by Jamie Davis
“Military rations sounds just yummy,” Clara joked. “Still, it’s better than nothing. Let me see what we have.”
Clara opened the basket and pulled out several plastic-sealed containers Kurt recognized as the standard field rations for the army. He’d eaten many of those over the years.
“This will do very nicely.” Clara smiled as she opened one of the containers and activated the integrated heating unit.
“This smells like some sort of hot fruit compote,” Marci said as she fired up her meal after adding some water from a canteen in the back of the wagon.
Kurt sat down cross-legged near where Claire and Marci sat at the edge of the wagon behind the ATV. Together the three of them dug into their food. He was always surprised by how hungry a running retreat could make you.
Altogether, the food was quite good, considering what it was. When they had finished the meal and replaced the trash in a bag to clean up and hide any trace of their stopping there, Kurt cleared his throat.
“I know you have some sort of a plan, Marci, but I think at this point with the General’s soldiers everywhere nearby it’s kind of falling apart.”
“Not necessarily,” Marci said. “I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
“Like what?” Claire asked.
“Let’s just say we need to get closer to the gate before I can try to make any of them work in our favor. I still think our best bet is to wait until dark and try to move them. Hopefully, the General’s patrols will think we are not coming this way. They might think we retreated back to the mountains with Ayleeya’s raiders since that’s who I showed up with.”
“That is a possibility,” Kurt said. “Still, it’s a lot to rely on. I try to limit the number of ‘ifs’ in a plan when putting it together.”
“You’re lying, Kurt Carter,” Clara said. “You always fly by the seat of your pants. There have always been ifs in every single one of your plans I’ve ever been involved with.”
Clara pointed at him and continued. “Don’t sit there and try to make Marci feel bad because one of her plans isn’t working as perfectly as you expected it to.”
Clara knew him very well and Kurt realized he wasn’t going to argue his way out of this one, especially since two women sat there glaring at him right now. Kurt raised his hands in mock surrender.
“Tell you what, ladies, why don’t the two of you lay down and get some rest. I’ll take the first watch and keep an eye out in case any of the search parties head this way. I’ll wake you in plenty of time for us to scoot out the back of this thicket and get away before anyone arrives here.”
“That is an excellent idea,” Clara said. “I can’t believe how tired I am even though it’s only mid-day.”
“Hey, I’ve been up most of the night traveling here with the mountain raiders on those crazy hexamounts. I would be happy to catch some Z’s.”
Marci handed Clara one of the blankets and then took one for herself. She went over and curled up against a fallen tree nearby to put something at her back in case of trouble. Kurt respected that. It was always good to plan ahead in case of ambush.
That was something he learned through his many years in special operations. He wondered where Marci had picked it up, then realized it was something she probably learned from her father. He would have taught his daughter something like that if he had one.
Thinking about Trent reminded Kurt he was going to have to explain how he got Trent’s daughter caught up in all of this when he returned to Earth. He suspected Trent was going to be less than pleased with the way his daughter had been running around some strange barbarian planet, stirring up rebellions and getting involved in pitched gun battles with stolen military hardware.
That didn’t even account for how she managed to break into a National Guard Armory. Perhaps, they could figure out a way not to tell him exactly what happened.
While the ladies settled into getting some rest, Kurt picked a spot near the edge of the tree line where he could see most of the valley nearby and watched for signs that any of the roving patrols were heading in their direction.
Everyone at this point seemed to be concentrated around the main road about a kilometer away from where they hid. It was the dirt track leading back to the gate and all the patrols seemed to be well off in the distance. He was not going to count on things staying that way, though. Kurt decided to remain vigilant. It wouldn’t do for them to be caught unawares.
Chapter 20
Kurt let the two women sleep for three hours. It was just getting dark when he went over and wakened Marci so she could take a turn on watch. Then he took one of the blankets and curled up next to another fallen tree across from where Clara was still sleeping.
Kurt watched her face, relaxed in sleep, thinking back to a time when they were still married. He had always enjoyed watching her at times like this when her guard was down. He felt like it was one of the only times he looked at Clara’s true self. It had been a long time since he’d gazed at her this way. It was still difficult to think about how they had drifted apart.
Kurt didn’t even remember falling asleep, only realizing he’d drifted off when he was shaken by the shoulder to wake him again. Clara stood over him in the darkness. It took him a few seconds to figure out what she was asking of him.
“What, Clara? I’m up, I’m up.”
She bent down and pressed her fingers against his lips. “Keep your voice down, Kurt. There’s a patrol nearby. Marci says we need to move.”
“Why didn’t you say so?”
“I just did.” Clara spun around and started throwing the blankets and packs in the back of the wagon, packing up and trying to cover up evidence that they stayed there. Kurt jumped up and helped her and then climbed in the back of the wagon while Clara jumped on the back of the ATV behind Marci.
“Everyone ready to go?” Marci asked in a hushed tone.
