by Scott Todd
Well you don't end up as a Secret Service agent close to the President by just needing a job, I reasoned. No. I did not want or need her influence on the rest of our group. For it would only lead to bad things. She was likely an opportunist- selfish, greedy, and blindly supporting of those legal criminals who would pay her to keep silent and just do her job. People like that needed to learn a lesson too. I was just as sick of them as I was the leaders, for without their loyalty and support, the leaders couldn't function.
Well with a lucky blow you might decapitate the beast, but you better watch out- cause his huge tail might strike you dead on the way down. The tail had to go too. It was decided.
I proceeded to do the unthinkable, but I cannot recount that tale here. It is far too gruesome.
Chapter 39: Only in the MC:TLSC- EXTREME Version
Chapter 40: Bloody Trails of Reunion
I now had another dead piece of evil meat I needed to dispose of, and fast. So I dragged it back up to the disposal site, to feed the animals some more. It was risky, but I reasoned they would probably be full and not bother with me- at least for a while. I was lucky I was right. No sign of them, but I left them the naked, bloody meal.
Then I buried her clothing and blood stains back at the kill site, and covered it all up neatly. "Seeing as you all were so good at cover ups..." I announced quietly, as I turned away. It had all disappeared into the fir needles, showing not a trace. But I retained the ties, the holster and larger gag, taking them back to cars.
As to all the blood in the car and the blood trail... Well hey, as my story would be told, and why I was gone so long: "I went looking for the boat, took forever to find it, floating way on the south side. But I finally swam out and got it, and secured it back at the shore. Then I hiked up the hill to look around the cars and see what we might take with us.
"I was shocked to see a badly injured man- he looked like a business man- laying nearly dead in the SUV, with blood all over the place. He had open, bleeding wounds on his legs and an arm, and this gun was just laying there next to him in this holster. I had to think fast to try and stop his bleeding, and didn't see that first aid kit Terry had, so I ran down to the dead sailors and cut a bunch of strips off their clothing for tourniquets and bandages.
"...But no sooner than I started back to the car, several mountain lions came out of nowhere and went straight for him. All of that blood must have drove them nuts. I don't even know if they saw me. But I tripped and dropped my rifle while I was backing up in terror. And before I could even get back up and fire a shot, they had dragged him up the hill and disappeared. I mean it was really horrible. But he must have been pretty close to dead already, cause he didn't even scream or anything." *Wink*
I wondered briefly if that would cover all the bases, but it would have to do. I had to get back to the others. And if anyone ever found a dead piece of female evil meat, well then hey, it was probably his companion. What a shame.
I randomly tossed the sailor's clothing strips about the rear of the SUV, and I headed back down the hill cautiously to the boat. I was so distraught at those damned mountain lions, that hey, I just wanted out of there and didn't take anything back with me. Darn. I wanted backup if we ever went there again.
But the real truth is, that I really WAS terrified of those things. Those snarls. And that hike back down to the boat was nerve racking by myself. But I made it, and there sat the boat. Blood stain and all. That was easy. A little seawater, a few rubs, and it was gone. And then I cleaned myself up too, best I could- but the random, splattered blood stains would not entirely disappear off my clothes.
As before, the water had further receded, leaving the boat on newly exposed, wet forest ground between reemerging trees. It took a bit to muscle it down to the new waterline by myself, but I finally pushed off, climbed in, and started the motor. "Ben, here I come," I thought. "You better be there."
As I putted along in the boat not far from shore back to the north side, I remembered someone and something about "No secrets!" Well, sorry Jan. Had to let you down there, cause I had one. Or two. And they were indeed going to my grave with me. For your good. For my good. For all our good. For the good of a radically opposite New World Order. Our New World Order. No New World Order. Just a New World. Orders were going to be as few and rare as possible- as long as I had anything to say about it.
I had time to settle myself and go over every detail of what I was about to tell them. But not before we made it back to the sub, I thought- because I only wanted to tell the tale once, to all.
I rounded the last bend to the right and saw both Ben and Gary, standing there talking on the shore. They looked my way and waved as soon as they heard the motor.
"Was getting worried about you," Ben said as I pulled up, and he grabbed the tie line. "Real glad to see you're in one piece... Everything alright? I see you finally found this baby," he said, looking at the boat, and patting it triumphantly. I turned off the motor and stepped out.
"Yeah, I finally did. Took forever. It was floating out there way down on the south side of the island. And there's some bad news, but I'll tell you all about it later."
They looked down and saw the faded blood splatters, and no doubt they saw the additional guns. But before they could ask, I said "So what's the deal with the sub, and how's the arm, Gary?"
"It hurts," Gary said. "And the sub was hung up on some trees. But it wasn't too bad, and we've already moved it, much further out. I was also able to do a couple of quick, needed repairs, but with this arm the going is pretty slow."
I looked out and saw just the vague, small black shape of it looming in the far distant water. "Well that's good," I said.
They both kind of nodded, but I could tell that there was something else going on. Ben was sort of disconnected from the small talk, and his pensive, brooding mood gave me a forewarning.
