Perilous

Chapter 22

The road was bumpy, we could hear the guys in the back groan each time the truck hit a bump and they lost their balance. It was good entertainment for the both of us, especially for Marshall. He was deeply intrigued at their annoyance, that is as expected, though.

I loved seeing his dimply smile from his side profile, he looked so young, full of life. His hand was still on my thigh, he'd grip it once in a while and look at me lazily as if he wasn't just upset with me. Thats the thing with us though, we get angry at one another and whether we scream at each other or not, we always come back to this. To each other. And I don't see that ever stopping - I don't see us ever stopping.

Again, he gripped my thigh and at this I put my hand on his, playing with his bulky fingers, holding onto the ones I could.

"You know Amira I wasn't joking earlier." He said aloud. "You're not going near the facility, we're parking the trucks a little under half a mile away so they don't hear us coming and you're staying inside. Got it?"

Of course I hated the idea of him being that far away and me staying in. I've trained for weeks, not only my physic but my mental as well. I'm not the same weak girl he first saw, I'm different.

"I want to go in Marshall." I looked at him just as sternly he was looking at me.

"I'll leave Eli with you so you have company, end of conversation." He said.

I was close to making a snark comment about how he doesn't think I can handle being alone but decided against it. I don't even know how I got comfortable enough with him to even think of doing that. It's still utterly surprising to me, still new.

The car slowly came to a halt and Marshall turned off the ignition in the car. The truck slightly moved side to side as the boys in the back hopped out the truck onto the gravel filled ground.

"Eli is staying with you, he knows the plan and is prepared for anything. As much as I hate to say it, you'll be safe with him." He said, rolling his eyes, even though he made this happen.

He got out the car, and I followed.

"Alright boys! Get packed and ready we're setting off right now. Marshall's leading us up front, newbies in the back. Keep up, and pay attention to your surroundings!" Said Brian, with a weed sticking out his mouth.

He looked over at Marshall. "Whenever you're ready, Sir."

Marshall grabbed me by my elbow and walked me over to the side of everybody. "Please be safe. We'll be back in 40 minutes if everything goes smoothly. Okay? But you don't need to worry, you know me." He rushed out, assuring me.

"But I don't have a clock or anything, how will I tell when you're supposed to be back." I said.

Without hesitation, Marshall undid the watch he was wearing and handed it to me. A black iced out G-Shock with everything I needed set in tints numbers and lettering.

"Marshall I ca-" he cut me off. "You will. It's yours now. Please be safe and don't give Eli too hard of a time. I'll be back baby, I promise." He kisses my forehead and walks towards the crowd.

"Eli, she better not of been touched when I get back." He spits out, starring. And frankly scaring Eli a little more than a tad bit.

And there he was with his combat boots restless and untied, his body moving with his gun in hand and one strapped behind his back, he's walking away.

———

"No, haven't you watched any of the bond films?" Eli spits out in disgust when I couldn't get any of his references.

"No Eli not everybody had the ability to seek out movies made literally before the shut down." I said as I stood up from the trunk of the truck.

"Oh whatever that's only cause you never tried!" He said with a laugh.

I enjoyed his company, he's one of the few soldiers my age that doesn't have a stick up their ass. His shaggy blonde hair would run over his eyes time to time covering the hazel-ness I'd get distracted by.

40 minutes passed 20 minutes ago and I've started to worry.

"Where the hell is he it's been an hour!" I started to shuffle around grabbing an M16 stranded in the back seat of the car.

"We have to go." I said looking at Eli.

His eyes widened and he stopped fiddling with his gun. "Marshall is going to be pissed at me if we leave Amira, you know this. They'll be back soon."

I wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure me or himself. Either way, I wasn't having it.

"Fine, then I'm going. And I'm taking the truck." I said heading towards the drivers seat.

This made Eli worry, his hands running through his hair. I heard him mutter "fuck" as he got into the other truck. He pulled up beside me, motioning for me to roll the window down.

"You're following me I know the way to get there, stay close behind and don't get out the car until I come to you. Got it?" He said with a never before seen serious look on his face.

"Got you."

And we were on our way.

Driving the truck reminded me of the day Jamal taught me how to drive. The sudden scares and laughter filled the old creaky jeep. My mind was constantly going back forth to all the memories with Jamal, then back to the fact that he isn't who I thought he was.

Are you sure about that, Amira?

My subconscious taunts me.

Are you sure Marshall isn't fooling you? Just to use you against Jamal? Why wouldn't Marshall let you go with him?

"Shut up!" I yell in hopes of being left alone in my head.

I hate Jamal, but some part of me still hopes he's really family. He's all I had. I need to understand everything.

As I looked out through the windows in the truck, I noticed the road started to be surrounded by tall trees and we were no longer in open space. Eli started to drive slower because the ground became much more rockier than it was before. I stopped the truck in a quick halt when I saw Eli pull to the side of the road, covering his truck with a large black covering. He motioned for me to get out the truck once I completely turned it off. I closed the door and he threw me the same covering he has on his truck and helped me cover the one I drove.

"Stay close behind, the facility is just around the corner. Stay alert, and keep it light on your feet." Eli whispered to me.

We jogged straight ahead and took a sharp turn right when we saw the edge of a moderate sized building. Gun shots were erupting louder and louder with each step we took towards the facility.

"Fuck. I got no radio about this. We're gonna have to go in,  stay close to me and whoever you ain't notice, shoot." Eli said with a head nod to the gun strapped around me.

We stopped for a second for him to get his gun strapped around him and his two pistols strapped on each side of his waste.

"Okay." I breathed out in a whisper but load enough for him to hear me.

He started to run again and I behind him, not expecting to see what it was we did.

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