Sheldon reaches the top and immediately engages two guards. Keegan stabs one from behind, and Sheldon shoots the other one in the stomach. Blood spurts out like a fountain and Sheldon shoves him into the barbed wire wrapped around the outside of the path.
As I clear the last step, a guard grabs me from behind. I gasp as panic surges through me like fire. Remembering the knife stored in my cargo pants, I relax momentarily to reach it and then plunge it into my assailant’s leg. He grunts with the shock of pain, and as his hands loosen, I spin and stick him again in the chest. Watching him fall backward is surreal, but I don’t have time to think about it. I glance around me, and everyone is firing off rounds while pushing forward. The guards swarm us like piranhas, taking chunks out of our team bit by bit and shot by shot.
Keegan shouts something, his eyes panicked. I can’t hear him over the hammering of guns and screaming, so I focus on his mouth. “Radio for backup!” He fends off another opponent, slicing his knife through the air and twisting it into the guard.
Sheldon moves to find the radio but gets tied up. I look around for Isaac, but he’s already moved forward to set up the explosives in the main doorway. Despair seeps into my bones like venom as I search for the radio. And then I spot her.
Veronica lies on her side, her face fearful as she holds out the radio. She opens her mouth to speak, but blood trickles out. I duck under a punch, and take it from her. My opponent slashes with his knife, barely missing my torso, and Zeus takes him down. He digs his teeth into his hand with a vicious bite and frees the knife. I pick it up in a flash, and stick the guard in the neck with it.
The screaming and blasts of gunfire unnerve me, and my hands shake under the duress of combat. I fiddle with the buttons, hitting them all while yelling for backup. Everything sounds muffled. I can’t hear myself think, let alone what I say or what the person on the other side replies.
I drop the radio when another explosion blows out half the wall with a loud boom. People stumble over the side, and I leap to grab Keegan’s arm as he begins to slip over the side. He pulls himself upright just in time to see Sheldon plummet over the wall with his adversary. The cement barrier lining the walkway is gutted with twisted pieces of barbed wire dangling over the side.
This isn’t good. I yank Keegan’s jacket before he can fixate on the spot where Sheldon used to be. His eyes snap to my face with unbridled fury. He grabs my arm and the rest of our small group advances under a hailstorm of bullets. With three hundred yards to go, I begin hoping we can pull this off. My eyes can’t help but take in our surroundings as we run.
The sun breaches the horizon, reflecting off the metal roofs of the houses and bringing a clear view of the Hole with it. Smoke billows over the buildings like dark fingers reaching toward the sky to escape the carnage. I grimace at the smell of charred flesh and my eyes burn fiercely. I wipe them with my sleeve. Through the haze, I view the stark outline of the hospital and wonder how the assault on the training center is going.
I trip over a body riddled with holes and keep going. Come on, Isaac. Come on. Come on and blow the doors.
The large main doors of the commander’s residence blow open with a deafening blast that makes the wall beneath us quiver. Rocks and cement rain down on us like hail. Dust mixed with smoke makes sight impossible.
I pull my jacket over my face to breathe. Minutes pass, but they might as well be days. We continue sprinting toward the entrance as bullets zip over our heads. No doubt, the guards will reinforce their lines soon.
I glance back and see more of the rebels have arrived to support us, and relief sweeps through me. They got my call.
As we storm the entrance, I notice Sutton off to my right. The hope within me continues to build. I’m breathless from carrying guns and inhaling mouthfuls of thick dust. If Sutton made it, then Cole should be here too.
“They knew we were coming,” Keegan shouts to Sutton over the war waging behind us.
“Part of the assault wasn’t timed properly. Didn’t happen fast enough—gave them time to figure it out.” Sutton’s voice is raw and his words scratch out.
“Where’s everybody?” I try yelling to make myself heard.
“All communication was cut off.” Sutton’s face is covered with a mask of dirt, but I can still see his worried eyes and thinned lips. The gun strapped to him doesn’t look natural after being used to seeing him in scrubs.