Military Minds (Lesbian Story)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Bec!"

Rebecca slowly and reluctantly peeled her opens, having clenched them shut as a reflex. She was gripping a short ledge made by the fissure, halfway down through the earth. She gasped, suddenly becoming paralysed. Above her, She could hear the aggravated voices that belonged to Jacinta, Kelly and Millie.

"Rebecca!"

She took a brave glance up. Megan was leaning over the fissure, extending her hand to Rebecca.

"Megan?" Rebecca raised her eyebrows. "What... How did I get down here?"

She sighed. "Take my hand, dammit! We don't have all damn night!"

Rebecca nodded, taking hold of Megan's hand. In an instant, she was hauled up onto safe ground. Once there, Megan's arms comforted her in a close embrace.

"Oh, Beccy..." Megan breathed onto her neck. "I was afraid I'd just about lost you. Don't ever scare me like that again."

Rebecca was too numb to move. She was shaken from her near-death experience, but she knew that time waited for no one. They were running out of it.

"Come on," Megan was leading Rebecca towards Vineyard Road. "We need back up. We can't take Stawell campus on alone."

Jacinta, Kelly and Millie ran past the couple, firing infinitely at the soldiers running towards them. Rebecca realized, as she watched, that they weren't girls any longer -- they were soldiers. They put themselves in danger, and fought above and beyond the line of duty. What had Rebecca done, aside from wasting her time worrying about Megan?

She came to an abrupt halt, taking Megan by immense surprise. "I can't go on,"

"Rebecca," Megan snapped, pulling at her wrist, "now isn't the time. We're in the middle of a war."

Rebecca drew back, shaking her head slowly. "No, I can't. I'm not a true soldier, Megan. I should have been focusing on my training, rather than worrying constantly about you."

She let go of Rebecca's wrist. Shock and bewilderment crossed her features. "You... Worried about me?"

Rebecca sighed, looking down. Her fringe slid from her shoulder, falling over her face. "Yeah, I did," she flipped her hair back as she lifted her head, meeting Megan's brown eyes. "I worried because of your deal with Phil, I worried because of Rowena, and I worried because of the war. You can laugh now; I don't expect any more."

She felt Megan's arms lace around her, but didn't return the gesture. "Why would I laugh at your feelings?" She asked rhetorically, tucking a strip of hair behind Rebecca's ear. "Beccy, ever since you came to Military Minds College, I haven't been able to focus on anything else. You're everything to me, and I'll be damned if I'm about to let you die at the hands of soldiers."

Rebecca's eyes widened as she gazed at Megan. "Really?"

Megan rolled her eyes. "No, I'm lying," she said dryly, then sighed. "I only acted hostile towards you at first because I didn't want you to see through me. I've learnt the hard way to never myself become readable; all it does is cause you pain. But I almost let my guard down around you."

Rebecca understood Megan more clearly now. But she couldn't stand around all night listening to her ruminate. "We have to go. The girls need help, and only we can get it."

Megan inclined her head, trailing her fingertips over the grenades lining her weapons belt. "Most of our lot will be on their way here. We'll split up -- you go back to the college and I'll -

"No," Rebecca interjected, grasping Megan's forearm. "We're sticking together. Whatever happens, we can't be apart."

Megan glanced at her, before averting her eyes to the three girls hastily inserting at least thirty rounds of magazines into their guns. The way that each of them manipulated the weapons made Megan stare in awe.

"Alright," Megan breathed, wiping her damp palms against what was left of her uniform. "But do you want to tell me how we're going to get from Vineyard Road to the college? It'll take all night by foot."

Rebecca smirked, drawing a pair of keys from her uniform. "I pick-pocketed one of the guards."

Megan's face lit up with a smile. But it didn't last long. "What type of car is it?"

"I guess we'll find out," Rebecca said, walking around to the rear of the hideout. "It's a Ford, so keep your eyes peeled."

Megan rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. She jogged up beside Rebecca, glancing across at her intent facial expression. "You know what Ford stands for, don't you?"

Rebecca met her eyes. "No?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Found on rubbish dump," she snickered.

Rebecca swung her arm into Megan's stomach, feeling it connect, hard.

"OW!" Megan scorned.

"My dad likes Fords," Rebecca said bluntly, coming to a halt in front of a sky blue XR6. "This must be it."

Megan took one look at it and sighed. "Well, at least it's not a run-down piece of crap."

"Thank you," Rebecca snapped, pulling open the door roughly. "It's nice to see that you're acting very optimistic about this."

Megan dropped into the passenger seat, swiftly sliding her belt around her lean frame. "You're not meant to be optimistic during a war. That's what gets you killed."