Sure enough, maybe half an hour had gone by and Hank came running up with a perfectly sized make shift pan. Apparently he had grinded out the middle of the rock with something, but he wasn’t saying what. Don’t ask don’t tell, right? I started a little fire near the edge of the water and behind a tree, as to hide most of the smoke. I shaved off some good fat shavings and started throwing them in the pan, letting them melt down to make grease. It wasn’t really working out like I had envisioned, but oh well; it will work all the same.
John Boy and Chuck chimed in bantering back and forth with Hank, making fun of him for his homemaking skills. “Maybe we should trade you for my neighbor’s sister, she can make pans out of nothing too, you know. But she has a better right hook than you. So, while you are at home cooking for her mom and cleaning, maybe little sis could be out here pulling her own weight,” John Boy spit out between laughs. Hank punched him in his arm and John Boy and Chuck held Hank down wrestling with him. It had been a long time since I had seen guys making fun of each other and horse playing. I have to admit I missed it.
I wonder if there are any grasses or spices that taste good floating around here. “Hey boys, I’ll be back shortly. Tend to the fire and watch out for your guy up there on the hill. Start cutting this fish up and peel the skin off, watch out because those fins will cut your finger off if you’re not careful. Cut here at the belly to clean out the inside, and you should have the meat left after that. Remember, you can pull the skin off of this fish like you do on an animal. It’s not scaly. I will be back in like ten minutes or so,” I instructed, as I took off down the trail tasting everything I could touch. I started to make my way back to the top of the ridge to check on our sentry and make sure he was doing ok. It had been about four hours, so I figured I would relieve him for a bit, seeing as he has been sitting in a nice patch of different style grasses that I could try out.
“Hey bud, I never caught your name.” The kid looked up at me and studied my face for a second. I couldn’t tell if I had offended him by not speaking to him this whole trip. “The name is Jeremy. We have had a lot going on, no time really for introductions. Aint shit going on up here.” He said as he stood up and stretched out his back and arms. “Alright Jeremy, go ahead and head down there. Get ready for some chow, send chuck up here to take your place.” Just like that he was gone. I looked out over the clearing and could perfectly see the tree entrance. It really was a beautiful scene. I stood on top of a valley filled with wildlife and flowers. Sporadic rocks stood up against the horizon the closer it got the caves. The mountain was about three quarters of a mile out. We should have plenty of time to react when we see someone coming out. I sniffed out a few more good leaves and plants that had a good hint of spice to them. These will do perfectly. I’m not making a gourmet meal by any means but flavor is a must with me.
By the time that Chuck had made it up to me on the ridge, I had already acquired all of the spices that I wanted to use for the fish fry and I was sure that the grease was good and hot. “Alright Chuck, it’s your watch now. I’ll bring you some food when it is done. Four hour shifts, so I’ll send someone else up to replace you in a few,” I instructed Chuck, who solemnly nodded and sat down at the edge of the bluff, taking up his post. I headed down the hill and saw the other three boys fighting in the lake, Boe nipping at their heels half submerged in the water. It was good to see people acting like people for once. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of laughter and water lapping against the rocky shore. I could almost hear the sound of my wife laughing at a joke her brother was bound to tell at one point or another. The smell from my camp fire smelled vaguely of the burning oak that I am for sure is burning at a campfire right now in Kansas somewhere, no doubt. It was so peaceful and so serene; it almost brought a tear to my eye.
“Will, I just saw Mason go into the caves. He came from the direction we had come from. I say we sit down and wait on Jerold to figure out what’s going on inside. Then we go in there and kill that sorry excuse of a man, free the people, and then you flee the coop.” Chuck’s voice had slammed into my mind, interrupting my memories. I nodded in agreement to Chuck, whom was apparently doing his job better than I was. Apparently I was lost in memory lane and didn’t see anything or anybody. Chuck definitely had the same thought process as I did, and I enjoyed that about the kid. Ever since he pretty much stalked me to death, I had always felt some type of connection with him. It was almost like that little brother type of bond. A hate-love relationship if you will. He was smart though, and I will give him that. He always seemed to have the right things going through his mind at the right time and place.
