Page 52 of Faron
We moved. Fast. Low. Quiet.
Smoke clung to the halls like a living thing. Gunfire sounded in the distance, but not close—not yet.
“Armory’s this way,” Kash said, already sprinting.
When we reached it, the door was hanging open.
Inside: weapons, gear, radios. Boots. All of it. As if we’d been expected.
“Tell me that’s a coincidence,” Cyclone muttered, pulling on a vest.
“It’s not,” I said, already loading a rifle. “Leila’s helping us.”
“She better be,” Kash grunted. “If not, we’re dead men dressed for a war we won’t finish.”
A shadow filled the doorway.
Leila.
Blood streaked her scarf. A pistol in her hand.
“We have two minutes,” she said. “Follow me. No hesitation.”
We didn’t hesitate.
She led us through a blown-out wall, into a dry riverbed lined with concrete slabs and wire. We ducked beneath a rusted truck chassis, then down a narrow path half-covered by wreckage.
There it was: an old dirt bike. Covered in branches. And behind it, a battered Humvee.
“Take the truck,” she said, tossing Kash the keys. “Drive east until you hit the river. Someone will be waiting.”
Cyclone stopped. “What about you?”
Leila met his gaze. “I’ll find my own way out. Just don’t waste the time I bought you.”
I hesitated. “Why help us?”
She looked at me, eyes hollow and haunted. “Because once, I loved a man like you. And I never got to save him.”
Then she turned and disappeared into the smoke.
We climbed in.
The Humvee roared to life. The tires kicked up dirt and ash as we tore across the rugged terrain, hearts pounding, free for the first time in days.
48
Blue
The heat slapped me the second my boots hit the ground. I remembered how hot it got here.
Dust choked the air. Smoke stung my throat. The prison lay like a carcass—half the south wall gone, roof charred, the sky behind it bruised and heavy.
We fanned out fast. Gage took point, rifle up. Gideon moved left, scanning high. I followed River, my heart slamming against my ribs.
Bodies were scattered across the yard. Taliban. Maybe six or seven. Some still smoldering. Trucks burned out. Gear abandoned mid-fight.
But no sign of Faron. Or Cyclone. Or anyone else.
