MJ nodded and watched as Trevor hurried off after his brother. The two had grown on her and she felt a sense of duty to protect them, a duty to protect them all. They may have not been her children, but while they were out there she watched over them all the same.
She stared at little longer, then turned back to the body lying in front of her. Kneeling, she patted Koran’s pants leg then rolled him over. She checked the rest of his pockets then lifted his shirt and checked the waistline as well.
“You talk to him at all?” she looked up to Alistair and asked. “Did he say anything? You see him hide something?”
“I…I couldn’t save him,” Alistair crooned, hiding his face in shame. “I just sat there and watched him die…I watched Koran kill him.”
With a heavy breath, MJ stood up and agave him an empathetic glance. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I, I…we should get you back to your mom.”
Mom, Alistair thought and felt a stab of remorse shoot down his spine. He’d left to find vindication, but he failed. All he did was leave his grieving mother alone when she’d needed him the most.
“You know you saved us,” MJ whispered as she watched his eyes gloss over. “If you guys hadn’t come…I would’ve died and this—” she paused and glowered at Koran’s body. “He would’ve had us all killed.”
Alistair nodded and stared into the forest then walked off a couple of steps as tears welled in his eyes. He turned back and started to say something to MJ, but the ground beneath his feet shifted and he stumbled slightly.
“What was that?” he asked.
“We need to get back,” MJ replied with a tremble of desperation in her voice. “Come on.”
Alistair nodded and started to follow. They made their way through the trees toward Daniel and Trevor.
“He’s okay,” Trevor said and held up a hand.
MJ forced a painful smile on her face then gave them both a hug. “We’ve gotta get moving,” she told them.
“Are you okay?” Daniel asked as he stepped back and took in her appearance.
Sweat was rolling down her face even though it was barely forty degrees. Her skin was pale, and eyes looked drained and tired. They’d kept a break neck pace to catch Alistair and now it looked like all that work was catching up.
“I’m, I’m fine,” she said and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “Come on.”
At a steady pace, they moved back through the forest in silence. MJ tried to suppress her fear of what was coming and that fueled her to keep moving even though she felt her body failing. She’d seen first hand what mother nature was capable of.
The air was filled with an eerie silence only pierced by the wind rattling the naked branches. Cold and death lingered above them like a cloud of gnats. The temperature continued to plunge and now the rain-soaked soil had frozen as hard as cement.
“How do you know we’re going the right way?” Trevor asked after hours of silence.
“I just know,” MJ replied with a grin.
“Spy stuff huh?”
“What do you know about it?”
“I heard them talking, they said you were a spy. You really work for the CIA?”
“I used to,” MJ replied with a look of longing as her mind drifted to thoughts of her old life. “Don’t think there’s much to the agency any more, but yeah…I used to be a spy.”
“That’s bad ass.”
MJ smiled then turned back to the trail. There wasn’t much sun left and the temperatures were starting to plunge. As dusk grew closer, they made their way across a grassy field toward a moderate incline and MJ scanned the area for a place to make camp. She eyed a clearing surrounded by displaced boulders and thinning branches across what she thought was a shallow stream that she didn’t remember crossing.
“Over there,” she called out and pointed. “We’ll make camp then head back in the morning.”
“What is that?” Alistair asked as he squinted and used his hand to block the last few rays from the sun.
MJ rubbed her eyes and looked back to the stream in shock. She realized it wasn’t a stream, but a chasm, snaking across their path, splitting the field in two. Hesitantly, she moved closer and closer, coming to a stop twenty feet away.
“How the hell?” Trevor grumbled.
MJ held out her hand to keep the others back and slowly moved toward the edge. “Stay there,” she ordered.
As she neared the gap she felt the temperature slowly rising. Every step the air became warmer and warmer until sweat was pouring down her face. Wiping her forehead, she leaned over the edge and stared down into the dark, abyss. A whoosh of hot air shot toward the sky as she pulled her face away just in time
“Whoa!” she shouted and lurched backward. “That’s fucking hot.”
“What is it?” Trevor asked and moved toward her.
Daniel and Alistair followed him, and they stopped a few feet behind MJ, trying to disguise the fear riddled across their faces. The gap was nearly eight feet wide and they could feel the sweltering heat and see the distorted air as the gorge belched hell.
“Can we jump it?” Alistair asked.
Daniel shot him an odd look then shook his head from side to side. “I’m not jumping that thing.”
“How do we get back then?”
MJ ruffled her hair and watched the slivers of light surrender to the horizon. She grumbled then looked over her shoulder at the darkened path behind her, shivering at the thought of how far she had left to go. When she turned back Daniel and Trevor were staring at her with clueless looks on their faces.
“What are we doing?” Trevor asked.
“Jumping it,” Alistair said.
“No!” Daniel snapped. “I told you, I’m not jumping that.”
“We can camp here to—” MJ’s voice trailed off as harsh rumbling bellowed from behind her.
Whipping around, she watched as the field rolled like a giant wave. The ground rippled, toppling over trees in its wake then exploding. A giant fissure erupted, and chunks of earth sailed through the air.
“We’re going…we’re going now!” MJ roared.
