Page 82 of Leave Me Behind
I shoot the ones in the main area and the bunker goes pitch black. The backup soldiers must’ve returned up the ladder because the room is empty.Shit!The hatch is open and I’d bet money they’re waiting for us up there. We can’t stay holed up in here forever; all they have to do is wait for reinforcements.
Bradshaw grips my wrist and I hesitantly look at him. He signals for me to follow him. He leads us to the cabinets and opens one door, motioning for me to get in. He pulls his goggles up and raises an implying brow. I shoot him a look that says, Are you crazy? but he just flattens his eyes more at me.
Goddammit. I crawl inside and he makes his way in beside me.
“Great. Now what?” I breathe uneasily. The space is cramped and although I can see with my night vision my stomach curls uneasily with our predicament.
Bradshaw gives me a shit-eating grin and pushes on the inner wall of the cabinet. The thin board slides out of place, revealing a narrow tunnel that likely leads somewhere outside.
“Did you think Eren would plan on having our squad stay in a bunker with only one way in and out? I thought you were a bunny. That’s like rule number one for animals, isn’t it?” He laughs and I can’t help but smile at his cocky comment.
I nudge him. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
He takes the lead, crawling on his hands and knees with his gun slung over his back. I slip inside the damp tunnel and close the board behind us in case the soldiers think to check the cabinets. The air here is earthy and thick with moisture.
The walls grow tight around us as we crawl and when Bradshaw turns to check on me for a second, I don’t see him. I see Jenkins. He reaches his hand out for me. That’s right… I’ve been in a tight place like this before.
“You can die anywhere, Gallows, but you don’t want to die in a hole. So get the fuck out. Save the panic attack for after you’re out.”
I smile. He was an asshole, yet his words are what I need to keep going.
It can’t be more than a few minutes, but it feels so much longer before we see moonlight dripping through an exit. Bradshaw stops and listens for several minutes to gauge where the hostiles are. I can’t hear anything above my pulse hammering in my ears.
Bradshaw moves thoughtfully, quietly pushing through branches and exiting the tunnel. I wait for his signal. A second later, he dips his hand back inside and beckons me to follow.
Relief overcomes me as I hurry out of the tight space. Once I’m out, I move beside Bradshaw and we walk carefully through the underbrush. I’m facing a wall of trees. There’s no sign of hostiles, but I’m not letting my guard down now that they know we’re out here.
We find cover half a klick east and crouch low to regroup and determine our backup plan. I keep my hand curled tightlyaround my knife. It’s already slick with blood, parts of the handle sticking to my glove as it dries. Bradshaw checks his gear and points northeast. “That way. We’re going to push until we hit the ridgeline and can find cover.” His voice is low and firm.
I clutch my knife tighter.
“Did you see their uniforms?” My throat is raw from the fight and I sound scared.I am scared.
Bradshaw’s concerned expression tells me everything. He nods.
My hand trembles. “And what did you see?”
He stares at me briefly before muttering, “It was the Hades Squad.” He hangs his head and shakes it.
I thought so.I scan the forest warily for them. What the fuck are they doing? We are here to savethem,aren’t we?
“Bones… what does this mean?” I bring my focus back to him.
He lets his hands hang off his knees before lifting his head up. “It means we’re fucked. If Hades is a part of this rogue operation, then who’s to say who else is? This is bad.Reallyfucking bad.” Bradshaw sounds uneasy. Nervous. And I’ve never known him to be nervous.
“Focus. Let’s get out of here before they hunt us down.” I tug on his arm and he stands, but his will to fight seems to have fled his spirit.
“God, this is so fucked up,” he chokes out. He clasps his hands around his head and his shoulders tremble.Fuck, don’t tell me he’s having an episode.
I smack his cheek to see how together he has it and his head tilts, lagging to correct.Goddammit!“Bones, hey. Look at me. Bones!” I whisper-shout, but his body starts to slump against me.
No, no, no.What am I supposed to do?
Snap.
My head jerks to the left in the direction of the tunnel and spot three soldiers slowly sweeping the area for us. This couldn’t be a worse situation. My chest clammers and my mind whirls.
Leave him. Run.My instincts have my legs twitching, but I refuse to leave him vulnerable like this. “It looks like this is where our mission together ends. Find Eren,” I whisper against his parted lips. I kiss him gently before rolling him under the thickest part of the underbrush. I army crawl far enough before I’m ready to draw attention away from him.
