by Phil Maxey
Sara spoke up. “If things don’t go well, in Atlanta, it’s still five hours from there to here? That’s days by foot.”
“There will be a truck, and two Humvees at Tango, but if they’re not available, well, you just have to survive best you can to get back here,” a murmur ran around the Cascaders. “I know that’s not what you want to hear. I know in the past you have not been soldiers. But today, you are. Today, if things go to plan, we will give everyone back at Camp Bravo a chance to live a better life. Everyone check the time, it’s zero eight hundred hours now. We should be at the outskirts of Atlanta around noon. We then wait for five hours until it’s dark, then we attack.”
“Let’s do this!” said Evan and everyone shouted “Yeah!” in response, then slowly filtered away to get their belongings and get themselves ready.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
“I kinda wish the weather was worse,” said Fiona glancing at the sky, while driving the front Humvee. “You can see our feathered friends as clear as day up there.”
“It will be nighttime when we attack, apart from that, if they see them during the day, they will just think they’re the usual E.L.F’s that hang around the city,” said Zach sitting in the passenger’s seat.
“Let’s hope.”
Cal stood in the turret position just behind them and smiled. The last time he was in this position, the world was moving at a pace he couldn’t keep up with, and he was changing even though he didn’t know it at the time. The ice cold air blowing past him couldn’t get through his winter hat, goggles and scarf around his face and he felt a sense of belonging to something larger than himself. Not just because he was a Cascader, but because of what they were all attempting to do, help save the camp.
Soon they were passing through a national forest and the wintry trees on both sides of the highway did justice to the name.
Wyatt looked at Evan sitting next to him in the truck, the middle-aged man kept crossing and uncrossing his arms. “Are you scared?” asked Wyatt.
Evan looked at him and frowned. “Nah, we get in, we tell these creatures to go attack, and then we leave, what’s to be scared of?”
Wyatt gave a meek smile then looked out the back of the truck over the top of the second Humvee at the large feline like creatures that were bounding after them in the distance.
As the convoy passed over the bridge where they had previously met the Hell fire gang, Abbey shuddered and closed her eyes. Flashes of the night came back to her. We so nearly died. She swallowed and opened them and looked at the ice covered river and beautiful landscape that surrounded it. She wasn’t afraid anymore of the strange nature around her, only some of those people that lived amongst it. She thought again of her dream. Could she be dreaming of Boston? Surely it couldn’t be that overgrown by now? It’s only been a year since the Cascade.
“Are you okay dear?” said Dr. Chapman observing Abbey from the backseat. They were both sitting in the second Humvee, while Bass drove.
Abbey smiled. “I’m fine, just going over that bridge, brings back memories.”
“There almost wasn’t a bridge. We had plans to blow it, luckily we didn’t otherwise we would of not been able to fish you off the ice.” said Bass.
“Everything happens for a reason!” said Chapman.
Abbey looked at the forest sweeping by and hoped that was true.
When they were about two hours from Atlanta, they approached a multi-lane junction, with highways crossing left and right above them. The road they were on which passed underneath, appeared dark.
“Is it just me or does that look wrong under the highway up ahead,” said Fiona. “How’s it look Cal?” she shouted.
Cal felt the back of his neck. “Something’s there,” he shouted. He could just about make out layers of what looked like gray streaks which crossed the road as it went under the overpass. There were so many of them that no light from the other side was getting through. The convoy stopped.
Zach clicked on his radio. “Abbey when you left the city did you come past this? Over.”
“I came up from the south, didn’t pass through here. But there’s an E.L.F ahead of us, I’m getting out to see. Over.”
Zach swore to himself. “Wait Abbey, I’ll come with you. Over.”
Zach got out as Abbey was walking past, and had to run a little to catch up with her. “Abbey, wait up.”
“You should probably hang back Zach, I don’t think we have encountered whatever this is before.”
Zach looked into what seemed to be fine netting blanketing the way forward. “It looks like a spi…” before he could finish, a white piece of what looked like twine stretched out from the others wrapping around Abbey and pulled her forward through the air into the darkness.
“Abbey!” Zach shouted, raising his gun but not knowing what to shoot at.
Abbey passed through multiple layers until she was inside a large open space, full of tiny points of light, that pulsed and moved along strands. She felt like she was inside the mind of a machine, with electrons flying around the network. Concentrating, she allowed herself to relax and her mind to move outwards, soon the strand that was holding her loosened, and she was lowered softly to the ground. Like dark clouds clearing in a storm, the thick blanket of material slid to the sides, until light from the other side of the highway became more and more visible. Shortly afterwards whatever E.L.F this was, was holding back to the sides of the pillars which held up the highways above.
Zach ran up to her. “What is a spider? I don’t see anything,” he said looking around him.
Abbey smiled. “No spiders. It was something else, almost plant like, but alive like an animal. We can safely pass now.”
