Path of Ranger: Volume 1

by RJ

  Josh kept a half full bottle of fresh water in his hand. He offered it to JB. The mutant took it and took a few sips. He turned back to fire.

  “So, what’s the plan, JB?” the captain asked.

  “We go along the shore until we see the wall. Then we get to the other side, where a mercenary camp is. They have some air transport there. That’s our way out,” JB responded still watching the fire.

  “Mercenaries, right? So, this island isn’t deserted after all?” Wash wondered.

  “That’s right. They guard local farmers.”

  “How many of them? How do we fight them?” Skyman took back the initiative.

  “Don’t you worry. They aren’t your problem. You just stay close to me and do everything I say.”

  “Don’t they know that we’re here?”

  “Sure, they do.”

  “Then, why didn’t they show up for all that time?”

  “They don’t care about you. Most likely, they were counting on those monsters to slaughter you all,” JB explained carelessly. “One thing, they did capture Mia after the crash.”

  “What did you say? Are they keeping her as a prisoner?” Ellison got alerted.

  JB stalled for a second.

  “No, she’s with Gibson,” he said. “Haven’t I said that?”

  Just then he noticed that he couldn’t recall clearly the events of the last night. The intoxication passed, but along with part of his memories.

  “Who is this Gibson?” the woman asked.

  “A friend. Mia’s fine. At least, she was when I saw her last time.”

  Ellison seemed to have another question, but Skyman gave her that look, as he demanded his say back. Not making an argument there, the doctor gave it up and went to check on her patient.

  “Why would those people give us their transport?” Steven asked.

  “They won’t. They probably will try to kill us. As I’ve said, that is my concern, you just don’t jump under the bullets.”

  “How are you going to counter a group of armed mercenaries?”

  “I think I can handle it… According to our intel, most of them don’t have combat experience.”

  “What about me? I can help you, I have a lot of experience,” Wash looked a bit upset that JB ignored his military rank. But JB didn’t do that on purpose, he just wasn’t aware of it.

  “Really? Okay, we may use you then,” snapping out of his own thoughts, Jerry finally looked at the men next to him. “You two ask a lot of questions, but no one asked the right one yet.”

  “What do we do?” Skyman said thoughtfully.

  “Guess again.”

  “Who’s going to fly the planes?”

  “That is the right question,” the big guy smirked and turned back to the fire. “Skyman, you and I are flying those things. They are called swingers.”

  “Never heard of such a machine,” the pilot admitted.

  “Yeah, no sane person would call them that. But yet, there it is. A few stoned minds made that up,” JB explained. “Nothing unusual there. You’re gonna do fine. Just remember, soon as you’re getting into the air, fly away, don’t stop. You’re to take all of the passengers. Gibson and I will cover you. If we’re down, you use your chance.”

  By that time JB hadn’t shown any of his personal qualities but enormous strength and cold-bloodedness. So hearing such selfless words from him seemed strange to others. Skyman realized that he couldn’t match as a leader to JB.

  “And that Gibson guy, who is he exactly?” Steve wondered.

  “An ally, you’ll meet him soon. Your job is to watch over the others, they need to follow the instructions precisely.”

  JB was done talking. He lifted a bottle from the ground to drink up. His gaze went deep into the fire.

  Both men, the group leader and his second in command, saw in the mutant’s face that he wouldn’t say anything more to them. Nevertheless, the main topics were discussed, and they really needed a rest. Plus, the most important reason of JB’s credibility was that he hadn’t failed them once yet.

  After the conversation, Skyman and Wash went to check on Vladimir. Meanwhile, El and Tina came to take over their seats next to the mutant. JB didn’t move. Tina sat on the rock that was further, leaving the closest one to El. But El stayed behind him. She put a hand over his shoulder and drew lower with her fingers tickling his bare skin. The big guy looked at her, she seemed worried.

  “Jerry, where did this come from?” she held her hand around his ribs area, where a few deep cuts were.

