Code Red

Fate

Long days. Lack of sleep. Painful homesickness. All proving to be Georgie's worse enemies. She had been away from home for nearly a week and everyday seemed to drag on forever. The days were boring too. 2 section would spend their time observing the Nigerian Army in their training. Whilst the sun beat down aggressively on their backs and exhaustion zapped the energy out of them.

"Hydration." Georgie said as she handed each member of 2 section an ice cold bottle of water. "Make sure you stay hydrated." Ruby added, helping her to distribute the water out to everyone.

Captain James strolled over looking just as drained and weary as everyone else. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow using the sleeve of his uniform and watched as his section thirstily gulped down their bottles of water. Georgie passed a bottle over to him. "You too, boss." She began. "Make sure you stay hydrated in this heat." He immediately took it and broke the seal, taking Georgie's advice.

After swallowing large quantities, James fastened the lid back on the bottle and wiped the drops of water from around his lips. "Listen in." He called as everyone stopped chattering amongst themselves. "We will be taking the Nigerian Army on a loaded march to an abandoned compound to continue their training." He announced. "You have 15 minutes to go and get yourselves ready."

Maisie entered the sleeping quarters, trying to smell the armpits of her uniform. She scrunched up her face. "Urgh, I stink." She announced spraying deodorant over the smell of sweat. Georgie was just standing quietly in the corner by her bed packing a few essentials into her bergen. "What's up, Georgie?" She questioned diving onto Georgie's bed right in front of her.

"Careful!" Georgie panicked.

A small glass photo frame tumbled off the bed and landed with a thud on the floor. Shamefully Maisie picked it up, praying that it hadn't smashed. "I'm so sorry, Georgie." She apologised whilst glaring at the photo. In the frame stood Alex, all dressed up in parade uniform and looking very proud of himself. Maisie guessed it must have been from when he passed out of Sandhurst; Charlie was stood behind him looking very smug with his sword of honour. Maisie widened her eyes. "Are you in love with Alex?" She questioned. James was the only one who knew - and even then, that was only because he had guessed.

"Just give it back, Richards." Georgie ordered sternly, ignoring Maisie's question.

"Answer my question first." She teased.

"I don't have to answer anything. Now give it back!" Georgie asked aggressively, growing very protective over the photo.

Suddenly, Captain James' loud voice echoed through the hallway, leaving Maisie with no choice as she threw the frame down on the bed and hurried outside. Georgie sighed as she picked it back up from the bed; quickly inspecting it, kissing it and then slipping it into the front pocket of her uniform, she joined the others outside.

***

When they arrived at the training compound everyone noted how eerie the surroundings seemed. Barren land stretched for miles with not a single person in sight. The compound had previously been held as a lookout post for the invading forces but it appeared that a strategic air strike had been used to clear them out. Not much was left of the building at all but a few walls like a creepy maze from a horror film. They carried on walking until they came to a larger building, stood behind it, which looked as though something had bitten a large chunk off the side.

"Eyes on me." James called as everyone peeled their eyes away from staring at the building.

"First, we need to confirm that we are the only ones here."

Monk chuckled. "What do you mean, Boss? There is no one around here. Look at it!" He exclaimed, pointing to the inhabitable land around them.

"We can never be too sure, Monk."

"Places like this make perfect squats for drug trade and trafficking gangs because it is a place where no one goes. We don't want to accidentally step on their toes as they are renown for their extreme violence." 

Moments later, 2 section led by Captain James were ordered in to search the building. Once James had given the hand signal to enter, one by one they went through their room clearance drills. Georgie as medic, was located at the back of the group so she could make sure that everyone in front of her was alright.

Kicking in doors, exploding grenades and loud cries of "CLEAR!" must have masked the sound of footsteps. On one particular occasion, it was Maisie's turn to clear the room, closely observed by James. Everyone, including Georgie, crouched closely to the wall as Maisie kicked in the door and inspected the room. Her call of clearance was delayed and James lost sight of her amongst the large room which was flooded with darkness. Therefore he ran in to follow close behind her.

"Too busy investigating, Richards?" James questioned angrily as he grabbed her shoulder, causing her to flinch.

"Sorry, Boss. I just wanted to see what's about around here."

James raised his eyebrows, sternly. "I can assure you, there are plenty of dangers around here. Going off piste is what costs lives, Richards."

Whilst James was giving Maisie a stern telling off, footsteps closed in on Georgie's position. Suddenly, she felt a hand cover her eyes then instantly another hand cover her mouth, plunging her into a pool of darkness and terror. She lost all the will to fight against it as Alex flashed through her mind.

***

"Tell us everything you know!" A man holding a handgun demanded. He was a tall, aggressive man with large broad shoulders, he looked as though he could wipe out an entire army just charging through them. His voice had a barbarous tone and he seemed merciless. His eyes were a chilling grey with no emotion behind them and his lips were raspy and thin. He was dressed in all black clothing and wore a balaclava over his face so he could not be identified.

Georgie sat tightly bound to the chair. She had another menacing looking man standing behind her incase she tried to escape, but she was unable to turn her head to see who it was.

"I'm not telling you anything!" She cried, seeming resilient but utterly terror-stricken inside.

"Fine then. Shoot her!" The ring leader replied sinisterly.

Those were not the words Georgie wanted to hear as she found herself looking down the barrel of the gun that was pointing to her, with the man behind it tightly grasping the trigger.

Beaming, the sun shone through a hole where a window once stood; it lit up the dark room were Georgie had been taken hostage and it enabled her to see a way out..

But she was surrounded by 3 menacing beasts, anchored to a chair with ropes and had a gun pointing towards her chest.

She tightly closed her eyes and wished that Alex would burst through the door and save her - or at least Captain James would burst in and save her. However, no one knew where she was and she was completely powerless on her own. There was nothing she could do but accept her fate. She prayed that Alex knew how much she loved him.

That was her final wish.

Georgie as a medic, realised that at the position the bullet would hit her, it would kill her instantly. Right through the chest. "At least I won't suffer." She thought to herself trying to find the only positive in a completely dire situation. She knew the gangs in Lagos didn't mess about. She was taking her last breaths. They have no qualms over killing someone who gets in their way.

BANG!

The fatal shot was fired.

The ring leader grinned as Georgie was shot, stunned and jerked back into the wooden frame of the chair. For a split second she felt neither pain nor fear. Instantly, her eyes clouded over as her mind filled with a darkness that seemed almost final and peaceful.

Her entire world went black...