Vortex of Evil

by S D Taylor

  “Threat to future people gone,” Tom thought to himself. He had seen enough. He ran as fast as he could towards the camp and the antiaircraft missiles that might provide some defense. Megan and Allanah should have some shelter from the hover vehicle if they were in the cave. He wanted to go to help the women, but getting captured now, or killed, would not help any of them. He had to warn Doug and the rest of them at the camp and get the missiles ready for action. This might be their chance to fight back.

  High above on the ridge that led to the mountaintop, Rin heard the two shots and immediately knew it was Katelyn. “It’s our warning signal, Doug. Katy’s in trouble.”

  “You have a warning signal? Right, so the girls could get your attention if you were away from the camp. That makes sense.”

  “Doug told them that they should fire two warning shots, then hide. Rather than shoot at targets they may not be sure about. He didn’t want the girls to shoot one of us by accident.” Rin felt her adrenalin spiking as she quickly climbed down the rocks by the view deck with Doug close behind.

  “It must be tough raising children in an environment like this. I guess my older version has good ideas about self-preservation.” Both he and Rin noticed he used ‘has’ instead of had. So he must believe my Doug is still alive, she thought to herself as she tried not to stumble while moving quickly through the steep, brush-covered hillside.

  They had reached the main trail by the burned-out cave when they heard more shooting and then the same ancient cannon fire that Tom had heard. But it seemed far away to the west, near the beach. Doug had a sinking feeling that all hell was breaking loose and he wasn’t there to help restore order. Rin just wanted to get back to her girls. She swore to herself that she would never let either of them out of her sight again. “What was I thinking?” kept running through her head as she raced down the hill.

  Tom managed to get to the camp about two minutes before Doug and Rin. After seeing the future people, he wasn’t focused on what the original warning shots may have meant. He was operating at maximum adrenalin level intensity and failed to notice that five of the remaining North Korean pirates, their nemesis on this island, were searching the area near the entrance of the camp. They apparently hadn’t discovered it but the warning shot tipped them off that there was somebody in the area and they were determined to find out who it was.

  As Tom ran headlong into their midst, there was a tangible pause as everyone looked up in surprise, including Tom. But it was followed by immediate attempts by everyone to dive for cover while trying to shoot at something. Tom’s momentum carried him through the group and he hit the man straight in front of him across the face with his weapon, knocking him down. He quickly turned and fired at the pirate to his right, striking him square in the chest. Two down.

  When Katelyn saw that Tom was fighting with the pirates, she poked the muzzle of her rifle through the firing slot on the front door, took careful aim at one of the pirates and fired, striking him in the shoulder. The fourth pirate was better prepared and he was able to tackle Tom before he could fire again. The two of them fell to the ground while the final pirate tried to pick a target from the two rolling men. He hesitated a second too long and Rin arrived on the scene, firing her machine pistol on full automatic and hitting him in the shoulder, chest and face. He was dead before he hit the ground. She continued on the run into the midst of everything and shot the man that Katelyn wounded who was trying to get to his feet. She fired half the clip into him before she looked up to check on Tom.

  Doug was right behind Rin and he ran straight past her and delivered a savage kick to the face of the pirate fighting with Tom. It knocked the pirate backward, but he rolled over quickly, pulling out a pistol from a holster on his waist. Doug was ready and fired before he could get off a shot. The pirate fell in a heap with part of his forehead missing.

  Doug turned quickly to Tom. “Are you ok?” Doug glanced rapidly around to ensure that all the attackers were down when he saw that the man Tom had hit in the face had regained his feet and was preparing to fire his machine gun at Doug and Tom. Doug dove sideways and knocked Tom out of the way as the bullets flew by, just missing them. Rin was protected by a tree between her and the shooter but they were all in trouble.

  The pirate was using a huge tree for cover and had the three of them pinned down. Doug was crouching behind some bushes, about to charge out and start shooting when he heard a single shot that didn’t sound like it came from the Pirate’s AK-47. The man stood up and staggered out from behind his tree before falling on his face, dead from a gunshot to the back of his head. It was then that Yin emerged from the bushes holding her machine pistol and staring intently at the dead man she had just shot.

  Doug ran over to her as Rin and Tom went to check on Katelyn. “You saved us, Ying.”

  “I hope so, Doug. I have never killed anyone before, but he seemed sure to kill you and Tom and Rin. I went out the back door and came around through the woods. He didn’t see me.”

  “You did great. Thanks for being a hero.”

  Ying had tears in her eyes. “I don’t feel much like a hero. Especially since he was a man I have known well for the past two years. I did not bear him ill will, but I had to stop him. It is just that I can’t feel good about it.”

  Doug hadn’t considered that Ying might know these men that were attacking them. From her comments, she never indicated that they were anything but a bunch of hired thugs who would kill you at the drop of a hat. But at that moment, Doug realized that she also knew them as people with names, hobbies, likes and dislikes. All the personal details you learn about people you spend time with. And now she had killed one of those people whose names and personal details she was familiar with. She understood she had to do it to protect the people she cared about, but it was going to haunt her from now on. And Doug could understand that as well. He had been there and done that.

