Coming Home (#Wattys 2017)

14; The Escape

Carrie looked through her scope once again, hoping to find her husband. There was no sign of him. She now had doubts about that man and his intentions. Was he really trying to help? Or was he trying to set them up?

She slowly climbed down the building and started heading in the direction she last saw Harrison. As she made her way through the street while being careful to stick close to the cover of the buildings. Carrie stopped when she heard yelling and gunfire. Please be okay Harrison.

He was nowhere to be found. That scared her because she was out here by herself without his protection. Harrison could take care of himself. Carrie tried to reassure herself that he'd be okay and that he was probably trying to look for her as she was looking for him.

She took a few steps closer to the building where the yelling was coming from. Suddenly, there was a gunshot and the yelling stopped. Carrie leaned against the wall of an abandon shop unsure of what she should do. She'd risk walking in on something that didn't involve her or Harrison, or potentially find her husband.

Taking another step forward, she glanced down briefly at the ground where there were a few drops of blood. Carrie examined the blood. It was fresh and it could be Harrison's.

Then Carrie heard him yell followed by another gunshot. She stormed around the corner and into the building where all the commotion was coming from. As soon as she stepped inside, she nearly stepped on the body of the man who'd helped them so much.

Carrie felt for a pulse. There was nothing. He was gone. She then realized it wasn't a set up. Harrison wouldn't of killed him. Whoever killed him had Harrison. And he wasn't being held that far from her.

Before advancing any further, she switched cartridges in her gun, before cocking it back into firing position. The building she was in was dark and musty. Up ahead, there was light from a room trickling into the hallway.

She heard his voice again followed by a painful scream. What were they doing to him?

Carrie couldn't wait any longer. She kicked the door down and stormed inside. The sight broke her heart. Harrison's hands and feet were tied up. He had a gag in his mouth. And his face was also bleeding like he'd been punched or beaten several times.

The rest of the men in the room immediately looked at her, raising their weapons. But the Navy SEAL was faster. She took the four men down quickly, only having to avoid one bullet.

Harrison squirmed in his chair, trying to shout at her. As soon as she looked straight at him, everything went black.

✎✎✎

Harrison stared into the eyes of the man who just knocked Carrie unconscious. He desperately pulled at his restraints to no avail. The man approached and began yelling something in Arabic. Something he couldn't understand.

His heart began to race as the man pulled out a small handgun and a knife. He placed the tip of the knife under Harrison's jaw and lifted his chin up as the safety of the handgun clicked off.

He tried to pull at the ropes until he was able to free one hand. While still looking intently at the man, he undid the ropes and freed both hands. Then as the man pressed the barrel of the gun to his temple, Harrison fought back. He yanked the gun away from his head and pointed it towards the ground. As the man fired, the gun was pointed at him enough so the bullet hit him in the thigh.

Harrison put both hands around the man's neck and pulled his head down hard to his knee. Then as he stumbled back with blood gushing down his face, Harrison knocked him out with one swift punch.

After the man feel to the floor, he untied his legs and removed the gag from his mouth before going to check on Carrie. She was still out cold. With his leg, he couldn't kneel down so Harrison settled for picking her up over his shoulder. He then grabbed his weapons and took off.

He ran out of the building with gunfire following. Instead of taking a left, he took a right. He'd met with the contact before they were attacked. The American embassy wasn't that far. But he wasn't sure he'd be able to make it with his leg and an unconscious Carrie.

As gunfire ripped behind them, Harrison shifted her into a bridal style carry so she wouldn't get shot from behind. He kept running until they were almost run over with a man on a motorcycle.

Harrison quickly shot him, and took the motorcycle for himself. As he drove with one hand, and shot anyone who tried to shoot at them, he began to really worry about Carrie. She'd been unconscious for a while now.

"Carrie wake up."

She didn't move at all. "Come on Carrie."

He weaved through the streets, trying to avoid what was following. Finally, after a 10 minutes drive, he eyed the American embassy up on the right hand side of the street.

Harrison dropped the bike and carried her to the gate where they weren't even stopped for a security check. The Americans knew who they were.

A few guards opened the main entrance to the embassy. As soon as he walked in with Carrie in his arms, all the American politicians stopped to look at them before someone got to work readying medical supplies.

He was led into the back offices with Carrie where he lay her down on a couch. Harrison sat down next to her as a few men and women began to tend to their injuries.

"Come on Carrie. Wake up."

Harrison sighed when she still didn't move. "Come on kid. Please."

"Who you calling kid? Don't forget I'm older than you."

A huge smile crossed his face as her eyes opened and she smiled back at him. "We're safe now. We're going home."

"We're going home?"

Harrison nodded. "We're really going home."