The Resistance: Book 5 of the After The Event Series (12 page)

Alec

              “There wasn’t anything we could do.”

              Alec placed a nail and began to hammer it into place but he didn’t answer Walt. He wanted to believe there was nothing they could have done, but he knew that wasn’t the case. They could have fought back.

              Walt was bent over beside him, hammering in another nail, and stopped. “I’m serious Alec.”

              “We could have fought back,” Alec said, putting his thoughts into words.

              “And we would have all been killed and it wouldn’t have saved him.”

              Alec took out his frustrations on the nail and in several hits it was flush with the wood. Members of both camps had been ordered to come together to assist in creating several buildings, what for they didn’t know. One of the buildings had been placed over the holes they had built previously. Alec was afraid of what that building was for. Despite all that, Alec enjoyed being around Walt again. The man seemed like a rock, though it was obvious that the death of his friend had taken a lot out of him.

              “What was his name?” Alec asked.

              “Neal,” Walt said, placing another nail. “He had been here almost as long as I had. He was a good man.”

              “I’m sorry.”

              “So am I.”

              They continued placing boards and hammering them into place. The warm sun at their back and with a cool breeze in their faces would have been nice if it wasn’t for the shadow of what had happened hovering over them.

              “We still should have fought back,” Alec said, “even if they killed us all.”

              Walt didn’t look at him but he placed a nail and paused. “I can’t die.” He looked out in the distance for a second and then turned back to his hammer. “I have a family I have to get back to.”

              Of course the man had a family. Everyone here had a family but it was easy to just see them all as just prisoners instead of people. “Where?”

              “Illinois. Bloomington, Illinois. My wife and my five-year-old son. I promised them I would find my way back.”

              Alec’s thoughts turned to his sister and brother. They had to still be out there somewhere. His hopes were that they were somewhere safe, but it was hard to imagine a safe place in the world they currently lived in.

              “What about you?” Walt asked.

              “Yeah, I have family.”

              “Don’t worry, we’ll make it back to them. Just keep your head down and do what you are told.”             

              Alec stopped what he was doing. “You really think we’ll make it out of here?”

              “I have to.”

              “Was Xu here when you arrived?” Alec asked.

              “Yes, but he hadn’t been here that long. Some of the people that were here before said that things got worse when he arrived. He…” Walt looked around to make sure it was clear. “He is unstable and I think he is getting worse.”             

              Alec thought back to the tug-of-war game that Xu had them play when he first got there and where they were now. He couldn’t disagree. “Who is he?”

              “No idea, but apparently he has connections. The other soldiers even seem scared of him.”

              Alec pushed the man out of his thoughts and focused on what Walt said about making it out alive. “Have they ever let anyone go?”

              “Not that I know,” Walt said somberly.

              “Anyone ever escape?”

              “Not sure.”

              The hope Alec had begun to feel started to evaporate.

              “But,” Walt said, looking at him and giving him a smile, “there is a first time for everything.”

              Alec couldn’t help but smile. He started to look out at the horizon when he saw Xu. The man was just across the clearing and was staring right at them, his face blank. Alec put his head down and whispered, “He’s watching us.”

              Walt paused for just a second, then hammered in another nail. “We shouldn’t talk anymore.” He stood up and walked over to the other side without waiting for a response.

              After a few minutes Alec looked back up and Xu was gone but somehow that was even more terrifying. They finished what they were doing prior to the sun setting so the soldiers let them head back to camp earlier, and the feeling of excitement Alec felt made him sick to his stomach. Somehow getting off work an hour or so earlier felt like having a vacation. They all made their way to where dinner was handed out and sat around waiting to be told what to do. Some people, mostly the newer ones, tried to strike up conversations, while the people that had been there the longest just sat waiting for instructions.

              Jon came up to Alec and sat down in a chair near him. The man hadn’t been there long but already his cheeks were beginning to sink in and his clothing was beginning to hang off. “Today wasn’t that bad.”

              Xu came walking out of one of the nearby buildings and made his way toward them. Alec looked at Jon. “You spoke too soon.”

              Xu walked toward the prisoners, his eyes never leaving them. He yelled something out in Chinese and the soldiers formed into a circle. Alec’s stomach dropped and several of his fellow prisoners gasped or moaned. They knew what was about to happen. Xu scanned the area and stopped on Walt. A few words and one of the soldiers had grabbed the man and dragged him into the circle. Xu began to scan the prisoners again, each of them dropping their heads, hoping not to be picked, but Xu was looking for one person in particular. He stopped scanning as soon as his eyes fell on Alec. The man smiled and with a word they grabbed Alec and took him into the circle.

              Alec stumbled into the circle and fell to his knees. When he looked up he locked eyes with Walt. The man stood above him with tears in his eyes. Walt looked to Xu and began to say something but stopped; he knew it was useless.

