//------------------------------//
// Night Of Regret 
// Story: The Final Crusade 
// by Enfield 
//------------------------------//

The following morning James had gotten up before the Crusaders and he led the way to the airport, they came across several Enforcer and Guardian patrols but they hid each time. They managed to find a wrecked out building to rest for a moment. James counted all the ammo they had left, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo had used up all of their ammo and their guns had to be hidden. James on the other hand had plenty of ammo for his 1911 but only thirty rounds left for the Enfield. James could make the rounds count but he was at a loss if the Crusaders ever got separated from him, they had no protection, aside from the bulletproof vests, and if they were captured then they would surely die. 
“Which way is the airfield?” Scootaloo asked. 
“Just over the hill if I’m right,” James said. 
“And if you’re not right?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I can use the hill to scout out the area,” James replied. 
“That works,” said Sweetie Bell. 

James and the Crusaders had to travel slow because the fighting had intensified over the past two days and the occasional artillery barrage slowed them down. Sometimes as they traveled, James would have flashbacks of his entire life leading up to this point, he mostly ignored them thinking they were a symptom of going nuts. As James and the Crusaders hid in a drainage pipe waiting for an air strike to pass James tried to remember the good time he had in his life, and if he could ever scavenge happiness from his memory. While he recollected his life he pulled out his iPod and checked to see if it had been fully synched on his computer, he flicked through the songs and was glad to see that every episode of Top Gear had successfully been downloaded into his iPod. James over the months had seen rather humorous similarities between the CMC and the hosts of Top Gear, the only standing difference was that the Crusaders were trying to achieve Cutie Marks whereas the hosts of Top Gear were just trying to be funny. The roars of the jets and the explosions of the bombs passed after thirty minutes, James was the first to leave the pipe and check for soldiers. 

“Clear,” he said. The Crusaders followed James closely, the smoke from the bombs had coated the ground and obscured vision, but James knew which way they were going. Each of the Crusaders held onto James as he made his way through the smoke, soon however it started to get dark. 
“Are we there yet?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I don’t know,” James said. 
“Which way is the airfield?” Scootaloo asked. 
“Just through this forest and across the airstrip,” said James, “I hope we can pull this off.” 

They passed through the forest and came across the airstrip, James was rather glad they made it but a little annoyed that the Guardians had made it there as well, it seemed as if they were just sweeping the buildings for Enforcers. James had the Crusaders hide behind a cluster of bushes. 
“Bloody hell, they might be looking for us,” James said.
“Can they see us?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I think the bushes can hide us,” said Scootaloo.
“I wish I wasn’t wearing this dress,” Sweetie Bell said.
“The rest of the clothes were destroyed, remember?” said James. 
The Guardians searched the buildings and then left, then they headed for the hangars. James ducked back behind the bushes. 
“Looks as if we might have to stay here until they leave for good,” said James.
“How long will that be?” Scootaloo asked. 
“It could be all night,” James said. 

James and the Crusaders picked a rather large tree to rest under until the Guardians left. James kept watch as the Crusaders slept, he had a funny feeling that this might be the last time he ever sees the Crusaders, James looked back at them, they had taken up sleeping in one big pile to keep warm for the past few nights. James usually slept alone and with his rifle at his side in case of a night ambush, but it seemed as the Guardians were too occupied with the hangars and the last Enforcers that James saw were more than five miles away. James sat back and tried to watch both the Crusaders and the Guardians, he didn’t want either to leave his sight, James was starting to regret everything that had happened over the past few weeks but he never regretted helping the Crusaders. James was proud of what he had done for the girls, from just taking them in to vacations to helping them through the war zones. James really didn’t want them to be in this situation but James didn’t want them to end up dead or in a government medical facility being experimented on. He had been through a lot in just a short time, James hoped that he could forget all of this and start up a new life, all James wanted to be was a soldier tasked with protected the place he lived, now that his home had rejected him he had nothing left to live for, James could escape to Cuba but he didn’t know Spanish. He never hoped to use the box and now that he had, he was beginning to regret ever thinking of it. 
The Guardians left the airstrip and once James was sure that they were gone, lit a fire and tried to keep the Crusaders warm until morning. The night was cold and the moon was shadowed by the smoke from the fires that raged in the cities, the insects had been replaced by gunfire and shooting stars turned out to be rockets and jets. 
“Well I’ve really done it,” James thought, “This is all my fault, if I had just kept to myself and not looted I would probably be home in my nice warm bed with my TV on watching one of my favorite TV shows. Now because of something that didn’t seem to matter, I’m now a wanted man with three girls who I helped three months ago.” 
James shivered and wiped a tear off his face as he thought of his family back in the UK. He hoped that his mother and father hadn’t made up any lies, James doubted it because Dave and Katherine drove away from the house rather fast and they took a very hard turn. It was like they were running from something, but if they were running from James they would have ran out of the house than tell him the truth then hit him in the face. Then James realized why, they were running from everything they had done for James, not from him, they did say that they had tried to kill him for the past sixteen years. 

As James tried to drift off to sleep he felt the Crusaders snuggle up to him again to keep warm. James kicked some dirt over the fire to put it out, he looked out toward the airstrip and saw the planes sitting in the moonlight hoping that the one he was going to fly was fueled and ready to help him and the Crusaders escape. If the Crusaders had gone back home then James could’ve used his Spitfire to escape the US, with that plane he would at least have some defense against missiles and helicopters. James held the Crusaders closer to him and fell asleep, hoping that morning would bring new light and a way out of everything.