by Steven Bird
When one of the dogs snarled, exposing its teeth, the rest of the dogs followed its lead and began moving in on their wounded pack mate. Once they were within reach, the alpha male leapt onto the injured, blood-soaked animal, with the rest of the pack following suit.
Nate watched in horror as the dogs tore into their pack mate, eating it alive, tearing into its soft belly for the rich tasting fats, intestines, and organs.
That could have just as easily been me, he thought while he stared in revulsion at the gruesome scene.
Chapter Sixteen
“How long?” Yuri asked. “How long have you been in cave?”
“I… I don’t know. Maybe a few days?” Britney replied. “I’ve lost track of time. With no sunset or sunrise, it all blurs together.”
“Is one with us, now?” he asked.
“Probably. I don’t get how they do it, but they can move very quietly, and without any light at all. They seem to be at home down here.”
“I see nothing,” he complained.
“Yeah, me neither,” Britney agreed. Wanting to break the eerie silence and her haunting thoughts, she asked, “So, where are you from, Yuri?”
“I am with UF.”
“That’s not where you’re from. That’s who you’re with, now. Where did you grow up? You sound like you’re from Russia or something like that.”
“I am from Ukraine,” he replied. “I was raised by grandmother and lived with her most of life, until joining military.”
“What was her name?” Britney asked with genuine curiosity, glad to engage in what seemed to be the beginnings of regular, human interaction.
“Why you ask these things?” Yuri asked. “Why this matter?”
Pausing, Britney said, “I’d much rather spend my time getting to know you than thinking about what’s going to happen next. If I just sit here in the darkness, I feel all alone. I think about the horrors I’ve seen over the last few days. I see my parents being murdered by your friends and hear the screams of Greg and the other boy echoing through my mind. I… I just don’t want to feel alone anymore.”
Unsure how to answer, Yuri muttered, “I not join UF. I sent here from my country to work with UN as part of Security Council decree. They put us in UF. We have no way home. We have to stay. We have to serve. They tell us we keep peace and stop insurgents who kill and murder innocent people.”
“I’m sorry, Yuri, but it’s the other way around. The UF does the killing of the innocents.”
“I not see what you see. Only know what I am told,” he contended. “The same as most soldiers. Soldiers are told why enemy is bad, then they fight. We do not have luxury of choosing enemy.”
After a brief, awkward silence and wanting to change the subject, she asked, “What was her name?”
“Whose name?”
“Your grandmother, silly.”
“Her name was Zhanna. My parents died when I was very young. Father went off to fight in Afghanistan. He never come home. My mother was told he died fighting in Kumar Province.”
“What happened to your mother?”
“I was still very young. After father dies, mother went off to find work in coal and steel town of Makiivka in Ukraine. She wrote letters saying she would send money home. But never did. She stopped writing soon after. We never find out what happened. Grandmother told me she must have died because mother would not have abandoned us. Makiivka was not good place for young woman. If she not die, probably other bad things happen.”
“How old you are?” he wondered. “You sound very young.”
“I’m fourteen,” she answered.
“Very mature for such young girl,” he replied.
“I’ve had to grow up quickly since it all started falling apart.”
“Where you from?” Yuri asked.
“My parents and I were from the Nashville area, which was hit pretty hard during the beginning of the attacks. We’ve been on the move pretty much since the beginning.”
“Ah, music city,” he said. “I like your music.”
“It used to be,” she muttered.
Hearing movement on the far side of the chamber, behind Britney, Yuri asked, “You make noise?”
“No,” she whispered.
With the reminder they were not alone, their conversation gave way to silence as both Britney and Yuri listened intently for their watcher. Hearing something slip across the chamber in the darkness, they both wondered if it had left, or had merely changed positions to keep them fearing the unknown of the darkness.
While Yuri lay there chained to the floor, he thought of the suffering he’d seen and experienced in his life. He also reflected on the suffering he’d seen inflicted by governments, using him and his comrades in arms as the source of the pain.
I deserve this, he thought, acknowledging his sins against his fellow man in the name of following orders. But she does not.
~~~~
After several hours of silence had passed, Britney could hear movement coming from Yuri’s location. The movement was very slight, as if he was trying to conceal his actions.
Hearing their watcher shift across the room, she whispered, “Stop it. They can see you.”
The hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end. She could almost sense that the figure in the darkness was on the move. She felt its presence. Her body tensed up as she felt as if the figure was hovering over her.
With the feeling of the dark, evil presence moving from her, she heard something whistle through the air, followed by the sound of a thump and Yuri yelping.
“What’s happening?” she asked. The sounds of a struggle intensified with several grunts and Yuri’s chains thrashing about.
She could hear someone choking and gasping for air. The sounds of the struggle began to slow until there was one final release of air, and then silence.
Fearing that Yuri had been killed by their watcher, Britney balled up into the fetal position and began to pray for deliverance from her hell when a hand grasped her.
Recoiling in fear, she heard a familiar voice whisper, “Shhhh. Is okay. Hold still.”
