Page 74 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 2

“Target three down.”

“Target two down.”

“Final target down. Night watch is removed.”

Just like that, in a matter of two minutes, we’d officially waged war on the Northern Army.

“Ground leaders, this is eagle eye, you’re clear,” Petru updated Rick and Lucian, who were in charge of coordinating the leading group of soldiers.

There were two clicks in response followed by three more, signaling everyone to go radio silent. This was the part that I knew I was going to struggle with. Victor and his crew of five men would sneak up to the wall, plant the explosives, set the timer, and book it out of there before it blasted. At this point, the base would be flooded with our people, who would then search every single building for two men—Colonel Papez and Colonel Shaban. These two men had been loyal to General Rasvan throughout his whole time leading the Army. As thanks, they were given the cushy job of running the training camp. This made them doubly essential to remove from the board of players the General could use against us. Like pulling teeth out of the lion's mouth to make him less lethal. It would be dangerous work, but it would be worth it at the end when General Rasvan realized he had no more bite to threaten us with.

Keeping my eyes fixated on the spot Victor and his team were aiming for was the only reason I spotted them. They moved low and quick, getting to the wall with no one the wiser. Shifting my attention away from them, I scanned the wall, ensuring no one went up to check on one of the watchmen to find them dead. Even though I knew it was coming, the blast from the explosives had me flinching. Directing my scope to the spot, I saw a gaping hole large enough for three people to walk through. I hadn’t expected it to be so large, but something smaller would have made it easier for them to pick us off as we entered.

A shrill alarm sounded through the early morning stillness alerting everyone within the base that they were under attack. Soldiers appeared on the wall. Only I didn’t shoot. They weren’t threatening our people yet, and we’d been instructed to keep casualties to a minimum where we could. Someone shouted and pointed, then raised their gun to shoot. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly and pulled the trigger. My shot went a little high and hit him in the shoulder, but another bullet struck him in the chest.

“West section of the wall looks like they have a machine gun they’re setting up.” Byres alerted us.

Rotating to the spot he was talking about, I saw five men gathered around a large weapon. I took out one hitting him in the back and as the fates would have it, he’d been holding the gun. He dropped like a sack of potatoes freeing up the line of sight to the man beside him. Once I took that man out, Petru had already dealt with the other three.

“Eagle eye, once we’re in, pack it up and bring your team in,” Lucian ordered.

That translated to, keep covering us until we have all our troops in the base, then join the fight. As much as they wanted to keep me out of the fray, there was no way that could be accomplished the entire time. What they could do was make sure I was part of the team who went in last. The thinking was they’d have things well in hand by the time we made it to the base.

“Copy that, ground leader,” Petru responded, as he continued to sweep his gun back and forth keeping an eye on things.

I pushed up on my arms to better see our people rushing the entrance we made. Shouts rose as the alarm was shut off, with the sound of gunfire reverberating through the air. Suddenly light flooded the surrounding area outside the wall exposing our men hidden in the grasses waiting to enter the hole.

“Take out the lights,” Petru ordered.

Dropping to my stomach, I zeroed in on one of the spotlights and pulled the trigger. The thing exploded in a flurry of sparks and shouting. Shifting my sight down, I took out two more men struggling to get the second light to work. I paused, knowing I was out of ammo and switched out magazines for a full one. Back in the game, I scanned the wall now that it was dark on the outside. The buildings within the base were lit up, but we couldn’t do much with that.

“Sniper team, regroup. We’re going in,” Petru instructed as he sat back on his heels, packing away the items he’d been using. “Come on, Wildflower. It’s time for us to make sure the General hears us loud and clear.”

Slinging my rifle over my shoulder, I followed after the two men as we jogged to the meeting point. It took a few minutes once we reached it for the other teams to join us, then we were off. Handguns at the ready, we weaved our way over the rocky terrain to the opening. The sound of panicked screaming was the first thing that hit me, followed by people shouting orders and gunfire.

Petru grabbed my arm and spun me to look at him. “You stay right by my side, do you hear me? No wandering off or needlessly putting yourself in a situation. I want to feel you right at my back the whole time, otherwise, you’ll get one of us hurt or killed.”

“I understand. I’ll be your perfect shadow,” I answered.

We hadn’t even stepped foot inside the base yet, and I could feel the chaotic energy flowing out of the place. Nothing could prepare anyone for this because there was no way to recreate the feeling of sheer panic and desperation. This was war, and it was kill or be killed, and I wasn’t looking to die today. Petru studied my face a second longer then nodded, and away we went.

The whole experience was a blur that had me relying on my training and instinct. People were everywhere, running, screaming, crashing into you; only to shove you out of the way so they could keep going. Others dropped to their knees, tossed their guns away, and begged for mercy. They were grabbed, tied up, and brought to the large open training area. I couldn’t tell you how long the whole thing took. It felt like hours, yet it seemed to be over in a flash. The sweat on my brow and the empty gun in my hands told me another story. Quickly I switched out for a fresh round of ammo and used my sleeve to wipe the sweat from my face.

Slightly bewildered, I almost tripped over a body on the ground, but Petru caught me. “Careful, Wildflower. I know this is a lot. It’s almost over, so just hang in there.”

Everything seemed to slow down as I saw a woman step out from behind a building, gun raised and aimed right at Petru, whose back was turned. With a strength and speed I didn’t know I had, I stuck my leg out and shoved Petru backwards, sending him crashing to the ground. The moment he was in motion, falling backwards, I let off two shots as I saw the muzzle flash from her gun. My aim was true; both hit her right in the chest, making her jerk back with wide, frightened eyes. She tried to shoot again, but I fired another bullet that nailed her right between the eyes.

With that hit, she collapsed and the world seemed to speed up again. Suddenly Victor was in my face grabbing my shoulders and yelling at me. My adrenaline was still coursing through my body, making it hard to focus on his words. It felt like I was still in slow motion as everything else moved normally. Then everything came flooding back, and I screamed as Victor's grip on my arm tightened.

“Dani, what’s wrong?” Victor demanded, releasing his hold on me. Then we both noticed the blood on his right hand. Yanking off the outer layer of my uniform revealed a gash on the outside of my biceps. “You were fucking shot.”

Hearing his words kicked my brain back into gear. “Petru,” I blurted.

Twisting out of the hold, I found the man in question picking himself up off the ground. He looked unharmed, but the pissed-off expression had me questioning that. “Are you okay?”

“Am I okay?” Petru scoffed, running his hands through his hair. “Goddamn it, Danella, didn’t I specifically tell you not to do anything that would put you in danger?”

“She was going to shoot you,” I shot back. “Your back was turned. There was no way you’d have gotten out of the way in time.”