by R. Brewer
"This one's a wild one," a man said, attempting to throw Christy in the back of the truck. Struggling with the man, Christy's eyes burned with fury. Mei watched her plant her feet against the back of the truck and push, shoving the man who held her backwards. Mei could hear the impact as they fell onto the hard-packed gravel road. Christy jumped up and kicked the man in the head, repeatedly. By the sounds of it, Mei assumed Christy's boot probably did some damage. Christy called out again as two Gypsum guards lifted her off her feet and tossed her back into the truck.
"You fucking scum. If you hurt my son, I'll kill you," Christy said, her face contorted into an expression of rage Mei had never seen before.
"That one should be fun later, don't you think?" the Gypsum guard said, leering at Christy with a sickening expression.
"In your dreams, asshole," Christy shot back, her voice trembling.
"We'll see, won't we?" The man continued to leer at Christy. Mei thought Nick would likely die before he would let Christy be touched by any of these men.
"Let's get going," the driver said.
"What about the boy?" The guard outside the back of the truck stood up.
"Just leave him. He'll never find his way out, anyway. We're almost fifty miles from the nearest town. He's got no food or water. He'll never make it."
Christy lunged toward the back of the truck. "You son of a bitch."
The breeze from the doors blew into the truck as they slammed together, sealing them in. Even in complete darkness, Christy’s profound anguish was palpable as she beat her hands against the locked doors and screamed for her son.
Chapter 3
Jodie liked the feel of the new Camaro, especially the force pushing her back in the seat as she stepped on the accelerator. The car seemed as anxious as she was to re-join the rest of their group. She glanced in the rear view mirror, seeing Isaiah following in the Range Rover, and opened the window slightly to let the breeze blow into the car. The smell of the forest brought back memories. Pine and hemlock heated by the mid-morning sun blanketed the forest with a sweet aroma. Jodie breathed in deeply, drawing in the scent.
She tried to remember the good parts of her childhood, her grandparents, and their cabin in the woods. She wondered if the cabin still stood after the earthquake. She hoped the fires from the city hadn't traveled to the Klamath National Forest, and that the redwoods still stood, watching guard. Most of all, she hoped this nightmare would come to an end. But, the only way that could happen was if she could find a way to derail the backup plan and expose Gypsum as the mastermind behind the catastrophic earthquakes in Cuba and California.
She found Gypsum's plan almost too fantastic to believe and wondered if anyone would ever accept her story. The theory that earth's energy could be harvested and stolen seemed almost plausible, but the idea that anyone would want to wreak so much havoc on the earth in the process of obtaining it seemed unnecessary. Transporting DNA off the planet and relocating somewhere else wouldn't necessitate destruction of everything and everyone left behind. Jodie wondered if ancient humans could really be that ruthless and advanced at the same time.
Jodie thought of Bob, her best friend and fellow FBI agent, who was killed in the underground facility run by Gypsum. He died along with thousands of unsuspecting people. She kept asking herself why her mother’s plan would be designed to wipe out everyone. Jodie had no answers, just anger and resentment toward not only her mother, but her father as well. She wondered how he had kept Gypsum's plan a secret from her for her entire life. If only he had asked for help sooner, maybe, just maybe, she could have done something. Yet she realized she might not have believed him unless she’d seen the Gypsum installation for herself. But, even though she had, she still questioned whether or not any of it was really as it seemed. She also questioned if she would ever trust anyone completely again.
Jodie downshifted and turned onto the long forest road. A crackling noise she didn't recognize buzzed in the background. She looked around the car for the source of the sound and remembered the radio Nick had given her earlier. Reaching down, she grabbed it and turned up the volume, stunned for a moment to recognize her father's anxious voice coming from the speaker.
"Jodie, it's your father. Are you out there?" her father said.
Jodie pressed the talk button. "Yeah, Dad. What's going on?"
"Gypsum. They came and took everyone. Where are you?"
"I'm on my way up the forest road. What do you mean, they took everyone?"
