“No! We’ve got to find them, David. Those disks and the crystal may be the only hope of ending this nightmare.”
“They’re probably dead!”
“They’re not dead.”
“The plane crashed and they’re just rotting corpses.”
Alex grabbed David’s vest and slammed him against a tree, glaring at him. “They’re not dead! I’m the one who sent them, damn it! They’re my responsibility, and I’m going to find them!”
David’s heart leapt into his throat, beating a thousand times a second. The look in Alex’s eyes scared him a little.
Alex stared into David’s wide, frightened eyes. What am I doing? He thought, and gently released him. “I’m sorry,” he said and turned away.
David tried to catch his breath. I pushed him too far, he realized. He watched Alex walk away and stop, his back to him. He took a couple of deep breaths and walked over to him. “I’m sorry I said that.” When Alex didn’t respond, he turned and walked to the tree, squatted, and leaned his back against it. He suddenly cocked his head to one side. “Listen! Do you hear it?”
Alex turned and looked at David. “Hear what?”
“I’m not sure, but it sounds like a motor running.”
Alex listened, but heard nothing. They were twenty miles from the nearest road, he knew. How could he possibly hear a motor? “It’s just the wind or something. We’re too far from the roads.”
I’m sure I hear something running.” He stood and slowly turned, hands cupped around his ears. “That way!” he told Alex as he faced into the wind.
David picked up the map and held the compass against it. He looked up at Alex. “It’s a little south of a straight route,” he said and shrugged. “Might be worth checking out. What have we got to lose?”
Alex looked at David, and slowly nodded. “All right.”
They adjusted their backpacks and headed in the direction of the noise. Half an hour later, they stopped abruptly when they emerged from the trees into a small meadow. Alex ran across the clearing to the wreaked plane, looked through the open doorway, and smiled at David. “They’re alive!” He saw David look at the doorway. “No, they’re not in here, it’s empty. But it means they got out. They must be in the area. Do you still hear motors?”
David shook his head. “Not right now.”
David began walking around the broken branches and trees. “Over here!” he shouted. When Alex was beside him, he pointed at the ground. “There were a lot of people here. The tracks lead that way,” he said and nodded in the direction. “They were rescued!” David said and started to run.
“David! Wait!” Alex shouted. David stopped and looked back at him, and Alex pointed at the ground. “The foot prints. They’re combat boots.”
David grinned. “The military? There must be a base nearby.”
Alex shook his head. “No. They’re not all the same. They’re old Army surplus.”
“How do you know?”
“The tread pattern is an old style.”
“So what are you getting at, Alex?”
“You’ve heard about the Neo-Nazis? They were based here in Idaho.”
David’s heart felt like it had dropped into his shoes. “Okay,” he said solemnly. “But it still means they were taken to a camp. We have to find it. We just have to be careful.”
Alex nodded. “They probably have guards in the woods, so I’ll go first.”
David had to agree, he realized. “All right, what do you want me to do?”
“Give me a five minute lead, and then follow. I’ll leave markers. But don’t run, and keep quiet.”
Alex disappeared, and David kept glancing at his watch until five minutes had passed, then he followed. Alex had left broken branches and small mounds of rocks for him to follow, and he caught up with him thirty minutes later. Alex was squatting next to a huge pine tree. When he stopped, he could hear engines running.
Alex stood. “A guard walked past a few minutes ago. There are dozens of big trucks and trailers stashed in the trees, about three-hundred yards ahead.”
“Military?” David asked.
“No. Food trucks. Tankers, too. Gas and diesel. They are the trucks hijacked from the interstate highways.
David nodded. “We should wait until dark, and take a look around.”
“Freeze!”
They spun around, and saw three men in camouflage clothing pointing rifles at them. Alex estimated his odds of shooting the three soldiers. If he’d been by himself, no problem, but the chance of David getting shot was too great. “Damn!” Alex swore under his breath.
