Caleb ran as fast as he could to the side of the road and dove into a gully just as the explosion went off behind him. Metal parts and chunks of pavement went whizzing over his head, crashing into the hillside. A small plume of smoke began to rise up into the air and Caleb could hear the sound of people cheering from the hilltops on either side of the road. It was over, they had won.
4.4 (Confrontation)
Caleb slowly stood to his feet from where he was lying in the gully beside the road. The cheers from the handful of the resistance group members were like music to his ears. He looked around and saw them running down the hillside toward the road. Alice was the first one to make it down and she sprinted as fast as she could toward Caleb. She threw her arms around him as he lifted her off her feet and swung her around. “We did it, we really did it!” she yelled with excitement.
“I can’t believe it,” Caleb said, somewhat shocked, “We took them out!”
Caleb put Alice back down to her feet as Alex walked over to him. Alex patted him on the back and said, “Way to go Caleb! I knew you wouldn’t let me down with that grenade.”
“Thanks, Alex,” Caleb replied, “It was just an impulse. I saw the door on the back side of the flame-tank and knew what I had to do.”
Some of the men in the group were searching through the debris, checking to make sure the Guardians were dead and looking down the road around a small bend to make sure nobody else was coming their way. Patrick stood behind Caleb, hugging Alice. “Great job kiddo,” he said to her.
“Thank you, Patrick,” she replied, “I really appreciated those words of encouragement you gave me right before the fight.”
“It was the truth,” he said, “Caleb and I both had faith in you.”
Alice looked down the street and saw Caleb talking with Alex off to the side. She wondered what they were talking about. Once she saw Caleb start walking back toward her, she headed in his direction. “What’s going on?” she asked, “What did Alex want?”
Caleb looked down at the ground momentarily, then looked back up at Alice. “There’s something I need to tell you, Alice,” he said.
Alice had a concerned look on her face. “What is it?” she asked.
Caleb thought about how he wanted to tell Alice this next piece of information. “I should have told you sooner, but I didn’t want you to worry about anything other than the assault.”
Alice was becoming impatient. “Caleb, tell me what’s going on,” she insisted.
Caleb grabbed her hand and said, “Alice, Martin pulled me aside a few days ago. Do you know about the serum they made to counteract the drugs that the people inside the grids are given?”
“Yes,” she said slowly, “What about it?”
“Well …” Caleb continued, “Martin asked me if I would volunteer to smuggle the serum inside Sector 27 and find a way to distribute it to as many people as I could. He told me that out of all of the people in the resistance group, I had the most knowledge of the layout. I told him I would do it. I’m going back to Sector 27 tonight with Patrick. I’m breaking back in.”
Alice remained silent. She looked down at her feet, thoughtful. “Caleb …” she said, “What if you can’t get back out?”
Caleb softly smiled and rubbed her hand with his thumb. “It’s okay, Alice. I know that this is what I’m supposed to do. Deep down, I know that I’m meant for this task. I know how to get back in, I know where I’m going to take the serum, and I can make my way back out. I have to do this … for the people inside.”
Caleb reached up and wiped a few stray tears from Alice’s eyes. She looked up at him and said, “Here, I want you to have this.” She took a small golden necklace from around her neck. “My dad gave this to me when I was younger, he told me it would keep me safe from harm.”
Caleb took the golden necklace from her hand. It was very light and had a small cross hanging from the links. “Thank you, Alice,” he said as he held it up to the light, “I’ll never let go of this.”
Alice walked behind him and hung it around his neck. Caleb turned to face her and saw that her eyes were tearing up. “Alice, it’s going to be alright. I’ll be with Patrick, he’s been doing this a long time now. We each have our jobs to do, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
She sniffled, “Do you promise?”
“I promise,” he said, sincerely, trying to comfort Alice, as he could see she was worried about him.
Patrick had come over to where the two were standing and saw that Alice was upset. He knew then that Caleb must have told her about his next mission. “He’s going to be okay, Alice. I’m going to take good care of him,” he said, gently putting his hand on her shoulder.
Alice looked back at him and smiled, but didn’t say anything.
“Caleb, we should probably get moving if we want to make it before nightfall,” Patrick said, strapping his rifle up around his shoulder.
“Alright,” Caleb replied, “Just one second.”
Patrick began to walk down the road to speak with Alex before he left. Caleb hugged Alice tightly and said, “I’m so grateful to have met you. You’re the best thing that’s happened in my life since my father was taken from me, you and Aaron both. You guys taught me that there is still some humanity left in the world. Just knowing that there are even two people worth fighting for gives me the strength and will to push on and fight the Inner Circle, to help the people left under their control.” He paused for a moment and then said, “I love you, Alice.”
Alice began to sob as she said, “Caleb, I love you too!”
