Behind him, Julia’s breathing labored as she tried to catch her breath. It wasn’t all due to the pace. He wasn’t entirely running, but it was close to it. She had killed a man. Her first. It’d be hard to shake off if she ever could. He slowed to a fast walk and turned backward. Her head dropped at his look.

The trees lined both sides of the path and made the trail too dark to move much faster than their current pace. Increasing their speed increased the chances of making a mistake and injuring themselves in a fall too high. He also didn't want to stumble into another patrol either. It was too much of a risk to maintain any speed. There was a fine line between speed and security. He wasn't sure they were capable of either at this point. Trying to find a good hiding place was about all Mike could come up with, and that wasn’t a great option either. They would eventually be found. The bad guys had a good idea of where to look for them and were undoubtedly converging from the north and south, eventually from the west.

The trail rounded the west side of a hill overlooking a steep decline into the valley. The drop-down was full of rocks and boulders with a few trees mixed in between. There was no way to get down in the dark. To his left, the slope of the hill had turned too steep to attempt.

He stopped and pointed into the valley. Julia dropped to a knee, breathing hard.

“Look,” he said.

Between the trees, both guard posts, north and south, were lit up by high-intensity beams. The lights flashed across the hills in search of movement. On the north side, more men ran out of the tunnel. The Afghani’s got organized and jogged along the valley’s eastern edge. A ravine separated them from the hills. Mike guessed there were about ten of them.

Julia saw them and nodded her head.

She stood her breath more normal. “I never shot anyone before.” Her voice choked.

“Fuck’em. They would have killed us if they could have.” Not the words of encouragement she wanted to hear. He took her shoulder and looked down. “I get it. I’d like to tell you how to make it all better. We don’t have time for that. Shrug it off because we’re in trouble, and I need your head on right.” He could’ve told her the man she killed might not be the last tonight, but she knew that. “Come on. We got to keep moving.”

Her gaze remained in the valley. Her breath had slowed to almost normal. “We can’t stay on this trail.” She looked down at the ground. “They’ll catch us eventually.”

“I got a pretty good idea where we are. I know a spot where we’ll be safe.”

She shook her head. “I hope it’s better than the last place.”

“It’ll be better. They’ll know where we are. It just won’t matter.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Let’s keep moving. Make sure you keep an eye behind us.”

Mike turned and started down the trail without seeing or hearing her response. He kept the pace fast but at a walk. He’d already tripped on an exposed root, he didn’t want to do that again and maybe go over the side. The butt of his AK rested in his shoulder, the barrel ready to lift, sight in, and shoot.

The path curved around, leaving the valley behind them. The terrain to the left inclined more gradually upward, the trees masking the top of the hill. To their right, the ground became a gentle descent.

This wasn’t it. They weren’t ready to turn downhill yet. The spot he wanted was up ahead. He listened for Julia’s steps behind him. If and when the time came when they were safe, he told himself he would tell her how proud he was of her. She’d put up with a lot of shit on this trip and was hanging in there. She probably wasn’t thrilled to be here and was rethinking her life choices, but she was on guard and ready. Hell, he’d known guys who couldn’t face the things she had. They would have cut and run.

The trail straightened. He could just make out the next turn to the west in the moonlight around the next hill. This was the section he had waited to see. He stopped and waited for Julia.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“This is where we go down.”

Her eyes widened. “Into the valley?”

“No, not all the way. I can’t see where we’re going from here, but down…”

Julia tilted her head to the side, her mouth open.

Mike spun around.

An Afghani walked around the bend of the trail to their front.

Mike lifted the AK’s barrel and fired.

The Afghan dove behind a tree.

“Follow me!” He jumped off the path and ran downhill as soon as his feet hit the ground. His steps got longer and faster with the steepness of the terrain.

The gradient became a forty-five-degree decline, easy to run down, easy to gain speed, and easy to lose control on. The moonlight gave them enough notice to avoid boulders and trees. Julia’s steps began to advance on him.