  The cold she felt in her fingers after some time of touching him made her remove the hand. JB wriggled to see what she was pointing at. Because of the cuts were made over ‘blood stain’ tattoo, he hadn’t noticed then earlier. But he could feel it with his hand. Then Bridgers recalled as last night one of the creatures hit him during the fight. No wonder that spot was itching for the last several hours. Yet, he thought all that time that he had got away just with the sliced t-shirt.

  “I fought in the jungle last night.”

  “OMG! He speaks!” Tina sarcastically pointed at his rude ignorance.

  In return JB just gave her emotionless glance. Then he looked aside to see how a few people gathered near the wounded young man. The mutant picked up a small twig from a pile of firewood to clear it from the bark.

  “Stop it,” El said to her friend. Then she took that empty seat. “Do you need help with those cuts? I can bring Ellison, she’s a doctor.”

  “No, I’m cool. He needs her more,” JB nodded at Vladimir.

  Along with that, he silently thought about such ‘useful’ help that the girl had offered, meaning to outsource it to someone else.

  “It was very brave of you to come back for us,” the blond continued.

  No response followed.

  “Hey, are you going to tell us what happened to you there?” Tina asked.

  “I don’t think you wanna know that…”

  “Why did you wear that blindfold; don’t you get blinded by it or something?”

  “You ask too many questions,” JB had a feeling of déjà vu. “You better get some rest. This trip ain’t over yet.”

  He put a stripped twig into his pocket and hid the knife away.

  “Fine, if you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to. But we aren’t going anywhere,” Tina said and then she moved the rock closer to her friend.

  The girls sat tight next to each other and kept sitting there enjoying the fire. JB checked his things, they had dried out enough by that time. So he got up, put on a shirt, then – the shoes. He looked at the timer, there still was a bit of time.

  He looked at people every now and then, and they were checking out him too. They seemed scared, but not as much as the night before. Ten hours earlier their faces were exposing a deadly terror, it had changed. They looked more worried about the unknown now, not an unavoidable death. They believed the hunter would protect them against the monsters, the mercenaries, and any danger there was. Just like a guardian angel he had appeared in the right moment to save them. JB could see those hopes in their looks. Only, he wasn’t sure if he could suffice.

  After gibsonium had become a part of him, his mind changed. The world around him changed, it looked different. A black hole emerged in his soul. The mutant gained the unique ability to consume the surrounding energy, to feel a life around him. He had never been tied to this world in such way before. Yet, he felt lonelier than ever. JB couldn't see the things in an ordinary manner anymore, people seemed different to him. He didn’t feel himself as one of them. They were strangers. Deep inside he knew that Jerry Bridgers had died that night when he was attacked by the monster for the first time. Two hours of clinical death wasn’t enough to take away his life, but it sure had taken his personality. He became a different thing – half human, half something else…

  The new world was ahead of him. Dr. Gibson had told him that several weeks in the past, but JB realized the meaning of those words just now. It was time to
make a choice, whether he would take lives, or the other way around – carry life.

  It was time to act. JB walked away from the fire, leaving his company there. He came to Ellison and Vladimir. The closer he got, the stronger he sensed Vova’s weakness. The wounded student could barely breathe. The doctor had given him a few shots of painkillers to lower the pain but it didn’t do much good. As soon as Ellison noticed the mutant, she rose to meet him. She walked him aside for a private conversation.

  “How is he?” JB asked.

  “He’s in critical condition. Unconscious most of the time, but when he wakes up, he’s delirious,” Ellison shared her concerns.

  “You look tired,” JB put a hand on her shoulder. “We have about ninety minutes left. Go get some rest.”

  “I’m fine, I stay with him,” she said and yanked back right away.

  “I look after him, you go,” JB insisted.

  “Okay, but if anything…”

  “I’ll call you immediately. Nothing is gonna happen. I promise.”

  The doctor was exhausted and the hunter was persuasive, so she used that advice. Plus, she trusted JB, perhaps more than anyone among the group.