Zach clicked on the radio and the convoy drove up. They both returned to their vehicles and passed through, as soon as they did, the threads flew across the road and the view to the highway they had just driven up from was gone. The other E.L.F’s avoided the area, climbing and jumping the highway walls to keep up.
Soon they were approaching a large body of water. All the Cascaders felt the presence of a lot of E.L.F’s ahead of them.
Zach clicked on his radio. “We can’t do anything with water based E.L.F’s, so just make sure they don’t attack us. Over.”
The Cascaders acknowledged and soon everyone in the truck, Cal and Abbey had their eyes closed, focusing on trying to communicate with whatever was in the water around them.
As the vehicles passed over the slim bridge, a multitude of creatures on the shore and between the cracked ice were silently watching them.
“Well this isn’t creepy at all,” said Fiona trying to keep her eyes on the road but being distracted by the scene just a short distance below. When they were beyond the bridge, the Cascaders opened their eyes and everyone else let out a sigh of relief.
When they were close to the city Zach clicked on his radio. “Atlanta is just up ahead. We’re getting off the highway, to avoid being spotted from any patrols. We’ll try to find a good location for Tango as close to central as we can, but be prepared for contact with the enemy at any moment. Abbey if you recognize anything, let me know. Over.”
Soon they were passing down pleasant tree lined roads with single story homes that were set back some distance. To the right of the convoy an entrance flashed past of a school.
“Bass, let’s check this school out, pull into it in the next entrance. Over,” said Zach.
The large red-brown brick school building, looked deserted as they drove up to the impressive glass entrance.
Zach looked around. “Let’s just sit here for a moment, see what happens, Over.”
A light wind blew in the early afternoon sun. The feline E.L.F’s sat in the front yards of a nearby homes, while the Simivem's circled overhead, but apart from that there were no other noises.
“Okay, it looks clear. Me, Cal, and Fiona will look inside. Michael, I’ll need you in this Humvee on the big gun. Everyone else hang back out here until we give you the all clear.
Over.”
The three of them got out, and approached the forty foot high glass panels and doors. One of which was already pulled open. The lobby they walked into was clean, with only a few text books scattered across the floor. The space opened up into a large hallway, with signs pointing to different parts of the school. A door in the hallway, had “Teachers breakroom” above it. Zach pushed the door open. There was one chair lying on its side on the floor and some shelves with books had fallen over, but the rest of the room was untouched. A row of windows, looked into a central plaza in the middle of the school.
Zach went and started closing the blinds. “This will do. Fiona, get everyone into this room, me and Cal will check out the other rooms.”
They slowly went through the glossy floored corridors trying the handles to doors of the many rooms. Eventually they came to the gym. The door was already open, and the large open space inside was filled with bedding and empty plastic bags and bottles. Printed pieces of paper lay scattered across the floor and empty tables were pushed against the outer walls. They both walked in and stood in silence.
“Must have been used as some kind of refuge for people,” said Cal.
“Yeah.” Zach couldn’t help but imagine the games that must have been played on the court, and the crowds that cheered.
By time they got back to the break room, everyone was inside, and people were finding places to rest.
Michael was going through cupboards against the far wall. “Ah ha,” he said opening the last one and pulling out a bag of coffee. Somebody else had set up a small stove, and was boiling water with a pan of beans ready to be heated next.
Zach approached Fiona. “Set up a two person patrol to keep an eye on things around the school. Shift change every hour and try and move the vehicles out of sight. We’re also going to need the defensive positions set up in and around the school, coordinate with Bass,” Fiona nodded. Then Zach checked in with Echo on the radio. Everything was fine back at the pharmacy.
Dr. Chapman approached Zach. “I’ll need some of my supplies in here. I want to be ready to patch people up if things don’t go well.” Zach nodded, and got two of the soldiers to bring in what she needed.
He then turned to the rest in the break-room. “Everyone get some rest, and get ready. In three hours the attack team is going to move out. We will search the downtown part of the city, and find targets for the Cascaders to send the E.L.F’s to attack, and hopefully find the location of Geneva. Nobody leaves this location, unless we say so. Everyone understand?”
Everyone agreed.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
The Humvee drove down a pockmarked road in the darkness, its beams catching glimpses of factories and buildings that were long forgotten before the Cascade even started.
“Doesn’t look like there’s any sign of people living around here,” said Fiona straining to see if any of the dilapidated homes were still lived in.
“Hopefully all of Geneva’s people are living in downtown,” said Zach, as they turned into another road with homes on both sides.
“After this road, it opens out, and we’ll be a lot more exposed,” said Fiona.
“Agreed, let’s leave the Humvee here, and we’ll go the rest of the way on foot.”
Parking the Humvee in a drive behind some bushes and trees, they had a last look at the map of the area.
