Page 40 of Chained

"Well they turned left, I vote for right," I said.

"Agreed," said Taylor.

Evan nodded.

We moved down the righthand path which started to widen slowly as we went. After about two hundred feet, the walls had moved so far apart that it couldn't be counted as a trench anymore and we were able to walk next to each other. I felt exposed without the walls closing in on us.

A shadow moved ahead and we shrank back to hug the wall on the righthand side of the clearing.

For a moment nothing happened and Taylor started to move forward again. I caught hold of his arm and pointed at the ridge on the other side of the opening. A dark shape was outlined against the bright sky. Squinting, I managed to pick out several other shapes.

"Ambush," I mouthed to the others.

Taylor pointed to his red stripes and shrugged but I wasn't convinced. I looked at Evan who shook his head and pointed back the way we had come. I nodded in agreement and tugged Taylor's sleeve to make sure that he followed as we snuck back along the path to the crossroads.

"Shall we just keep heading back?" Evan asked, obviously not keen on the idea of following Grey. "I don't think running into him would make for a happy reunion."

I started to agree with him when we heard gunshots coming from the direction we were about to take.

"Ambush, Grey or gun fight?" I asked pointing in the different directions as I named the dangers down each of them. We all looked towards the sound of the gun fight just as a merciless screaming joined the sound of shots.

"Grey is probably long gone by now," Taylor pointed out.

I pushed away a shudder as we headed in the direction my attacker had taken.

The sounds of shooting were moving closer and we broke into a run, taking several turns to get away. We pulled up short inside a dug out alcove and tried to catch our breath.

It seemed like we had finally managed to put some distance between ourselves and the shooters.

"Has anyone noticed that we haven't exactly been doing much message carrying?" Evan asked.

"I get the feeling it's just an excuse. We're really here to be scared straight," I replied.

"If I tell them it's worked already do you think we can go home now?" Taylor asked hopefully.

"Give it a try when we get back tonight," Evan said and we all laughed.

"Now where?" I asked, peeping around the corner.

There was a thudding of feet approaching and we shrank back into our hidden crevice. I pulled out my pistol and took the safety off. Taylor did the same.

The pounding got louder and we saw three members of our unit swing into view being closely pursued by seven of the opposing army. They sped past our hiding spot and into the wide, open area outside it.

I knew we weren't supposed to intervene but, before I could stop myself, I had taken a step forward and levelled my gun at the lead pursuer, my finger on the trigger. A hand clasped around my elbow, fingers digging into the tender skin.

"Do you want to get us all killed?" Evan hissed.

His eyes burned into mine as I glared at him. The moment had passed and the pursuers fell on our men with knives drawn. It was over before I could look away. Evan yanked me back into our hiding place.

"I could have helped them." I frowned at him.

"No. You could have killed one man, then there would still be six of them. Three would have turned our way and opened fire and we have no cover here beyond these shadows. The other three still would have killed those men," Evan snapped.

"You can't know that," I spat at him. My hands trembled as I flicked the safety back into place and holstered my pistol.

"It wasn't worth the risk. If those men were here to fight then their crimes meant they deserved that punishment. Ours did not."

"So we should just let them die? Even if we could have helped?"