Chapter 32: Vision
The shot came from somewhere near. Royce and I scan the area and find no one in our vicinity—YET.
“How stupid can you be?!” yells the colonel. “Pay attention to your weapon!”
His voice is getting closer and closer. A sudden flash rushes to my mind like the time we were dangling from the tall tree. I motion to Royce to get under the embankment with me. As the vision had shown me, we barely fit underneath an overlap of land. Water had eroded a portion of the mud on the sides of the river. While water reaches to just below our noses, we stay very quiet—calming our breaths in such a claustrophobic place.
“I can’t believe you fired it!” snaps the colonel, his voice now sounding dangerously nearby.
If we would’ve been on the opposite side of the river, he probably would’ve seen us but where we’re at, we’re well hidden from view.
“Sir, I thought it appropriate to fire on a dangerous animal.”
“It was a raccoon, Stupid Head!”
“It looked like a wild boar, sir.”
“Only an idiot would confuse a raccoon with a boar!”
Hands abruptly appear in front of us. One of soldiers is washing his hands, not having a clue as to how close we are to them.
Splash!
The happy limbs seem to rejoice in the water.
Royce eyes me with eyebrows snapped together. I can read his look. By now we can practically tell what each other is thinking. Worried that the embankment above will give way with the hollowness of where we’re at, Royce and I brace ourselves for the worse.
“What are you doing, private?” snarls the Colonel.
“I’m just washing up, sir. It’s so humid today.”
“Stop lollygagging and stand up!”
The private stumbles up, stepping away from the edge of the embankment. Royce’s face relaxes.
“Sir, I was thinking—”
“What did I say about trying to use your pea-size brain?”
When we had run into the private the time Pilar had rescued us with her family’s permit, his arrogance had been sharp and biting. Maybe he was punishing us for how his colonel treated him?
“Sir, I just thought it would be good to take a swim,” he asks hopefully.
“A swim?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What a great idea.”
I take in a sharp breath.
“Really, sir?” the private quips happily, his voice not as strained as before.
“Sure.”
“With the heat and—”
“Sure, let’s take a swim,” snaps the colonel. “Let’s lollygag in the water while my poor son’s military career is going down the drain. Frolicking in the water is much more important than my son, wouldn’t you say?”
“I just thought—”
“I already told you—stop using your few brain cells—stop using equipment you’ve never used!”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s go, Stupid Head—and no more idiotic suggestions from you, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ve got enough on my mind with trying to outmaneuver those degenerates who messed with my son.”
“Yes, sir.”
“The jeep was left nearby for us, right?”
“That’s what I was told, sir.”
“If you hadn’t given them the wrong directions then we wouldn’t have had to change directions!” he growls.
“Sorry, sir.”
“After this is over, I want you out of my battalion.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now we have to get the jeep and gain the ground already lost with your incompetence.”
“Yes, sir.”
Waiting a few minutes after we can’t hear their boots anymore, Royce and I sneak out of our hiding place. We change behind trees to our second set of clothes and wring out the wet ones as best as we can.
“I heard them go that way,” whispers Royce as he shows me with his hands, “and we’re going this way.”
I nod my head, but I’m not as trusting this time. They had changed directions once and could do it again.
Traveling more carefully than before, we’re reluctant to even say a single word for fear that we miss an important sound. The clouds grow darker the longer we walk. It’s certain to rain. Royce hands me strips of dried boar meat—we’re not stopping to eat. If a downpour happens, we’ll be forced to interrupt our journey but in the meantime, we need to continue with our hike.
I stifle a snicker when we arrive at a tree with a nearby raccoon eating an acorn on the ground. Really?—how can anyone confuse such a tiny animal with a bulky boar? The private must’ve been hallucinating.
“Don’t move!” yells a voice as the owner of it jumps down from the tree. His weapon points menacingly at us.
Don’t move,” repeats the private with a sheepish smile on his face. “Hands up!” Royce and I lift our hands as he starts chuckling with joy.
“I can’t believe I caught you! After all the names the colonel has called
me, I’m the one who caught you! After he left me here so he could try to find tracks, I’m the one who gets you! Sweet bliss!”
The raccoon scurries to another acorn, and the private fearfully jumps back. “Get away, get away you,” he demands.
How odd—a military man who is scared of raccoons. He was probably on the tree to hide from it. Of course, raccoons climb trees, but the private doesn’t seem to know much about them.
“I’ll shoot you if I have to,” the private announces to the small animal. “I don’t think my colonel will be angry now that I’ve found them.”
The them he is referring to with such disdain is Royce and me.
“I bet you thought we wouldn’t find you,” he snickers at us.
“Why were you looking for us?” asks Royce, his voice steady.
The private’s face knots itself in a scrunch. “Don’t play innocent with me—you know why.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You hit D412 on the head with something.”
