Madison

The pair of women lay on the ground, lying parallel to a log, hoping that the approaching patrol hadn’t seen the signs of their passing.

The time to start the attack had come and gone, and Mila had led Madison through the forest toward the ATV track they had to cross. Along the sides of the horseshoe there was much less in the way of forest between the closest road, the track, and the perimeter fence. All of it had been condensed into a smaller area.

Where the brothers were going to assault, there was hundreds, if not thousands of acres of untamed forest. Which should have meant the women could get nice and close to their target. Unfortunately, neither of them had counted on the Institute changing things up after nearly catching her and Kean the other day.

They’re going to see us, Mila signed frantically.

Or at least, that’s what she figured her newfound friend was indicating with her frantically moving fingers, pointing through the log to the approaching three-man patrol.

Do we shoot them? she asked back, pantomiming the tranquilizer guns they both wore, firing it in the direction of the patrol, and finally adding a questioning looking to her face at the end.

We might have to.

Slowly Madison pushed her hand down through the leaves, inching it closer to her side. She tried desperately not to disturb any of the deadfall beside her, knowing that even the slightest movement could be noticed, or create enough sound to be heard.

A twig snapped nearby and they both froze. Maddy’s heart was slamming into her ribcage as she frantically realized her hand was still six inches from the gun. And the gun was still in the holster! If they spotted her, there wouldn’t be enough time to react before the shooting started.

It would all be up to Mila.

Madison swallowed, her throat dry as other footsteps came closer. The patrol must have spotted some sign of their passage. She wasn’t trained in forest movement or tracking, and how to avoid anyone knowing she’d been there. It was probably obvious for anyone with even a hint of awareness to see her path.

Shit. She’d known this was a bad idea. But the brothers were supposed to be drawing the guards off! Where were they? If they didn’t start making noise soon, this whole mission was going to be busted before it started!

Nervously, trying to control her body and prevent it from trembling, Maddy lay next to the log, thinking invisible thoughts. The footsteps came to a stop.

“You hearing this?” a male voice asked.

“Seriously, we’re under attack?” the same voice said, sounding like it was responding to something or someone she couldn’t hear.

“Okay, okay. We’re on our way, Patrol Six-Niner-Zero en route to perimeter breach.”

A pause, then, “You heard him, boys. Saddle up, let’s roll!”

Heavy boots trampled over the ground, heading blissfully away from the pair of women they had come perhaps ten feet from seeing. Neither of them moved for several long minutes, just staring at each other and hoping that they weren't being messed with.

At last Mila made the sign for “gun,” and waited while Madison slowly prepared hers for action. Then, on the count of three, they both jumped up to one knee, prepared to take out any attackers who remained nearby.

“They’re gone,” Mila breathed in relief as they surveyed the empty forest around them.

“That was too close.”

“Way too close,” Mila agreed. “But it sounds like the boys are doing their job. Time to do ours.”

Madison schooled her face into a calm, neutral expression as best she could. “Let’s go.”

They jogged steadily through the forest, making a beeline straight for the perimeter fence. The had to proceed on as direct a course as possible, and simply hope that the brothers had succeeded. Otherwise, this was going to be the shortest rescue mission on record.

One moment they were in the forest, the next they stumbled out into some long grass. Ten, perhaps fifteen feet in front of them was the fence, looming a solid twelve feet high. It was chain-link, not concrete, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t imposing. Thick industrial-grade wire formed the fence, and it was topped off with a nasty amount of barbed wire.

“Thank goodness we’re not going over that,” Madison sighed as she watched Madison click together the heavy wire cutters they’d hauled in with them.

“Test it,” the other woman said as she prepared to cut it open.

“Right.” Madison fished a six-inch-long metal bar from the side of the little rucksack she wore and tossed it against the fence.

It clinked lightly and fell to the ground.

“No juice,” she announced, the lack of reaction proving the fence wasn’t electrified. “You’re clear to go.”

Mila nodded, and inserted the jaws between the first wire. Her arms flexed and the cutter went right through it. A smile blossomed as she swiftly cut a vertical slit into the fence large enough for them to peel back a section and slip through.

Once inside they darted across the open field. Madison slammed her back into the side of the nearest building, trying to press herself against it so hard she would go right through it.

“What now?” she asked.

Without knowing what the buildings were for, or having a record of them at close range, they had no idea which building was the central administration hub. The headquarters. It was there that they would find Raven, Mila was sure of it. Madison had concurred. She just wished they knew which one it was going in.

“Inside,” Mila decided after a split second’s hesitation, showing her unhappiness at a lack of a clear plan of action now that they were inside.

They ran to the nearest door on their side of the building, what looked like a utility entrance. Definitely something of high traffic. The grass came right up to that edge of the building, and the door didn’t look like it had been used in a while. Madison had her doubts.

So when Mila tugged on it, she was shocked to realize that it was unlocked.

