“I’d bet on it,” he replied. “Those people they took earlier? They’ve got them inside, and they’re hurting them. If we don’t get ourselves somewhere safe, they’re going to hurt us, too.”
Buck didn’t have specific information that Strauss would hurt the refugees as she’d apparently done to those who were separated, but he figured the safe move was to assume everyone was in danger.
“So, the soldiers were telling the truth?” a woman down the line asked.
“Yep,” he replied. “You all can mount up in any cars you can find. I have to go up the hill to rescue my son. When I come down—” He stopped.
“Actually, I’ve changed my mind. Clear a path. I’m going across the field.” He gestured to where he intended to go.
“Change of plan?” Connie asked.
“Not really. I’m still going for Garth.” He waited until the people moved, then he crossed over the torn fencing. “But I need the trailer to go with me.”
“Why?”
“Call it a hunch,” he said.
He swung the tractor around and maneuvered the fifth wheel under the kingpin as fast as he’d ever done in his life. He popped on the cables, secured the lock, and was back on the road within minutes.
As he drove back across the field, away from his namesake rock, the refugees had spread the word about leaving, and many ran for their cars. He tooted the horn as he rolled back onto the highway.
“I’ll be right back!” he shouted out his window.
“Faith said there’s a service road up ahead,” he told Connie. “Keep your eyes peeled once we get through Sedalia.”
“Me and Big Mac are on it.”
The pup barked once when he heard his name.
Buck beamed. “That’s my good boy.”
They soon found the turnoff, which wasn’t far up the incline toward the main SNAKE facility. He drove Lorraine onto the gravel but hadn’t gone more than a hundred yards before they came upon a roadblock set up by the US Army. They even had a tank parked off to the side. Faith hadn’t mentioned anything about a blockage.
“Follow my lead,” he said as he slowed.
“What’s your lead going to be?”
“Play dumb,” he whispered.
The soldiers were regular Army, dressed in desert camouflage, and not from the 130th. That alone gave him hope.
He called out through his open window, “Hey! I’ve got a delivery for up there.”
Three soldiers stood in the road with rifles at the low ready.
“Who gave you orders to come up here?” an African-American sergeant asked as he came alongside Buck’s side step.
Buck saluted the leader and noted his name tape said Maple. However, he played the dumb trucker to the best of his ability. “Hey, sarge. A General Streusel told me to haul my ass up this hill and dump my load at some parking lot at the top. I’m sure she would have told you about me coming through?”
The man kept himself from laughing. “It’s not Streusel. She’s not a breakfast treat. Her name is Strauss. And I haven’t been told anything about a delivery. Got any papers?”
“This is the end of the world, friend. Where would I get any paperwork? Are there even any printers left?” He chuckled to try to strike up more laughter in the guy.
But Sergeant Maple turned serious. “I’m going to have to call it in.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” he replied. It was disappointing but probably unavoidable. If he could gun the motor and get by the three guards in the road, the trailer full of canned chili would shield them from any bullets.
Of course, the tank was another story. If they couldn’t get around the next bend before it turned the 120-millimeter gun, no amount of chili would stop their destruction.
“Dragonslayer, this is Barbarian Five-Five. Request confirmation of tractor-trailer delivery up service road in northeast sector. Over.”
“Wait one,” the reply came back.
Buck’s stomach turned to stone as he pretended he couldn’t care less about the encounter. Much of his life was done on other people’s schedules, so he had a lot of practice at it, but never had he been concerned about being shot for fibbing on his reports.
“Barbarian Five-Five. We show no deliveries expected.” The accent of the man’s voice was foreign. Maybe Middle-Eastern.
Maple gave Buck a grim look.
The radio chatter continued. “We actually have no orders of any kind concerning deliveries, but if a truck is sitting at your roadblock and it has stuff we can use, you might as well let it in, right?”
The guard shrugged before answering, “The driver said Strauss ordered it.”
“There you go,” the voice replied. “Just let them in, but don’t let them out. Over and out.”
“Drive on through,” Maple said with some of his old cheer. “You’re good.”
“I haven’t heard I’m good in a long time. My wife is stingy with the compliments.” He tilted his head toward Connie.
She mumbled to herself, probably anxious to counter the playful insult, but she remembered what he’d said about playing dumb, so she kept quiet.
The soldier cracked up and waved the trio of guards out of the way. “C’mon, boys! We’ve got a VIP coming through, doncha know?”
“Thanks!” Buck said as he clutched out of first gear.
A few minutes later, he said, “Phew. That was a close one.”
Connie got out of her seat and stepped next to him, then planted a kiss on his cheek. “Well done.”
He was tempted to kiss her, but they approached the turnoff for the parking area next to the emergency exit as instructed by Faith. He needed all his attention to swing in a wide turn to line up seventy-nine feet of tractor and trailer so he was pointed down the hill in case they needed to make a fast getaway.
A giant bird sat on top of the concrete bunker.
Buck grabbed the AR, the shotgun, and the ammo pouch. Connie grabbed a second shotgun, as well as a revolver she’d taken from Cy’s stash.
