On The Run

by Scott Medbury

  These guys were U.S. army. But how could they be? I tried to stop him when he bent over and reached for Luke’s throat. He brushed me away.

  “Easy, son.”

  He felt for Luke’s pulse and immediately called out.

  “We have a casualty over here! I need a medic and a stretcher!”

  Two men materialized with a fold-up stretcher and I watched them carefully lift my friend onto it as the man led me over to the rest of my group. As we joined them, still with their hands in the air, the two men carrying Luke jogged past us and through the open door of the lodge.

  “Where are they taking him?” Sonny asked.

  “He’s in good hands. If he can be saved, the doc will save him,” said the gray-haired man who had ordered the others to put down their weapons. His features looked like they were cut from granite and there was an air of authority about him.

  “We came because we heard the Morse code message on the radio,” I called, as I was pushed into the huddle. “We’re looking for sanctuary, not trouble.”

  Looking at the men, I reassessed my initial impression. Not all of these men were soldiers, not by any stretch.

  “You can’t take them in Randall! They’re spies.” A man with a long, bushy beard and his gut straining against the material of his white uniform pushed forward. “Hell, they led the fuckers right to us! They even brought one of the Chinks with them. We should waste them now!”

  “Watch your fucking mouth Leroy, or I’ll waste you,” Randall snapped.

  The fat hillbilly was only able to hold the fierce stare of the older man for a few seconds before looking down at his feet.

  “We’re going to take them to the Professor,” Randall addressed all his men. “Just like we do for anyone who answers the signal.”

  I took a closer look at Randall, impressed by his handling of the loudmouth. He looked fit and hard although he was by far the oldest man in the group, clearly military or ex-military, and obviously the leader.

  He looked us over with steel blue eyes.

  “Each of you stay right where you are. A couple of my men are going to come and search you. If you make any move at all I consider threatening, you’ll be shot, no questions asked. Do you understand?”

  We all nodded. I understood the words, of course, but was struggling to understand why this was happening ... had the message been a trap all along? Or where they just being overly cautious?

  As the men stepped forward to search us, I realized they were a real mix. Some white, some black, at least one of them looked Hispanic. There were no Chinese men among them, not even a vaguely Asian-looking person. There were also no women, for that matter.

  My brain worked furiously, trying to figure this out. Had these people avoided exposure to the Pyongyang Flu? Or were they somehow immune? Could there be some sort of vaccine against it? I had hoped we might find safety and answers here at Drake Mountain, but so far we had only found danger and more questions.

  The men quickly patted us down and checked our bags, confiscating blades and anything else that might be used against them, before collecting our firearms from the floor. Sonny soon had a scattering of knives and shuriken on floor by his feet. Indigo’s revolver was taken away, as well.

  While we were being searched, I noticed another group of men cleaning up the mess left by the firefight. I had to admit, they were quick and efficient. Clearly they wanted no trace of the firefight remaining if the Chinese came looking for the missing soldiers and helicopter.

  The search was conducted without any hiccups and we were directed through the front entrance of the lodge. Overhead lights were switched on and we shaded our eyes as their leader, Randall, came forward.

  “Zip tie their hands and black bag them and we’ll head out.”

  “Surely there is no need for that?” Sonny said, taking a half step towards Randall. “We’re on your side ...”

  There was a click-fizz sound and suddenly Sonny jerked up straight, his arms locked at his sides before falling to the ground and convulsing spasmodically.

  Brooke screamed and the humming sound faded, leaving Sonny a twitching heap on the floor.

  It was Leroy. He had a Taser in his hand, the wires running to small prongs in Sonny's back. Enraged, I took a step forward, only to feel the hand of one of my captors grip my shoulder firmly; the guns of the men around us kept everyone else at bay.

  “I still say we waste ‘em – or at least the Chink…” began Leroy.

  He didn’t get a chance to finish his thought, because Randall stepped forward and grabbed him by the throat.

