A Damned Reunion

Chapter 4

During the slow, limping hike up the cliff, I finally got a good look at our rescuer. He walked nearby, supporting Merrick with a beefy arm over the shoulders. He was tall and muscular, with sandy hair and pale blue eyes. I could feel his eyes on me; the man, Sekerta, was giving me the same level of scrutiny.

Something warm and wet slid down my nose and I recalled the cut on my face. I touched it with my fingers. "Shit", I hissed as the salt on my hand entered the wound. My leg was working again, if a little sore. It had smashed against a rock and it had lost all feeling. I scanned around and counted six Federation soldiers, two of which were assisting Kick who had fallen and passed out seconds earlier. I had moved to help, and they forced me away. They wouldn't let me near him, or Keegan, and no-one had said a word. Something was seriously wrong. Sure, they had saved our lives, but why did I have this feeling of...doom? My stomach did a slow, sickening role, and it wasn't just from the seawater I had swallowed. I felt Sekerta's eyes on me again.

We reached the top and I felt the sodden earth beneath my boots. Victor, the lead soldier, spoke to another man. They looked back at the group and the stranger nodded. The man then moved off and Victor motioned for us to continue, to the west; the opposite direction from the camp. More importantly, away from the Vista.

"Where are we going?" I asked in Spanish.

"To the camp", Sekerta lied. His voice was gruff, and had slight Mexican accent.

"I thought-", I coughed clearing my throat. "I thought that the camp was to the east?"

Victor raised an eyebrow, "and how do you know where the camp is?"

"We were referred there a couple of days ago. From Daveron," I explained. The Ghosts had been notified about the successful capture of the fort. We had also heard about the attempted recovery by the Feds. I was trying to give the impression that we were sent here in punishment. What are the chances of anybody here being from that region anyway?

"Daveron? Are you sure?" Sekerta said, stepping closer. We were nearing a dense wood. The rain had begun to lessen.

"Yes. We were the lucky ones; the others got sent in to get it back. I'm sure you all know how that ended, right?"

Sekerta frowned. "Yes actually, I would. I was at stationed at Daveron."

"So was I. And I don't remember ever seeing your faces..." Victor said, reaching for his handgun. At the same instant, Merrick shoved Sekerta away, grabbed his assault rifle and fired at Victor. He slumped to the earth, dead.

Total chaos erupted. I turned to the nearest soldier. He snatched at my arm, but I spun away, delivering a roundhouse kick to his chest. He doubled over, only to meet with a knee to the nose. He fell backwards, blood spurting from his face. Keegan had retrieved his own handgun and quickly dropped another two targets. Kick finished off the last man, with a single slash to the throat.

"Run, run!" Merrick shouted. He and Kick sprinted for the tree line. Sekerta lurched to his knees. Keegan raised his gun, but I seized his arm. He glared at me before disappearing into the blackness of the woods.

I regarded Sekerta, his ocean blue eyes meeting my own. "You saved my life and the lives of my friends." I picked up the discarded weapons and threw them over the cliff.

"So now we're even", I said. He bowed his head and I ran.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What were the freaking chances!? Not one, but two men from Daveron patrolling the cliff today!

The Ghosts stumbled and staggered their way through the thick wood. For 3 miles we ran, until Merrick finally called for a stop. He bent over, gasping for air. After recovering from a near drowning just minutes before, we weren't yet at our best.

"Daveron.... You had to say... Daveron", Merrick panted. I scowled at him.

"I improvised. And why didn't you say anything, huh? Seemed like you were perfectly fine if you attacked almost instantly. Where was your great plan?"

"You gave us away, Hesh. You assumed that everyone at the fort was killed".

"So did you! Don't deny it", I snapped.

Keegan stalked over, "You know what else gave us away?" He didn't wait for a reply. "The uniform! Did you notice how they were all wearing blue jackets? Blue, not black!" Keegan shouted, tearing at the collar of his black uniform.

"Shut the hell up, Keegan! Do you know how hard it was to get these uniforms?" Merrick demanded.

"Do you know how hard it was to escape with our lives!?" Keegan retorted.

Kick sat on the ground, his legs stretched out in front of him.

I squatted next to him, "you okay?" He looked up at me, shielding his eyes with a hand. "Yeah. Though, I'll feel better when we find Logan and leave this place."

"Me too," I held out a hand and pulled him to his feet.

"I say we try again another day. This whole mission has turned into a failure", Merrick was saying.

"We'll have to get the helo. It's the only way were getting out of here", Keegan added.

I stared at Merrick and Keegan. "Wait, you're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"

Merrick shook his head, "I'm sorry, Hesh. But this mission is bust. The soldiers we killed will be reported missing soon enough and we have to be well away from here before they start hunting us. Besides, what if they sent a warning to the Vista? If we attack now they could easily take us out. Or capture us as well."

Keegan had already taken out his mic and called for an evac.

"But...we have to try", I pleaded.

"We did try. And now it's time to return home and rethink, so we when we try again we have a better chance at succeeding". Merrick gripped my shoulder, "I really am sorry, Hesh."

I turned away. "Yeah, whatever," I mumbled.

I'm sorry, Logan. We'll try again.

We will find you. I promise...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All the torture methods in the world don't break a person.

Hope does.

Hope raises you from the ground and then slams you back down.

Hope takes what strength you have left and wastes it on fighting back.

You resist the grief that is slowly falling over you. You take that torture and build a wall around yourself. But that wall is quickly broken when it finally hits you...

You're never leaving.

You spend hours, weeks, months, hoping for rescue. Yet, it never comes.

Why?

Because they left you behind. They left you alone. They abandoned you.

You're nothing to them.

These thoughts swirl around and around your head, blocking everything else out.

They left you behind. You're nothing to them...

Then there is no grief anymore. Only anger. And hatred. But not at your torturer. Oh no, it's not his fault they never came. The hate is for them; the abandoners. The ones that you trusted with your life. The ones who took your hope and stomped on it.

There is no greater weapon than a person's own mind, he had said.

Oh, how he was right.