Hunt for Jade Dragon

by Richard Paul Evans

  “Thanks to you,” Taylor said.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Nichelle.

  “I’ll make it. The bleeding’s not too bad, it just stings.”

  “It’s the salt water,” Ostin said.

  “Let me see,” Jack said. He rolled her sleeve up over her shoulder to examine the wound, then he ripped a piece of cloth from his undershirt and wrapped it around Nichelle’s shoulder as a bandage.

  “Thank you,” she said. “Again.”

  I looked at Ian. “Any guards?”

  “Just ahead at the fences.”

  “What’s this wall?”

  “It’s a storm wall,” Ostin said. “It keeps water from the plant. In the last fifty years Taiwan’s been hit by more than two hundred typhoons.”

  We were fortunate to have something to hide behind; otherwise the Elgen would have already been shooting at us. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but the compound was lit by flood lamps and was as bright as a nighttime football game. I could see the Elgen guards at the closest fence, which was less than a hundred feet from where we were. There was little movement outside other than the constant panning motion of surveillance cameras.

  “There’s too many cameras out here,” I said.

  “I’ll try to put some out,” Nichelle replied. She reached out and several of the closest cameras stopped moving.

  As I surveyed our surroundings, everything seemed even more hopeless than it had inside the plant. I realized that getting out of the plant might have been the easy part.

  “Does anyone have any ideas on how to get out of here?” I asked.

  Ostin shook his head. “This place used to be a prison. It was made to keep people in.”

  “If we try to climb the fences they’ll shoot us,” Jack said.

  “Michael’s the only one who can climb them anyway,” Taylor said. “They’re electrified.”

  “And don’t forget the landmines,” Ian added.

  “There’s no way out of here,” Taylor said.

  Suddenly the alarms stopped, which should have made things less stressful, but it didn’t. The Elgen must have turned them off for a reason. I wondered if they had found us. I looked over at Ostin. His head was down and he looked like he was lost in thought.

  “What have you got, Ostin?”

  Without looking up he said, “Ian, what do the landmines look like?”

  “I don’t know. They look like landmines.”

  “What shape?”

  “They’re round, mostly.”

  “Mostly?”

  “There are different kinds,” he said, sounding annoyed.

  “Are some big?”

  “Define big.”

  “Bigger than a car tire?”

  “Yes. Some of them.”

  “Are the big ones made of metal or plastic?”

  He looked back out. “Looks like metal.”

  “Can you see wires inside of them?”

  Ian shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

  “What are you thinking?” I asked.

  Ostin was quiet a moment, then shook his head. “After the Korean War, the Chinese farmers used to clear fields of landmines by starting fires. I was thinking that maybe McKenna could melt the triggering devices. But it won’t work. McKenna would be too bright a target for them. They’d just shoot her.”

  “Not a good plan,” McKenna said.

  “I could stand in front of her and deflect the bullets.”

  “No you couldn’t,” Ostin said. “Or you would be on the landmine.”

  “And we’d still have to get over the fences,” Taylor said.

  Ostin bowed his head again. Then suddenly his expression changed as if he’d had an idea. “Ian, can you see any balls in the mines?”

  His brow furrowed. “Balls?”

  “Little ones. Like ball bearings. Just look.”

  He looked back out. “Yes. In the big ones.”

  “How about the small ones?”

  “No.”

  “Awesome,” Ostin said. “How close are the mines to one another?”

  “Depends. Some are, like, three feet.”

  “Sympathetic detonation,” Ostin said to himself. “Is there a pattern? Like a small one next to a big one?”

  “The way they’re arranged looks like a flower,” Ian said. “There’s one large surrounded by one, two, three . . . six little ones around it like petals.”

  “How close are the flowers to one another?”

  “Close. Less than six feet.”

  “Do you have an idea?” I asked.

  Ostin was still formulating. “Are the mines near the fences?”

  “They’re everywhere,” Ian said.

