State Of Fear

by Michael Crichton

Page 37

 

  The lightning crashed down a moment later, glaring white and roaring, and Evans threw himself flat, across Sarahs dead body. Lying there, dizzy with fear, his ears ringing from the blast, he thought for a moment that he felt some movement from her body beneath him.

  He got up quickly and began to cough. The room was full of smoke. The opposite wall was on fire, the flames still small, but already licking up the wall. He looked back at Sarah, blue and cold. There was no question in his mind that she was dead. He must have imagined her movement, but He pinched her nose and began to give her mouth-to-mouth. Her lips were cold. It frightened him. He was sure she was dead. He saw hot embers and ash floating in the smoky air. He would have to leave before the entire building came down around him. He was losing his count, blowing into her lungs.

  There was no point anyway. He heard the flames crackling around him. He looked up and saw that the ceiling timbers were starting to burn.

  He felt panic. He jumped to his feet, ran to the door, and threw it open and went outside.

  He was stunned to feel hard rain coming downpelting him, soaking him instantly. It shocked him to his senses. He looked back and saw Sarah lying on the floor. He couldnt leave her.

  He ran back, grabbed both her arms, and dragged her out of the house. Her inert body was surprisingly heavy. Her head sagged back, eyes closed, her mouth hanging open. She was dead, all right.

  Out in the rain once more, he dropped her in the yellow grass, got down on his knees, and gave her more mouth-to-mouth. He was not sure how long he kept up his steady rhythm. One minute, two minutes. Maybe five. It was clearly pointless, but he continued long past any reason, because in a strange way the rhythm relieved his own sense of panic, it gave him something to concentrate on. He was out there in the middle of a pelting downpour with a ghost town in flames around him anyway, and Sarah retched. Her body rose up suddenly, and he released her in astonishment. She had a spasm of dry heaves, and then fell into a fit of coughing.

  "Sarah amp;"

  She groaned. She rolled over. He grabbed her in his arms, and held her. She was breathing. But her eyes fluttered wildly. She didnt seem to be conscious.

  "Sarah, come on amp;"

  She was coughing, her body shaking. He wondered if she was choking to death.

  "Sarah amp;"

  She shook her head, as if to clear it. She opened her eyes and stared at him. "Oh man," she said. "Do I have a headache. "

  He thought he was going to cry.

  Sanjong glanced at his watch. The rain was coming down harder now, the wipers flicking back and forth. It was very dark, and he had turned on his headlights.

  He had thrown his radio away many minutes before, and the lightning had stopped around his car. But it was continuing elsewherehe heard the rumble of distant thunder. Checking the GPS, he realized he was only a few hundred yards from the spiderweb he was meant to disrupt.

  He scanned the road ahead, looking for the turnoff. That was when he saw the first cluster of rockets firing skyward, like black birds streaking straight up into the dark and roiling clouds.

  And in a moment, a cluster of lightning bolts came blasting downward, carried on the wires.

  Ten miles to the north, Kenner saw the rocket array fire upward from the third spiderweb. He guessed there were only about fifty rockets in that array, which meant there were another hundred still on the ground.

  He came to the side road, turned right, and came instantly into a clearing. There was a large eighteen-wheeler parked to one side. There were two men in yellow rain slickers standing beside the cab. One of them held a box in his handsthe firing device.

  Kenner didnt hesitate. He spun the wheel of the SUV and drove right for the cab. The men were stunned for a moment, and at the last moment jumped aside just as Kenner scraped along the side of the cab, screeching metal, and then turned into the rocket field itself.

  In his rearview mirror he saw the men scrambling up, but by now he was within the spiderweb array, driving along the line of wires, trying to crush the launch tubes under his wheels. As he hit them he could hear: Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! He hoped that would disrupt the firing pattern, but he was wrong.

  Directly ahead, he saw another fifty rockets spout flames, and rush upward into the sky.

  Sanjong was inside the second clearing. He saw a wooden cabin off to the right, and a large truck parked beside it. There were lights in the cabin, and he saw shapes moving in the windows. There were men in there. Wires came out from the front door of the cabin and disappeared in the grass.

  He drove straight for the cabin, and he pushed the cruise control on the steering wheel.

