of power. Fire fulminated around the Island. Fire and water collided, superheated steam rose, hiding the moon.

We sat on the deck, watching the Hercules constellation rise in the night sky.

" I think it's time we leave ,Ambert"

I nodded. I was shivering despite the warmth coming of the Island. I was supposed to be brave. I was a soldier. I need to stick to my oath ' I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to my country and that I will as in duty bound honestly and faithfully defend her glory and dignity against all enemies and will observe and obey all orders of generals and officers set over me.'

This mission was an order. Corporal William entrusted this mission to his two best scouts. Private Mohammed Suhail , the best tracker and Private Ambert Nelson , the best on-field combatant. All the way through to reach the Island from base I was wondering why my partner on the mission wasn't Private Aashna, the best data analyzer and this mission was all about analyzing, I was merely a backup. Now I understood why the Corporal chose us both, the remains of other boats from our base in the dock spoke a story.

This was no ordinary island.

An Enchanted Island ? well... now we would never find out.

We rowed out through the harbor, past bobbing boats weeping rust from their seams, past juries of silent seabirds roosting atop the barnacled remains of sunken docks.

We were two young soldiers rowing with quiet intensity straight out to sea, the only safe harbor for miles receding quickly behind us, craggy and magical in the blue-gold light of dawn. Our goal, the rutted coast of mainland China, was somewhere before us but only dimly visible, an inky smudge squatting along the far horizon.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thanks a lot for your support guys ! you may have noticed that my chapters are getting a bit longer.... a little suggestion from Prachi Babaria.

and...................... the book is now at #64 in the mystery/thriller genre and hence the quick update. Let's get it into the top 10 <3