“Stop kicking, you’re going to drown us both!” Richard yelled, but Ethan continued to flail about wildly.
“Stop struggling or I’m letting go!” Richard shouted. The kicking slowly subsided, and Richard wasn’t sure if Ethan had heard him, or drowned. It took several minutes for Richard to reach the shore, and when he did, he pulled Ethan out of the water and rolled his limp body over. Then he forced a breath of air into Ethan’s lungs and slapped his pale face in an effort to revive him. Ethan immediately started coughing up water while Richard held his head to the side to help him clear his lungs.
“Thank you,” Ethan replied after recovering from his near death experience.
“That’s alright,” Richard remarked. “The current was much stronger than any of us could have predicted.
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to hang on to the bridge longer,” Ethan said apologetically.
“It’s okay, I don’t know how much longer I could have held on myself,” Richard said in a reassuring tone.
“Did Matt and Mitch have to jump off too?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah, they dropped into the water shortly after we did. I’m sure they will find us before long.”
“I lost the pouch of fern powder that was in my pocket when I fell into the water,” Ethan admitted.
“Don’t worry about it, I brought enough for several people,” Richard replied.
“Thanks, I’m sorry that I’m messing everything up.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Richard said in a fatherly tone. “How upset can I be with you or anyone else who has volunteered for this crazy mission? After all, you’re risking your life to help others,” Richard said in an appreciative tone.
“I just want to make a difference,” Ethan said as he rubbed his hands together for warmth.
“Follow me,” Richard remarked as he walked over to a secluded location on the riverbank. Then he set his pulse rifle on the lowest power setting and shot a large boulder several times until it started to glow.
“That’s a neat trick,” Ethan commented, as he sat down next to the rock and put his hands out to absorb the heat.
“Yeah, it doesn’t work on all rocks, some of them shatter from the thermal shock, but river rocks are tougher than most and can usually take the abuse.”
“Shush,” Richard whispered when he heard a faint sound in the distance. “Arm your pulse rifle, I think someone is coming.” Ethan instantly powered up his rifle as they anxiously waited to see if it was their friends or an Aug approaching.
“It’s Matt and Mitch,” Richard said in a calm voice as he put his night vision binoculars down. Then he used a dove call to get their attention.
“Damn, I’m glad you saw us,” Mitch said as he and Matt rushed over to them.
“Yeah, we got lucky,” Richard replied. “After we dry out, we should head further down river and look for a better place to rest before the sun comes up.”
“How far away is the production facility?” Ethan asked.
“Just fifteen more miles, we’ll reach it tomorrow if all goes well,” Richard said with a sigh of relief.
“What do you think the chances are that we all escape after the attack?” Matt asked as he side-eyed Ethan.
“Well, we’ve made it this far without being captured or killed, so I think the odds of reaching the facility are really high at this point,” Richard replied.
“No, that’s not what I meant. What are our chances of getting away once we finish shooting up the place?” Matt exclaimed.
“I have a few ideas, but I need to see the facility before I plan our get-away,” Richard replied. Matt immediately elbowed Ethan and gave him the, ‘I told you so nudge’, but Ethan did not respond. Richard knew exactly what Matt was up too, but he decided it was better to ignore his attitude rather than challenge it. In truth, he really didn’t care if Matt was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice or not, as long as he helped get him to the production facility. He knew that Matt might change his mind about the attack, but as long as Ethan remained loyal, he wouldn’t leave. It was dangerous enough to be in the Augs’ territory as a group, but being alone was suicide.
After a few hours of walking along the riverbank, Richard noticed a faint glow on the eastern horizon and he headed into a dense stand of trees. The men followed after him and settled in as the dawn broke. There was little hope of sleeping, as they could not escape the incessant buzzing of mosquitoes. The best they could do was cover as much exposed flesh as possible and wait for the morning to pass.
By midday, all but the most persistent mosquitoes had retreated from the heat and the men could finally sleep in relative peace. Richard dozed in and out as he listened for intruders. His brief dreams played like clips from a movie. Some of them brought up characters from his past while others seemed to be glimpses into the future. One particular dream ended with a massive explosion followed by blinding white light and searing heat, but Richard couldn’t tell if was the Augs or the humans that had unleashed the apocalyptic blow.
Chapter 9
As the sun sank into the western sky, the mosquitoes returned in full force. They were a constant reminder that they were deep behind enemy lines. Richard slapped at one of the insidious pests that was biting his neck before walking over to wake the others.
“It’s time to get going,” he said in a low voice. Once the men had readied their packs, they headed northeast along the river. The night sky had an eerie glow as the city’s lights cut through the darkness and made them all feel vulnerable and exposed. To make things worse, parts of the river were illuminated by the streetlights that lined the roadway above them. Richard hung as close to the riverbank as possible, but the overgrowth that had offered them such superb concealment for most of their journey had become sparse and erratic. Richard feared that they might be seen if they went any deeper into the city so he abruptly stopped behind a small thicket and pulled out his map.
“The production facility is near the river approximately seven miles ahead. I’m concerned that the river bank is too exposed for a direct approach,” Richard said with a disappointing sighed.
“What are our options?” Ethan asked.
“We can turn back and try to reach the facility from the south by crossing Gibson Flats, or we keep going northeast as planned and play it by ear,” Richard suggested.
“How much further would it be if we crossed at Gibson Flats?’ Ethan asked.
“It will add an extra day to get there,” Richard replied.
“Then I think we should continue on as planned,” Ethan remarked. Both Matt and Mitch nodded in agreement and Richard put the map away. The occasional vehicle passing by on the roadway above them made everyone jumpy and uncomfortable. To make matters worse, the noise from the river flowing next to them drowned out their ability to hear if an Aug was anywhere around them. At one point, Richard wanted to run the last few miles just to get it over with, but he knew that would only increase their risk of detection.
When they reached a narrow drainage ditch that headed directly towards Malmstrom, Richard paused to look at the map one last time.
“What is it?” Ethan asked as he came up alongside him.
“This is it. We’re less than a mile from the facility now,” Richard replied in an anxious voice. Ethan tried to gulp down the lump in his throat, but it persisted. A moment later Matt and Mitch joined them and Richard held out the map so they could see where they were on it. Then they continued up the ditch until they came to a u-shaped concrete storm drain that ran under the perimeter fence.
“This is the point of no return,” Richard said in an ominous tone. “Ethan and I will go first. I want you to follow us, but stay back a bit so we don’t create a target-rich zone if we’re discovered.