Ch2. Training

2nd Chapter of Fragmented Soul

Sweat gripped the skin of the trainees. Their breath formed clouds in the freezing air. Their feet pounded the frozen ground in rhythmic militaristic style. The boys wore combat trousers and green T-shirts. Each carried a small backpack and firearm. The drive came some way off the road. A Vauxhall was parked fifty metres from the front door. The boot of the car was left open. Whoever last used it was in a rush. They kept to the shadows and crept towards the house. It was old. The bricks had crumbled and discoloured. Ivy had covered just about every inch of available wall on the outside. The roof had collapsed towards one end and the rafters were visible. The front door was red but the paint had faded and peeled away. The team of five moved quickly and efficiently. They obviously knew what they were doing. An array of hand signals and stealthy movements lead them to the side of the building after they had completed a perimeter check.

“All secure boss.” whispered one of the older trainees.

“Good,” came the reply, “we need to get in and out in under, five minutes. Are you all aware of the procedure? If anything goes wrong get the hell out of there. If you are caught don’t say anything. We’ll rendezvous back at the lock up. Weapons loaded any questions?” The group was silent. “Good then you know what to do. The target should be upstairs in the bathroom.”

“Josh are we actually going to, you know.” said a new boy. His name was Samuel and had only just arrived so already the concept was all too much for him. Josh didn’t want him on this operation as he was a safety risk but the master wanted him on it. She had said it would be more challenging.

“Yes.” he said in a cold unfeeling tone, “Kill him.” They all stared at Josh as if it was the first time they had ever heard someone say this.

The distant sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs brought them all back to reality. Without further discussion they split into a two pairs with the remaining one trainee staying outside to keep watch for any danger. The first pair went around the back and the second went to the front. They moved swiftly, as they had been taught. Checking each room was clear before moving to the next. They moved in a single column up the stairs two staying downstairs to keep lookout. The stairs were old and rotten and the two boys made a special effort not to make any creak. Then a loud groan came from the aged wood beneath Joshua’s foot and he looked down. A dot of blood lay on the wood, then another, a trail of blood leading up the stairs. Each droplet gleaming in the light, they were all still wet and were bright red, showing how fresh they were and it was clear that someone had just moved in.  Joshua and Samuel crouched silently outside the bathroom, the trail of blood led under the door. Josh counted three on his fingers and they burst into the room. Cobwebs clung to the corners of the walls and the window was so grimy that it let hardly any light in. A man sat in the bath his arms and legs were bound and he was gagged with his own tie. A strand of silver hair hung down over his right eye, his glasses were at an obscure angle and the left lens was cracked, distorting the man’s bloodshot eyes.  Whoever brought him there had done a pretty good job of roughing him up. He had blood on his white business shirt and one side of his face was grazed and red raw as if it had been scraped along a wall, which it probably had been. This was because a mosaic of blood had been left across the wall above him. Josh guessed the man was in his late forties or early fifties, but he didn’t care, he wouldn’t be around much longer. The man had black shadows under his eyes and looked as if he had never had a wink of sleep in his life. Josh looked at Sam. The boy shook his head and Josh noticed a tear crawling down the side of his cheek.

“Do it.” Joshua growled.

“I can’t kill him, it’s too inhuman.” Sam cried.

Joshua’s handset crackled and an urgent thick Irish voice came through “Can you two hurry up for God’s sake five minutes you said. We’ll all fail and I don’t fancy a grilling from any of the Masters.” At this Joshua grabbed Sam spun him round and pushed him out the door.

“Get down those bloody stairs now.” he said through gritted teeth. Sam looked horrified but realised that he was going to get his team into further trouble if he didn’t obey orders, so he turned and walked down the stairs. Joshua turned back to the man in the tub. He walked over to him and stared with his cold blue eyes into the man’s. He was shaking his head and sobbing. Joshua cocked his pistol and aimed at the man’s head. He pressed the cold metal to the man’s forehead and looked away. The man was now screaming tears flowing down his face. Joshua fired. The bullet hit him straight between the eyes and he was still. Blood started to flow steadily down the bath, swirling around like a red whirlpool before disappearing do wn the drain into the darkness. Josh sighed and began to walk down the stairs where he met the two at the bottom. The twins were murmuring between themselves, Josh caught a few key words, leave, disappear, and escape. The two both jumped out of their skin when josh creaked on the bottom step. 

“Where’s Sam?” he asked casually.

“Dunno.” The twins shrugged simultaneously. Joshua looked out the door to see Samuel running towards the house. He was shouting. The three in the house were shouting. All hell was about to break loose.

“Sam get to cover!” the three were yelling.

“Josh, Craig’s dead!” Sam was shouting.

“S**t.” Joshua sprinted out to where Sam was. He was a hundred metres from the house. Joshua reached him and grabbed hold of him and started to sprint back to the house. There was a thump and something slammed into Sam’s chest knocking him clear off his feet, red mist sprayed from his back. He was dead. Josh fell to the ground and scrabbled on all fours to the car. Bullets whizzed through the air smacking the ground and kicking up clouds of dust. The twins acted immediately and began to give Josh covering fire. He peered over the bonnet of the car and was greeted with a burst of bullets, none of them hitting their target. Josh opened the door of the car and checked for keys in the ignition but there were none.

