Nathan Jones - Determination

Trev hurriedly left Alice’s side and moved around to support his friend’s other shoulder, and was alarmed to find it soaked with blood. Rick yelped in pain when he did, and Trev hastily reworked his grip to support him around the chest instead. “How bad?” he asked.

Rick spoke through gritted teeth. “Aside from you yanking it around? Just great.”

That obviously wasn’t true, but Trev let it drop for now as he looked past the younger man. “Alice?” She didn’t respond, and he had to repeat himself twice before she finally looked over.

“It hit my vest,” she said dully. “I’m fine.”

“Thank God,” Rick said. “Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

She didn’t answer, and Trev felt his concern for her spike again. The blond young woman might or might not be fine physically, but her mental state was a whole other issue.

Before he could push the matter there was a commotion from up ahead. “Fred? Fred! Where are you?”

It was Susan Donnell. The woman had abandoned her sentry position and come searching for her husband, shouting his name frantically as she ran down the road past her beleaguered squad mates. Trev felt like a spike had been driven through his gut, and on Rick’s other side Alice abruptly stopped dead and began to cry.

“No,” she mumbled. “No no no.”

Trev realized the blond woman was still covered with Fred’s blood. From when the man had lain protectively over her in their dip in the ground, as she tried to stop his bleeding while he died practically on top of her.

“Hold on,” he said quietly, gently lowering Rick to the ground. Alice went with him, still weeping.

Trev hurried forward to meet Susan, who almost walked straight by before recognizing him. “Trev?” she said frantically. “Where is he? Where’s my husband?”

Trev couldn’t see her eyes behind her night vision, but he did his best to meet them anyway. “I’m sorry, Susan. Fred was hit near the beginning of the ambush. He didn’t make it.”

“What do you mean, he didn’t make it?” she demanded. “Where is he? Why didn’t you bring him with you?” Trev stared at her helplessly as her shoulders began to shake and she swayed on her feet. She half fell against him, pounding his chest with her fist. “Why, Trev? What happened to “no man left behind?”

He reached out to catch her, and her anger abruptly vanished as she slumped against him sobbing. “Why, Trev?” she kept repeating.

Rob Jonas materialized from the road ahead, and Trev gestured for him to help Rick and Alice as he started up the road, still awkwardly holding Susan and guiding her along. His back hurt fiercely in the two places he’d been shot, but neither injury could come close to matching the pain in his chest.

The nightmare walk up the road, awkwardly climbing over the pile of debris where the explosives had taken it out, seemed to take ages. But it was a vast relief to see the truck parked on the other side, a handful of Davis’s medics beside it. They were already working frantically, helping Trev’s squad mates get inside or seeing to their wounds.

It was less of a relief to see Vernon and most of his men also standing there, almost but not quite blocking his path to the vehicle. The former sheriff stepped towards him as he and Susan approached. “Still alive after your idiocy, Smith?”

Leaning against his shoulder Susan hissed in outrage, and Trev’s blurry vision briefly went blank with pure rage. He had to clench his jaw around the obscenities he wanted to shout at the man, biting his inner cheek in the process, but he barely felt the pain as he urged Susan on towards the truck and stepped around Vernon.

The former sheriff stepped back slightly. “Luckily I called for a truck,” he said, still trying for his jovial tone.

Vernon obviously expected him to be angry, but even so he was caught by surprise when Trev let Susan go and crossed the remaining distance between them, punching the former sheriff full in the face as hard as he could.

The man went down hard, struggling to get back to his feet but too dazed to manage it. Meanwhile his men surged toward Trev, pissed off and cursing. Trev’s squad started forward to protect him, and things looked only moments away from getting ugly.

“Wait!” Vernon shouted in a slightly nasally voice. His men paused, only for a moment, but that was long enough for the former sheriff to finish hauling himself upright. His nose was streaming blood and his eyes glittered as he glared at Trev.

“Haven’t we been through enough tonight without that?” he demanded.

Trev had to restrain himself from throwing another punch. “You haven’t been through anything,” he snarled, “you left us to die!” His squad mates shouted in agreement, Susan loudest of all.

The sheriff fumbled in his pocket for a bandanna and shoved it against his face. His reply came out a bit muffled. “It wasn’t part of our orders.”

“It was a perfect opportunity!” Trev shot back. “If you’d come out you would’ve been there to deal with the blockheads hiding in the thicket, and five of my people would still be alive!”

“If it was so perfect then it wouldn’t have ended up so badly.” Vernon started to walk away, motioning to his men. “It wasn’t part of our orders and I wasn’t willing to risk my men. I told you so before you went in. This is on your head. Next time don’t jump the gun then blame other people for what happens.”

Trev went after him, but he’d only gone a step before Abrams headed him off. “This isn’t the time for this, Smith,” the Marine snapped. “Get your people in the truck, now.”

For a moment he stood there, struggling to control his anger. Then he turned and hurried to help Rick and Alice the rest of the way to the truck. The medics immediately huddled around Rick, blinding Trev with their electric lanterns. He flinched away and pulled off his goggles, then did his best to help them get his friend into the truck.

Once they were safely in the vehicle, the last people in, its engine rumbled to life and they lurched into motion. The driver, obviously aware of the injured he carried, did his best not to make the ride too bumpy, although they still drove fast.

Trev left the medics seeing to Rick’s shoulder and made his way back to where Alice sat, staring blankly at a very disconcerted looking Rob Jonas sitting across from her. Almost as if she didn’t see him.

Trev knelt to put himself in front of her gaze. “Alice?” No response. He rested a hand lightly on her knee and repeated her name.

The young woman finally spoke, in a dull voice that definitely seemed to be in shock. “They came back for me, Trev. I took it in the vest, I was fine, and now Tom’s dead and Rick’s shot.” Her eyes finally moved slightly to meet his, looking lost. “Why did they come back for me?”

He looked away, unable to give her an answer. If there even was one to give. “We need to check where you got shot,” he finally said.

She didn’t seem to hear. “And Fred. He took a bullet dragging me into that hole where I’d be safe, and even then he still did his best to shield me with his body.” The young woman’s voice dropped until he could barely hear her. “Did I get two people killed, Trev?”

“No, you didn’t,” he said emphatically. “Whatever happened, it’s not on you.” He gently squeezed her knee. “Come on. Even if the shot just hit your vest we should still check it.”

She nodded and turned to face the front of the truck. Trev prodded at the spot on her back she indicated, feeling the groove in her flak jacket where the bullet had struck, but no fragments. He helped her remove her body armor and prodded more gently. In spite of her making a slightly pained noise at the bruise there didn’t seem to be any real injury. She wasn’t bleeding, at least.