Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ I. The Great Escape ❯ The Great Escape ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Great Escape
A soft spattering of rain surrounded me as I moved as silently as I could manage through the forest with a bound arm. My ears were still ringing, and for some reason I still clutched the stone in my fist. The damn thing had ripped my palm open when I'd fallen on it...when I'd hit the ground.

"How the hell do they keep finding me?" I hissed through clenched teeth as a misstep sent a jolt of pain rocketing along my spine. If I stopped, I wouldn't start moving again, and if I stayed in one place too long something like a lion would come kill me—wait, lions weren't really king of the jungle...or were they?

Great, something else I didn't know.

It didn't help that my leg was also badly bruised and I'd landed on my knee. My boots were too heavy and more a hindrance than a help...the town, though, that was where I needed to get to. What direction was I traveling?

Great! Just my luck!

Fiddling with my belt, I tried to pinpoint which of the dangling attachments remained, and which was the compass. There had been one on a knife-end once...for all the good that would do me, since I was completely unarmed...and then the temperature readout...but...

I wanted to cry, frustration making everything just that much easier. A promising looking rock was visible in the distance and I set my sights on that. If I couldn't get back up again, at least I'd be able to see anything coming after me. I couldn't get a signal fire going, because there was just as much chance of them finding me as someone to help...

I dropped onto the rock and heaved a sigh of relief, setting my hell stone next to my knee. Did they have to beat the crap out of me every damn time they caught me? It wasn't as if it was making me stay near them, or even want to stay near them. It didn't matter that we were in the middle of the forest and the rainy season was going to start soon. In a week the rock I was sitting on would be completely submerged...unless the rains came early again.

I stared distantly at a tree as the horror of flash flood returned to me. That time I had been washed right back to them...

There was no telling if my fear was of the water's crushing force...or of them.

Swallowing hard, I started removing what few attachments were left to me. A full canteen. A leatherman, thank god; I'd stolen that from...well, it didn't matter. A flashlight; that'd do me a load of no good. A few fuses...not worth thinking about. A flare; that had to be the most useful thing left to me... Hey! An entire bag of MREs!! Awesome! There were only four packets in it, but that was food. They'd left me a pocketknife? How did that work?

"Yes!" I felt a surge of triumph as the small compass fell to the rock in front of me, my fingers shaking in my excitement. The thing was a cereal toy. Cheap, cheesy, but able to point North, and that was all I needed. The town was about ten miles Northwest of the base they were trying to make me stay at.

It didn't take me long to get my gear back on me, and then I sat there, enjoying the sound of the rain. As long as it didn't get any harder, I'd be fine. It would be when the real downpour started that I'd have issues. I broke open one of my food packs and began nibbling at the contents, smiling at the small candy bar. That would definitely help.

Painkillers!

I dived on the small package and shoved the pills in my mouth before taking a swig of my canteen. That wouldn't do me much good if I were getting an infection, but it'd probably make it easier to walk.

Carefully, I unhooked the sling and tested my arm. That had been last week's gift. When I'd first stolen the leatherman. I'd had it hidden in a small crevice in my room. I didn't want to think of that night. There were many noticeable bruises still, but there hadn't been a day I didn't have one in three years.

Three damn years.

Maybe this time I'd get away.

Footsteps.

I froze, looking around me in a mild panic. If they were tracking me...it wasn't like I'd be hard to follow in this state.

There was nothing I could do, plain and simple. Be it them or a civilian, I was caught.

"Oi!"

I followed the voice to its source and stared at the dark-skinned man. He had his eyes narrowed at me. "Hi," I muttered nervously, laughing slightly.

He rambled something at me in his language. Of course, I didn't know his language. Then had been taught it, but they'd used Russian as their base. I didn't know Russian either.

"Um..."

"Ah," that must be a universal thing. The guy walked slowly toward me, studying my clothing and focusing on my knee.

I grabbed the rock and raised it warningly.

"Tchtchtchtch," he reassured me, gesturing vaguely at me. He moved very slowly toward me, one hand raised toward the rock and his other hand extended toward my leg. I didn't understand what else he said, but it was all in a reassuring tone as he climbed up next to me on the flat surface.

