The Decay

Chapter 27 - Surrender

27

Philip raised his arms in sign of surrender. The other 5 remaining mercenaries quickly followed suit. The last thing they had expected even after a frontal assault was an ambush. Granted, it had only been a couple of snipers, but the damage they had done was incredible. If only the mercenaries had been quicker at taking out the big guy and maybe even the one with the grenade launcher, maybe they wouldn't be in this trouble. But it was too late to think about that now. They had lost more than 50 mercenaries today. Only 1 loss on the other side. It was this that had made them realize the futility of keeping up the fight. That had led them to surrendering, and Philip had no idea what was going to happen next.

Christy wiped the sweat from her brow and rose from cover, aiming her pistol at one of the mercenaries. Anita did the same with a shotgun and Alexander simply stood there, no weapon in hand. Mr. and Mrs. Autrey had ceased firing as well, realizing what was happening. “So what happens now?” asked Philip. Anita met his gaze and replied. “That depends on Mike. For now, we'll sit and wait for any news.” The mercenaries looked unhappily at each other, defeated, but obeyed, sitting down on the cold ground. Their weapons had been placed in a pile away from them and each had been searched by Anita for any concealed weapons, just in case.

The Autrey couple soon joined them, broad smiles on their faces. “What a thrill that was, am I right dear?” “It was. A big thrill indeed,” replied the wife. “I'm going to look for Mike and Sam,” announced Anita. Christy quickly grabbed onto her wrist before she could leave. “Don't. You don't know where they are. I know it's hard, but please wait for them,” she said. Anita looked as if she was about to protest, but then thought better and nodded silently.

Alexander glanced briefly at Anita and Christy before sitting down on the ground. “You do realize we're just doing our job, right?” asked the man next to Philip. Anita looked at him, annoyed. “It's nothing personal. We get paid to take orders and we do what we're told.” “You take any job. Murdering innocents, stealing, torture, it doesn't matter what it is, you accept. You're no better than whoever's paying for the dirty work,” spat Anita. Philip gave the man a stare that told him to keep his mouth shut. Justifying their actions and angering their captors was just going to get them killed.

Anita and Christy watched the enemy carefully, not taking any chances. The other 3 were relaxing after the hard-fought battle. “I'm bored,” remarked Alexander. “I want to blow up something,” he said, sighing. Anita chuckled and shook her head. “I would have thought that with all the mess you caused with that grenade launcher, you'd be satisfied for the day,” she said. Alexander laughed, “you're right, I'm sure I can wait till later.”

Mr. Autrey was sitting down, his wife's head in his lap. “You're such a beauty,” he said, looking firmly into her eyes. She smiled and caressed his cheek. “Always such a gentleman, my young man,” she replied before closing her eyes, falling asleep.

Anita looked up at the sky. The sun was rising and the sky was a perfect, summery blue, but on the horizon were dark clouds. She had just heard a faint voice coming from inside the building. It sounded like Mike but she couldn't be sure. Please be safe, Mike. Come back, I miss you, she thought.