  Tom was winded but managed to get Doug’s attention. “Get the missiles. The hover vehicle is here. The guys who took Erin are back.”

  Doug barely heard the last part of what Tom was saying. He had quickly patted Ying on the back and was already heading for the shelter and the two remaining shoulder-fired missiles. This time, Doug thought to himself. This time we’ll get them. Rin was right behind him.

  Katelyn swung the door open as Doug approached. He dropped his gun and grabbed her by both shoulders. “Are you ok?” She nodded and turned to Rin who ran up and hugged her. “I had to shoot that man, Mom. He was going to kill Tom.”

  “You did the right thing. If it wasn’t for you and Ying, we might have had a much different result. You are both heroes.”

  “Right now I just feel scared. But I am really happy everyone on our side is ok.” She hugged Rin tightly.

  Doug was right back to the business at hand. “We have to get the three missiles we have left and get ready. The future people are back and we have to be prepared this time.”

  Katelyn felt a shudder go through her at the thought of these strangers with their high tech brand of evil. They took her mother once and she didn’t want to go through that again. Rin patted her on the shoulder and then went out to check on Tom.

  Katelyn wasn’t interested in more fighting. “Can we hide from them, Doug? From what you said happened last time, I am afraid if we try to fight them we will just end up dead.”

  “I have to fight them Katy, but I want the rest of you to find a safe spot and stay out of harm’s way. Your mom was lucky they let her go once and we can’t count on that happening again.”

  “But I don’t want to lose you, either.” Katelyn was getting used to having this younger version of her father around since he made them all feel a bit safer.

  “Yes, Doug. You should be careful. However much you want to fight, can you win?” Ying was standing at the mouth of the cave. She was always the level-headed scientist with the voice of reason.

  “Ladies, I can’t help myself this time. They took Erin and I want her back. And
that may mean taking some risks.” He saw the pleading look on the faces of the two women as he headed for the entrance carrying two of the small missiles. He left one behind to defend the camp if it came to that. “I’ll try to be careful. For now you stay here and keep watch for bad guys.”

  Doug emerged from the shelter and found Tom talking with Rin in an animated fashion as they both scanned the sky to the north. She turned to Doug immediately. “Alannah and Megan are in one of the caves by the beach. They went there to hide while Tom came to help us and there was an exchange of gunfire with a passing warship. Apparently Megan won the exchange, but the future people blew the ship out of the water.”

  Doug turned to Tom. “Did they see Megan and Alannah? Are they after them?”

  “I don’t think so. They should have been in the cave before the hover vehicle showed up. But of course we don’t know what kind of sensors they may have. I suspect their searching is more than just visual but I don’t know. I think we should head down there now.”

  Rin looked at the two nearly identical men. “Why can’t we all hide and hope they go away? It is unlikely we can defeat them.”

  “I just had this discussion with Ying and Katelyn. I have to go after them and try to get Erin back. But I want you to stay here and look after the two of them. I would leave Tom here with one of the missiles, but I think our best chance is if Tom and I fight them together. They can’t stop both of us, so we might be able to get off a shot that hits them.”

  Rin tried to contemplate the possible arguments that she could use to convince these two men that in this case their desire for taking action was probably going to get them both killed. She knew that there was nothing she could say that would change Doug’s mind, but she couldn’t bear the thought of losing this version of him now. His presence had added a sense of safety and stability to her life. And she knew how much he meant to the girls. She felt some tears escaping onto her cheeks, but said only, “Be careful, then. You both mean a lot to all of us.” She reached out and touched each man lightly on the shoulder then turned and moved quickly to the shelter.

  Tom and Doug looked at her as she closed the door behind her. “We can’t screw this up, Doug. We can’t get killed and drop her and the girls on their heads.”

  Doug had already turned and was hurrying towards the beach. “Got that, my friend. But let’s get past the defeatist thinking and go kick some butt.”

  “Give me a break!” Tom shook his head and ran after him. He hoped that Doug’s quest for vengeance wasn’t clouding his judgment as much as he suspected it was. That insect-looking thing that took Erin had gotten inside Doug’s head like nothing he had ever seen. And to make it worse, Tom suspected that the technology the future people used was advanced enough that anything he and Doug tried was going to end in failure. Massive, blown to pieces failure like that old-time navy ship that was now just a bunch of debris.

  Doug quickly covered the distance to the spot where Tom had seen the hover vehicle destroy the frigate. There was no sign of anything in the air, but the field of debris was still clearly visible just offshore. Doug leaned his missile launcher against a tree and looked around in all directions. Tom joined him as he focused his binoculars on the future people’s boat. It was about two miles straight out from the beach where Tom had been fishing with Megan and Allanah. It seemed to be anchored in place and there was no sign of activity. He wondered if he could hit them with the missile if he went ahead and launched it straight at the boat.

  “Any sign of the saucer?” Tom looked around rapidly but didn’t see anything.

