by Dave Lemel
“What is the deal with you guys and restaurants?”
Simon chuckled. “Yeah, if we come back here, we may need to pack a cooler. I guess I was just trying to not face this and get out of here before it fully hit me. You’re right. As usual. I’m not leaving here without him. Hell, if I have to stun him and drag him by his stupid square-collared shirt, I’ll do it. I’m really close to the campsite now, hun, so I gotta go, but one more thing first.”
“What’s up?”
“You’re good at this. We’re good at this together. Lombargnor should’ve let us work together a long time ago.”
Sasha smiled ear to ear. “I love you. Stay calm. You got this, and we need you and Todd back here as soon as possible, so knock your first pitch out of the park. Or screw it…stun him and talk on the way back.”
Simon grinned. “Love you too.”
Chapter 29
Todd kicked his way through the thickest pile of debris in what had been their lakeside campsite. Everything was completely trashed. Even the water containers had been trampled and crushed. “Do you have any water left at your hideout?”
Doug was on his hands and knees, wading through the outskirts of the wreckage. “Yes. Water I have. Brought a bunch of empty jugs up after my trip down. Been boiling lake water every other night. Food, not so much.” He picked up a flattened corn chip jellybean, wiped it on his filthy shirt, and tossed it in his mouth. Todd shuddered and turned his back to the disturbing scene.
Someone was emerging from the dense forest. He was certain he saw a head bobbing through the trees in the distance. He was acutely aware that he was not wearing his link and did not have his wand with him. “Hey, Dad.” That still feels so weird to say, he thought to himself as Doug’s head popped up behind him.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Someone’s coming.”
Doug jumped to his feet and peered at the exit point of the trail as he moved to Todd’s side. “You sure it isn’t another pair of nitchites?”
“Positive. I saw the head and shoulders. He looked alone and human. Actually, it looked like Simon.”
Doug turned his focus from the woods back to Todd. “Aw, son, that’s probably just your eyes playing tricks on you. Been happening to me more and more the longer I’ve been up here.” He went back to the mess, and just as he was crouching down to inspect a promising-looking hunk of something, Todd spoke again.
“Nope. Whoever they are, they’re around the top bend and coming out of the trail now.” Todd’s mouth went even drier than it had been. “It’s him.”
Doug excitedly jumped to Todd’s side before his face dropped in disappointment. “Oh, for cryin’ out loud, he doesn’t have his pack anymore either. Well, hopefully he’s here to join the cause and we can all head down together. I need a real meal.”
Todd now found himself fighting the urge to cringe as every word exited his father’s mouth. Far in the distance, a sound like rolling thunder echoed up the mountain and into the valley. Simon paused to take notice as well before he started sprinting toward them.
Simon arrived, huffing and puffing. “Cops…they’re…coming for us.”
Todd stared into the trees before looking back at Simon. “Why?”
Simon took a few deep breaths. “The break-in. There was a reward for information leading to our arrest. Benjo turned us in.”
“I’m gonna kill him.” Todd turned and kicked a piece of tent before spinning back to Simon. “I’m gonna switch my wand to cutting mode and bury it in his freaky shoebox pupil.”
“Yeah, well, if you hadn’t torn your link off during your hissy fit, I could’ve gotten this message to you a while ago, and you could have been on your way to do that right now.”
The noise in the forest was drawing nearer. Todd looked back up toward the ledge in front of Doug’s cave. “I did that up that way, right?”
Simon nodded.
“Well, then let’s go there. Seems like an advantageous position for us to be in when they arrive, and hopefully I can find my link and wand as we go.”
The men scrambled to the open switchback trail. Doug shouted ahead as he tried to keep up. “So, are you officially joining the resistance then? More the merrier.”
“Oh, we’re going to be the resistance, all right,” Simon shouted back before continuing under his breath, “just not the way you think, you old kook.”
As they rounded the turn, Todd glanced over at Simon and whispered, “What does that mean? Not the way he thinks?”
