07-25-2018, 09:47 PM
Unidentified Location, 4pm
The door to Leanna Walker's cell opened and her body filled with fear like a bucket in torrential rain.
"Please! I've already told you, I staged the hit on Keitha Noguera to try and gain support. I've already confessed. Please!" she begged, sobbing on the floor.
"Oh, this is not an interrogation, Ms Walker," sneered Santos. She forced herself to stand up. "Don't bother, Ms Walker. You'll want to be sitting down for this one."
Six hours earlier...
Countryside, Yervia Province, 10am
"Oh shit," commented Camino Arreola as the Resistance troops halted at the top of a hill to see the seemingly endless lines of Lauchenoirians, Kerlians and Gonhogians that stretched out before them.
"Yeah," agreed a woman whose name he didn't know.
Arreola didn't know who fired first. Just that at some point the staring ended and the shooting started. His squad advanced through a field containing some very panicked sheep, to be met with strong resistance from a horde of Kerlians.
Something exploded behind him and suddenly all the noise faded into a ringing in his ears. He passed a tree and was suddenly on the ground, a Kerlian woman brandishing a knife above him. She appeared to have lost her rifle at some point and so had been crouching behind a tree waiting for someone to jump.
He brought his arms up to push against her and prevent her stabbing him, when suddenly she was hit by a stray bullet and rolled off him, alive but dying. He scrambled to his feet and looked around him. He was a city person; all the countryside looked the same to him. Except...
Were those Gonhogians in the field with the sheep? Or were those different sheep? He couldn't tell if they had advanced forward or been pushed back. All he knew was that the battle wasn't over yet.
10km outside Buttercity, 11am
Yousef Chaher cursed and drove into a lay-by to answer his persistently ringing phone.
"WHAT?" he yelled down the line.
"Mr Chaher? You need to get back to Buttercity at once."
"I'm on my way, why?"
"Your father has taken a turn for the worse."
Resistance HQ, Usera, noon
"The Gonhogians are putting up a hell of a fight, and there's more of them than we anticipated. Our troops have been pushed back, near the village of Nuevo Baeza," reported Ramiro Soto, long-term resident of Usera, and new tactician for the Resistance, pointing at a small dot on the map.
"Casualties?" asked Sonja.
"It's still too much of a mess to tell exactly how much, but a truckload of injured are being brought back here already. We've noticed a possible opening, however. This area here," he gestured, "is full of Lauchenoirian soldiers, and this particular group seem reluctant to open fire on our forces."
"Speculation as to why?"
"Locals, worried about friends or relatives on the other side? Not sure. They're to the far north of the enemy lines, it's not the best territory, but the Gonhogians are mostly to the south and they've been the biggest threat."
"Send some of our forces to engage the Gonhogians, keep them distracted. Send the rest to the north, and hopefully we'll get enough past to take Yerville and meet the Ulinarians."
Soto nodded and left, and Sonja turned back to the map. Josephine, who had been hovering in the corner, came over and wrapped her arms around Sonja, pressing close.
"It'll be okay," Josephine tried to sooth her. Sonja smiled ruefully.
"This isn't the first war I've seen, Josie. Some you win and some you lose, but they all have one thing in common "“ at the end, things are never okay."
Buttercity Central Hospital, noon
"We've discovered some severe internal bleeding and we need to take him to surgery immediately," the doctor informed Chaher's wife, Sana.
"But he was fine yesterday!" she said incredulously.
"These things can get complicated, Mrs Chaher," Charissa Clarke sidled over and put her arm around Sana.
"As she said. I'm sorry, Mrs Chaher, but we need to operate now," the doctor insisted.
"Are there risks?" Aamer, Chaher's younger son asked.
"I won't lie to you, it's an incredibly difficult procedure, but unless we try, your father will die."
"Okay," Sana nodded nervously, "okay, but please bring him back to me, safe."
"We will try our best, ma'am."
Some hospital staff began wheeling the unconscious Suleman Chaher to the operating room, as Sana and Aamer held each other, while Clarke watched on, a concerned look on her face.
