Wipeout | Book 2 | Foul Play

by Richards, E. S.

  The boathouse further around the lake caught Samuel’s eye and he figured that was as good a place as any to start the search of Camp Placid. When he got there, the boathouse was also locked. Upon turning over a rather out of place looking rock beside the door, Samuel found the key and was able to unlock it.

  The boathouse was filled with kayaks and paddles, raft making gear, life jackets and a number of paddle boards. Floatation devices hung from the rafters with a few raggedy looking pairs of flippers, but there was nothing he and Austin could use to further their journey. The boathouse was a dead end, but there were still plenty of other places for Samuel to look. Refusing to be disheartened, he continued his search.

  ***

  Austin groaned immediately as he woke up, the throbbing pain in the back of his head dulled somewhat due to the rest, but definitely still there. He put two fingers to his temples and massaged them slowly, looking around the dorm where he had woken and trying to figure out what had woken him. The painkillers he’d taken had made him slow and groggy, longing to stay in bed for just a few hours longer.

  Then he heard a noise. That must have been what had woken him. Samuel was nowhere to be seen and the sound of an engine being revved outside filled the air. Austin hauled himself out of bed and staggered over to the door, flinging it open to look out into the campsite. There, standing over the seat of a quad, Samuel revved the engine and grinned, waving his arm over his head when he saw Austin emerge.

  “Incredible,” Austin exclaimed as he walked over to Samuel, his friend cutting off the engine so the two of them could talk. “Where did you find it?”

  “There’s a bunch of them in a shed by the offices,” Samuel replied with a smile. “Don’t worry, we don’t need to share.” Flinging his thumb over his shoulder, Samuel gestured to another quad that he’d wheeled over for Austin. He’d already tried the engine on both of them and checked their gas tanks, picking the two with the most gas. He’d also found a jerry can that they could fill and take with them. The act of him revving the engine had been more for show, Samuel unable to resist the temptation when he realized Austin was still asleep. Much like having never been to a camp before, Samuel had never ridden a quad, but he was overcome with a childlike enthusiasm to try.

  “Do you think we’ll be able to get these to Poughkeepsie?”

  “Definitely,” Austin remarked. “This is great. Nice one, Sam. How long have you been up?”

  “Only a couple of hours,” Samuel replied. “Thought you could do with the extra rest. How are you feeling? How’s your head?”

  “Not great,” Austin grimaced, “not sure I want to keep taking those painkillers though, they’re making me feel all fuzzy.”

  “Stick to regular aspirin?”

  “Yeah maybe,” Austin chuckled. “Don’t want to go losing my head now, do I?”

  Samuel laughed, too, glad to see his friend was in higher spirits. He had every reason to be; they’d rested up and now had a way to continue the journey to Poughkeepsie and to Austin’s family. Samuel wasn’t sure what kind of speeds the quads could get to, but he knew they would be faster than walking and that was good enough. Continuing to tell Austin about what else he’d found around the campsite, the two men sat and talked for a while until they were both ready to get moving.

  “You ready?” Austin asked as they both stood over their respective quad not long later. He had ridden one before and had more of a handle on it than Samuel, the former businessman a bit shaky and tentative. “Just follow me, we’ll take it nice and slow at first. It’ll be easier once we’re on the road.”

  Samuel gave his friend a nod. “Good to go,” he shouted over the sound of the engines, hoping that Austin was right. They’d taken a few turns around the campsite and he found it difficult to turn and keep control of the quad in the mud at points, he was really hoping that it would be more straightforward when they reached the tarmac.

  And to his delight, it certainly was. Samuel and Austin made it back onto the main road on their quads and were quickly zooming toward Poughkeepsie, the empty road inviting Samuel and pushing him to keep his hand on the throttle, the bikes hurtling along at their maximum speed.

  It was almost like a dream to Austin. Not long ago he had believed he was about to be torn apart by a potentially rabid black bear, never getting the chance to see his husband or his little boy again, never able to hold his family in his arms. But now they were speeding toward them. The journey shouldn’t even take an hour and so if everything went to plan, Austin could have Bowie cradled against his chest before the sun started setting. With the wind in his hair and a smile on his face, the road sped past quicker than he could’ve anticipated and before long signs for Poughkeepsie were appearing, the bridge into the city drawing ever closer.

  “We’ll be turning off soon I think,” Austin shouted over to Samuel, both driving much slower now as they neared the bridge so Austin could figure out where the turning was. He had only entered Poughkeepsie a couple of times from this direction before and was relying on his memory to guide them, the pair already having to double back once due to a wrong turn.

