Finding Alexia

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The jungle was hot. The humidity was stifling, but Tony ignored it as he raced through the jungle just trying to stay alive. He and his team lead, Don, had been running for several miles now, his lungs hurt from the excursion. His legs felt like jello, and his shoulder was screaming in agony, but he pushed on. The backpack he was carrying was slowing him down, but he couldn't just leave it here. It carried his gear and food. Outrunning the enemy may not be an option. There were a hundred of them and only the two of them, the rest of the team had split up into groups to throw off their enemy.

It hadn't worked.

Tony could hear them behind him. They made so much noise. They didn't have to be stealthy like him. They had trucks and guns. They didn’t have to be quiet like he did.

His ammo supply was low, and he already had to start rationing his water supply. Don had lost his pack when they had been ambushed. The only ammo he had was what was left in the clip and his side arm. He’d had to ditch the sniper rifle a few miles back. It was getting heavy and making too much noise trekking through the jungle.

They just had to get to the checkpoint and meet up with the rest of his team, and they would be home free. They would get to the LZ, landing zone, and be airlifted out of the god forsaken jungle. They just had to stay ahead of the militia coming after them.

He turned back to check on Don but saw the man leaning against a tree trying to catch his breath. Tony longed to stop as well, but the militia wasn’t far behind them. They needed to keep as much distance between them as possible. They would never survive in a firefight right now. They were outmanned and outgunned. They would rest later.

“We have to keep moving,” Tony panted. Don glared up at him, he wasn’t carrying any weight except for his weapon and was older than Tony by a few years. For some reason, he was having trouble keeping up. Tony wasn't going to leave him behind, but his team leader needed to pick up the pace.

Tony pulled out a map from his side pant pocket and studied it a moment. They would follow the river. It would take longer but would get them off the main trail. The militia would have a harder time tracking them and wouldn’t be able to use their vehicles. It was a risk, but they didn’t have a choice. At the rate they were going the militia would be on top of them in minutes. They needed to get off the trail. It might buy them the time they needed.

“We're going to take a different trail,” Tony announced, helping Don stand up.

“The river?” Don guessed. “I thought of that but knew it would take us longer. Time, we don't have. Our bird is scheduled to be here in…” Don looked down at his watch. “Three hours, if we’re not there, it’s not hanging around to wait for us.”

Don wasn't telling him anything he didn't already know. “If we stay on this trail that militia will find us, and I don't think you want to be around for that.”

Don laughed without humor. “It won't come to that for me.” Tony looked at him puzzled by the statement then noticed for the first time Don holding his left side. His green fatigues had a rather large dark red spot, it was spreading rapidly. Don had taken a bullet at some point. s**t. That explained why he was slow.

“We can patch it up-” Tony started to say but Don waved him off.

“It's too late for that. I'm not making it out of this jungle alive.” Don leaned back against the tree. His breathing was labored. His skin pale. Tony could see goosebumps on his arms despite the heat.

“Don, you can't talk like that.” It was bad luck. The odds of Don surviving without medical attention were low, but they didn’t have a choice except to keep moving. He couldn’t tell the extent of the damage, and they didn’t have the time for a full examination. A few more hours and Don could get the help he needed. He just prayed they made it that long.

“I can, and I will.” Don stood up and winced. Blood dripped between his fingers and fell to the jungle floor. If Tony didn't stop the bleeding not only would Don bleed to death, he would leave a trail for the militia to follow. Don knew that too. There was acceptance in his eyes. “Go on, I'll only slow you down.”

Tony felt like weeping. This man had been a role model to him. He hated the thought that his friend would die here in this godforsaken jungle. He had two pre-teenage daughters that were counting on him to come home. Tony had played with them. Had gone to their barbeques and birthday parties.

No, he wouldn’t give up. Don was going home. Alive. He didn’t care if he had to carry him the whole way. “There’s not a chance in hell I’m leaving you here. Besides, your wife scares the hell out of me. I’m not explaining to her you stayed behind.” Tony joked, rummaging through his bag for his first-aid kit. He would patch Don up as best he could to stop the flow of blood.

Don chuckled at his joke then grimaced. “She can be pretty fierce,” he said more to himself.

Tony worked quickly to staunch the wound. He had lost a lot. If he didn’t get to a doctor and get a blood transfusion soon, he might not make it out of this country alive. Tony’s hands and pants were covered by the time he was done. It wasn’t pretty, but it should hold. They just had to get to the river now and follow it for the next few hours, and they would be in the clear.

