Turning her head to face the caver, Hyde glared into its sunken-eyed, scarred face with a deep-seated fear. Tears began to stream down her bruised face, as it reached down, grabbed the rope around her ankles and dragged her toward one of the smoke-filled tunnels. Hyde bucked violently. The caver stopped and turned to look at her, flashing its jagged teeth, which still bore the remnants of its last fleshy meal. Hyde’s whole body began to shake with fear. Fuck, I’m going to be the main course.
Hyperventilating, she frantically twisted her legs to escape her captor's grip. The caver stopped pulling, dropped Hyde’s feet and leaned over her. They glared into each other’s eyes for a moment before the caver grabbed a fistful of Hyde’s matted hair and pulled her head toward its face, sniffing at her skin. The putrid, unbearable smell of rotting flesh forced Hyde to try and move away, but the caver’s grip was firm. It was all she could do not to empty the contents of her stomach. The caver paused, raised its hand, clenching it into a fist then took a clean, hard swipe to the side of her head. She felt a sharp pain, then, nothing.
~
Waking again, Hyde struggled to focus on her new surroundings. Bright light intensified the pain in her head. The warmth trickling down her forehead must have been blood. She tried to shuffle herself into an upright position, wincing as every little movement sent a message of pain to her brain.
She wasn’t alone. Bound, beaten, bloodied, and half-dead, the three remaining members of her unit looked in much worse shape than she was. For a start, she still had all her flesh, and her injuries were minimal; only her lip and right temple had been split open, leaving behind small, bloody gashes.
Over in the far corner of the chamber, she spotted her unit commander: Lieutenant John Barnes, or what was left of him. All the flesh from his calves was missing, leaving only a smattering of flesh that hung like streamers from the knee joints. It had been cut crudely from him. He was barely alive, and just about coherent enough to acknowledge her arrival with a muffled groan. Turning her head away she forced her eyes shut, not wanting to look upon the man she revered as he took his final breaths.
To keep herself from looking at John, Hyde glanced to her right. A few feet away hung the newest member of the unit. Covered in blood, the private appeared to be in a state of catatonia; staring blindly into space even when she called his name. The blood didn’t appear to be coming from him. Further back, sitting with his head banked to the side, was Sergeant Bryn Jones, his face buried in his khaki tunic. Hyde leaned forward and began calling to him. She made one more attempt to get the sergeant to respond, before one of their captors entered the chamber. Brandishing a club, it made its way over to her. She curled up in a ball but the club connected with her head.
“Why didn’t you just keep your mouth shut?” Sergeant Bryn Jones mumbled to himself as he looked at the barely conscious corporal. He had made some headway in loosening his bonds, rather than lying around—waiting to die. The profound hunger, unquenchable thirst, and his efficient body clock told him that he had been in the cavern for at least two days. And all the time the cavers were still feasting on the Lieutenant, Jones would live another day, and even though the rope had cut deeply into his skin, it hadn’t stopped him from continuously trying to escape.
Jones continued to stare at Hyde, whose body had twisted awkwardly to the side, with her face buried in the folds of her unzipped smock.
“I’ll get us out of here, Hyde—I promise,” Jones mumbled as he began to wriggle again.
For hours, each day, Jones would go through the pain of attempting to free himself from his bonds, and every day just added to his failures. But he wasn’t one for giving up, and he now had a reason to try harder, now that he wasn’t the only one he had to save.
~
Beginning to stir, grunting, groaning, Hyde felt like she had been run over by a truck. There wasn’t a muscle in her body that wasn’t protesting. Focussing her senses on the shuffling noise coming from the corner of the cavern, she tried again to gain the sergeant’s attention, but there was still no response.
Making as little noise as possible, she started to shuffle over to the other prisoner’s position.
“Sarge?”
“Get back to your position, soldier!” the sergeant ordered in an angry whisper.
Doing as she’d been ordered, she shuffled back to the wall that she’d been propped up against.
