ASCENDING- MY LAST LIFE

THE PRESENT

I woke up to the sound of moving trucks, and gunshots coming from both sides. Sam was beside me, keeping me safe, while bullets flew out of her shotgun.

"Keep your head down" she shouts at Missy, who almost got shot while she tried to load her bolt action gun.

I kept whispering Sam's name but, she couldn't hear me, the gunshots were uncontrollably loud. I couldn't move properly or see, I felt weak and uncomfortable near my ribs. I tried to open my eyes, but the bright daylight blinded me, as I tried to come back to reality.

John was in front of me, I could hear his voice, giving orders and keeping everyone in position. I couldn't see yet, but the sounds and movements gave me a sense of place. I heard noises of branches gently brushing on the metal surface of the truck, and the bumping and hard turbulence meant we weren't on a railroad but, inside the woods, probably getting away from government soldiers.

"Norah?" Luisa carefully walked towards me, barely staying in balance, as the truck tried to dodge the bullets coming at it. Luisa rapidly took out her medical kit, checking my eyes and vitals, making sure everything was functional.

"LUISA STAY DOWN" Ronnie yells from the passenger seat; He is driving the truck, a little stressed over the the commotion. Ronnie is usually cool and skillful but, he sounds agitated."Is she having a convulsion again?" Sam says while she tries to keep us safe.

"Sam, I need you here..." John slightly turned his head and understood Sam's lack of interaction "Norah..." he sounds relieved, calm as he watched me, get a hold of reality.

"Cover me," he tells K.C., who kept his position near the open area of the truck. John crouched next to me and helped me lay on my back—putting his jacket under my head. "Owl, are you okay?" He says as Luisa checks my vitals-- His voice is shallow, sweet, and gentle as he tries to keep me comfortable.

"Hey!, I'm not big enough to keep a party of three safe. She is fine, lover boy. Go back to position" Missy shouts, clearly irritated--Her voice was hoarse and loud. I could tell it had been a while since the persecution started.

"She is okay," Luisa says, with a comforting voice.

"Okay," I could feel John's hands sobbing my head, before leaving my side. He is like an older brother to me. I try not to see him more than that. He is handsome and gentle, with hazel eyes and, brown soft curly, slim pearly face. A real gentleman but, he has eyes for Luisa. The smartest, and motherly Luisa, kind and submissive, but strong and skillful.

"Norah, keep your eyes open" Luisa gently slapped my face, as I almost drifted to sleep. I felt licking, in pain, slowly drifting away, but, Luisa kept me awake.     "She needs, water and food, if..."

I couldn't speak properly, I was confused and my ribs felt like breaking in two, somehow I managed to keep calm and not cause commotion but, my vision felt like splitting in two. K.C. kept staring at me, from where he stood. He was worried I wouldn't make it, I could feel his thoughts. Strange, he is usually the strong willful one, Duty-call, type of guy --- I guess, he never recovered from losing Peter, 10 years ago. He probably thinks I'll have the same fate as Peter, die in battle.

"One drone down. We have two on our tails" says K.C. "I need cover. I'm running low on supplies" Missy, and John covered his back as K.C. left his position. K.C. collected supplies from the vault next to my legs. I couldn't see him properly but, I could tell he was sweating, his dark brown skin shone as he grabbed a small towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead.-- He reminds me of Nano sometimes, cold and distant but, a big loving heart for those he cares about. My thoughts were interrupted by a missile exploding next to our truck but, Ronnie managed to steer clear of the enemy's missile. My vision was getting clear, enough to notice a wounded Hallo on the passenger seat. He was covered in patches of red and white. I could tell Luisa recently changed his bandages, by the delicate, tightness of them---his golden skin became dull and pale, as he tried to keep himself sane and stable. He was sweating and kept complaining about the pain. Hallo's long brown wavy hair, which is usually well, combed, was damp, and covered in blood, with white powder over his head and shoulders. --- After seeing him like that, I felt a void inside my chest, and a knot on my throat "Hallo..." My voice echoed but, no one listened.

"Ronnie, we are running low on supplies, I don't think we can keep this up" John shouts from his position. Missy loads her bolt weapon, a little annoyed by John's comment. She has the sharpest eye in the group, just like her attitude--- with no reply, Ronnie took out the rocket launcher— a Bazooka— I heard the heavy metal clenching on the window as he took it out."Ronnie are you nuts!" Luisa shouts, worried the bazooka might attract more enemy drones. Ronnie smoked his last cigarettes and peacefully smiled at Luisa. She rolled her eyes, and casually took cover.

"Do it, Ronnie" Missy lowered her weapon. I could feel her excitement growing as the two drones kept getting closer. My vision was clear enough to see Missy's eyes fixated on the drones, eager to see death and destruction.

"We don't have much time, just do it!" Sam yells in desperation "You better not miss, Ronnie" Sam lowers her weapon as she carefully walks a little further out, towards Missy's location, near the truck doors, and manages to lure the drones close enough to each other, posing as bait."I never miss kid" I felt the blow on my bones as the drones exploded mid-air. The force took us all flying to the back of the cargo truck. John catches Luisa mid-air, using his body as a pillow before she gets hurt.

"Thank you," She says, as John helps her get stable "Now, Let's get out of here, before more of those come back," Luisa tells John ——I think she meant to tell Ronnie but, she is dizzy and out of breath. Her voice was low, tired; relieved we were out of danger. Luisa kept touching her stomach as if she was wounded, fixating her poster against the truck's wall "I'm fine" she tells Ronnie, who suddenly got an interest in Luisa's wellbeing.

An hour later, we were on a random trail, out of the map. There wasn't a signal or road to follow, completely off the grid. However, the view was beautiful, untouched by humans and technology. I finally, felt better, Sam fetched me water and food. I ate while she loaded her gun, inside the cargo trunk. Everyone was outside, trying to get in contact with the base. Except Hallo, who Luisa fetch a couple of pain killers.

"Are you okay?" Sam says, clearly worried I might faint again. She sounds out of breath, with her big riffle on her shoulders. "You got hit pretty hard," she says as she lowers her weapon next to her.

"What happened?" I ask, confused and terrorized by my lack of memory and the agonizing wound on my ribs "What happened to Hallo?" I say, trying to console the pain in my ribs as I lay against the truck's metal wall.