Sitting by the fire, the wind blew slightly down from the top of the hill. As I slipped the pieces of fish filet into the popping grease, the smell of the savory meat felt as if my taste buds were getting drop kicked in the knees by a kangaroo. We hadn’t eaten a real hot meal in a few days and it was definitely time for one now. Gerald should be back by tomorrow and soon we would be on the move, our last move hopefully. I won’t lie; I don’t have all the faith in the world in Gerald. He may be a solid kid, but he doesn’t seem to be the strong willed tough guy type…clearly. The other three guys had that rebellious attitude that I love to see in people. Society everywhere has adopted what they call “normality’s amongst the community.” What a certain group of people say is the right way to live and the right way to think, and then they enforce it with huge penalties. Then, there is the small group of people that stand up and just say no. They fight back against the conformist, and that keeps me employed…and happy. I must admit that I am somewhat of a rebel myself, and this is what linked us all together. It just amazes me that even though we could be from two different worlds, quite literally might I add… we can share so many similarities.
The food we had eaten had somehow casted a deep sleep amongst us all, including Boe. I could hear his heavy deep breaths in the darkness. It could be due to the fact that no one had really eaten in a while, so we all over indulged ourselves and became victim of the notorious head nod. John Boy seemed to be the only one that was still wide awake. “John Boy, go replace Chuck up on the lookout and I will come get you at first light,” I hollered over the fire. He was busy throwing rocks at his sleeping buddy. He agreed and ran off into the night. I could no longer fight the urge to fall into a deep coma for a few hours. Resistance was pointless. The light crackling and popping of the fire lulled me into a deep, memory filled slumber…until I was awakened by the quiet.
Chapter Nineteen
“Betrayal”
There are two different types of quiet in this world, the good kind and the bad kind. This was definitely not the good kind. There were no bugs rustling, the fire was no longer crackling and my ears where ringing with a vengeance trying to strain and hear anything. I strained my eyes against the dark moonless night and could see Boe standing rigid against the horizon, gleaming up to where John Boy is pulling guard duty. The other kid wasn’t anywhere around. It took everything I had to pull myself out of my comfortable position I had somehow found in the middle of the night and started making my way up the hill. Everyone was gone. I looked over where we had stored all of our packs. Nothing. Panic hit me. I could see all the way around our hole, even down to the cave entrance. No one. They had all seemed to disappear without any trace of a struggle. Their packs were gone, and I was the only one who was left. Could I have been so foolish that I let these boys bamboozle me into a trap? I didn’t know any of them aside from Chuck from a hole in the ground. No sign of a struggle, Boe didn’t freak out, so they straight up left.
One thing was for sure, I couldn’t stay here. Boe seemed to be sniffing the ground and pausing every few feet looking as puzzled as I was. I am sure he felt the same way that I did. Betrayed. “Don’t worry about it son, they ain’t here, and in two minutes neither will we,” I told Boe as I headed back down to grab my pack and disappear. Whatever was going on, I will not be caught with my p
ants down. I’m moving locations. “Find them,” I whispered to Boe after I had got everything I needed. I followed him as he stuck his nose to the ground and struck up a trail. It didn’t take long to realize we were going straight into the cave we had been watching.
Once at the entrance, Boe hesitated for a second. I loaded a poison arrow into my cross bow and gave him the nod to go ahead. The cave was dark and drafty, just wide enough for two people to stand side by side. The ceiling was not more than three feet above my head. I couldn’t help but feel slightly claustrophobic. The passage opened up around a corner into a large room that was dimly lit with torches. The lighting here was horrible. Good for me, but not very good for someone trying to see what was going on and where. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the dim outline of a huge black shadow in the center of the cave. Could this really be what I think it is? I crept a little bit closer, stepping away from the wall and into the center of the cavern. If I was to guess I would say that the main cavern was roughly one hundred and fifty meters wide and two hundred meters long. The top was black, so I couldn’t even tell how high up it was. What seemed like a thousand feet up I could see a dim silhouette of an opening. Like a volcano.