  “But how close to the fences?”

  “In some places just a few feet. Some are right under the fence.”

  “Yes,” Ostin said. “I think they might have given us a way out.” He turned to me. “The big mines in the center of the clusters are antitank mines. They’re there to stop vehicles from just running through the fences. The smaller mines surrounding them are antipersonnel mines—they’re triggered by light pressure; if someone steps on them, they blow up. The antitank mines have a magnetic switch. When the metal ball moves around inside of it, it detonates the explosive. But because it’s so close to the other mines, it will probably detonate all six of them with it.”

  “Why would they put them so close to one another?”

  “To maximize the blast radius. But the clusters are so close to one another that it might set off multiple clusters. It might even cause a chain reaction.”

  “So what’s the plan?” I asked.

  “You need to create a magnetic force powerful enough to trigger as many of the switches as possible. The antitank mines can blow through a tank, so they can easily shred the fence. If we can blow them all up at the same time, the guards won’t know what hit them.”

  “I don’t know if I can magnetize that far,” I said.

  “Not without a boost.” He thought for a moment, then turned to Nichelle. “Can you do the opposite of what you normally do?”

  Nichelle was sitting on the ground holding her shoulder, her makeshift bandage soaked with blood. I wondered if she would even be able to walk. “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Can you give power instead of taking it?”

  “You mean like Tessa?”

  “Exactly.”

  “I might. Not as powerfully as Tessa, but maybe some.”

  “We need to test it,” Ostin said. He turned to me. “Make a small spark.”

  I held my thumb and index finger about an inch apart and a thin bolt of electricity began to spark between them. Nichelle looked at the spark. She held her hand out toward me, but nothing happened.

  “Try touching him,” Ostin said.

  She reached over and touched me on the shoulder. The spark snapped between my fingers. I looked at her and she was smiling. “It worked.”

  “It did,” I said. “I could feel it.” I looked back at everyone. “If this works, we’re going to have to run. I’ll go in front in case the guards start shooting. Nichelle, you stay with me, touching me. Taylor, create as much mental confusion as you can.”

  “There will probably be some of the smaller landmines that don’t go off,” Ostin said. “Ian needs to watch in front of us for undetonated landmines.”

  “We should move in a single-file line,” I said.

  “Got it,” Ian said.

  “No one steps out of line,” I said. “Ready?”

  I looked at Taylor and she nodded.

  “Cover your ears,” Ostin said. “If this works it’s going to be loud.”

  “All right, Nichelle,” I said. “Power me up.”

  She put her hand on my shoulder. I could feel her energy coursing through me. I stood up and stretched my hand out toward the yard. Someone shouted out in Chinese, but if they had seen us it was too late. Way too late. The yard exploded. The shock wave knocked us all back. It was as if the entire c
ompound lifted ten feet into the air. I don’t know if I managed to pull all the triggers at once or, as Ostin predicted, the proximity of the bombs to one another caused a split-second chain reaction throughout the entire compound, but regardless, it was impossible to tell where the explosion started. The flash from delayed explosions reflected off massive columns of smoke that rose hundreds of feet into the sky, shrouding the entire compound in an impenetrable cloud. The peninsula was so thick with black smoke it was impossible to see anything, even one another.

  When the explosions finally stopped there was no sound but the ringing in our ears. Then a distant machine gun started firing.

  “It’s coming from one of the towers,” Ian said. “He’s firing blind. He just shot his own guys. He has no idea where we are.”

  “Are the fences down?” I asked.

  “Shredded,” Ian said.

  “Then let’s go. Which way?”

  “Move straight ahead. Be careful as you walk, the ground is mostly craters.”

  “Nichelle?” I asked.

  “Right here,” she said. She put her hand on my shoulder. I covered my mouth with my arm and held my hand out, pulsing to deflect bullets.

