WAR: Disruption

by Vanessa Kier

  “Yes. I. Can.” He spat out every word. “I am getting out of this hole. Now.” O-kay. That sounded a bit panicked. But dammit, the pain had thrown his sense of balance off and he didn’t know how much longer he could stay oriented before dizziness caused him to fall. He was not going to leave Em on her own.

  Taking a chance, he let go of the rope with his right hand, found a handhold in the dirt, and used what little strength remained to drag himself sideways until he touched a root.

  “Good. You’ve reached the outer roots. Keep going.”

  Max inched his right hand and foot over, following Emily’s concise, matter-of-fact instructions.

  “Okay, now. Reach up with your right foot. There’s a root about the size of your biceps sticking out at roughly knee level.” Her voice painted such a clear picture, Max almost forgot that he couldn’t see. And her voice calmed the part of him that was on the verge of panic.

  “If you can stand on that, you should be able to reach the top.”

  “Is the edge stable?” he asked. He felt around for the root, then slowly hoisted himself up.

  “This section of road seems to be propped up by that root system. There’s another root sticking out of the ground a little bit closer to safety. I think your arms are long enough to—”

  His hand eagerly closed over the bent root, eliciting a laugh. The sound of her laughter sent another spiral of dizziness through him. This was a good dizziness, though. Her laugh made him happy.

  Unfortunately, it also messed with his balance and he felt himself start to pitch backward.

  “Oh, no, you don’t!”

  The rope he held in his other hand snapped taut, stopping his momentum and pulling him up onto his toes. “Get up here, Lansing. Now.”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  Using what felt like the last of his strength, Max pushed and pulled himself over the edge of the crater, aware that Emily also tugged on the rope. He slowed when he made it all the way out, but she wouldn’t let him rest.

  “Following the wise advice of someone I know, you need to get away from the edge, Max.”

  He knew she was right. But goddamn, he was tired. Now that he didn’t have to hold up his weight, the trembling in his arms rivaled the quake caused by the explosion.

  “Come on, Max.” Emily’s soft, cajoling tone cut through his exhaustion. “You can do it. Just a little farther.”

  Those last few feet were agony. He almost passed out a couple of times. But Emily’s voice kept him anchored. Like his drill instructor back in the Marines, she berated him. She seemed to understand that giving him orders would spur him to just…keep…going…

  “Okay. You can rest now. I think we’re far enough away.”

  He collapsed face down. Started to open his mouth to tell her thank you, but darkness consumed him.

  EMILY STROKED MAX’S filthy hair back from his face. Blood from a gouge on his temple still trailed sluggishly down to his cheek. A thick smear of mud covered his eyes.

  Pouring a little water on her bandana, she gently wiped the blood and dirt away. Then she took a long drink.

  Now that Max was safe, the tension that had kept her alert started to ease. Fear crept in and her hands trembled.

  Stop that. She had to get them both to the Jeep and off the road in case the rebels showed up.

  Pushing to her feet, she jogged to the Jeep. Having learned how to manipulate it on the muddy road, she backed up slowly until she couldn’t get any closer without putting them both in danger of destabilizing the rim.

  She tossed a tarp over the sleeping bags to protect them from Max’s muddy clothes. Then she returned to him. “Max?” What if he didn’t wake up? She wasn’t strong enough to get him into the cargo compartment herself.

  He opened his eyes.

  Smiling in relief, she knelt beside him. “Can you help me get you into the Jeep, or should I use the tarp to drag you?”

  He bent his arm, tried to lever himself up, then fell back with a grunt.

  “I said help me, you idiot,” she grumbled, putting her arm underneath his upper back. “Not force yourself to pass out from over exertion. Now, let’s try that again.”

  With her support, he managed to get first onto his hands and knees, then eventually all the way to his feet. He swayed a moment, leaning so heavily on her that she stumbled forward. That brought him close enough to catch hold of the Jeep’s back door handle. With that additional support, they got him into the cargo compartment and onto the tarp.

