by Richard Dusk
"Step on it!" yelled Hodge, watching through the back window a long, heavy jib falling on the bridge. It broke through the structure, tugged the ropes, and set the whole hanged deck to sway.
Vince felt in hands that fear weakened his indomitable will to drive through this madness.
"It's the last one," he pressed the pedal almost to the ground. "The last one."
Deimos swiftly accelerated towards the final barrier in their way. Garrett glanced at Vince's maniacally determined face and grasped the seat. He saw the coach, the solid wall that will decide their fate, hanged in the air above the road. The gap beneath it matched the one Jillian described - less than a third of what they needed it to be. If the charge fails, they will hit it with enormous energy that will vanish in a few milliseconds and turn their bodies into corpses. They will break through or break Deimos. Garrett's eyes were wide open, and his thumb ready for a quick move on the remote.
"Now!" yelled Vince, who pressed the pedal for the last bits of engine's power.
The motor whirred, and the flash of light hit their eyes. An explosion, stronger than all others before, rose the coach up and broke it in the middle. The gap widened just for that trice during which they speeded through, and flames licked the armor, burning marks on Deimos. They couldn't see through massive fire clouds that the large part of the pier below blasted away with the charge. The second they thought it's over, the tilting road convinced them about the opposite. Not just snapping suspension cables and pier beneath falling apart, but the whole bridge began tilting to its right side.
"Turn!" shouted Garrett.
Vince swerved to dodge the cars sliding towards the edge. He hit the guardrail by the left side, and scraping the metals drove the last three hundred yards towards the end. Garrett had to push his hand against the door to fight the gravity pulling him on the window. Noises came from the back when out of nothing a giant satellite dish fell inches behind them, giving a tug to the car that bumped twice on the unstable road. Widening gaps in the asphalt filling with raining water outran them and uncovered crumbling deck beneath. Road jerked when other hangers between pylons snapped at once. Cars hit the railing that immediately gave way to the weight bearing it down and ripped off the concrete. Nearing abutment on the cleared way was at hand when deck broke off and made a wide gap between bridge and road ahead.
"Stop! We'll hit the wall," yelled Garrett at him.
Vince ignored his words. He slowed down to get the precise timing of his intention while the cars continued falling off the bridge and plunging into the water.
"What are you doing? Get us out of here!" shouted Kaiden from the back because Deimos slid on the wet surface, heading to follow the falling cars.
The gravity pushed them into seats until the wreckage of coach they blew up and seven fully loaded trucks fell off the bridge too. They quickly began to rise with the overbalancing deck due to the weight of cars on the other side sliding to the edge. Vince waited for this moment. He pressed the pedal, revved up the engine, and speeded to the edge. Garrett's eyes opened wide with fright when he saw the gap ahead.
"Hold on!" shouted Vince clutching the steering wheel.
Wheels smoothly left the road to pass into the air, letting the engine roar with no resistance. Twelve thousand pounds moving at high speed heavily landed on the railing, crashing through the abandoned cars beneath. Vince sharply stepped on the brake to stop Deimos from breaching the railing and falling on railroad and power lines underneath. Tires screeched, and they slowed down, but it wasn't enough. Garrett glanced at Vince and saw that his blood ran cold. He stared at the weak barrier coming closer, hoping that brakes will stop them. Garrett grasped the steering wheel with both hands and decided about their fate at the very last moment.
Chapter 19 - Ashes Of The Enemy
Garrett's and Vince's hands held the rim of the steering wheel for a good while after they stopped. They sat there in the noise of scraping and screeching bridge collapsing down. The engine stalled as Deimos hit the row of cars standing in the way and couldn't overcome their weight without enough power that Vince neglected to give it. The crew in the back loudly sighed of relief and unbuckled themselves. Lex finally let Jillian's tingling hand and walked to Vince.
"That was fun," she grabbed his shoulders with trembling hands. "We should do it again on the way back."
Vince evasively shook his head and finally released the grip of the wheel.
"I need air," he got out, which Garrett did immediately too.
"Be careful out there, it still didn't cease," she said and turned to Hodge and Pace. "How 'bout you two?"
"Fine. Pace?"
Pace didn't answer, just quickly covered mouth, when his stomach hit cramp. Lex instinctively jumped aside, and Jillian lifted her legs.
"Don't puke on my boots," said Lex resentfully to his back because he already got out of the vehicle.
"You three, follow him. Stretch your legs, pour some life into your veins," said Kaiden to Lex, Jillian, and Hodge and walked out.
All signs of a raging thunderstorm happening around them a short while ago disappeared the same as the bridge in the water. The sky above the ocean was covered with mammatus clouds, and the chilly wind blew sedately. Puffy, dark gray storm clouds moved over the city, grumbling and flashing with blue lightning. Heavy raindrops changed into fading fine rain, and sun far above the ocean beamed the warm light glinting on raindrops-coated car roofs.
"Weird," said Jillian looking at the clouds spinning above the city. "A minute ago, it passed right above us, and now it's gone."
