“You go on sir, I wish to have my fun with these two prisoners while their bodies are still warm.” She gave him a wicked smile and through the incessant rain instantly saw the disgust in his face. He was a gentle soul ultimately and Jo knew that he would not want to witness this savagery.

She watched as her squad set off over the hill and disappeared. Turning to the prisoners she spoke to the older one.

“I can see the fear in your eyes, you understand what I said don’t you?”

She nodded in response.

“Can you also talk fluently in this language.”

“No. Only little.”

“Does he understand?” Jo pointed her gun at the young man.

“No.”

“OK.” Jo squatted down in the mud, she indicated that the other two should follow suit. For the past three weeks her squad had been retreating from the advancing Freedom Army. High command had issued a dictate, everyday a prisoner would be executed per squad if the Freedom Army didn’t quit its chase. For 20 days her squad had executed a single prisoner, as had a hundred other squads. Tomorrow they would be back inside of their own territory, High Command had ordered every prisoner executed by tonight. Bodies were to be hung up and mutilated to demoralise their pursuers.

She swapped to her native tongue, the language of these two people. “We have a situation here.” She saw the surprise on the prisoners faces. “I have been ordered to kill you. Do you know why?”

“Your supplies are low. We are slowing down your retreat. You plan to go to Fortress Ascari in the mountains, from there you hope to hold off our advancement into your country.”

Jo smiled, she had been watching this young woman since the day they had captured her. She was smart and had understood the situation she was in immediately. She had managed to make herself invisible to her captives, neither seeming too meek to be easy fodder nor too bold to be deemed a problem. She had even managed to protect the boy she was with, who was the definition of meek.

“You are brave, aren’t you? Only it is not my country. Me and you are compatriots, not me and them. Tell me have I lost my accent?”

“You had a native accent when you spoke to your commander just then.”

“You’re cautious too. That is the perfect trait to mix with bravery. You come from the Dormouth area, do you know of Mata’s kettle?”

Both the prisoners nodded.

“Good. There used to be a patron there, Mars Alacey. Do you know him?”

“He is in command of logistics for General Ka”

“OK what I need you to do is find him.” The younger prisoner face spread with joy at the realisation that his life was going to be spared. The older one’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “There is no trick in this. I need you to give him this paper, hopefully he will recognise my writing. Tell him it is in a cypher from before the Freedom Army existed and even before the resistance was organised.”

Jo paused for a minute and then added. “If he needs further proof tell him that Jo is always amazed at shit’s ability to float to the top.” She smiled and handed over the paper to the girl. The boy went to stand.

“Wait we still have a problem.” Jo showed the two of them the gun again. “My commander has given me two bullets; our supplies are low but I swiped a third. I need to use them and I need proof that you are dead.” Jo let the message sink in. The worry returned to the boy’s face, Jo was concerned about him, he didn’t seem too bright, he could wreck the whole mission.

“Give me your coats and take these.” Jo swapped the coats for a single bullet and her lighter. “It will get cold tonight and you will need warmth. Head NE, there are some caves. I cannot promise that they will be unoccupied so scout them thoroughly and start a fire only when you are certain you will not be seen. We have rear-guard scouts roaming this area undertaking saboteur manoeuvres. In twenty minutes, I will fire one round, then I will return to my commander and give him the proof of your death. I will even hand a bullet back to show how… efficient I was. Whatever you do, do not allow this information to fall into the enemy’s hand, understood?”

Jo surprised herself, for a moment she sounded just like her older brother and suddenly she felt conflicted.

The girl nodded, the boy looked blank.

“OK go.” The two got up and started to walk away. Jo grabbed the girl and whispered to her “The information I am giving you can save hundreds if not thousands of lives. Make sure it reaches the right ears. Let nothing stand in your way.” Jo looked at the boy stumbling through the grass. “Cut him lose if you have to.”

“I can’t, he’s my younger brother.”

Ah. Everything made sense now. “I never properly protected my younger brother from evil. Make sure you do not make the same mistake.” Jo let the girl go, she watched as the two of them made their way into the trees. After a moment she wiped away the tears in her eyes, tears that originated from millennia ago.