section7mfu | "Escape from the End of the World" ~Part 3

links to Part 1 and Part 2

Illya took off, heading toward the gate when a fist slammed into his head, sending him reeling backwards to the ground. It was Rodrigo’s tattooed henchman, the one whose face Illya had cut.

“You’re a dead man blondie!” He snarled.

“Tell me something I have not heard before.”

Kuryakin remained down, and unexpectedly rolled towards the man, driving the chiv up into his groin, hitting the femoral artery.

“It is you who are the dead man as you will bleed out in minutes.” Illya said with a coldness in his voice.

Illya scrambled to his feet, continuing to opening in the wall. following a number of prisoners who were scrambling doing the same, escaping through the hole where the gate had once been. Knowing Napoleon and the Doctor had already headed out into the jungle; the Russian pause for a split second, deciding which way to run.

A set of outside stairs leading down from the top of the wall had several guards running down them. Illya tried ducking as they began to shoot but felt a shart pain in his side. As he went down, he grabbed a piece of timber from the destroyed gate. Waiting until they were near enough to reveal himself; he slammed them with the wood like a baseball bat, and sent them tumbling to the ground.

He took their automatic rifles and magazines as he and Solo would need weapons in order to make it out alive through the jungle to their extraction point.

Touching his hand to his side, it came away bloodied, he’d been hit, but there was no time to deal with it right now.

Illya hurried into the jungle, along with a few straggling prisoners, though they ran off in a different direction. He poised, after what he estimated to be a few hundred feet, letting out a whistle.

Hearing the same whistle in response, he knew which direction to head and after jogging for a few minutes, he finally found his partner and Dr. Bloom.

“Here, a present for you,” he tossed one of the weapons to Napoleon.

“Let’s get going,” Napoleon said,”we need to put as much distance as possible between us and the End of the World.”

“Wait, where are the others?” Bloom demanded.

“They are running for their lives, just as we should be,” Illya said.

“You lied to me, you told me you would help the others escape.”

Illya was in pain and that forced his patience to an end and he angrily laced into Evgeny, growling in Russian.

“Durak! My riskuyem nashimi zhiznyami, chtoby spasti vas...Fool! We risk our lives to save you and you dare call me a liar? There are many who escaped through the gate; I saw it myself. Now enough! We must go.”

Kuryakin staggered.

“Aw Jesus, Illya you’re hurt,” Napoleon saw the blood and grabbed the Russian, helping to hold him up.

“I must tend to your wound,” Evgeny said.

“Nyet, not yet.”

Napoleon tried to protest, yet somehow he knew his partner’s stoicism would win in the end.

“Please my friend we must go. The patrols will be coming.”

Solo refused to argue; Illya needed to be looked at and that was that. He forced the stubborn Russian to sit and tearing away a large portion of his shirt, Napoleon folded up a piece of it to bandage Illya’s wound.

“Here Mr. Solo,” Bloom said, holding out a bit of cloth containing some dried herbs. “Put this on it, it will help slow the bleeding.”

Napoleon tore more of his shirt into strips, tying them together to wrap around Illya’s waist to hold the bandage in place. The procedure took but a few minutes, and once completed they headed off into the jungle.

Bloom took the second rifle as Kuryakin was in no shape to carry it as he needed to lean on Solo for support.

In the distance they could now hear the baying of dogs, giving them a greater sense of urgency. They ran as best they could.

The humidity and dampness of the jungle were oppressive, and by this point their meager clothing was soaked with perspiration. The barking seemed closer in spite of their efforts to escape the dogs.

They were all winded but Illya was gasping. He pulled away from Solo.

“Stoi… you must leave me. I am slowing you down.”

“Oh cut the drama Kuryakin, I’m not leaving you and that’s final,” Napoleon snapped.” When I was in the army we had a motto, ‘no man left behind.’ I never broke that rule and I don’t intend to start now.”

“Stubborn American,”Illya coughed as the doctor checked his side.

“The bleeding has stopped for now, though I think he’s lost a fair amount of blood. I think he will recover but he needs to rest in order to do that.”

Napoleon smiled, forcing his partner to his feet. “Don’t we all Doc...hear that chum, you’ll be fine, so come on buddy boy. We’re almost there.”

Solo was only guessing at the distance and direction in which they were heading. Initially his approximation had been based upon the position of the sun, but now the sky was clouding over and little light was shining down through the jungle canopy. He really had no idea how much farther their destination would be.

They were heading for what he hoped was a nearby river and along its wide shore, there they were to be rescued.

A rumble of thunder filled the air, and a drop of water hit Napoleon in the face, then another.

“Damn,” he swore. The last thing they needed was rain.

It came down in torrents and though it hindered them, it helped as well.

Solo grabbed a large banana leaf, rolling it into a tube and catching the precious rain water; giving the first drink to Illya who swallowed it greedily.

Evgeny followed suit and when they were all refreshed they continued onwards.

The doctor handed a pinch of herbs to Illya, ordering him to swallow them with more water. The wounded agent seemed to gain back some of his strength after doing so and was able walk unassisted, though he moved slowly.

The rain finally subsided as now only drops of water dripped down from the trees. The animal population returned to life, with a pair of large, brilliant blue macaws appearing from their hiding place, climbing through the branches and sending the remnants nutshells down on the fleeing trio.

The air echoed with a cacophony of sounds...more parrots, monkeys and what could have been the low rumble of a jaguar making it’s presence known in the distance.

After the rain, steam rose from the jungle floor, making it more difficult to move, much less breathe. The incessant buzzing of insects, and their stings added to the discomfort.

They continued walking, at a slower pace now as they no longer heard the baying of the dogs.

“Listen,” Illya said, slapping a mosquito on his arm before cocking his head to one side. He stood still.” Do you hear it?”

“What? The Doctor asked.”I only hear screeching parrots.”

“It is the sound of rushing water. We must be near the river.”

They quickened their pace and as they stepped from the dense underbrush, they came to the clearing they needed beside the wide expanse of the rushing river.

Napoleon rolled up what was remained of his left sleeve, and finding a reddened scar on his inner arm; he pressed his thumb against it.

A homing chip hidden beneath the dermis was activated, and now all they could do was wait, trying to ignore the heat and insects. Solo wasn’t sure which was worse, being drenched in sweat or constantly being fed upon by the relentless flying bugs determined to suck the life out of them.

Illya would often declare how unfair it was that his partner seemed to never perspire when they were on assignment in tropical climates, but now Napoleon felt as though he were making up for all those times. How often had he stayed cool as a cucumber while his partner was drenched in sweat? It was hot as hell, and he didn’t like perspiring one damn bit.

Annoyed; Solo waved away yet another mosquito buzzing by his his ear.

He tried to imagine a nice hotel room, a bathtub filled with water, and lots of soap suds. Maybe strawberry scented bubble bath, and there’d be a cute maid…no a French maid, delivering fresh towels to him. Mmmm, maybe helping to scrub his back among other things.

He continued to muse, letting those thoughts distract him from their current surroundings for a few blissful moments, though he remained vigilant.

The river,its cool water so tempting and inviting, held other unseen dangers; black caiman, poisonous snakes or even perhaps piranhas lurked there, so better not to take the chance by going near the water's edge.

Napoleon eyes darted back and forth at every sound. He daren’t voice his underlying concern that the soldiers from the prison would find them before the cavalry arrived...

Part 4