Felix took a few steps and froze. Ten feet away, a Cave Wolf growled, its lips peeled back from its yellow teeth.
Bang!
Felix flinched, expecting pain. When he opened his eyes, the wolf lay crumpled on the grass, a fresh bullet wound on the side of its head.
"Felix!" Kip yelled, and he lowered his gun. Nova and Kip ran up to him.
Felix smiled. "Kip, you just saved my life."
"What happened to Fox?" Kip's eyes were wild with panic. "Why are you carrying him?"
Felix let out a deep breath. "He's been shot."
"Shot!" Kip's jaw dropped. "Where?"
"Here." Felix gently lowered Fox to the ground. Kip's eyes darted to the bloody wound on his brother's side. Nova whimpered.
Kip knelt beside Fox. "I'll carry him. I'm stronger and faster than you. He's my brother—it's my duty." He hoisted Fox onto his back. "We need to find a medical truck. Get him to the med-evac boat."
Felix nodded. They ran for ten minutes until they spotted an Intermarium truck marked with a red cross barreling toward them.
"There!" Felix pointed. "The medical truck!"
Hope surged in his chest—until the front wheel dipped into a rut. An earth-shattering BOOM ripped the air. The vehicle tore in half, engulfed in a rolling fireball. Twisted metal and debris rained down across the grass.
Felix's mouth hung open. "What… what the hell was that?"
"A landmine!" Kip screamed, his face contorted with rage. "Those fucking Technates! I'll kill them all!"
"What do we do now?" Felix asked, his voice hollow.
"I don't know." Tears of frustration trickled down Kip's face. "We're miles from the shore. That was our only chance."
"We have to keep moving," Nova said, her voice firm. "Head for the shore where the Intermarium ships are anchored."
"That's miles away!" Kip yelled. "It'll take forever on foot!"
"We have no other choice," she insisted.
"Fine!" Kip snarled. "Let's move!"
After an hour of running, Felix skidded to a halt. "Stop! We can't go that way!"
"Why not?" Kip panted. "It leads to the shore."
"Technate soldiers!"
Just as he spoke, a sniper round cracked the air, splintering the bark of a tree right beside Felix's head.
Kip screamed, "FUCK! Enemy firing!"
Two Intermarium soldiers burst from the tree line—Sgt. Hunter and his comrade—charging toward the two Technate positions.
"Get to cover!" Felix yelled, shoving Kip and Nova toward a large boulder forty feet away.
A shot rang out. The comrade collapsed, a dark stain spreading across his back. Cursing, Sgt. Hunter returned fire, his aim true. One Technate soldier dropped, a bullet hole in the back of his head. As Hunter wheeled on the second soldier, the man fired from the ground. The bullet tore into Sgt. Hunter's neck. He collapsed. The lone surviving Technate soldier slumped against a tree, clutching his shattered leg and gasping for air.
Felix and the others reached the boulder. At its base, half-hidden by overgrown vines, was a heavy steel door. Kip yanked the handle. They scrambled inside, Felix slamming it shut behind them. Nova stumbled against the wall, her shoulder hitting a switch. A single bulb flickered on overhead.
It was a wine cellar. Dusty bottles lined the shelves by the hundreds.
"We're safe here," Felix said, breathing heavily.
Kip gently laid Fox on the concrete floor while Nova slid her backpack under Fox's head as a pillow. Kip placed a hand on his brother's forehead.
He sighed, his anger replaced by dread. "He's burning up. One of us needs to find a real medic."
"I'll go," Felix replied without hesitation.
Kip raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Do you even know where you're going?"
"I'll find someone," Felix said with a confidence he didn't feel. "Just stay here. Keep him safe."
Felix turned and slipped back out the door. Crept towards the spot where the firefight had ended and found the Technate soldier who had killed Hunter. A bullet had shattered his kneecap; his pants were soaked in blood. The man was pale, his face beaded with sweat as he moaned in pain.
Felix's eyes locked onto the soldier's backpack. A red cross pin was fastened to the strap. A medic. He had to have supplies. He had no time to look elsewhere. Fox was dying. Taking a deep breath, he approached the enemy soldier and reached for his pack.
"Get your fucking hands off me! Intermariam Asshole!" The soldier snarled, his face red with fury.
Felix held up his hands, shaking his head. "I'm not here to hurt you."
"Bullshit!" the soldier spat. "You're the enemy!"
"Please," Felix pleaded, his voice cracking. "What do you have? For the pain?"
"Morphine," the soldier rasped, his eyes squeezed shut. "Front pocket of the bag."
Quickly, Felix unzipped the front pocket of the backpack to pull out a capsule of medicine. Helped the soldier sit up and swallow the white pill. A moment later, the tension in the man's body eased, the raw pain receding from his eyes.
"Thank you." He whispered.
"Do you need another?" Felix asked.
"No. One every eight hours."
Felix's eyes widened. "How do you know this?"