  “You’re clear for sixty feet, Michael. Straight ahead,” Ian said, before breaking out coughing. I started forward with Nichelle holding on to me. We moved slowly and blindly. As Ian had warned, the ground was broken up, and my nostrils were filled with the pungent smell of fresh earth mixed with smoke and the acrid stink of explosives.

  “The fourth fence is still partially up,” Ian said. “I can see some undetonated landmines.”

  I froze. “In front of me?”

  “Not yet. Keep walking.”

  “Should I magnetize again?”

  “No!” Ostin shouted. “If there are any undetonated landmines around us we’re dead.”

  “I’ll keep watching for them,” Ian said. “Duck a little, Michael. You’re about to pass through the first fence.”

  I reached out and touched pieces of twisted wire. “Careful!” I shouted back.

  “The second fence is thirty feet straight ahead. After the third fence we’ll need to go twenty yards to the right.”

  “What are the soldiers doing?”

  “Their commander is trying to gather them, but they still can’t see anything.”

  “Neither can I,” Taylor said, erupting in a fit of coughing.

  “Let’s hope the smoke remains,” Ian said. “We’ll have to pass right through the middle of their camp.”

  I continued forward another twelve feet when Ian shouted, “Stop!”

  I froze, my foot in the air.

  “Don’t move, Michael. You’re right above a mine.”

  “Where?”

  “Right where your foot is about to go.”

  Nichelle pulled me back.

  “Step to your left twice, walk ahead five feet, then two steps back to this same path.”

  “All right, left two feet.” I stepped over. “Ahead five feet.” I walked forward. “Ian, keep your eyes on that mine.”

  “Sorry I missed that. I’m going to stand next to it,” Ian said. “Taylor, you’re too close. Step more to the left.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  I walked about twenty feet past it, then stopped.

  After Jack had passed the mine, Ian walked back up behind Nichelle. “Okay, let’s go.”

  We began to move forward again. We passed through the second fence. It was still sparking where the electrical wires had been separated, and I reached over and grabbed the wire, letting it spark in my hand. “This fence is still live,” I said.

  “Why are you doing that?” Nichelle asked.

  “I like it,” I said. “It’s like an energy drink.” I paused for just a moment, then continued on. We had moved another forty feet when I heard Jack shout, “Stop!”

  We all turned back.

  “I think I stepped on something,” Jack said.

  Ian groaned. “You’re on a mine.”

  “Why didn’t it blow?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “It’s either bad,” Ostin said, “or it’s the kind that blows up as soon as you release pressure.”

  “Jack, don’t move,” I said.

  “Just get out of here,” he replied. “The smoke’s already starting to clear.”

  “We’re not leaving you,” I said.

  “You don’t have a choice,” he said.

  “Yes, we do,” Nichelle said. “We don’t leave family behind.”

  “Didn’t you say that heat could melt the trigger?” McKenna asked Ostin.

  Ostin looked anxious. “Yes, but you would have to be right next to it.”

  McKenna turned back. “Then let’s do this. Ian, tell me when it’s melted.” She felt her way back to Jack, then knelt down on the ground next to him.

  “What are you doing?” Jack said. “Get out of here.”

  “We’re getting you out,” she said.

  “It’s too dangerous,” Jack said.

  “Tell me about it,” McKenna replied. She leaned over his foot, and her hand began to lightly glow.

  “McKenna, they’ll see your fire,” Ostin said.

  “Not if we stand around her,” I said. “Ian, are there any undetonated mines around this one?”

  “No, it’s an outlier.”

  The smoke had cleared enough that we could see one another’s shadows. I walked over to Jack’s side, followed by Taylor, Ian, and Nichelle. Ostin got down on his knees next to McKenna. “If this thing goes, we’re all going with you.”

  Nichelle knelt down next to McKenna. “I can help,” she said. “I’m going to touch you.” She laid her hand on McKenna’s back. “You’re trembling.”

