Page 65 of Ravaged By the Dark (The Righteous 2)
Arek lifted a beer to his lips and took a sip before tossing his cards on the table. Trev was a much better poker player. The piles of cigarettes, money, and small trinkets in front of his brother told the story of their opposite fortunes.
“Good evening, Gentlemen.”
Arek looked up, and a man he’d never seen before stood aside from the table. Everyone fell silent as they took in the man that stood out like a sore thumb. His crisp, clean pantsuit screamed that he was way out of his element in this sand trap as he made his way closer.
“I’m looking for the soldier they call Father Time,” the man said as he reached the bonfire.
Arek looked at his brother, and they laughed and stood in unison.
“That would be us.” They gave each other a fist bump, but the man didn’t seem amused.
“Then come with me. I have a job for you.”
Arek played over that conversation again and again on a loop and hated himself a little more for his cocky attitude. He deserved every ounce of pain he received. How quickly he and Trev agreed to this fucking mission, how quickly they dragged in others like them, and then how quickly everything got fucked up.
His legs burned. He didn’t know how he was still walking as his knees shook with a Herculean effort to put one foot in front of the other. The muscles in his arms no longer felt pain as he stumbled forward. The woman splayed across his shoulders like a bag of feed was no longer conscious, but she was still breathing, or was she?
He couldn’t tell anymore.
The sun beat down on them, the heat so oppressive that he was soaked and shivering but still boiling in his own skin. All he could think about was a tall glass of water. He would sell his soul and give his left nut for a single mouthful—how long had it been since he had a sip? A day? A week? He didn’t even know what day it was. The last thing he could clearly remember drinking was his own piss.
Arek’s tongue licked his weathered lips, but his tongue was so dry that it stuck to the cracked and peeling surface, and more skin tore away as he pulled it back into his mouth. A rough wheezing rattle sound was driving him crazy. He turned to tell whoever was making the noise to shut up when he realized it was himself. He paused and stared.
Where was everyone?
Flashes erupted behind his eyes, and he ducked as the sound of an RPG screeched through the air. He spun in a circle, expecting the explosion, but nothing came. His heart hammered, the pain exploding in his chest as panic gripped his throat. They were under fire. He dropped to the ground and yelled out to take cover. He rolled over to protect the woman on his back and stared into lifeless eyes.
“No, no!” He smacked the woman’s face. “Breathe, damn you! Breathe. I didn’t come out here to die for nothing, bitch!” He smacked the cold face again. If he could cry, tears would have slipped down his raw cheeks. Arek dared a glance up at Trev. He was squatted down in front of him.
“Arek?”
“Trev?”
“Snap out of it. No one’s there.”
Arek looked down, and the woman was gone, only a rock in her place.
“Where is she? I was just carrying her.”
His head swiveled, his hands groping the empty dirt trying to find the woman. Dean, Morry, and the rest of the surviving unit stared back as a small group of civilians sat under a sparse-looking tree nearby.
“Where is she?” he asked the silent group again.
“You were carrying your pack, brother. Nothing else.” Arek stared at the large pack and then at his brothers’ somber faces.
Trev gripped his shoulders with surprising strength and pulled him into his arms. He clung to his brother and wailed. He was losing it. They were being hunted, and no matter what they tried, they couldn’t seem to shake them.
“You need to pull yourself together. I can’t make it to the end without you,” Trev said in his ear as he rocked him back and forth.
“I can’t. I can’t walk any longer.” He stared off into the distance and the miles they still had to go. It was impossible. They were all going to die out here.
“You can, and you will. You’re a fucking Navy SEAL. You’ve trained for this!”
“No,” he whimpered.
“Look at me, soldier,” Trev commanded, and he no longer saw his brother but his Master Chief. “You’re going to get your ass the fuck up and walk until I say otherwise. That’s an order!”
“Shit, they’re coming. We need to keep moving!” Dean said. Shadows on the horizon could be seen in the distance. Arek stumbled to his feet with Trev’s help and heaved the pack over his shoulder once more.