  “We don’t know he is an enemy, Leroy,” Randall grated through gritted teeth. “You have to look deeper than a person’s skin. Do you understand?”

  Leroy, his face now a distinct purple shade, dropped the Taser and tried to pry the fingers of the old man away. Randall squeezed harder and shook him a little.

  “Do you understand!?”

  Leroy nodded desperately and patted the back of Randall’s hand. The old man released him and he fell to his knees, sucking in deep, sobbing gulps of air.

  “Good. Now get him up and bound. If he doesn’t reach the professor in one piece I’m going to gut you.”

  Randall’s words heartened me a little. At least we were being taken to see someone. Maybe this Professor guy would be more reasonable, but where was he and why were they going to ‘black bag’ us?

  The men that had searched us went around to us one by one, starting with me. My hands were pulled behind my back and secured with a plastic zip tie, tight enough to hold them, but not tight enough to cut off circulation.

  All around me the rest of my group were being similarly treated. I caught Indigo’s eyes and nodded reassuringly before a black sack was pulled down over her head. I did the same for as many of the others as I could before my own head was covered and the world went dark.

  Sightless and surrounded by armed men, of which one, at least, was dangerous, I was as scared as I ever remembered being in my life.

  “Now, we’re going to lead you through some tight places,” I heard Randall say from in front of us. “And it’s going to be a bit of a hike. You’ll be fine as long as you stay on the path and don't do anything stupid.”

  A hand grabbed my shoulder and prompted me forward.

  “Let’s go, people! Leroy, cut the lights!”

  PART THREE

  DRAKE MOUNTAIN

  19

  The black sack over my head rendered me blind and helpless, totally reliant on our unseen captors to ensure I was guided safely to wherever they were taking us. The feeling of helplessness bothered me almost as much as not being able to see.

  It took five or so minutes to have the confidence to take more than baby steps. During that first phase I could sense that we were still indoors and I heard doors closing behind us every hundred steps or so and felt like we were travelling through hallways and passages towards the rear of the lodge.

  We didn’t climb any stairs so we were definitely still on the ground floor as we made our way slowly on our unseen path. Finally, after what seemed like a black eternity I heard a warning given in front that we would be walking down a staircase. The hand that had been gently guiding me took my upper arm more firmly, stopping me in my tracks, but not before I bumped into the person in front of me. They felt soft and I thought it might be one of the girls. Indigo, perhaps?

  “Stop here for a moment,” a man’s voice said close to my ear. There was a pause of a few seconds, and then he said, “Okay, we’re going down the stairs now. Just take one step at a time… slowly.”

  The mind plays tricks when deprived of sight and my imagination had my foot waving over a bottomless abyss as I gingerly lowered it. When the drop to the first step was deeper than I expected, I trod heavily and overbalanced, before the unseen hand of my guide steadied me.

  “Easy son, take your time.”

  I thought I recognised the voice of the soldier who had seized me straight after the h
elicopter had come down. That man had been competent and not unkind during that whole episode.

  “Thanks,” I said. “I’m Isaac, what’s your name?”

  “My name’s John.”

  I took a stab in the dark to confirm my suspicions.

  “Thanks for having them see to Luke so quickly…”

  “No problem, I hope he makes it. For now though, you might want to save the conversation and concentrate on what you’re doing.”

  It was him. I did as he suggested, satisfied that I had at least made a small connection with him. We reached the bottom of the staircase and I heard a noise like bar locks being pulled and a door opening, followed immediately by a frigid breeze. I was guided through the doorway (I could tell by the drop in temperature) and my feet found the ground suddenly rough and uneven.

  I won’t describe every step of our journey that day, suffice to say it was the most terrifying and surreal three hours or so of my life. I know better now, but in the absence of sight, my mind convinced me that we were on a narrow mountain trail that clung to the side of a cliff, and that with every step there was a danger that me or one of my group would fall into an abyss. I couldn’t help picturing Frodo and his company climbing the precipitous mountain path in The Lord of the Rings movies that I had seen years before. Right then, I didn’t feel anywhere near as heroic as I remember the Hobbits being.

