Darling Wildfire (Red Rabbit #2)

41

THERON

EIGHT MONTHS CAPTIVE

We stood in front of the double doors again.

We’d gone through the same song and dance as before—cuffed, loaded into a van and driven to an unknown destination using mostly roads far too bumpy to be paved. It made me question where exactly we were to warrant having enough space to house so many intricate maps.

When we arrived at our destination, we unloaded into the staging room where we put on our gear. I was adjusting Preacher’s vest when the doors opened and three men walked in. A red head with a cocky smile took us in.

“It’s play time boys!”

I looked over at Nyx who ducked his head to hide a smile and Atlas just looked at them with annoyance. Preacher didn’t even spare them a glance and instead turned towards the doors.

“What’s your name, soldier?”

I asked him.

“Billy. This is Vince and Dash.”

I nodded. “I’m Kraven. That’s Preacher, Phantom and Reaper. This your first game?”

“Yes, sir,”

Dash said.

“I have two rules; follow orders or fuck off and if you go rogue, you’re on your own. We work as a team, we survive as a team and if we really execute well together, we win.”

“Have you won yet?”

Vince asked.

I went to stand in front of the door by Preacher as the announcement looped.

“Yeah boys,”

Nyx answered for me. “You’re on the winning team now.”

The double doors opened, and I stepped out into the bright sunlight to an entirely different scene than the first map. A wide field of grass up to my thighs stretched off into the distance where I could see an old rail yard with a dilapidated train sitting on a track. There was a water tower off to the right, another one on the left and a handful of relatively intact buildings sitting in between them. The small space in front of us was mowed short and just like before there were comms units and a map on the building wall next to the doors.

“Fuck,”

Atlas cursed. “We’re going to be sitting ducks coming back.”

“We’ll just have to kill everyone then,”

Billy said.

“Easy Rambo,”

Nyx said. “You’re no good to us dead.”

“There isn’t a reward for heroics here,” I said.

“What’s the move, boss?”

Atlas said, looking at me.

“Why is he in charge?”

Billy asked.

“Because he’s proven he’s not a fuckup,”

Nyx snapped. “You barely look ready to have your training wheels come off.”

Billy opened his mouth to fire off a retort, but I held up my hand.

“I told you before, you go rogue, you're on your own. The target is a woman in a cage, the objective is to bring her back here. You, Dash and Vince sweep that eastern section of the rail yard. We’ll meet at the middle crossroad here,”

I said pointing at the map.

“The target is a woman?”

Dash asked.

“That’s what I said.”

“Be sure to load up on as much ammo and fire power as you can,”

Preacher said. He shoved a comms unit into Billy’s chest.

“Copy that,”

Billy said with a smirk.

The buzzer went off and Billy motioned for Dash and Vince to follow him. They took off towards the eastern section of the rail yard. Preacher watched them jog off.

“It’s like Vyper all over again,”

he said with a sigh.

I agreed with him but I didn’t care. If someone wanted to be reckless and treat this like a real video game, they could do as they damn well pleased but I didn’t want anything to do with it.

“Let’s roll out.”

I motioned for the men to follow and we took off at a jog across the field. The first cargo car we came to had two .45s, and some grenades. We swept through the two next to it and found an ammo cache.

“Sucks to be the kids,”

Nyx chuckled.

I shoved a clip into the gun before loading up on ammo. Preacher carried the other .45. In the next car we found a sniper rifle for Atlas.

“You know someone is going to camp on those water towers,”

he said almost wistfully as he checked and loaded the rifle.

“Well then, we know where to aim,”

I said as I looked out of the railcar to plan our next move.

“Billy, status report,” I said.

“Found firearms, working on ammo now,”

Billy said over comms.

“Copy that.”

We were at the edge of a cluster of buildings. They stretched a few blocks deep before they gave way to another sloping field that led down to a farmhouse. I studied the building for a long moment.

“Damn it,”

I muttered.

Nyx followed my gaze and shook his head.

“What?”

Preacher asked.

“They’re thinking Vetticus probably put the target in the farmhouse,”

Atlas explained, taking a peek himself.

He lifted his rifle up so he could look through the sights.

“Well, I’d like something heavier than a .45 if we’re going to take a barn that’s exposed like that,”

Preacher grouched.

“I agree,”

I said. I looked back at the buildings near us.

“Let’s sweep a few of these buildings,”

I said. “See what we can find. Preacher, Nyx—those two,”

I pointed out the two buildings. “Atlas with me.”