  From the front door he saw one man come out, cradling a machine gun. Flame spurted from the barrel and Sanjongs windshield shattered. He threw open his door and jumped out of the SUV, holding his rifle away from his body, then landing and rolling in the grass.

  He looked up just in time to see the SUV smash into the cabin. There was a lot of smoke and shouting. Sanjong was only about twenty yards away. He waited. After a moment, the man with the machine gun came running around to the side of the SUV, to look for the driver. He was shouting excitedly.

  Sanjong fired once. The man fell backward.

  He waited. A second man came out, yelling in the rain. He saw the fallen man, and jumped back, huddling behind the front bumper of the SUV. He leaned forward and called to the fallen man.

  Sanjong shot at him. The man disappeared, but Sanjong was not certain he had hit him.

  He had to change position now. The rain had matted down the grass, so there was not as much cover as he would have liked. He rolled quickly, moving laterally about ten yards, and then crawled forward cautiously, trying to get a view into the cabin. But the car had smashed in the front door, and the lights inside were now out. He was sure there were more men in the cabin but he did not see anyone now. The shouting had stopped. There was just the rumble of thunder and the patter of rain.

  He strained, listening. He heard the crackle of radios. And voices.

  There were still men in the cabin.

  He waited in the grass.

  Rain dripped in Evanss eyes as he spun the wrench, tightening the lug nuts on the front wheel of the SUV. The spare tire was now securely in place. He wiped his eyes, and then briefly tightened each lug nut in turn. Just to be sure. It was a rough road going back to the main highway, and now with this rain it would be muddy. He didnt want the wheel coming loose.

  Sarah was waiting for him in the passenger seat. He had half-dragged, half-carried her back to the vehicle. She was still dazed, out of it, so he was surprised to hear her shouting something over the sound of the rain.

  Evans looked up.

  He saw headlights, in the distance. On the far side of the clearing.

  He squinted.

  It was the blue pickup truck.

  "Peter!"

  He dropped the lug wrench and ran for the drivers side. Sarah had already started the engine. He got behind the wheel and put the SUV in gear. The blue truck was gaining on them, coming across the clearing.

  "Lets go," Sarah said.

  Evans stepped on the gas, turned, and drove into the forestheading back the way they had come. Behind them, the burning building had been put out by the rain. It was now a smoldering wreck, hissing clouds of steam.

  The blue pickup drove past the building without a pause. And came down the road after them.

  Kenner turned, and came back toward the eighteen-wheeler. The men were standing there, holding the firing box. One had a pistol out, and began firing at Kenner. Kenner accelerated hard, driving straight at them. He hit the man with the pistol. His body was thrown into the air, over the top of the SUV. The second man had somehow gotten away. Kenner spun the wheel.

  As he came back he saw the man he had hit staggering to his feet in the grass. The other man was nowhere to be seen. The staggering man raised his gun just as Kenner hit him again
. He went down, and the SUV bounced over his body. Kenner was looking for the other manthe man with the firing box.

  He didnt see him anywhere.

  He spun the wheel. There was only one place the man could have gone.

  Kenner drove straight for the truck.

  Sanjong was waiting in the grass when he heard the sound of a truck engine. His view was blocked by his own crashed SUV. The truck was behind the SUV. He heard someone put it into gear, backing up.

  Sanjong got to his feet and began to run. A bullet whined past him. He dropped to the ground again.

  They had left someone in the house.

  He stayed low in the grass, and crawled forward, heading for the truck. Bullets snapped in the grass all around him. Somehow they had his position, even in the grass. That meant amp; He twisted, turning to face the house. He wiped the rain out of his eyes and looked through the sights of his rifle.

  The guy was on the roof of the cabin. Barely visible, except when he rose up to fire.

  Sanjong fired just below the roofline. He knew the bullet would pass right through the wood. He didnt see the man again. But the mans rifle slid down the roof as Sanjong watched.

  He got to his feet and ran toward the truck, but it was already driving away, heading out from the clearing, a pair of red taillights in the rain, disappearing onto the main road.

  Kenner was out of his SUV, and on the ground. He could see the last guy, a silhouette under the big eighteen-wheeler.

  "Dont shoot me, dont shoot me!" the guy was yelling.