*
When Calli awoke, Harold introduced the women to her, and explained what was going on. At first, she had thrown a fit, but when Christa told her about Marcia and their plans to drive to Alaska, Calli agreed to let them stay if she could go with them. She didn’t include Harold, and he felt crushed, but didn’t blame her after the way he’d been such a coward.
Calli insisted Harold come with her to find their children, so he would help her convince them to leave with them. Harold followed, but knew it would be dangerous to tell Mark about their plan. He could only hope Calli might listen to reason before they found Mark.
Christa and Judy were nearly caught when Jerry Monroe stopped by the trailer. They hid in the cramped bathroom, listening to him knock on the trailer’s door. He left without coming in, and since then, one of them always watched through the front window. “Marcia’s coming!” Judy informed Christa.
Christa peeped through the window. Marcia seemed to be in a hurry, and she looked troubled. Christa went to the door to let her in and saw the frown creasing her brow.
“I just saw the guards bring Alex and David into the camp at gunpoint,” Marcia told them.
“How did they find us?” Christa asked.
Marcia shook her head. “I don’t know. The guards locked them in jail until Major Everex and the Colonel get back.”
“We’ll have to leave!” said Judy.
“No! We have to get them out of jail!” Christa said adamantly.
“No!” You don’t understand,” Judy insisted. “If Alex and David tell them they are looking for three women in the plane, they’ll do a search for us. When they find our tracks leading here, they’ll tear this place apart to find us.”
“You’re right,” said Marcia. “I have to get word to them not to mention you two. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Marcia started to leave, and Christa grabbed her arm. “What about the Colonel? Did you talk to him about us?” she asked.
“I haven’t had a chance.”
Christa nodded. “Be careful.”
Marcia smiled and left the trailer.
*
Alex stared out through the rusty bars of the window, at the green pine trees behind the three-celled jailhouse. He told David not to say anything until they found out who these soldiers were. After they were placed in the cell, he asked the guard at the desk where they were and what was going on in this camp. The guard said he’d learn soon enough. David shared the cell with him, and they had watched two men dig through the contents of their backpacks, now scattered on the floor, in a corner outside their cell.
Alex noticed movement in the trees, and a tall woman stepped out. He smiled when he recognized Marcia. She looked around nervously, and then ran to his window when she saw him, putting a finger to her lips. Alex glanced over his shoulder. Only one guard was still sitting with his feet on the desk, engrossed in a paperback novel. He turned toward Marcia, and mouthed the words, “Are the girls all right?”
“Yes,” Marcia whispered. “They’re hiding. Don’t mention us or the plane!” she whispered urgently. Alex nodded in understanding. She suddenly looked away, then back at Alex. “Car coming!” she said, and hurried away.
Alex touched David’s shoulder. “The girls are here,” he whispered. “When they question you, say we were lost. Don’t mention the plane or the girls.”
“Break it up
!” the guard snarled, staring at them.
Alex heard a car stop outside the building, and saw the guard suddenly sit up and put the book away. A moment later, the door opened and a short, stocky man stepped in, followed by a tall man with a black patch over one eye. They stood just inside the door and looked at them.
A moment later, the short one approached the cell, and Alex saw the look of a cold-blooded killer in his eyes. The man’s muscles appeared to be trying to rip through his shirt, and Alex knew an interrogation by this man wouldn’t be pleasant. David would never be able to take the punishment, and would give in to the man’s interrogation. The only way to save David and the women was to make himself the target of this man’s torture. Alex did his best to look intimidated and meek, and scurried back from the bars like a frightened little animal as the man approached.
Everex studied the prisoners. The young boy looked him straight in the eye for a moment before looking down. The older man looked as if he would shit his pants if he said boo. “What were you doing to our trucks?” he growled.
Before David could answer or turn to him for help, Alex spoke, raising the pitch of his voice. “We don’t mean you any harm. Please don’t hurt me! We weren’t doing anything! Honest, mister! I’ll tell you anything, but please don’t hurt me!”