"Jodie, they're on the way down. You have to find somewhere to hide. They have a half dozen men, all armed. Get off the road, now."
Jodie looked to each side of the road, seeing the faint remnants of a logging trail veering off to the right. She slowed and pulled the Camaro onto the trail, the car's undercarriage scraping against the rutted road. Reaching out the window, she waved to Isaiah to follow. She cursed herself for the selfish choice of the Camaro as the front bumper slammed into a boulder, sending the car bucking upwards. As the rest of the car cleared the boulder, Jodie spied a grove of pines ahead and pulled up behind them, the cluster of trees barely large enough to hide the two vehicles.
Once they were camouflaged by the trees, Jodie grabbed the radio, jumped out of the car and ran back to join Isaiah who was crouched behind a pine tree.
"Okay, Dad,” Jodie said into the radio, “We're hidden behind some trees."
"There's a panel truck and a van," her father said. "When they pass you and are out of sight, come back up the road and find me."
Jodie and Isaiah stared at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say. What did her father mean? Was everyone kidnapped by Gypsum? And, how had he escaped?
"If they're coming down this road, they probably have the others in their truck. We should stop them," Jodie said. But, as she thought about what her father had instructed her to do, she realized stopping the truck might be a big mistake. He'd told her to get off the road and hide, likely because Gypsum had more than enough guards and ammunition to overpower her and Isaiah. There seemed to be no option, other than to watch her friends pass by, almost certainly headed for torture or death.
"We can't do that, Jodie. You and your dad are too important. Without you two, we might never get a chance to find out what Gypsum is up to next," Isaiah said.
Jodie mulled over Isaiah's comments. "Well, we might be outnumbered here, but we have to do something. We can't just let Gypsum take them."
"I know this is a horrible situation, but unless we can figure out a way to surprise them, we'll probably just be captured like the rest," Isaiah said.
Jodie knew Isaiah was right, yet she wracked her mind for an answer. There had to be a way to stop Gypsum, but every solution she came up with involved them getting caught or killed. Her FBI training flooded back into her mind. In a kidnapping or hostage situation in which law enforcement was outnumbered, a surprise attack would likely put everyone in jeopardy, especially the hostages. She understood she had to accept reality, even though she didn't like it. Getting down on her hands and knees, Jodie crawled under the line of trees, giving her an unobstructed view of the road. Isaiah crawled up beside her, careful to stay hidden.
In the distance, Jodie could see dust churning up from the gravel forest road. She knew it must be the Gypsum truck, the truck that carried Mei, who was her strength, her rock, her shoulder to lean on as they watched the world around them implode. "Looks like they're almost here. We'd better get ready to head out in case they spot us. Let's leave the Camaro behind."
Jodie and Isaiah slid backwards and stood up. Jodie grabbed her few belongings from the Camaro and jumped into the Range Rover. They watched as the truck barreled past, blanketing the forest in a cloud of gravel dust. When the truck was out of sight, Isaiah backed up into a y-turn and pulled onto the road.
Jodie felt her throat tighten as she thought about leaving her friends behind. She depressed the talk button on the radio. "Dad, we're on our way. We’re in a black Range Rover. Be ready. W
e'll have to move if we want to catch up with them."
"We're coming down the road now," Jodie's father said.
Jodie looked at Isaiah, confused. "We?" she said into the radio.
* * *
Chuck’s new body screamed down the tunnel, moving at a speed he couldn’t comprehend. He wondered what had happened to him. How had he become this thing? He couldn’t remember anything, except waking up on the tracks, his coveralls wet with some foul-smelling substance. He’d been running for quite some time now, finding the ability to jump to extreme heights quite handy. Much of the tunnel had collapsed, but he’d managed to squeeze his way through, over boulders and concrete, at times clinging onto the ceiling and crawling upside down. He’d long since run out of candy bars and his gut felt hollow. His shoes, not constructed to withstand the force of terrific speed, had peeled off his feet as he ran.