Why wasn’t Sergeant Jones making plans to escape? They could’ve been freeing each other from their bonds, but the stubborn arsehole wasn’t doing anything to help their situation, and she found his attitude a little hard to swallow considering their situation. They couldn’t save Lieutenant Barnes or the private, but they could, at least, try to save each other. She found it odd that the original five cavers that’d ambushed her small unit had become just one, and it had been a while since its last visit. Maybe they were out finding some other poor souls to pounce on, leaving their current captives with the lovely Boris; she thought the name fit his sparkling personality.
The lieutenant had died a while ago, although his body remained. The smell of death and excrement clung to Hyde’s nostrils as she gazed on his mutilated body, his eyes fixed in a death stare. The catatonic squaddie still hadn’t moved. By remaining in that state, he was making himself an easy target for their captor, and there was nothing she could do about it. Sergeant Jones, being the egotistical bastard she knew he was, would willingly discard the poor boy, leaving him behind for the cavers to feed on when they finally returned.
“Sergeant,” Hyde said through gritted teeth, disregarding his only order of staying put as she shuffled towards him. In another vain attempt to rouse him, she reached his position and swung her body around to put her feet within striking distance of his torso. I don’t give a shit what’s happened before, this time the git’s going to pay attention, because I’m not fuckin’ dying here! Decision made, she lashed out, kicking him as hard as she could. It only took one swift, double footed blow to his sternum to get his attention.
“What the fuck!” Jones shouted as he woke with a violent start, doubling up in pain.
“We need to help each other out, sarge.”
“How do you propose we do that, corporal?”
“Well, it’s plain to see that neither of us is having much success in escaping our bonds. wouldn’t you agree?” Hyde said, a matter-of-fact tone striking every word. “I suggest we try untying each other before Boris returns. I don’t particularly want to end up as an entree.”
“You named it? Are you for real?”
Hyde shrugged and said nothing in reply.
Sergeant Jones chuckled at the absurdity.
“What’s so funny? It’s a good idea whether you want to admit it or not! Don’t shrug it off so quickly.” By this time, she was furious. How dare he try to make me feel inferior!
Jones sneered in response.
She turned her head to face the ground and placed her forehead upon the wet stone floor, trying to hide her growing frustration, thinking only of how things could’ve been different, not taking stock of what the idiot in front of her was trying to do. At that point, she didn’t care if she was being insubordinate or not, all she cared about was surviving, with or without Sergeant Bryn Jones’ help.
There was an uneasy silence. She could see Jones staring at her out of the corner of her eye, but couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She just waited for him to say or do something, anything, or at least give her an acknowledgement. He sat upright and shuffled his body around, his back facing hers. This was the reaction that she had been waiting for. She slid her way over, almost in a caterpillar motion, upright and backwards, looking over her shoulder as she inched ever closer to the man who was likely to be her new commander. There was no doubt in her mind that he would wish to take the lieutenant’s place and continue what the unit started once they escaped this cavernous hellhole.
Her movements towards Jones were awkward with her hands, feet and arms tied tight. Only a few
feet separated her hands from Jones’. He looked over his shoulder at her, impatience set in his eyes.
“If we are going to do this, you are going to have to get a wriggle on, soldier.”
“Can’t you shuffle the last few feet to me?”
Jones grunted at the suggestion.
“Come on sarge, I haven’t asked for the earth, just move a little towards me.”
He started shuffling over, wincing with every movement.
For several minutes, the pair picked at each other’s bonds. All Hyde could feel on the rope around Jones’s wrists was stiffness in the weave. Dried blood acted as glue, turning the ropes solid and making them almost impossible to work with. It didn’t help that she was going in blind.
“Come on, Hyde. How hard can it be? Get that bloody knot undone!”
“I’m trying sarge, it’s too tight,” she said. “If you can just get me loose, I’ll be in more of a position to help! Get me untied for fuck’s sake.”