“The parking garage Abbey stayed in is about a mile north from here. Night-scopes on… Everyone ready?” Fiona and Cal nodded. Letting the others at Tango know they were proceeding on foot, they quickly made their way across yards and lawns, until they were in the park area Fiona mentioned.
In the distance, just visible as dark monoliths against the last remaining light of the day, stood the buildings of the downtown area.
Moving as fast as they could along the sidewalks and across parking lots with smashed and broken cars, they came to an area of multiple highways crossing from the east to west.
“Beyond the highway, we are close to the downtown area. Safety’s off and stay close together.”
They soon moved beyond the highways, past apartments, parking lots and then they were alongside office buildings. Zach waved for all of them to crouch together.
“Anyone see anything?” he whispered.
“Nothing, looks completely dead around here. We need to go further in,” said Fiona.
The further north they ran, the more impressive the buildings grew that towered into the night sky around them. Eventually a flickering light was visible to their west.
Fiona pointed. “I see it,” responded Zach.
Running, but keeping low and to the edge, they moved along a wide walkway lined with small shops. Each of them slid their night-scopes to the top of the heads. The light grew stronger and they could see there was not one but multiple sources sending smoke upwards. Cautiously they inched forward, using standalone pillars as shields, which they ran between. Eventually they could see the source of the light were two fires burning brightly and another which was just embers smoldering. Within each was the remains of a person tied to a stake. Painted on the concrete slabs in front, were large letters. “Devils will burn”.
They all crouched together in a doorway.
“Do you think that message is for us?” said Fiona.
“Yeah, I think it is. We need to check out the underground area, right below us,” replied Zach.
“We can be easily ambushed down there,” said Cal, looking around him.
“We need to find the gang. Let’s move.”
Keeping low they moved into a stairwell, and were soon on the underground level with the fires burning just thirty yards away. Pulling down their night-scopes to their eyes once again they moved into the darkness of the large shopping parade under the streets of Atlanta.
*****
Bass looked out into the formless night outside the third floor school room window. He heard a noise behind him, it was Dr. Chapman.
“Hard to get used to knowing that they are out there,” said Bass.
“The E.L.F’s or the Hell Fire gang?”
“Well both, but mostly the creatures. A lot of the camp were behind throwing the Cascaders in a dark hole somewhere and forgetting about them, but now they’re the reason we are all safe.”
“It’s like I say, everything…”
Bass smiled. “Happens for a reason.”
“We haven’t known each other for very long, and you already know all my phrases!” she said smiling in reply.
“Yeah it sure does seem that way, but… sometimes it’s the wrong reasons.”
“Heard anything back from Zach?”
“Only that they have left the Humvee behind and are going into the city on foot. If the gang is there, we will know soon enough.”
“Wouldn’t it be great, if they kill this Geneva madman, rescue your friend Brad and we can all go home?”
Bass smirked. “When is the road ever straight. How’s things looking on the medical front?”
“I get three beds setup, I heard that some of you have had medical training, I might be calling on that.” She looked down and back at him. “But hopefully not.”
A loud roar rang out from the grounds around the school, and Abbey’s voice came from Bass’s radio. “Bass, the creature’s sense something, I think there’s people approaching us. Over.”
“Kill the lights. Everyone to their…” before he could finish, the repeating thunder of helicopter blades echoed from the distance. And points of light bobbed and swayed a few miles off. “Everyone to their places. We don’t know if they know we are here, or if this is a routine patrol.”
Dr. Chapman ran downstairs, while Bass positioned his rifle in a comfortable position to see the road which ran alongside the school. The creatures continued growling.
“Abbey, can you and your friends do anything to keep those creatures quiet. Over.”
“We can make them more passive, but then they won’t be much use in a fight. Over.”
�
��Okay, leave them and we’re hope the gang just pass us by,” Abbey’s words were becoming harder to hear as the helicopter rose up from the nearby hills, its search light sweeping from house to house. The small points of light, were now cones which were in the backyards of the homes opposite the school.
Multiple roars rang out a few hundred yards from the school, followed by screaming and gunfire. A number of the points of light retreated back into the trees. Neon red streaks of gunfire flew between the houses and the trees.
“Bass, the feline E.L.F’s are attacking the gang, but one of them is already down, we’re trying to get them to retreat, but we can’t get through to them. Over.”
Bass shook his head, and looked down the sight of his rifle, but it was too dark to make anything out in the battle that was happening outside.
The helicopter appeared again, and rockets flew from its sides hitting the ground, sending sparks and fire upwards.
“Bass, can’t we attack? The creatures are being killed! Over.”
“Stay in your positions! And don’t fire unless fired upon. We have to hold this location, otherwise Zach, Cal and Fiona won’t have anywhere to fall back to! They still don’t know we’re here. Over.”
