16
Any thought of abandoning the wounded vanished when Anna saw the bodies lying in the grass. Many of them were dead, struck down from above when the flyers attacked. Others were groaning.
One man was on his knees, clutching what appeared to be a broken arm. He looked up at her with tears on his cheeks. “Ma’am,” he whispered. “What are we-”
Dropping to a crouch, Anna let him sling the good arm around her shoulders. “Come on,” she whispered, helping him to his feet. “Let’s get you to safety.”
Together, they climbed the shallow slope toward the cluster of burning trees that sent clouds of smoke into the air. As she reached the hilltop, Rajel and several members of her squad emerged from the thicket.
She could see the firelight reflected in Rajel’s glasses. “We’ll get the rest out of he