“I am your superior! Don’t talk to me like that again,” he growled. “And as for untying you, I don’t think I can, my fingers have gone numb.”
Hyde’s heart sank, as she thought about the prospect of being slowly skinned, her flesh stripped from her bones and ending up on Boris’ menu. “Please, try, sarge. If only a little bit.”
She felt his fingers fumbling around for the knot that held her wrists tight.
“I think I can get it undone. It doesn’t seem so tight,” he said as he fiddled and worked the rope.
“I think it’s working,” she said, wiggling her wrists.
The knot was now loose enough for her to free herself. Shaking the rope from her wrists, she lifted the binds that were holding her arms tight. She reached down and untied her ankles, then hurried over to tackle Jones’ difficult knot.
Movement in the tunnel meant their time was gone. The best she could do was untie the rope binding his feet. At least he’d be able to get up and run. If they could get out before the cavers arrived, they might stand a chance. She shuffled around on her hands and knees to face her sergeant, then tried to deal with his ankle binds as panic set in. Her hands shook as the shuffling came nearer.
“Take a deep breath, soldier,” Jones grunted. The verbal slap seemed to work. Her nerves calmed down a little, the tremors left her limbs and the knot started to give. Hyde discarded the rope, pushed herself up, and lifted him to his feet, swaying as the effects of her concussion threatened to take hold. The two soldiers staggered out of the chamber not knowing where they were going, but that didn’t matter; as long as it was in the opposite direction as the approaching cavers.
~
Hyde almost collapsed under the strain as Jones stumbled to the ground and knocked into her, his voice cracking with pain as he landed. Pulling him up, she tried to steady the man. The fact that his hands were still tied behind his back, and the added nuisance of a twisted ankle, made manoeuvrability difficult. She had tried to loosen the knots on his wrists again, but there was nothing she could do until they made their way out into the open. With only the remnants of small fires lighting their way it was hard to tell where the outside lay. Stale smoke and dampness filled Hyde’s lungs as she trudged forward, trying to get her bearings, listening to the faint grunts coming from their confinement area as the cavers realised their appetiser and entrée had escaped.
It wasn’t long before Hyde saw a glimmer of daylight up ahead as she dragged the hefty sergeant to safety.
“Come on, sarge, we’re nearly there,” she said, panting for breath.
“Nearly where, Hyde?” He groaned.
“Can’t you see the light? We are nearly in the clear.”
Hyde was excited about the prospect of getting out into the open. Her heart rate had almost risen to the damp ceiling of the tunnel as she sped up. She just wished that Jones was as enthused as she was. Maybe once he’d sniffed the air, he would finally be happy. The farther they went, the greater the light became. They were so close to the exit, but Hyde’s panic grew as she could hear the caver’s grunts getting louder. A growing light behind them announced that their enemies were catching up. Jones was struggling to keep going.
“Go! Get out of here,” he turned to look at her. “You can’t win against them on your own. I’ve had it—save yourself, soldier.”
“But, sarge...”
“No buts, just go, get the fuck out of here!”
Not having to be told three times, Hyde ran as fast as her weary legs would carry her, heading towards the daylight. She heard the sergeant’s blood-curdling screams from behind as their captors caught up with him. Guilt made her stumble, but she concentrated on the light ahead and ran for both of them.
CHAPTER 2
Upon exiting her cavernous prison, Hyde took in a deep breath of fresh air: something she hadn’t been able to do in days. The only smells she’d been accustomed to were those of burning skin, rotting flesh, piss and shit. Even after leaving the caves behind, she could still see and smell the muck permeating her uniform. Its constant presence was nauseating.
As she glanced over her shoulder, fear spiked again.
Cavers.
She couldn’t tell how many there were, but by the sounds of it, Boris had found more than a single friend. All she could see as she ran was a sea of rocks. A dust storm was blowing in from the east, obscuring the crimson sky as it built up momentum. Got to get back to camp before that hits. And if the cavers were still behind her she would come in yelling.