  “Comfy?” she asked, tucking the tarp around him like a blanket.

  “It’ll do.”

  She smiled at him. Thankfully, aside from the gouge on his forehead, he didn’t appear to have any major new wounds, although the rope burns on his palms had to sting. “God, Max, I was so scared.”

  “Yeah, me too.” He latched onto her hand. “I’m sorry you had to rescue me, Em. Thanks.”

  She knew how much that had to have hurt his male pride. Knew how much she’d hated being an invalid after the acid attack. “You’re welcome. But I think we’re even now, since you saved my life by getting me away from the way station before Ziegler or his companions could kill me. Now, rest. I’ll get us out of here.”

  “Keep aiming for the border,” he demanded. “It’s safer.” He closed his eyes on the last, barely whispered word and passed out.

  Emily watched him a moment. Relief that they’d survived turned her legs to jelly. A lone tear escaped and crept down her cheek. She bent forward and kissed Max lightly on the lips, then shut the cargo compartment door.

  Time to get back on the road. She sent a wary look toward the sky as she slid into her seat. Not only was rain threatening again, but the light was fading. She only had about an hour and a half until dark on a sunny day. With the cloud cover, a lot less than that.

  Okay. She could do this. Aware that driving on the road was dangerous, but unable to find a clear path through the jungle, she headed north.

  Several times Max groaned so loudly, she stopped to check on him. His temperature kept rising and she worried that he was fighting malaria or some other parasite she couldn’t counteract. She did manage to get him to swallow some water laced with crushed aspirin and antibiotic. She wanted to strip Max of his clothes and wash both them and him, but not only didn’t she have the time, she was afraid of depleting their diminishing water supply.

  Each time she finishing tending to him, she found it harder to return to her seat and dredge up the energy to wrestle with the stiff steering. Particularly once the skies opened up again and the mud deepened, sucking at the tires.

  Even though Max had warned against it, she kept an eye out for a village or some other place where they could stop. She couldn’t keep going much—

  A large truck lumbered into sight down the road. Oh, God. Oh, God. It looked like one of the rebel troop transports. What if they spotted her? They’d start shooting. Kill her and Max.

  Wishing he were awake to tell her what to do, she eased the Jeep as far over to the side of the road as possible. C’mon. C’mon. She needed a break in the trees wide enough that she could drive between. She wasn’t ready to die. She had to hide. She had to—

  The truck turned away and headed north.

  Emily’s breath whooshed out of her with dizzying speed. She put on the brake and lowered her head to the steering wheel. They were safe. For now.

  It took her heart a long, long time to calm down. When she finally felt able to drive again, she saw that two more trucks had joined the first one. She still couldn’t see any insignia, so she didn’t know if they belonged to the government, Dietrich, or the rebels. Whoever they were, she had to get off the road in case they changed direction. Because the rain was so heavy, the ruts of her tire tracks immediately filled with water, leaving an obvious trail.

  Finally, after ten minutes of searching, she located a break in the trees wide enough for the Jeep to fit through. She continued driving deep inside the shelter of the trees until she fel
t confident no one on the road would see them. With any luck, the tracks she’d left on the road would smooth out before anyone came looking for them. Hoping they were safe, she parked for the night and forced herself to eat a little of their nearly non-existent food supplies.

  It was odd. A month ago, her biggest concern had been weathering the stares of the people at the grocery store when they saw her scars. Despite her emergency training, that girl had never been directly exposed to violence beyond Agatha’s attack. She would never have imagined that soon she’d be driving through the jungle, on the run from violent rebels, and caring for a wounded, feverish man by herself.

  Yes, she was scared. Who wouldn’t be? Her life was in danger. Yet at the same time, the fact that she’d gotten Max out of that crater by herself filled her with pride. She wasn’t nearly as useless outside of the dance world as she’d thought. She was strong and adaptable. Maybe she could find another career that would fill the empty space in her soul where dance had always lived.

  But what about Max?

  That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it? Because the thought of saying good-bye to him at the end of this adventure threatened to bring on another panic attack.

