by Paul Moxham
As green bolts hit the snow all around him, Kenneth raced down the mountainside. He was so annoyed with himself. He knew he had no chance in hell of outrunning the Seod on foot, but with no snowmobile and no skis, he had no other choice.
As he twisted and turned, he glanced back. The Seod was closing in fast. At this rate, he’d be within touching distance in ten seconds.
Kenneth had experienced quite a few close calls during the years, but none, not even the recent event at the lake, came close to how scared and frightened he was feeling right now. He felt as though he was on death’s door with only a matter of seconds left to live.
~*~*~
Logan put his weapon down when he saw that it was Muscles. He looked angry. Real angry. He stopped the vehicle and stiffly climbed out. Blood was dripping down his right leg.
“What happened?” Xavier blurted out, gazing back and forth between Muscles and the only other occupant of the Humvee. He was young, around seventeen, and had a stone-cold face. It took a few seconds for Xavier to realize why he looked so similar to Muscles. “I didn’t know you had a son.”
Muscles nodded briefly. “Well, I do. Name’s Jake, but people call him Jet.”
“Jet?” Logan questioned. “What kind of name—”
“You have a problem with that?” Jet asked, walking forward, an intense look on his face.
Logan raised his hands as he saw the boy’s physique. He was muscular as well. Not as much as his father, but big for his age. “No, I don’t have a problem. Good to meet you, Jet.”
“What the hell happened?” Baldy blurted out, striding forward. “Why didn’t the distraction start at zero hour?”
Muscles tried to keep his voice down as he replied, but Logan could see it was hard, because he was so angry. “Sanchez knew we were coming.”
Peter looked shocked. “What?”
Muscles explained. “We got to the intersection with ten minutes to spare. My men and I set up. It was all going according to plan, but then the convoy didn’t show. I should’ve realized something was amiss, but didn’t. Suddenly, snipers shot at us from the rooftops. We tried to fire back, but then they threw tear gas, and I ordered a retreat. My son and I are the only ones that got out alive.”
Logan frowned. “I wonder why we didn’t hear anything.”
“They had silencers attached to all their weapons,” Muscles said. “Presumably, they wanted everyone else to not assume that something was wrong so that they could catch the rest of the group at the warehouse.”
“Did you pass by it?” Baldy questioned.
Muscles nodded as he sat down on the sidewalk. “I saw a glint of something shine from around the corner. That was enough to make me run.”
“What bad luck,” Baldy stated, sitting down.
Peter snorted. “Hell, it wasn’t bad luck. Somebody snitched on us.”
Muscles sighed. “Peter’s right. The operation was too clean-cut. They knew about the distraction and the warehouse. God knows what else they know about.”
“What about Alpha?” Baldy asked.
“Alpha? Who’s Alpha?” Xavier said, frowning.
“A spy,” Jet said. “But he isn’t responsible.”
Muscles and Jet shared a look between them. It was clear to Logan that they disagreed.
“Alpha is the code name for our man in Sanchez’s headquarters,” Jet said. “He’s the one who informed us about the convoy.”
“And the convoy didn’t come,” Baldy said.
“Alpha isn’t to blame,” Jet repeated. “He wouldn’t do a thing like that.”
“Then what happened?” Logan asked.
“I only told a few people about this,” Muscles said. “Apart from Alpha and Jet, the only other people that knew the location was your lot.”
The four, Peter, Baldy, Logan, and Xavier, were shocked. Xavier was first to speak. “You don’t think …” Before he could finish talking, Jet pulled out a pistol.
Striding toward them, Jet put the weapon to Logan’s head. “Admit that you’re the one that spilled the beans. Admit—”
“Hold it, son,” Muscles interrupted, standing up. “This is not—”
“Shut up, Dad! One of these men is responsible for killing those men back there, and I’m not going to put the gun down until I find out who it was.” Jet glared at Logan as he released the safety catch on the pistol and put his finger on the trigger. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t pull the trigger right now.”
