Chapter 31
The moment the muzzle of the gun slipped through the door crack, Debert twisted it upward towards the ceiling. The bullet, missing its target, clanged loudly as it dented the roof of the vehicle.
“He’s al—augh!”
Before the soldier could finish his cry, Debert clamped a hand over his mouth and pulled him inside. In the cramped driver’s seat, the two men grappled fiercely.
Meanwhile, Beth was also engaged in a life-or-death struggle.
As a Kovach soldier approached to grab her by the hair, she swiftly jabbed him with a syringe filled with an anaesthetic.
The needle sank into the man’s arm. Taking advantage of his momentary shock, Beth grabbed for his gun.
However, the difference in strength was evident; the gun’s muzzle fired chaotically throughout the car as they wrestled for control.
Beth’s face paled as she fought to keep Debert from being hit.
“Are you out of your mind?!” the soldier snarled as he began to turn the gun towards Beth.
She had reached her limit. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself. Then, with a loud bang, something warm and sticky splattered across her face. She opened her eyes to see the man’s eyes rolling back.
Turning her head, she saw Debert, holding the soldier’s gun, pushing the lifeless body off of him.
Behind them was only an empty truck following them.
“We need to get out. The tyre’s shot,” Debert said, already climbing out of the driver’s seat. He quickly moved around to Beth’s side and pulled her out. As he roughly wiped the blood from her face with his large hand, he spoke rapidly.
“Run straight for the Nexus retrieval flag. If the sun sets, you’re dead. You must get there before then. Understand?!”
Beth nodded repeatedly, feeling the warmth of his hand cupping her face.
“Take care of your life,” Debert added, tearing off the red cross armband on her arm with a rough tug.
“Don’t look back, just run,” he ordered, grasping her hand firmly. It felt as if they were each other’s only salvation, clinging tightly to one another.
Their target was clear.
No matter what chaos erupted around them—whether a corpse was flung by a mortar or a tank caught fire—it didn’t matter.
At that moment, a Kovach soldier, thrown by a grenade’s shockwave, collided with Debert. Knowing instinctively that the man was an enemy, Debert found himself in a desperate struggle.
There was no time to think; it was a brawl for survival.
The soldier, now on top of Debert, began to press down on his throat.
“Guh… Jane! Go!” Debert gasped, as he struggled beneath the weight of his attacker.
Beth, having been thrown a few steps away, noticed a gun within reach. There wasn’t even time to question why Debert had suddenly called her by a different name.
Worried that he might switch targets if he saw her, Debert deliberately avoided looking at Beth as she slowly crawled towards the gun, her hands trembling. Her legs were shaking so badly that she was almost crawling.
She pressed the muzzle against the back of the soldier, filled with murderous intent.
When she pulled the trigger, her body jolted with the recoil.
Debert, now free from the dead soldier draped over him, heaved for breath. He staggered to his feet and then helped Beth up.
“Don’t look,” he muttered.
The sun was setting too quickly, and the Nexus retrieval vehicle flag was getting farther and farther away.
“It’s Debert! Capture Debert Cliff alive!”
“Damn it,” Debert cursed.
This time, Beth took the lead, grabbing Debert’s hand and urging him to run. But her steps faltered when she saw him looking in the opposite direction—towards nothing but a steep cliff.
Debert started running towards the slope.
“Capture the woman alive too!”
The steep slope below was thick with trees and underbrush. The sky, already turning a deep purple, signalled the early arrival of dusk.
There was only one choice left.
“Hold on,” Debert said, pulling Beth into a tight embrace that nearly took her breath away. Then, he flung them both down the slope.
Even as they tumbled down the hill, Beth could hear the sound of bullets being fired at them. Her clothes tore as they scraped against the rough ground.
They bounced, bodies lifting off the ground only to crash back down repeatedly, but Debert held her tightly to his chest, never letting her go.
Beth suddenly realised something.
She is not dying alone. She is dying with this man.
With a heavy thud, her vision went black.
* * *
Beth groped around in the pitch-darkness. She tried to push her battered body upright but couldn’t see anything in the inky blackness.
Panic set in as she frantically looked around. Nearby, she spotted the familiar shape of a military uniform, crumpled in a heap on top of a pile of leaves. Debert lay there, eyes closed, looking completely dishevelled.
She quickly checked for a pulse at his neck, finding it faint but present. However, no matter how hard she shook him, he didn’t respond.
It was then that she noticed the blood-soaked area around his chest.
Beth fumbled at her own body, realising too late that her medical bag was gone. She had no idea where it had disappeared to or how much time had passed.
Each breath she took sent white puffs of steam into the cold night air.
If she left him like this, he might die. She had to wake him up somehow. But she hesitated to shake him too hard, fearing he might have been shot. Her hands hovered anxiously over his body.
“Urgh…”
A groan, as if by miracle, caught her attention, and she quickly focused on him.
The man’s eyes blink slowly as they fluttered open.
“You’re alive…”
That simple statement brought such relief. It was as though a dam had burst, and Beth Jane’s tears flowed freely, unrestrained.
