Alas, tomorrow is not always a bad thing, as it is that fateful tommorow when she met him...

Gabriel.

Noelle was doing one of her nightly patrols around the compound when she saw someone sitting in one of the watchtowers, gazing at the stars.

Approaching him, he offered her a seat which she reluctantly took. Looking a bit closer she saw that the boy was about her age, maybe a little younger.

The boy talked to her night, but Noelle only responded with blunt or one word answers, after the night was over, Noelle returned to her duties. They met at the same spot the next night, and the next, and the next, and the next.

Slowly but surely, the boy grew on Noelle. He was like a flame melting a block of ice, the cold exterior of Noelle being the ice.

He was different, nothing like the men you would usually see in a gunrunning group. He was kind, polite, caring, funny, and kind of cute. Noelle started to enjoy the nights they spent together, she learned to enjoy herself again, to smile again... to laugh again.

Eventually, a month had passed and Noelle realised she loved him. She always thought her father was

overexaggerating when he said her mother's smile was the most beautiful thing ever and could light up a dark room, but after seeing Gabriel's she finally understood he was right.

As it turns out, he loved her too, he didn't just see her as a piece of eye candy like all the others in the compound. Noelle was ecstatic, he loved her...

He loved the Noelle who would always call dogs mutts even though she secretly loved them, the Noelle who's body was covered in scars from the abuse she endured, the Noelle who developed a phobia of men after that night... The Noelle who was secretly a scared little girl under all her muscles and scary attitude.

Noelle had never experienced her teenage years due to being locked up the whole time, and this was the most fun she's ever had, except when her parents were still alive.

And after three months, on one of the watch towers around the compound, under the shining starts of the sky... She kissed him, and he kissed back.

Their relationship continued to progress, even going a step further on their year anniversary and having a night of passion after sneaking out of the compound through a gap in the fence hidden behind a barrel.

All was perfect for the two years since she met Gabriel. Noelle didn't even care that she was basically a prisoner in the compound. Over this time, the mentality she had weakened, seeing that there was still some good in this world.

She still kept up her work outs though, sure her muscles didn't pop out as much as when she just got out of the cell, but they were still visible. She always smiled when Gabriel touched them and said he loved them.

But her illusion of happiness was shattered a week after her nineteenth birthday, when she overheard her uncle, his second-in-command and a few others, including a red headed woman, talking about how one of their men got caught by the authorities planting a bomb somewhere in Cairo and they were closing in... and they needed scapegoats.

They decided that they would sacrifice a few of their men for the greater good of the group... Gabriel was one of those men.

Panicking, Noelle scurried away and went somewhere private to collect her thoughts. After much deliberation, there was only one option...

That night, under the cover of darkness, she entered her uncle's room while he was sleeping and... slit his throat.

He went out peacefully in his sleep...

...better than the bastard deserved.

After the deed was done, Noelle quickly grabbed Gabriel and stole one of the trucks in the compound. Bullets flew through the air, banging off the armoured truck as it burst through the gate of the compound.

Leaving the compound behind, both Gabriel and Noelle had no idea what to do or where to go... but at least they had each other.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

And that was their life for the next month, sleeping in the back of the truck, robbing bottles of water and small snacks from convenience stores, and having only each other for company.

They must have slipped up somewhere along the way as her uncles second-in-command found them. They had a chase that lasted from the deserts of Egypt all the way to the river Nile... The only problem being that Noelle and Gabriel had nowhere left to go. The Nile in front, and the goons and their trucks surrounding them from the sides.

Noelle got out of the of their truck, screaming at the second-in-command, the words escaped her mouth in a flurry of rage, but a slight hint of fear infiltrated her strong voice.

"Rashik! Why do this to us? Why not just let us go! We could dissapear and we would never have to see each other again... So why!"

Rashik, the second-in-command of her now dead uncle, grinned and spread his arms.