  As soon as Ellison left, JB came to Vladimir. The wounded guy lay on the hard shelf surface. His eyes were half open. That lifeless stare made his look even more pitiful. His chest was pumping too frequently, because of all those stitches, he couldn’t breathe in full capacity. JB sat down beside him.

  “Wow, man, you look terrible.”

  Fighting the pain Vova tried to move his lips to respond. It came dry and silent at first but got better in a few seconds.

  “Wait for me to get up,” Vladimir coughed. “I’ll kick your ass, B. You bet.”

  “Yeah, right…” JB smirked.

  Vova tried to smile in return. The pain got worse, he couldn’t open his eyes no matter how hard he tried. Nevertheless, he was glad to hear the voice of his friend.

  “Look, man. I need you to be strong now,” JB said quietly, then he put a cleaned twig to his mouth, which he had made a few minutes before. “Here, squeeze it with your teeth.”

  The mutant wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing, just followed his hunch. A few times before, when touching other people, he had felt a bond. In those cases, he was consuming their energy. This time Bridgers intended to share his own strength with Vladimir if it was possible.

  The right hand laid on Vova’s face, the left one – on his damaged chest. This way he tried to set up a contact for better experiencing the nature of the illness. The mutant could feel his breathing, his heart rate. He closed eyes to see deeper. The contact was growing. JB felt blood running through the patient's vessels, muscle tension, but it wasn’t enough. He had to go even further. JB had fully deepened into the mind search, as a damage detector, he tried to find a malfunction in the broken mechanism which Vladimir’s body was for him.

  Hearing Vova’s inner voice, JB gradually started to feel what he needed. The pain emerged in the mutant’s chest. Although he knew that it was just an illusion, it felt very much real. Then he stumbled upon something alien, something that wasn't supposed to be in that organism. That was a virus, which had polluted Vladimir’s body. It kept spreading.

  When the reason of the illness was revealed, JB began looking for a solution. He focused on his own inner energy, imagined as of it was gathering in his chest. Then he thought of how that force might be going through Vladimir’s blood vessels burning the viral cells on the way. The mutant had no conscious idea how to initiate such a process, but his palms were heating up already. His own force transmitted to the patient’s body. JB’s pain lowered, but Vladimir’s increased. He coughed, seized and sweated coldly. The pain made his jaws squeeze the twig. The mutant felt a rise in the body temperature of his comrade. It already was critical, a bit longer in such a condition, and the heart might fail. Nevertheless, JB kept pushing.

  In a minute, that torment made Vladimir gain consciousness. He thought that he would die any second. But only after opening his eyes, he saw that JB was sitting in a few feet apart from him. The mutant had done everything he could, it was patient’s turn to fight. The pain gradually passed. Vova got exhausted, he lost passed out once again.

  When the deed was done, the hunter laid down himself. He wouldn’t mind having a snack. Unfortunately, he hadn’t brought any meal with him, and eating the group’s food felt wrong. One thing that warmed him was an image of being back on the continent, where food supplies were unlimited. JB stared at the sky. He thought involuntarily that, maybe, he might even miss this place after leaving it.

  The break time was up. JB had found Skyman to tell him to gather up everyone. As for himself, he went to check on Vladimir. Ellison and Steven were already there. The big guy took a seat near them.

  “JB, did he act strangely when you were here?” Ellison wondered.

  “Not really, he just laid there,” JB shrugged.

  “It doesn’t make sense… The heat dropped and the heartrate is normal now. I’ve never seen anything like that. Some kind of magic or something…” she said sarcastically.

  “So, is he better?”

  “Much better. The important thing now is to transport him carefully.”

  “J, take a look,” Steve called for him. “We’ve made this.”

  Wash was standing there along with Eugene, Fred and Vitaliy. They held a self-made stretcher, which were assembled from a couple bamboo sticks and a yellow raft fabric. It looked pretty solid.

  “We thought since we don’t need a raft no more, we could use it this way,” Fred explained.

  “Yeah, I see,” JB noted. “Get rid of everything that we don’t need. Any extra weight will slow us down.”