“Who’s D412?”
“He’s my colonel’s son!”
“Your colonel? When we saw you the other day, you were by yourself.”
“I told you I was on special assignment with a superior officer,” he grumbles.
“Your special assignment involves us?”
“You messed with the colonel’s son—admit it!”
“I’m not going to admit something I didn’t do. I don’t know this D412.”
“What are you doing in the woods then?”
“You already saw our permit.”
“Where’s the other girl—the mouthy one?” he asks suspiciously.
“She got sick.”
“That’s too bad,” he snorts. “I bet you’re glad that big mouth isn’t with you anymore.”
“We miss her.”
“You’re kidding! Isn’t this your girlfriend?” he asks, referring to me.
“Yes,” he answers with no hesitation.
“Why would you want a third wheel with you?”
“Company.”
“Honey,” he tells me, “if this guy doesn’t know how to treat a beautiful girl like you then call me.”
“Hey, dude, you’re not putting the moves on my girlfriend right in front of me, are you?”
“You snooze you lose.”
“C’mon now.”
He chuckles loudly. “I guess I am being kind of obnoxious.”
“Yep,” Royce says, laughing with him. I make myself laugh too.
“I haven’t laughed like this in days. I haven’t even smiled,” he informs us wistfully.
“That stinks.”
“It stinks a lot.”
“Too bad you can’t ditch the colonel and come with us.”
“I can’t. I’d be court-martialed.”
“It’s just as well. I’d hate for you and your slick moves to be around my girlfriend.
”
“I’ll tell you what—I wouldn’t hold back,” he states, guffawing. “She’d end up being my girlfriend.”
Want to bet? I retort in my mind.
“It’s good that you’re not coming with us then,” smiles Royce.
“Geez,” blurts the soldier, “I like you guys. I wish I didn’t have to turn you in.”
“You don’t have to.”
“My colonel will kill me if he finds out that I had you and let you go.”
“Why would he find out?”
“What are you afraid of if you’re innocent?” the private asks suspiciously.
“We’re not afraid. It’s just that your colonel sounds like a real jerk. Didn’t you say that you hadn’t even cracked a smile in days?”
“He calls me the worse names ever,” he growls.
“That’s bad.”
“I hate him—can’t stand him!”
“I had a boss like that once.”
“You did?”
Royce nods sympathetically. “He’d insult me all day.”
“What did you do?”
“I messed up his favorite guardian sports car to get back at him. He never knew it had been me.”
“He didn’t?” he asks, excited like a puppy.
“Nope. The car never worked right again. He moped around for weeks—completely unlike himself.”
“That must’ve been great,” he gushes, a sparkle in his eye.
“Yep.”
The private turns contemplative. Royce leaves him alone in his thoughts.
“If I let you go, do you promise not to tell anyone about it?” the soldier blurts.
“We promise.”
“I’d love to get back at the colonel,” he growls.
“This is the perfect way to do it.”
“Go then.”
“Thanks, man,” Royce expresses.
“Thanks,” I chime in.
“Be careful with the hunting,” he states. “The animals here are treacherous.” His eyes are on the raccoon as we start going past the animal.
“We will.”
“People don’t think raccoons are dangerous but they are—just look at their beady eyes.”
“They’re scary alright,” Royce announces, trying to keep a straight face.
“Be careful when you shoot, or the colonel might hear you.”
“We’ll be quiet.”
The guy won’t stop talking long enough for us to finish leaving.
“Bye, now,” Royce states, trying to put a stop to his chatter.
“Remember, don’t shoot—hey stop!” he yells, pointing his weapon at us again.
“What’s wrong?” Royce asks calmly.
“If you’re hunting then where are your weapons?”
“We don’t shoot animals,” Royce explains. “We get them other ways.”
“Other ways?”
“We have different ways of trapping animals.”
“I didn’t see you with any animals today, and I didn’t see you with any animals the other day either.”
“The pickings are small. The woods are almost out of food.”
“Really?” he asks sarcastically.
“There are too many hunters for so little food.”
“Something’s fishy here. I need to let the colonel sort this out.”
“But—”
“Shut up!”
“But—”
“I said, ‘Shut up!’ I’m not listening to you anymore!”
There’s no reasoning with this guy anymore. I catch Royce’s eyes—he’d better be prepared for what I’m about to do.
“The raccoon!” I exclaim with supposed horror.
“Where?” he asks, terrified as he turns in the direction my eyes are at. His rifle moves with him, and Royce takes advantage of the opportunity. Jumping the soldier, Royce tries to grab the weapon but it’s flung far away with the struggle. Harsh punches begin, and I hurry towards the military rifle as Royce begins to overpower the soldier.
“Missy, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” The colonel says, stepping out of the woods with his own weapon pointed straight at me as I’m about to pick up the one on the ground.
Supernova Page 30
