“Drone strike!” Chase and Wyatt said at the same time.
Megan heard the words that had been all too familiar in the news before the EMP. It seemed like drone strikes were a daily occurrence in the Middle East. She couldn't fathom one happening right here in their backyard.
“Drone strike?” she asked.
“It doesn't appear to be a very large drone,” Wyatt said looking in the direction of the flying object. “I don't think it’s armed. Someone is using it to check on the dam. I'm surprised Evan or Garrett hasn't shot the thing down yet.”
“They could be watching us. What if they told him we were coming and he’s waiting to ambush us?” Megan said, suddenly regretting their plan.
“Too late now. We keep going. I have a feeling this is all about to go down in a hurry,” Wyatt replied.
“Move!” Chase yelled, picking up the pace as they climbed the hill to the dam.
Megan's legs were burning with the strain. Her calf and thigh muscles were tight, but she pushed through the pain. She was thankful the sun had dried up a lot of the muddy slope or it would have been an even more difficult climb.
Wyatt held up a hand, ordering them to stop, and then closed his hand into a fist, indicating they needed to be quiet.
He turned his head and whispered to the group. “Stay covered. We need to get eyes on him before he sees us.”
“Should we fan out?” Chase asked. Wyatt nodded.
The drone was hovering above the dam. They could see it flying in a circle and then back around.
Megan wanted to shoot it down. It was invasive. She hated the idea they were being watched by some unknown enemy who could be miles away or hidden in the trees.
They slowly fanned out, doing their best to stay in the heavily treed area while the drone was making passes over the area.
Wyatt was crouched beside her.
“Where are Evan and Garrett?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I don't know. Maybe they saw the drone and took cover.”
“Do you think they have some way to communicate with each other if that drone does belong to that guy's boss or whoever is asking him to blow the dam?” she asked.
He stared out through the trees. “Probably. The drone is likely being controlled by someone in the area. That means the one planning to blow the dam is either up there somewhere or on his way.”
He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “Unless it's him controlling the thing. That would be ideal.”
Chase, overhearing their conversation, chimed in. “Why didn't they use the drone to blow the dam?”
Wyatt shrugged. “Hard to say. We know nothing about what is going on. It could be our own government trying to see what's happening.”
Megan held onto that glimmer of hope. If it was the US government that meant they knew something was happening up here. Maybe they were already taking care of the problem. She found it hard to believe anyone that was sitting across the country would know what was happening in the mountains of eastern Washington but it was a possibility.
The drone buzzed around the dam, slowing down and hovering around the area that had been patched. They waited to see what the drone would do next. It seemed to be looking for something and headed towards the tree line on the west again.
“It looks like a grid search,” Chase said in a low voice. Wyatt gave a quick nod in agreement.
“I need to get closer,” Wyatt whispered close to Megan's ear. “Stay here and cover me.”
She nodded. He made a couple of hand gestures, indicating his plan to the rest of the group.
Megan tried to calm her nerves as she watched him duck walk through the low brush that surrounded the trees they were currently hiding in. He dropped to his belly and crawled to avoid being seen. He managed to creep within fifty feet of the dam before freezing in place.
Megan's stomach flip-flopped. She raised her gun and peered through the sight, trying to find what had spooked him.
She saw movement to the left and quickly focused in her sight. There was an older man, limping away from the dam. This had to be the guy Wyatt shot. The same man who wanted to blow up the dam and wreak havoc on the area.
Megan quickly waved her arm to get Chase's attention. He nodded, indicating he saw it all.
She decided to take the shot, raised her weapon again and looked through the scope. She couldn't see him. He had disappeared into the trees.
Wyatt belly crawled to Megan.
“He already planted the C-4!” he whisper shouted to Chase and the rest of the group. “I don't see Evan or Garrett.”
Chase cursed. “Where are they?”
“I don't know. I have a bad feeling about all of this.”
“It can blow any second,” Chase pointed out the obvious.
The drone moved away from the dam and appeared to be scanning the area. It was only a matter of time before whoever was controlling the machine would see them hiding in the trees.
“We need to move, now. We have to stop him from detonating the explosive,” Wyatt said.
Chase agreed. “We flank him. Everyone spread out. The goal is to get the detonator. At this point, if you get the shot, take it. Don't hesitate!”
“On my count,” Wyatt said, holding up three fingers. They all crouched and got ready to rush the man.
Megan knew there was a chance one of them would be shot before the man could be taken down but it was a calculated risk. All they could do was hope they were faster than he was and if one of them were to be shot, it was a minor injury that Brenda's surgical skills could take care of.
They burst out of the trees, shouting for the man to stop. Wyatt took aim and fired, but not before the man jumped behind a large tree shielding him. He stuck his arm around the tree and began shooting at random.
Chase ordered them to drop. They all complied and dropped to their stomachs. The drone whizzed overhead. Megan prayed it wasn't an armed drone.
Wyatt took another shot at the same time there was a massive boom.
The man detonated the explosive! Wyatt's shot rang true and the man dropped to the ground beside the tree.
“He detonated the C-4! Look at the dam!” Megan shouted.