Opening her eyes, she saw a momentary and faint outline of Yuri’s face in the glow of green light as he donned a night vision monocular he had taken from their watcher during the struggle.
“Hold still. I free you,” Yuri said as he worked feverishly on Britney’s restraints. Whispering, he explained, “They use night vision to move so well in darkness. I take. Now, I use it.”
“Is he…?”
“Yes, this one is dead. Now, we must go before others come.”
Feeling the chains fall free from her ankles, Britney sat up while Yuri worked on her wrist restraints. Whispering softly, she asked, “How did you do it? How did you get free?”
“Much training,” he replied. “This not first time I find myself in captivity. We prepare for such things. Things do not go well for us when captured by insurgents.”
Gently removing the restraints from her wrists, Yuri took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Her legs were shaky from her prolonged malnourishment, and her muscles and joints were achy from being on the cold, hard, uneven rock surface since her captivity had begun.
Her heart raced as Yuri began leading her through the darkness of the chamber and toward one of the cave tunnels.
“Walk carefully,” he said, noting the uneven surface of the cave floor.
Yuri’s escape seemed too good to be true. Was this really happening? Was she simply dreaming? Her mind raced as she wondered if Yuri had been an unlikely answer to her prayers.
Nearly tripping on a rock formation beneath her feet, she snapped back into the moment and focused with renewed resolve to do whatever it took to escape this living hell, and to see the light of day once again.
Chapter Seventeen
Working their way through the woods at a relentless pace, the six men of the group, which included Jessie, Q, Sam, Carl, Tyrone, and Daryl, pressed on despite their fatigue.
> “How long before sunrise?” Sam asked, breaking the group’s silence.
Reflecting the moonlight off his faithful old wind-up watch, Q responded, “About three and a half hours.” Turning to Jessie, he asked, “How much farther?”
Thinking things over for a moment, Jessie said, “There’s a valley between this ridge and the one to our north. Nate is on the northern side of the next ridge, down near the base of the mountain. We can either cut through the valley and up and over the next ridge, or we can stay on this ridge, which eventually meets up with the other where they form a box canyon. We can then cross over and descend, without having to descend and ascend an extra time. I think that would be best for our making good time.
“I’ve not been on that route beyond this. I had previously worked my way through the valley with Hank. It’s a lot darker down there, though, with the moonlight being obscured by the terrain in many places.”
“If you’re sure you can get us there without having to make those extra climbs and descents, I think that would be the best way to go. If we’re dealing with night-vision-equipped threats, I’d prefer to have all the moonlight we can.”
“Agreed,” interjected Sam. “Jessie,” he asked, “How much longer until we’re there?”
“Two hours, maybe three. If we can keep up the pace, that is,” he answered.
“I’m good,” offered Tyrone. “Let’s push on.”
“I need the exercise, anyway,” added Daryl. “Having Linda’s horses at my disposal back home is making me lazy.”
“It looks like her cooking is taking its toll, too,” teased Carl, gesturing to Daryl’s belly.
“She won’t let me starve to death, that’s for sure,” Daryl chuckled.
Speaking up, Q said, “Well, if no one needs to rest, let’s push on. Since we know what we’re up against, let’s move forward as a proper patrol.” Turning to Jessie, he suggested, “You know the way and are familiar with who we’re up against, so if you wouldn’t mind taking point?
“Of course,” Jessie quickly agreed.
“Here,” Q offered while reaching out his hand. “Take this. It’s the FLIR thermal game tracker. Scan the area as you go. There’s no reason to stumble into something avoidable.”
“Sam, you bring up the rear. Keep back a little farther than normal. Make sure you occasionally hold your position and observe. Keep an eye out for the possible movement of those creepy bastards, then bound ahead and catch up. We’ll rotate through the rear position when you need a break to ensure the man in that position stays as fresh as possible, since we’ll be moving at a pretty good pace. When you bound forward, make yourself known via our standard protocol.
“We’ll distribute our three radios between Jessie at point, me in the center of the patrol, and the other with Sam or whoever ends up in the rear after rotations.
“Maintain silence, using vibrate patterns to check in when prompted by two vibes from me. If you feel the need to request the status of the rest of us, use your own position identifier. Jessie, you’re the point man, so you’re first in the column. That makes you one pulse. I’m two pulses, being the second radio back, and Sam is three pulses. Transmit your vibes by order of point, center, and rear to eliminate confusion.
“If you need to report something verbally, vibe in with five pulses and wait for a verbal ‘go’ from me. We don’t want anyone speaking up when someone else may be in a potential contact situation. Understood?” Q asked, ensuring Jessie was familiar with their standard patrol comms procedures.
“Simple enough,” Jessie replied with a nod.
“If we seem a bit non-standard to the tactics and procedures you may have seen in your past, it’s because we aren’t following some published field manual. We aren’t going by someone’s military experience, although we have plenty. We use what has worked for us, based on our own experiences, and the diversity of personnel we have in our group. Not everyone here has the same background. Often, not even close. We need a farmer and an experienced combat veteran to be able to work together with minimal training. We keep things simple, but effective, changing as our environment around us changes.”
