Battle Strong by Elizabeth McCready (the ebook reader txt) 📖

brown rocky cliff ledge and jumped without thinking. When he surfaced he could hear Beth cheering and laughing. This was it. This was what he had wanted since they arrived, he wanted his friend. And soon her slim body came soaring over the peak of the cliff and joined him in the warm water with a giant splash. They swam around, laughing, splashing, racing. Fun. Real fun in the middle of the most intense war the country had ever dealt with. Her smile was all he’d ever wanted to see. And he felt so alive, so free. Free from the conflict, the death, the sleepless nights, the petty fighting, free from it all. He was living, for the first time, he was truly alive. Best of all, he had his friend back.

“I accept your apology.” She smiled dimly.

“I accept this freedom you spoke so highly of.” She laughed and he was in love.

“Don’t get comfortable, because there is something I need to tell you.” She said, her smile fading.

And she told him. She told him about the love shared between her and Ander. She told him what had happened between them, she told him that there was no choice for him. He didn’t have a right to object, he didn’t have a say in the matter. She explained in the nicest way she knew how that she didn’t return the feelings he felt for her. She told him that she was happy that he was her friend, happy that she could trust him, but that he wouldn’t be the one that she’d give her heart to. Her heart had been Ander’s, and he had known that for a long time. And that’s when he heard her. He truly heard her, and he wasn’t angry. He wasn’t happy either. He was just in love, and there was nothing he could do about it. He had done what she’d asked, he gave her time and space, and now he would need some of his own. His mind processed her words, his heart shattered and began to mend, only to be shattered again in a matter of days. But, somehow, her happiness brought him peace. She was sure, and while that hurt him, it also reminded him of why he loved her in the first place. She was strong willed, and when she knew what she wanted there was nothing anyone else could do to stop her from getting it.

He simply smiled at her, and told her he understood. There was no other way to respond to the news she had shared. He couldn’t tell her how it hurt, he couldn’t tell her that it may be a mistake. He couldn't do anything. And just like that, the freedom had ended. Life came back. And though he wasn’t angry, he was ready to kill.

*~*

It had been a few hours since everyone had gone to bed. Ander looked at Beth, who was beautifully sleeping beside him. The soft rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and the little wrinkle of her nose captivated him, but he couldn’t lie there for another second. Slowly, he got up and made his way out of the stables. He couldn’t sleep, not knowing what was waiting for them on that battlefield, not a chance. He needed to clear his mind, so he went to the place that relaxed him the most. The woods. The air was crisp and cool, reminding his lungs that they were still there. The ground was wiped, it seemed a whole layer of the dense forest ground had been washed away, only the ghosts of brush and the tall trees were left in its wake. The storm was purely devastating. 

He walked for hours, just winding through the tall, small droplets of rain water falling from the leaves and needles above his head. His feet sunk into the mud, and he didn’t mind it. It was a little comforting for him. Sink. Pull. Sink. Pull. It was a rhythm that repeated endlessly. Until it didn’t. He wouldn’t usually be phased by stepping on a firm steel platform, except this one was in the middle of the woods. He stepped back, his eyes had finally started to adjust to the dark, he wiped mud from the surface of the steel to find a symbol and an old rusted lock. Curious, he tried to open the edges around the trunk to see if he could look inside, it didn’t budge. Ander surveyed the immediate area for something he could use to break the lock and force himself into this mysterious steel trunk. And not too far away, he found a sizable rock that crushed the rusted lock in minutes. He opened the box carefully and could not believe what he was seeing. Explosives. Hundreds of them. In mint condition. Land mines, hand grenades, dynamite, any you could think of. All in the ginormous box. He stared in awe, the trunk before him could potentially change everything. Wrong, the explosives in that trunk had changed everything. 

He sat alone in the woods, sifting through the explosives and removing any that would no longer detonate. Some were water damaged, others already pulled. He estimated a total of forty-six functional large-range explosives. Enough to level the entire Dumar base less than a six hour walk from their base. 

*~* 

She opened her eyes and saw wide eyed Ander pushing on her arm.

“Come on, there’s something I need to show you. Be quiet though, you don’t want the others to see this.” Beth rubbed her eyes and simply nodded in agreement. 

The two walked back to the spot, Ander explaining on the way why he had taken off into the woods in the dead of night.  Randomly, he dropped to the ground and started to move leaves revealing a large steel trunk. Large enough for both of them to fit inside without touching each other, and when he opened it. She realized that they had the leverage now.

“What-where-how?”