She took a few steps back then tore off in a sprint. Thundering toward the gap, she raced like a speeding train then leapt into the air. She sailed across the chasm and then slammed into the ground on the other side and rolled.
“Are you crazy?” Daniel shouted.
Another crackle boomed, and flames roared from beneath the ground behind them. The fire consumed everything it touched, igniting a row of trees like matches as it spread through the withered grass. Like devils’ fingers, the orange and red writhed, glowing into the night.
“What are you doing?” MJ shouted to them. “Let’s go now.”
Alistair stumbled then turned and followed MJ. He hit the ground beside her and steadied himself then looked back to Daniel and Trevor.
“We gotta go man,” Trevor said and grabbed Daniel’s arm.
He pulled away and wrinkled his face. “I…I’m not jumping over that. I can’t.”
“What are you talking about? We could step over that damn thing.”
Daniel tried to calm his shaking legs, but they quivered wildly, and he struggled to stand. Trevor looked at him in confusion then grabbed him by his arm as his knees buckled.
“Daniel, we have to go. We’re gonna burn to death,” Trevor warned him as he looked back at the raging inferno.
“I can’t…I can’t move.”
“What the hell do you mean you can’t move? Let’s go,” Trevor snapped and grabbed him by the arm.
Daniel languished beside him and grabbed his chest. “I can’t breathe,” he gasped and collapsed onto the ground.
CHAPTER 30
BRING THEM HOME
Melinda grabbed Craig by the collar and fell into him. Tears were pouring down her face as she beat her fists against his chest and wailed
“Please…please just send someone else,” she pleaded.
A loud boom echoed outside and the ground
shook, sending them staggering into the nearest wall. Craig looked back at Max then straightened up and placed his hands on Melinda’s shoulders.
“We ‘re trying our best to get them back I promise. Frank and Thomas are more than capable. They’ll get him back here.”
“There’s gotta be something else you can do.”
Craig swallowed, trying to hide the anxiety on his face. Conditions were fading fast and he knew that every minute that passed made it less likely that anyone would return. But he wasn’t going to tell her that.
With a deep breath, he walked to the edge of the atrium. He placed his hand on the side of the wall and felt a subtle tremble, the pulse of the Earth. It drummed in a low, deep lull that travelled through his arm and rattled his chest. It was like a war drum, a foreboding trance of what was to come.
“We’ve been lucky so far,” Craig said lowly. “They’ll be back, I know they will.”
Jacob followed him to the opening and stopped beside him. The wind bellowed and cackled as it moved through the mountains, bringing a harsh cold that turned his bones to snow. “The longer we wait, the fewer options we have,” he said as he turned toward Craig.
Craig glanced at him then looked back outside. “We can’t…not yet.”
“They asked for our help Craig. We have to do something.”
“And what about Hunter or MJ? Thomas? The kids? We fire, we have to seal this off, we might as well kill them ourselves.”
Jacob frowned and looked back toward the landing outside. He stared into the darkness then turned away and sighed. “You really think they’re coming back?”
Craig gave him a harsh stare then walked back into the atrium. Melinda looked up as he approached then gasped as her eyes fell on something behind him.
“You’re back!” she said and jumped to her feet.
Thomas staggered into the atrium and dropped his bags. His face was drained, and he had blood running down the side of his head, clumping his hair together. He looked up at Melinda then frowned and slumped his shoulders.
“Thomas?” Craig said lowly then looked past him toward the opening. “Where’s, where’s Frank?
Thomas turned away as he started to cry. Sniffling, he wiped his face and took a few stuttered breaths. He dropped his head into his hands then grumbled, “He’s…he’s dead.”
“What?”
Melinda hurried across the floor and grabbed him by the shoulders. “What about Alistair?! Where is he?”
Thomas slowly raised his head and met her eyes. Wincing, he shrugged then slumped to the floor. “We couldn’t find him.”
“No!” Melinda moaned.
“What happened Thomas?” Craig asked. “What went wrong out there?”
Thomas wiped more tears from his face as they mixed with sweat and blood. He looked like it hurt him to breath and as he slowly exhaled he doubled over and grabbed his side.
Craig took him by the arm and helped him into a chair. Melinda was still on the floor sobbing as her anger turned to agonizing sorrow.
“I need to know what happened Thomas,” Craig said and stared him in the eyes.
“It’s bad out there,” he started then leaned closer. “No one could survive that.”
“What is it?”
“We’re gonna die here. All of us. Max was wrong.”
“Thomas what happened?”
“Earthquakes…an avalanche killed Frank. But, but there’s fire, it’s coming from everywhere.”
Craig shot a look to Max and he bit his lip. Ruffling his hair, he walked closer and placed a hand on Thomas’s shoulder.
“Fire?” Max asked. “From underground, right?”
Thomas nodded. “We’re gonna die,” he mumbled again then fell over into Craig.
The wound on his head pulsed and blood poured onto the floor. His eyes glossed over and he started to convulse. Max grabbed him under the arms and laid him on the ground.
“What the—” Cynthia stammered as she turned the corner and froze.
“Help!” Craig shouted desperately as he grabbed Thomas and tried to hold him down.