  Just take it a day at a time. Don’t borrow trouble.

  Telling herself it would all work out, she crawled into the back, snuggled up next to Max, and fell into an uneasy sleep.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Day Eight

  MAX JERKED BACK to consciousness and opened his eyes. Where—?

  Rucksacks. Bags of supplies. Sleeping bags. Right. He was in the Jeep’s cargo compartment. The surface underneath him jolted as the Jeep bumped over the rough road. Pain slammed into him the next second. His ribs, lower back, and leg all hurt, reminding him of what he’d been through. His head ached. His mouth was parchment dry and had a faintly chalky taste, as if someone had fed him medicine.

  Emily. Rebels. Crater.

  Hell. How long had he been out? Hours? Days? The gray, watery light made it hard to tell what time of day it was.

  “Em?” he croaked. But even to his own ears the sound was barely audible.

  Okay, then. He’d just have to drag his sorry ass up to the passenger compartment. And he’d get right on that once his head stopped throbbing so fiercely. After a few minutes, he attempted to raise his hand, thinking he could hold on to one of the rucksacks and pull himself upright, but although he strained to move, his body remained stubbornly stationary.

  All right. He’d rest a bit more and then try again. He waited, using every technique he knew in order to ignore the pain from his various injuries, but without much success. A little voice that sounded remarkably like Rene’s chastised him for pushing himself too far. Yeah, it didn’t take a smug doctor to tell him that he’d used up all of his reserves. At this point he felt so weak, he wondered if he’d ever move again.

  Yes. I. Will.

  He tried once more to lift his hand, but the effort proved too much. Blackness engulfed him.

  The next time he woke up, the Jeep wasn’t moving and it was pitch dark. “Em?” His voice, though still quiet, seemed to echo in the interior. Worse, he didn’t hear Emily’s breathing.

  Panic beat through him. “Em?” he called louder.

  Still no answer.

  Had Dietrich’s men found her? The rebels? Was this how it was going to end? Left alone to starve to death in the back of a Jeep? While the rebels or Dietrich did God only knows what to Emily?

  Failure. Always letting down the ones you love.

  Hell, no. He had to sit up. Had to—

  A door opened. Because they’d kept the overhead light turned off, he couldn’t see who it was. “Em?” he tried again.

  “Max?”

  Seconds later, the cargo compartment door opened and Emily appeared in front of him. “Oh, my God, you’re finally awake!”

  She grinned and scrambled into the cargo compartment, then placed a quick kiss on his mouth. She pulled away too soon and sat beside him. “How are you feeling?”

  He tried licking his lips so he could speak louder, but found he didn’t have enough moisture in his mouth. Luckily for him, she understood.

  “Right. Water.” Putting her arm under his neck and shoulders, she raised his head until it rested against his rucksack, then held his water bottle to his lips. “Drink as much as you want. While you were unconscious, I found a stream and replenished our supply.” She grinned at him. “I love these quick-filter bottles.”

  The warm, slightly flat water tasted like ambrosia. Knowing he had to take it slow, he didn’t suck down the great gulps that his body demanded, instead allowing his parched tissues to soak it in gradually. When his head started to spin from being upright, he closed his eyes and turned his head away.

  “Max?”

  “Give me a sec. Dizzy.”

  “Do you want to lie back down? Are you in a lot of pain?”

  “No. Not lying down. Pain not important.”

  Emily snorted. Max opened his eyes and saw her shaking her head in exasperation. “Max, you have cracked ribs, a knife wound, the equivalent of a stab wound in your thigh, a gouge on your forehead deep enough to worry me, and numerous other cuts, scrapes, and bruises. You’ve been unconscious and running a fever for the past two days. So, any macho man points you think you’re earning by pretending you’re fine have long since expired.”

  She held his gaze. Max fought the urge to squirm as the look intensified, threatening to rip out all of his darkest secrets. He didn’t want Emily knowing the worst about him. That he wasn’t some hero. That he stumbled along, trying to do the best he could, but always failing the ones he loved or respected.

