Going Bush

Tears were streaming down Taylor’s face by the time they returned to the barn.
Nate shoved him inside and Bernard turned to bolt the door shut behind them as soon as they arrived.
“You’d better get changed,” Nate insisted.
“Indeed I will,” Bernard replied, handing the gun to the younger man.
Taylor backed into a corner and just stayed there, not moving. More unsettling than his short term memory was the blood coating his hands.
Bernard soon changed into clothing that Nate had supplied, then picked up the bag.
“Let’s go up to the farmhouse. We can call the others from there before we kill the phone lines,” he suggested.
“Great. Hey, KID!”
Taylor must have jumped four inches from the ground. He looked up to see the gun trained on him.
“We’re moving. Get up.”
Taylor hesitated for a moment – simply debating with himself what to do – before managing to pull himself to his feet. Nate grabbed his arm before going to unlock the door.
They soon began the walk up to the farmhouse.
“Just want me to kill the farmer?” Nate asked when they were almost there.
“Do what you have to,” Bernard replied with a nod.
Taylor gulped, all the while keeping his head down. He didn’t need himself in any more trouble than he already was.
They made it up to the back of the house before the back security light came on.
“Who goes there?!” came a husky voice, before a rather large man with a rifle came storming out the back door.

*

“Zac? Zac? Hold on, ok?! You’re gonna be alright,” Isaac stressed, squeezing his brother’s hand as the gurney was raced through the hospital corridors.
Zac’s eyelids barely fluttered before Isaac was pulled away from him, and he disappeared into the emergency operating room.
“Sir?” a nurse caught Isaac’s attention.
He ran his fingers through his hair before turning to her.
“Yes?”
“Could you follow me please? We have some paperwork for you to fill out.”
“Can it wait?” he asked straight away, “I really need to know if he’s going to be ok. If he dies in there, he won’t be the only one.”
“Sir,” the nurse looked a little taken aback as he turned around again, “please, there’s no need for threats… they’re just doing their jobs.”
“I didn’t,” Isaac frowned, before realizing how he’d said it.
“I meant that if he dies, I’ve got no hope of finding my other brother. Now please, I just need to make sure he’s ok.”
“Fair enough,” the nurse nodded, “but we should alert your parents.”
“They’ve been called,” Isaac assured, “I came from a ranger station and they were alerted from there.”
“Do they know which hospital to come to?”
“Yes, they do. Thanks for your concern.”