The Afghani dodged his bullet, and the men behind him fired their weapons. Several rounds impact nearby trees. Green tracer bullets raced by them. He didn’t duck or try to look back. Any change in stride and he’d lose his delicate balance between a barely restrained sprint and an out-of-control tumble downhill.

The men above them continued to fire. One of them shouted orders, and they ran down the hill behind them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Julia passed him. She looked almost as out of control as he felt. The AKs stopped firing. The men hadn’t quit. They were coming.

Some of the trees thinned out enough he could see ahead. There it was to the right. “See,” he shouted. He had to take a breath before he could finish. “That bamboo patch,” another several breathes, “to our right.” He paused to breathe. “See it?.”

“Yeah!” Her breath was as deep and labored as his.

The men chasing them yelled either at each other or at others joining them. Mike couldn’t tell, but it now sounded like more had joined in. The men’s shouts behind him also gave him the impression they were now spread out and online. No one tried to fire their weapon. They were as winded as their prey.

Mike angled to the right and quickly looked across the ravine they were entering. He stumbled and started to fall forward; he knew he was going down and rolled into it. It felt like he was upside down in the air forever, then rolled on his back and up to his feet again. The bottom of the ravine was close. The bamboo groove looked more extensive than the last time he’d seen it. He angled south until he saw the boulder Hotak had hidden behind while he and his men shot at the Marines. It was the landmark he’d been looking for. Using it, he’d find the path into the bamboo. Ahead of him, Julia turned to ensure she was going the same way Mike was. She tripped and flew through the air, her arms and legs extended. She hit the slanted ground and slid downhill. Her rifle barrel hit the ground and flipped away, tumbling into the darkness. Mike slowed, reached down, grabbed the collar of her shirt, and pulled her up, running with her.

“My gun.”

“Forget it. Get to that rock.”

One of the men above them fired his AK, the rounds whizzing by them.

“Go!”

They ducked and ran. Around the boulder, they dropped down. Mike didn't take the time to breathe. He rose and fired a long burst from his rifle.

Three Afghanis stopped and fired back at them. The rest of the men came on. Bullets hit the boulder and ricocheted into the night. Some were green tracers, others invisible death.

“Come on.” He grabbed her hand and ran into the bamboo. The trail was so narrow the bamboo brushed across his shoulders as he plowed through. It was dark inside, but he knew where he was going. Bullets hit, snapping, and passed through the bamboo, but the Afghanis were shooting blind now. From experience, he knew they weren’t great shots anyway, but it only took one to get lucky, and his day would get even worse.

He slowed, letting go of her hand, looking for their escape. The last time he’d been here, the bamboo had burned down to the blackened ground. Finding the well had been easy. He kept moving, searching, while the Afghanis shot into the vegetation. The gunfire was sporadic. They didn’t know where to aim.

Julia grabbed his arm and pointed. He looked left and grinned at her. The well stood three feet high off the ground with a wooden cover over it. He ripped the lid off and looked inside. The ladder Hotak had used to evade death or capture those years ago was still there.

“Climb down. I’ll be right behind you.”

She climbed in as he leaned his rifle against the well. He pulled off his man dress and vest. The top half of the shirt and vest were soaked with sweat. He climbed in and steadied himself on the ladder, his back on the side of the well. It always paid to have a lighter, and he pulled it out of his pocket, lit the bottom of the clothing, and pushed it into some dry bamboo. Pulling his rifle up, he waited for the bamboo to burn. Through the vegetation near the boulder, he heard men yelling. He gritted his teeth between tight, smiling lips. Fuck you guys. You’re too late.

The fire spread around him, forcing him to step down a rung. One of the men outside became frustrated and shouted over the others. They knew he was in there. If they had a brain in their heads, they’d also know he was waiting for them to walk in blindly. His AK pointed down the path Mike tried to zero in on the voice giving the commands. He didn’t have much time. The fire had extended out and engulfed everything around him. The heat was stifling, and he was having trouble breathing. He gave up, pulled the trigger, and sent a long burst in the direction of the bad guys. He wasn't satisfied with the hope of a round or two hitting their mark, but it was time to get down the ladder.