  Doug could not see anyone on the deck of what he assumed was Dara’s boat and there was no sign of the hover vehicle. “The landing pad is empty so it has to be flying around somewhere. We should try to get closer to Megan and Alannah in case the insect man tries to take them.”

  “Wait, Doug.” Tom grabbed his arm tightly. “If we go to that cave now we will just give away their position. It is possible he doesn’t know they are in the cave.”

  Doug stopped and stepped back under the cover of the trees. “So what’s your plan? We just sit here and wait for them to fly by. And then blast them?”

  Tom watched the sky as he talked. “Not exactly. To have a hope of hitting them, we need to fire at the same time. That will lessen their chance of avoiding our missiles. If either one of us is hit before we can fire, we have lost any slight advantage we have by having two missiles. I think we should move slowly forward toward the beach, staying apart by at least a hundred yards and stay under cover until we see them. If we have a clear shot, we count to three and fire together.”

  Doug looked at Tom, catching his breath as he thought about what came next. If they followed Tom’s plan, and were able to hit the hover vehicle with at least one missile, he was unsure what the result might be. He mostly wanted to blast it to pieces, but the calmer side of his brain told him that capturing the hover vehicle might be the only way they could obtain the technology they needed to get Erin and the others back from the future. “Ok, we will try it your way. You lead the way.” Doug picked up the missile launching tube and waited for Tom to go first.

  Tom nodded and pointed towards a large tree on the right of the trail. “Head that way Mr. Cameron. And keep your eyes open.” Doug headed into the bushes at an angle to the path they had been following while Tom went at an equal angle to the left of the trail. The trees and undergrowth began to thin out slightly as they got closer to the west coast of the island. Tom assumed it was the impact from the spray of seawater in that area. In a few minutes the two men had reached the edge of the cliffs that overlooked the beach below. They had cover from the trees and Doug ended up far enough to the north of Tom’s position that a single burst from the future people’s weapon wouldn’t kill both of them..

  They set the missiles for firing mode but didn’t switch on the radar for fear of giving away their position to a sensor on the hover vehicle. Tom kept wishing he knew more about what he was up against and whether they had some way to sense where he was. He assumed they could sense body heat. It was mid-afternoon and he knew the future people would have a big advantage after it got dark. Night vision capability had to be part of their systems on that flying saucer. Otherwise their night landing when they captured Erin would have been impossible.

  The minutes went by as both Doug and Tom felt their impatience growing just as their adrenalin began to gradually subside. It had been nearly an hour since Tom had seen the hover vehicle blast the frigate and yet there was no further sign of it. The only thing in sight was the future people’s boat anchored off-shore, gently rocking with the ocean swells. Tom knew that Doug was likely getting ready to do something rash. But Tom was focused on looking for the hover vehicle and wasn’t prepared for the cold mechanical hands that suddenly gripped both his arms and held them tight. “Do not be afraid. I won’t hurt you. I would like to speak with you and Doug.”

  Chapter 33

  Tom started to yell for Doug, but Jelk beat him to it. “Mr. Cameron! Why don’t you come over here and join me and Tom. We need to chat.”

  Doug froze at the sound of the strange voice until he saw Tom and Jelk step out from their cover. Jelk was holding on to Tom’s left arm in a vice grip. Tom was about to try to break free when Jelk said quietly, “Please don’t resist. I can shock you, but if I meant you harm you would already be dead. I really just want to talk to you.”

  Tom looked up at him and Jelk turned his head to one side and raised his eyebrows in a disarmingly human way that Tom wasn’t expecting. Tom turned to Doug and said, “Hold on, Doug. He wants to talk to us. Come on over.”

  Doug switched on the missile so it was in full powered-up mode, then stepped slowly from behind the bushes he was using for cover. He had the missile pointed squarely at Jelk, but he and Tom both realized that it would probably kill all three of them if he fired it. His finger was poised on the trigger as he walked slowly forward. He was conflicted about what to do. He didn’t want to
sacrifice Tom, but he had to stop Jelk at all costs. But even his blind hatred for Jelk couldn’t bring him to casually destroy Tom. And Jelk spared him any more angst by saying, “Erin’s safe. I just spoke to her in her room yesterday afternoon. Please put down the missile and come over and talk to me.”

  Doug felt the same sense of disbelief that Erin experienced when she realized that Jelk was not some mindless, speechless creature of evil. It never occurred to Doug that he could talk to the insect man. He was just something that needed to be killed. He kept the missile aimed at Jelk but he walked slowly toward him. “Ok, let’s talk. What do we have to talk about?”

  “Could you lower the missile? I promise I won’t harm either of you. My name is Jelk. I am a Hybroman who works for the Yir-Lak Command. My defensive shield should protect me from your missile, but I am not interested in finding out if it really will. Could we try to fight the urge to kill each other and just talk for a few minutes?” Jelk released Tom and in his strange mechanical way turned and sat down on the grass with his metal legs folded up beneath him.

  Doug stared at this scene for several seconds and then switched off the missile. “Oh hell, none of this makes any sense anyway.” He walked over and sat down across from Jelk, as did Tom. But they were both out of his reach just in case things didn’t go well.