Simon sped past Todd. “I’ll explain in a minute. Let’s find your link and get into position first.”
“I see it,” Simon pointed to a cluster of fist-sized black rocks off to the side of the path. Todd ran over and scooped the link up. He quickly inspected it for damage before sealing it over his forearm. They both looked back toward the tree line as Doug arrived.
Simon strained to catch a glimpse of something. “I don’t see them yet. Maybe they were just dealing with my last obstacle. We don’t have long, though, so what’s the plan?”
“Well, first I’m calling the cruiser,” replied Todd. “Screw subtle at this point. There’s already a manhunt for us.”
“It’s en route. I called it on my way back up.” Simon checked his link. “It’s not far away now.”
“How many are there?”
Todd and Simon both looked at Doug, who had posed the question.
“Cops. How many are coming?”
“At least four,” replied Simon. “Well, actually, probably at least five. There were four waiting when someone else drove their big assault vehicle up. Really, there could have been even more than one in that beast.”
“Assault vehicle?” repeated Todd.
“Okay, so we’re outnumbered for sure, and they have mobile cover.” Doug took a three-hundred-sixty-degree survey from their position before continuing. “We need to separate and now. Someone needs to bolt across to that side, and someone else needs to get higher on this side. The third can start here and move around. If we can keep suppression fire on them from multiple locations and angles, we should be able to hold them off until your cruiser arrives.”
Todd looked to Simon, who nodded in agreement. “Sounds good to me.”
Todd pointed across the valley to the caves up the hillside opposite them. “Dad, you head over there, seeing as Simon has the climbing experience and can head higher on this side. I can be the runner during, and you two can try and hold your positions as long as possible.”
“You got it.” Doug turned and started towards the switchback path.
“Hang on,” Simon called. “What was that weapon you pulled last night?”
Doug reached behind his back and up under the bottom of his jacket. He pulled out a Vikard cluster blaster and held it up.
“A Vikard blaster? Where did you get that?”
“It was in the ship I escaped in. I figured it may come in handy,” Doug smirked. “Whaddaya know, it’s comin’ in handy.”
“Yeah, well make sure you miss. That thing’s deadly,” Simon responded. “We’re already wanted for breaking and entering. I don’t want any dead cops added to our rap sheet here.”
“Relax, these things are worthless at more than a few feet. Still, I’ll be sure to aim nowhere near them. Just gonna let ’em know I’m there.”
“Okay, Dad, go.” Todd slapped Simon on the arm. “I hear something, so you get climbing too.”
Simon headed to the interior of the ledge and studied the steep slope above the shallow cave. Todd walked to the edge and watched his father jogging across the valley. He turned his focus to the tree line and ejected his wand into his waiting hand.
Chapter 30
Simon pulled himself up onto his target spot. It was even better than he could have hoped when he picked it out from below. Deep, wide, and level with plenty of cover and
escape routes. He looked back down towards Todd, who was looking back up at him. He gave him a thumbs up and ejected his wand into his hand. The rumbling, rolling thunder sound started up again, and he gazed in the direction of the forest to see if his new vantage point afforded him a view of the coming storm.
Simon’s link vibrated. “What’s up, Todd?” Simon remained focused on the tree line as Todd asked, “What did you mean back there? When you called my dad a kook?”
“Huh?” Simon glanced down at his link, confused.
“‘We’re gonna be the resistance all right, just not the way you think.’ What did that mean?”
“Oh, Earth was attacked. Vikards. Humungous fleet used some newly developed transport tech for a surprise attack. They’re focusing their occupation on North America, and they’re specifically asking for you, me, and Lombargnor. Well, Dow is, I should say. He did survive.”
“So, Lombargnor escaped.” Todd felt his face flush, and he swallowed hard.
“Yes, he escaped along with a small crew he had Sasha round up. Including your mom, by the way.”
“So, Sasha and Penny are okay? What about my mom? Where are they headed?” The rumbling was becoming clearer by the second now.
