Authors note: Hi guys! Hope everyone is doing well. A big thank you to HoneyGoddess57 for the review.

Chapter 4: You can run but you cannot hide

…

I sighed in relief; she was alive. The mission wasn't lost after all. I moved slowly towards her without losing an eye from the young woman behind me. "Dr. Reznikov, I´m from the resistance, we´ve been looking for you"

"How can I be-" she gasped for air "-sure of that" The clenching in her side got more notorious, she was severely wounded. I reached my hand to one of my pockets to take out a golden drachma. A symbol for what we are fighting, a symbol of the resistance. Every time there´s a mission doesn't matter how risky it is, we must have a drachma with us. We never know when it may come in handy. I grabbed her hand to put the gold coin in her palm.

She looked down at it and let a small sob escaped "Thank the gods, and the seven" she clung to my arms. I brought her to the nearest chair and squatted. "I thought you were one of those bastards of Bourgna" I looked at her with doubt.

"I´m sorry but I don't think I´m following-"

"Those rats betrayed us; they kill everyone in here and made all this mess. They are working with Van der ven" I was speechless, we were supposed to be working with them, on the other hand, General Van der ven was known for working with Cronus. "They knew you were coming, they knew about your mission, so they decided to make the resistance responsible for this. This was all planned, it was a trap" she readjusted herself on the chair and gasped for some air. "They starting to suspect of me, that's why I end all communication with Odie. I couldn't bear putting all of you at risk… but they found out" she took off her glasses and rub her eyes.

"Doctor Reznikov, I understand all, but I need to take you out of here, we must move" she shook her head. Her sight wandered trough the room to rest her eyes on the young woman who was laying on the floor.

"My journey ends here" she put her hand to the side to reveal a big open wound, her lab coat was cover in blood. She let go a big sob while a teardrop rolled down her cheek "I don't have much time"; she took my hand and squeezed it tightly "I need you to get her safely out of here, promise me she will be safe"

"I will take both of you-"

"No" her gaze was decisive. "They will look for her, not me"

"But Dr. Reznikov, your wound, I know-" I was starting to protest again when she cut me "Enough! You soldiers are so stubborn. Right now I´m your superior, so you must follow my orders, understood?"

"Yes, ma´am" I sighed. She gathered all of her strength to stood up and walked until she kneeled beside her.

"Tam, my dear, look at me" she grabbed her head with both hands, her eyes looking disoriented "I need you to trust- I´m sorry I didn't get your name"

"Carter, Milo Carter"

"I need you to trust Milo, he would take you out of here to somewhere safe" her voice was breaking, they both looked for a few seconds without saying a word until Tam nodded. "I know I promised a lot of things that I´m not going to be able to do, but I need you to run and never look back" she lamented while hugging Tam.

Dr. Reznikov then grabbed and tore off her necklace, a silver chain with a tag, and put it in my hand. "By this time, I´m sure there´s a mole within the resistance. Please, don't trust anyone and beware of everything. Give this to any of the seven until you know its safe, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am" I put the necklaces in my right pocket. I looked at Tam, she was clearly in a state of shock, it seems like she wasn't grasping well the situation. Her whole body was trembling, and a little sob could be perceived. The gods only know what this girl has gone through. I tried to meet her eyes while grabbing both her arms "Tam, I need you to walk behind me all time. If I tell you to stop, you stop. Follow my lead, got it?"

"lead…" her voice was faint and barely perceptible, but still she nodded. A rumble of noises was heard from rooms not so far. "They´re coming, you need to go now!" Dr. Reznikov hurried us out, I gave her a last look and turned to the door. I tried to move as sneaky and fast as possible, but Tam was walking slow and timorous of our surroundings. We were almost at the door to take the stairs when we heard two shots.

"COME OUT, COME OUT WERE EVER YOU ARE" a husky voice echoed through the walls. Tam grabbed my arm tightly. "YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CANNOT HIDE, YOU LITTLE GUINEA PIG!" I hurried her to walk faster. The footsteps could be heard closer combined with the scratching of metal against the cement. A pair of doors burst opened; more shots were coming our way, one of them grazed me in the arm. I hunched and grabbed my arm, immediately turning to see what I was confronting.