Logan’s face might not have shown it, but he was scared. He had seen men like Jet before, and there was no use arguing with someone like that.
“This has gone far enough!” Xavier said, walking forward. “I think—”
“Shut up!” Jet pointed his pistol at Xavier. “Make one more move and I’ll drop you dead where you’re standing.” He turned to Logan. “So, what’s it going to be, pal?”
~*~*~
The sun was setting as Molly saw a cave. She didn’t know if it was the cave that Doug had meant, but it didn’t matter. With darkness not far away, any hideout would do. She cried out, “Look!”
Derek glanced up and smiled. “Good spotting.”
The two of them hurried to the cave. After glancing around to make sure that no Seods were around, they walked inside.
They didn’t go far as they didn’t have a flashlight on them, just far enough to get out of the blinding snow. As Molly sat down on a rock and rested, Derek glanced into the depths of the cave. “I wonder where the canned food is.”
“If this is the cave that Doug meant, then the food is probably stored at the back of the cave,” Molly said. “But, as it’s dark, we’ll have to wait till Kenneth shows up. And if he doesn’t show up, then maybe this isn’t the right cave.”
“Do you think he’ll have a flashlight?” Derek asked.
“I don’t know, but what else can we do?” Molly stood up and moved over to lay down on the cold, hard rock. “I’m so exhausted from all that walking that even lying here feels good. I can’t be bothered searching in the darkness right now.”
Derek, who was feeling hungry, decided he’d see if he could find anything. Putting his hands out in front of him, he stepped deeper into the cave. Going slowly, he didn’t feel anything for the first couple of feet.
Then his foot hit something. Bending down, he picked up the object. It felt like a can. “I found something!” He walked back to Molly.
As he got to the front of the cave, she saw he was holding a can of beans. He showed it to Molly. She took it from him. “Good. We don’t even need a can opener.”
“Well, that shows that Doug knew what he was doing when he put this stuff here. I’ll see if I can find anything else.” Leaving the beans with Molly, Derek walked back into the cave.
He did exactly what he had done the previous time, and just like before, his foot knocked over another can. After picking it up, he hurried back to Molly.
“I found a second one!” Derek whooped, waiting until he’d reached his sister before he looked to see if it was the same sort as the first can. He frowned. Turning it around in his hands, he stared at it, almost as though he couldn’t believe what he was holding in his hands.
Molly, who was still lying on the cave floor, gazed up at him. “What’s wrong?”
Without a word, Derek handed her the can. He watched as she studied the can of beans. It looked exactly like the first one he had found, except for one thing—there was a big claw mark along one side of it.
Molly stared at the mark. It had evidently been made by something with sharp claws. “Do Seods have sharp hands?”
Derek shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“So, what does?”
“Ah, well, I’m not that good with biology and that sort of thing, but most of the big mammals that hibernate during winter.”
“Whatever made those marks wasn’t asleep.”
“No. You’re right. But I think it’s pretty safe to say that if there was anything in this
cave with us, we’d have heard it by now.”
Molly relaxed. “I guess you’re right.” Kneeling down, she proceeded to lie down when she paused. “Hey, did you hear that?”
Derek shook his head. “No, what?”
Molly stood up and pointed to the back of the cave. “I thought I heard something come from in there.”
“What exactly did you hear?” Derek asked, now a bit scared.
“I don’t know. Just a—” Molly paused as she heard another noise.
This time, Derek also heard it. He slowly started to back away from the dark part of the cave. “I think I heard something as well.”
As Molly saw her brother retreating, she started following him. They’d crept out backward a number of feet before they both stopped in amazement and fright as a creature emerged from the dark mouth of the cave.
Molly was so scared that she screamed as soon as she saw what it was.
~*~*~
Time seemed to slow for Kenneth as he ran down the hill. A million thoughts raced through his head, but none of them involved escape.