Debert Cliff could only silently watch as she sobbed with deep sorrow.
Everything was uncertain.
Tracking Beth to the battlefield, throwing himself down the slope—none of it was guaranteed.
But despite all the uncertainties, one thing was clear.
Anything was better than Beth Jane losing her life.
Debert found himself chuckling softly at the unexpected success of their mission. Each breath brought searing pain to his back, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle.
“Are you hurt?”
The woman shook her head.
“Then that’s fine.”
Debert took a moment to catch his breath before pushing himself up. He clenched his teeth, trying to suppress a groan, but the taste of blood seeped through.
“Everyone around me seems to have short lifespans. I suppose I owe you my life today.”
Beth followed a few steps behind him, finding the statement odd. After all, it was he who had saved her.
He leaned against a large rock, half-sitting beneath its overhang. He struggled to pull at his uniform jacket with his left hand, and Beth quickly helped him.
Debert draped the jacket over her shoulders.
“This damn shirt… ugh.”
Beth quickly examined his back. Though she couldn’t be sure without removing his shirt, it was clear that the wound he’d received at the market had reopened.
His dark eyes, now streaked with tears, looked at her anxiously.
“If you were going to worry like this, why did you leave me behind?”
Debert couldn’t bring himself to add “me” to that sentence.
It was then that Beth noticed the key hanging from his partially open shirt. It was old, worn, and out of place on him.
“Don’t cry. I didn’t say that to make you cry.”
Each word he spoke came out as puffs of white breath in the cold air.
“I always knew you were stubborn.”
He patted his stomach. All that was visible was his stained shirt. Beth’s eyes darted around, trying to understand his actions.
When she didn’t immediately grasp his meaning, Debert’s gaze turned cold again. Beth, however, couldn’t help but let out a small, helpless laugh.
If she found comfort in that icy stare, she really must be going mad.
“Come closer.”
There was no convenient stump or rock to sit on, so where was he asking her to go?
Debert reached out and pulled her closer by the arm.
In an instant, Beth found herself perched on his lap, eyes wide in surprise. She could feel his hands wrapping around her back.
“If you don’t want to freeze to death, hold on to me. I’m cold too.”
The word “cold” startled Beth, and she quickly leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him. Any embarrassment had long since vanished. What mattered more was the fear of what might happen to him because of her.
His body was already ice-cold, but being held close was still better than being alone.
“If you fall asleep, you’ll die.”
His low voice tickled her ear.
He wasn’t one to say things lightly. He’d mentioned corpses during the ride to the market, and sure enough, he’d been shot that day.
Beth pressed herself even closer to him.
“When you’re in the cold, you get sleepy. You need to keep talking.”
Debert extended his hand.
“Talk about anything.”
Her hand, much smaller than his, hesitated before reaching out.
Beth took a deep breath. She didn’t want to talk about anything heavy.
“Why did you call me by your last name?” she asked.
“They saw us together. Now the enemy will be looking for you too. Women’s surnames change when they get married, don’t they? I thought it might be better than using your first name.”
He glanced down at her.
“Is there a surname you prefer?”
It was a playful question, but she dismissed it with a blank expression.
“What about Cliff? Beth Cliff.”
Beth only tightened her arms around him in response. His quiet laugh reverberated in his chest and into her ear.
After the brief laughter, a heavy silence fell between them.
“You didn’t kill him,” Debert said, reading her thoughts in the quiet.
“Regret won’t change anything. Today, you didn’t kill a Kovach soldier—you saved me. Focus on that.”
Regret. Beth pondered the word.
She didn’t regret it. If she hadn’t made that choice in the moment, this man might have disappeared from her life. No matter the consequences, she wouldn’t have chosen differently.
Even if that consequence was the unbearable weight of guilt.
“Don’t fall asleep.”
The gentle coax in his voice was comforting.
“If you’re listening, tap me with your fingers.”
She liked how he would sometimes soften and withdraw, after being so harsh.
Instead of nodding her head as she had countless times before, Beth lightly tapped his back with her fingers.
“That’s it, just like that.”
A deep sigh resonated through his broad chest. Whatever he was thinking, his once-steady heartbeat gradually quickened.
“When you were in danger…”
He paused, adjusting his hold on her. The rise and fall of his breaths were unmistakable beneath her fingertips.
“I wasn’t ignoring you. I was trying to save you.”
‘Kill that woman.’
How she had resented him on that day.
“I’ve never abandoned you.”
Now she believed him—this man’s words.
“Are you still listening?”
Beth smiled silently at his suddenly sharp tone. She could feel his chest rise and fall as she tapped lightly on his back again.
“Do you really hate the name Cliff?”
Tap, tap. Her fingers answered.
“Damn. I know it’s a lousy name.”
Beth bit her lip. She thought she was beginning to understand the sentiment behind his words.
In the jacket pocket draped over her shoulder, she knew there was a small, round object.
Even without looking, she knew it carried the same message that was hidden within his words.