Clara and Kurt nodded and the youngest of the trio started up the electric motor. With a quiet hum, they rolled through the edge of the woods in which they were hiding and out onto the grassy plain again.
Kurt could see lights moving in the distance. They were still a ways off but definitely coming closer as the nighttime patrols continued their sweeps. He also saw several groupings of campfires along the area where he thought the road to the gate was. That showed where the bulk of the General’s forces had camped for the night.
It was lucky they had the campfires and the lights to show where they were. It helped the trio avoid capture, at least for the time being.
Marci didn’t go very fast on the ATV. It was dark and they couldn’t afford to use their headlights. Even with the moonlight, she was having difficulty seeing where they were going across the uneven ground.
On the plus side, they were moving so slowly they made hardly any noise as they crossed to the north and attempt to circle around and come at the gate from the opposite side.
Kurt was the first to spot the patrol nearby. It seemed to be paralleling them to the left about a kilometer away maybe less.
“Marci, look to the left. I think we’ve been spotted.”
“It could be a coincidence,” Marci said after glancing in that direction. She didn’t sound convinced, though. Even in the darkness, Kurt didn’t have to see the worried look on her face to know it was there.
Clara shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Either way, we have to keep going. They have either seen us or they just happen to be going in the same direction.”
“Let me change our course a little and see if they change course to match us.” Marci turned the ATV a little to the left and started down a small slope into a hollow that momentarily hid them from view.
Since they were out of sight for a few seconds, she gunned the ATV’s motor and picked up speed moving along the small depression in the landscape to break away from any pursuit. Kurt approved of the idea and he turned to scan the area to the left looking for evidence of any pursuit.
As Marci drove up the em
bankment taking them out of the depression, she almost ran over the lead member of another patrol crossing the grassy area on the other side of the hill.
There was some confusion and shouting as they zipped passed the General’s soldiers. Then they were off and running, bouncing along the uneven ground at full speed as it careened down a steep hill and towards another small cluster of trees. Kurt pointed ahead of them. “Head for those trees, Marci. We will try to lose them when we come out the other side.”
“I’m already on it. Hold on.”
Marci continued at their top speed and Kurt nearly pitched out of the back of the wagon when they hit a rather large bump in their path. He pulled himself back inside, holding onto the wagon’s sides with white-knuckled desperation. At this point, all he could do was hold on and try not to fall out.
They had to keep going as fast as they could, though. There was no choice. The crackle of gunshots sounded behind them. They had to keep going and try to break contact.
There was shouting in the distance all around them, carrying through the night over the hum of their motor.
They’d almost reached the tree line when more figures moved out of the woods and bright lights blared in their eyes, blinding them momentarily.
Marci slowed to a stop and turned to the side.
A loud, familiar voice called out to them. “It’s no use trying to run anymore,” The General said. “We have you surrounded.”
Kurt spun his head around searching all directions as more lights turned on from the various patrols that had formed a rather quickly constructed circle around them in the distance, cutting off all options for escape. Marci swung her head from side to side while she sat atop the ATV. They were about fifty meters from the edge of the tree line and the nearest of the bright lights. That was where the General’s voice came from.
“What do we do?” Marci asked.
“We surrender.,” Kurt said. “There is no other option. Don’t worry, we’ll get another chance to break free.” Even as he said it, he wasn’t so sure it was the truth.
As Kurt, Clara, and Marci put up their hands and surrendered, soldiers rushed from the tree line up to them disarming Marci and Clara of their pistols and taking the three of them into custody.
The ones who came for Kurt were rather rough jerking him out of the back of the wagon and dropping him unceremoniously to the ground. As they did, one of the guards searched through the blankets and bags in the back of the wagon and yelled, “I found it.”
He held up Jonesey’s box. Kurt cursed under his breath from where he lay on the ground. The General sure had taken a liking to that box and apparently wasn’t going to let it go. Kurt hoped whatever Jonesey had in there was worth all the trouble he was going through to get it back for her.
“You two have caused me no end of trouble,” The General said as he walked forward out of the darkness. “I see you also have found a new friend. What is your name?”
“Marci, what’s yours?“
“You can just call me the General for now. I wonder who you are in relation to these two? I found out from a few of my soldiers that they omitted telling me about you and your daring escape after your arrival. I think you will be one I need to watch very carefully.”
“Don’t blink,” Marcie said. She had a huge grin on her face despite the desperate circumstances. “I might disappear right before your eyes.”
“Kurt, you seem to have a penchant for surrounding yourself with feisty women. I like it. Women like that are more fun to break to your will.”
Kurt shrugged. “They usually find me not the other way around. Sometimes I think it’s a curse.”
The General laughed at his words and waggled his finger at Kurt. When he stopped laughing, he motioned to the soldiers surrounding them to bring them along. “Come, my friends. It is time to have you show us through the gate to your world. I would like to see it for myself, first hand.”