"It waited just for you," said Lex with obvious irony in her voice.
"No, she is right. It's weird, as always. It just rushed above our heads," said Garrett. His pale face changed color, and he looked a bit healthier again.
"It is just a coincidence. You've seen enough of that mess that happens around," said Kaiden.
"Maybe it followed us. X-RON senses we're coming," said Hodge.
What's he thinking? thought Garrett.
"Look, it's a coincidence," said Garrett to Hodge. "These storms happen locally. They appear and disappear within minutes. This bridge was a giant piece of conductive iron, so it could affect the storm. We destroyed it, so the storm moved ahead as well. You have no idea about others happening hundreds of miles away. Those can be much worse than this one. We should consider ourselves lucky."
"Hey, I'm just saying that it's not very common that storm chooses one particular spot and time to make a hell of lives of a group passing that place. That's all."
His words made sense, but none of them could fit into the reality they lived in.
"There's nothing like it," said Kaiden after a quiet while. "And there's also no time for guessing the right answer. Sooner we get to Greenland, the better it will be for us. Check the Deimos, the road, and let's go. I hope we didn't damage it much. Yeah, and help that man from throwing up his guts," he said towards Pace bent over the safety rail.
Everyone moved, but Garrett remained in place, rubbing his eyes. He didn't notice Jillian came back to him. She silently stood, watching the terrifying storm turn into something gorgeous.
"Garrett, look a rainbow," she bumped to his hand. "Guys, look."
"Yes, refraction of sunlight in water droplets according to wavelengths," said Garrett as if he explained it a hundred times before.
"No, Garrett. This is different," said Vince standing by his side.
Garrett opened his eyes to see an extraordinary moment.
The high arch of bright noon sunshine light towering over the city stood out from the murky, indistinct scenery. Dark clouds and rumbling thunders added magnificence to this remarkable scene. When the sky cleared above their heads, a second one emerged right above the other one. Their intense white colors almost merged in one, when funnel of twister began descending to the ground. It went straight through the highest point of the doubled arch, mixing and veiling itself in the bright light.
"This can't be r
eal. Light doesn't behave like this," said Garrett in disbelief while he watched it spread through the twister. "At least it didn't before."
"It's amazing," said astonished Jillian.
Seconds passed, and some of the city buildings began to fall under the power of the wind. They could stand there for hours watching that matinee if Kaiden didn't remind them again to continue the task. They got back in the car and moved on.
"Shame we won't remember this for much longer," said Pace looking out of the window on the twister receding from them.
"Cheer up. We're going to get through this, and all will be normal again," said Vince.
The muffled explosions sounded from the distance as the twister continued destroying the downtown.
"Maybe yes, but probably not. Even if we do, then what? Nest ended and hoping for surviving in other base is not a bright future. You know better than all of us that Nest was the last one of self-sufficient bases. Other ones are outdated when compared to that one. All of the high-tech systems are gone. We'll have to remake all by ourselves – electricity, farming, water cleaning, and basically everything. Nothing will be all right when we come back because it's not already now," said Pace.
"There are several strong ones. Remember the Blackbridge base? We can get back in there as well if Stonepine is damaged. It's not as good as Nest but still pretty safe," Lex assured him.
Pace didn't answer anymore. He glanced at everybody, but his eyes stuck at Jillian. She didn't like him staring at her, and when she breathed in to ask him to stop, he spoke.
"Jillian, how did you come by that?"
"Came by what?" she intentionally sounded unsure but already knew his next question.
"The scar on your face."
Here it comes again.
Words flew through her mind to find a persuasive lie, but five pairs of eyes watching her drove out everything except the truth.
"I don't want to talk about it," she turned her head away and watched cables of CHED.
"Come on, Jill. I've got one too," Lex moved hair to reveal her temple. A red, hairless finger wide smooth line ran above her ear.
"Where did you get that?" said Jillian. Lex just gave a laugh and sat next to her.
"It's actually kind of an amazing story," she said ironically. "Not all days in Nest were easy going. Despite its structure and durability, it went through some serious strikes. All the desperate people who knew there is a base hidden somewhere around, quickly understood that they may survive inside the facility. We received an order requesting units from near bases to gather in Nest in the middle of the third month. Hodge, Pace, and I, together with six others, worked in a team under Vince's command. They relocated us a few days after the notification. I can't forget the people I saw standing at the gate. Hundreds of them came from the woods where they fled and waited at each of six entrances Nest had. You could count a few thousands of them. They built tents and waited, demanding us to let them in. We, of course, couldn't. Nest forbid admitting strangers from outside because we didn't know their intentions. Rosefield told us to stand down and wait for the turn of events. Nest continued to operate according to its main security policy - preservation of the facility is superior to any human causalities. Therefore all gates remained shut. All those people were calm at the beginning, though scared. They plead and promised. It was terrible to hear it even from inside of the truck, but we couldn't do anything else than carry out the order. The fourth night turned to be the worst we went through."
"Why didn't you let them in the first time? They sought shelter for God's sake. Even the tunnel would be enough. Every one of you would stand on their side if you were among them," said Garrett because he already guessed what happened.