  The group gathered near the edge of the shelf. The mutant stayed behind to put out a fire. He did that very carefully, to eliminate any possibility of its spreading. Everything was ready, they went back on the path. Only seven hours left.

  When moving across the coast, the previous formation was reused. JB led the group, others followed him in a column, the men carrying Vladimir stayed in the rear. The hunter dedicated his attention to the road.

  Seven hours after…

  The group of survivors led by the mutant-thug walked ten miles along the coast. Most of the time they were hiding, climbing and waiting on JB. He preferred to scope each foot of the land before leading people there. So it went very dull and lingering.

  At the end of the road, they got on a plain rocky landscape with a high concrete wall built upon it. That fence was coming from the jungle and lasted far into the water. Every fifty yards of the wall had a massive reinforcement pillar with a turret on top of it. JB expected something like that, recalling data from Gibson’s blueprints, but seeing it with own eyes was an entirely different thing.

  Soon as they had a first glance at that gigantic structure, JB took the people into the jungle. He knew about the advanced surveillance system, and the last thing they needed was to get caught. They found a proper safe place inside of the thicket so JB could leave to find Dr. Gibson.

  The most important part of the mission lay ahead. JB tried to tune himself for it. He ran along the wall keeping some distance and staying hidden in the jungle’s edge. As for the wall, the nearest ground to it was salted, nothing grew there.

  When he got approximately around the agreed point of their meeting, JB had to come out. Only there seemed to be a problem. There was no way to get close to the wall without being spotted by at least one of the turrets. So he improvised. The mutant picked up a massive rock and threw it in the closest turret’s direction. His goal was to check if it was functional, but as it appeared, he was a better pitcher than he thought. The rock hit the turret itself to smash it from the wall. No repercussion followed. The system was off.

  Gibson had to be somewhere close. JB wasn’t afraid of being shot anymore so he continued the movement closely to the wall. Soon the echo sounded from not far. It had to be Mark making a passage through the wall.


  When JB arrived at the place, he saw a huge drilling machine and a ten foot high mech standing along. It had a large cabin, made of titanium and carbon, massive mechanical hands, and armored feet. The titanium armor was everywhere on that machine so it could take a hit. Most of it was painted in white, but the panels seemed old and rusty. Yet, this metal giant made a pretty solid impression on JB.

  The mech was standing near the drill. Gibson looked very busy, he didn’t even notice JB’s arrival. Mia sat on a log aside, watching Doc’s work. Occasionally she looked around to check the area. Nevertheless, none of them could hear JB calling because of the drill. So he had to come closer.

  JB clapped the mech on a shoulder. It seemed like a good idea at first. But it appeared to be unexpected for Gibson. Out of panic, he swung the arm back, kicking with the elbow. JB dodged that attempt, saving his head. Then Mark stepped back with his left leg to change the angle and tried to hit the mutant with the right fist straight in the chest. JB flashed into a roll on the ground forward. He stood up in full height before the mech.

  Mia burst into laughter, watching that dumb performance.

  “Hey-hey, Doc! Cut it out!” JB shouted.

  Then Gibson finally recognized the intruder. He put the arms down and stood straight. A voice sounded from the speakers.

  “Oh, JB, it’s you there…” Mark said surprisingly. “Excuse me, I thought that was monsters.”

  “Damn, you made me nervous with all this Mu-Tai boxing, Doc,” the mutant replied. “Are you still high?” Not waiting for an answer, JB looked at Mia. “Is he?”

  Mia carelessly shrugged.

  “Who knows? I ain’t his babysitter.”

  “Where are everyone else?” Gibson asked.

  “Where is my mom?” Mia added.

  The big guy took a look at them both, suspecting some kind of conspiracy.

  “They are close. I wanted to find you first,” JB explained. “So, how are we doing?”

  “Nothing to brag about by now. The drill did seventy-five percent of the work, but there is a problem. The inner layer of sensors has an independent power supply, so no turning them off. When a vibration level hits its limit, the alarm will be activated. Now, when the wall got thinner, the drill almost hit that vibration level.”