Shadow Moves by Cynthia A Clement

Author:Cynthia A Clement [Clement, Cynthia A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781988019321
Published: 2020-01-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

The fighting was fierce.

Explosives were detonating around them at a pace they couldn’t keep up with. The perspiration was running down her forehead and into her eyes, momentarily blinding her. She wiped a hand across her forehead and focused.

The next flash of light came and her aim was true.

The shooter was dead.

She could still feel the enemy behind her. They were surrounding her on all sides. There was no escape. A hand gripped her shoulders, and she reacted. She tried to shake herself free, but there was no reprieve. She couldn’t let them capture her. She’d heard what they did to women and she would rather die. She reached for the grenade on her belt. It was gone. Frantically, she groped the ground around her looking for something to fling at her unseen attacker.

There was nothing.

She screamed her frustration.

“Wake up.”

The voice was stern.

Through the fog of sleep, she surfaced past her nightmare and into the waking world. It took a second before her eyes adjusted to the dim flickering light of the room and Halton’s face. He was leaning over her, his eyes filled with concern. A shiver of realization shook her body as the nightmare faded away.

“I’m sorry.” She exhaled a deep breath. “I woke you.”

“You were having another nightmare.” Halton eased away, but he remained sitting on the bed. “This one sounded worse.”

“It was.” Brandi forced her voice to stay calm. “It only happens when I’m extremely exhausted.”

“It sounded as if someone was killing you.”

Brandi pushed herself upright. “I was captured. I was struggling to free myself.”

“Is this a memory?”

Brandi nodded. “Partially.”

Halton put the candle he was holding down on the bedside table. “You must have escaped.”

“One of the guys in my unit shot him.” Brandi grimaced as the remembered terror of being held a prisoner washed over her. “I’m not so lucky in my dreams.”

“Is that when you screamed?”

“I decide to kill both of us and reach for my grenade. It’s not there.”

Halton’s eyes didn’t waver from her. “Would it not be better to live and escape later?”

Brandi’s eyes shied away from his gaze. “They do horrible things to their captives. After I was deployed to Afghanistan and saw what was happening there, I decided that I would never be taken alive.”

“I see.” Halton’s voice was quiet.

“I’m a coward.” Brandi released a shaky breath. “Now you know my darkest secret.”

Brandi twisted her fingers in the bedcovers. She had never spoke her fears out loud before, not even to the psychologist who had counselled her. No matter how much training she had in hand to hand combat, it was never enough.

Halton clasped her hand. “You were willing to die, that is not cowardly.”

“A strong person would have faced imprisonment.”

“That is not true.” Halton’s voice was firm. “No sane person would choose to be tortured.”

“Suicide is wrong.” Brandi’s voice was a whisper. “I was taught that as a child, and I know my grandfather would never have approved.”

“When you are in the middle of a battle every move is a life or death decision.

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