“Just f*****g great.” he muttered. He pulled out his pistol and knelt round the car to see an armoured soldier creeping round the side of the house towards the twins. Josh had been trained in just about every sort of combat and how to take out soldiers wearing Kevlar vests. He aimed between the plates and fired two shots both connected solidly into the body. The soldier didn’t know what hit him and was dead before landed. One down. But how many more? Josh decided it was now or never and made a break for the side of the house. He made it. His heart was thumping so loudly he feared that it would burst through his ribs. He crept round the back of the house to the side door. Just then Josh felt a metal nozzle pressing into his back. He raised his hands.

“Drop the weapon.” said the owner of the gun. He did as he was told. “On your knees.” Again Josh obeyed. He sank to his knees on the cold muddy ground. His breathing was deep and heavy. The gun was now pressing into the back of his head. Josh’s hands were still in the air. In one clean motion Joshua spun around on his knees sweeping the guard’s legs from beneath him. The soldier fired but missed. Joshua then pounced onto the man and knocked the rifle out of his hands. The two of them writhed on the ground like two animals fighting to the death. That’s what it was though the two of them desperate to kill the other before they killed them. Joshua started to punch the soldier in the jaw. After the shock wore off the soldier then pushed Joshua of him and rolled over now kneeling on his chest. He closed his two ape-like hands around Joshua’s throat and began to squeeze slowly like and anaconda does to its prey. Joshua could hardly breathe he scraped at the hands clasping his neck. Then his eyes darted around frantically looking for a weapon on the ground around him. The gun was too far away. Finally, Joshua’s gaze fell onto the eyes of the soldier, they were crazed and wild he guessed this would be his last memory, failing the mission and the two eyes almost boring into him. Joshua smiled as his hand closed around a large rock, he brought his arm up quickly and the rock cracked on the thick skull of the man who fell in a heap to the side of him. Josh scrambled up to his feet and grabbed the gun. He wasn’t taking any chances. Two quick shots and the man definitely was not getting back up. He tucked his pistol into his pocket and slung the rifle over his shoulder. He crept to the back door his feet squelching in the mud. Joshua pushed open the door and was immediately bundled up against the wall by one of the twins.

                “Oh it’s you.” he gasped.

 “Quickly we need to get the hell out of here. Now we need to send a diversion to put off any remaining enemies. A smoke grenade ought to do the job.” Joshua grinned as he pulled the cylinder out of his pocket. He took it of the soldier who he just wrestled with.

            The cylinder was lobbed out the front door and began to hiss. White smoke soon poured out of it masking the surrounding landscape and the three surviving boys escaping out the back of the house. They sprinted through the woods surrounding the house zig zagging to avoid any pot shots the soldiers might try. They reached the edge of the wood and came to a field, it was a mud bath the ground was water-logged and cattle had torn up the turf making it harder to run on. Twice the boys tripped on an uneven piece of ground. “Split up.” Joshua said as they reached a main road “I’ll meet you back at the lock up in an hour, we continue as normal.”

“But what about Sam and Craig?” asked the elder of the twins.

“We continue as normal.”

 They went their three separate ways and Joshua began his way towards the town taking particular care to stay away from any cars. He came to a petrol station and went in. He browsed the drinks and medicines, before strolling towards the man behind the counter. “Um ‘scuse me mate I just saw a bloke out there who’s breaking into someone else’s car.” Obviously any normal person would have called the police, checked outside to see if anyone was really being robbed or have wondered why this sixteen year old spoke so calmly, had blood on his clothes and a gun in his hand. But the man swore and ran out to check. Josh moved quickly, grabbed a first aid kit, a red bull and a bottle of gin. He then put it into his bag and walked briskly out of the shop. He bumped into the owner on his way out and said goodnight. It took the man time to realise that it was all a hoax and that he was in fact the one who was robbed, but by that time Joshua Richards was gone and nearly back into town.

    It was soon dark after Joshua entered the outskirts of the town and now that the adrenaline rush had worn off he felt tired and the gravity of the past hours began to set in. He pulled a grey hoodie out of his bag and put it on. He pulled the hood over his head as far as it would go and shoved his hands deep into his trouser pockets. Cars whizzed by. Shops lined the streets. People walked along in couples. Men and women held hands and hugged each other. He was seeing what was forbidden, emotions, feelings, happiness and love. He was in a trance. Everything else was a blur, his eyes were focused on a young couple walking together down the street. The couple stopped and lent towards each other. A police siren burst into the scene and the red and blue flashing lights and screeching of tyres woke Joshua who sidestepped into an alley and ran down it. The dustbins that lined each side were overflowing with rubbish and the cobbled ground was littered with puddles. Josh’s feet splashed noisily through them. He was lost, he had spent too long following the couple. He needed to focus.

 

 

Author's Note

Sorry its a bit of a long Chapter