The Wolf's Daughter

10 - Rescue Mission

Dad had put me on fucking house arrest. I wasn't allowed out by myself at all. Staring at the ceiling was starting to get real dull. He'd confiscated my radio so I couldn't even radio Carmina to tell her what was going on. Thankfully, she must've noticed something was up. A few nights later, a rustling sound skirted outside my bedroom window.

'What the?' Sitting up, I tugged it open and stuck my head out. Carmina jumped from the bushes and I almost had a heart attack. 'The fuck!'

'Shhh!' She pressed a finger to her lips. 'Where have you been?! I've been comming you for days!'

'House arrest. I told you dad wouldn't let me help you guys out!' I hissed, eyes flitting to my closed bedroom door. I'd be so dead if he heard.

'Well he's asleep now so get your butt out here! We gotta go meet Silver at Blacklung mine!' She reached for my pyjama sleeve and tugged.

'What? Why?'

'To save Rush! Our recon found him!' Her freckled face was moonlit and I could see the excited twinkle in her eyes. My heart yearned to join her but my head told me that it was a terrible decision.

'Mina I can't. I'm sorry but dad-'

'For fuck sake Wren. Are you gonna let your dad dictate what you can and can't do for your entire life? Live a little!' She threw her arms in the air and gestured at the world around her. Biting my lip, I looked at my door again.

'Gimme five to get dressed.'

***

Sneaking up to the outskirts of the mine, we joined Silver who was already crouched waiting.

'I see you brought back up!' He grinned, gesturing to me.

'Course, she's amazing with a bow!' Carmina nudged me and I nodded nervously. Eyes scanning across the mine, I took in the amount of armed bandits littered across the landscape and swallowed.

'So this is a stealth mission right? We aren't gonna kill anyone?'

'Well we might have to. Place is crawling with Highwaymen. I was thinking of sending you and Carmina down as a distraction so I can sneak in and find Rush.' Silver peeked over the tattered metal barrier we were plastered against. 'There's two of you so it should be fine.'

'R-right.' I stammered a little, suddenly getting cold feet. Killing animals was one thing, but people? That was an entirely different ball game.

'Here.' Silver pulled a black pistol from his belt and handed it to me. 'Might be more handy at close range.' I took it apprehensively from the Captain. I'd only used dad's red pistol a couple of times and that was to shoot cans. Not human beings. 'Carmina take the left, Wren the right. I'll get inside that room with the green roof and find Rush then we haul ass outta here okay?'

'Got it.' Carmina chirped, removing the safety on her assault rifle and shuffling off behind various pieces of cover. Well crap. Guess I had to take part now. Crouching low, I snuck along a short concrete wall and peeped over the top. At my angle, I could pick out a single sniper stood atop a tower. Drawing my bow, I let an arrow arc over the sky and plunge deep into the skull of the man. His body grew slack and he juddered into the ground like a marionette with no strings. My first kill. It felt awful. Shaking it off, I stole a breath and tried set up my next shot but my hands were trembling too much. Suddenly, a rain of bullets showered across the ground and I sunk down for cover.

'Shit shit shit.' I mumbled to myself. Dad was right, I was gonna end up killed. Pulling the pistol into my hands, I knocked the safety off and sprang up. Placing pressure on the trigger, I sent shots flying wildly and a few of them met their mark.

'Come and get us shitheads!' Carmina screeched from across the compound. She was fired up tonight. In the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Silver sneaking into the room with the green roof. Not too much longer.

'Yeah assholes! Over here!' I cried, getting a little too trigger happy. Bullet after bullet careered across the land. Before I knew it, I was shooting blanks. 'Uh oh.' Pocketing the gun, I yanked my bow from my back but received a strong punch to the jaw from an incoming bandit. Stumbling, I fell backwards into the muddy ground. This was bad. 'Help!'

'Scream all you want. Ain't nobody comin' to help ya.' The bandit cackled from beneath a red bandana that hung over his mouth.

'My dad will kill you.' I spat, crawling backwards in the dirt.

'Oh is your daddy coming is he? Cause I don't fucking see him.' Lifting his gun, a bullet grazed my shoulder and I squealed. He laughed manically, enjoying my suffering.

'Wait! Stop!' Another of the Highwaymen ran over and grabbed my chin. 'This is her, the wolf's kid. You can tell by the eyes.' I struggled under their grip. Did they know dad?

'Oh fuck yeah. Mickey and Lou will be psyched!' Reversing his gun in his hands, the last thing I saw was the red bandana before the hilt of the gun smashed against the front of my skull.

***

Hazy. Everything was hazy. And smoke? It smelt like smoke. Head lolling, I tried to lift it upright but couldn't.

'Dad...? Mom...?' I mumbled under my breath, blood sliding down my temple.

'Your daddy ain't coming to save you now kiddie.' Opening my eyes, I saw a woman wearing blue leaning over my body. The entire room was smokey and I couldn't quite work out where I was. 'I told him to keep you in fucking line.'

'Who are you?' I choked, blinking heavily. An identical looking girl crouched at my feet except she was wearing pink.

'Your worst nightmare.' She grinned before rising up to stand next to her sister. The twins.

'Please... I just want my mom...' I coughed again and felt blood fling from my mouth and onto my chin.

'Oh you mean her right?' The pink-clad girl pulled mom into view. Her mouth was taped, arms bound. Her face was bruised and bleeding but she seems reasonably calm. 'Afraid you can't talk to her right now.'

'Yeah. See, we need to send a message to that dad of yours considering he can't keep to his word.' The girl in blue smirked at me, waving her sister away. I watched on as mom was marched out of the room.

'Mom! Mom!' I screamed, only to have a gloved hand clamp around my mouth.

'Shhhhhh, it's okay. This'll all be over soon.' With a twisted smirk on her face, I watched as she produced two lighters and dropped them to the ground which must've been covered in some kind of oil. The room became stuffier as flames rose up the walls. 'Thanks for the fun.' And without another word, she dove out of the nearby window and vanished into night. Limbs tied down and surrounded by flames, I had no escape. Heart racing and sweat forming on my brow from the heat, I pursed my lips and whistled three distinct tones over and over. I could only hope he'd hear them.