The Guadeloupe Squadeloupe

Chapter XX: Guad

"Are you going to age with grace? Are you going to leave a path to trace? When all oblivion is calling out your name."- BASTILLE // Oblivion

Perry is driving. I sit next to him, playing with the ring on my finger. It looks like there's something on it, like a symbol, but it's so faded I can't tell. Which makes me wonder why something looks old if we just "won" it.

I turn around and look into the back of the van. Janis and Alice are arguing over a book and Diana and Bob are asleep.

My sight goes to the jungle rushing part us. Everything feels just a bit more peaceful than it has lately.

And then there are gunshots.

The air explodes with the loud cracking noises of firepower. Perry yells and the van begins to spin.

My head bangs against the dashboard and a large pillow-like cushion flies out. I hear screaming coming from the back.

Perry yells again and the van suddenly stops.

"Are you all okay?" Perry frantically asks. I nod.

Bob and Diana mutter a "yes." They are definitely awake now.

"What the crud was that?" Janis asks loudly.

"Get out of the car, all of you!" An angry voice commands from outside.

I mentally jump. Am I being mugged again?

Petrified with fear, we all begin to climb out the doors. Since I was in the passenger seat, I am one of the first out.

I'm greeted by a rifle pointed at my face.

"Diablo!" I curse.

I look around and see that we're on the side of the road , the jungle completely surrounding us. I also find out that armed men are circled around the van.

And randomly, my brain remembers the ring on my finger and recognizes it. That was Delgato's insignia. He's still following us and we're letting him.

The man in front of me holding the rifle (you know, the one pointed at my face) glares at me.

Eyeing him up and down, it clicks easily: the men are workers of Delgato; black clothing, stern faces.

"Are you working for Delgato?" I ask. It takes me a few seconds to realize how stupid of a question that is.

The henchman ignores me and snorts. "Get on your knees!" He yells at all of us. "This is a simple inspection; if you follow our instructions, no one will be hurt."

The man bends down and practically interrogates my face. I almost feel bad for him. Looking at all the stubble I've developed probably isn't nice.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask him, hoping Perry or the rest of the squad won't kill me for this. "Delgato is a bad man."

I feel a point being jabbed into my gut and I recognize it as the rifle.

My mind is racing. The henchmen are going to do something to us, I can tell. How on Earth could we get out of this situation?

Not even pausing to think, I grab the barrel of the gun and twist it away from me. It goes off and hits the side of the van. One of the girls yelps.

I hear the henchman watching me curse. I take advantage of his confusion and wrench rifle out of his grasp completely, my fingers fumbing for the trigger. I shut my eyes and blindly pull it.

A scream follows. Opening my eyes, I see the man writhing in pain. I feel bad for about two seconds until I realize the other henchmen are about to kill my friends.

Another henchman runs from around the van and aims his rifle at me. I fall backward, fear being the only thing I can think. I take what could be my final breath.

The henchman raises his gun.

And crumples to the ground.

Perry stands behind him, holding the switchblade from the mining village. It's covered in blood and it takes me a second to actually believe that Perry White stabbed a man.

"Guad, get your butt up!" He yells, running for cover behind the van.

He picks up the fallen man's rifle and tosses it around the van.

A few seconds later we hear a gunshot. I hope it's one of the squad shooting.

I scramble to my feet and lean against the van next to Perry.

"Do we go out there?" I pant.

Perry nods. "Heck yes. They're about to kill the girls. Oh, and Bob." He flashes a smile and rushes around the corner.

I follow him and see Diana, Janis, Alice, and Bob all at gunpoint.

The four men watching them are caught off guard.

Perry and I fire as quickly as we can, all of them falling instantly. One fires a shot that flies right over Diana's head.

Perry and I both gasp. Diana's face pales whiter than snow.

I drop my rifle and crumple to the ground. Perry rushes to Diana and gives her a hug.

Everything stands still for a second as we try to understand our bearings. My heart is racing faster than the bullets I've shot. It's like it's trying to make up for the lost heartbeats of the men I killed.

Bob stands up, his legs shaking. "I suppose we can't use our good friend the driving camera now, can we?" He says, looking at the ruined van.

"So I guess we're back to hitchhiking then?" Alice sighs.

I look down the jungle road with a gloomy expression. "Yeah."

Biting my lip for a second, I continue. "And by the way, that was Delgato's symbol on our rings. We should've seen this coming."

No one in the squad says anything, but we all accept it. Silence fills my ears and the long road ahead takes over my eyes.