Winter Soldier (Book One)

Chapter: 2

DAY: 5
Winter Soldier

I turned around back towards the young woman just as I saw her fall to her knees. At the end of the small beach, past the dune hiding the shelter, I could see headlights coming towards her body. Which meant more trouble.

I turned on my heel and ran back to her, kicking up sand as my feet slammed to go faster. When I reached her body I slid to a stop and lifted up her arm, only to hear her cry out in pain.

"You shot me!" she said, trying to yank free.

"Get up!" I said quickly, reaching for her other arm.

"Don't touch me!" Seething in rage, she kicked at my legs and tried to shove me off.

"Stop it!" I hissed, putting full weight into pinning her down into the sand. "I'm helping." I pulled her up quickly and towards the water.

"You're expecting me to swim?" she asked weakly.

"Hold your breath." I pulled her into the water, going farther and farther until I had to use my arms to keep afloat. But, the woman on the other hand couldn't keep her head up. I pulled her up and set her against my shoulder to let her breathe easy. I looked towards the shore, a Jeep had parked and several men were shining lights against the sand; searching for the woman's body. A few of them turned towards the water, shining their lights against it. 

We both collected a large breath and dove under, swimming as far and as fast from the shore as possible. I knew that the farther out we went, the safer I could make us. The woman stiffened and struggled, I let her go and she rose up to the surface of the water quickly. I followed after. breaking the surface to meet her coughing and choking on water. I could see the lights from the jeep driving off back towards the creaky shack she called a house. They either gave up on searching or they knew we went into the bay.

I pulled the woman back to my shoulder and swam backwards towards the other side of the bay, where there was a dock for boats and warehouses. Seagulls squalled in the air above us, riled up and pissed.

I swam up right next to the dock, gripping her body tightly to my side, pulling us both up the ladder. I pulled her up carefully onto the dock beside me and sat back on my heels. The woman coughed slightly and pressed a hand against her shoulder.

"We have to...we have to keep moving." She huffed, spitting up water.

"Let's go." I pulled her up to her feet and half dragged her behind me to the center dock where the boats were each lined up. Many of them appeared to be occupied, music bubbling out cracked windows and doors. By the time my eyes spotted a quiet vessel it was too late. A man sat in a lawn chair at the front, a bottle in his hand and a cigarette perched in his teeth. 

"You kids is soakin' wet! Whatchu doin' out at this hour swimmin'?" he asked, standing up from his chair. His face then turned ashen, taking the both of us in. I had too many alarms ringing out in my head. I'd let me guard down, too much that now there's a witness to deal with. 

"Can you help us?" I asked, shifting so he could see the blood staining her clothes. She groaned and sagged forward, almost deadweight. "She needs medical attention."

"I'm supposin' a hospital is out of the option for you two." He scratched his head, pausing moment. "Follow me then."

I helped the young woman onto the boat and lead her down into the boats cabin. The inside of it was surprisingly clean for something that sat rocking on the water all day. The girl stepped around me and took a seat on a cushioned chair by one of the portholes. Her teeth chattered and her eyes went droopy.

The man came down the steps behind me and I moved out of the way, keeping my distance. "What kind of wound is it?" he asked, snapping on some rubber gloves and brandishing a first aid kit from under a table.