Tony opened his mouth to tell Don it was time to move out when he saw Don’s eyes closed. He felt a moment of panic that he had closed the wound too late, and Don had already bled out, but he saw slight movement to his chest. “Don,” Tony whispered loudly, in case the militia was in the area. The jungle was silent around him. Even the insects were quiet. If only Tony had picked up on that before. Don was hardly in the condition to run for his life at the moment. Don didn’t move at Tony’s whisper.

“Don,” Tony said again and tapped the side of his face. Don’s eyes fluttered open. “We have to go, buddy.” Don pushed himself up when a bullet zipped over their heads and embedded in the tree. “s**t,” Tony whipped around with his weapon at the ready but couldn’t see anyone. Another bullet struck above him. Then another.

Tony shot up from his bedroll covered in sweat and panting. He looked around thinking he would see Don or the militia, but it was only the tent wall and a thwacking sound. He reached for his gun but paused when it wasn’t there. It was at home by his bed. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. It’d just been a bad dream.

Tony fell back on his bedding, trying to catch his breath when he heard the thwacking again. What was that noise? It was still early morning because the tent was still mostly dark with little light seeping in. Tony felt around in the dark for something he could use to defend himself. It could be a stray animal or someone coming to their site. Tony grabbed the first thing he could feel. A flashlight. It wasn’t the greatest weapon, but if needed it would help him see. He crawled to the tent window and slowly eased the zipper down and peeked out, and almost groaned.

It was TJ chopping wood. Tony collapsed back down on his makeshift pillow and rubbed a hand over his eyes. When had he become so paranoid? It was from the dream. Nightmare really. One he couldn’t get rid of.

He kept getting flashbacks from his last team. The first team he served with. The place he earned his nickname. Why did he keep seeing their faces? Why did he have to keep seeing one of the worst days of his life? It was second only to losing Lexi.

Tony closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and counted to ten before letting it out slowly. The base doctor suggested different breathing technics to help. It didn’t always work, but this time it did. I’m so sorry. He whispered to his fallen comrades. I’m sorry I failed you. Just like he was failing his team now. He couldn’t stay focused. His past was coming back to haunt him. There was a reason he was seeing his old teammates. A reason it was happening now. He just didn’t know why. Until he did, he feared the flashbacks would only get worse. Consume him, until there was nothing left him, but a shell of the man he used to be.

Tony tried falling back asleep, but TJ’s chopping was grating on his already frayed nerves. It was too early for this s**t. Tony rolled over; covering his head with his clothes hoping it would muffle the sound. No such luck.

“Can you please arrest him before I kill him?” Tony groaned to Dale. He didn’t have to ask if the man was awake. The whole campsite had to be awake because of TJ. Tony wasn’t any stranger to early mornings. He was usually up before the sun and already out for training or on his morning run by now, but he was on vacation. Shouldn’t he be able to sleep past 5:30 am?

“I’m off duty. No arrests. Though if he doesn’t stop soon, I might make an exception.” Dale growled, loud enough for TJ to hear over the chopping of his wood.

Tony knew TJ was out chopping wood because of Sabrina. To alleviate some tension and hurt feelings. TJ’s nickname at the Firehouse was Lancelot because he is always gallant and trying to protect everyone. He was considered a white knight to domestic abuse victims. He even volunteered his time at the local shelters trying to help victims. Tony suspected it was his way of making it up to his mom whom he couldn’t save.

His dad had been a drunk and took his anger out on her for everything. Even her pregnancies hadn’t stopped his fists. TJ had tried protecting her, but he had been too young and small. TJ had tried protecting her over the years and keep his dad’s fists away from her and his siblings, but he couldn’t. By the time he was old enough and strong enough to protect her it was too late. His father had beaten her to death in a drunken rage. His father had been arrested, and TJ never saw him again. Not that he had cared.

By some small miracle, he and two siblings were fostered together. When TJ was considered an adult, he used all the money he had from doing odd jobs to get an apartment and take full custody of his brothers. Now he only drank in small amounts and had never raised so much as his voice at a woman.

The group knew Sabrina had been abused in some way based on her bruises and TJ wanted to reach out to her, he just didn’t know how. It was more than that though. TJ cared about her even after only having just met her and learning of a fiancé.

TJ had never had to deal with his feelings before. He was in uncharted territory and didn’t know what to do. So, he was taking his frustration out on the wood. It was that or pick a fight with his friends, but that wouldn’t help because he would never hit his friends and argue with Dale didn’t help.

He was on his own now, so he took his frustration out on the wood. It wasn’t very ecological of him, but it beat the alternative.