              “Fight,” Xu yelled.

              Alec slowly got to his feet and watched Walt. He didn’t want to fight the man and it was obvious Walt didn’t want to fight him but they were not given a choice. He sized Walt up and fear gripped him. The man was nearly a foot taller than him and his broad shoulders made him look twice as wide.

              “I’m sorry,” Walt said and then charged him.

              Alec dove to the side and Walt rushed past him. Alec jumped back to his feet just as Walt began to charge again, and this time Alec met him head-on. Both of their bodies slammed into each other but it was Alec who was pushed back. He fought to stay on his feet as Walt’s mass pushed him back farther and farther. As he felt himself begin to lose his balance he intentionally fell back as quickly as he could, getting his legs in between him and the man. When they fell back Alec kicked his feet out, causing Walt to tumble over him and slam into the ground hard. Alec got to his feet and he could already feel fatigue starting to take over.

              “Stop,” Alec yelled. “We don’t have to do this. None of us has to do this.”

              Walt got to his feet and crouched down. “I don’t have a choice.”

              Before Alec could say anything else Walt charged him again, and once again Alec wasn’t quick enough to get out of the way. They both fell back and this time Walt remained on top of him. Alec grabbed at the man’s neck and managed to get hold of his throat but Walt swiped his hand away effortlessly and then slammed his fist into Alec’s face. His ears rang and the world shuttered for a spilt second. Alec swung back but his hand just knocked against the man’s large shoulders. Walt struck him again in the jaw and he felt his teeth rattle inside of his mouth. Alec swung again blindly and felt his fist connect with the man’s face. Walt paused for a second and Alec followed it up with another punch that knocked the man off him.  Alec rolled to the side and got back to his feet.

              “We all have a choice. If this keeps up every one of us will end up dying in the middle of one of these fucking circles.” He yelled it to Walt and to everyone who was listening.

              Walt staggered to his feet. Tears streaked down his face. “You know it’s not that simple.”

              Walt approached him with his fists up like they were in a boxing match. Alec raised his and they began to circle each other.

              “It’s not as difficult as you’re trying to make it. We don’t have to do this.”

              Walt swung at him and Alec’s right arm blocked the blow but it still caused him to stagger back a few feet. The man was strong. Alec ducked under another swing and struck the man in the side and then ducked back out of the way. Walt grunted and stepped back a few feet then turned and immediately began to circle Alec again.

              “Is this what your family would want?” Alec asked.

              “My family would want me to come back to them,” Walt said, his voice shaking.

              Walt swung at him and Alec blocked the blow but the follow-up punch made it through and struck him in the stomach. A wave of pain washed over Alec and he doubled over. Another blow struck him in the face and he was knocked onto his back, he didn’t try to get back up. Walt stood above him, just waiting.

              “Continue,” Xu’s voice came from somewhere off to the side.

              Walt stood there, not moving. Alec heard something hit the ground near them. When he turned his head he saw a long knife sitting in the dirt six feet from them. He turned back around to Walt, who was staring at the knife. When the man went for the knife Alec rolled and by the time he got back to his feet Walt was standing there with the knife in his hand.

              “Walt,” Alec started but didn’t finish. Another knife landed near Alec’s feet and he reluctantly bent over and picked it up. The handle felt cold in his hand, and the blade gleamed in the dying sunlight.

              Walt stood on the other side of the clearing, tears still running down his face while he shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I have to see my family again.”

              The realization hit Alec. One of them was going to die.

              Walt let out a scream and charged Alec. He watched the man approach. Walt’s knife was held back, ready to be thrust forward as soon as he got into range, his face a mixture of rage, horror and sadness. Alec didn’t move. He held his knife out to the side. Walt had a family. He had a wife and he had a son waiting and praying for him to return. Walt was nearly on top of him when Alec rushed forward. Walt hadn’t been expecting that and when his knife thrust forward it hit nothing but air. They slammed into each other and fell back onto the ground.

              “No!” someone screamed from behind them.

              Alec pushed the massive man off him and looked down at his blade, which was sticking out of Walt’s chest. Alec had a family too. Ally and Ben were out there somewhere and if he was ever going to see them again, he had to survive. Walt lay there with a look of shock on his face.

              “I’m sorry, Walt,” Alec said, trying and failing to fight back tears.

              Walt opened and closed his mouth several times but said nothing.

              “Kill him,” Xu growled as he stepped into the circle.

              Alec ignored him and looked down at Walt. Fear gripped the man’s face. Whether he was afraid of dying or what would happen to his family, Alec wasn’t sure. He bent down and sat the man up. “Look,” Alec said as he pointed at the setting sun. The sun had nearly set and the horizon was a bright orange color. “It’s going to be ok.”

              Walt’s breaths started to become ragged as his lungs began to fill with blood. Alec sat down beside him and laid the man’s head on his shoulder. “Everything is going to be ok,” he lied to the man.

