DEBIAN
The radio crackles to life and the report from the lieutenant comes through advising that the fugitives are armed and dangerous, how they’d managed to arm themselves was beyond me but I knew they could be resourceful, i’d seen how Zandra managed to survive.
Increasing my pace I break in to a steady jog, my radio crackling again as Ved calls through. Bringing the radio to my face I press the button, “receiving you loud and clear,” I respond, my voice hinting slightly at the fact i’m jogging. “approaching coordinates from north east, tree line. Over.”
Turning slightly I move in to the trees, the radio crackling again with a response from Ax and the other searchers. Hopefully we would all converge at the same point and be able to re-capture the fugitives before anything else happened, plus the sooner they were captured the sooner the search parties would be recalled putting Zandra in to a slightly safer situation.
My radio crackles again but I switch it to silent for a moment, my movements slowing as i’m sure I just heard something that sounded like a twig snap. Looking around I shake my head slightly, obviously my imagination was getting the best of me.
Turning slightly I switch the radio back on and send a location ping to Ved and Ax, hopefully we’d manage to converge on the right location but at the same time maybe we wouldn’t. I can’t help replay Zandra’s words, her wish that the fugitives were able to remain free. It’s hard to walk the line between being loyal and being with her.
Out of the corner of my eye I notice movement, I’m not far from the location the lieutenant sent but am approaching from a different angle. I actually recognise the area, although I haven’t been here for a while and its somewhere I’ve actively discouraged Zandra from coming to just in case. The ground is less well trodden than it was before, the trees have deposited their leaves and the routes we used to take aren’t as clearly marked but my feet seem to know where they are going.
‘You can’t tell just anyone about this place, it’s special’ I nod at my companion as we walk through the trees. ‘This is going to be a fantastic opportunity for us, one we can’t pass up. Are you in?’ I nod again, unsure what I’ve just agreed to but knowing that it’s already too late to retract my decision. ‘Project Fanatic is going to be the makings of us, just you wait.’
Shaking my head I focus on the present rather than the memory, it was strange thinking back to before, when the project had just been a name rather than the outcome.
Before I have chance to really focus my thoughts further I hear the sound of running feet, pressing back against the nearest tress I watch as first one and then another form breaks through the trees. I manage to press the silence button on the radio as it starts to crackle but the figures don’t appear to have seen me. They are obviously focused on what is behind them rather than what is ahead of them.
They keep moving and I stay put for a few moments longer, although not too long as I don’t want to lose them. Their movements indicate they don’t know where they are going, their lethargy becoming more obvious as their pace slows. I know which direction they are headed and can’t help but wonder whether their intentions are to head to the beach or if they have gotten themselves turned around somehow. If they are hoping for a boat or something to escape the island they are soon to be disappointed, everything like that had been stored away safely, they were trapped like rats in a cage, they just didn’t know yet that the whole island was a cage.
I pause again, watching from the shadows as they take a moment to admire the beach, they obviously don’t know they are being followed, don’t realise that they aren’t as alone as they think. But realistically, they were never alone on this island, none of us were.
The boy, man, maybe it’s hard to see from this distance, raises his voice and shouts after the woman as she begins her descent towards the beach. Don’t they realise just how easy they are making this? Maybe the feel cocky after their encounter with the commander but shouting while trying to hide wasn’t the best plan.
There’s another noise and I resist the urge to move from my spot to see what has happened, I know I need to be sensible and stealthy. “This is Debian, fugitives are at north beach, over.” I hope the others have picked up my message but before they can respond I’ve silenced my radio again, last thing I wanted was for them to hear the radio.
It’s frustrating, sitting here and waiting but I know I can’t rush. As much as I want to jump out and shout ‘found you’ I know I can’t. I have to be sensible about this, need to ensure that they can’t get away this time. Hopefully Ved and Ax would get the message and turn up as backup, maybe the lieutenant would turn up as well and between us we could round up the fugitives and show them that escape, no matter how tempting, was futile.
@Danni @Trudy