  Samuel nodded and sat back in his seat. Finally, their journey was almost over. Samuel could count the number of days he had known Austin on his fingers and yet he felt like the man was such a huge part of his life already. The experiences they had shared together were unmatched by anything else in his life and he honestly couldn’t wait to see him reunite with his loved ones. If anyone deserved to see their family again and to be happy, it was Austin.

  Turning the last corner on their quads, the two men started driving toward the bridge into the city with smiles on their faces, smiles that were wiped clean off when they suddenly processed what was ahead of them. The bridge was gone. Austin swallowed as he looked at Poughkeepsie in the distance, a huge gaping hole where the bridge had been.

  “What’s happened?”

  Austin braked and pulled off the road. He switched off the engine of his quad and stepped off, walking closer to the edge of the road where it just disappeared into the Hudson. This was no accident: the bridge had been destroyed by someone.

  “I don’t understand,” Samuel breathed as he stood behind Austin, his vertigo stopping him from getting too close to the edge. “Why would they destroy the bridge? It doesn’t make any sense, now they’re all trapped there.”

  “Or we’re trapped outside,” Austin replied, more than aware of some of the crackpot views some people in Poughkeepsie shared about outsiders. They liked to keep to themselves, but blowing up the bridge and the main route into the city seemed a bit farfetched even for them. It made no sense; surely the people would need resources from the outside world. They couldn’t survive on their own forever.

  “What do we do?”

  “I – I don’t know,” Austin shook his head. Devastated barely began to explain how he was feeling; to be so close to his son and then halted at the final hurdle. It was cruel and hard to deal with, his hands curling into fists at his sides in frustration and anger at the residents.

  “I don’t know if there’s enough fuel in the bikes to go around,” Samuel commented, giving Austin more bad news about their situation. “Is there any other way across the river?”

  “This was the only bridge,” Austin replied with a shake of his head. “The last we passed was already destroyed and the one before that is practically back in New York. This was our only option.”

  Staring at the ruined crossing, Austin felt his world crumbling down like the very structure in front of him had done just days earlier. He had put all his effort and focus into seeing his family again that he’d never even considered what he would do if he couldn’t reach them. It was impossible to believe that they were so close and yet they couldn’t go any further.

  The Hudson meandered beneath them at a pace and depth far more powerful than one they could cross. Going through the river wasn’t an option, the bridge had been it – the only way forward – and now it was gone. As his hear
t sank, so did Austin, finding himself sitting on the tarmac staring at the city where his family waited just out of reach. When Trident had collapsed, he had lost so much, but the knowledge that Dante and Bowie were waiting for him had kept him alive, kept him fighting. When times were tough and he felt like there was no hope left, picturing them had inspired him and forced him forwards, stopping him from giving up when he felt like everything was worthless. Now that feeling intensified and Austin couldn’t find a single reason to get himself back up again and carry on fighting. Everything he had done since New York had been for nothing. His family were out of reach and very suddenly and completely, it felt like the end of the road for Austin.

  Samuel had no choice but to stand behind his friend and let him have his moment. His head was empty of ideas for what the two of them could do next, but there had to be something. Samuel knew they hadn’t travelled all this way and gone through so much together just to be turned away by a broken bridge. They were better than that and once Austin realized it, they could keep on moving. But for now, his friend just needed a moment of silence and Samuel was more than happy to give that to him. When Austin was ready, they would continue again. And until that moment came, Samuel would wait by his side and consider their options.

  Chapter 22

  “It’s time.”

  “Already? I didn’t think we’d be there for another month. Weeks at least.”

  “Me neither,” KW shook her head, “but it’s happening now. We’ve had the order. We need to launch stage two tonight.”

  “Is it ready?”

  “It’ll have to be,” KW’s mouth set into a firm line. “We don’t have a choice.”

  Throughout the bunker, the five elite criminal hackers sat in silence as they absorbed the news. They had always been aware of the second stage of their government’s plan, but they had never thought it would happen so quickly. The attack on Trident had only taken place a couple of weeks ago. They had forecast months of upset and disaster before the second stage was put into place. No one could guess at what would happen if it was released this early.

  Out of the corner of her eye, KW glanced at FM and shook her head ever so slightly. They had been planning to meet later that night to discuss how their plans of escape were going, but with this new information, they wouldn’t be able to. All hopes of their freedom would have to be put on hold as the bunker became even more closely scrutinized as the second stage of the attack was launched. A world without money was one thing, but now they were going to take it to the next level.

  If people felt like they had lost everything already, then they were in for an unpleasant surprise. Things were about to get a whole lot worse.

  Wipeout Book 3

  Available Here

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