The Designate by J. B. Cantwell

Author:J. B. Cantwell [Cantwell, J. B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Two

We stayed low, camouflage coverings in our hands. When everyone was out of the tunnel, Fowler signaled to put the nets over our bodies. I was relieved to find that I could still see the glowing outlines of my comrades through the material. Rifles out, we crouched over the damp ground, moving slowly. After a hundred yards or so, Fowler signaled us to stop. He knelt on the ground, motioning for us to do the same.

We waited. The other groups that had come through our tunnel had gone in different directions.

The wait seemed to last hours. My feet were falling asleep in my boots from the awkward position I was in, but I didn’t dare sit down. I shifted my weight back and forth to restore some blood flow, my feet and legs prickling.

Gradually, the sky began to lighten. Gunfire echoed somewhere in the distance. We all tensed, but didn’t stand. Shouting rang through the morning. Two soldiers, enemies, crossed our paths and climbed a couple of nearby trees.

They didn’t know that we had figured out where they were hiding during the day.

All of our weapons were equipped with silencers, but it was Fowler who took the first shot.

A shout. The sound of a body falling through branches. Bones cracking. The dull thud of it hitting the forest floor.

I stared. I had never seen a dead body before, much less killed anyone. I could see now that it was a boy, maybe a couple years younger than I was. His body lay crumpled on the ground like a discarded marionette. His eyes remained open, staring at me as though there was no mesh covering between us.

Before the other fighter had the chance to open his mouth in warning, Avery had him. Her bullet pierced his left shoulder. Was it close enough to the heart? He wasn’t as high up the tree as the boy was, and he landed without breaking bones. Then he shouted something, an order, a scream.

The man pulled a weapon from his side and aimed it carelessly into the woods, not quite knowing where to shoot.

Avery quickly got to her feet and finished him. A bullet to the heart. Then she stepped behind the man’s tree and dropped to the ground. Three more Fighters came into the clearing, checking their companions.

Fowler gestured to the rest of us, and we took aim.

My vision was blurry as I tried to make out each fighter, deciding. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t see.

And I couldn’t shoot.

The bullets from my team took two of the men down.

I could see it now, see her now. My target.

Fowler’s eyes were on me. I took aim as the rest of my group did the same.

I would have to fire the weapon. He would know if I hadn’t.

The gun felt heavy in my hands, almost too much to hold, the woman’s life in the balance.

I fired first. My bullet, I know, whizzed above her head. She ducked. Then, four more guns trained on her chest, and she was pummeled until her body finally fell to the ground.

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