Up ahead, light shone from a glassed-in area. Chuck hoped he would find Jodie there, but he felt a little guilty that he wanted to locate a vending machine just as much. He approached the lighted area and looked in the window, seeing what appeared to be a medical treatment room. He grasped the door handle and pulled, his metal toes clattering on the tile floor. Before he could catch himself, his feet slipped out from underneath him and his body clanged to the floor.
“Goddamn it,” Chuck said, trying to prop himself up to a sitting position, his metal palms sliding on the tile. He reached up and grabbed a sheet off of the bed he’d fallen next to and tore it into pieces, wrapping one piece on each foot and one on each of his hands. “Gotta find some shoes,” he muttered, managing to push himself up to a standing position without sliding. Stepping over by the exit door, he pulled it open and entered the next room. Looking down, he didn’t understand what he was seeing. A man lay dead on the floor, mostly covered in a sheet. Two other dead men, lying in pools of blood, were splayed out on the floor, a few feet away. All three looked like they’d been shot.
Chuck walked over to the man who was covered. He tugged on the sheet, exposing his feet and face. Chuck looked at the man’s feet, assessing his shoes. He was disappointed when he realized they were likely two or three sizes smaller than his feet. As he turned toward the other two men, images flashed through his brain. He looked at the first man’s face again. Memories flooded every molecule of his cranium this time, threatening to burst his metallic skull. He let them flow into him, remembering this man in front of him. His friend.
“Bob? Oh, no. What happened to you?” Chuck fell to his knees, his metal patellas smashing into the floor, sending chips of tile flying across the room as he landed. He desperately wanted to cry, but his body wouldn’t comply. This man had been his friend, this man, who was Jodie’s FBI partner. Who had done this to him? Then he remembered. It had to be Gypsum. He let his eyes travel over to the other two men lying on the floor next to Bob, Gypsum logos adorning their uniforms.
Chuck felt an overwhelming rage coursing through his entire body, starting at his feet and building to a climax in his throat. Before he could stop himself, he let out a wail so intense that it shook the walls and windows. Even though he was underground and surrounded by dense rock, the noise was so loud that it echoed back at him.
He continued screaming as he scooted over to one of the Gypsum guards, grasping his feet and swinging him violently until his legs separated from his torso, which Chuck flung across the room. He untied the man’s boots and pulled them off, carelessly tossing the legs to the side. After tearing off the cloth covering his feet, he jammed his foot into the first boot, pushed his toes through the tip of each, and laced them up. Desperately small for his feet, he hoped the boots would still work to give him enough traction to stand on the tile floor. He stood and went back to Bob, his eyes burning from the unfulfilled need to cry, and another wail escaped his metal jaws.
From deep in the underground installation came a response so ferocious, it made Chuck jump. He could feel his skeleton trembling as he stepped back quietly until he was against the wall. The scream called out again, followed by another. Something was calling back to him. As he listened, he realized he wasn’t hearing a solo voice. Many things were calling to him, many things like him. Chuck crept over to Bob and bent down to cover his face. “Goodbye, friend,” he said. Then, he started walking toward the noise.
* * *
Jodie grabbed the door handle to steady herself as Isaiah raced up the bumpy forest road toward her father. She wondered who was with him. Who else did Gypsum leave behind, and why? She didn’t know what to hope for, but was thankful when a boy appeared in the middle of the roadway with her father.
“That’s Noah,” Jodie said.
“Yeah, and look who’s following him. Figures that Noah wouldn’t be anywhere without Hunter,” Isaiah said.
They pulled up near Jodie’s father and Noah. Jodie planted her feet, seeing Hunter bounding over to greet her as she got out of the car. She petted the dog, then opened the back door and ushered him in. “Better get in. We have to move fast if we want to catch up with Gypsum.”
Noah followed Hunter into the back seat and closed the door. His face screwed up into a frown, Jodie could see he was trying hard not to cry.
“How did you three get left behind?” Jodie said, sliding back in the front seat of the SUV.
“Long story. We’ll tell you on the way," Jodie’s father said as he went around the other side of the Range Rover. The SUV was already moving by the time he got into the seat behind Isaiah.