  He cleared his throat and tore his glance away. Searched for something to say to break the tension. But Emily beat him to it.

  She reached forward and touched the back of her hand to his forehead. “Better.” She sat back on her heels, then held up a baggie containing several bottles of pills. “I’ve been feeding you water laced with aspirin, your pain medication, and your antibiotics. But now that you’re awake, you can take them yourself.”

  He glared at the pills. No wonder his head felt muzzy. It was the pain medication. “Dammit, you know I hate pain meds. Just give me the antibiotic.”

  She rolled her eyes and shook three pills onto her palm. “Compromise. Two aspirins and one antibiotic. Happy?”

  In answer, he swallowed the pills and washed them down with some water. Man, he felt more stable already. Amazing what effect being upright and hydrated had on his body. “Where are we? What’s been going on?”

  Emily glanced away. “I’ll explain everything, but first we need to get moving.”

  Wait. Was that guilt in her voice? Dammit, what was she hiding?

  “Do you want to rest some more?” she asked.

  “Hell, no.” He felt too helpless lying back here, cut off from seeing what was in front of them.

  Emily rolled her eyes and gave him a wry smile. “Okay, then. Let’s see if we can get you up front. Uh—” She bit her lip. “Do you need to…ah…answer nature’s call first?”

  The instant the words left her mouth, his bladder sent up an emergency flare. “Yeah. Thanks.”

  “All right.”

  She eased him out of the cargo compartment and to his horror the simple act of getting vertical made the world spin. He clutched the edge of the door and held on for dear life so he didn’t face plant on the ground. When he finally felt a bit steadier, he admitted, “I…ah…” He cleared his throat. “I’m not going to be able to make it into the woods.”

  “No problem. I’ll be up front. Holler if you need help.”

  Relieved that she understood his dilemma, he took care of business. Then Emily helped him into the passenger seat.

  She pulled the night vision goggles over her eyes and put the Jeep in gear. As the vehicle lurched forward, Max could just make out that they were in the jungle.

  “So where are we?”

  “We�
��re just outside of my homestay village.”

  “What do you mean your homestay village? Dammit, Emily, you were supposed to head for the border.”

  She turned her head toward him and he knew she was glaring at him beneath the goggles. “I did try for the border. But that first evening I saw a bunch of those rebel troop transports down the road, so I had to hide in the jungle.”

  “So? You still should have headed north. God, don’t you understand by now how much danger we’re in?”

  She gave an angry hiss before returning her attention to their path. “I tried to head north, Max. I really did. But the jungle at that point was too thick. I barely managed to find a place to enter the jungle from the road. Trying to navigate the tangle of dense bushes and close trees was a nightmare. Every time I tried to get back to the main road, I had to make so many detours that I got lost.”

  “Why didn’t you call for help?”

  She gestured angrily at the sat phone. “I couldn’t get a signal under the thick canopy.” She sniffed and swiped a hand under her nose. “By the time I remembered the compass on your watch, I was already so far off course I’d almost reached the road to my homestay.”

  “We’re not stopping there.”

  Her shoulders jerked up. Oh, no.

  “I already did. I just got back.”

  “Goddammit, Em!”

  “What? I’m not a complete idiot. I snuck in. Prudence, my homestay mother, was the only one who saw me. She wished me luck and gave me some food.” She nodded over her shoulder to the small nylon sack behind her seat. “I was only gone maybe fifteen, twenty minutes.”

  “What the hell were you thinking?” She could have been hurt. Captured. Or—

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Emily snapped. “You nearly died! Do you have any idea how scared I’ve been? How tired I am of running? Of being constantly on the verge of a panic attack because I’m afraid I’ll run into a patrol of rebels and get us both killed?” She inhaled twice in rapid succession. “I’m doing the best I can, Mr. Super Soldier. I’m sorry it doesn’t meet with your approval, but we were out of food. I’ve been so on edge that I’ve barely slept in days. So yes, I took the risk and asked for help.”