“There is no way this isn’t a trap,” she muttered.

“Could they really have known ahead of time where we would come in, or that we were even coming?” Mila asked. “I’m suspicious as all hell, but even for me, that means one of us is a traitor, or that someone over there is really good. Personally, I’m just fine thinking we got lucky. ‘Cause if it is a trap, you know that we’re already screwed. They wouldn’t have left it so we could escape now.”

Madison frowned. “You are paranoid, aren’t you?” She hadn’t thought it anywhere near that far through.

“A little bit,” Mila admitted, laughing. “Now come on, let’s move.”

They slipped inside, finding themselves in a large storage room. Crates lined the walls and were piled high in huge stacks. Neither of the women stopped to look at what they contained. Instead they simply headed for the far end of the giant warehouse-like room, seeking their way out into the rest of the facility. There was no time to waste now. The brothers’ assault would be in full force, and they needed to get as deep into the base as they could before anyone suspected there was more going on. It would only be a matter of time before they were forced to retreat; they’d made that very clear to her and Mila.

“We can catch them by surprise, and do a hell of a lot of damage,” Pierce had said. “But we can’t beat them. The numbers are simply not in our favor. Once they start to organize, we’re going to have to beat a hasty retreat. That could be ten minutes in, that could be half an hour. Hell, it could be five minutes. We just don’t know. So get in, move your asses, and get the hell out.”

They reached the far end of the facility. There were shelves now, and open items stored upon them. While Mila pulled open the door to peer outside, Maddy took a look at what the Institute had stored here.

“All clear,” Mila called.

“Hey, come here,” she said, not moving to leave. “I have an idea.”

“What?” Mila hissed. “Come on, it’s chaos out here. Now’s our best shot at getting around, while the guards have other stuff going on and everyone is panicking.”

Maddy could hear alarms sounding through the door, which was held open a crack.

“Probably, but we’ll move around a lot better in these,” she said, holding up the white long-sleeved shirt and light blue pants that she’d seen many of the women on site moving around in.

She had no idea what the outfit signified, but it was surely less jarring to anyone who stumbled across them than the black on black on black they were currently sporting. Not waiting for Mila, she pulled a shirt over her head, and then when that was done, began to work her way through the pants. Before she was finished Mila had joined her and was also putting an outfit on.

“I look ridiculous,” the shorter woman said, the clothes hanging loosely on her, obviously made for someone bigger than her.

“Sorry, I didn’t have time to see if they had it in your size,” Maddy replied.

Mila stuck out her tongue and moved over to the door once more. “Okay, let’s go.”

The women slipped outside. The alarms were much louder here, she realized. They were blaring from several buildings, but not all.

“It’s likely one with an alarm coming from it,” she thought aloud.

“Well that narrows it down. There doesn’t seem to be much farther down the horseshoe,” Mila said. “Let’s head up toward the top of it. It’s probably one of the buildings highest up.”

“Probably,” she agreed. “Bad guys are always doing things like that, trying to look down on others, even if it’s a building.”

They set off, climbing the sloped road as quickly as they could without drawing too much attention to themselves. Other women were moving around, some of them panicked and trying to get somewhere fast, others in apparent confusion as they wondered what was going on.

At one point Madison nearly fainted as a full dozen black-clad guards charged by at a full run, heading past the buildings and toward the fence beyond.

“That was too close,” she muttered, leaning over to whisper in Mila’s ear.

“Yeah, no kidding,” the other woman said, sounding shaken up.

They tried the first building they came across with an alarm on it, but a quick glance inside showed it to be a massive-looking dormitory with a multi-story open hallway in between.

“I’ve seen jails that looked more inviting than that,” Mila muttered angrily, backing out of the door, Maddy right behind her.

“Let’s keep moving.” Madison didn’t want to discuss what they’d just seen. It would raise too many questions. Questions she didn’t feel like answering just then.

I’ll tell them after this mission is over.

She had to. They deserved to know.

“What building next?” she asked as they moved swiftly uphill.

“Hey, you!”

“Uh, the one we just came from,” Mila said as a guard appeared behind them.

“Yes?” Madison asked, reaching behind her and opening the door. “We were just going inside.”

“You can’t be outside right now,” the guard said.

Maddy looked around. The other women had mostly disappeared. She could only spot a handful of them, and they were all being escorted by men in the black security forces outfits.

“Yeah, we’re going, I promise,” Mila said, backing away.

The guard nodded and seemed to accept their story. He pushed past them and held the door open for them, his back against the metal.

All they had to do was get inside, and they would be home free. Madison tried not to look relieved as she led the way inside. Mila was right behind her.

A gust of wind swept up the hill and blew the loose uniform tight against Mila’s side, clearly outlining her gun just moments before she stepped inside.

“Hey, what is that?” the guard asked, clearly noticing the object as well.

Oh shit!