Page 60 of The General's Captive
“Volkov,” I called his name and the sight of those unshed tears clinging to his eyes nearly broke me again. So, I croucheddown in front of him. “I’m going to get him back…one way or another,”I said softly, this last part telling him all he needed to know.
He nodded his head and reached for his radio already knowing what I needed after hearing me talk about Michaels.
“Officer Clavis here, Commander Michaels, do you copy? Over,” I said, hearing static for a few seconds before his voice came from the other end.
“Commander Michaels, here. Good to hear you made it Alex. Is Officer Brooks with you? Over.”
I swallowed hard before forcing the words out of my mouth.
“No, he… he gave his life for another. Over,” I said, unable to physically say anything more. Even though he would most likely take this for what everyone else would believe. That he was dead.
I refused to ever believe it, but Michaels would.
“Then… he died a hero. Over,” he said, his voice pained just like mine was.
The way he struggled caused fresh tears to fall, each one coated in frustration as I swiped at them angrily.
“Sir, we need to make a plan. I suggest stopping the train so we can talk, there are things you need to know. Over.”
“Roger that. I will meet you at the back of the train once I have it stopped. Over and Out.”
“What are you planning?” Tiff asked, making me swallow hard.
“What he would do for me,” I told her.
At this her eyes startled, before she started shaking her head while simultaneously pulling me further from the others, so they were out of earshot.
“Honey, he’s gone, so don’t go doing anything stupid here.”
I released an exasperated sigh and told her, “I don’t believe that.”
“He was surrounded by Myths; The General was there and…”
“The General wants me,” I interrupted quickly, deciding to take a chance in trusting her with this knowing that I needed an ally here.
The look of confusion was one I understood well enough, I too still didn’t fully understand it.
“How do you know that?”she hissed, her bright blue eyes wide and rimmed with unshed tears.
“It doesn’t matter how I know. The point is, he will use Riley to get to me. You saw them at the end Tiff, the way his Myth’s saved us, well, they did the same at the base in Jerome. It was the only reason the soldiers left there to fight managed to get away at the end,” I told her, shocking her enough that she rocked back on the ball of her foot.
“Is that true?” The disbelief in her tone was easy to hear.
“I saw it for myself, it was the only reason I survived,” I told her.
“So, what are you going to do?”
I released a sigh and answered. “I’m going to do exactly what he would. I’m going to save him.”
Before she could argue, we both felt the train slow to a stop which was my cue to get my ass off and speak with Michaels. So, the second I was able, I jumped down, gritting my teeth against the pain in my hip, because running on it certainly hadn’t helped. In fact, I was surprised when my leg didn’t just crumble under me.
I took a minute for it to pass, holding on to the train’s car as I breathed through the sharp pain, waiting for it to ease back into its usual ache. I would have to get some pain meds from Jenkins when this conversation was over, one that couldn’t wait.
So, with that in mind, I limped behind the last train car and waited for the Commander to arrive. My eyes followed the empty tracks and I asked myself how far we had travelled. I looked to the road that ran beside us, wishing, more than anything, to seeRiley’s truck speeding this way. Just like it had done the day before.
foolish wish that would never happen.
“Alex,” Michaels said, the gash on his forehead telling me of how hard he had fought to aid those in getting to the train. He was a good man, and I was confident he would make the right decisions for these people.