“Yes, they are all okay, relatively speaking. They’re on their way to Mars. I can see the vehicle now man. They are going to be visible to you any second. We need to focus on the task at hand.”
“All right, all right. Looks like my dad made it across and into position. You fire the first shot, then I’ll yell out and join you. By then, hopefully, the old man picks up on what’s going on and joins us. From there, I’ll be runner, trying to make us look like more than the three we actually are.”
“Right on. Keep the link open so we can continue to coordinate.”
“You got it. I see ’em now.”
A war cry echoed through the valley from the hillside across. “DIE PIGS!” It was followed by three bursts in quick succession from Doug’s Vikard blaster.
Todd chuckled. “Or the old man’ll start the exchange.”
“They haven’t even made it out of the woods yet.” Simon shook his head. “Well, I guess the goal is just to pin them down till the cruiser arrives.” Simon took aim and fired two pulses into the red, orange, and yellow treetops. “YOU’LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE, COPPERS!”
Todd laughed as he fired a trio of pulses into the ground just in front of the tree line. “They stopped and seem to be trying to figure out what’s going on. I see at least one figure slowly weaving through the trunks, trying to get a better view.”
A flurry of blasts from across the valley hit the trees near where Todd was looking. “It appears Pops saw him too.”
“He’s scurrying back to the giant vehicle now. I’ve got a good visual on the whole group.” Simon fired a pulse into the tree tops again. “They’re clustering behind the back of the vehicle now. The ones on foot, that is. Looks like they’re the original four I saw in Prisco. The vehicle is moving forward, and it looks like two more are in the cabin at the front.”
“Surrender at once and no harm will come to you.” The announcement boomed through the valley, amplified by an unseen loudspeaker somewhere on the vehicle.
Todd aimed his wand at the ground in front of the slowly creeping vehicle. As he fired twice, he heard a loud cry from the caves across, followed by a shot that this time hit the front of the vehicle. The vehicle stopped, and after a few seconds of idling continued forward.
“I can’t see the ones on foot anymore,” said Simon. “They must’ve climbed in the back of that thing.”
Todd’s gut told him to become less of a target as the vehicle picked up speed. He laid down just as it emerged from the forest. Whoever was driving it clearly selected the duo of Todd and Simon as the initial threat to deal with, as they angled the vehicle towards them and accelerated .
They slammed the brakes on, and it skidded and skipped along the almond grass until finally coming to a complete stop. A panel on the top of the back flipped up, and a rocket came whistling out. It turned and headed straight for Todd.
Todd rolled away from the edge and pressed his back as flat as he could into the hard ground. The rocket whizzed over the edge so close to his face that he could feel the heat and smell the burning fuel before it slammed into the cliff face above him. He covered his head and rolled to his stomach as rock and dust rained down on and around him.
“Todd! Todd!” He uncovered his head and searched for the voice he knew to be Simon’s. “Todd, are you all right?!” It was coming from his link. He shook some dust and confusion off before replying, “I think so. They’re not about to fire another one, are they? I am not standing up to look.”
“I’m climbing down now, so I hope not.”
Todd looked up and spotted Simon far off to the right, out of the line of sight from where he last saw the vehicle. He was making his way down quickly but still had too far to go if another rocket launched.
Todd leapt up and started waving his hands over his head. “DON’T SHOOT! DON’T SHOOT!”
The voice boomed out from the loudspeaker once again. “Throw down your weapon and walk to us.”
Todd looked over his shoulder to check on Simon’s progress. Just a few more feet till he could safely jump down. He shook his head and shouted, “Nah. I didn’t say I surrender. I just said don’t shoot.” He fired two quick pulses into the front of the vehicle and ran for Simon.
Simon jumped off the wall and down the final few feet. “Thanks. I did not want to be up there if another one of those hit.”
The vehicle loudly switched back into gear and began moving. Todd and Simon dropped flat and crawled to the edge.
