by Jordan Ervin
“You know,” William began with a frown, “I wanted to believe your story. I wanted Adam to be right about you and I wanted to help you, but you were so….” William paused, his eyes narrowing as he glanced beyond Edward into the night. After a pause, he breathed a curse and grabbed Edward, forcing him to the steel walkway underfoot. “Stay quiet and don’t move. There are headlights to the south.”
Edward lay back against the cold steel, his eyes wide as he glanced from William to the headlights. Five sets of headlights raced across the highway’s circular exchange in the distance. Despite the fear at what would happen if those cars stumbled upon their convoy, Edward shifted his gaze back to William. Edward was no fool, and he knew he was either leaving that tower by himself or he was not leaving it alive.
So as William was preoccupied with grabbing his radio, Edward reached down toward his pistol.
“William to Adam; come in,” he said.
Edward slowly wrapped his fingers around the handle.
“This is Adam,” Adam replied. “What’s up?”
Edward fought down the anxiety that threatened to overwhelm him as he silently drew the pistol from its holster.
“I think I see—”
William turned to Edward quickly as the gun was raised. Edward pulled the trigger three times as William reached out for him. The gun fired with a series of hushed clicks and Edward flinched as a cloud of crimson coated the steel walkway. The first round struck William in the face, while the other two pierced his torso. William’s body twitched violently before slumping forward against the steel walkway.
“Repeat that again,” Adam called back over the radio. “You were breaking up and I missed that last part. What do you see?”
Edward’s eyes went wide and he nearly began to panic. His mind raced as he tried to conceive a new lie.
“What do you do?” Edward whispered quietly as he breathed heavily. “Come on, Edward, think!”
Once three precious seconds had passed and nothing came to mind, he wondered if he could use Bond’s long-range military rifle to open fire on those below and shoot his way to freedom. Still, his best attempts to imagine that scenario playing out in his favor were fruitless. He’d never make it out alive if he tried to gun down forty armed people.
He looked southward at the headlights that cut through the darkness. They had circumnavigated the highway off ramp and were now moving away from the convoy. He racked his mind, trying to think of a way out. He needed a new lie. He needed a distraction to help him slip away. Edward knew he stood no chance of fighting his way to freedom unless he found himself alone with only a few others. If only the cars to the south had attacked, he could have used the chaos to escape.
If only….
“Bond, is everything alright?” Adam asked again.
Edward’s eyes darted below as he quickly grabbed William’s rifle and radio. He then took a deep breath, hoping his new lie would buy him another day. He braced himself up against the side of the tower and used his feet to shove William’s lifeless corpse between the bottom rail and the walkway.
Edward then raised his rifle as he shouted into the radio.
“I’m not getting anything,” Adam said, lowering his radio. “I say we—”
“Men to the south!” Edward cried over the radio as something crashed into the ground beneath the water tower. “William’s down! I repeat, William is down.” Gunfire that was only partially muffled by a suppressor erupted from atop the water tower, causing Adam to duck as he spun.
A dark shape lay on the ground thirty feet from where Adam and the others had stood. Adam ran over to it as Gene began barking orders.
“Get Lillian!” Jack roared from behind Adam as he began to run.
“Everyone get ready to move!” Alan shouted, bolting for the vehicles.
More gunfire echoed from the tower and Adam glanced up. The flash from the muzzle of the gun lit the side of the dark tower a hundred feet above them. Adam knelt down next to the body on the ground, his eyes wide as he lowered his gun.
“It’s William!” Adam shouted. Blood poured from wounds on William’s temple and chest. A ghastly abrasion and grime covered the side of his head that was now sitting atop his crooked neck. Adam didn’t need to wait for the doctor to know that William was dead. He cursed and grabbed his radio. “Edward, get down here now. We’ve got to move!”
“Son of a bitch,” Gene said as he knelt down next to William. He lit up his flashlight and pointed it at the fatal wounds. “Son of a bitch!” Gene rose, spewing profanities as he raised his rifle and searched for targets. “Everyone stay down and get to your vehicles! They’ve got a sniper out there.”