“Get back,” Cynthia called out and hurried across the room.
Kneeling beside Thomas, she turned his head to the side. He jerked and snapped wildly and when he finally stopped she placed the back of her hand on his forehead.
“We need to get him to the clinic immediately,” she said.
Craig grabbed his arms and Max grabbed his feet. As they lifted him off the ground his head fell back, and his eyes rolled into his head.
“Craig…we need to make a decision,” Jacob called to him as they turned into the hallway.
“Damn it Jacob. Can I deal with one crisis at a time? Help her up,” he barked and nodded toward Melinda.
“And do what?”
“Your fucking job.”
Jacob grumbled under his breath then turned and headed toward Melinda. He reached out and took her, pulling her to her feet. She snapped around and swung at him.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” she hollered.
“Whoa! I’m just trying to help,” Jacob pleaded.
“Fuck you! Fuck all of you! I’ll get him myself.”
She swung at him again and yanked her arm away. Wheeling around, she stormed toward the door screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs. Huffing, Jacob rushed after her.
“Melinda! You can’t go out there.”
He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet. She yelped then thrust her elbow into his stomach and kicked her legs like a dying spider. Jacob let out a muffled groan and dropped her.
Melinda gathered herself and started back toward the blast doors. She was nearly outside when a loud boom shook the ground and a blast of air sent her tumbling backward.
She hit the ground hard and knocked the air out of herself. As she reeled in pain Jacob staggered to his feet and stumbled toward her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Melinda didn’t respond. She stared at him with wide eyes.
“Melinda!” he shouted and reached out for her.
She took his hand and pulled herself up. With a strained face, she looked around, but couldn’t focus. Her head ached, and her vision was blurry. She swallowed and took a deep breath.
The earth yawned a deep, rumbling moan, and she reached out for Jacob like a lost child. Clasping his wrist in her fingers, she nervously looked over her shoulder.
“Come on,” he said. “We need to get into the main hall.”
“No,” she mumbled with a quivering voice. “He’s still out there.”
Jacob frowned. “Stay here.”
Deliberately, he made his way toward the entrance and stepped outside. Snow was falling in heavy wet clumps. The air was bitter and frigid, and the ground was as solid as a block of ice. Down the trail he could see where the ridge had split, and a giant fissure opened. Fragments of broken boulders the size of cars partially blocked the path. Then he looked further down the winding spoor, at a roaring inferno fed by streams of lava, spewing from the ground like the tentacles of some ancient leviathan.
Fear stabbed into Jacob’s soul and stole his breath. He swallowed down the bitter taste of despair then turned and headed back inside.
“Come on,” he said to Melinda. “We need to find Max.”
“No, no…I’m not going with my son.”
Jacob grumbled under his breath and grabbed her by the arm. He dragged her into the hallway then paused as Max stormed down the hall toward them.
“Let me go you asshole!” Melinda snapped and wiggled her arm free.
“What the hell is going on?” Max shouted.
“You tell me,” Jacob retorted. “You told us this place would be safe. You told us we’d survive this.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the hell that’s unraveling outside! This place is surrounded by a lake of lava.”
“We knew what was coming. We knew things would deteriorate. This place
can take it. What we can’t take is an attack from the Russians.”
“Have you even looked out there?”
“No Jacob…I haven’t, but I know what it looks like.”
“Oh yeah, genius?”
“Yeah, it’s the end of the fucking world. It can’t look worse than that.”
“Fuck you Max!”
Max laughed. “Fuck you!”
“Thomas is stable,” Craig announced as he walked down the hall.
Max and Jacob paused and turned to face him.
“What’s the problem here?”
Jacob straightened up and shook his head from side to side. “No problem sir,” he said clearly.
“Max?”
“We’re good,” he said and cast a side eye at Jacob.
“How much worse can we expect this to get?” Craig asked.
Max took a deep breath and gave a slight shrug. He started to reply, but Melinda jumped in.
“What about Alistair? Who are you sending out to find him?
Craig frowned. “We can’t send anyone else out,” he said lowly. “It’s too bad out there now.”
Melinda knelt and buried her face into her arms. Craig glanced her way but didn’t know how to console her. He didn’t know the words to tell her. The truth was he should’ve never let Thomas and Frank go. Now Frank was dead, and Thomas was laid up in a hospital bed.
“MJ will make it back, right?” Max said. “She would see the kids on the way…they’re probably all on their way back.”
Craig instinctively looked at his watch then let out a heavy sigh. “We have to make a decision soon, before it’s too late.”
“Too late?”
Craig spared a glance toward Melinda then lowered his voice. “If they fail…if Koran makes it back and gives up our location. We can’t wait around for that to happen.”
“We don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Jacob chimed in.
“What? What do you mean?”
“I mean, I took care of it.”
“You didn’t?”
Max looked at both of them and narrowed his eyes. “He didn’t do what?”
Craig shook his head from side to side in disbelief. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“Someone had to make a decision sir. You wouldn’t, so I did. In the field we work off less assurances. That location was as good as it was gonna get.”
Survivors: Deconstruction Book Five (A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller) Page 15