Mac sat between them with an expectant look on his drooly face.
“Sorry, buddy,” Buck said with a head scratch. “I need you to keep watch over the truck. I’m going to go inside and get Garth.”
The dog’s ears perked up.
“Yes, Garth,” he repeated. “We’ll bring him back to you.”
His tail shot from side to side, hitting the rear bed dozens of times.
They climbed down, met in front of the rig, and walked toward the concrete blockhouse. The giant black and white bird spread its wings and let out a raspy cry reminiscent of a shorebird, but Buck was undeterred.
He shot over its head, which made it fly away from them.
“I’ve seen worse,” he deadpanned.
A moment later, the door was flung open from the inside. Faith waved them in.
“Take me to my son,” he drawled.
Location Unknown, the Crater
Garth found himself stuck on the metal bar again, but he was no longer alone.
“Garth!” Lydia screamed in confusion. “Where are we?”
She clung to his back, arm around his neck, causing the rebar to jam into his stomach as he balanced them both on it. When she’d pushed him over the edge, he’d aimed for the rod to catch him since he knew it was there.
At the same time, the bar had bent downward with only him on it. Now it drooped inch by inch without stopping.
“Lydia! There’s no time. Get to the side!”
“I see some wires. Can I use them?” She shifted on his back. “I can grab them.”
Being on top gave her the ability to look around, which he’d been unable to do both times he’d been in this position. If she saw something she could grab, he had to trust her.
“Go for it!” The swirling ash and smoke choked his airway.
“I’ll try,” she rasped, “but where are we? How did we get here?”
“Just climb,” he wheezed.
She fell silent as she adjusted her
self on his back, then slid onto a thicker piece of metal by the broken foundation pieces. As soon as she was off, the bar stopped bending.
“Oh, my gosh.” He inhaled the second she cleared his back. “That was close.”
“Follow me!” she ordered.
“I’m coming,” he said as he moved a few inches toward her. It was tougher than doing it the first time since the angle was a lot steeper. He had to climb up as well as over.
Lydia worked her feet against the broken slabs to give herself support going up the bank as he’d done when he hit it the first time. She’d also used the tangle of frayed wires as a helping hand.
He did his best to reach for the wires.
Without looking down.
“You got it,” Lydia confirmed.
He let go of the bar.
The wire he’d chosen snapped at the point where it went into the concrete.
“Shit!” he screamed.
Lydia’s hand gripped his wrist, but he slowly slid through her grasp.
“No,” she fretted.
Her grip wasn’t enough to stop him from falling since she wasn’t that strong, but her efforts slowed him enough that he was able to grab a second wire before tumbling down the rock face.
When he was sure it would hold him, he looked up to her with a weak smile. “I was a dead man.”
“Not while I’m here,” she soothed. “Now, come up the rest of the way.”
She pulled where she could, grabbed his shirt at the shoulder, and generally helped support him as he climbed the last few feet to the top. He was exhausted and in a lot of pain, so the assist came at the perfect time.
“Thanks,” he muttered as he made landfall.
“Are you hurt?” she asked.
Everything from his lower rib cage to his belt line felt as if he’d been hit with a baseball bat—a baseball bat with a girl attached to it.
“I’m okay,” he allowed.
“So, where are we?” She looked around in awe. “Is this normal for your time?”
“Not even close.” He sat up so he could see the crater. “I have no idea where we are either. I think we were teleported by that blue light.”
“You mean that one?” she asked, craning her neck.
He’d not had the chance to look behind him. The tunnel of blue light was there. It rose and fell as it went away from the edge, but then it sank into some burning trees a hundred yards away. The point where they sat had a round opening like a doorway.
“That’s where we came from,” he said as he struggled to his feet.
She rushed to him. “You’re really hurt.”
“No, it’s good. Trust me.”
Lydia held him upright as he looked at the light.
“Everyone who has come through this portal has landed on this cliff and bounced over the side. I was lucky enough to grab that bar before I went all the way down.” He imagined coming off a ten-foot-wide waterslide at high speed. It was a miracle he’d been able to stop himself twice.
He stared at the blue aura for a minute, then Lydia guided him to the ground.
“Please, sit,” she insisted.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” he said with wonder. “I still think they’re total jagoffs, but I can understand why they were trying to get information about this. I mean, this is, like, the most important discovery in history. We can beam up and down like in Star Trek.”
She gave him the blank look she offered when he’d said something she didn’t understand.
“Star Trek?” he mused. “It’s a TV show about a wagon train to the stars.”
“Oh, that sounds…interesting. TV is that colorful box you showed me?”
“Yeah,” he said. “We’ll watch that show someday.” A wave of pain rushed over him, and he saw white lights in his eyes. It wasn’t anything tech-related, however. The intensity of his injuries made him lightheaded.
“Garth,” Lydia cooed.
He remembered waking up with her the day before—a very pleasant memory.
“Shit,” he slurred when he saw the smoky air and the huge crater. “Did I fall asleep?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “I was afraid you were dead.”