“Where do we go?” Adam asked as the entire party began to fill and startup their vehicles.
“We make a run at the I-Fifty-Five Bridge. It’s the only option. We’ll have to fight our way through and pray we don’t lose anyone else. Now let’s go!”
Adam leaned down to grab William by the shoulders and haul him to the back of a vehicle that was skidding to a halt next to him. Gene glanced down, the fury of a soldier filling his eyes. “Leave him.”
“Leave him?” Adam asked. “But Gene—”
“Damn it, just do it!” Gene bellowed. “It’s the world we live in. Women and children sold as slaves while fallen comrades await the ravens.” Gene paused, glancing down at William before cursing under his breath. “Strip him of his ammo and then we’re gone.”
The final vehicles in the convoy pulled up as Adam grabbed anything useful from William’s corpse. By the time he finished, Edward came running up next to him—his vest covered in blood, his face with fear.
“What the hell happened?” Gene barked as Adam and Edward jumped into the bed with Jack. Gene jumped in the driver’s seat, turning around to speak to Edward through the rear window that had been lowered.
“We saw headlights to the south,” Edward said, his eyes darting around in shock. “William tried to locate it with his scope, and the next thing I know his head explodes and he drops his rifle before tumbling over the railing. I picked up his radio and gun and began firing where we saw them.”
“Did you hit anyone?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know!” Edward replied. “I just picked up the gun and fired. I’m not a soldier. I didn’t think—”
“You did the right thing,” Adam replied, before motioning to William’s rifle. “Just be ready to use that again. There’s a blockade on the bridge. We’re going to have to take them out to cross it.” Edward took a deep breath before clutching the rifle closer and nodding his head. Adam glanced up at Gene in the driver’s seat of the truck. “How much further?”
“A few minutes,” Gene replied, picking up the radio. “We need to be quick. There were six men guarding the eastern blockade. If we time our shots right, we can drop them all at the same time. We’ve got enough suppressors to do it quietly. After that, a few of us can cross to try and clear the western side of the bridge while the others stay back and watch the rear.”
“I’ll do it,” Adam said, setting his rifle down as he screwed a suppressor onto the end of its barrel. “I’ll clear the west side.”
“Good,” Gene said. “Who else?”
“Me,” Jack said. “If there’s more than we can handle on the other side, we’ll radio back for more help.”
“I’ll go too,” Edward said quickly, a newfound eagerness in his eyes as he nodded to Adam.
“I thought you weren’t a soldier?” Jack asked.
“I can do this,” Edward said before mumbling inaudibly to himself. He shook his head and looked up at Adam, a fierce determination in his eyes. “I need to do this.”
“Good,” Gene said, slowing the truck to a halt a third of a mile south on Riverside Boulevard. “Alright, before anyone sneaks across to clear the west side of the bridge, we need to take out the guards at the eastern blockade.” He grabbed his radio and spoke to the convoy behind them. “We’ll clear the way as best we can. Leila, y
ou drive this truck. If push comes to war, we’ll lay down and cover fire for you to lead the convoy across the bridge. Alright, Gene out.” Gene lowered the radio and hefted his rifle, taking a deep breath before looking up at the others. “Let’s roll.”
Adam opened the door and jumped out, holding his rifle as he glanced back in the direction they had come. He half expected to see headlights approaching behind the convoy, but nothing moved in the darkness. He turned to Edward and Jack as they leapt from the truck.
“I don’t see anyone,” Adam said.
“Then let’s not wait for them to show up,” Jack replied as they jogged to catch up with Gene. They passed the vacant homes as they approached a burned-out apartment complex. Lev, Alan, and Marc jogged next to him. Gene slowed as he made his way through the ruins of the burned-out structure. He held up a fist and Adam lowered to a crouch as those next to him did the same. He tried to steady his breathing as Gene continued through the building and disappeared out the north side of the building.
