A Partisan's Fight - COMPLETED!

Chapter Three

"We are literally just doing a drop off." Aldrik had been complaining all morning about her desire to come and see the camp. He'd reminded her again of how dangerous it was, but it still hadn't been enough to stop her from wanting to come with. "Do not ask anybody any questions. Do not intervene if you see something horrible happening. Stick next to me, Mina. You understand me?"

"For the thousandth time, Aldrik, yes. Yes, I will stick by you. Yes, I will not ask anyone any questions. Yes, I will not freak out and panic over what I see." Mina rolled her eyes at his obvious concern. It had taken them only about fifteen minutes to load everything up, so she figured it'd be just as fast unloading.

"What did you tell your mother that you were doing today?" He cast a sideway glance over her way.

Mina blinked back a tear. "We got news this morning that Papa is missing. Momma has not been the same since she was told she could not teach anymore. When we heard that news this morning, it crushed her. I could see it in her eyes. I'm scared she's not going to fight anymore. She is going to assume Papa is dead and give up." She looked up at Aldrik. "I do not need to explain where I go anymore. She does not ask. She does not care."

Swallowing hard, Aldrik glanced up at her. He quickly focused back on the road in front of him. "I am sorry, Mina. All of this has been hard on everyone. You are not alone in any of this, okay?"

Mina nodded, wiping away the tears that had forced their way down her face. She was relieved to see the gates to some sort of compound quickly approaching. She wanted the focus off of her sad little life at the moment. "It is like going on adventures like we did back when we were younger."

"This is not an adventure, Mina. It is pure evil." He didn't bother looking at her. He grabbed his papers from his jacket as he began slowing down. They were almost to a gate checkpoint.

"What is your business here?" The soldier at the checkpoint looked stern. An angry force ready to snap at any moment.

Aldrik didn't breathe a word. He handed the guard his papers. He looked straight ahead until the guard returned the paperwork and waved them through.

"That was easy." Mina couldn't help but comment. She glanced back at the guard, then back at the compound gate.

"If they do not like something, that easy part will become the way we die." There was no joking in his voice. He sighed as he maneuvered through the gate and up to a back door. He parked the truck. "I hate this part of the job."

Mina ignored his words and began getting out. She was ready to be put to work and help.

"Do not leave the vehicle, Mina." Aldrik grabbed her arm quickly. His eyes leveled with hers. "Stay in here."

"But I was going to help you unload." Her eyes were wide, not with fear but with trying to explain her reasoning.

"It is not woman's work, Mina." He gave her a knowing look. "Remember?"

She threw herself further back in her seat and slammed the door. "Stupid woman's work."

"It shouldn't take me long." He eyed her up warily. "Stay in the truck."

Mina nodded in agreement. She hated being limited, but it was what it was. She could follow his orders if need be. She'd do as he asked.

Sighing, Mina finally started to really look around at the place. There were random buildings set up all over. The entire compound was fenced in by a double layer of fencing. Barbed-wire encircled the top of the enclosure to prevent anyone from escaping. It didn't seem like a horrible place. Restricting for sure, but livable.

She smiled at a young boy walking nearby carrying a bucket. He smiled back at her. It was all that it took. A guard rushed over to him and backhanded his face. He grabbed the stunned child by his forearm and dragged him away.

Mina opened her mouth to protest the unfair treatment, but shut it quickly remembering what Aldrik had warned. Her heart sunk. The act had been minor, but it was uncalled for. The boy hadn't done anything wrong. He'd just waved at her. It was harmless.

She sunk down further in her seat willing her eyes to stay locked on the door Aldrik had went through. He came back out and grabbed another load of supplies, not looking at her but remaining completely focused.

As soon as he was out of view again, her eyes began wandering. She noticed a group of women carrying some of the supplies that Aldrik had brought inside. They were a distance away, but Mina recognized a few of the items. She stared at them, not really to see what they were doing, but more so taking her mind off of the little boy. They brought the supplies to a building. She assumed they unloaded them in there because they quickly came back out with nothing and went for more. Some of the supplies they carried back and forth weren't things Aldrik brought. She assumed the ladies were grabbing other supplies that'd been dropped off earlier.

Aldrik came back out for the last load. "We are leaving as soon as I bring this inside. I will be right back, Mina."

She nodded, refocusing on the women walking another load out to the building. One of them started slowing down. Her load was quite large and she was dropping things, taking the time to pick them up along the way. She wondered why the woman had taken so much if she had known that the items would be too hard to carry. She started to open the door to go and help her out, but quickly stopped herself as a female guard worked her way over to the woman with full hands.

Mina's eyes widened as the female guard started screaming at the woman. She looked terrified as the guard knocked the items out of her arms. The woman couldn't have been much older than her. Stay in the truck, Mina. Stay in the truck. She kept telling herself, hoping things wouldn't escalate. She held her hands tightly, wringing them out within each other.

The guard struck the woman with the butt of her gun, knocking the woman to the ground. She was still screaming at her. By now Mina's hand gripped the handle of the door, ready to jump out and intervene. She could taste the blood in her mouth from biting the inside of her cheek so hard.

The woman held one hand out in surrender; the other hand cradled her bleeding head. The other women had kept their distance from the situation, walking around the pair as they continued their jobs.

Mina couldn't hold herself back when the female guard aimed her gun at the woman. She flew out of the truck and ran toward them. "Stop! Leave her alone!" She screamed out. She was too focused to see every head in the area turn her direction. She was retaliating. It was not something allowed. A bold statement that could have intense repercussions.

Aldrik's tall frame appeared in front of her out of nowhere, grabbing her before she could make it another inch. She'd been half way to the pair. Halfway to making a difference. He grabbed her arm tightly and dragged her toward the truck. She couldn't peel her eyes from the two women though.

"You insubordinate woman! I told you to stay in the truck!" She couldn't hear Aldrik's yelling as blood filled her ears, filtering them from the gun shot that rang out. The guard had killed the woman.

Mina would have screamed, but Aldrik's continued tugs shook her focus. He dragged her around to her side of the truck, opening the door and shoving her inside it. Slamming the door angrily, he stalked over to his side and jumped in. He took no extra time getting them out of there. Away from a world that was so foreign to Mina that she could never have admitted her country had done those things without seeing them for herself. A reality that was brutal and cold. A reality she wanted no part of.