"Van der ven…" Tam whispered.

A tall figure stood a few meters from us, another 3T… great. His eyes were full of rage, and a face that only a mad man could have; full in military gear and with a hunting rifle, this only meant trouble. His gaze didn't escape Tam for a second, as if he were a lion ready to attack his prey.

Still hunching a bit, I stood in front of Tam, pointing my gun to him. "You thought you could escape, you little monster!" He ran his fingers through his white hair with a devilish smirk that gave me chills. "Did you find a new pawn to protect you?" he said mockingly. "To bad that Brielka it´s no longer here to protect you" he raised his gun towards her. I saw Tam out of the corner of my eye, the shivering had stopped, and her gaze had toughened. The frightened woman was long gone.

The floor started shaking, and the whole building with it. Van der ven wasn't surprised, he started walking in our direction. He and Tam never broke eye contact. He actioned the riffle, bullets were flying everywhere. I grabbed Tam by the arm and made a shield with my body while running to the stairs. Pieces of concrete were falling at our sides; the rumbling did not stop at any moment.

"THE PHOENIX MUST DIE!" I could hear Van der ven yelling and screaming at our backs over and over again. I grabbed Tam´s hand and hurried her to the nearest exit. It was raining again. We barely made it to the ground floor, it all felt behind us.

The whole building vanished at our backs. A cloud of dust blinded my sight. Still feeling Tam´s hand entangled between my fingers I run as fast as I could. Pieces of concrete were falling centimeters from us. I spot a boulder where we could hide. I shield Tam between me and the rock and wait for everything to stop.

…

The silence that surrounded the forest at the beginning was gone. I moved aside to get a better look. Wherever there was an imposing building, only rubble remained. The moon was the only source of light.

I looked all around for a sign of my teammates, but there was none. Everything was quiet, just the wind howling and some distant thunders. I picked my radio "Here Eagle three, DOES ANYONE COPY", but again not even static. I started to feel unease; the words of Major Oyekan echoed in my head "…if something goes wrong, you must retreat to the bunker, no exception of waiting for anyone, not even me, understood?" I could only hope that they had escaped in time and were safe.

With that in mind, I turned to Tam, for the first time I noticed the scars all over her body; her arms and legs were covered in them, some scarier than others. Her head was completely shaved, not a singled thread of hair. The moonlight that passed through the branches revealed the green of her eyes, her gaze was lost. I don´t even want to imagine what they have done to her.

I approached her calmly, she backed up a little. "Hey, I´m sorry for what you have been through, but If we want to be safe, I need you to follow me. It´s going to be a long way" her eyes meet mine; I could see the sadness in them. I wasn't sure if what was rolling down her cheeks were raindrops or tears. "I promised no one is going to harm you again"

"I… just… home…" she stuttered

"You want to go home?"

"Yes" her answered was faint. I also wanted to be at home.

"I promised I will take you there, but first we need to go somewhere safe" she nodded. I offered her my hand to stood up. Her hospital gown was fully soaked, and her feet were bare. I sighed, maybe If one of the Humvees was still near, I could search for a change of clothes. I picked her up and carry her piggyback.

I tried to locate myself on the ground, we weren't far from where I last saw my troop, just a few meters away. I walked towards that way, and thankfully catch a sight of the Humvee. It felt bitter-sweet, knowing that it was here, only meant one thing, one possible scenario, that I didn't want to think about. That last conversation with Amelia cannot be our last one.

I put Tam down and open the door, the keys were there, everything was as we had left it. I reached for a bag under Amelia´s seat, we always carried a spare change. Tam was almost the same size as Amelia.

"This would keep you warm" I turned to her and gave her the clothes. She looked at me not sure of what to do. I made a gesture of covering myself with the jacket. She nodded.

Meanwhile, I decided to check on the radio, maybe our PMRs were the one´s malfunctioning. I turned it on, changing in all the stations, but it was useless. Something had affected the signals. The storm, the earthquake, or something worse. Not even the GPS was working. At this, point I was afraid of the Humvee not even turning on. I closed my eyes and tried my luck.

I have never been so happy to hear the sound of an engine.