Adam glanced over at Jack and Alan, the two ex-cops eyes gazing forward intently as they focused on the darkness Gene had disappeared into. The blockade was nearly two hundred yards past the burned-out building. Adam glanced north toward the city and began to think of the women and children living in its’ hell. He wondered if they could have done something to free some of them. He thought back to before when the urge to aid those enslaved was so strong it had almost been audible to his ears. He wondered….
Help them!
The voice rocked Adam and he swayed. It came from all directions, as overpowering and imposing as it had been in Chicago and DC. He didn’t know if the voice was that of God or his own instincts crying out for him to do what he knew he should.
He wanted to help. Everything inside of him knew risking his life to save even one slave was a worthy mission. He lowered his head, wondering what a small company of armed men could do against an army. He wasn’t so sure they’d be able to cross a bridge and face off against a few guards without losing someone else. He hated calling the shots almost as much as he hated war itself.
“Alright,” Gene said, snapping Adam back. “There’s a park just to the south of the bridge. It’s dark and has some trees we can use as cover. It’s a slightly inclined shot two hundred and thirty feet out. Good news is I don’t think they heard the suppressed gunfire at the water tower, but keep your eyes open. Edward, you keep William’s rifle. It has an automatic range finder on top and should help you hit your mark. Everyone else, I’m counting on your ability to aim straight and true. Remember, center of mass. One round to the chest from a hunting rifle packs more than enough stopping power. Call out if you miss and I’ll do what I can. Alright men, follow me.”
They all rose and quietly shadowed Gene through the remainder of the structure. Gene led them through a shattered front door and to the park beyond. Thicker clouds now concealed the moonlight overhead as they slowly made their way through the darkness. Adam continued to breathe deeply as they approached the bridge. Gene paused and motioned for them to line up. He walked to Lev at the far left end of the line, leaning down to whisper. Gene moved down the line, speaking to each man quietly before he finally made his way to Adam.
“Red hat, camo pants. Medium-set with a goatee. You got him?”
Adam raised his scope, aiming toward the blockade. A few lights and four fires burning in trash bins illuminated the barricade. The eastern blockade was smaller than he imagined, composed of a handful of men who slowly paced back and forth in front of a chained gate and crude guardhouse. Adam scanned the guards before finding the man Gene had described. He turned to Gene and nodded.
“Alright, sixty seconds. Wait for my shot and don’t hesitate.” Gene nodded as he rose and stepped over to the right a few feet, kneeling down to a crouch as he raised his rifle.
Adam took another deep breath as he refocused on the man in the red hat. The man looked over in the direction of the city as he leaned back against the makeshift guardhouse. Adam blinked nervously and gazed at the stranger, taking deep breaths as he waited for the signal. While Adam lined up his crosshairs with the man’s chest, a haunting sickness settled into the pit of his stomach and he began to realize just how far he had fallen.
Every time Adam had killed a man before, it had been in the heat of battle as he fought for his own survival. Now, he was fighting for the right to cross a bridge. He had never before had time to think about his actions before pulling the trigger or raising the blade. As he crouched quietly, studying the man who he meant to kill next, he began to wonder about the man’s story. Adam wondered if that man had a family, where he was from, what path had led him to his final hour of life, and if that man was a Christian.
Though much of Adam hoped he wasn’t about to kill a fellow believer, he knew his actions very well could be condemning a man who had not yet given his soul to Christ. Adam’s breath seized up and he almost lowered his rifle to cry, realizing with horror that he would rather kill a Christian than an unbeliever.
What have you become? Adam thought, his sanity balancing on a knife’s edge.
Before he could answer his own question, the hiss of Gene’s suppressed rifle sounded off from the right and Adam pulled the trigger. The rifle kicked as four more hisses filled the air, but Adam quickly righted his scope to find the man in the red hat. The man clutched his chest, closing his eyes tightly before slowly slumping to the side, leaving a streak of red blood against the white wall of the guardhouse behind him. Adam scanned the blockade, searching for anyone left alive. He saw two men slumped over on a sandbag embankment but he couldn’t see any others.
“Everyone hit their mark?”