Nuevo Baeza, Yervia Province, 2pm
Camino Arreola was knocked to the ground as a Gonhogian grenade hit a nearby building. He noticed a civilian girl clutching a teddy bear hiding in an alleyway.
"Hey, where's your parents?" he asked her. She stared at him, uncomprehending. "¿Dónde están tus padres?" he tried.
"No lo sé," she replied, sobbing.
Shit, he thought. He looked around, but he couldn't see any other civilians. The town's population had scattered when they had appeared, guns blazing. His squad had been ordered to head north, but the Gonhogians were making it impossible and had now surrounded the town.
"Necesitas encontrar un lugar seguro para esconderse," he told the girl, then waved her away. You need to find a safe place to hide.
He turned back to the fighting just as another explosion sent a dust cloud up into the air. A Gonhogian appeared out of the chaos and he raised his weapon and fired at the man. He fell, but one of his comrades appeared out of the dust and returned fire. Wounded but not dead, Arreola fell back against the ground, the world swimming around him.
A Kerlian soldier appeared above him and raised her weapon. He held his hands up in surrender, then passed out.
Buttercity Central Hospital, 2:30pm
Charissa Clarke watched from a distance as the doctor shook his head. Sana fell to the ground, her hand over her mouth in a silent wail. Aamer turned away from his mother, shock on his face. He caught Clarke's eye then looked away, putting his arm around Sana, who clutched his leg and sobbed.
The door to the corridor burst open, and Yousef came running down the corridor, slowing to a halt as he took in the scene around him. He looked from his crying family, to Clarke, and then to the doctor. He caught the doctor's eye.
"I'm so sorry," the doctor said. Yousef shook his head in disbelief.
"No," he said, simply and with no emotion.
"Your father passed away at 2:23pm following complications during surgery following an emergency operation relating to the after-effects of his gunshot wound from..."
Clarke exited the corridor, and took out her phone. She dialled a number and brought the phone up to her ear. She examined her reflection in the well-polished metal sign indicating where the different wards were located. She made sure to gather her composure before the voice on the other end picked up. As soon as she heard the click, she spoke.
"It has happened."
The door to Leanna Walker's cell opened and her body filled with fear like a bucket in torrential rain.
"Please! I've already told you, I staged the hit on Keitha Noguera to try and gain support. I've already confessed. Please!" she begged, sobbing on the floor.
"Oh, this is not an interrogation, Ms Walker," sneered Santos. She forced herself to stand up. "Don't bother, Ms Walker. You'll want to be sitting down for this one."
Six hours earlier...
Countryside, Yervia Province, 10am
"Oh shit," commented Camino Arreola as the Resistance troops halted at the top of a hill to see the seemingly endless lines of Lauchenoirians, Kerlians and Gonhogians that stretched out before them.
"Yeah," agreed a woman whose name he didn't know.
Arreola didn't know who fired first. Just that at some point the staring ended and the shooting started. His squad advanced through a field containing some very panicked sheep, to be met with strong resistance from a horde of Kerlians.
Something exploded behind him and suddenly all the noise faded into a ringing in his ears. He passed a tree and was suddenly on the ground, a Kerlian woman brandishing a knife above him. She appeared to have lost her rifle at some point and so had been crouching behind a tree waiting for someone to jump.
He brought his arms up to push against her and prevent her stabbing him, when suddenly she was hit by a stray bullet and rolled off him, alive but dying. He scrambled to his feet and looked around him. He was a city person; all the countryside looked the same to him. Except...
Were those Gonhogians in the field with the sheep? Or were those different sheep? He couldn't tell if they had advanced forward or been pushed back. All he knew was that the battle wasn't over yet.
10km outside Buttercity, 11am
Yousef Chaher cursed and drove into a lay-by to answer his persistently ringing phone.
"WHAT?" he yelled down the line.
"Mr Chaher? You need to get back to Buttercity at once."
"I'm on my way, why?"
"Your father has taken a turn for the worse."
Resistance HQ, Usera, noon
"The Gonhogians are putting up a hell of a fight, and there's more of them than we anticipated. Our troops have been pushed back, near the village of Nuevo Baeza," reported Ramiro Soto, long-term resident of Usera, and new tactician for the Resistance, pointing at a small dot on the map.