Jodie looked back to see Noah hanging onto Hunter, obviously trying hard not to cry. "Are you okay, Noah?"
The boy shook his head, his lower lip quivering. He looked out the window, away from Jodie's gaze.
"I was out in the open, trying to get through to you on this confounded radio," Jodie's dad said, tossing the radio on the seat. "I thought you were coming up the road, so I stood there like a buffoon, waiting. Then I saw the Gypsum trucks headed for the campground. I barely had time to hide. After they passed, I followed them and found Noah running back toward me, with Hunter chasing him. From what Noah tells me, they were going to shoot the dog and he ran to get Hunter to follow him."
Jodie wondered when everyone had lost their minds. What good would shooting a dog do for Gypsum? She realized Noah had probably risked his life to save Hunter. "You are a very, very brave young man," she said, reaching back to touch Noah.
Her father put his arm around the boy and pulled him and the dog close. "Yes, indeed, he is. We'll get everyone back, Noah. Don't you worry.”
Jodie noticed that the look on her father's face was the same look he had when he was faced with a choice a few days earlier. One that almost took his life. He chose to put himself in jeopardy and reroute Gypsum’s explosive device to try to save the people in the underground installation, likely, the same people who had just tried to kill Hunter. She could see her father's resolve building.
"Jodie, I know where they're taking them," her father said. "You know they're expecting us to follow. They're leading us right into a trap."
"I know. We have to find a way to get out of this forest, then take the long way around back to Nevada, don't we?"
Noah stirred in his seat. "But, my mom --" he said, not able to finish the sentence before emotion overtook him.
"They won't hurt your mom or anyone else, Noah. They want me and my dad. We'll get them back. You and Hunter try to rest for a while. You're going to need your strength to help us." Jodie realized she was holding on to a hope that might not be realistic. There was nothing to prevent Gypsum from killing everyone if they wanted to. She just prayed they were too stupid to realize that.
Chapter 4
Jodie pulled out a map and started looking for a backwoods route to their destination in Nevada. For now, they would be hidden by the trees. Once they were in the desert, they would be out in the open and she was unsure how to travel in that terrain without being seen. As she was thinking through the details, Isaiah gently touched her arm and pointed at an ou
tfitter's store sitting back in the woods. It looked abandoned.
"Want to go take a look? We don't have any food or water," Isaiah said.
Jodie didn’t want to stop, but knew they would need supplies. This might be their last chance to find some before they were deep into the woods again. "Drive by slowly. We'll see if anyone follows, first."
Isaiah slowed the SUV as they looked for movement in the outfitter's shack. Everything appeared quiet.
"Drop me off up the road and hide the vehicle. I'll walk back and call you when everything is clear," Jodie said, grabbing the hand-held radio.
Isaiah pulled over to the side of the road and stopped.
"Be careful," her father said.
Jodie nodded and jumped out of the SUV. She ran down the side of the road toward the outfitters and veered off into the woods behind the building. She crept up to the side of the old converted house and leaned to peek in the window. The shock at what she saw took her breath away. "Fucking Gypsum."
Jodie took out her handgun and approached the door, turned the knob and swung it open. Nothing greeted her but the sound of flies buzzing and a deeply rancid odor that she recognized immediately. She stepped in to the kitchen area and looked down at the bodies on the floor. A mid-twenties man and woman lay splayed out, their blood intermingled. She reached down to feel for a pulse, just in case. The coldness of their skin told her everything she needed to know.
Jodie stood up and moved into the storefront area, which was ransacked, but was still teaming with supplies strewn everywhere. She checked each aisle, making her way to the rooms off to the side. A bedroom lay empty. A photo of the young couple she'd seen in the kitchen sat on an end table. She picked it up and cradled it in her hand. The photo showed them during a happy time, linked together in an embrace in front of a campfire. Feeling a combination of anger and sadness beginning to bore through her, she set the photo down and pushed on until she'd cleared all the rooms. She closed the door to the kitchen, where the bodies lay, and went out the front to call Isaiah.