“They’re gonna drive it straight up the switchback to us.” Todd took a deep breath as a grouping of red blasts fired across the valley, hitting all around the vehicle. “If we wait till they head up to the turn, we could get down from over there.” Todd pointed down to their left. “Then race across to my dad’s position on the other side.”
“Like it. Just checked on the cruiser too. We don’t need to hold them off much longer. Okay, get ready, they’re about to turn away from us.” Simon slid to the edge sideways and hung a foot over. “Let’s go.”
Todd crawled over and followed Simon’s lead down the rocky face. After a few feet, he watched as Simon scoped out a landing spot, pushed himself off the wall, and dropped to the ground. He worked himself down to about the same area Simon had jumped from, picked out a spot, and dropped off the rocky face.
The outer edge of his right foot hit ground first, and his foot rolled to its side. He crashed down onto his hip, trying to limit the weight on his rolled ankle. Simon ran over and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Are you all right?” Simon leaned over his head to get a better look at Todd’s lower leg.
“Yeah, yeah, I think so. I don’t think it’s broken or anything like that.” Todd grasped Simon’s outstretched hand and pulled himself up to test it. He gingerly put some weight on it and grimaced in pain.
Simon moved to put himself under Todd’s arm for support. “No,” Todd brushed him forward. “I can deal with it. Let’s keep movin’.”
Simon nodded and took off through the tall almond grass. Todd gimped after him as fast as he could. They both took a look back over their shoulder to check on the vehicle’s progress. “They’re about to realize we’re gone,” Simon stated as he slowed to allow Todd to catch up.
“It should take ’em a second even when they get all the way to the ledge. They’ll probably think we’re hiding first.” Todd passed Simon, who was fully turned back towards the ledge now. “C’mon, man, I don’t feel like being out in the middle of this field when they see us.”
“They see us.” Simon fired two pulses as he backpeddled and turned to run. “The panel on the roof looked like it was opening again too!” he shouted as they neared their original lakeside campsite.
The whistling sound shrieked t
hrough the valley, and seconds later screamed over their heads. They both snapped their eyes up, realizing where it was headed. Their eyes found the cave Doug had been using for cover right as he dove out and rolled down the hillside. The rocket crashed into the slope next to the cave’s mouth and ejected debris violently in all directions.
Todd and Simon froze. “Whadda we do, man?” Simon frantically looked around as he repeated himself. “Whadda we do?”
“Follow me,” Todd said as he limped away as fast as he could along the lake edge. “We’ll stay by the water, and if they fire anymore rockets, either we dive in, or hopefully they miss short and the rocket itself lands in the water.”
“I’m not sure that’s good enough, man. You see these things impacting?”
“You got a better idea?”
“Not at the moment.”
Todd glanced over his shoulder. “Where’s the cruiser?”
“Just a minute or so away now.”
Todd waved to Doug as he regained his balance and bearings at the bottom of the hillside. “Come on! Over this way!”
Todd and Simon rounded the curving, rocky shoreline and looked back toward the vehicle. It turned and headed back down the switchback path. “They must be satisfied that they have us cornered,” said Todd. “Hopefully, they stay that way till our ride gets here.”
Doug was moving significantly faster than he had the last time they had seen him run. He made it to the shoreline just as Todd and Simon stopped to watch the cruiser shoot up from the cliff behind the lake. It rolled, banked, and dove down toward their location, the sun glinting off the chrome accents.
“Oh, wow, is that a sight for sore eyes,” exclaimed Doug as the cruiser landed beside them and the passenger side door opened upward. Todd shoved Doug inside. “Get in the back, Dad, they’re stopping again.” He jumped across the hood and slid into the driver’s side as Simon climbed into his usual seat.
The doors closed as Todd lifted the cruiser off the ground, and the panel on the roof of the assault vehicle opened once again. He remained just above the ground, rotating before slamming the throttle as the front pointed toward the cliff’s edge.