              “My family,” the man choked out.

              “You’re a wise man. It’s because of you I managed to survive. If you can teach me how to survive, I know you taught them.” Alec fought for composure. “They are going to be okay.”

              Walt’s breathing got worse and worse and Alec listened as the man drowned in his own blood. When his struggle finally ended Alec laid Walt’s head down gently onto the ground. When Alec turned Xu was standing over him. His face was contorted from rage. Before Alec could say anything Xu slammed the butt of his rifle into his face and everything went black.

Ben

              Ben lay prone on the ridge, looking down the scope of his gun toward the former car dealership lot. The new and used cars had been cleared out and the Chinese had turned it into a refueling station and temporary base. The main building itself served as their headquarters, while the south part of the lot consisted of tents and temporary buildings. The northern end was the part they were interested in. Dozens of Humvees sat around, just ready to be taken. Two enemy soldiers sat in the middle of that lot working on a Humvee, while three more walked around the perimeter.

              “I count at least thirty altogether,” Crimson said as her binoculars scanned the parking lots.

              “No helos or snipers that I can see,” Dex said as he scanned the distance.

              “Crimson, Vick, you’re with me,” Reaper said as he pulled out and checked his rifle magazines. “We will head to the north side and get one of the Humvees. Do NOT fire unless shit goes bad.” Reaper looked to Ben and the others. “We’ll be using the silencers, but if you all are forced to fire the entire Chinese Army will know we’re here.”

              Ben nodded.

              “Once we grab the Humvee and clear the area we’ll meet up at the rendezvous spot. If shit goes bad, provide covering fire for as long as you can, then you scatter and make your way back to the fallback point.”

              “Yes sir,” they all said with various degrees of intensity.

              Crimson, Reaper and Vick took off, making a large U toward the car dealership. Ben continued to scan the lot. The soldiers walked about as if they didn’t have a care in the world. They didn’t feel threatened. Even the few soldiers walking the perimeter seemed to be staring at the ground more than they were their surroundings. It was time for them to start evening the score.

              After a few minutes Ben could make out Reaper on the far northern end of the lot. He was hiding behind an old truck that was on blocks. The man waited for one of the soldiers to walk past, then he shot up to another car and another, slowing making his way toward the nearest Humvee. Crimson and Vick took up positions just behind him on either side. When he moved they would wait until he was clear, then they would move. It was precision at its finest.  

              Reaper made his way to the nearest Humvee and carefully opened the passenger door and crawled in. Ben lost sight of him but within a minute he caught sight of the man crawling back out and closing the passenger door. No keys. They had figured that was a possibility. Now Reaper had to decide if he was going to try and hotwire, which could take time and make some noise, or if he was going to begin checking the rest of the Humvees. When Ben saw both Crimson and Vick move to opposite ends of the lot he knew what Reaper had decided.

              One of the soldiers casually walked down the edge of the parking lot and stopped, staring out at the distance. Crimson peered out from a nearby car and then Ben saw the soldier’s head jerk to the side and a red mist flashed before being blown away by the wind. The soldier dropped and Ben waited for someone to notice, but no one did. Another soldier walked in the direction of Vick, the smoke from a cigarette making its way above his head. The soldier stopped near another Humvee and leaned against it, his head facing away from Vick. Another quick jerk, red mist, and the soldier was down. The distant sound of a car struggling to start floated up to them.

              “Eyes sharp,” Dex said from beside him. “This is when things could go bad.”

              At first the two soldiers working on a Humvee around fifty yards away didn’t pay any attention to the sound, but on the fourth and fifth attempt they finally looked over at the Humvee that Reaper was working on. For a few seconds they just stood there staring, then one soldier yelled something in Reaper’s direction. When there wasn’t an answer the soldier on the left began to walk over while the other put his head back down under the hood of his own Humvee. The soldier that approached still had his gun slung over his shoulder, as if he thought he was just going to chew out another soldier, not check on suspicious activity. When he got within fifteen yards of Reaper, Crimson took him down. The body lay in between Reaper and the soldier working on the Humvee; all it would take was for him to look up and he would see his comrade lying dead on the ground.

              The roar of the Humvee successfully starting sounded like music to Ben’s ears until he saw the soldier pull his head out from under the hood and close it. The soldier wiped his hands on a cloth nearby and then turned toward the Humvee. Those few seconds felt like hours. The soldier paused and then reached for his side arm when his body jerked back twice and he fell back against his Humvee.

              Reaper pulled out slowly from the car lot and drove down the road away from the dealership. Ben looked and saw Crimson and Vick pulling back.

              “We probably got less than a minute before they discover those bodies,” Dex said. “Let’s be at the rendezvous point before they do.”

              Ben took one last look at the lot, then got to his feet and ran.