Flashf0rward

Chapter 31: Behind Enemy Lines

Ivy

Waiting was the hardest part. The sun went down finally after a few hours, and we decided that now was the time to strike. I tried not to think about what they were doing to Jude in there, and the fact that we'd left him for so long. But I knew that in order to save him, I needed to focus, otherwise we'd both end up captured, or worse.

The gates in front of us opened, and I checked my weapons one last time. A pistol that was fully loaded, along with my hunting knife in case of close encounters. We didn't want to use our guns right away, since they would immediately give away our position. Stepping out from Sanctuary, I breathed out a large sigh. "You alright?" I heard Connor ask, and I nodded. "Yeah...I'm fine."

Knowing that taking a horse would be too loud, we went on foot. It would make getting back to Sanctuary harder, but we didn't want to make things more difficult. As we crested the hill, I could see the light coming from the fire inside of Matthias's camp. It flickered across the valley, illuminating the armed guards that were standing right at the front entrance of the wall.

Staying low, we skirted along the outer perimeter of the camp, Yuko holding my hand tightly so she could keep up. Connor had taken point, and was keeping his eyes on the guards, seeing if they showed any signs of movement. After getting out of their line of sight, we saw what we were looking for. A path right to the wall that was still shrouded in darkness.

There were very few blind spots along here, but thankfully Connor had predicted correctly that there would be one not too far from the entrance. Walking quickly and silently, we made our way to the wall, putting our backs against it. Sighing, I looked around, and saw that the coast was clear. "We're good. Let's do it." I whispered to Connor, and he nodded, Yuko and I grabbing onto his arms.

Now came the tricky part. I could feel Connor's muscles tensing as he concentrated, and I watched as we slowly began to lift off the ground, the wind fluttering my jacket and blowing my hair back. Since we had to stay silent, Connor kept the wind levels down, meaning we rose very slowly upwards, more hovering than anything else. Soon, with one final push, we were over the wall and down on the grass inside of the camp.

We appeared to be within the living district of the camp, with several tents around us. There were people inside of them, but most appeared to be sleeping. Keeping one hand on my knife, I whispered to Yuko. "Alright, find out where he is." Nodding, Yuko closed her eyes and dialled in on the radios that were around her.

After a few moments of silence and waiting, Yuko opened her eyes, then pointed to the other side of the camp. "He's over there, inside one of the larger tents. They said that they were just changing watch over the prisoner." Connor and I nodded. One of the other perks of bringing Yuko along was that she could act like a human radar. If a radio signal got too close, she could alert us and we could hide.

Making our way along the back of the tents, we did our best to stay out of sight of the guards. A few times, Yuko motioned for us to hide, and we all dropped down to the grass, keeping our bodies still and out of sight. The guards walked past, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs. I really didn't want to put this whole base on alert and looking for us.

Finally, after a few minutes of sneaking around, we made it to the other side of the camp, just outside of the large tent that Jude was in. Yuko was right, and they had two armed men outside of the tent flap, making it impossible to get in that way. Luckily, that wasn't how we were planning on going in.

Taking out my knife, I walked to the back of the tent, and jabbed the blade into the fabric of the tent, tearing it slowly until I'd made a large enough slit for a person to fit through. Looking back at Connor and Yuko, they nodded, staying outside to keep watch, while I made my way into the tent as quietly as I could.

As I stepped inside, I could see that the tent was only lit by a single lantern with a burning flame inside, and there were several tools and knives on tables that were stained with blood. In the centre of the room, tied to a post, cut and bruised, was Jude, who looked like he was barely conscious. I could feel the anger rising up in my chest. They would pay for what they did.

Walking up behind him, I used my knife to cut his bonds, and walked over to his face. The normally stoic and statuesque expression on his face had turned into one of weakness and acceptance. "Jude...Jude!" I whispered, and his eyes fluttered as they both focused on me. "I...Ivy?"

I nodded. "I'm gonna get you out of here." I started to pull him up, and he groaned slightly as he stood up. He seemed pretty badly injured. They must have done a number on him. As I was guiding him towards the slit in the tent, I felt motion behind me, and suddenly two strong hands wrapped around my neck, making me drop Jude.

Choking and gasping, I tried to pry the trunk-like arms off of my neck, but to no avail. A soft voice spoke behind me. "I knew you would try to save him. That's why Matthias sent me." I recognized the voice. Giles. "Stop struggling, please. This will make things much easier." Suddenly, Giles cried out in pain, and his grip loosened. Looking down, I saw Jude had taken my knife from off the ground and stabbed it into his thigh.

Seizing the opportunity, I elbowed Giles in his solar plexus, then turned around and pushed him. He flew backwards into the table holding the lamp, which shattered onto the floor and spread the gasoline over the tent walls. My eyes widened as I saw the flame catch the gas, and the entire tent start to catch fire.

Grabbing Jude, I pulled us out of the slit, and I saw Connor and Yuko standing there wide-eyed. "Let's go!" I shouted as I pulled Jude along with me. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind us. "Hey!" One of the guards had spotted us, and aimed his gun upwards, shooting towards the tent. Pushing Jude and Yuko down, Connor fired back, getting behind cover.

I cursed as I felt gunfire fly over my head. Connor looked at me. "I can get us all out of here." My eyes widened. "Can you lift four people?" He grit his teeth. "I can try." Nodding, I took the gun from him to give us some cover fire while he focused. Then, I felt what seemed like hurricane-level winds begin to blow beneath my feet as I was suddenly lifted up into the air.

We were floating upwards much faster than before, and we were soon over the wall in no time. As we lifted up, I could see that the wind had blown against the fire that was on the tent, and started to spread it to the others. Unfortunately, the last thing I saw before making it over the wall was Giles limping out of the tent that was on fire.

Landing somewhat softly on the grass on the other side, we got up, and I looked at Connor, who looked physically and mentally strained. "You ok?" I asked, and he nodded, staring into my eyes. "Let's go!" He said, and I picked up Jude, the four of us running back to Sanctuary as fast as we could, hearing the sounds of the men inside the camp, who were too busy trying to put out the now steadily growing fire.