A good soldier never gives up

Here Comes Trouble

We walked into class and waited about fifteen minutes before having to get back onto the bus. The driver explained the rules before actually taking off to the beach. We were about half way there when all of a sudden, the bus drove off into a wrong turn. One of the chaperones stood up to see what was going on.

"This road doesn't lead to the beach! Where are you taking us? Does the bus need to refuel?" Mr Hartman, the band teacher, asked. Anyone could tell he was a bit concerned about the road we were taking.

Looking back to the driver, I noticed him grin. He turned back to face us as he said, "this bus isn't heading to the beach. This bus is being hijacked."

"William, is he serious? If this is a joke, it's not funny!" Juliet told me.

I shook my head no, "unfortunately, this is no joke. They have taken over the bus, but I need to identify the second one. They wouldn't leave one man to handle a large amount of teenagers in one vehicle."

She looked back at me, fear sinking into her eyes. "Well, who could it be? Why would they want to take us as hostages?"

I was about to answer her question when our teacher, Mr Valdez, began to laugh. He pulled out a gun and fired a hole in the roof of the bus.

"Everybody, shut up! Listen to what I say and you'll make it out without any holes in your idiotic bodies," he shouted as everyone stopped screaming.

He walked by everybody, watching all of us carefully for defiance.

Juliet came closer to me as he continued to step closer. I could tell she was afraid of being in this situation. I accidentally dropped my bag and reached for it when the sound of a gun loaded stopped me.

"What's in the bag?" he asked me as he took the bag from me. He started looking through it without moving the gun from my head. "Get this junk out of my face," he said angrily as he tossed the backpack at me.

"Sir, why are you doing this," I asked him as I slowly reached in my backpack. There was a hidden pocket on the bottom of the bag where I had hidden my handgun.

He smirked as he said, "William Ashton, as if you don't know already. It was easy to find you considering you stick out like a sore thumb. I guess Damien was right. A traitor will always be a traitor."

I glared at him as I remembered about the informant. "I don't know what your talking about," was all I told him.

"No,you do know what I'm talking about. After all, he's the reason why you were sent here. Maybe you should've just stayed in that forsaken land like the good little soldier you were," he told me. Mr Valdez was waiting for a move before pulling the trigger. He wanted to see if I would beg for my life.

"I don't see what you are trying to prove. I have been in countless of situations similar to this one." I glared at him as I slowly began to pull out my gun.

He laughed then turned to the driver. "Hear that Vic! This kid thinks he can handle us!"

That's when I made my move. While he wasn't paying attention, I tried to swipe the gun from his hand. He fired about three bullets at the roof again as I pulled out mine. All around me, I could hear people screaming. I punched his face and broke his arm before grabbing his gun. I tossed it out of an open window and aimed my gun at his head, ready to fire at any sudden movement.

"You are the son of Damien Ashton. He has trained you well," Valdez said. His face was bloody from our fight and was in no condition to continue. "You know kid, it's never too late to come back to his side. I'm sure it's a lot more fun being in a place you belong than with the people you don't. He made you and if you continue this, he will destroy you."

I became angry. "That man is not my father! When he comes for me, I will be ready to destroy him myself!" I was about to fire the gun when all of a sudden, the bus stopped rapidly. I fell to the ground, dropping my weapon, just as a helicopter hovered over us. From the window, I could see people coming down until one of them caught my eye. To my surprise, Damien was one of the men who landed on top of the bus. As he entered through the emergency exit on the roof, he took one look at me and smiled.

"You seem surprised William. Did you honestly believe that you could've killed me?" he asked me as I glared at him.

"I should've known it was you who had planned all of this." I didn't move as all eyes were on me. Juliet is in big trouble if I can not protect her here.

He looked away as he pulled out his own gun. "Son, you did well on finding the girl for us. We wouldn't have been able to do it without your help Unfortunately, you no longer have use to continue living in this world." With the snap of his fingers, two men came down from the exit. One of them grabbed Juliet and threw her over his shoulder, despite her screaming and kicking, while the other shot and killed the driver.

"No! You are not taking her!" I shouted at him as I raised my gun at him. "I won't let you take her away!"

"My dear boy, your coming too. I can't have you report this incident to the military now, can I?" He grabbed the gun out of my hand rapidly and threw it to the side. "You can either come quietly or I can drag you by force." He never gave me the chance to answer. He punched me with intense force that I actually spat out blood. He continued to beat me until Mr Hartman tried to interfere.

Damien immediately raised the gun at him. "Old man, you better have a death wish if you want to interfere with our father son moment." Mr. Hartman immediately sat back down. He was afraid that he wouldn't just get himself in to trouble but the students as well.

I was immediately grabbed and taken out of the bus. "Why are you really taking me? Your only going to kill me anyways." I asked him.

"Would you prefer that I left you down there with those idiots to die by their hands instead of being killed by the hands of the man who made you into what you are today," he answered. When we stepped into the helicopter, he threw me towards Juliet. "Now be the obedient little soldier you once were and stay there."

Juliet came to my side, tears riding down her face. "Will, your hurt!" she told me.

I shook my head no, "I have been injured far worse than this before. My health is not a problem. It is your safety that concerns me."

"William, I'm scared. What's going on?" she asked me.

Before I could answer, Damien answered instead. "Your father is the creator of a very dangerous weapon that we want. We are planning to make a little wager with the man. The weapon for the life of his daughter."

"My dad? He will never go for this," she told him. "I haven't seen him in years. Who are you anyways?"

"His name is Damien Ashton. Leader of the guerrillas in the Sahara desert. He's also my father," I answered instead. I glared at Damien as Juliet moved away from me.

"This man is... your dad? Who are you?" she asked quite shocked. "What are you? Did you plan this?"

Damien laughed a bit. "Relax, little girl. William was not apart of this plan. In fact, he had betrayed his fellow guerrillas and joined the military. He was given a mission to protect you in order to make up for the lives of the men he has taken."

She began to shake her head no. "What? There's no way that happened. He's too young to be in the military! I can't believe that it's true."

"No. It is true. I was sent to protect you by the American military. I was told not to inform you about this by my superiors because they believed you would be afraid." I explained to her.

"Oh sure, hiding it away from me wouldn't make me scared. I don't really know you so how could I trust you!" she shouted at me.

I looked back at her, a bit hurt. "Juliet, I'm sorry. I wasn't allowed to show you who I really am. Please, I swore I would protect you with my life. You could trust me. Please trust me."

She shook her head no. "How do I know that's true! You could be working together with your dad! Your just like him!"