*Content Warning* Swearing, Violence
Hunkered down under the branches beside Rosalyn, Amon did his best to keep her awake. He kept whispering to her, helping her keep her eyes open.
As he was trying to keep Rosalyn awake, he also kept his attention on the men closing in from behind.
Just as they were reaching their location above the slope, he suddenly heard steps coming from the opposite direction. The direction they had originally travelled in.
Had the kidnappers called for backup? Were more of them coming?
Amon started to sweat, feeling his body tensing. The situation had just gotten much worse.
They wouldn't just need a lot of luck to get out of there now, they would need a truckload.
As he was despairing on their situation, desperately trying to think of a way out and hoping they wouldn't find the child he had hidden, gunshots rang out, lighting up the dark forest.
"Enemy target confirmed! Taking immediate action. Team one gather around my location," a low voice called out as more loud cracks pierced the air.
Rosalyn, struggling to stay awake, saw the lights from above as the sound, closer to raging thunder, rang in her ears.
Then, the terrified scream of a young child, broke through the loud sound of guns competing.
Amon swore in a quiet voice before slightly shifting from under the branches. He tried looking up the slope, to see what was happening, but all he saw were the blinking bursts of light following the blaring shots.
"We have located the child, trying to get in to position for extraction," the low voice once again sounded.
At the same time, the female kidnapper's voice rang out, "Fuck, don't let them take the child!"
The fight was still taking place, impossible to see from their location.
Amon reached for his knife, that was now lying beside Rosalyn, and quietly got up.
"I'll try and see what is happening," he gently told Rosalyn before preceding to carefully crawling up the slope. He kept his body as close to the ground as he could, taking every precaution not to get noticed.
He was, after all, bringing a knife to a gunfight.
Getting closer to the top of the slope, he could vaguely make out the figures on both sides thanks to the shots lightening up the otherwise, dark night.
On the side of the newcomers, he saw the silhouettes of five men, all using the trees for coverage as they tried to close in on the tree he had hidden the child. They wore dark tactical gear combined with night vision goggles, appearing prepared for combat.
On the other side, the two male kidnappers were struggling. It seemed one of them had been hit by a bullet, as one of his legs were slightly limping as he moved between the trees.
Not seeing the woman, Amon went into high alert. Had she gone back to call for backup, or was she hiding? He had definitely heard her voice earlier, so she shouldn't be too far away.
Hurriedly scanning what he could of the surroundings, he tried to find her, to see where she had gone.
As the seconds ticked by, he got an increasingly bad premonition.
That premonition turned out to be true, when he seconds later saw her sneaking up to where the child was hiding, gun raised.
It seemed she had decided that if they couldn't have the child, no-one would.
Amon sprang into action, standing up and throwing the knife towards the woman with deathly precision.
The knife reached its target, hitting the woman squarely in the chest. She let out a horrified scream, before falling to the ground, trying to crawl away.
Having given up her position, one of the men in tactical gear shot in her direction, ending her life.
"Zero!" one of the male kidnappers bellowed as he watched her get shot.
He went into a frenzy, almost running straight out into the torrents of bullets, only to be held back by his colleague.
"Don't! We need to fall back! We can't win this fight," the colleague persuaded, trying to drag the first man away.
"We can't just leave Zero here, we need to take her back!" he screamed, shooting widely towards the newcomers.
"She knew the risk; we have to leave!"
And with that, he pulled his distraught comrade with him, shooting behind them as they went.
"James and William follow after them, the rest secure the child," the low voice commanded, sending his team into action.
Amon had quickly lowered down again after throwing the knife and was now lying on the ground, watching as the scene unfolded.
The man who had given the command pointed his gun in Amon's direction, observing him through his night vision goggles.
"You on the ground, who are you? Identify yourself!" he ordered; the threat clear in his voice.
Amon laid his hands flat in front of himself and gave his name.
"My name is Amon, I was kidnapped together with the child," he stated, keeping his voice as clear and even as possible.
"Were there anyone else kidnapped together with you?"
"No, there were only the two of us," he responded, deciding to keep Rosalyn hidden until he was sure of their intentions.
He and the child had already been discovered, but there was no reason to expose Rosalyn before he was sure of their intention.
Amon always considered the worst-case scenarios, much preferring to stay on the safe side.
"Can I ask who you guys are? And why you were looking for the child?" Amon queried, still laying with his hands above his head. His top priority at the moment was to find out if these new men could truly be trusted.
"My name is Brandon; I work for the young child's father. We are here to rescue him back home to his family."
Amon nodded, considering Brandon's words. If what he said was the truth, the child was most probably the young master of a rich family, kidnapped for either extortion or blackmail. Seeing as the guard was careful not to mention the child's name even now, Amon couldn't calm down.
If they were this careful with not giving away his identity, they might also silence any survivors to keep the incident under wraps.
Weighing the chances of Rosalyn surviving alone against the risk of trusting these men, Amon kept quiet. Rosalyn was potentially already unconscious and still bleeding at the bottom of the slope, needing medical help. On the other hand, if he revealed her, she might also get silenced together with him…
His contemplation was unceremoniously cut short, when the young child asked for her, revealing her existence.
"Help Rosalyn," he told the man carrying him, pointing towards the slope. "She fell."
Brandon simply looked at Amon, sighing while shaking his head.
"I know saying this might not seem believable, but you can trust us. We are here to help," his voice helpless.
"Jim, go down and get her," he told the third guy, gesturing towards the slope.
The man, Jim, nodded his head, before walking over and expertly sliding down. Amon watched Jim with intense eyes, but not daring to move towards him, as Brandon's gun was still pointed at him.
Deciding he had no option but to trust them, he looked back to Brandon and requested, "please save her."