David looked at Alex in stunned disbelief. What was he trying to do? He hadn’t seen this side of Alex before. He had never considered him a coward, but now, seeing him like this, he wondered how he could have been so wrong. He felt disgusted to see that Alex was such a cowering wimp. Well, I’m not a coward, he thought, and turned back to the man at the bars and thrust his chin out as he stared him in the eyes. “I’m not telling you anything!”
Everex stared at the boy and smiled. The boy had guts, he thought. It might take a while to break him, but he’d give in eventually. His men told him they were hiding by their supply trucks, and they thought they were there to sabotage them. If it was true, then who had sent them? He wondered. He looked at the sniveling man pressed against the wall. “Answer me!” he shouted, and watched the man cover his face with his hands and squat in the corner. He loathed a coward, and thought about just shooting him, right there. No, he thought. I’ll kill him after he answers some questions. He turned to the guard. “Bring that scared little bastard to the showers,” he ordered and walked to the door. He looked up at Blackwood and grinned. “Now the fun begins. Care to watch?”
A cold chill ran up Blackwood’s spine. “Ah, no. I have to check on some things,” he said and walked out the door.
Everex watched Blackwood walk away. He started to get into the jeep as one of his elite guards walked up to him.
“That Amazon woman went to the Woolly’s trailer a little while ago.”
Everex thought about it for a moment. The teacher had bothered him from the start, and he didn’t trust her. He didn’t like the influence she had on Blackwood, either. She gave him courage, for some reason, and that was bad. “Follow the Woolly woman to the trailer when she leaves, and keep an eye on the Amazon. There’s something going on, and I want to know what it is.”
Alex smelled sweaty clothes and mentholated muscle rubbing ointments as the guard shoved him into the large room past rows of gray metal lockers and benches. Through the opening at the end of the room, he recognized the muscular man from the jail, sitting on a wooden chair with his back against the white tiled wall in the shower.
The guard removed the handcuffs and shoved Alex through the opening, nearly causing him to slip. He kept his balance, but didn’t look up. “Please, mister!” he moaned. “I’ll tell you anything, just don’t hurt me!”
Everex stared at the man disgustedly. “What’s your name, besides chicken shit?”
“Alex. We got lost and . . .”
“Don’t give me that crap!” Everex snarled and leapt from the chair, shoving Alex against the wall and driving his fist into his stomach.
Alex knew what was coming and tightened his stomach muscles, but the blow had the force of a sledgehammer, and drove the air from his lungs. He collapsed to the floor, sucking in several deep breaths. Everex reached down and grabbed him by the belt and shirt, then lifted him with the ease of a man lifting a small child. Everex slammed him down in the chair, and a bolt of intense pain erupted through his skull as his head smacked against the tile wall. It took a few seconds to regain his senses, and Alex had to fight down his rage. If he fought back, the guard would undoubtedly help Everex, he thought, and he’d be no good to his friends if he were killed.
“What were you doing to the tankers?” Everex hissed in his face.
“We got lost in the woods.” he caught the movement just in time to roll his head with the punch as Everex backhanded him across the face, but it still stung, and the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. The being lost story wasn’t going to work, Alex realized, and tried to think of a story that would, without mentioning the women. This man was extremely paranoid, Alex realized. He must be worried about being discovered. Well, he would give him an enemy. He saw Everex raise his hand for another blow, and threw his arms up to ward it off. “All right! All right!” Alex cried out. Everex held his arm up, fist poised in the air. “We were going to steal one of the trucks!” Alex shouted, and watched Everex lower his arm.
“Who sent you?” Everex asked.
“Menno. Menno Simons.”
Everex stared at him curiously. “Who the hell is Menno Simons?”
“He’s our minister. We’re Mennonites.”
Everex remembered hearing about Mennonites from his father. They were some kind of back to nature fanatics. “What does he know about us?”
Alex thought quickly. “He knows you’ve got supplies. He sent us to find out how big an army you have.”
“Why?”
“His army is running out of food and gas. He wants to take your supplies.”