Each man quietly sounded off, confirming their kill. Gene nodded back and grabbed his radio. “Convoy, this is Gene. All clear. Get up here and get ready to move. We’ll meet you at the blockade. We need to cross fast.”
Gene rose and motioned for the others to follow as he jogged across the park toward the bridge with his rifle at the ready. As they hopped a chain-link fence, Gene slowed, raising his rifle to scan the dark interstate to their right.
Adam immediately ran over to the man in the red hat—a Boston Red Sox hat that slowly absorbed a growing pool of blood. The man was slumped on the ground, his lifeless eyes gazing into nothing.
You had to do it, Adam thought as he suffocated the urge to vomit. You had no other choice!
“Let’s not waste time,” Gene said. “Adam, Jack, Edward—you’re up. Lev, you go too. Three’s company but four has the beginnings of an army. Stay in the shadows as much as you can. Remember—you’ll need to move fast and hit faster. That bridge is a good half mile long. We have no idea how many are behind us or if they know where we went. All I know is we needed to be across this bridge five minutes ago.”
“Will do,” Jack replied.
“We’ll be easy targets out in the open street,” Lev said. “Let’s stay against the pedestrian railing on the left side of the bridge.”
Gene nodded his head and turned to Adam. “Radio back if there’s more than four guards and we’ll send in the rest. Godspeed.”
Adam nodded his head as he followed Jack toward the bridge, breathing steadily as he attempted to rid his mind of the man he had killed, as though that were possible. They jogged at a brisk pace, Jack at the front, Lev second, Adam third, and Edward at the rear. Adam glanced back at Edward as they moved.
“You doing okay, Edward?” Adam asked quietly.
“I’m fine,” Edward replied.
“You did a good job warning us on that tower,” Adam said, glancing to the side at the river. “I know it’s tough thinking about what happened to William, but try not to dwell on it. It wasn’t your fault. Got it?”
The pathway changed to steel grating—their boots thumping against the metal quietly in the night. Adam continued forward, waiting for Edward’s response. When Edward didn’t answer, he turned around to look at him. As he did so, he bumped into Lev with a surprise. Lev
caught him and held up a hand as Adam turned to look at him, motioning to the river. Jack had paused too, gazing through his scope at the black waters below.
“I don’t see it anymore,” Jack finally said. “I swear something was there.”
“You swear what was there?” Adam asked as Edward crouched behind them, his gun held at the ready.
“I saw a boat,” Jack replied.
“I thought Gene said the river was empty,” Adam asked.
“That’s what we heard in town,” Lev replied as he continued to scan the dark water.
Adam raised his scope and looked down at the river, searching for whatever Jack had seen. All he saw were black waves barely illuminated by the hidden moon. After a moment, he lowered the rifle and looked back at Lev.
“Did you see it too?” he asked.
“I didn’t,” Lev replied, turning to Jack. “You sure it was there?”
“I trust my eyes,” Jack replied. “I saw something.”
Adam nodded and glanced back through the scope, searching again for any sign of a boat.
Nothing.
All he saw was lapping water, the glinting moon, a floating log, and….
A bright spotlight broke through the darkness, shining directly on the bridge where they crouched.
“Move!” Lev shouted as he dove off the steel pathway toward the concrete barrier. As Adam raised his rifle—squinting against the afterimage that had temporarily blinded him—something snapped underfoot. The steel grates shifted and a sudden sense of weightlessness overcame him. He cried out in shock while the screams of Jack and Edward filled the air. The dark night swirled around him as he fell—a plunge through darkness cold.
And just as soon as it had all happened, he struck water, a frigid awakening enveloping him.
Adam gasped and his mouth filled with icy water. Pain quickly shot up from his legs and he opened his eyes to the black water. He was disoriented and dazed with shock. He attempted to look for the moonlight, but the water was too murky for his gaze to penetrate. He tried to calm himself and trust his instincts as he dropped his rifle and swam for what he hoped was the surface. His lungs felt as if they were going to burst while his heavy clothing and boots slowed his swim to an agonizing crawl. After fifteen endless seconds of scraping through midnight sludge, his face broke through the surface.