"What," I said, turning to Ben. "Spit it out."
"I'll tell you on the way... Come on, let's get back to the ship," he said, and he helped Gary into the boat.
"I'm all for that," I said with a sigh. "Kind of hungry and thirsty here." I untied it, shoved us off, got back in, started the motor, and headed out to sea towards the sub. I noticed the current was bit stronger as I steered it.
"That receding water rate has me pretty concerned," Ben said. "What I don't know is whether it is more of a local cause... Or... Whether it's coming from the event site in the Pacific. I'm hoping it's the former, and that the rate will start slowing. Because if it doesn't soon, and the output pressure at the event site drops fast enough, this ocean could become a raging torrent once again- except going the opposite way back to that... That... What is probably a massive gash in the ocean bottom. Being in a sub is not going to be a very good idea. We'd get swept away," he concluded.
His comments sank in. That could indeed be a death trap. And no sub meant staying on the island. I was heartbroken.
"Yeah, that's a pretty big problem," I agreed. "I'd say we better start thinking of ways we might be able to secure the sub then," I concluded.
"Agreed," Ben said. "But so far we have not been able to come up with anything. It's just too damn big. And if we leave it on land, we'll never get it back out to the sea that remains, thousands of feet lower. We've got no dock or means to do anything of the sort. And the immediate problem is that it could happen at any moment, without any further warning," he concluded.
"So then what you're saying is that we either make a run for it now in the sub and risk it, or give up the idea and stay on the island?" I said incredulously. I suddenly understood the urgency of the situation.
"Yeah, that's pretty much where we are," Ben replied. "And I am really struggling with what to do. I honestly don't know. But I will say this: That may be such an enormous tear, that the tremendous amount of pressure it took for deep gases or magma to blow it may have been released in two big bangs rather than gradually. There may not be enough gas or magma to sustain it very long with such a huge vent ho
le. And as the pressure drops, the water has less and less force pushing on it- so it recedes back towards the hole.
"All we really have is the water recession rate to go by," Ben continued. "That's my hunch at this point. I can't be totally sure. It's a tough problem in our situation, with no way to get more information on what is actually happening at the site. And not only that, but we also don't know just how much of the water will stay, and how much will go back. Forty percent or more might stay behind, leaving permanent new seas, lakes and rivers in random pockets," Ben concluded.
Gary raised a weary eye towards me with nothing to offer, and put his head back down. Ben went silent. I was mortified. We could be sucked back towards that hell hole like a drowning ant in a draining sink if we left in the sub. Shit! We were going to have to make a life or death choice, and fast.
Ben sure knew how to ruin a moment. Shortly after that we saw the sub getting closer, and saw Jan and Terry standing on the deck waiting for us, waiving. The problems I had just left behind on the mountain seemed miniscule compared to what we were really facing.
Just before we got close enough for the women to hear us, Gary said quietly- "If there are any Russian or Chinese military left, you better believe they are looking for any remnants of the US military- and that includes this sub. They might have a whole different outlook on this catastrophe. If ninety-five percent of your greatest foe is already dead... What would YOU do?" he asked us pensively.
Neither Ben or I dared answer. Instead we just stared at each other with a blank look- shocked. But a voice quickly yanked us back to reality, and there was no time to dwell on it.
"Finally! You're back!"- we heard Terry exclaim, sounding excited as we pulled up and disembarked. It was tough looking up at them, and knowing what I did at that moment. Knowing what we were going to have to tell them. But regardless, that time I made sure and tied the damn boat.
I looked at my watch. It was about 12:30 pm.
"We've got coffee and food ready!" said Jan, like she was proud to have done something good for the cause.
"That sounds great, thanks," I said, and briefly mustered a faint smile- but it was hard. I quickly looked away. Ben and I helped Gary and his gear get back inside, and he headed for the bridge to check on some instruments. The rest of us all went to the kitchen area and sat down. I collapsed in a seat and let out a huge sigh.
Jan and Terry quickly served up the coffee and produced a huge plate of ham and cheese sandwiches they had made. I devoured two silently, and Ben pretty much did the same.
Jan knew right away something was up. "You two seem awful quiet. Is everything ok?"
Ben snuck a quick look at me, waiting for me to say something. I put the ball back in his court with a sneak peek back. But then Gary came in and sat down. He snuck a sandwich, and looked straight down at my new holstered pistol while chewing, fixated. Then the rest of them fixated on it too.
"I noticed that while we were in the boat," Gary began.
"Yeah, things didn't go so well... I mean... Yeah, I found the boat, but... Well, some things happened back there. You might want to finish eating before I get into that," I warned.
"Found the boat? What do you mean?" Terry asked.
"Yeah well, it kind of... Floated away after the sub moved..." I looked down in embarrassment. "So I had to go after it. It went pretty far."
"Yeah, and we had a nice swim back to the shore. Didn't we, Brian," Ben smirked nervously. But I could tell he was just trying to put off the inevitable. I just rolled my eyes at him and half smiled, but then I got serious.