The sunlight started to seep in from the opening, still not providing me much illumination. This place reminded me of a volcano. Even with the morning light seeping in from well over five hundred feet in the air, I could still barely make out the room. Creeping closer to the center of the cavern, my heart officially dropped. There she was in all her glory…. Dixie. My ship. She was definitely a sight for sore eyes. I couldn’t help the feeling of wanting to run in, press go, and hope for the best. There were too many odds at stake. There could be no fuel, which would just prove embarrassing and fatal to me. I don’t like either of those repercussions, and there is still the matter at hand on what happened to Chuck and the boys. Did they betray me, or were they taken captive? I couldn’t with a good conscience just up and leave, not knowing the truth. What if they were taken and I was their only hope for survival, those poor boys…I already lost one team on this planet, I don’t really feel like losing another.
Ok, mission at hand here is going home. Not the safety of these people, nor Chuck. Home. Wife and kids. Home…my own thoughts were drowned out by the vague recollection of the night before when the boys were splashing in the water. The people here needed help, and God put me here for a reason. For once I can make a positive difference in someone’s life. I apparently am growing soft in my old age. There is no way they betrayed me. They had to of been taken captive and led them away from where I was sleeping. How could I not have heard them?
I waited about five minutes before pressing on, giving my eyes time to adjust to the new atmosphere of the room. There appeared to be cells on the far chamber of the room. I couldn’t see inside of them, but that’s where I was headed. If they are empty I am out of here. Scaling the walls and staying in the dim outskirts of the cavern walls, Boe and I made our way to the first cell…empty. Three cells down there was a huddled figure in the far corner. I couldn’t make out the face, but I knew immediately that it was Chuck. What a relief, my boy was captured. Well, relief that he didn’t betray me, but sucks for him at the same time.
“Psstt. What ya in for, killer?” I whispered through the dark. I have done my fair share of time myself, so I know how it feels to be locked up. That lonesome feeling of hopelessness that you get when you are behind bars never disappears until you are safe and free. I haven’t been to jail in years and had no intentions on going back any time soon. Chuck’s head shot up and he ran to the front of the cell. I could see tears in his eyes… his freshly blackened eyes. Whoever grabbed him definitely didn’t take him easy. Dried blood still clotted up along the ridges of his massive knuckles. At least he put up a fight. I could tell he was still on my side and that lifted a heavy weight off my shoulders. The cell was roughly ten feet deep and maybe 4 foot wide max. No more than five feet separated the roof from the floor. Chuck had to be bent at the waist to walk around without hitting his head. It had appeared that a group of inmates that had escaped from Alcatraz had taken all their spoons and cut these cells out of the walls of these caves. This definitely was no professional job. Somehow the doors itself, bars and all, seemed to be carved of stone with a small opening for viewing and eating. Not large enough to fit a head or shoulders through though. A lock secured the door that swung heavy on its hinges. A lock that looked pretty easy to pick, given you had a paper clip or two, which I just so happen to have, as I try never to leave home without it.
Chuck was breaking through my concentration with an eager hushed yet rushed ecstatic voice, “Will, you have to go man. Get out of here! We were set up, both of us. Those bastards jumped me while I was sleeping and took me here. All three of them, I have known them for years man! I can only assume that Gerald is involved in this as well. They said they are going to kill me for treason and helping the enemy, and no one will be the wiser since I no longer have any family left alive. I don’t know what to do man…but they also said they were going out to kill you at first light and tell everyone you were in bed with the bad guys and were playing us all along…they will be back here soon, so you need to go and get out of here. Your ship is right there man, they fueled it already. Get in it and go.” I could barely hear everything that Chuck was telling me in a hoarse whisper, but I got the gist of it. I was a free man if I jump in the driver’s seat and hit go. Sounds like a great plan but I am not going anywhere without Chuck.
