FINDING THE TRAITOR
1137 Words
As we ran from the hunter tacs, our frantic pace led us to a hidden pit. We tumbled in, sliding down a steep incline until we splashed into a pool of dirty water.
“Eww, gross!” I sputtered, coughing and trying to wipe the grime from my face.
The commander coughed beside me, equally disgusted. “What the hell is this?”
Amid our attempts to recover, we heard the faint sounds of people—voices, laughter, and the clinking of metal.
“Do you hear that?” I asked, straining to listen.
“Yeah,” the commander replied. “Let’s check it out.”
We cautiously followed the sounds, making our way through a narrow, damp passage until we emerged into a vast underground community. It was like an underground market, with people selling drugs, medicine, food, and other necessities. The air was thick with the scent of smoke and desperation.
As we walked through the bustling crowd, people stared at us, their eyes filled with suspicion and curiosity.
“It’s crazy, right?” I murmured to the commander.
“Yes,” he replied, taking in the scene with a mixture of awe and wariness.
A scruffy-looking woman approached us, eyeing our drenched and disheveled state. “If you need a place to sleep for the night, it’s 20 dollars,” she said, pointing to a makeshift bed nearby.
We glanced at the bed, watching as a prostitute and a perverted man vacated it, adjusting their clothes and smirking.
“That’s our bed?” I asked, incredulous.
“It’s all we’ve got,” the woman shrugged. “Take it or leave it.”
The commander handed over the money, and we moved towards the bed, trying to ignore the stares and whispers around us.
As we set our things down, the tension between us finally boiled over.
“This is a mess!” I yelled, throwing my bag onto the bed. “You dragged us into this, and now we’re stuck here!”
“I didn’t ask for this either, Zeir!” the commander shouted back, his face flushed with anger. “But we have to make the best of it. Complaining won’t help.”
“You don’t get it,” I retorted, my voice trembling. “I warned you about the tacs. I told you they were evolving, but you didn’t listen.”
“We didn’t have a choice!” he snapped. “We’re fighting for survival, and sometimes that means taking risks. You think I wanted to lose those men?”
“I think you didn’t care enough to listen,” I shot back, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. “You’re so focused on the mission that you forget we’re all human.”
The commander’s expression softened, but his voice remained firm. “I do care, Zeir. More than you know. But we have to keep moving forward, no matter how hard it gets.”
He pulled a curtain around the bed, giving us a semblance of privacy in the crowded underground. We stood there, the weight of our argument hanging heavy in the air, both of us struggling to find a way to move past our anger and frustration.
“We’ll figure this out,” he said quietly, his tone more conciliatory. “Together.”
I nodded, taking a deep breath. “Together,” I echoed, hoping that somehow, we could find a way to survive in this nightmarish world.
As the commander and I stood next to our makeshift bed, the stench from the dirty water clung to us like a second skin.
“You’re stinking up the place, commander,” I said, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
He smirked. “You’re one to talk, Zeir. You smell just as bad.”
We walked over to the scruffy-looking woman who had sold us the bed, intending to ask about a shower. As we approached, one of the perverted boys from the underground market called out to me.
“Hey, tonight you’re going to be busy with your dad!” he jeered, a lewd grin on his face.
Disgust washed over me. “Ugh, what a pig,” I muttered, turning away from him.
The commander stepped forward, his expression hard. “Shut up,” he barked at the boy, who quickly slunk back into the shadows.
I focused on the woman. “Where can we shower?”
She pointed towards a small stand with a long line of people. “There’s one bathroom over there. It’s hot water until 6:30, but it’s already 6:00. Each person gets five minutes to bathe, and it costs twenty dollars per person.”
I glanced at the commander. “We only have one twenty left, and the other is for supper.”
“Then we’ll share a bath,” he said, shrugging. “It’s the only option.”
As we stood in line, I couldn’t hold back my frustration any longer. “You know this is all your fault, right? We wouldn’t be in this mess if you hadn’t insisted on that crazy plan.”
He sighed, clearly exhausted. “I’m doing the best I can, Zeir. We’re all just trying to survive.”
“Survive?” I snapped. “You call this surviving? We’re barely hanging on by a thread. And now we’re stuck in this hellhole, risking our lives for what?”
“For a chance,” he replied, his voice rising. “For a chance to fight back, to gather supplies, to find a way out of this nightmare. We can’t just sit back and do nothing.”
“But you don’t listen!” I shouted, my anger bubbling over. “You never listen to my warnings, and now look where we are. You’re putting everyone at risk.”
“I do listen, Zeir,” he said, his tone more subdued. “But sometimes we have to take risks. It’s the only way to get ahead. We can’t let fear paralyze us.”
“It’s not about fear,” I retorted. “It’s about being smart, about planning. You can’t just charge into things without thinking.”
He nodded slowly. “I know. And I’m trying. But we have to work together and trust each other. That’s the only way we’ll make it through this.”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions inside me. “Fine. But next time, listen to me. Really listen.”
“Deal,” he said, offering a small, weary smile. “We’ll get through this, Zeir. Somehow.”
As the line moved forward, I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that lingered over us. But for now, all we could do was keep moving, keep fighting, and hope that we’d find a way to survive this nightmare.
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- Writer