“I know, Beth, just listen to me. I know you are going to think this is crazy, but Donoway, we have to end this war. You and me. I have a plan,” Ander said now looking her in the eyes, “You and I are going onto Dumar’s base, we are going to plant all of these explosives, and we are going to light them up.”

Beth wasn’t even sure how to react, she was thrilled, terrified, unsure. “How are we going to pull this off?” She asked.

“We know the language, I know the patterns, we have intel from Command. This could be the biggest move of this war. During battle we are going to steal suits from some dead Dumarians and get additional intel on the place. I already know when there are the least guards on watch, and what they do to get on base. It will be hard, but it will be possible. They don’t run checks on their soldiers, and if they ask questions we will know what to say.” Beth stared at him in silence.

This plan had a lot of risks, they know her identity if she showed her bare face out of those masks she would be killed. But if this plan worked, they would be able to end this war. Ander put a hand on her cheek, and softly kissed her mouth. She looked at him. And she knew. She would do anything to end this war, and they were going to level the Dumarians.

*~* 

Pietre woke to the siren. It made its deafening mark even in the stables. He moved quickly and with purpose. Sliding into his battle suit and slinging weapons across various parts of his body. The Six had decided the night prior that they would change the partnering, Beth and Ander, of course, Stievan and Quinn, and him and Noeh. He wasn’t excited. But he knew it was going to happen whether he’d like it to or not. He hustled down the stairs with the others to the horses, he quickly tacked Kamau and mounted, ready to start the trek to the battlefields. Soon joined by the others. Ander and Beth, steel faced and lethal pushed to the front of everyone eyeing their team. In unison, they looked to each other and nodded, and the Six were off. Six deadly soldiers on six deadly beasts tearing through the beaten path to the battlefields. The journey seemed much shorter on horseback than on that wretched bus. They reached the battlefields in no time at all. Just before the peak of the hill that separated them from their enemies, the Six halted their horses. Together, they looked at each other, an unspoken reminder that today may be the most dangerous fight they’ve endured yet. And, with a mighty shout from Ander, the Six split in three. Two by two, they took off into jutted directions and even when they saw the amount of soldiers on the battle ground, they held strong and fierce. Hoofs pounding, shouts echoing, impact. 

Pietre was first to reach the Dumarians to the east of the battle grounds, he had sliced the necks of three men by the time Noeh’s horse could catch up. The men on the ground ready just as they were to tear into Noeh and Pietre. Little did they know, lethal was the Six’s strength and they weren’t afraid to use it. Pietre drew a bow and flew three arrows into three men at once, immediately replaced the bow with a sword and drew a knife with the other hand, allowing Kamau to control where he went. He threw two knives both finding a place in soldiers bodies’. Noeh was wild, he was flailing his sword like an animal, Pietre watched it happen. He wished he didn’t.

It was almost in slow motion, and it turned his gut inside out. An arrow, flying effortlessly through the air, target locked, pierced straight through the bottom of Noeh’s helmet, the boy falling from Finnegan’s back. Pietre continued to fight, killing and killing. He couldn’t stop. Not now. He refused to look, he refused to see if Noeh was okay, he kept fighting. He sliced and stabbed through every last one of them. He stopped, his back to the spot where he had seen the arrow find it’s mark. He turned slowly and looked at Noeh’s lifeless body alone on the ground apart from the Dumarians. He turned away, pain for the loss of another comrad on his watch. Pain for the loss of someone who had made it so far. He muttered an apology, pulled Finnegan from his person for the last time, and rode back to the others.

*~*

Ander and Beth had slaughtered fifty men by themselves. They were an incredible team, without a doubt. That’s why they were able to dismount their horses and retrieve battle suits from two Dumarians and carry on in battle without raising any alarms. He could tell Beth was unsure of this plan, that she was worried they were already fighting a losing battle, but he knew she was ready to try anything end the war. 

“Ander!” She called, pointing to Pietre, galloping Kamau as fast as she could go, with a lone Finnegan in his wake. His face flushed.

Beth removed her helmet, to brush a tear from her cheek, her face bore little emotion if any at all. Pietre halted Kamau and Finnegan before Ander and Beth. His face full of disappointment. Ander nodded. Beth’s face didn’t alter. She turned to Ander, her face strong, only a single tear crept from her eyes.

“Let’s end this.”

*~*

She would not let his death be the reason this war continued. She knew it had to end. No matter the cost, she was numb to the pain, numb to the memories. At least for the moments, she was fighting. She let the pain out by slashing her sword, she would not lose her mind. Not this time. She wouldn’t let this ruin her like Chaess’ death. Like Kallide’s death. No, Noeh’s death did not shut