"Yeah well things got pretty rough back there, so easy on the humor," I said, and then proceeded to relay the entire account exactly as I had prepared it. Reactions ranged from horror to tears, and a long silence ensued.
"Jesus," Ben finally said. "PACKS of mountains lions now?" He sighed, silently knowing that we might have to go back.
Terry had tears in her eyes, and she and Jan just stared at me, horrified. "That's horrible! My God, I wonder who he was and how he got there," Jan said quietly.
"Can I see that please," Gary quickly said, pointing to the silver holstered pistol. It was more of a command than a question, like weapons were his department. I knew the risk I'd be taking handing that to a weapons officer, but I had no choice. I dropped the clip, and emptied the chamber. A single bullet came flying out and right into Gary's waiting hand. I passed the pistol to him, like I didn't care.
"I also found this one on the ground, at the edge of the parking lot," I said. I pulled the black one from my pants, and did the same thing. Again, Gary's awaiting hand caught the bullet.
"He might of had a companion," I said, as Gary carefully inspected the weapons. "But I don't know. Never saw anyone else. Maybe they were surprised by..."
But a sudden gasp, and a look of urgency on Gary's face silenced me, as he looked at one of the bullets.
"These are SIG P229's. Not uncommon, but these 357 caliber variants are almost exclusively used by... By... The Secret Service," he concluded. "My God, maybe they made it here," he said, looking up at us, wide-eyed. He quickly stood up, and grimaced in pain from his arm as he did so. "I've got to get up to the bridge, and..."
But Ben stopped him, and motioned for him to sit back down. "You know damn well we've got MUCH bigger problems than that," Ben said, very seriously and sternly. Gary hesitated a moment and thought about it. And then he sat back down reluctantly with a panicked look on his face, not knowing what to do.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he finally agreed. He looked up at Jan and Terry with a heartbroken, sad stare. "Go ahead... Tell them," Gary said.
Jan and Terry look confused and very concerned. "What now?" Terry asked. "Cause I don't know if I can take any more of this." She turned away, and started sobbing. Jan hugged and comforted her, but Jan's eyes remained riveted on us.
Ben immediately relayed to them our grave predicament. "...So yes, we've got to make a life or death decision to stay or go, and fast," he concluded morbidly. And then he turned to Gary and said "If anyone else shows up, then we'll have to deal with it then... But right now we cannot afford to go looking for anyone... Period. We need to think, and think fast if we are going to live through this."
Jan let go of Terry, and collapsed down into a seat with her head between her hands, looking down blankly at the table. She finally looked up at us with watery eyes. "You've gotten us this far, so whatever you decide. I'll have to either live with it, or die with you," she concluded, placing all her blind trust on our shoulders.
Terry nodded too with teary eyes, but said nothing.
On one hand, I was relieved that no further scrutiny was being put on my ordeal and cover story. But I would have been glad to endure full scrutiny of my story, to be out from under our more pressing, deadly issue. What on earth were we going to do?
"I just can't believe that you let Brian go off like that on his own," Terry said. "He could have gotten killed! What happened to our no separation rule?" she said, looking at Ben.
Ben thought a minute, looking down. "Well yes, I suppose you're right, but I really needed the time alone to think, examine the waterlines on the trees, and calculate. I am extremely grateful for that time. Without it, I may have not come to the conclusions I have."
Terry just shook her head, but couldn't say anything in response.
Her comment jarred a deep and fundamental question in my brain though. Looking up at them, I said:
"Well that brings about an important point. There may be times where separation proves advantageous. Risky, yes. But there is always sacrifice. And on that note, I think we better decide whether at this point our survival should be geared towards just our survival alone, or survival of the species. We don't know what the rest of the planet is going through. There could be wars over the remaining land... Even nuclear wars. There may be so few left that they may not make it. We just don't know WHAT'S going on out there. So do we plan for just us, or do we arrange things so that
humanity as a whole has the best chance?"
"Wait a minute," said Jan. "Surely you are not suggesting that we... We split up... Are you?"
"Well I don't know if that is even an option at this point... But if it is, I think it's something we need to consider," I pointed out.
"As hard as that may be, it may work out that way anyway," Ben began. "Gary, what is the absolute minimal number of people you would need to operate this sub? And I mean... MINIMAL!"
Gary hesitated, but really thought about it. "Well I'd have to be on the bridge for sure, but I'd HAVE to have someone in the engine room, and we could not make it without sonar. So three, I'd say. But that'd be extremely risky. It would cripple the capabilities of this ship. And none of you are trained... Oh God..." he said, looking hopeless.
"Well two things are apparent here," Ben said. "Number one, we MUST save this sub to have any chance at all beyond two weeks of survival. So that is a must. And number two, we must provide a way, and a last resort, for humanity to have the best chance- if we cannot accomplish number one, and some of us perish trying to save the sub. And beyond that we cannot do any more in our situation. The only way we can do both of those things at once is to split up... With at least one woman on each team. I know Terry here is fertile..."