I ran across the dirt road, and Atlas and I methodically cleared two buildings. We found an AR, a few more grenades, a knife and another .45, then quickly met the others back at the railcar to assess our haul.

“Vetticus sure has a thing for .45s,”

Preacher muttered. “Not that I’m complaining—”

On top of what Atlas and I found, Preacher had come up with another .45 and a handful of smoke grenades. Nyx found another sniper rifle. We checked the firearms and loaded them then moved onto the next building. We hit pay dirt there and by the time we were ready to move on, we were all armed with an AR, two .45s and an assortment of grenades. In addition to all of that Atlas had his sniper rifle and the one Nyx found.

“Feel better, Preach?”

Nyx asked with a grin.

He chuckled. “Fuck yeah.”

“Billy, what’s your status?”

I asked over comms.

Silence. “Billy, come in.”

I exchanged looks with the men. “Dash—Vince, come in.”

Nyx shook his head. “Fuckin’ kids man.”

“That was fast,”

Preacher muttered.

I gave up trying to reach them and went and stood near the window, looking carefully out at the barn on the bottom of a gently sloping hill.

“You know if we’re wrong, we just lost this game,”

Preacher said.

“Isn’t that where you’d put her?”

I asked him.

Preacher frowned but didn’t reply. Beyond the barn were a few railcars and the water tower sat like a silent sentry nearby. Atlas had his rifle up.

“Already a camper up there,”

he said. “He’s busy looking at something slightly east of us though.”

“What about the barn?” I asked.

“All quiet.”

“Do you think that vehicle works?”

Nyx asked. I looked down at where he was looking and saw an old wartime jeep sitting near the barn. It looked less decrepit than everything else around it.

“Could be worth a look,”

I said. “Alright, we’re going to follow that dry river bed to that bridge, then Atlas—I want you to take out the sniper. Nyx watch our six—Preacher with me.”

AR clatter rang out somewhere deeper in the cluster of buildings behind us, lending us a sense of urgency to get moving.

“Go!”

We dropped into the river bed and followed it at a quick pace to a cobblestone bridge about eight feet above our heads. Atlas quickly set up in a corner on his stomach, setting his sights on the water tower. Nyx was on the other side, watching the buildings we’d just come from.

“Fire when ready, Atlas.”

“Incoming,”

Nyx said. “Team of six at the buildings—sniper setting up second-floor window.”

“Preacher, see if you can get that jeep working. Nyx, stay here and cover Atlas—take out that other sniper. I’m going for the target.”

“Copy.”

Atlas fired. “Sniper down.”

“Go!”

Preacher and I took off across the small open area, weaving until we hit a low stone wall and vaulted over it.

“Laying cover fire,” Nyx said.

The gunfire started up and Preacher and I took off again. I left Preacher at the jeep and ran around the side of the barn. I peeked through one of the loose slats and sure enough, there was the cage in the center of the straw covered ground. I saw a team entering from the back doors. They spread out, three took stances facing the front doors while two flanked the leader who headed for the cage. I tossed a smoke bomb through the open window above me and ran towards the back. I edged inside and quickly took out the first man I came upon.

“Gettin’ a little hot out here,”

Nyx said. I could hear the gunfire over his comms and then a grenade went off.

“Get down here,”

I whispered.

A man rounded the hay bale, and I grabbed his wrist, quickly shot him in the face and crept through the smoke to another hiding spot.

“Jeep might work,”

Preacher said. “Everything looks good, electrical works, want me to start it up?”

“Not yet—”

A body collided with me and I went down.

We rolled through the hay across the floor as the smoke dissipated. My AR tangled under me and the man’s gun slammed into my face as he gained the upper hand. Through the blood, I shoved my body up and rolled, grabbing for his gun. He pulled the trigger and my ears rang as the bullet just missed my head. I ejected the clip and slammed his elbow in the wrong direction making him grunt in pain and loosen his hold on the gun. I pressed it to his head and pulled the trigger, killing him with the remaining bullet.

The smoke was nearly all the way gone, and I saw Nyx and Preacher join the fight near the door. I rushed up to the cage. Inside was a naked woman like before, except this one had somehow removed her cuffs and was working on picking the lock with a piece of metal. She saw me approach and tried to speed up her efforts.

“Back up,” I barked.

I raised my gun to the lock. After hesitating briefly she did as I asked and I shot the lock off.

“Are you going to walk nicely out of here or do I have to carry you?” I asked.

