𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄'𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐄 // 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐎𝐘

CHAPTER 5, summit war

1943

The attack on the base was unexpected, for two reasons: one, it was supposed to be secret, and two, everyone who was there was either injured, or a doctor or nurse.

This couldn't have been an incident, they attacked almost right after all the abled-bodied soldiers had left the base. The panic was understandable.

"Miss Barone!" the doctor bursts in, panting as he rushes through the tent.

"You heard it too, Doc?" she worriedly asks, her voice almost quivering.

They were defenseless, and had maybe ten soldiers in total at the moment. The rest? Gone to battle the same people that were infiltrating the camp at that moment. It wouldn't be a surprise if this was all just the elaborate plan of the enemy.

"I did," he says, placing a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder, "and I want you to take out everybody from this tent, there's a wagon nearby. Colton's going to help you, but if you see that your situation is too fatal, get on the wagon yourself. Ben would murder me if something happened to you while he was away. I trust you," he shouts the last part, exiting the tent in a rush.

Left with little to no information, she quickly glanced around the room. Gunshots and grenades could be heard from outside, and the patients inside felt the same way she did: scared.

"What now, Miss?" a young, but deeply injured soldier asks, laying on the mattress laid on the ground. His left leg had to be amputated, he couldn't move by himself. Other soldiers inside the tent shared his situation.

What're you going to do now, hm? It would be wrong to just leave them here to die...

"Okay, uh, everybody who is able to stand, I want you all to follow Sergeant Colton to the wagon, he'll provide some safety. Go in small groups, you'll be less likely to be spotted. Meanwhile I'll try to get the others out that can't walk. Go!" she ordered.

Was it visible that she was shaking? She was. With a steady nod, Sergeant Colton leads a group of injured soldiers outside.

"What's with me, Miss?" The same blond boy speaks. He was the only one left in the tent now.

"Don't worry Kessler, I'll get you out of here," she grunts as she places the injured soldier's arm over her shoulder.

"That's suicide, we don't have weapons. You'll die," he says weakly.

"I might, but you won't, not if it depends on me. C'mon, we have a wagon to reach."

Kessler didn't have much to lose, most people here had their own kids, wives, homes, but this boy was young, maybe the minimum age to get accepted. Vi knew this too, but she wasn't heartless, she never was. This boy was naive, or hopeful, or who knows, maybe both, but one thing was sure: he didn't belong to a war. That's why Vi was so insistent on bringing him out of there.

The wagon was in view, with Colton ushering the injured soldiers onto it, pure worry and fear written all over his face, and for obvious reasons. His face was dusty and dirty, the original color of his face now distorted. He anxiously waved his hand towards himself, but this was the fastest pace Vi could go with Kessler over her shoulder.

Their time was running out, the sound of gunfire closing in.

"Leave me here, you'll go faster," he exhales, averting Vi's gaze.

"We're just a few steps away. C'mon." She was technically dragging him by this point. Kessler wasn't exactly dying, he was just giving up hope and the movements caused his wound to bleed again. Vi didn't care at this point, they can fix that once on the wagon. It would be a lot harder to fix ten bullet wounds because they stopped to rest in the middle of all this.