She stood. "Let's get him."
He started off in a sprint.
Beck ran after him. "King, this whole valley sits on a deposit of natural gas. It's why Ridley chose it. I went back in to see if the detonation sequence had been initiated, but it hasn't been."
"So?" King said, vaulting an old stone wall. "What can we do?"
"Ridley carries a PDA with him. He can remote detonate. If he does, this whole valley will i mplode — the campground, town, everything, will be blown to bits, then sucked inside a mile-deep crater. Whatever happens, that PDA needs to stay in one piece. It's the only way to access the system once it's engaged."
"Can we destroy it on site?"
"It's a mile underground."
A distant chop of rotor blades caught King's attention. With each chop the noise grew louder. Ridley hadn't left yet. "Can you cancel the detonation sequence?"
"No. Only Ridley can."
King stopped. The trail turned up at a sharp angle. As he began ascending the trail, the chop of the rotor blades grew loud and pine needles spun into the air like mini-sized missiles. He caught a quick glimpse of the chopper before it landed — a severely modified, sleek black Eurocopter. Both hatches were open, one to receive Ridley, the other containing a manned Gatling gun, already spinning and ready to fire.
King ducked down and looked back at Beck. She slid up next to him. "What now?"
"I'll take care of the Gatling gun and pilot. You get the PDA from Ridley."
She nodded.
"Try not to kill him."
She nodded again.
They scrambled up the incline as the helicopter touched down on the landing pad. As they cleared the rise King saw two things simultaneously. The first was Ridley diving into the chopper. The second was the Gatling gun swiveling toward them.
SIXTY-ONE
The thinning trees gave way to a dirt road. As he burst from the trees a glint of sun on metal caught Knight's eye. After a moment of looking he saw a pattern he recognized as camouflage. The shape of the SUV emerged next. Yes! Knight thought, running toward the vehicle.
Bishop continued chasing down the Hydra, whose violent charge was marked by a path of flattened birch trees.
Knight yanked the camouflage from the SUV, jumped inside, and started the engine. He peeled from the hiding spot, leaving a cloud of dust and shredded pine needles in his wake. Passing the abandoned mess hall, he drove down a stony hill, turned a sharp left, and slammed on the breaks as he nearly ran Bishop over.
Bishop climbed onto the hood of the vehicle and then onto the roof. He held on to the roof rack with one hand and slammed on the roof with the other, shouting a savage-sounding, "Go!"
Knight floored it through the cleared patch of forest left in the Hydra's wake. The Chevy Tahoe bounced over the small limbs as Knight did his best to steer around the larger felled timber. Bishop held on tight with both hands while his lower body was picked up and smashed against the SUV's roof over and over. He ignored the pain and had no worries about permanent injuries, not to his body anyway.
Then they were through it and onto a road. Knight's sense of direction was turned around by the endless sea of tall pines, but then he saw a street sign: Praise Street. A dog barked.
Thor.
Knight hit the gas and drew a fully automatic pistol capable of firing fifteen rounds in 1.9 seconds, one of the many weapons hidden within the vehicle. As the SUV raced down the street, Knight's view of the Honeymoon Cottage was blocked by a mass of green, scaled flesh. Thor stood on the small, red porch, barking up at the seven-headed behemoth as it reared up to strike. Knight leaned from the driver's side window and held the pistol's trigger down for a full two seconds, unleashing all fifteen rounds. Every one of them buried into the creature's side.
The bullets did no serious damage, but the sting got its attention. Seeing the approaching SUV, the Hydra roared and continued its mad flight through the campground. It pounded through a nearby cottage, completely flattening it, before charging toward the open quad.
Knight skidded to a stop in front of the cottage, looked at Thor and said, "Stay!" Then he peeled away again in pursuit of the Hydra.
Worst fears became realized as distant screams filled the air. Children. The SUV exploded from the forest, catching air as the road changed from dirt to tarmac, turning the Tahoe into a blunt missile. The vehicle slammed into the Hydra's side, toppling it over in a mass of twisting heads and limbs. Bishop was sent flying. He cleared the Hydra and landed on the grassy quad, sliding to a stop halfway between the road and the shuffleboard court where four children stood in shock.
Knight, unable to rapidly heal, having gone from sixty to zero upon impact with the Hydra, fared the worst. Unconscious and pinned by an airbag, he slipped to the side, bumping his head against the door. He jolted awake when the Hydra roared. After kicking the door open and falling to the road he looked up and saw the Hydra, heads up and snapping at the only thing standing between it and the children: the machete-wielding Bishop.
SIXTY-TWO
The man behind the Gatling gun had quick reflexes, but they were geared toward self-preservation. Even though he had the superior weapon and his sites lined up, when King fired his rifle from the hip, sending rounds pinging off the side of the chopper, the guard ducked down with his hands over his head. King suspected the man never thought he'd actually ever have to use the gun, and certainly not under attack. With the way clear, he ran for the open side of the helicopter as Ridley ran for the other.
Upon reaching the hatch, King dove straight through the chopper, striking the larger man like a linebacker, knocking him out of the chopper. But the impact knocked the wind out of him, too. When he regained his footing, Ridley was already throwing a haymaker. The first punch connected with King's injured side, sending a flare of pain to his toes. But King sidestepped the second swing, causing Ridley to hit the helicopter's metal side. The sound of his pain-filled shout was drowned out by the thunderous roar of the chopper, but was cut short entirely by King's heel connecting with his temple. The roundhouse kick sent Ridley to the ground.
Ridley stood as the hel icopter pil ot began to lift off. He came at King again with enough force to take both of them off the helipad and into the woods below, but King saw the attack coming, took hold of the rising helicopter struts, and planted both of his feet square on Ridley's face. The man fell back like his feet had been pulled out from under him and cracked his head on the hard pavement. His eyes fluttered for a moment, then stilled. To King's surprise, the helicopter began to lower again.
As much as he would have liked to allow the six-ton helicopter to land on top of Ridley there was still the matter of stopping the implosion of Pinckney Valley. He dragged Ridley clear as the Eurocopter landed. Beck crouched inside, aiming King's rifle at the two terrified men there. She gave King a smile and a salute.
King searched Ridley's suit jacket and found the PDA. He pulled it out and unlocked it. The screen showed a small countdown ticking away in the lower-left-hand corner. "I think he's activated it!"
"I don't know how to stop it," she replied. "How much time is left?"
"Just under ten minutes."
"Get on board. We'll figure it out in the air!"
King dragged Ridley on board the chopper with the help of the timid Gatling gun operator. The man pleaded with King that he was just doing his job. Never wanted to hurt anyone. When King saw tears in the man's eyes he realized he was closer to being a kid. Probably still a teenager. Barely Gen-Y.