She pushed dark red hair out of her face and glared at me.

“I’ll walk.”

“Target acquired!”

I called. “Preacher—”

“On it!”

He called, running out to the jeep.

“Get to the jeep!”

I shouted.

I felt more than saw movement behind me and shoved the woman at Nyx just in time to turn around and dodge a knife to my neck. I used the man’s momentum to send him into a wood post, stunning him. I turned towards the doors again just in time to see the woman push Nyx away from her, putting him into enemy fire. I watched a bullet hit his neck, and he went down.

“Atlas—get her to the jeep!” I barked.

I reached Nyx who had a hand on his neck and a wild look in his eyes.

“Is it bad?” He asked.

“Can’t be if you’re still here,” I panted.

I yanked him to his feet and together we ran out the front doors. I threw him into the front of the jeep and replaced my hand on his neck with his own just as the engine turned over.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Atlas shouted.

He was shooting at the advancing team who was sprinting towards us. A grenade landed near the jeep just as Preacher kicked up a cloud of dirt as he peeled out of the barnyard. I joined Atlas in the back, laying cover fire as Preacher sped down a dirt track towards the open field.

A bullet hit the car frame near my head. Atlas was busy taking out the team pursuing us so I grabbed the other sniper rifle and braced myself against the crossbars. The ground was bumpy, uneven and Preacher was now driving erratically to avoid getting picked off. Bullets were flying everywhere from both the sniper and the enemy.

I looked through the sights but I knew it would be nearly impossible to land a good shot. I lined up as best I could and pulled the trigger. The shot went high, hitting the tower above the sniper’s head. It caused him to duck down along the edge, giving us a few precious seconds.

I heard a pop, and the jeep lurched and listed to the side.

“The tire was hit!”

Preacher shouted. “We’re a hundred yards out!”

The jeep limped further before it smashed into a shallow ditch and threw us all forward. Nyx hit the dashboard, I slammed into the crossbars and Atlas was thrown across my legs.

“Go! Go! Go!”

I shouted.

Preacher dragged the woman from the jeep and took off through the field. Nyx fell out of the jeep onto the ground, his hand still pressed firmly to the bleeding wound at his neck. I risked a quick look and was relieved to see it wasn’t gushing. At least that meant it probably hadn’t hit anything vital.

Nyx and Atlas lay cover fire for Preacher as I set the rifle on the hood and found the sniper again. A few rounds peppered the vehicle, and I cursed and ducked down, just barely taking cover. I popped up again and put the sniper in my crosshairs. I felt Atlas at my back and heard his rifle fire as he covered me from the advancing team on the ground.

“Fifty yards,”

Preacher called out on comms as he counted down the yards to the drop zone.

I took a deep breath, steadied my finger on the trigger and trusted Atlas not to get my head blown off. I released my breath, pulled the trigger and with a jerk the sniper went still.

“I’m out,”

Nyx said, ducking back down and tossing his gun aside.

“Twenty!”

Preacher yelled.

I turned my sights on the advancing team only to have Atlas yank me down to avoid a string of bullets. He leaned out, spraying his AR at them.

“Ten!”

The buzzer sounded, and I heard the drones as they advanced on the teams to ensure compliance. I moved over to Nyx and tore a strip off my shirt, wrapping it around his neck.

“Fuck man—”

He panted. “That was a close one.”

He met my eyes, and I saw the adrenaline had overtaken him, the shadows had completely consumed his eyes. Covered in dirt and blood with violence dictating your every move and having just executed a successful mission—no adrenaline rush could ever hit as hard as this.

I yanked out my comms unit and tossed it at the jeep. I looked at Atlas who did the same and then Nyx followed suit. We both hoisted Nyx up, but he swatted us away.

“It's my neck, not my legs,”

he griped. We walked back towards the DZ through the tall grass and a hum of a drone followed us. I looked up to see it hovering. Without warning, I pulled the .45 I still had on me and shot it down just to piss off Vetticus, then continued walking. We came up on the DZ to find Preacher crouched in the grass catching his breath. I walked up and shook his hand.

“Great job, Preach,” I said.

The tension around his eyes lifted slightly. “Thanks.”

He gripped my hand tightly. “Boss,”

he added with a curt nod. I returned the nod and turned towards the doors as they opened.

“Where’s the girl?” I asked.

“They took her already,”

Preacher said.

“No sign of Billy and the other two?”

Nyx asked.

Preacher shook his head.