She pointed to where the mud patch had been. The thick cement was splintered in a hundred different directions and water was gushing out. It was only a matter of time before those splinters gave way to full-blown cracks and the entire thing tumbled into ruins with the force of the water.
Brenda rushed over to the man, put her fingers on his neck and declared him dead.
“We don't have long,” Wyatt shouted, looking at the extensive damage to the dam. “This thing is going to go!”
Chase looked at Megan. “If your plan is going to work, we need to move now. We don't have time to warn them at the lodge.”
“We need to find Garrett and Evan,” Bryan said.
Megan looked around. “Maybe they ran back to the lodge to warn us or ask for help.”
Bryan held up his hand. “I think I hear something.” He headed off into the trees that led towards the west side dam.
Wyatt grabbed the backpack the man had been carrying. He pulled out a couple chunks of the C-4 before rummaging around in the pack to find detonators. The drone was buzzing overhead.
“It is likely whoever he was working for watched all this go down,” Chase said. “They know he’s dead. They also know he managed to detonate the explosive. Hopefully, that means they will assume the job is finished and leave us alone.”
Wyatt turned and shot the thing down.
“Help!” Bryan shouted. “Help! I found them! Over here!”
Brenda grabbed her medical bag and took off at a sprint towards the trees with the others following close behind.
Megan froze when she saw the two men. Garrett was bleeding profusely from what she thought was his neck, possibly his face. She couldn't tell because of the extensive damage. Evan was covered in blood, holding his hand against Garrett's neck.
“Don't move,” Brenda said in a low, commanding voice to Evan.
He nodded.
Brenda grabbed one of the bottles of water and began to pour it over the side of Garrett's face, neck and chest area.
“He shot him,” Evan mumbled. “He shot him in the neck.”
“Are you hit?” Wyatt asked, crouching next to Evan.
Evan looked dazed. “I don't know.”
Megan could see he was in shock. She knew the treatment for shock was to have him lie down, raise his feet and cover him with a blanket. They hadn't brought along any blankets. There was nothing they could do for Evan besides offer emotional support.
Chase stepped forward. “I'll take over for Evan so you can check him out, Wyatt.”
“No,” Brenda said vehemently. “Garrett's artery was likely clipped. If Evan moves, he’ll bleed out. I need him to keep his hand over the injury.”
They all waited and watched while Brenda carefully examined the wound on Garrett's chest before she started looking around the area where Evan's hand was covering.
“He was hit twice?” she asked Evan.
Evan looked at her, but his eyes were glazed. “I don't know.”
Brenda made a sound that revealed her frustration over the lack of information.
Suddenly, Evan started saying Garrett's name over and over. It was a frantic keening.
“His heart. I can't feel his pulse anymore,” he squeaked out. “Brenda, you have to do something,” he pleaded.
Brenda quickly put her fingers to the other side of Garrett's neck. She waited several long seconds.
She bent her head. “I'm sorry. He's gone.”
Evan’s shoulders began to shake. “No, fix him. You're a surgeon. Start CPR!”
Brenda gently shook her head and covered Evan’s hand holding Garrett's neck.
“It won't help. He’s lost too much blood and it would only push out whatever blood remains.”
“But, he was alive,” Evan said.
Megan put her arm around Evan's shoulders and gently pulled him into her. He kept his arm extended and pressed into Garrett's neck.
Chase went to the other side of him and carefully removed the hand. When the wound was revealed, there was a collective intake of breath. A large hole in Garrett's neck revealed extensive damage. The wound was mortal. Not even the best surgeon in the best hospital could have saved him.
Brenda focused her attention on Evan. “I need to see where the blood is coming from. Do you feel pain anywhere?”
He blinked several times. Brenda didn't wait for him to answer and pulled up his shirt. She checked one arm and then moved to another.
“You were hit,” she said. “It doesn't look serious. I can take care of this back at the lodge.”
She went back to work checking his head, back and then each leg.
“I don't think this is your blood,” she said gesturing to his blood-soaked clothing.
Evan slowly shook his head back and forth. “No. That man came out of nowhere. He shot Garrett, but I didn't realize he had been shot. He must have had a silencer on the gun. Garrett shouted, I turned and saw the man. I raised my gun and he shot me. Then he shot Garrett again. There was so much blood,” he said, his voice trailing off.
Brenda nodded her head. “He hit a major artery. You did everything right, but his injuries were severe.” Evan looked out towards the trees, before focusing on Brenda again. “He's dead?”
She cocked her head to the side and stared at his eyes.
“Does he have a head injury?” Wyatt asked. “I don't think so. He’s in shock. We need to get him back to the lodge.”
Wyatt stood, looked at Albert who was standing over Garrett's body and asked if the man was okay.
Albert looked stricken. “Yes, I'm fine. He was so young. Just getting started on life. I wish we could kill that guy again.”
“Guys, we need to get moving. With that dam so seriously damaged, it could go at any time,” Wyatt said, turning his back on the carnage behind him.
Megan stood. Evan seemed to be getting better by the minute.
