Page 82 of Hearts of Resistance
The moon was high and when the clouds finally drifted out of the way, its light guided her. She took a moment to look up, to smile and remember the nights she’d spent with Rose, transporting soldiers under the crescent moon to the waiting submarines. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
A pop sounded out, in the distance, but loud enough to make her pause.
‘What...,’ she began, her voice a whisper as she spun around, mouth open.
The noise that echoed around her was louder this time, jolting one of her companions back, his body staggering and then falling to the ground.
Sophia started to run, her arms pumping, not knowing where the enemy was or how many there might be or...
Boom.
The noise was a bang, an explosion of sorts, but when the force entered her body all she heard was athwack. Heat billowed through her, starting as a sharp sting and quickly reaching a crescendo when it exploded inside her.
She grabbed at her abdomen and sobbed as she spiralled down.
‘I’ve got you!’
Someone grabbed her, someone had hold of her, strong arms pulling her and then throwing her up in the air. She thought she was on someone’s shoulders, that she was being carried like a sack of potatoes, but she had no idea.
The only thing she knew was that she’d been shot, that her body was so hot, as if she was on fire. It was the third time she’d had a bullet enter her body, and there was no mistaking what had happened to her.
Or that it was someone friendly who was carrying her.
‘Alex?’ she mumbled, laughing as she bumped along in the dark and gunfire sounded around them, her mind all foggy. She tried to push past the haze, tried to make sense of where she was as everything blurred.
‘Alex?’ she asked again.
She could see his dark eyes, feel the warmth of his embrace, the smile that had always greeted her whenever she’d arrived home.
‘Alex,’ she whispered again.
Alex had her. Or maybe she was dead and that’s how she’d found him.
‘Alex,’she whispered one last time, before shutting her weary eyes and feeling every ounce of life drain from her body as she did so.
‘You’re going to be fine. We’re going to get you home.’
Sophia opened her eyes, then shut them quickly. Home? Was she still alive?
Pain exploded in her abdomen again, and when she opened her eyes just enough, slits to peer through, everything was still fuzzy, pain blurring everything around her. There were people working on her, doing something. Was she back at the house?
‘Argghh!’
She heard a noise, realised her mouth was open, that she was the one making it.
‘You’re doing great. The bullet’s out, we’re just stitching you up.’
She went to resist, to move, but her hands were being held down, keeping her still. Sophia fought the waves of pain, knew she’d been shot, that they were trying to help her, but it hurt so badly.
‘Sebastian?’ she asked, wondering if it was Rose’s brother.
‘Sebastian’s not coming back. He’s gone,’ came a rough, hoarse reply. ‘We were fired at when we were trying to explode the German tanks. We lost men.’
Sophia started to cry. She couldn’t help it. Tears streamed down her cheeks. How would she ever tell Rose that her brother was dead?
‘We’re not going to let you die. We’ll get you out of here,’ the same voice said.
Alex was her home. She wanted to tell someone that, but when she opened her mouth all that came out was another moan. She wanted Alex. All she wanted was Alex.