He sat up, feeling maybe one percent better, but it was a move in the right direction. “I’ll be fine. I just needed a little rest to catch my breath.”
Her soot-covered face smiled at him, but she coughed a bunch of times.
“We can’t stay here,” he acknowledged.
“I don’t think we should,” she agreed, “but I don’t know where to go.”
He slowly, painfully, made his way to his feet.
“We should go there.” He motioned at the blue doorway.
She gripped his arm. “Are you sure?”
“No,” he admitted. “But my family…our family is back through there. I want to see my dad and Big Mac again. I want to marry you with them around. You know, stuff people do in regular life.”
“I would like that too,” she said in a soft tone.
“Even if I don’t know for sure where that will take us?” he asked.
“I trust you, Garth. I’ve said that a hundred times, and I still mean it.”
It was a lot of pressure to have her trust, but he only needed to look around them to know he’d rather take his chances going back to where they’d come from rather than exploring an apocalyptic crater ringed with burning forests. He’d walked through the blue light the first time to put an end to the abuse visited upon the time nomads. It seemed logical that he’d have to return to prove to General Strauss that no more needed to be sent through. He’d proved her point.
“Have they sent anyone else through? How long has it been since we came through?”
“No one has come through,” she answered. “I would guess we’ve been here about an hour.”
“An hour? Strauss won’t be expecting us now. Hell, maybe she won’t even be there anymore. If we can run away when we arrive back in that cavern, we should definitely try to escape, all right?”
Lydia smiled at him.
“There is one thing I need to do first,” he requested.
She watched in silence as he gathered long strands of wire and tied them off. He smiled at his creation when it was done, but he didn’t make a big deal out of it since he hoped never to see it again.
“Goodbye, hellhole!” he said off the side of the crater.
He summoned her to the light.
“It’s traditional for people to kiss when they are about to jump into blue vortexes taking them through teleportation windows.”
She gave him a knowing smile. “You just made all that up, didn’t you?”
“You’re catching on.”
Still, she kissed him.
Then they jumped into the light.
Twenty-Four
Alpha Site
“You made it,” Faith gushed as Buck and Connie came through the door.
She was covered with sweat from running through the woods again. When Strauss had let her go, the general had made sure she went up the nearest staircase, which had dumped her at the edge of a parking lot she had never seen. However, she’d avoided the place and run back into the woods. She’d sprinted like hell to cross the mile of forest to reach the exit bunker where she’d told Buck to meet her. She’d gotten lucky and hadn’t seen the larger group of birds, but she’d had to sprint the last fifty feet to get under the one camped out on the roof. She hadn’t caught her breath in the thirty minutes she’d waited for them to arrive.
“You weren’t lying about the birds,” Connie remarked.
“Yeah, just be glad you didn’t have to fight off twenty of them with nothing but your fingernails,” she said. “Come on, Buck. Let’s get you to your son.”
When they got twenty stories down, Buck made her stop. “Can you shoot a gun?”
He held out his shotgun.
“If you have one to spare,” she answered. She and Dez had grown up around men and women who loved shooting and
hunting, but only Dez had embraced that culture. Faith’s idea of self-defense was martial arts, but she did know how to handle a gun.
“I tried to get to Garth,” she said while checking out the firearm, “but he bumped himself up in the line to make sure he was the one who went into the blue energy. I couldn’t get to him before he’d gone into the event horizon and disappeared.”
“He’s gone?” His eyes blazed hot with anger.
“He’s temporarily disappeared,” she answered in a hopeful tone. “But I think Strauss has found a phenomenon which has formed between our supercollider and the one in Switzerland. A ribbon of backblast has appeared in the vault chamber…down there.”
She pointed the way.
Buck began walking.
“What’s a backblast?” he asked.
How to explain the origins of the universe to him?
“Well, this wasn’t the first experiment linking supercolliders. There was a much smaller one done prior to SNAKE. They created a link between the pair by tapping into a stored pool of dark matter which had accumulated inside the Earth’s crust. A noteworthy side effect was that energy that got released on one side of the link bled over, spread out, beyond each collider. I didn’t see it in person, but they showed me a video of a scientist standing in that backblast. He changed about a thousand times into different people because he was in a pocket of what I now believe was dark matter. The runover seemed to be connected to multiple universes at the same time.”
“Phew.” Connie made a noise like a gunshot. “That went right over my head.”
“Mine too, mostly,” Faith admitted. “I never anticipated all this, and the people who hijacked my supercollider to run their shit neglected to tell me about the residual effects until it was far too late. I hate the way they did it, but our military blew up the Swiss collider to make sure the link was severed for good. By all rights, it should have been shut down. Hell, the entire world ended as part of that attempted shutdown.”
“But it didn’t seal the deal,” Buck remarked.
“No,” she lamented. “After all that we lost, it appears dark matter is even stranger than we thought. It has regained a link, perhaps because it entangled itself with numerous universes adjacent to this one. That’s why when you see where the blue light is located, you’ll be surprised to know the room wasn’t there two days ago. My collider changed, just as sure as the other one blew up.”
End of Days | Book 5 | Beyond Alpha Page 21