Chapter Twenty
“Who are you really”
I looked up the cavern walls and try to figure if the ship will fit out of the hole at the top. I would assume so, they wouldn’t put it right here for no reason. I would have to take the chance. I could do this right now. I could be out of here! Stephanie, the kids and everyone else I loved was within arm’s reach. They don’t have anything strong enough to penetrate the hull of this ship once I was in. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up immediately and Boe began to snarl. I spun around stopping a giant club from connecting to the back of my skull. “Not today! AGHHHH!” I let out a rebel yell that echoed throughout the caverns. I grabbed this man’s throat and sank my small fingers behind his oversized Adams apple. Every passion that I have ever felt in my life seemed to pour out of every pour of my body. It felt as if my toes were even screaming in anger. My wife’s face slammed in the front of my mind…her tears. The pain of me not being there for her. I twisted my hand ripping his throat right out of his neck; blood splattered the walls in a sickening schplat.
My adrenalin began to rush as if three million bats had been flushed out of there dark hide out. From my toes to the top of my skull, I had reached the breaking point that I have always avoided. I was officially out of control. I grabbed the dead man’s face and began to slam it with a rock until his left eye was lying near my feet, still attached to his skull. Three more men ran out into the main cavern at me from the right corridor and I could hear more piling in from all around me. I knew this was the end, there clearly is no way out but I wasn’t giving up. I am this close to a fueled ship home. A green button push and I am the hell out of here. Dead or alive I am going home, with or without my dignity intact. I rushed through all of the guys pockets and found what I was assuming to be the key to Chuck’s cell. I could barely keep my hands steady from all of the adrenalin.
I sprinted the five feet across to Chuck’s cell and threw the key in. TWICK. The lock sprang open with Chuck’s forceful kick, knocking me on my rear. The screams were everywhere, there had to be over two dozen people in this cave coming for us. “Get Boe and get to the ship, or just get the hell outta here boy!” I screamed over all the anger and confusion. “No, Will. Let’s go together! Follow me!” Chuck scrambled into the darkness with Boe right on his heels. I felt the rush of clubs and sticks being swung at my face. I grabbed my knife off the belt of my pants and just started slashing. It was still so dark in this room I can’t
even see three feet in front of my own face. Every swing felt like your first kiss. The rush of new emotions, excitement and revenge all in one. The connect was as rewarding as losing your virginity, immediately producing a satisfying cocky smile across the lips of some hormone raged teen boy. This was the night this charade ended. Dead or alive I am done tonight. I could hear Chuck fighting his way out of the corridor, it sounded like he made it out of the main cavern. I was so scared for him, he didn’t deserve to die. He was just a kid.
I felt the sharp sting of something melting through my flesh like that of a knife cutting through a warm stick of butter. I didn’t care, all I can feel is pressure. I have been forced into doing a lot of things before in my lifetime, but dying is not one of them. A quick toss of the knife landed halfway through a man’s rib cage. I jumped over one’s back to retrieve my knife from its temporary home, twisting while removing would indeed prove a kill. And that’s all I want to do…kill. A twist on a neck proved that these people had weak bones. Their weakness was my strength. It fueled me. I fought for what seemed like hours. Grabbing, pulling, biting, tearing and screaming. I lost count of how many times I had a good hit delivered by a fist or a club to my face. The room got darker with every flash of light that followed an immediate blow to my face. It was like a horrible lightning storm with no end. A good thump hit the back of my head, while a quick bright flash of light pounded the backs of my eyes. Bodies lay scattered across the floor, I didn’t know how much longer I was able to last.
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