"I'm a medic."
Felix nodded. Ignoring the searing pain in his muscles, he hooked his arms under the soldier's and dragged him toward the cellar. When he reached the heavy door, he pulled it open and hauled the man inside.
Kip screamed, "What the fuck is wrong with you Felix? Do you have shit for brains? He's a fucking Technation soldier!"
"He's a medic!" Felix yelled back, gently resting the soldier against the wall. "We need his pack!"
"Then why didn't you just take it? Why bring him?"
"Everyone else is dead!" Felix's voice broke. "Sgt. Hunter, his comrade… they're all dead! He was the only one left!"
Nova, ignoring them both, yanked off Felix's backpack. She opened the bag and rummaged through its contents. "Gloves, sanitizer," she said, her voice a low hum of focus. "We need to be clean."
As they pulled on the thin plastic gloves, Nova pressed a digital thermometer to Fox's forehead. It beeped. Her face went pale. "His fever is 40 degrees!"
"Fuck!" Kip rushed to his brother's side.
"What will bring the fever down?" Felix asked the medic.
"Panadol. Acetaminophen," the soldier replied weakly. "Should be a bottle of liquid in there."
"Don't you dare listen to him, Felix!" Kip snapped. "He could be trying to poison Fox!"
"He's a medic, Kip! He knows what he's doing!" Felix yelled.
"He from Technate!"
"Kip, stop!" Nova cut in, holding up a familiar bottle. "Mom used to give this to us for fevers. It's safe."
"How much?" Felix asked the medic.
"One capful. Any more and you'll make him sick."
A tense silence fell over the cellar as they worked. Kip carefully cleaned and bandaged Fox's wound while Felix poured a capful of the liquid and gently pressed it to Fox's lips, tilting his head back to make him swallow.
With Fox tended to, Felix turned his attention back to the medic. Found a suture kit and a pair of scissors. "What's your name?" Felix asked as he carefully cut away the bloody fabric of the man's pants.
"Carter."
Felix cleaned the wound with an antiseptic wipe. Just as he was about to start stitching, Kip screamed from the other side of the room.
"Felix, what the fuck are you doing?" Kip's voice was ice.
"He's hurt," Felix said, not looking up as he threaded the needle. "I have to help him."
"Have you forgotten we're at war with him?" Kip stormed over, his face red with fury. "Whose side are you on?"
Felix finished the last stitch and wrapped Carter's leg with bandages.
He looked up at Kip's scowl. "I'm on the side that doesn't leave a man to die."
As Felix moved to check on Fox, the quiet click of a rifle safety echoed through the stone walls. Kip stood over Carter, barrel pressed to the medic's temple.
Felix lunged forward. "Kip—stop!"
"Move!" Kip barked. "He's the enemy—harbouring him is treason."
Tears streaked Felix's cheeks. "He has given us medical advice to save Fox. He's our ally."
Kip's finger trembled on the trigger. "If command finds out, we're all dead."
"They won't!" Felix insisted, turning to the terrified medic. "It'll be our secret. Please, don't tell anyone we helped you."
"You have my word," Carter whispered.
Felix spun back to Kip. "See?"
"How can you trust him?" Kip snapped. "He's the enemy!"
"Please, Kip. We have to spare him. He helped us."
After a long, agonizing pause, Kip grunted and lowered the rifle. Exhaustion settled over the group like a heavy blanket. They slumped against the walls, adrenaline fading into bone-deep fatigue and fear.
Carter cleared his throat. He pulled out a silver bottle from the pocket of his muddy cargo pants. "This is Jacob's Formula—an anti-shock serum. Technate issued it for frontline medics."
"I'll try it," Felix said. He took it from Jacob's trembling hand and poured a few drops into his wine. He handed it over to Nova. Kip snatched the rose-shaped glass bottle from Nova's hands.
"It's not labelled! You don't know what's in it!" Kip protested.
Felix tasted his wine bottle. "Tastes like strawberry. It's safe to drink."
Kip narrowed his eyes at the bottle. "I don't trust it."
Nova snatched the bottle from Kip. "At this point… what do we have to lose?"
She poured the bottle into her bottle of wine. "Try some Kip."
"I'd rather drink vomit!" Kip's face reddened.
"Trust me. It'll calm your nerves." Carter said smoothly.
Reluctantly, Kip allowed Felix to pour some into his bottle. He sipped the pink liquid. "It tastes weird."
"It's an acquired taste," Carter said with a faint smile.
Kip shrugged and drank the rest. Felix did the same. They sat in silence, the weight of the day pressing down on them.
"My limbs… feel numb," Felix mumbled, his voice thick.
"It's the alcohol from the wine, not the medicine," Carter replied.
"No…" Felix yawned. His eyelids grew impossibly heavy. He fought to stay awake, but darkness pulled him under.
Nova, he thought hazily. Calling for help.
Then the darkness took him completely.