"He did it!" Abby sprinted forward, her gun trained on the man she had just shot. In the distance, she saw Cody running up, gun lowered towards the ground. "Do not move," Abby yelled as she kicked away the gun next to the man.
"You got me three times," a dark-skinned man huffs, looking up at Abby with his hands in the air.
"Cody, can you check them? Make sure we pegged him three times, okay?" Abby looks at Cody, her eyes meeting him with determination.
"You got me?" Cody put his pistol back into his holster.
"Yeah I got you," Abby assisted him keeping her pistol trained on the man. She shifted her eyes back and forth, looking for anyone else who may be coming their way.
Cody reached down as he frantically looked around the backside of the man and on his shoulders. "Looks like we got him. I see three clean shots. Two bullets from you and one from me. Three shots," he says, looking up at her.
Abby managed to let go of a smile, appreciating the kind words from her comrade. "No problem!"
"How many of you are out there?" Cody questioned the man who was sweating profusely.
"I'm not telling you southern garrison people anything. Figure it out for yourself." The man took his fingers as if closing his lips off, keeping a secret away from them.
"As expected," Abby says, scratching her head. "Tie him up and leave him here."
"I already got the other one tied up," Cody states. Pulling out the rope from his backpack, he quickly wrapped the rope around the man's hands and his feet. He got out a small water bottle with a straw and put it next to the man. "Make sure you drink so you don't pass out," Cody puts his hand on the man's shoulder, giving him a strong grip. "We are going to win this thing," he smiles.
The dark-skinned man smirked. He shook his head. "We'll see."
The machine-gun fire echoed in the distance as Abby stepped past a man, giving him a smile as if taking his challenge on.
"The arrogance was seeping off that guy," Cody states.
"He reminded me of you a little bit, with his arrogance and being stubborn." Abby smirked as she gave him a slight punch on the elbow.
The sunflowers gradually became taller, providing cover for the comrades as they walked slowly and observed the surroundings.
"That machine-gun fire is deafening. I wonder how the others are doing?" Abby had her rifle in hand as her eyes met the corner of Cody's peripheral vision.
"Hopefully, they took out a few snipers. Tell me, how was it being famous?" Cody inquired.
"Famous," Abby says, almost choking on her water. "I'm not a famous person. I'm related to a famous person who was also selfless and put his country before himself."
"So, you told me that a country girl like you gets no perks from the government. The statues of your grandfather are all over the country. He's in front of colleges and establishments." Cody put his arms behind his head, leaning back and staring at the fort across the horizon. Be real with me."
Abby sighed. "Alright, sure here is the gist of it. My grandfather rejected all money that came with being the hero of the country. It even went to statues they thought it would show patriotism, especially if the country waged war again. My grandfather earned his wealth the hard way, so even after the war he continued to work until he passed away. There were my suitors and people came at me just wanting to impregnate me. They think they can have an exceptional kid by just putting their seed in me. Those type of men are the worst. I have turned a lot of men away. I want to help people like my grandfather did."
"I believe you! I don't know if I would do the same thing. I would love to be lavished in wealth and have all the women I wanted. I could afford the best horses and some of the biggest houses that the world has to offer. Who wouldn't want that?" Cody looks over at Abby, hoping to receive some sort of affirmation.
Abby shook her head. "I'm complete already and I don't need wealth to make me feel any better about myself. Are nice things fun? Sure. I grew up in a modest house in the country and I want to do amazing things for the people of Flora, just like my grandfather."
"What are some of those…?" Before Cody could get the words out, they found themselves on the beach.
"This is the worst possible place we could be," Cody states as he looks out at sacks and sandbags that were stacked across the beach. "They really went all out there."
Boom!