“I’d be careful,” Kurt said, trying to build doubt in the General’s mind with his bluff. “There are likely to be a lot of soldiers from my world on the other side of that gateway.”
“You’re not going to fool me, Kurt. You can’t bluff your way out of this. There’s absolutely no reason to expect any activity on the other side of this gate. I’ve heard from the men I’ve sent through that it is located in a very remote area of your world.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Soldiers hustled Kurt and the two women along while one of the General’s men got on the ATV and drove it off into the darkness. It looked like they were going to be walking, Kurt thought.
The three humans stumbled through the darkness. The soldiers around them did not use flashlights anymore and Kurt soon realized the lights they had seen in the distance had been used to herd the three of them in the direction of where the trap had been laid. None of the patrols needed lights after all. Their eyes saw easily in the dark. It had been part of the ruse to capture them.
It took the group almost an hour of walking to return to the area of the gate. Kurt could see the blue glow of the open gateway in the distance. Since this was a permanent gate, that glow always signified where it was and it was easy to pick out in the darkness.
He wondered if the theft from the National Guard Armory on the other side had stirred up the hornet’s nest he thought it would. He hoped that threw a monkey wrench in the General’s plans. It should give the three of them a chance to escape again. Of course, that was going to take a good deal of luck.
They were about a hundred meters from the gateway walking up the slope towards it when a crackle of gunfire sounded to the left. Several of the General’s soldiers fell over, hit by gunfire.
Based on the increased rate of fire, Kurt realized it was modern weapons from Earth.
That meant one of two things.
Either people had moved through from his world into this one, or, there were members of the mountain raiders Marci had befriended out there in the darkness attacking the General’s men.
Kurt, Clara, and Marci all dove to the ground to take cover as a hail of bullets whistled past them in the darkness.
The alien soldiers returned fire with their smoothbore, muzzle-loading weapons and the General called out orders trying to organize his relatively small force into a defensive perimeter facing to the left.
Kurt reached out and touched Clara’s pants leg where she lay on the ground in front of him.
She glanced back at him and he jerked his head to the right and effort to tell her it was time to run in that direction.
Clara nodded in agreement and reached out to tap Marci on the shoulder where she lay next to her. Kurt looked to his right and saw that all of the guards who would have been watching them were involved in reloading their weapons and returning fire as fast as they could.
Marci was the first move and, as soon as he saw her get up and start running, Kurt jumped to his feet and followed her with Clara right by his side. He hadn’t recharged his personal shield since deploying it earlier in the day so he had to rely on speed and an effort to keep low, presenting as small a target as possible.
Marci pointed to a rocky outcropping nearby and they all turned in that direction, diving behind the small cluster of boulders on the side of the hill.
“We’ve got to make a dash for the gate,” Marci said. “It’s our only chance to get out of here in one piece.”
“I agree,” Clara said. “Maybe if we move around the other side of these rocks we can find a way to stay in cover and get closer to the gate.”
Kurt shook his head. “You two go. I’ve got to go back and get that box away from the General.”
“What the hell is in that box that’s so important you think Jonesey needs so badly?” Clara asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” Kurt said and shrugged. “I don’t let things I’m supposed to deliver get away from me. It’s part of my reputation.”
Clara rolled her eyes. “Kurt, you’ve got to stop worrying about that kind
of thing. We are in the middle of a firefight here.”
“You two can argue between yourselves later,” Marci said. “I’m going to work my way around these rocks and see if there’s a way to get closer to the gate.”
She crawled away from them leaving Kurt and Clara alone behind one of the boulders. Clara flinched closer to him when a ricocheted bullet pinged off the rock close to her head.
“Kurt if you go out there, you’re going to get yourself shot. Who would I have to complain about then?”
“That’s just a chance you will have to take.” Kurt pointed in the direction Marci had gone. “Follow Marci. She’ll be able to help you get back to the other side. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
Clara stared at Kurt for a few seconds, then she turned and looked in the direction Marci took.
She shook her head and sighed, reaching out to squeeze Kurt’s hand. She let his hand slip away and started crawling after Marci.
Kurt was glad she’d finally decided to listen to him. Now he wouldn’t have to worry about either of them and he could concentrate on getting the box back.
He lay on the ground and crawled to the edge of the boulder to peer around the other side.
The General had gotten some reinforcements coming in from other parts of the valley nearby and he had arranged his forces in a defensive line facing the direction of what Kurt assumed was a mountain raider attack.
The General strode behind his soldiers, pointing out targets and shouting orders. Kurt couldn’t fault his courage. The man was a natural leader.
Jonesey’s box was visible, the edge of the glowing runes peeking out from the bulging fanny pack hanging from the General’s belt. It would be easy to run up tackle him from behind and retrieve the box.
Well, maybe not easy. The General was a pretty big guy.
Kurt started to move back towards the rear of the alien battle line. When he was about twenty-five meters away, he got to his feet, ready to charge in and tackle the General.