  “I know,” McKenna said. She set her hand flat on the ground next to Jack’s foot and her hand began glowing again, orange at first, then brighter, until it was white-hot.

  “Not too hot!” Ostin said. “The heat could set it off.”

  She quickly backed off.

  “I think she did it,” Ian said. “Everything is melted inside. The wires look . . . wilted.”

  “Wilted?” Ostin said.

  Ian shrugged. “Yeah.”

  “You ready, Jack?” I said.

  “I’m not taking my foot off until you’re all gone. I mean it.”

  “We’ve got to go, Jack,” I said.

  “So go!” he said. “I mean it.”

  I exhaled. “Come on.” Everyone walked forward, stopping about thirty steps ahead. “Now, Jack!” I shouted.

  Even though we couldn’t see him, we didn’t need to. If McKenna’s work had failed we’d all know soon enough. We all held our breath. A moment later Ian said, “He’s off.”

  I breathed out in relief. “All right, let’s keep going.”

  The smoke was beginning to dissipate and as we neared the Taiwanese army at the perimeter of the compound the sound of shouting intensified. I passed through the shredded remains of the third fence, then turned back. “Ian, where to?”

  “Sixty feet to the right. But stay in the middle of the strip—there’s undetonated antipersonnel mines on each side. The fence isn’t down, there’s just a hole. We’ll have to crawl through it.”

  “Then what?”

  “We’ll come out next to one of the army tents. There’s no one in it. When we get there I’ll come up front and lead everyone through the army camp.”

  “Got it.”

  Carefully keeping my distance from either fence, Nichelle and I took about thirty steps before Ian said, “You’re there.” The spotlights were especially intense around the army camp and I could make out the silhouettes of several tents just past the fence, which meant that if we got too close, the soldiers would be able to see us too. The hole in the mangled fence was about the diameter of a bike tire and I got down on my knees and began to crawl through. A stray piece of razor wire caught above my elbow, ripping my skin and stinging like crazy. Blood streamed down
my arm. “Agh,” I said.

  “Are you okay?” Nichelle asked.

  “I’m great,” I said. I bent the wire back, then Nichelle and I crawled the rest of the way through, stopping just a few yards from the fence to wait for everyone else. As Ian came through he said, “You’re bleeding.”

  “I know,” I said. “We’ll deal with it later. Where to now?”

  “There’s a trail about fifty yards southeast that leads up into the hills.”

  “Go ahead and take the lead,” I said. “Nichelle and I will protect the rear.”

  We waited until everyone else passed, then crouched down and followed Ian through the center of the army’s camp. We could hear soldiers shouting around us in Chinese, but everything was in such chaos that even if someone had seen us I’m not sure they would have known who we were. As we neared the trail leading up the hill Nichelle froze. “Stop,” she said.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “There are Glows around,” she said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m always sure.”

  “Can you tell who it is?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Stay alert,” I said to everyone.

  We crossed a dirt road to a line of trees, then began climbing a steep wooded incline. The camp’s lights were no longer on us, and we hiked in darkness with Ian carefully choosing our path. We were about a hundred yards away from the compound when bolts of lightning began striking the camp, followed by more shouting and chaos. Occasionally a strike was followed by an explosion.

  “Zeus?” I asked.

  “Sure is,” Ian said. “I think he’s trying to distract them from us.” We continued hiking up the hill until we were above the line of smoke but still well secluded in the darkness of the forest.

  “Now what?” Jack asked.

  “We get out of here,” I said. “Hopefully Zeus brought something to drive. Ian, we need to somehow get Zeus’s attention.”

  “We’re okay,” Ian said. “Ben’s here.”

  I looked over as Ben walked out from between some trees.

  “Where’d you come from?” I asked.

  He held up a pair of night-vision binoculars. “I have been watching you. It was very smoky.” He lifted his radio. “Zeus, they are here. Go now to meeting place.” He turned back to me. “We were trying to figure out how to rescue you when the alarms went off.”