She looked at Garrett lying on the ground behind Wyatt. There was so much blood. Never in her life had she seen that much blood. It made her nauseated.
Wyatt stepped into her line of sight. “Not now,” he said quietly. “We will grieve and process all of this once we finish what we started. There is nothing more we can do for him.”
She fought back the lump in her throat. She wasn't close to Garrett, but she still cared for him. He was a good kid who certainly didn't deserve to die so violently.
“Okay, what do we do now?” Megan asked.
“We move. Chase, you take Megan to the east dam. Albert and I will head to the west. Bryan and Brenda, you two stay here with Evan. One shot into the air if it looks like that dam is going to give way,” Wyatt directed.
“I need to get him back to the lodge ASAP,” Brenda said again.
Wyatt nodded. “I know and you will but I need as much warning as you can give me if you see this thing crack open.”
“Yes, sir,” Brenda replied.
Wyatt looked at Evan. “Can you walk?”
Evan stood. He was pale and his legs looked weak, but he stood.
“I'll be okay. I'll be fine. Sorry, I just, well, it was,” Evan shifted to look over Wyatt’s shoulder where Garrett lay but he blocked his view.
Holding up his hand. “It's okay, man. This is something we will deal with. You did everything right. We need to take care of the dam so we can get back to our loved ones.”
Evan nodded. Megan knew he was thinking of Tara and Amy. Wyatt had purposely mentioned loved ones to give Evan the strength he needed to keep going. They had to finish the job.
They walked out of the trees. Megan felt horrible leaving Garrett there, but his death was not something they could change. They had to keep moving forward to prevent any more deaths.
“Here, take a seat,” Chase said, directing Evan to a large rock. “Brenda will keep guard.”
Megan saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was a pool of blood. She stared at it.
“That's where we were standing when he ambushed us,” Evan said, staring at the blood.
“I need you to stay focused, Evan. Can you do that?” Wyatt asked. He was firm, but not mean.
“I'll be fine,” Evan said, sounding much stronger.
“Good, sit and get ready. When we come back through here, it will be time to move. You need your strength to get down that hillside,” Chase ordered.
Evan nodded his head, clearly not up for arguing.
Megan looked around the small group. They were all shaken up, but Garrett's death had made them more determined than ever. They would not let anyone keep them down. They were fighters. They would survive.
24
Everyone pulled themselves together, ready to carry out the plan.
“When are we detonating our dams?” Chase asked.
Wyatt checked his watch synchronizing it with Chase. “Fifteen hundred hours.” “Got it.”
Megan was holding the C-4, trying not to panic at the thought of holding a deadly explosive in her hand. It was safer than the dynamite, she reminded herself. No matter how much she told herself that, she was still very nervous.
Wyatt gave Megan a quick kiss, promising to see her soon.
“Good luck!” Brenda shouted as they split off and went in opposite directions.
Megan didn't say anything. They were going to need more than good luck. There was a lot riding on them. She prayed everything went according to plan. In the back of her mind, she knew it was almost a given something would go wrong. It was Murphy's Law.
She followed Chase across the damaged dam, wasting no time getting across it. She was more than a little worried it would collapse at any second, leaving her caught up in a torrent of cement, water and mud.
Once she made it across, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Now, she prayed it stayed up so she could make it back acros
s, otherwise, her and Chase would be trapped on the wrong side of the flood. She had no idea how they would get across the raging waters to make it to the safety of the lodge. At least she hoped the lodge would be safe. It better be.
They made it to the east dam with very little time to spare. While Chase climbed down the small embankment to plant the C-4, Megan used the small pair of binoculars she was wearing around her neck to scan the area. She was looking for any other bad guys who may have been intending to blow this dam as well. Or maybe there were others in the area looking to take out anyone they saw.
That brought back the image of Garrett lying there, lifeless and covered in his own blood. She would shoot anyone she didn't know. She wasn't taking any chances.
She looked towards the main dam and when she didn't see rushing water flowing down the hillside, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She scanned the area, looking downstream of the dam they were about to blow.
Megan gasped. “Oh no!”
A little girl was dancing in the stream, laughing and splashing about. She knew her! Megan knew the little girl that was facing certain death.
“What is it?” Chase called out.
“It's Emma! Emma, Linda and Harry are down there!” she shouted.
“What? What do you mean?” he asked scrambling up the embankment.
“Look!” she said, handing him the binoculars and pointing down the hill.
He took the binoculars, focused and then cursed.
“What do we do?” Megan asked frantically.
Chase exhaled a long breath, looked her in the eye and said, “We stick to the plan.”
“What? No! We can't do that! If we blow this dam, it’s going to send a wall of water crashing down. They'll drown!”
He held his ground maintaining eye contact. “Megan, if we don't blow this dam, the lodge and power station will be destroyed. You said so yourself, we have to save the power station.”
“Chase, don't you dare say that!”
He looked at the dam and then at his watch, before pointedly looking at her without saying anything.
Megan grabbed the binoculars and watched as Emma went into a small hut, which was within twenty feet of the small stream.
EMP Lodge Series Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 75
