Holly wasn't too keen on following the advice of a Telepath, but as a new member of the team -and her first mission- she'd have to trust the man.
The argument with Vimes had left her a little shaken, but she forced herself to ignore the nagging need to smack him for reprimanding her for doing her job - saving his life. If she hadn't, their team would have been without a leader, and there was no telling if they could make it without a veteran. Maybe with the Telepath, gunner and the medic -if they survived- but that was pushing it either way.
Turning down the left tunnel after Vimes, Holly silently prayed the Telepath's senses weren't wrong. There was no telling what could ambush them on either side but if fate's willing, they might just survive.
Focus; survival's never guaranteed, she thought.
Vimes chose the left path keeping the neitre group at a sprint. He knew they couldn't keep this up for long, there was no telling how long the bigger troops would be able to keep their water supplies if this battle were to drag on but there was little time to bare much thought into it. It was still the first hour and they had already lost a single man. So Vimes ran faster. "Move move move." He yelled into his microphone.
The entire group was deep into the tunnel, never once had it forked and it appeared to only be going down, which was getting to him. It was as though he was running into the center of the earth ass thought he was going down to meet the devil himself to shake his hand. He'd already send one of his own men ahead to face the devil and that was something he'd have to live with for the rest of his life.
What was worse was knowing that it was quite likely that he would be forced to watch another one fall into devil's grip. Catherine Vimes was rumored to know the name of every singe soldier who'd ever died under her command. Their serial numbers, date of birth dates, dates of death and something that on one else knew about them. Vimes himself knew nothing of his men, he'd had to think to remember their names.
He skid to a stop and signaled for a break making a circular gesture at the ground around them. Telling them to stay in the middle. Standing or sitting down was up to them, he turned to Holly. "It's Holly right? Where you from?"
She was surprised that he remembered her name. She hid her shock, and nodded her head, "Yes, sir. Holly Schilling. I'm from the U.S - North Carolina."
Holly wasn't sure what else to say to her commanding officer, especially in this type of situation. She shifted her weapons, and returned her focus on the tunnel ahead of her. If Vimes needed a conversation, maybe the Telepath would be a better companion.
"The Americas of course. Fuck man. The one nation that produces the most troops across all three hundred nations. Must make you feel weird right? I'm from the african nations. I always thought I'd be-"
He stopped talking. The sounds of screeching filled his ears and to stood up straight, his gun aimed. There was an explosion that rocked the ground beneath their feet then silence before the screeching din returned at it's regular decibels
"Just hang tight here for a moment, we just have to keep our cool."
Holly didn't have time to respond to him. Being from the states really didn't bother her that much. She knew where most of the troops were from, but there was little she could do about that. To her father, it just showed that America had pride. The screeching and explosion that rocked the ground beneath her feet had her on guard again. She had a bad feeling when things died down. Something wasn't right.
Vimes sighed dropping back down to a more relaxed position, drinking more water. Catherine was rumored to have taken a nap in the middle of an invasion and her men had loved her more for showing her composure. It had given them confidence, he hoped to god it would work but looking at his men he honestly doubted it was working.
It was frustrating.
A smile formed at the corners of her lips seeing her commanding officer relax in such stressful situations. She relaxed her weapons, and turned her head towards the Telepath.
"Do you sense anything, Wolf?" She cleared her throat and spoke across the mic again, "I mean, is it safe enough for a breather?"
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