  "Come out slowly, with your hands empty," Kenner shouted. "I want to see your hands. "

  "Just dont shoot amp;"

  "Come out. Real slow and"

  A sudden burst of machine gun fire. The wet grass around him snapped.

  Kenner pressed his face into the wet earth, and waited.

  "Go faster!" Sarah said, looking over her shoulder.

  Their SUV bounced in the mud, headlights jumping wildly.

  "I dont think I can amp;" Evans said.

  "Theyre gaining!" she said. "You have to go faster!"

  They were almost out of the forest. Evans could see the highway just a few dozen yards ahead. He remembered that the last section of the dirt track was less eroded, and he accelerated, heading there.

  And came out onto the highway, going south.

  "What are you doing?" Sarah said. "We have to go to the rocket field. "

  "Its too late now," he said. "Were going back to the park. "

  "But we promised Kenner"

  "Its too late," he said. "Look at the storm. Its already full blown. We have to get back to help those families in the park. "

  He turned the windshield wipers on full force, and raced down the road in the storm.

  Behind them, the pickup truck turned and followed them.

  Trooper Miguel Rodriguez had been watching the waterfall. An hour ago, it had been a clear mist, coming over the cliff s edge. Now it was tinged with brown, and it had more volume. The river, too, was starting to rise. It was flowing faster, and beginning to turn a muddy brown.

  But it was still not raining at the park. The air had turned distinctly humid, and there had been scattered raindrops for a few minutes, but then the rain had stopped. A few families had abandoned their barbecues. A half-dozen more were packing up their cars in anticipation of the coming storm. But most had chosen to ignore it. The school principal was walking among the picnickers, telling people the weather would pass, urging everyone to stay.

  Rodriguez was edgy. He tugged at his uniform collar, uncomfortable in the dampness. He paced back and forth beside his open car door. He heard the police radio announce flash flood warnings for Clayton County, which was where McKinley Park was located. He didnt want to wait any longer, but still he hesitated.

  He couldnt understand why Kenner hadnt called him. The park was located in a canyon, and there was every sign of a potential flash flood. Rodriguez had lived in northern Arizona his whole life. He knew he should clear the park now.

  Why hadnt Kenner called?

  He drummed his fingers on the door of the car.

  He decided to give it five more minutes.

  Five minutes. No more.

  What worried him most at the moment was the waterfall. The brown tinge had put people off, and most of the crowd had moved away. But a few teenagers were still playing in the pool at the base of the fall. Rodriguez knew that rocks could come over the cliff any minute now. Even small rocks would have enough force to kill a person at the bottom.

  Rodriguez was thinking about clearing the waterfall area when he noticed something strange. Up at the top of the cliff, where the water came over the lip, he saw a van with an antenna. It looked like a TV station van. There was no lettering on the side, but there was a logo of some kind. Still he couldnt make it out from this distance. He saw a cameraman get out of the van and take a position by the waterfall, crouching down with a camera mounted on his shoulder and looking down into the park. A woman in a skirt and blouse stood by his side, pointing in this direction and that. Apparently telling him where to film, because he was turning the camera where she pointed.

  It was definitely a news crew.

  He thought: A news crew for a school picnic?

  Rodriguez squinted, trying to identify the vans logo. It was yellow and blue, sort of swirly interlocking circles. He didnt recognize it as one of the local stations. But there was something distinctly creepy about this crew, coming here right as the storm was descending on the park. He decided hed better walk over and have a talk with them.

  Kenner didnt want to kill the guy now huddled beneath the semi. No member of ELF had ever been captured, and this one seemed a likely candidate. Kenner could tell from the sound of the guys voice that he was scared. And he sounded young, maybe in his twenties. Probably he was shaken by the death of his friend. Certainly he couldnt handle a machine gun very well.

  Now this guy was afraid he was going to die, too. Maybe he was having second thoughts about his cause.

  "Come out now," Kenner yelled to him. "Come out, and everything will be all right. "

  "Fuck you," the guy said. "Who the fuck are you, anyway? What is your fucking problem? Dont you get it, man? Were trying to save the planet. "

  "Youre breaking the law," Kenner said.

  "The law," the guy said contemptuously. "The laws owned by the corporations that pollute the environment and destroy human life. "