“I heard that,” TJ said between swings, panting.

“Good, then you’ll hear me tell you it’s too early for this s**t. Go back to bed.” TJ ignored Dale and kept chopping wood.

Tony knew he wasn’t going to get any more sleep with the two of them bickering and TJ swinging an axe. There was also the fact his nightmares were waiting for him if he went back to sleep. Not that he was any safer being awake.

He rolled off his mat and changed into his running shorts and shoes. No point in wasting the day away. The air was cool but not cold enough to need a coat. He would be sweating soon enough. Perfect for a morning run. He left the tent to see TJ working on a growing pile of wood. The campsite had enough wood to burn a fire for the next several weeks. TJ might have to start giving wood out to the other campers. He needed to get TJ away from the axe quick before the man took down the forest around them. No tree was safe at the moment.

“Where are you going?” TJ asked him, pausing in mid-swing.

“Figured with all the racket your making I might as well get a run in,” he said casually. If he outright told TJ to stop the man would protest or ignore him. A subtle attack was what was needed. You had to make him think it was his idea to get him to stop doing anything.

“Well, have fun with that.” He lifted the axe above his head, focusing back on the log about to be split in half.

“You can come with me,” Tony offered.

“No thanks.” TJ brought the axe down splitting the wood in half. The sounding echoing all around them. Tony could hear other campers starting to stir. That wasn’t good. He had to get TJ away and quickly.

A subtle suggestion wasn’t working. It was time for a different approach. “You know you probably woke Sabrina up.” TJ froze as he was reaching for another log. Bingo. “She is sleeping across the way from us, and if Dale and I can hear you, I image she can too. It’s a shame really, she had dark bags under her eyes, not getting a lot of sleep. Oh well, I’m sure she’ll understand.” TJ clenched the handle before dropping it on the stump he had been using to hold the logs up.

“I’m making an ass of myself, aren’t I?” TJ said it more to himself than Tony, but he answered him anyway.

“Yeah, but we’re all used to it.” TJ chuckled, looking up at him. It was the first time his friend had smiled since last night. TJ was the easy-going guy, not the brooding one he was seeing. He needed his friend back. TJ needed to clear his head just as much as Tony did. A morning jog was the answer.

TJ looked back towards Sabrina’s tent than at Tony. The sadness had returned to his eyes and Tony wished there was something he could say to help his friend but knew there was nothing. If Sabrina wanted to tell TJ about her troubles, it would have to be at her pace, not his. But thinking of her as a victim first was not the best way to get the woman’s attention.

“How about that run?” TJ asked with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. It was a start.

“Let’s do it. Do you need to change first?” TJ was in a white tank top and cargo shorts. It wasn’t exactly running attire. At least he was wearing tennis shoes.

“Naw, I’m good.” He shrugged, and they walked out to the road.

“Thank God,” Dale grumbled.

“Shut up, Dale. No one wants to hear it,” TJ fired back.

“Suck it,” Dale growled back.

“That’s what your girlfriend said.” Tony all but shoved TJ to get him to start running before Dale came out of the tent and they ended in fist cuffs.

“Was that necessary?” Tony asked when they were a safe distance away. Tony was used to their teasing, but this was a whole new level of banter for TJ. No one had ever brought up girlfriends before.

TJ winced. “It just slipped out.”

“That’s a terrible excuse.”

“I’ll apologize when we get back.” TJ waved him off in his normal upbeat attitude.

“Talk to me. You’ve been off this whole trip.” They all had. Tony was starting to think this camping trip had been a bad idea. He never should have suggested it without Barry. With him, everything was smoother. Tony wasn’t a very good mediator. At least not right now.

“Dale and I always bicker.” TJ brushed off.

“It’s more than that.” Tony knew it. As f****d up as he was in the head at the moment he knew something was going on with TJ. Something besides Sabrina. He had been acting his usual carefree self, but it was all a front. His smile was fake. He was lashing out at friends. “Something is going on between you two. This isn’t your normal arguing, it’s more like lashing out, like he’s upset with you.”

“I haven’t done anything,” TJ argued throwing his hands in the air. “He came over to my place a few weeks ago unannounced and walked in on me and a girl having s*x on the couch and promptly left.”

It wasn’t unheard of for TJ to go home with a random stranger, but that didn’t explain why Dale was upset over it. “I’ll have to talk to him about it. As for you, you’r- acting off too. What’s up with you? I can tell something is bugging you.”

TJ stopped at the foot of one of the trails and blew out a breath. He laced his fingers behind his head and blurted out, “I’ve been suspended.”