World War Forever (Highway To Armageddon Book 2)

by Harold Bloemer

  The most traumatic event that occurs as we dash through the compound is the horrifying death of one of the native women. One of the attacking mercenaries manages to fire a few shots into the midst of our group, hitting one of the women in the head. (Lance responds by electrocuting the bastard.) The woman falls to the ground as blood bursts forth from her massive head wound. A young child cries out for her, and my heart cleaves in two. I grab the hysterical girl by the arm and hand her off to another native so she doesn’t get left behind. The girl’s mother may have died, but I’ll be damned if she’s going to suffer the same fate.

  After what feels like an eternity, we arrive at two steel doors marked with an ‘Exit’ sign. Grenade easily knocks the doors down with his bionic fist, and we all rush out into the magnificent sunshine. Never in my life have I been so enthralled by the warm embrace of sunlight.

  Grenade points across a freshly plowed field, ringed off in the distance by trees. “Head for the jungle! They’d be foolish to follow us. We’ll be able to pick them off from the treetops!”

  I turn around for a moment to make sure the entire group has exited the compound. As soon as I see Krystal, Alex, and River leaping through the collapsed doorway, I spin around and start running.

  I turn to Lance and grin. “I can’t believe we pulled this off. Are we good or what?”

  Lance laughs and gives me a fist bump. “We’re damn good.”

  A burst of gunfire signifies our celebration may have been premature. Lance and I look up and growl at the sight of a dozen flying cars zooming toward us. All of the cars are overflowing with gun-toting mercenaries. Two helicopters fly overhead and blast us with blinding spotlights.

  Lance fires off several bursts of lightning. One of his lightning blasts slams into a car, sending it spiraling into the ground. It explodes on impact, raining flaming debris on top of us. I crouch down and cover my head. Thankfully my body armor protects me. Unfortunately not everyone is so lucky. When I stand up and turn around, I’m horrified to find several native children sprawled out on the ground, bleeding profusely. And one of the native women is missing a leg. Her wails of agony are excruciating to hear.

  “You BASTARDS!!” I scream, unleashing a burst of gunfire up at the growing circle of flying cars and helicopters.

  A loud, amplified voice says, “Surrender now or face immediate extermination! This is your only warning!”

  “Eat shrapnel and die, assholes!” Grenade lobs a grenade up at the helicopter. It explodes near the propeller, sending the chopper into a death-spiral. The chopper explodes in the nearby jungle, knocking over several trees.

  Alex fires off several laser beams, slicing through the other helicopter’s propellers. The chopper crashes into the ground as well, but it doesn’t burst into flames like the other one did.

  Our continued resistance results in the dozens of mercenaries hovering above our heads to open fire. I leap through the crossfire, firing as many counter-shots as I can. Several bullets nick my armor, and one bullet grazes my cheek, causing blood to trickle down my neck. Out of my peripheral vison I see Lance, Grenade, Krystal, Alex, and River expertly dodging the hail of bullets as well, while simultaneously firing every weapon they possibly can. Lance takes down three cars in a matter of seconds with his bombardment of electrical blasts. But the natives are sitting ducks. Several children are shot in the head, and one of the native women has her right arm torn off. I’ll never in a million years forget her squeals of agony. But that’s not even the worst of it. One of the kids struck down is none other than the young girl whose mother was shot just moments before. My mission to keep her alive has failed spectacularly.

  “We can’t keep this up!” I shout while firing the last of my bullets. “We’re outnumbered!”

  “They’re going to kill us no matter what, Boom Boom!” Lance says as electricity explodes out of his glowing fingers and spirals into the sky, electrocuting mercenaries in an indiscriminate manner. “We might as well go down fighting!”

  A stray bullet grazes River’s skull, sending her collapsing to the ground. A pool of blood oozes out from beneath her.

  “River!” Lance screams, racing toward her.

  A grenade explodes a few feet away from Lance, throwing him ten feet into the air. Lance slams into the ground and doesn’t get back up.

  “Nooo!!” I scream as tears pour down my cheeks. I spin around in a circle, firing an unrelenting stream of bullets. I’m so angry… and so scared. We came so close to locating Klaxton. To go down like this, fighting a bunch of nameless goons in the middle of the jungle, it’s a travesty.

  Just when I think things can’t possibly get any worse, my gun clicks and bullets stop pouring out of the barrel. I’m out of ammunition.

  “FUCK!” I scream, hurling my over-heated machine gun into the air and clonking a mercenary in the forehead.

  A thunderous blast knocks me off my feet and sends me crashing into the grass, about twenty yards away from Lance. Krystal flies through the air as well and lands next to River. The mercenaries appear to be lobbing concussion grenades at us. That can only mean one thing; they’re trying to take us in alive so they can rape and torture us to death. Well I’m not about to let that happen. If these bastards are going to kill me, they’re going to do it now… quickly. Because I will bite out each and every one of their throats before I allow myself to become a victim of rape. I can still taste the blood in my mouth; I’m not afraid to taste it again.