Suddenly, the snow started to shift, perhaps due to the green bolts that the Seod was firing. With each passing second, more and more snow tumbled down the slope. Kenneth lost his footing and hit the ground hard.
He couldn’t see what had happened to the creature, but as the avalanche increased speed and thundered down the mountain, he realized that the snow was his biggest problem. With his arms protecting his face, he closed his eyes and waited for the roar of the avalanche to stop.
Chapter 15
Logan locked eyes with Jet. “I can help you kill Sanchez.”
“I don’t need your help,” Jet replied.
“Don’t be stupid, son.” Muscles strode forward and put his beefy hand on the pistol Jet held. “Shooting innocent people isn’t how I live my life, and you shouldn’t either.”
“But if he’s responsible for the killing of those men—” Jet said.
“You don’t know that!” Muscles grabbed the weapon from his son. “I know your best friend just died, but this isn’t how he’d have wanted you to act.”
Jet glared at his father. “John wasn’t just my best friend. He was my only friend.”
“What about Alpha?” Xavier asked.
“That’s complicated,” Jet responded.
“Isn’t there a chance that Sanchez found out who Alpha is?” Xavier said.
“I suppose so, but—” Jet replied.
“Xavier’s right,” Baldy interrupted. “We need to get to him pronto and sort this mess out. If we’re in trouble, chances are he’s in trouble.”
Jet nodded slowly. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He glanced at Peter, Xavier, and then Logan. “One of you is a spy. I’m certain of that. And if at the end of this mission I still believe that is so, I’ll kill you all.” He glared at them and then, before any of the three had a chance to respond, he walked away.
As Baldy, Muscles, and Jet had a talk, Logan and Xavier also had one, leaving Peter to keep watch.
“After we free Lucy, we’ll need to get the hell out of the building,” Xavier stated. “I’m not staying any longer than I have to.”
“You can leave now if you want,” Logan said.
Xavier shook his head. “No. I don’t go back on my word. I agreed to help you rescue Lucy and that’s what I’m going to do. I just hope Jet isn’t right about one of us being a spy. That would only complicate matters.”
Logan nodded and glanced at the others. They were still talking quietly. “I wonder if they’re talking about us or how to get into The View.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Xavier said as the others stopped talking and walked toward them.
Once everyone was in a circle, Muscles made a speech. “It’s clear to all of us that things have not gone according to plan.”
“You can say that again,” Peter muttered.
“Carlos Sanchez is not only a ruthless drug lord, but a calculating and thoughtful man,” Muscles said. “His attack on my men was well planned. If we’re going to have a chance at catching him, we’ll have to do the unexpected.”
“Like what?” Peter asked.
“He’ll expect us to run from here as fast as we can.” Muscles’s blue eyes glinted. “But we’re not going to do that. Instead, we’ll do the unexpected and attack The View tonight.”
“Tonight!” Peter muttered, stunned. “But I thought we’d go and meet with the others. You know, the ones that are set up on the other side of the city.”
Xavier frowned. “Yeah, didn’t you say your group was a few hundred?”
Muscles nodded. “Yes. But for all we know, they could have also been attacked by Sanchez. Besides, that’s what Sanchez would expect us to do: retreat, regroup, and then attack.”
“Because that’s the sensible option,” Baldy said.
“Maybe so, but Muscles is right,” Logan said. “The last thing Sanchez would expect us to do is attack.”
“Do you have a plan?” Xavier asked.
Muscles nodded again. “We’ll wait for midnight.”
“Why not attack earlier?” Peter asked.
“This plan will only work if Alpha helps us out,” Muscles replied.
“What? Why?” Logan asked.
“We’ll need him to distract the guard at the side entrance for five minutes,” Muscles said.
“How do we get in contact with him?” Xavier asked.
“Only Jet and I know, and I’m leaving it that way,” Muscles said, his eyes shifting back and forth between the others. “I don’t believe one of you is a traitor, but you never know.”
Logan looked at his watch. “How long will it take?”