Caleb wiped the tears from her eyes with his sleeve and they kissed. “Don’t be sad, Alice. I’ll be back before you even realize I was gone,” he said as he picked up his rifle and draped it over his shoulder.
“I’ll see you soon,” she replied as he walked away from her. “Good luck.”
Caleb looked back at her over his shoulder and smiled, trying to hide the emotions that were about to burst from within him.
In a few steps, Caleb caught up with Patrick who had been talking with Alex. “I’m ready Patrick,” he said.
“Caleb, I just want to wish you the best of luck in there,” Alex said as he put his hand out for Caleb to shake.
Caleb took his hand and firmly shook it. “Thanks, Alex, take care of yourself. Hopefully I’ll be back within a few days. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me here, I really appreciate it.”
“The pleasure’s been all mine, Caleb. It’s been wonderful getting to know you,” Alex said, smiling.
“Alright. Caleb, you ready?” Patrick asked.
Caleb nodded, “Yeah, let’s go.”
Alex shook Patrick’s hand and then the two men began their journey back to Sector 27.
****
Caleb and Patrick arrived on the outskirts of Sector 27 just before nightfall. “Caleb, this is where we’ll need to separate. You can head into the forest here and make your way through the clearing toward the fence. I left a small mound of rocks at the spot in the overgrowth where you’ll need to crawl through to get to the opening.”
“Ok,” Caleb said. “Where are you going to get in?”
“I’m going right back in the front gates. I’m going to tell them what happened to the flame-tank, that it was ambushed and have a team sent out to recover what they can. Tomorrow I’m going to meet up with some of my men inside, men from the resistance groups, posing as Guardians, and give them the EMP devices. We’ll be waiting on you to get that serum circulated.”
Caleb nodded. “Alright, I’ll make sure to get it done,” he said, “Good luck, Patrick.”
“You too, Caleb,” Patrick replied as he continued his way down the road. “Oh...Caleb,” he said before Caleb disappeared into the forest.
“Yeah?” Caleb asked.
“I’m glad that you found your way into my father and Alice’s lives. I can’t imagine a better person for them to have taken in. And I’m glad to have met you as well,” Patrick said with
a smile.
Caleb thought it looked odd, seeing someone dressed as a Guardian smiling. “That means a lot to me,” he said, “I’m glad to have met you too. We’ll need to get to know each other better when this is all over.”
“Sounds great, Caleb.”
Patrick turned and began his walk back into the Sector as Caleb moved stealthily behind the tree line. The sun was setting, and it was getting harder for Caleb to see. He made his way across the clearing with the tall grass and up toward the dense overgrowth surrounding one section of fencing. He walked along one end of the overgrowth toward the other, eventually finding the mound of rocks that Patrick had told him about. Caleb got on his stomach and pushed himself forward into the bushes. After a long while of crawling through, he found himself up against the fence. It was dark now. The two lampposts on either side of him were dim and flickering. His stomach started to feel sick. All of the memories of being inside the grid came back to him now. While he was out with Alice and Aaron, then with the resistance group, he had forgotten the feeling of being trapped inside.
He listened for any sounds coming from around the living quarters. It was silent. He could hear the sound of crickets chirping on and off and the breeze blowing through the overgrowth. He pushed the fence flap forward and began to squirm his way inside. Once he was all the way through he stood up and moved quickly into one of the alleyways between two living quarters. Caleb knew where he needed to take the serum. They kept the pumps for the water that they bottled inside the fences surrounding the central building. He needed to get inside and dump the serum into the pipes there. That would ensure that the serum would be distributed to many more people than by any other means.
He moved slowly along the walls of the cold, rough living quarters. The smells, the sounds, the feelings all came back to him. It was almost overwhelming, but he kept his mind focused on the job at hand. He had to get to the water pump, and he had to do it before morning. It took a while, but he finally made his way to just outside the central building. He could see two Guardians standing at the main gate. This fence didn’t have barbed wire on it, so he picked a place a good distance away from the Guardians and stood behind a wall there. He waited patiently, listening for movement, sounds, anything that would be dangerous to him. Silence, crickets, the blowing wind. Caleb moved forward toward the fence, making sure the canister containing the serum was snug inside his pocket and began climbing to climb it. One foot, two feet, five, six, seven, ten, he was at the top of the fence. Turn, ten feet, nine, six, four, ground. His feet hit the ground with a dull thud and a poof of dirt.
