War Within Us

chapter 18 . the base

After getting in a new car in a different dead end, Brit told me it would be a while before we actually reached the base.

I would be lying if I said I was awake for the whole ride.

Every time my eyes closed, I had to jerk myself up to stay awake. It was so hard to not give into the shaking of the car from the rocky land and the loudness of the old engine that turned into white noise after some time.

I lifted myself up from the seat and tried to wake myself up completely when the car came to a halt.

I turned my head to the side to see Brit talking to a soldier from the window and saw another one waiting inside the watch tower. I didn't see a fence here, only a thick white paint line that stretched to both sides.

" Yes sir. Two other parties have arrived. We are expecting two more to arrive in half an hour."

"Keep me updated about their arrival. If they don't arrive in forty five minutes, I want to be informed. Understood?"

The soldier saluted. "Yes, sir."

Brit didn't say anything else and turned his face towards the road and the car was once again on the move. "Morning."

I tried not to grimace at the fact that I was out of it for most of the journey. "Sorry for leaving you to drive alone. It just-" I wanted to explain myself for some reason but Brit didn't let me.

He completed my sentence before I could, saving me from it. "Must have been stressful and exhausting. It's all good Vanessa."

"I just want to get this over with." I mumbled more to myself, letting out a small sigh as I felt the exhaustion wash over me but it went as fast as it came. This was only the beginning of the day, I had to keep going until I was home.

I realized something else while I was looking out the window to see the sun starting to shine from behind the mountains. Seeing how honesty came very easy with Brit was an interesting realization to have. I didn't know why it did but I decided not to think too much of it and go with it for once.

"That makes two of us." He added quietly and we went back to the now comforting silent.

We drove for another ten minutes, climbing a small hill and then going back down and finally, I started to see it. From afar, I could see the barbed wires going around the area but couldn't see the end of it.

Concrete and brick structures appeared one by one, none of them too tall to stand out from one another and some of them were mostly hidden by the trees.

The excitement and curiosity overruled the fatigue as I perked up in my seat.

The car halted once again but only for a few seconds as the soldiers instantly recognized the driver without any delay and saluted as one of them opened the gate for us to move on. After that, we only drove for a minute. Brit parked the car, killed the engine and reached for my backpack that was in the passenger seat behind.

I noticed how his face lost the cautious look once we arrived and replaced it with a neutral expression as I took my bag from his hands and put it back on.

We were walking towards one of the many similar buildings when he decided to talk again.

"Welcome to the base."

International Armed Forces - Kaden Base

Once I was inside the building, everything happened pretty quickly.

My bags and myself went through a detailed security check even though I walked in with Brit.

I didn't expect the military to trust anyone so easily so it came as a no surprise.