The faint rush of water ahead made her spirits soar. The base camp lay a click east once she reached the river bank. She ran as fast as she could, constantly looking over her shoulder. Paying too much attention to what was behind her, she reached the spot where her team had been ambushed before she recognised the terrain. Scuff marks from the struggles marred the earth, and blood splatters were visible on the smooth rock face. A sharp pain in her temple brought with it clear images of the ambush, as if a huge cinema projector was running a movie in front of her eyes. The suddenness of it all, their attackers coming out of nowhere, the panic, the screams and shouts, the adrenalin rush. A shiver went down her spine thinking about what had happened to the lieutenant, the sergeant and the catatonic squaddie. No, no, no, no. I’m not thinking about this right now. I need to keep going. Don’t think! Just don’t think! She forced the memories to the back of her mind. Their sacrifice might yet prove to be in vain, she needed to survive, and that meant moving. Straining her senses, her heart lifted. The sounds of pursuit had vanished.
The light was diminishing and the need to get out of the rapidly building dust storm had overridden everything else on the list that she’d imprinted in her mind. Her training might not have prepared her for the cavers, but a dust storm she could handle.
She concentrated on her route rather than blind running, or what the cavers would do to the remains of her colleagues when they returned to their lair. Rounding a corner into a more open space, her heart fell. The river was raging, it’s swell growing as the wind picked up. The dust storm was starting to reduce visibility as wayward particles hit her face. Shielding her eyes, she could just about make out the camp in the foreground, through the gathering sea of dust.
Bodies.
A vivid sea of blood and shredded limbs, scattered across the camp’s expanse. The blood drained from her face as she ran towards the burnt-out remains of the base camp.
Entering the camp, Hyde stiffened. A sense of foreboding washed over her. The first person she saw was sixteen-year-old Charles Hardwick, or Charlie Farlie as she affectionately called him. All that remained of the barely conscious kid was lying in a puddle of his own blood. His arm had been ripped from the elbow socket. The severed limb was lying beside him. He had made a tourniquet with his belt, tightening it above the stump. It had kept him alive this long, but the blood loss was immense. Hyde rushed to his side, trying to remain calm. She crouched over him, ran her fingers through his blond crewcut and looked deeply into his pain-stricken blu
e eyes, as a mother would a son. The pair just stared for a moment before he faded quietly into permanent darkness; his eyes still fixed on hers. Hyde leaned further forward, placing a thumb and index finger across Charlie’s eyelids, pulling them shut, tenderly kissing his forehead and whispering in his ear.
“Rest in peace, Charlie Farlie.” Her eyes welled up, but she fought to suppress the overwhelming emotions. I’m a soldier, survive first, grieve later.
Looking away from Charlie’s broken, lifeless body, Hyde scanned the immediate area for any signs of life. All she’d seen so far were the bodies of her comrades, and the deep tread marks of tyres eating into the dirt. The fresh air that resonated in her lungs was soon replaced by the stench of death and burning oil from the all-terrain vehicles that had once been parked in the encampment.
Ignoring her shaking limbs, she picked herself up and after checking the bodies for what proved to be non-existent life, she headed towards the still-intact munitions tent. The storm made doing a detailed search for the few members of the unit she hadn’t located, impossible. Holding onto the hope that at least one or two of them had escaped in the vehicles she headed to the supply tent. It was in disarray. It was clear looters had been there. All they left was one SA80A2 assault rifle, but thankfully there was plenty of ammo. And were those M18 claymore mines tucked in the corner? She was certainly going to take advantage of those; they could prove useful against the cavers.
In the opposite corner lay an empty bergen, ideal for carrying the claymores and the rest of her gear. Ration packs were a welcome sight. She hadn’t been fed by the cavers although she’d occasionally been given stale water. Although not remotely appetising—the rations still had all the nutrients and vitamins she needed to keep going over the coming days.
Only the Few Page 2