  About twenty minutes into the hike, one of the girls squealed somewhere in front. I tensed and waited for a long, fading scream that never came. Whatever the issue, it brought our procession to a standstill for a moment. I don’t know if it was Indigo or one of the other girls that had squealed, but my heart was in my throat until the calm, authoritative voice of Colonel Randall got us all moving again. I stumbled many times, thankfully saved each time from a fall to the ground or worse by the steady, ever present hand of John.

  After roughly an hour and a half we were brought to a halt again and Randall’s voice rang out. “We are going to rest here. My men are going to free your hands. If any of you do anything stupid you will be Tasered and I can’t guarantee your safety, given that there is a rather steep cliff just a few feet from you.”

  I heard someone coming along our procession and the intermittent snick of a sharp blade before strong hands gripped mine and cut the plastic tie securing them. I said thank you and rubbed my wrists to get the circulation going again. We were told to sit on the ground and after I had seated myself on the cold unyielding rock, I was handed a small paper wrapped package.

  “Something to eat,” a voice, not John this time, said.

  My first instinct was to be suspicious of the proffered food, but of course, if they were going to kill us they would have done it back at the lodge. I unwrapped the package and with my probing fingers felt a soft crumbly square of something. Some sort of baked food. I raised it to my nose and smelt a vague hint of cinnamon and raisins. My mouth immediately began to water and I bit into it without any further ado. None of us had eaten in a long time and the biscuit or whatever it was, was impossibly delicious.

  After I had scoffed it down, I used my fingers and tongue to ensure that I left no crumb on that paper. I didn’t know when we would eat again. I heard someone pause in front of me and a cold metal cup was pressed into my hand with a simple order to Drink. This time I thought I recognised the nasal voice of Leroy, the redneck. The canteen contained cool water. It had also been a long time since I had quenched my thirst, so I guzzled it.

  After about ten minutes we were directed to stand and our blind trek continued. I had the feeling that it wouldn’t have been easy in any circumstances, let alone blind. There were periods of steep climbing, but mainly I got the sense that we were winding our way downwards. It was difficult and rocky and at no point did I become comfortable.

  After another tortuous hour or so, we were again brought to a halt. I heard the voice of Randall, up ahead. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but his tone led me to believe he wasn’t talking to anyone in our group. I assumed he must have been on a two way radio or something similar. Following the brief conversation, I heard a deep humming from the same direction followed after a few seconds by a loud metallic clunk. At this point we were told to move forward.

  As I shuffled forward the cold wind suddenly died away and the rough ground flattened out into what was clearly a smooth, man-made floor. I sensed an enclosed space and then behind me, the hum started up again followed by the clunk of metal doors closing. The noise of the wind died away. We were in the facility they had spoken off. The ‘Safe Haven’. We had made it. I felt relief, but not the euphoria that I would have expected. The rude welcome we had received meant that I still had a vague uneasy feeling to temper any sense of achievement at reaching our hard won goal.

  We were guided for thirty or so steps and then I heard another set of doors close behind us. I desperately wanted to see where I was but had to settle for using my imagination to paint a picture. I imagined a large cavern, carved out of the bedrock of the mountain with a polished concrete floor. We were herded in a straight line for another 100 feet or so before turning right and a few minutes after that we were told to stop again. Somewhere in front of us I heard a whispered conversation between our captors before they started us moving again.

  “Will you be taking off the sack soon?” I asked John when I felt his hand on me again.

  “Soon, just a little longer I promise.”

  He was good to his word. After about another five minutes of walking we halted and I heard another door open in front of us before we were guided on. Hands stopped me after a few feet before turning me around. For a minute or two I didn’t hear anything except footsteps and some whispers.

  “You may want to close your eyes,” a voice said behind me, making me jump.

