Domgre

19

This base was in the mountains. It made it easier to sneak up to it, the snipers hiding in the hills to take out soldiers who shot at them.

Evie held her own gun close to her chest. Her chest piece was heavier than she expected but that was alright. She looked at Khaira, standing by her side with her own gun. "You ready?" She nodded and Evie grinned, moving in to the building behind the rest.

She and Khaira took the underground floors along with a small group of soldiers. They moved to the lowest floor they could find, gunfire already going off up ahead. A soldier up ahead cursed, recoiling as a shot rang out. Another shot into the room as a child cried. Evie moved into the room as the other soldier cursed, not in pain but in annoyance. Children. At least a dozen huddled in one side of the room, their guardian slumped over a table bleeding, gun discarded. They couldn't have been thigh-high yet.

Half the troops were sent upstairs to escort the kids out. It seemed like this was the floor for the vulnerable, as the next room was full of the elderly and the next full of sick or injured. They moved back upstairs and Evie and Khaira went through one of the upper floors underground.

Evie kicked the door open, poking her head around to see a man huddled in the corner. "Hands out!" He threw his hands up, shaking. He wore something fancy, the same type of clothes the council men had worn. Evie shut the door behind him. "Please- I have money! I'll give you everything! Don't kill me." Evie stared at him, glancing at Khaira. "You can join or be left in the woods to die." He nodded, moving to his knees, "I'll join, I'll join. Please." They sent him with another group being escorted out. They continued down the hall.

Evie poked her head around the corner, spotting the small group in the room, guns in everyone's hand. She whistles and several more soldiers came up but no one entered yet. "You can put your weapons down and join, or be left in the woods." There were angry words thrown around and a man came from the room with his arms up. Before he even crossed through the door he was shot through the stomach, falling to the ground. Shots poured into the room and by the end there was a pile of bodies and only one injured soldier. She looked to Khaira, she looked mortified.

Evie pulled her into the room but she pushed away. "He was surrendering and they killed him." She looked at the bloody mess on the floor. Evie grimaced, "They didn't want him to join us." She shook her head, "I can't watch this. I'm going to the transport." She moved to leave but Evie stopped her. You couldn't just leave a raid. "Miss isn't going to be happy about that." Khaira scoffed, trying to push past her. Evie stood firm. "She doesn't like me anyway." She wasn't going to win this one. "Let me walk you."

She led her down the hall. She turned a corner only to be grabbed. She'd led herself her distracted. The man held her by the throat against the wall. She stared at him, conjuring tears. "Please. Please don't hurt me. I need help." She dropped her gun, feeling for the knife on her waist as she pretended to panic. The man dropped her. "Are they forcing you to fight?" She nodded and he looked down the hall, he grabbed her again as Khaira rounded the corner. "Stay back!" Evie grabbed onto him, "No, no! She's a friend." He loosened his grip and as he moved to speak she grabbed her knife, plunging her knife into his throat and pulling it back toward her. Blood gushed from his throat, splashing onto her. She wiped her eyes of the tears and looked back to Khaira. "Let's go."

"Do you enjoy it?" Evie paused, slipping out during a raid wasn't the optimal time for a conversation. Khaira looked distant. She thought of Bee. She shrugged. "He was going to kill me." Because he would've, he had her by the throat. Khaira nodded, "You weren't scared?" Another shrug. It wasn't the first time she pulled something like that. If it were to escalate she might have gotten worried. "Of course not. I had it under control." She'd gotten good at acting. Especially now that she knew how the rebels felt about so-called child soldiers. She played the helpless kid card and it worked most of the time with the help of a little tears and some sniffles here and there.

"What are you doing here? Are you injured?" Her handler was sitting on the back of a small car with the commander. She wasn't looking at Khaira. "I'm fine. Khaira, Khaira," she looked her over, searching for signs of injury, "felt sick." Her handler sighed, "Just go lie in the back. What about you Evie? The last thing we need is an outbreak." She shook her head, "I feel fine." She nodded and sent her back out.

She scanned the hallways, searching rooms. Most of them were empty by now. She kicked open a closet and found a woman huddled over something. "Show me your hands!" She did, holding them up above her head to reveal a small child. She looked at her, eyes puffy. Bee. Evie felt sick. "Get, get out of here." She let her gun fall from her hands, watching the woman hesitantly scoop up the child. "Hurry." She added and the woman moved past her as she slipped into the closet. Every time she closed her eyes she could've sworn when she opened them she'd see Bee, dead at her feet. She wiped her face and came back with bloody fingers. She needed out.

She practically ran back to the transport, climbing into the backseat with Khaira as she stared in the rear-view mirror. She felt sick. Like she could throw up and pass out in the same second. She leaned against the headrest of the front seat, looking at the bloody hands in her lap, shaking. She couldn't do this right now.

"You okay?" Khaira's voice barely registered. She could've sworn her ears were ringing, the result of the shot being fired in the small room.
"Fine." She didn't mean to be snappy but it managed to come out that way. Khaira winced. "Geez. I was just asking." Evie groaned, fighting the urge to run her hands through her hair. Frustration. "No, no, you're fine. I'm sorry. I just. I need quiet." Khaira nodded but she wasn't quiet.

"What happened?"
"It doesn't matter. She doesn't matter."
"She?"
"Bee. She's unimportant. A rebel. Dead."
"You need to breathe."

She felt it before she even said it but it hadn't registered. Her sentences were rushed and hastily strung together, her shaking hands speeding up as she tried to breathe. She couldn't. Her body was fighting something she couldn't see. She looked at Khaira, feeling her body for any signs of injury. She found none. She reached for Khaira next, she took her hand easily. "Hey. Look at me. We can talk about this later, right now I need you to focus on me." She nodded, following along as she took slow, deep breaths. Her own came out shaky and strained but at least now she was getting in air.

They stayed like this for a while, Evie following after Khaira as she breathed and talked about nothing in particular. It was almost nice aside from the shouting and gunshots outside. Evie was dead tired afterward though. She nudged Khaira. "I'm using you as a pillow." She smiled for the first time since she'd gotten in the car, her own words thrown back at her. Khaira smiled right back and offered her her balled up jacket as she lay with her head in her lap, her own head against the window. She could've stayed like this forever.