"Because they came armed and violent," said Kaiden from behind the steering wheel.
"It surprised you?" said Garrett. "You had food, clean water, and could protect hundreds of them. Who wouldn't run after such comfort?"
"Garrett," calmed him Vince raising his hand. "It's a standard procedure to-"
"So you let a few hundreds of people to die?"
"No, we didn't," Lex defended her team. "We wanted to evade every unnecessary conflict and requested them to hand over their weapons and comply with the requirements we had, but they refused and attacked us. They grouped all together and struck like a battering ram on a single one gate. They blew up the outer bunker doors, which cracked the tunnel that we had to tear down in the end. We just fought for our shelter. They marched against us like an army. We had to set a barricade behind the second door and wait until they blew it up too. Then it began. We fought the whole day and night with them, stood in thousands of empty barrels covered with the blood of our friends who fell just to protect the others inside. They didn't stop at anything and fought with us for every inch. When we lost too many of our soldiers, and shortly after I took the bullet, Rosefield decided to perform the final counter-attack.
She ordered us to drive a tank truck filled with Supernova explosive in the tunnel to our backs. Guys released smoke bombs to make it impossible for outsiders to see it and left the white flag hanged on the cab. Then the remaining few fell back. Within two minutes, the third and fourth door shut and the truck detonated. The tug Nest made during your testing reminded me of the one made by Supernova. It burnt everything and everyone inside to the ash. Rosefield kept the base paid with too many lives. I was lucky - just bullet in the chest and few that scratched me. But the scars on the body are not the worst that got stuck with us."
Garrett saw the fight inside her. She hated the fact that many people didn't have to die that day, but at the same time, she felt right about it.
"Sarah approved that?" Garrett rubbed his knuckles.
"She didn't care about anything else than some damn projects," said Lex. "Do you know what she said when she heard that eleven out of seventy best soldiers survived against thousands?" she paused but received no answer. "It was their job."
"That's sick," said Jillian bewildered and wondered why Garrett would go this long back among those people.
"What happened after?" said Garrett.
"Nothing. We blew up the cracked tunnel to bury the entrance. Those bodies that still had some human shape left lying within it, and the remaining ones who ran away into the woods never came back," said Lex.
Garrett listened to these words with a heavy heart. The depiction of Sarah's actions didn't quite fit the person he worked with before. Or at least he thought he did. He didn't know her that much, but she never seemed to be a woman capable of such decisions. Now he doubted if this is the same Sarah he knew before.
"We're almost there," said Kaiden. "Just this bridge and two more miles.
"Jill, look," said Pace. "It's the view I told you about."
They reached a short rusty white bridge over the bay. The heavily damaged buildings around them and only a few skyscrapers in the distance still stood. Massive parts disappeared as if an invisible force ripped off the iron and concrete from their structures. Everything took the shape of ruin. Dead city. Silent trace of human civilization falling apart into oblivion. The murky and muddy water in the bay splashed on the ship wreckages, but a single mew gull didn't sit on their funnels. The dark clouds over the city enhanced the strength of the impression that something vicious ruined this place.
Jillian saw the city in a different light. Sun rays gaining strength shined from behind them and colored the skyscrapers with morning shade of yellow to contrast with the gloomy sky behind. She looked at remains of park beneath, imagining a warm summer day spent on a blanket in the shadow of leafy patulous trees surrounded by colorful flowerbeds carefully treated by gardeners. She heard in her mind the distant chatter of people sitting on benches and whooping kids playing around fountain, making excuses to parents about their accidental fall in the cold water. Joggers and roller-skaters having a rest and enjoying refreshing lemonades talked about slacklining guys walking barefooted on the grass. She drifted into a daydream again, but Garrett roused her
mind from wandering.
"I don't remember this bridge to be white," he said. "I recall a brick red."
"You're right," said Hodge looking outside. "Last time we went through, it was definitely red. Maybe it's not the same bridge," he shook his head.
They finally got off the highway viaduct and drove beneath it to unpeopled streets. Jillian watched the endless rows of damaged cars coated with a layer of dust. The terraced houses looked like hundreds of years old. Missing windows and doors and fallen facade revealed wide cracks among bricks and holes in the walls. Their roofs collapsed inside, tearing down unstable floors to the bottom, and the front wall of many houses fell and crushed the cars left in front of them. All of the decades-old trees planted in the pavement lay broken and leafless across the road. Some of these trees served as bridges over the fifteen feet wide cracks in the ground caused by earthquakes.
They passed by numerous military tents and posts, and road blockages stopping the citizens from entering the damaged zones. The army abandoned these places as well, leaving everything behind. Bodies of dead civilians and soldiers remained laid in long rows and wrapped with blankets or zipped in the bags. Colorful streets that used to be inhabited by hundreds of citizens turned into empty gray ruins. Kaiden made the last turn on their way and headed down the dusty road to the bay. They passed around old unused factories and storages, where only iron beams left standing over the piles of bricks and glass.