"What are you doing?" I demanded levelly as he kneeled next to me and started to shove up my pant leg.

What was the point in asking? I didn't understand what he said.

He sighed a long and exasperated sigh, pointing the way we'd both come...at my trail.

It was rather obvious, wasn't it? I looked back to him.

He mumbled a bit, then made a gesture like sweeping.

He'd erased my tracks? I blinked blankly at him.

He muttered something pointedly at me, hovering his hands over my knee before looking around and grabbing my pocketknife. I frowned at him, but didn't get the feeling he was going to do something to me.

"Eh," he murmured, pressing the thing at my mouth.

I frowned, allowing him to press it between my teeth and shook my head so he knew I had no…

"Fuck!" I cried around the bit as he did something to my knee which caused my world to explode into pain...everything swam...and went dark.

-

"Huh?" I muttered vaguely, feeling slight rocking sensation. All around me there was a babble of voices that made absolutely no sense. I groaned to myself, realizing that my knee was wrapped tightly.

A woman approached me, she was old and the sparkle of her eyes was merry. She chattered at me happily as a younger girl darted through a door...sort of, calling.

"Wha's...going...on?" I asked blankly.

She shushed me, brushing my hair away from my face and grabbing a blanket to offer me.

I was somewhat cold. I nodded.

She beamed at me and tucked it around my shoulders, tucking it in along my sides all down my body before walking away and replying to a male voice coming up the stairs.

I took a moment to survey my surroundings...and could have laughed aloud. We were in a tree house, a series of them, actually. There was no telling how high up we were, but the crowns of surrounding trees tipped me off. Other than the definate lack of glass, I seemed to be in a living room of sorts. There were benches along the walls and a radio was playing in the background.

"Oi!"

I had to smile as the guy who'd found me came into view finally. He returned the grin and moved to sit next to me on the bed, offering me my hell rock. I accepted it, grinning at him. He grinned back, then mimed like he was taking a drink and raised his eyebrows at me.

I nodded.

He turned and said something; which sent the same girl scrambling again out of sight, her dark hair trailing behind her. He followed this by gesturing at the woman, "Mama."

"Mama?" I repeated, smiling at her and nodding my head.

She smiled again.

The guy rambled some more and the girl who'd ran off reappeared with a bucket. She smiled sweetly at me, using a dipper and moving to kneel beside the bed I was on. I sat up slightly and took it from her, nodding my thanks. She blinked at me a moment before turning and grabbing the bucket—which was when I realized just how thirsty I was.

When I'd finally filled my stomach with water, I passed the dipper back to her, "Thank you."

"You are welcome," she said in a bad accent. Her voice was pleasant, though. I smiled more at her.

"Indra," he informed me, touching his own chest, then gestured at her, "Narsi." I nodded. He indicated my leg, so I shifted and pulled the blanket off. He took a moment to gently lift the pant-leg up again and studied the swollen mass of it. He met my eyes finally and raised one hand. He touched it lightly, nodding at me and sticking his index and middle finger out straight. I nodded, assuming me meant my leg. He spread the fingers and studied me a moment before reaching up with his free hand and bending the fingers. Broken. I blinked. He shook his head, indicating that, then split them again.

I'd fractured my leg?

God I'm damn lucky. He tapped my leg again, then raised to his feet and walked across the room, digging onto a shelf before he pulled down an orange prescription bottle. He read it, then walked across the room and tossed it onto my lap.

Penicillin. Marvelous. I searched for an expiration date and saw it was well within bounds.

"Mama," he explained, touching his jaw.

"Oh, abscess," I muttered.

"Yeah!" he looked genuinely pleased that I'd used a word he knew.

"Uh..." he thought a long moment, then made a gesture like he was eating before pointing at my MREs.

I shook my head and touched my stomach.

"Okay," he muttered, smiling more at me and indicating the medicine. "Sleep," he added.

I nodded my agreement, popping the bottle open and popping one of the pills dry.

Mama bustled over to me, taking the bottle and setting it on the ledge near me before pressing back at me as she muttered at me, re-tucking the blanket over me.

I smiled at her, relaxing some and praying to whatever god would have me that they did not find me. "Thank you."

Mama smiled.