Our Ticket Out of Here!Mature

Shino scratched his head, thinking what options they could take. They hadn't the firepower to take on the tank and their only hope of escape would be to run. And since they were in the middle of nowhere, they would likely die of starvation or dehydration in the desert wasteland. That or worse, be captured by slave traders or bandits.

"Damnit Carlos sit down for a minute." Shino turned around to see Munashe trying to calm his companion down. Meanwhile Diego had been watching the tank get closer and closer to the main square, in front of the tower.

"Hey Shino," he said. "Is there anyone else who lives in this city?"

"Not that I know of." Shino answered. Diego handed him the telescope and Shino's eyes widened at what he saw. There were about thirteen soldiers, armed with M16 assault rifles. They were dressed in a military desert camo and wore kevlar armour. "That's impossible."  He knew that organized militaries were long dead. Yet now there seemed to be a squadron of what seemed to be US soldiers taking position around the area.

"Look! One of those hombres got an anti-tank missile!" Diego said. Shino took his eyes off the telescope and zeroed them in on a man atop one the buildings, holding a very shiny AT4. He was lying prone and had his sights on the approaching tank. Suddenly one of the soldiers yelled. Shino didn't know where he was but his yell caused a chain reaction.

The tank fired a shell blindly, tearing apart one of the buildings. The man with the anti-tank missile launcher fired, producing a large back blast that would have burned anyone standing behind him. Surprisingly he fired with good accuracy and no recoil, the missile flying straight and true at the tank. It collided with the metal surface and seemed to dig inside it a bit before exploding.

Shino and his companions covered their eyes and ears at the tank's deafening explosion. Diego shook his head and grabbed the telescope. Munashe and Carlos stared at the burning remains of the tank before turning to Shino.

"What the hell just happened?" They asked in unison. Shino stared at them, then at three soldiers cautiously approaching the tank. He smiled and made his way to his desk, taking out a large bag, his handgun and four grenades.

"What just happened my friends is our ticket out of here." Carlos gave him a weird look while Munashe shook his head.

"You can't be serious...we can't take their vehicles! They just saved our asses!" Munashe had a look of confusion and anger at what Shino was prepared to do.

Shino put his hand on Munashe's shoulder and exhaled. "Even if those soldiers did save our lives, we can't stick around to see if they're hostile or not. What we can and must do is find their vehicle and "borrow" it. Their headquarters will send them some sort of rescue copter but us? No we need to get out of here." He zipped his bag closed and made his way down the large flight of stairs. "Unless you guy's would prefer to stay here, I suggest you bring a map and some supplies."

Diego and Carlos stared at the angered looking Munashe, a look of indecision present. They probably want to go, but won't leave their adopted father behind.

Munashe shook his head and grabbed the map and three bags of supplies. "If we end up shot by them, it's your ass I'm going to gun down first." Shino nodded and hurried down the stairs. Carlos and Diego grabbed a bag each and headed down the stairs, Munashe right behind them.