  I push myself off the ground and fire my handgun until it, too, clicks empty. I pat down my utility belt and curse when I realize I’m out of ammunition cartridges. So I whip out a blade and hold it in front of my face. It’s at that precise moment that I experience a mass exodus of hope. There’s no way out of this. The end… is here.

  One of the flying cars hovering above me suddenly explodes in a blinding fireball. And just like that, hope returns. I roll out of the way a split-second before the flaming vehicle crashes into the ground. If I had been a split-second slower, I would have been crushed.

  I cough as acrid black smoke billows from the flaming wreckage and wafts over my face. I look up through blurred, teary-eyed vision as flying cars zoom out of the jungle. But the cars aren’t being flown by Ramirez’s sadistic goons. They’re being flown by half-naked natives. Some of them are firing bows and arrows and hurling pointed spears. But even more are firing machine guns and bazookas. This must be the Chiqutio’s long-planned assault on Ramirez’s seemingly impregnable fortress, the one River told us about. Her people have finally decided to fight back… and not a moment too soon.

  I watch in delirious wonder as the hapless mercenaries are torn apart in a ferocious barrage of gunfire and hand grenades. The ground quickly becomes littered with demolished flying cars and scorched, exenterated bodies. Blood and guts pile up all around me. I have to keep rolling out of the way to avoid the crashing cars and plummeting bodies that are falling out of the sky.

  Several of the Chiquito natives land their aerial vehicles and hop out to search for survivors. They run over to the native women and children who are still breathing and carry them to their cars. Even the dead natives are picked up, I assume to be given a proper burial. I notice one of the natives is an older, muscular man with long, graying black hair. An ornamental feather headdress adorns his head. He must be the chief of the Chiquito Tribe… River’s father, Thiago. This is confirmed when he kneels down beside River’s profusely bleeding body. Her naked chest slowly heaves up and down, a clear indicator that she is alive. Thiago gently scoops her battered body up in his arms and carries her toward his car.

  I raise my hand and croak out, “Please… help me… help my friends…”

  Thiago looks down at me and narrows his eyes. He says something to one of his fellow tribesmen. I don’t understand what he says, as he’s speaking in his indigenous tongue.

  The younger native marches over to me. He then raises his fist and punches me in my skull.

  And that’s the last th
ing I remember before plunging into a world of darkness.

  Chapter Eight: Lance

  When I finally wake up, it’s to a world of agonizing discomfort. I’m lying on my side, with my hands tied behind my back. My wrists are throbbing in pain, due to the coarse rope digging into my skin. But the pain is a blessing in disguise. It means I’m still alive. Or maybe that’s not a good thing. I’m trying to remember what happened, but my brain is all foggy. Not to mention I’m still reeling from my abrupt heroin withdrawal. My mind and my body feel like they’re on fire. It was getting pretty bad when we were busting out of Ramirez’s compound, but now it’s a thousand times worse. Just a constant, perpetual upsurge of pain, washing over my mind and body like crashing waves.

  Ramirez… the compound. My mind clears a bit as I start to remember what went down. We had just busted out of Ramirez’s farm. We were on our way to the relative safety of the jungle. Then we were surrounded. So many people were killed. Little kids, blown away before my very eyes. And then River got shot in the head. And a grenade detonated a few feet away from me.

  My eyelids fly open and I look down at my body. I’m completely naked save for my underwear. But aside for some cuts and bruises, I don’t appear to be in bad shape. I look over and almost cry out in joy at the sight of Boom Boom lying next to me. She is naked as well, save for her panties. Even her bra has been removed. Her face is caked in dried blood, but at least she’s breathing.

  I lift my head to find Grenade on the other side of her, stripped down to his boxers. His arms appeared to be bound as well, but he also has ropes wrapped around his waist, his legs, and his ankles. Judging by all his fresh bruises, Grenade must have put up a hell of a fight before being taken captive. It’s a wonder he’s still alive.

  I roll onto my other side and grin at the sight of Krystal, snoring loudly. Her wig is missing, which will piss her off when she comes to. Her short, coarse hair is sticking up all over the place.

  I’m not quite as excited to find Alex on the other side of Krystal. He, too, has his hands bound, and his laser-firing goggles are nowhere to be seen. While I definitely don’t wish for the guy to be killed, I’d be lying if I said I was happy to see him. Something about Alex rubs me the wrong way, and it’s not just the fact that Boom Boom in infatuated with him. I don’t trust the guy. It was a mistake to bring him along. But at least he’s been willing to fight with us. He’s had plenty of chances to abandon us, and so far he hasn’t. I suppose that’s worth something.

  I glance around and notice a bunch of half-naked natives watching me curiously. One of the natives, an older man wearing an ornamental headdress, is staring at me more intently than the others. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume he’s River’s father. One little boy runs over to me and says something in a foreign tongue. A woman yells at him, and he scurries away.

  I’m assuming we’re still alive because River informed her father we rescued her. But if that’s the case, where is she? Maybe she’s still unconscious… or worse.

  I shake my head in an attempt to clear such negative thoughts from my mind. I’m really starting to like River. I can’t lose her like I lost Dorothy. Like I lost so many others. If River is unconscious like I think she is… like I hope she is… then she wouldn’t have had a chance to vouch for us yet. That might explain why we’re tied up.

