Clan Nemesis

Chapter 4: War

Commander Arek leads me over to a flat bed truck where some other soldiers are already gathered and jumps up, offering me his hand to help me up. I sit beside a guy my age named Ridley while Arek sits near the front with one of the clan elders and they talk about what I can only assume is strategy.

"Hey Faye, what are you doing here? I thought you hadn't changed yet," Ridley remarks.

"Yeah but I'm a really good shot," I tell him, gesturing to the backpack I set down on the truck in front of me.

He nods and looks away at the scenery as we pass by.

The ride passes by surprisingly quickly and we stop at the border of our land. The truck unloads and Arek leads me to a boulder near the line of trees.
"I want you to set up a sniper on this boulder so you have a clear view of where everyone is. We're going to wait for a Ralley patrol to come by, and if they give us any trouble, shoot at them to warn them off. Think you can handle that?" He asks this like I've shot someone before. I've never even shot at someone! I nod and he grabs my arm and gives me a sympathetic smile like he knows exactly what I'm thinking. Then he's gone and walking back to the group.

I set up my post like he told me, making sure that I won't be easy to spot by pulling my telltale red hair into the hood of my hoodie and wiping a bit of dirt on my pale skin. Then I wait.

Within a half hour of us showing up, I see a truck moving through the woods on the opposite side of the clearing, heading straight for us.

Arek is already standing at the front of the group of soldiers, with his commanding posture and position among the soldiers making me admire him even more and I daydream about touching his soft facial features. I'm brought back to reality and scrabble for my gun when someone in the truck opposite us slams the door closed.

I look through the scope and see an older looking man walking towards Arek, clearly the leader of his squad. He exchanges words with Arek quickly, then he gestures a younger looking guy carrying a few pieces of paper to come forward and he gives them to Arek. The older guy says something else while gesturing to Arek's squad and his men raise their guns at Arek.

I know its going to happen, but I still can't believe it. It seems to take forever.

The men raise their guns. I train mine on the ground in front of Old-Guy.

They shoot. I shoot.

Arek falls. Old-Guy jumps back.

Arek's squad jumps around, trying to avoid bullets. Old-Guy swings his head around wildly while I shoot two of his men in their chests.

Half my squad is killed. Half of Old-Guys squad is killed.

I hear Old-Guy yell at his men to stop shooting, but I don't stop. Not until someone comes up from behind me and wrestles me off the boulder. I fight back, but I felt a pinch in my arm and I'm starting to feel groggy. I flip over to look at my attacker before I pass out; its the young guy who gave Arek the papers.

°^°

When I wake up I'm cold and uncomfortable. Sleeping on concrete is not recommended for getting a good night's sleep.

I sit up and look around. I'm at the very back of an iron cell of some kind with someone else sitting near the door. I crawl towards them and realize it's Ridley.

"Morning, sleepyhead," he says without emotion when he turns to look at me. "I heard you took out half of Monroe's squad all by yourself. Nice job."

"Thanks, I guess," I say awkwardly. "Where are we? Who's Monroe? How long have I been out?"

"Woah there. Slow down. We're in Monroe's dungeon. Monroe is the old guy you saw at the steak-out yesterday. I'm not sure why he took prisoners when he killed half of our squad."

"What did he say when he talked to you guys? I was too far away. What did he say? Tell me!!" I whined, really curious.

"He said that he had two conditions and if they weren't fulfilled, he would kill every last McMiye in the city. Arek said that he couldn't make promises, but he could bring a message back to Samuel - uh, your dad I mean - and he could tell Monroe what your dad said. Monroe's son gave him some papers, but they were blank and Monroe said 'I am making an example out of your squad, Arek, and you shall be the first' and Monroe's guys just started shooting! Then you started shooting and it was really cool! Anyways, he killed half the squad and then took half of the survivors here and the rest of them were left to go tell Samuel."

"What were his conditions, Ridley? And who made it out?" Ridley isn't the best storyteller.

"Oh yeah! His conditions were control over the city and your mom brought to him. No idea why he wants your mom though, he didn't say. Arek was alive when I left, but he had a couple of gunshot wounds so I don't know if he made it. Other than that, it was Jake, Adam, Scott, and Ferris. We're here with Maven, Drew and Henley," Ridley reported.

I thought about this information for a while, wondering why he would want my mother, then I finally asked, "So, how are we getting out?"