Page 14 of Scarlet Wars
The soldier squinted, looking me up and down. “Your sister, huh?”
I nodded too hastily. “Yes. I just… I need to be there. Please.”
He scratched his chin, glancing toward the road behind me. For a moment, I thought he might call for backup, might radio in my presence. But then he shrugged, his stare drifting lazily back to me.
“Family’s important,” he mumbled. “I understand your need to cross the border. Rules are rules, though.” He paused, then added, “You got any money?”
I blinked; not sure I’d heard him right. “Money?”
He nodded, his expression indifferent. “You know, something to make the paperwork disappear. I won’t stop you, but I can’t do it for free.”
Jesus fuck.Never thought I’d be grateful for corruption, but here we were.
My hands still trembled as I fumbled in my bag, pulling out the small bundle of cash. It wasn’t much but it was all I had. I handed it to him, the bills crumpled in my shaking fingers.
He took the money, counting it quickly, then pocketed it without a second thought. “That’ll do.”
Relief surged through me, so powerful it nearly knocked me over. “Thank you,” I muttered, though the words tasted bitter on my tongue.
“Go on, then,” he said, before jerking his head toward the trees. “And be quick about it. Don’t want anyone else seeing you.”
I nodded, not daring to look back as I started running away from the border, my legs moving on autopilot, even as the pain in my ankle screamed at me to stop.
The trees stretched out before me, their shadows swallowing the faint glow of the moon. Each step felt heavier, my exhaustion clawing at me, but I forced myself to keep going.
Until the relentless ache in my ankle finally gave way, and with a sickening twist, I stumbled, crashing to the ground. Painshot up my leg like fire, and I bit down hard on my lip to keep from crying out.
“Hey,” a voice called from somewhere behind me. “Are you okay?”
I turned my head, my pulse pounding so loud it drowned out the rustling of the leaves. I rose to my feet as quickly as the pain allowed me to do.
A man emerged from the trees, his hands raised in a gesture of peace. He was tall and lean, with a friendly smile that didn’t quite reach his pale blue eyes. His clothes were plain but clean—jeans and a faded flannel shirt which seemed sort of out of place in this desolate stretch of wilderness.
“Sorry,” he said calmly, almost soothingly. “Didn’t mean to startle you. I couldn’t help overhearing back there, and then I saw you take a fall… Are you okay?”
My heart sank, but I forced myself to appear calm. “I don’t want any trouble,” I said, while trying to keep my tone steady.
“Neither do I,” he replied quickly, before his smile widened. “I just… You look like you could use some help.”
Hope flickered in me; a fragile spark I didn’t dare trust. But I was so damn tired, and my foot hurt so much. “Why would you help me?”
He shrugged, hands now in his pockets as if he were trying to prove he meant no harm. “Call it a good deed. I was raised well, and you’re a damsel in distress.” He grinned. “I might not have a chariot with horses awaiting, but I do have this.”
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a bottle of water.
The sight of it made my throat ache. My mouth was sandpaper, my tongue thick, a dull throb building behind my temples. I barely registered anything except the promise of relief in the clear plastic.
He held it out to me. “You look like you need it.”
I hesitated, unsure whether to trust him.
“I haven’t drunk from it, if that’s why you’re worried,” he added.
I studied the bottle in his hand, long enough to notice the cap. It was still firmly sealed. Tight. Untouched. The way it looked when it came straight off a shelf, never opened, never tampered with.
My caution wavered under the weight of exhaustion and thirst. My fingers closed around the bottle before my fear could catch up.
“Thanks,” I muttered, before I twisted the cap off and drank deeply.