  Without further warning, the black sack was pulled from my head and harsh fluorescent light knifed my eyes. I closed them quickly, and kept them closed until I felt I had given them enough time to adjust. I opened them again, blinking frequently until my eyes adapted to stark electric light.

  We were in a hospital ward, or what looked like one. The walls were stark white, which only intensified the brightness of the fluorescent lighting. Through watery eyes, I squinted around the room and saw that there were four beds with medical equipment positioned beside them.

  I was about to turn and look for my comrades when my gaze was drawn to a large plate glass window in the wall opposite us. Through it I could see two men in scrubs standing over a bed, and instantly recognised the shock of red hair at the head of the bed…Luke!

  “Where the Hell is my sister!”

  The angry voice behind me snatched my attention before I could step up to the glass and I turned to see a furious Ben and…no-one else. No Indigo, no Brooke, no Allie and no Sonny. Colonel Randall stood in front of Ben looking calmly down at the English boy. Flanking him was another armed man that I didn’t recognize. This one was in a black uniform, not the white camouflage that our rescuers (or captors) had been wearing. He looked serious and competent. To his right was a balding man in a white coat.

  “Don’t worry about the girls, young man. They’ve been taken to another ward so that the medical staff can tend to them,” said Randall.

  “Why can’t they be tended to here?” asked Ben, bluntly.

  “It’s just the way it is. Believe me, you don’t need to be concerned. You’ll be together with them as soon as you’ve all been checked over and treated for any injuries.”

  “What about Sonny?” I asked.

  “The Chinese man? He is receiving treatment too, he bumped his head when he fell. After he’s seen to, he’ll be questioned.”

  “He’s not Chinese, he’s as American as you or me,” I said, controlling the anger I felt.

  Randall eyed me for a moment, weighing me up.

  “Then he’s got nothing to worry about. You’ll all be able to see each other soon enough, but for now, Dr. Radisson here is going to see to your wounds and gi
ve you a physical, then you can shower and have something to eat.”

  Ben looked like he was going to protest but I cut him off. These guys had all the power… for now. “Okay, thank you. When do we meet this Professor person?” I asked.

  “When you’ve all fed, watered and settled in. There is no rush, you’re safe now.”

  “What about Luke?” I asked, nodding in his direction.

  “Your friend is a lucky boy,” said Dr. Radisson. “The bullet missed all of his vital organs, although he has lost a lot of blood. They are just stitching him up now. Luckily he is type O, we have plenty of that in stock, although he made a very decent dent in our supply. We have a compulsory blood donation policy here in the Facility, it will be replenished quickly. Your friend should be up and about again in a week to ten days.”

  Relief washed over me. Luke’s gunshot and subsequent collapse made me realize how close I had become to him. We really were as close as brothers now, our bond forged by adversity and respect. Not only did we have that bond, but I genuinely liked him and had come to rely on his smarts and advice during our long journey.

  “What is this place?” Ben asked the doctor. “Some sort of Government facility?”

  “I know you have a lot of questions,” Randall interrupted. “And they will be answered, but for now, let’s get you cleaned up and treated so you can get some food and rest.”

  Even though we hadn’t had the baked snack long ago, at the mention of food my stomach began an impressive rumbling. Close behind it in urgency was my need for sleep. I had no idea what time it was, or even what day, but my eyes had that dry, stinging feeling they get when sleep is well and truly overdue.

  “I’ll leave you with the good doctor, Williams here will see you to the showers after your examination.” He nodded to the doctor and left.

  20

  “Okay to start with, please remove your clothes down to your underwear,” said the doctor, as he went to the large window and pulled a curtain across. Before he blocked the view, I saw that the surgery on Luke appeared to be over. One of the surgeons was scrubbing at a basin and the other was gathering up instruments. I finally let myself relax and felt fatigue eating at me as Ben and I stripped down. We placed our filthy and foul-smelling clothes in a plastic bag that the doctor held open for us.