Everex stared at Alex. Another army? He thought. “How many soldiers does he have?”
“About seven-hundred, maybe more.”
Oh shit! Seven-hundred? Could he hold off that many? He began to slowly pace, his boots making a clicking noise on the tiled floor. Probably not he thought. At least not heret. He stopped and faced Alex. “Where are they now?”
“About fifty miles south of here. A town called Orofino. They’re waiting for us to report back.”
Only fifty miles? Everett thought. Shit! Too damn close. I’ll have to stop them before they get here. A surprise attack! Yes, hit them first! He turned and left the shower room. “Throw him back in jail,” he hollered at the guard as he strode past.
Alex stood as the guard approached. Now’s my chance, he thought, then realized he’d made a mistake. He’d let his meek facade slip, and the guard must have seen it, for he drew his pistol and held it steady on him.
“Turn around and get down on your knees, hands behind your back!” the guard ordered.
Damn! Alex did as instructed. He heard the clicking of boots as the guard approached, and tried to think of a way to overcome him. No way, he knew. Not while he was on his knees. He felt the handcuffs tighten around his wrists, and then heard the guard stepping back.
“Get up.”
Alex stood and faced the guard. He was still pointing the pistol, and Alex knew his chance of escape had passed. He resigned himself to wait for another chance. When the guard waved the pistol toward the door, Alex walked out of the shower and back to the jail. Once locked in the cell with his handcuffs removed, he sat on the cot and saw David staring at him.
“You told them, didn’t you?” David asked with a note of disgust.
“I had too,” Alex replied and winked. “They were going to hurt me. I didn’t want them to hurt me!”
David looked at him curiously, and then saw the small spot of blood at the corner of Alex’s mouth. He saw the guards watching them, and decided not to ask any more questions. He sat on the cot and watched one of the guards leave, the other returned to reading his book. What the devil wa
s Alex up to?
*
Everex burst through the door and into Blackwood’s cabin. “There’s another army out there!” he yelled. “Some fanatic named Menno Simons is bringing troops here to steal our supplies!”
Blackwood frowned for a moment as he stared at Everex, and then grinned. “So? Our army is well trained, and we have plenty of ammunition and . . .”
“Our army ain’t shit, Colonel! We have about one-hundred combat soldiers. The rest are just a bunch of scared men and women forced to learn how to shoot and do what we force them to. This Menno person has seven-hundred troops. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Seven-hundred soldiers? Blackwood thought. My God! Everex was right. They’d be overrun in no time. “Ah, maybe we could make a deal. Offer to let them join us and share our supplies. We’ll send some people to . . .”
“No! We have enough supplies to keep us going for maybe a year. Seven-hundred more mouths would wipe us out in a week! No. We have to attack them first, before they get here. I want you to take most of our troops and hit them with a surprise attack.”
Blackwood looked aghast. “Me?”
“You’re the big hero combat veteran.”
“That was a long time ago!”
Everex drew his nickel-plated Colt 45 automatic pistol and pointed it at Blackwood’s chest. “Then I don’t need you anymore,” he hissed.
Blackwood’s jaw hung slack as his eyes darted between the gun and the look in Everex’s eyes. He knew he was going to die. “Wait!” he managed to groan. “I mean, it’s just that I’ll need time to get organized. Lay out a battle plan. I, ah, I can’t just charge in like the Lone Ranger!”
Everex slowly put the Colt back in his holster. “I figure it will take the rest of the day to get ready to move out. That’s all the time you have, Colonel. If you’re not prepared by then, you’ll have to figure it out as you go. Are we clear on this?” Blackwood nodded. “My men will be your first officers. I’ll have them get started with the organizing. We’ll modify some of the truck trailers as troop carriers and use the motor homes for command centers.”
“Okay. I’d better get started.” Blackwood stood and pretended to be going through the maps. He heard the cabin door slam shut, looked over his shoulder, then collapsed into the chair.
The Alex Cave Series. Books 1, 2, & 3.: Box set Page 22
