Bound By Purpose

Sisters Of War

"For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire." -Isaiah 9:5

I never found myself to be the praying type, but certain times I felt as if I had to. A day like Sunday December 7th, 1941; or the day Steve's mother died, or the day I saw my fiance ship out to war... A day like today.

"Peggy up in the stairway!" I yell as I shoot another Hydra soldier dead inches from me. Yet another gun out of ammo. Peggy hits her mark as more flood into the hallway in front of us. Peggy covers me as I leave her leaning against a door frame. I leap feet first into the man that reaches me first. He stumbles back giving me just enough time to reach the gun in a dead man's hand. I hit the man who stumbled but then the gun clicks. Peggy keeps shooting from behind me giving me enough time to pull out my knife. I'm able to jab one man twice and bring him down before the other men trying to either escape or defend the base in the fight outside overwhelm me. I slash my blade in front of me trying to catch any piece of man ahead of me.

"I'm out!" Peggy yells from behind me. The men realize where the other shots have been coming from and start fire at the doorway again. There are only three men left in the hallway. I run at the largest of the three hoping to give Peggy at least a small chance. He pulls out a gun from behind me as I reach him. I'm able to avoid his first shot by dropping quickly to the floor. I roll to the side as another one hits the floor beside me. I hop up quickly bringing my knife up into his wrist causing him to scream in pain and drop his gun. My knife is lodged in arm. I'm not able to move in time as his other arm swings at head knocking me to the ground. I catch a glimpse of the other two soldiers making it towards Peggy, but just as I think it's over for her I hear two shot and the two men go down. The distraction has cost me. The man has dislodged the knife from his own wrist and has come down on top me. I throw up my hands as he brings the blade down. I feel a searing pain across my left arm and then a more prominent prick on my own wrist. There is nothing I can do as he keeps driving the blade across my arms twice more. He brings the blade up for the final blow but there's another shot and then a warm sticky feeling is across my face. I open my eyes to see the man fallen flat on his back. I twist my head back to see Peggy in the middle of the way still holding the gun up. 

"Now I'm out." She says. I watch her wobble then fall to the side. She leans against the wall for support. I can see the blood soaking through the makeshift bandages even from here.  Now that the immediate danger is gone I start to feel the stinging all along my arms. I don't bother to look at them because I know it will cause me to focus on myself rather than Peggy. I stand up slowly. I look around at all the soldiers I killed and then look up at the ceiling thanking God. Surviving this wasn't luck. Making my back I find an automatic that the man in the stairwell dropped when Peg downed him. I sling it across my back and finally reach Peggy. I slowly stand her up off the wall. I take the heavy bag off her back and swing it across mine. She's gotten paler and her pupils are dilated. I've done all I can to keep the bleeding at a minimum. There's nothing left I can do, but get her out. We have 20 minutes at the most before they blow the place. There was an announcement to abandon the base just a few moments before we ran into this last group. I look up from her wound, but she already knows there's nothing to be done. 

"Come on." I say draping her around me. I've had to basically carry her through these last few minutes. We've come across three of these little groups since they announced to clear the place. The automatics took care of most of them and luckily they didn't have any weapon manufacturing at this particular base. Going up against their new guns would've been the end both for us and our boys outside. We know we're almost to the end of all this. We have decided to escape through the small hanger and then escape through the trees hugging the left side of the base. It will bring us close enough to the rendezvous.