"Because, darling, clients don't want people who can't get rid a nineteen year old girl and her little boyfriend who managed to kill our boss right under our noses, it makes a bad image for our advertising"

Before Noelle could do anything, Rashik pulled a revolver out of his pocket and said:

"Now why don't you be a good girl and go join mommy and daddy, and don't worry... I'll make sure to send your boyfriend to you soon"

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the vast horizons of the empty desert. The stillness of the sand was disrupted by the bullet, lodging itself right in beside her abdomen. Noelle cried out in pain and lost her footing, stumbling backwards... into the currents of the Nile.

Gabriel cried out as he watches Noelle fall, but Noelle heard another gunshot as the last thing she saw was Gabriel falling onto the sand, writhing in pain.

She tries to grab at something, anything, but she's too far gone and her head smacked off one of the rocks on the bank of the river, darkness consuming her eyesight as the last thing she remembered seeing is Rashik waving down at her with the malicious grin on his face...

******

Waking up on a river bed with no idea where you are, absolutely starving, shivering in the cold and having a bullet inside you is not a nice way to wake up, especially after someone just tried to kill you.

Noelle sobbed in pain as she crawled further inland. She had no idea how long had passed since getting shot, all she knew was that the sun was still in the sky, the scorching heat burning her skin.

Lying on the ground, clutching her abdomen as blood seeped out of the wound. She gritted her teeth as she struggled to stand up, the odd sob escaping her chapped lips as she pushed herself.

Finally on her feet, she looked around and sees... nothing but sand and sky.

The seriousness of the situation hit her, if she doesn't find anywhere before the sun sets she will probably die from the cold.

So she limped, picking a direction and sticking to it, she continued to limp, and limp, and limp... and limp.

The sun started to set and Noelle was inwardly panicking, just as she thought she was finished, she spotted something in the distance. A small farm, accompanied by a small house and an even smaller shed.

Picking up the pace as much as her battered body can, she reached the shed just as the cool breeze picked up. She snuck into the shed, making sure not to make too much noise lest the owners come outside and see her. If Rashik thought she's dead, she will make sure he continued to think that.

She curled up in a ball on the cold stone floor, holding her stomach to stop the bleeding. Eventually, under the intense fatigue of what happened in the last day, her eyes close as she felt the tender embrace of sleep.

Waking up the next morning to the sound of a car, Noelle painfully sat up as the sound got more and more distant.

Groaning as she got up, she slipped out of the shed and tried to open the door of the farm house, which was thankfully open. Meaning someone could be home or that the owners won't be gone for long.

She looted the kitchen, practically inhaling a bottle of water and scoffing down some crackers. She then looked in all the presses and after the fourth one, she successfully found what she was looking for.

Taking a first aid kit out, she opened it up and took out everything she needed. She knew this was going to hurt, and she knew if she fucked this up that she could die of an infection... but it's her only chance.

Stuffing a slice of bread into her mouth, she bit down and... stuck a scalpel into the bullet wound.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she cried out in pain, her hands shook slightly but she persisted. After what felt like eternity, a small cling was heard as a bloody bullet hit the floor.

Gasping, Noelle clutched the table in front of her as her legs buckled, but she wasn't done yet, she grabbed at the needle in the first aid box, attaching some of the threads, she then started stiching up the bullet wound.

Minutes pass, but with shaky hands she successfully stitched the wound... she thought, she can't really see it properly. She grabbed some bandages from the first aid kit and wrapped them around herself, small yelps escaping if she added too much pressure.

After catering to her battered self, she goes to the upstairs of the house and rooted through the owners wardrobes. She quickly took off her clothes, the fabric was stiff due to it drying overnight.

There's no clothes that fit her right, so she took an oversized t-shirt, a pair of shorts and a farmers jacket. She also took a cap incase she needed to hide her face.

Walking back down to the kitchen, she quickly hid any evidence she was there and grabbed some food from the pantry and a few bottles of water, stuffing them into the pockets of her jacket.

Noelle walked out the back door towards the shed where she slept as she remembered seeing something in there which she could use.

An old bicycle sat leaning against the wall. Sure it would be a bit loud, but it works good enough. So with her wound... better, her clothes fresh and her stomach fed, she set out to find out where in Egypt she is.

Then, to get back to the compound and rescue Gabriel.