A Soldier's Journey

Part 9: Yet Another Explosion

The man appears on another screen near us. "As I was saying..." Zola starts. "What's on this drive?" Steve asks angrily as he walks to the computor. "Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm." He responds. "What kind of algorithm? What does it do?" I ask quickly. "The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it." He responds. I immediately tense. I hear the elevator doors close and immediately turn and look at the doors. Steve does the same and throws his shield at the doors, but is too late the shield just hits the doors and flies back. He quickly catches it. We both share looks of fear and concern for one another. My phone dings in my back pocket and I quickly pull it out. "Steve, we got a bogey. Short range ballistic. 30 seconds tops." I say quickly. "Who fired it?" He asks. "Shield." I say with fear laced through my voice. "I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Admit it. It's better this way. We are both of us....Out of time." Zola says as I quickly grab the flashdrive and Steve opens a vent in the floor. He turns and pulls me into the vent, him following close behind. His whole body covers me as he holds up his shield. I try my best and stay under him, curling up under his body. I use my powers and create a strong ice barrier above us. Something loud slides off Steve's shield and hits my head painfully, then everything goes dark.

Steve's POV:

Suddenly, Lauren's ice shield turns back into falling water and I feel her go limp in my arms. I continue holding up my shield, pulling her closer to me. Eventually, after what feels like forever, the rubble stops falling. I gently lay her down against the wall with one arm and push the fallen rubble as hard as I can. The rubble eventually topples over and reveals the fallen army base. In the distance, I hear the sound of helicopters approaching. I turn back into the hole and grab Lauren, lifting her up bridle style and running towards the truck again. I get to the truck and gently lay her down in the back seat, allowing her to rest comfortably. I hop into the drivers seat and start driving the truck away quickly. I glance back in the rear view mirror and can already see the helicopters hovering over the blown up site. Taking a deep breath, I continue driving.

Lauren's POV:

I wake up to a massive headache on top of the one that I've had because of the mission on the Lemurian Star. I look around, still laying down, and decide that we're back in the truck. I lift my hands up and cover my eyes from the daylight. "You feeling okay?" Steve asks from the front seat. I only grunt in response. After a few minutes, I sit up and look out the window, wondering where we are. All I see are large open fields and wind mills. I turn and look at Steve and see that he's already watching me. "Mm, that's creepy." I joke half heartedly. I put my hands on the back of the front seats and slide into the front seat gracefully. "Careful of your head." Steve says as I land. "What about it?" I ask. He pulls down the passenger seat visor and opens the mirror part. I look in the mirror and see a large gash on my head. It's got blood all over the place and is still slightly bleeding. "We'll have to get that cleaned out when we get there." Steve says. "When we get where?" I ask, closing the mirror flap and visor. "Sam's house. I don't know where else to go." Steve says. "He'll help us." I say encouragingly. "I hope so." Steve says. He reaches over and grabs my hand gently. I smile at him and lean back in the seat, trying to get my mind off of my headache. Steve's hand leaves mine and reaches up to my jaw, turning my head towards his. He looks deep into my eyes, then grabs my hand again. I don't question it and just stay silent as he keeps driving.

Steve's POV:

I see Lauren's hands raise slightly in the backseat. She sets her hands over her eyes, probably trying to block out the sun. "You feeling okay?" I ask, trying to focus on driving. She doesn't respond, only grunts quietly. After a while, she sits up and looks out the window. Lauren's eyes meet mine through the rear view mirror. "Mm, that's creepy." She says with a slight smile. I go to respond, but her hands go to the back of the front seats. She pushes herself up and gets into the passenger seat. "Careful of your head." I say as I get a glimpe of her still bleeding head. "What about it?" She asks. I reach over and open the visor and the mirror. She glances at herself in the mirror. "We'll have to get that cleaned out when we get there." I say, focusing back on the road. "When we get where?" She asks. "Sam's house. I don't know where else to go." I say. "He'll help us." She says hopefully. "I hope so." I respond. I reach over and grab her hand. She sends me a gentle smile, then leans back in her seat. I notice the sudden change of mood and realize that she still must be in pain. I lift my hand to her jaw, turning her head to look into my eyes. Her hazel eyes dart around like crazy. I guess that the concussion is still just from the mission on the Lemurian Star. Reaching down to grab her hand again, she decides to not question it.