“We’ll be back within the hour,” Muscles said. “Stay here and keep your heads down.”
Muscles and Jet made their way back to the Humvee and climbed in.
Logan watched them go. “We’d better find a place to hide.” He turned to Baldy. “Any suggestions?”
Baldy nodded. “I know just the spot.”
“Lead the way then.” Peter glanced around. “We’ve stayed out in the open far too long already.”
~*~*~
As Molly screamed, Derek opened his mouth, but he was too stunned to speak as the creature lumbered toward them.
While camping in Montana, he’d seen many black bears, but none were as big as the one confronting him now. As the animal stood up on his hind legs, Derek realized that it was easily six feet tall and probably weighed several hundred pounds.
“We should slowly walk backwards,” Derek said, finally getting his voice to work. Trying to contain his nerves, he stepped back.
“I thought you said bears hibernated during winter,” Molly muttered, also retreating.
Derek nodded slightly. “They do, but winter is almost over, so …” He fell silent as the bear growled loudly and dropped back down on all fours.
Glancing behind her, Molly saw that they still had a few feet to go to reach the trees. “Hadn’t we better run for it? He looks pretty angry.”
As they stepped onto the snow and the black bear lumbered toward them, Derek realized his sister was right. “Let’s hope he doesn’t follow us.”
The teens spun around and raced into a clump of pine trees as fast as they could. It didn’t take long for them to realize the animal was following their every move.
As they left the trees, Derek halted. A Seod stood no more than ten feet away. Molly bumped into her brother, and looking forward, she saw the Seod at the same time as it saw her and Derek. “Oh no!”
Derek’s brain went into overdrive as the creature pulled out his silencer. Derek raised his hands. “Don’t shoot! Please don’t shoot!”
The Seod stared at the two teens for a few seconds. Then, just as the creature stepped forward, Derek grabbed Molly, and they rushed into the clump of trees.
The Seod fired. As the green bolt headed toward them, Derek pushed Molly into a bush. They hit the leaves, and the bolt cont
inued past, blasting the black bear.
With an angry growl, the animal, now bleeding, lurched toward the Seod.
Derek pulled himself out of the bushes. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” The two teens hurried away, leaving the two creatures to fight it out.
~*~*~
As soon as the roar of the avalanche ceased, Kenneth thrust his hands about. He had to break through the surface of the snow within the next minute. He only had a limited amount of oxygen, and as he tried to make a hole in the snow, he had to gamble on the direction of the surface.
He scraped away snow, more snow, and even more snow, but the darkness did not turn to light, so he dug the other way.
As breathing became increasingly difficult and the darkness remained, a million thoughts raced through his head. Surprisingly, though, he was calm. Even though he knew that time was quickly running out, he didn’t panic.
Suddenly, his hands broke through the surface of the snow. With renewed vigor, he tore at the snow. Before too long, he took in several deep gasps of air.
After freeing himself, he glanced back up the mountain. He saw that he’d come quite a long way. As darkness was rapidly falling, he took out the flashlight from his backpack. Praying that it still worked, he flicked the switch.
A beam of light lit up the nearby snow. Deciding he’d rest when he found the others, Kenneth gingerly stood up. With the light showing the way, he ploughed up the slope.
~*~*~
“What if the bear kills the creature and comes back?” Molly questioned, her voice tense. She warily glanced toward the entrance of the cave.
“We’ll have to take that chance,” Derek replied as he looked up at the sky. “It’s too dark to be stumbling around in the snow with no flashlight. Besides, if Kenneth is going to find us, this is the place that he’ll search first.”
“I still don’t like it,” Molly muttered as she walked inside. “What if there’s another bear inside?”
“Well, I think we’d have heard him by now. If only we had a flashlight, then we could be certain. We could also find out if that rope is in the cave.” Derek paused as he thought. “I think I’ll take a chance. If I go one foot at a time, I shouldn’t run into any sharp rocks or anything.”