  Crippling fear suddenly grips me. I almost forgot why we’re here in the first place… Klaxton! If she sees us while we’re tied up, we’re dead. She won’t bother trying to figure out how we found her… why we came. She’ll simply shoot us point-blank in the forehead, no questions asked. No amount of pleading or begging will save us. Not after we destroyed her presidency.

  I nervously glance around, but I don’t see any sign of her. Maybe she’s not at this village. Or if she is, maybe she doesn’t realize we’re here yet. All I know is I need to get my hands freed before she shows up. I wriggle my wrist, but all I end up doing is chafing my skin. The ropes are tied are way too tight.

  I push myself up and shout at the natives, “Hey! Can you untie us, please? We’re not the enemy here! We’re friends of River! We helped her escape! Just ask the people we rescued! We are not a threat!”

  The natives continue watching me, their eyes tinged in equal parts suspicion and curiosity. I can’t really blame them. In this topsy-turvy world, you can’t ever be too cautious. A laisssez-faire attitude gets you a bullet in the head.

  After considering me for several moments, Thiago makes his way over and points a spear at my naked chest. I gulp and stare at the spear’s sharp edge. It could easily pierce my heart.

  Speaking in slow, broken English, Thiago says, “My daughter found with your lot. Shot in head!”

  A sense of dread floods my rapidly beating heart. “No… she can’t be… is she… she’s dead??”

  Thiago scowls and places the point of his spear against my chest, creating a small cut just above my left nipple. Warm blood seeps out of the minor wound and trickles down my stomach. “No. She alive. Lost lots of blood, but will survive. But why she with you? What you doing with her? She went missing several moons ago. We fear worst. Why kidnap her?! Answer, now!”

  Still gawking at the spear, I mutter, “I… we…”

  “We didn’t kidnap her, Thiago,” Boom Boom moans, pulling herself up into a sitting position.

  “Boom Boom!” I exclaim ecstatically. “You’re okay!”

  Boom Boom smiles weakly and says, “I don’t feel okay. But just the fact we’re still breathing is a miracle, I suppose.”

  Several other male natives join Thiago and point machine guns at us. I think they’re over-reacting just a tad, considering how defenseless we are.

  “Speak, now,” Thiago growls. “Why you here? What you doing with my daughter?”

  Eying the machine guns, Boom Boom slowly rehashes everything that happened. She leaves out some things, of course, including the fact that we’re on a mission to capture Angela Klaxton. But she does explain how we came upon River as she was hashing out a peace treaty with members of the Ashaninka Tribe. When he hears this, Thiago scowls and mutters something to his fellow natives, who return the scowl. They are obviously none too pleased with this new piece of intel. I hope River doesn’t get in too much trouble when she wakes up. If she wakes up.

  Boom Boom goes on to explain how we were working undercover with Pitbull and his ragtag gang of mercenaries. Thiago and the natives get predictably angry when they hear this. Boom Boom attempts to diffuse the situation by explaining we were just pretending to be on their side. We were secretly on a mission of sabotage (which is a half lie, but they don’t need to know all the details). Boom Boom also clarifies how we helped River escape Pitbull’s compound when she was brought there, and how we had nothing to do with her initial capture. (Another half life, but who’s counting?) While en route to their village, our plane went down. We were subsequently taken captive by Ramirez. We just barely escaped with our lives, thanks to the ‘courageous and heroic actions of the Chiqutio People’. (Boom Boom’s words, not mine.)

  Thiago stares at Boom Boom for several intense minutes, almost as if he’s trying to read her mind and figure out if she’s telling the truth. He then talks quietly with several of his fellow natives.

  While they’re conversing with one another, I whisper to Boom Boom, “We have to get free. If Klaxton is here… if she sees us…”

  “I know,” Boom Boom whispers back, struggling against her bounds. “Trust me, I know.”

  Thiago finally turns back to us. The first sign that things are starting to go our way is the fact that he’s no longer pointing his spear at my chest.

  Speaking slowly and deliberately, in his somewhat charming broken English, Thiago says, “We let you live… for now. As long as River confirm your story, you stay alive. But if she does not…”

  The surrounding natives finger the triggers on their guns.

  “Then you suffer same fate as Ramirez and his men.”

  I gulp
and say, “We understand.”

  “So what happened at Ramirez’s compound?” Boom Boom asks. “Did you wind up killing everybody?”

  The way Boom Boom asks the question, I get the sense she wouldn’t be too upset if the answer was “yes”.

  “Most, but not all,” Thiago replies darkly. “Some flee like cowards. We burn their farm to ground. My men look for those that ran. If they know what good for them, they never return to jungle.”

  “What about the women and children we rescued?” I ask apprehensively, almost afraid of the answer. “Are they… are they okay?”

  Thiago’s eyes well with tears, which causes a sea of dread to rise up inside me. “Most were killed. Several wounded. Only few not hurt. They say you help them. That why you still alive. But still need to find out what you doing with my daughter. When she wake up, we find out. Until then, we let you free. You no big threat.”