Chapter 67 Beautiful Mistakes {1}
e just needed some air.
He would be back to join his colleagues in the celebration, thought Ryder Jenkins, a young, ambitious officer. He was pleased at the turn of events, the war was finally over at the conquer of the enemy's base.
His hand brushed through his short hair as he stepped into the woods of Ravenhurst. He suddenly felt the urge to smoke.
Thanks to the stars, he was fortunate to have some cigarettes on him. As he walked through the underbrush, he noticed a shadowy figure darting between the trees.
Ryder's instincts kicked in, and he drew his pistol, noting his surroundings with a sharp, quick gaze.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Ryder shouted, pointing his gun towards the fleeing figure. The individual before Ryder froze, wheeling himself around to face Ryder.
It was a young man, with attractive facial features but dressed in the uniform of the enemy.
"On your knees," Ryder commanded.
Instead, the figure cast flickering eyes sideways and attempted to flee, but Ryder warned, "I'll shoot if you try to run!"
Ryder heard the rustle of leaves behind him. Someone was coming towards them. He took a quick look behind him.
Just then, a bullet whisked past Ryder's eyes and pierced into the enemy's shirt.
Victor Thompson had fired, striking the intruder in the chest.
Ryder rushed to the intruder's side, shocked by Victor's swift action. "What were you thinking, Captain? I didn't want him injured!"
Victor's expression was cold. "And watch him try to kill you instead?" Victor paused, pocketing his pistol while he walked towards the sprawling figure.
"We can't afford to take risks, Lieutenant. This is war." Victor added.
Ryder felt grateful for that. He hadn't noticed when the intruder had shuffled a hand behind him to pull out a gun. Victor was quick to have spotted that.
Together, they dragged the intruder back to their makeshift camp.
The ongoing celebration suddenly came to a halt when the other soldiers noticed Victor and Ryder dragging in a bleeding body.
"Who's that?"
One of the soldiers asked.
"Ryder found him loitering around the camp," Victor replied.
And the interrogations began. It was discovered that the intruder was a spy of their enemy, the Kaelin Empire.
Victor, determined to extract information, resorted to torture and threats. However, the spy refused to yield, leaving them with more questions than answers.
"He isn't tired, even after the tortures. You're made of bricks, aren't you?" Victor mocked the spy.
Once the others had left, Ryder couldn't shake the feeling of what had happened. He regretted not having to play the game to his own rule, Victor shouldn't have walked in at that point.
But if Victor hadn't walked in, he would have been dead, he concluded.
He snuck back to where the spy was being held. He was being tied to a chair and left in the dark.
Ryder dragged a chair and sat before the young enemy. The young chap was too young to be this brutalized.
At the back of his head, Victor's words did scream that there was no enemy too young.
"What's your name, young lad?" Ryder started.
There was no reply.
The young lad was obviously in severe pain, his chin rested on his chest as he let out cracked noises in his throat.
Ryder cleared his throat, leaning forward before capturing the young boy's bruised face.
"How do I put it to you that you're going to be killed by sunrise if you don't state what your people had sent you here for?" Ryder emphasized.
The young lad opened his blue eyes, the corners of his eyes crinkling while he smiled. "Why act like you care?"
"You're way too young, how old are you? 18, 20, 22?" Concern etched on Ryder's face.
The lad groaned as he tried a laugh. He shouldn't have been careless. He should have removed his shirt the very minute he had retrieved whatever he came for.
No one had seen him sneaking into the Captain's quarters to steal their map and their laid-out plan. That was all that was needed.
But while sticking out, he had unfortunately been caught by the second lieutenant.
Ryder's eyes rolled downwards to the young boy's chest wound, he was bleeding profusely. It was either the lad died from the wound or from being killed by their colonel who was soon to join them by sunrise.
"Water," the lad gasped, wrenching his head backward as his eyes searched Ryder.
Ryder was already up on his feet, contemplating if he should call in the surgeon. The lad was just too young.
"Water," the boy repeated.
"Now, you know I can't give you that. I need to call in a doctor to analyze the gravity of your injury."
The chap let out another dry laugh. "Are you sure you're a soldier?"
That bruised Ryder Jenkins' heart when he grabbed the young boy's collars. "Shut the fuck up," his teeth clenched.
"I have a brother as young as you are and I wouldn't want to see him in a position that you are in," Ryder added.
"Shouldn't he be in the army?" His blue eyes stung Ryder and Ryder's stomach tightened.
What was wrong with the stubborn lad? "You wouldn't talk while you were being interrogated, now you suddenly have the strength to talk?" Ryder put in a jeer.
To the question which the young lad had asked him, that was a question Ryder would never reply.
With a slight push, Ryder shoved the boy backward. The chair shuffled against the hard floor. Then, he wiped his stained hands on his clothes as a thought crept into his mind.
"If you be quiet, maybe I will be able to think," Ryder told him.
After a while, Ryder's eyes lit up, he left the room and returned with military Surgeon, Elianore Quinlan, who he had begged to treat the spy.
"This is a risky job, why would you care so much about an enemy?" Elianore asked when he saw the face of the spy.
"Is he related to you?" Elianore was forced to ask.
"No, no, no," Ryder waved his hands frantically.
"Just do this once for me, huh? Perhaps, it would give us a chance to know why the enemy sent him." Ryder continued.
Elianore hissed, facing Ryder. "Us?" He dabbed a finger into Ryder's chest. "There is no fucking us in this matter. If I am caught to be behind his treatment, this is on you."
Ryder nodded to that. "Blame it all on my kind gestures that would be a blessing as well."
"Fuck that ideology of yours!"
Elianore started to untie the tortured boy, Ryder unbuttoned the boy's shirt, revealing an intricate tattoo on his shoulder.
Elianore started to ransack his bag of supplies but stopped when he heard a gasp from Ryder.
The lad's bosom was full and well bandaged - the spy was a woman. Ryder and Elianore exchanged worried glances.
"What the fuck, Ryder? Does the Kaelin Empire have women as soldiers?" Elianore's brows twitched.