"Casualties?" asked Sonja.
"It's still too much of a mess to tell exactly how much, but a truckload of injured are being brought back here already. We've noticed a possible opening, however. This area here," he gestured, "is full of Lauchenoirian soldiers, and this particular group seem reluctant to open fire on our forces."
"Speculation as to why?"
"Locals, worried about friends or relatives on the other side? Not sure. They're to the far north of the enemy lines, it's not the best territory, but the Gonhogians are mostly to the south and they've been the biggest threat."
"Send some of our forces to engage the Gonhogians, keep them distracted. Send the rest to the north, and hopefully we'll get enough past to take Yerville and meet the Ulinarians."
Soto nodded and left, and Sonja turned back to the map. Josephine, who had been hovering in the corner, came over and wrapped her arms around Sonja, pressing close.
"It'll be okay," Josephine tried to sooth her. Sonja smiled ruefully.
"This isn't the first war I've seen, Josie. Some you win and some you lose, but they all have one thing in common "“ at the end, things are never okay."
Buttercity Central Hospital, noon
"We've discovered some severe internal bleeding and we need to take him to surgery immediately," the doctor informed Chaher's wife, Sana.
"But he was fine yesterday!" she said incredulously.
"These things can get complicated, Mrs Chaher," Charissa Clarke sidled over and put her arm around Sana.
"As she said. I'm sorry, Mrs Chaher, but we need to operate now," the doctor insisted.
"Are there risks?" Aamer, Chaher's younger son asked.
"I won't lie to you, it's an incredibly difficult procedure, but unless we try, your father will die."
"Okay," Sana nodded nervously, "okay, but please bring him back to me, safe."
"We will try our best, ma'am."
Some hospital staff began wheeling the unconscious Suleman Chaher to the operating room, as Sana and Aamer held each other, while Clarke watched on, a concerned look on her face.
Nuevo Baeza, Yervia Province, 2pm
Camino Arreola was knocked to the ground as a Gonhogian grenade hit a nearby building. He noticed a civilian girl clutching a teddy bear hiding in an alleyway.
"Hey, where's your parents?" he asked her. She stared at him, uncomprehending. "¿Dónde están tus padres?" he tried.
"No lo sé," she replied, sobbing.
Shit, he thought. He looked around, but he couldn't see any other civilians. The town's population had scattered when they had appeared, guns blazing. His squad had been ordered to head north, but the Gonhogians were making it impossible and had now surrounded the town.
"Necesitas encontrar un lugar seguro para esconderse," he told the girl, then waved her away. You need to find a safe place to hide.
He turned back to the fighting just as another explosion sent a dust cloud up into the air. A Gonhogian appeared out of the chaos and he raised his weapon and fired at the man. He fell, but one of his comrades appeared out of the dust and returned fire. Wounded but not dead, Arreola fell back against the ground, the world swimming around him.
A Kerlian soldier appeared above him and raised her weapon. He held his hands up in surrender, then passed out.
Buttercity Central Hospital, 2:30pm
Charissa Clarke watched from a distance as the doctor shook his head. Sana fell to the ground, her hand over her mouth in a silent wail. Aamer turned away from his mother, shock on his face. He caught Clarke's eye then looked away, putting his arm around Sana, who clutched his leg and sobbed.
The door to the corridor burst open, and Yousef came running down the corridor, slowing to a halt as he took in the scene around him. He looked from his crying family, to Clarke, and then to the doctor. He caught the doctor's eye.
"I'm so sorry," the doctor said. Yousef shook his head in disbelief.
"No," he said, simply and with no emotion.
"Your father passed away at 2:23pm following complications during surgery following an emergency operation relating to the after-effects of his gunshot wound from..."
Clarke exited the corridor, and took out her phone. She dialled a number and brought the phone up to her ear. She examined her reflection in the well-polished metal sign indicating where the different wards were located. She made sure to gather her composure before the voice on the other end picked up. As soon as she heard the click, she spoke.
"It has happened."
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