There it was. The water pump. Only yards away from him. It was dark, but he could make out its shape through the dim moonlight bathing over the compound. Quickly, he ran toward the pump and unscrewed a small metal lid. He took the canister out of his pocket and dumped its contents into the water. He listened to the trickling sound it made as it hit the water inside, and he smiled. ‘I did it,’ he thought. Now all he had to do was get back out before the sun came up. ‘Funny, now the sun has become my enemy,’ he thought. He ran back toward the fence, climbed up one side and down the other, and headed back the way he came, back toward the hole in the fence. Several miles down his old street now, he remembered the phrase uttered by the Guardian that one fateful day: fifty, left, eighty, left, thirty, overgrowth. The best words he had ever heard up to that point. This was the spot where he was told those words, right here. He passed by with haste and zig zagged through alleyways before seeing the fence only a few yards ahead of him. The sun was getting higher, oranges and purples were being sprayed out into the sky from behind the mountain tops. Outside the alleyway, moving along the fence, pulling at the bottom. He found the loose links, tugged with both hands, he had done it! He made it in and now he was going to head back to the resistance camp and see Alice again! Then suddenly, he felt a crushing blow on back of his head before everything went black.
4.5 (Confrontation)
Patrick watched as Caleb disappeared behind the tree line running parallel to the fence surrounding Sector 27. He turned his head toward the setting sun, watching the magnificent display of rays dancing from behind some scattered clouds. His attention shifted to the approaching guard post directly ahead of him, the only thing between him and the sector. As he approached, he saw one of the infiltrated resistance group members standing inside. He walked up to the door and entered a small room. “Patrick, 7-C, returning to barracks,” he said, “I have news to report.”
“Go ahead,” one of the two men inside the post said in a bored tone.
“Escort group 5-D from 27 to Reassignment has been destroyed en route. Requesting immediate dispatch of recovery team,” Patrick said monotonously.
Patrick watched as the Guardian turned around toward a hand radio hanging on the wall behind him. Once he was sure that the man’s attention was diverted, he slowly and quietly reached down to the transmitter box sitting on the table below and unplugged one of the wires. “Guard post to base, come in,” the man said into the radio.
There was no reply. “Guard post to base, come in, do you copy?” he said again, with no reply.
After a short moment of silence, the man got up from where he was seated with an annoyed huff and moved toward the door. “I guess I’ll have to head down to the barracks myself. Handle things here until I get back,” he said to the other Guardian who had been standing silently in the corner.
“Yes, sir,” the previously silent Guardian replied.
At that, the first Guardian left the post and walked steadily down the long street toward the nearby barracks. Patrick stood in the doorway and watched as the man moved out of view. “Mark, we don’t have much time,” he said to the other Guardian who was still standing quietly in the corner of the room. Patrick then reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a bag full of the EMP devices. He held the bag in his hands and moved across the room to where Mark was standing. “I need you to distribute these to the contacts in your barracks,” he continued, handing the bag over to Mark. “These are some EMP devices that Martin was able to copy from the original device he had gotten a hold of. We have someone working on distributing a serum to the people inside the sector. Tell your contacts to wait for signs of the drug wearing off. The people should start becoming more lucid.”
“Okay, Patrick,” the man replied, taking the bag of EMP’s in his hands and examining them. “Do they work the same as the ones the officials keep here?”
“Yes, same concept. But it’s still very important to wait until we see the effects of the drugs wearing off before we try to use them,” Patrick replied.
“Very good,” Mark said, “I’ll get these to my contacts as I find opportunities to do so.”
“Excellent,” Patrick replied with a slight smile, “I’ve got to get back to my barracks to give these to my men there. You take care of yourself, Mark. Good luck.”
“You too, Patrick. Stay safe, my friend.”
The two men shook hands and Patrick went on his way toward his barracks. As he walked down the road, he saw the recovery team mobilizing at one of the checkpoints around the sector. A small group of five people were taking a large transport truck that was normally used to move people from sector to sector out of the gate. Patrick watched as the heavy metallic gate clanked open from side to side, then slid shut as the truck moved past. He continued walking and eventually arrived at his barracks. Light flowed out from the glass window panes on the main door and illuminated the area around them. Patrick pushed through them and ascended the stairs to his room. He hid the EMP devices that he had left under his mattress and then sat for a moment in his lounge chair, enjoying the peace and quiet. After only a short time had passed, the alarm in his bedroom rang out, breaking the silence. Quickly, he rushed to his rifle and helmet, threw them on and headed out of his room and down the stairs to the main hall. The other members of his team had been sleeping, and they arrived a little while after him.
He stared blankly at
the screen, waiting for the message to appear informing them of the job they were being called out for on this night. Finally, words flashed onto the screen that left Patrick stunned. “Come on, let’s get him,” one of his team members said from behind him.
As Patrick hurried after the two men on his team, heading toward the Humvee. The words he saw on the screen ran through his mind repeatedly: Team 7-C - Escape attempt - Pickup along Eastern fence - Citizen # 759-47A. Patrick began to feel sick to his stomach once he saw the number, Caleb’s number.
4.6 (Confrontation)
Sector 27- Assignment Page 17