Handing Jessie the radio, Q looked at him with a serious expression, and warned, “I don’t mean to sound rude, but if you cross us, we’ll kill you. No question. We’ve lost too many good men and women already to infiltrators. Treason against us is suicide for the traitor.”
Taken aback by Q’s sudden cold turn, Jessie remarked, “I get it, but you don’t have a thing to worry about from me. Just keep your eyes, and especially your ears, open and focused on what’s around you. The real threats here lie in the darkness, not in deception. Are you sure you trust me with your only game tracker?”
“Yes, and no,” Q replied. “My gut says I can trust you. My gut says you’re a good man with Nate’s best interests at heart. But my heart has been broken by traitors too many times to trust anyone completely. Except of course for the folks like these guys here, who’ve proven themselves time and time again.”
Nodding, Jessie said, “I guess we’d better get going.”
Giving the signal, Q ordered the group forward. Jessie took the point position as directed, Tyrone fell in behind him, Daryl followed along behind Tyrone, Q fell in at the center, Carl dropped in behind him, and Sam took up a bounding rear guard as directed.
~~~~
Working his way through the darkness with only the moonlight to guide his way. Jessie occasionally paused to scan the area ahead of him with the thermal game tracker. Seeing only the heat signatures of nocturnal wildlife, mostly small game, rodents, and birds, Jessie kept up the pace.
After an hour of steady movement, Jessie felt two vibrating pulses from the radio carried in his left hand. That’s a request from Q to report, I believe.
Responding with one vibratory pulse, Jessie felt two more pulses, followed by a slight pause and then three pulses. I guess that’s it, he thought as he continued moving forward.
Realizing they were nearing the point where the two ridgelines converged, Jessie knew they’d be in the heart of hostile territory at any minute—that is, if they weren’t already. Coming to a stop at the ridge facing down into the area where he had left Nate to seek help, Jessie scanned the area with the thermal, and then clicked his vibratory alert button five times to request verbal comms.
“Go,” Q replied softly after receiving the message and verifying it was safe with the others.
Whispering into the radio, Jessie explained, “Okay, I’m at the point where we start descending toward Nate’s location.”
“How much farther?” Q asked. “To Nate, that is.”
“Maybe a mile or two. It’s downhill though, so we should make good time unless we make contact,” Jessie responded.
“Everyone good?” transmitted Q.
Receiving the appropriate response vibes, he then commanded, “Let’s move.”
As they worked their way down the hill, Jessie felt a cold chill run up his spine. Halting his advance, he raised the thermal game tracker up to his eye and began scanning the area. Where are you, you filthy bastards? I know you’re out there hiding in the darkness like animals. C’mon. Show yourselves.
~~~~
Trailing the group and covering their six, Sam stood atop the rocky ridgeline and watched as the others worked their way down the hill, disappearing from the faint moonlight of the night as they entered the thick vegetation below.
Turning around and scanning the area behind them before joining his brothers in arms in their descent, Sam caught a momentary glint of light. Focusing on the area just behind and to the left where he’d seen the flicker, Sam flipped his M4 from safe to semi and slowly raised the rifle to the high-ready position. Lowering himself behind a rocky outcrop, he reached for the radio clipped to his belt as he heard a thwack, followed by a heavy, bone-jarring impact to his right side.
Dropping the radio, Sam instinctively reached for the intense pain on his right side and found the shaft of an ar
row, embedded deeply between his ribs.
As he fell to the ground, unable to breathe, Sam used his last ounce of energy to reach over and pick up the radio, holding down the vibratory alert key as the moonlight highlighted the silhouette of a large, dark figure standing above him.
The figure heaved an axe high above its head, swinging it down violently onto Sam’s arm that held the radio, severing it at the elbow.
Sam attempted to scream to no avail. His lungs simply would not push any more air. As the figure raised the axe once again to deal what Sam knew would be the final blow, he was rescued from the hell of his current world by the sweet, silent loss of consciousness, and death.
~~~~
Feeling the vibration from the radio, Jessie unclipped it from his belt and hunkered down behind a cluster of trees. Waiting for further guidance, he felt the report pattern. Jessie quickly rogered up with his single vibratory pulse, followed by Q’s two pulses, and then…nothing.
His heart sank while he anxiously awaited Sam’s check-in, but it never came.
Feeling the report pattern vibrate through the radio once again, Jessie replied with his tone, again heard Q’s, then nothing. Damn it to hell, they’re here.
Chapter Eighteen
Arriving at a flooded section of the cave, Yuri looked down to see wear on the soft limestone surface from what appeared to have been a flat-bottomed boat. “I knew I was on boat,” he whispered.
Looking into the darkness across the water with the night vision monocular, he added, “It go very far.”
“What is it?” Britney asked. “Is it like an underground river or something?”
“No. More like flooded cave. Makes good natural barrier,” he explained.
Looking around at the general structure of the flooded chamber, Yuri noted the steep slope of the walls that descended into the water. “Unless filled with stones, water looks deep. We find different way. Boat must be on other side. They may come back while we are in water. If they find us swimming, we would be unable to fight or flee.”
