Dark Toll

by Warren Ray

  Bassett opened the door and briefed them on what happened and where they could get some of the citizens out tonight. Burns spread the map on the hood of the car and pointed a flashlight at the area.

  “We’ve got plenty of open fields to smuggle out a couple of small groups,” said Bassett.

  He was about to continue when Scar and Meeks returned with Nordell. After hearing Bassett’s report, Nordell suggested they keep their forces hidden along the escape route instead of doing a diversion. That way if something goes wrong, they’d have plenty of men to take care of any problems that might arise.

  “Keep the enemy in a lull thinking we’ve had our fill,” said Nordell.

  “Problem is we killed a few on the east side,” said Bassett in a concerned tone.

  “By the time we’re ready to move, it’ll have been hours since that contact,” said Nordell. “The excitement will have settled back down since then. If these guys way over here are even aware of what happened.”

  Scar nodded in agreement. “Hard to pay attention after hours of boring guard duty, especially when nothing is happening.”

  “We’ll know right away how attentive these guys are as soon as we start moving across their lines,” said Burns. “From what we saw, we shouldn’t have any problems.”

  “If all goes well, I don’t see any reason why we can’t do a bunch of groups,” said Nordell.

  Winters nodded, pleased with what they were suggesting because he wanted nothing more than to get these people to safety so they could move on and attack Mordulfah in Grosse Pointe. He didn’t mind helping the citizens and knew he couldn’t leave until they had removed everyone. His thoughts turned to fantasy in the hopes they could pack everyone up and traipse across the border without a hitch.

  Winters stood back listening to the more experienced military men hash out a strategy and didn’t interrupt them. He knew his limitations in this area. He wasn’t a military man and always relied on advice from Bassett, Scar, Burns, and now Nordell. What he did know was few things had been working out perfectly for them. It was always prudent to keep in mind that Murphy’s Law could rear its ugly head at any time.

  After working out their strategy, Bassett, Scar, and Burns turned to Winters to get his approval. Nordell grimaced at that. He wasn’t an official member of this group and didn’t understand the norms. Winters noticed it right away and didn’t want to insult him, but then he wasn’t going to risk people lives for the sake of saving someone’s pride.

  “Everything sounds good guys,” said Winters.

  “But?” asked Scar knowing the sound of Winters' voice when there is more to be said.

  “We’ll do a test run with a small group first.”

  Everyone except for Nordell nodded.

  “Captain,” said Nordell. “We may only have one chance at this and it would be advisable to get out as many as possible at once.”

  Winters could hear Nordell’s disrespect creeping back into his voice. The old Marine found it difficult to take orders from a civilian and tried to contain himself but was struggling.

  “I understand what you’re saying, but I’m not willing to risk it. If we can’t get more than one group out, then it’s not meant to be.”

  Nordell looked around, didn’t see any support, and nodded as if to say, fair enough.

  “We’ll take four vehicles across their lines. We’ll only have two filled with civilians and our guys will drive both. Gunny, can you quietly put together a group?”

  Nordell nodded.

  “Good. Have them back here in an hour.”

  “Bassett, take your guys and get them down there and in position.”

  “Scar, can you put the escort together? Meeks, are you even able to drive?”

  “Well, I haven’t been drinking, so yeah, I’m good.”

  Winters gave him an impatient look.

  “Don’t worry. I’m good.”

  With that, the group broke up and Winters watched them leave. He turned to Amber and Elliott who had stayed with him.

  “What are we going to do?” asked Amber.

  “I want you and Elliott with me. We’re going to follow them down there and make sure nothing goes wrong.”

  “You think anything will?” asked Amber.

  “Well, knock on wood, but Murphy’s Law hasn’t always been kind to us.”

  Elliott let out a belly laugh. “Tell me about it. Last time we went out together, we got into a hell of a mess.”

  “Oh, yeah, so I’m the Reese in this group tonight, huh?” cracked Amber referring to the Jijis chasing them into the woods yesterday.

  Winters gave her a half smile. “Yeah, sounds about right.”

  “This should be fun,” said Amber.

  “Usually is,” said Elliott.

  Chapter 17

  During the next hour, Bassett put his team together and led them back down to Hanover Road placing them along the route where they would lead the citizens across the Jiji lines. They found a suitable crossing halfway between two-guard posts. The border offered enough foliage to hide them with a big enough opening to slip the vehicles across the road. Bassett sent a couple of two-man teams to keep an eye on each guard post. He also sent Burns across Pulaski Road to cover the exit and then waited for Nordell to arrive with the four-vehicle convoy.

  Winters approached Scar wanting to see if he and Meeks were ready to go. He felt confident having Scar lead the convoy and escort them to Findlay, Ohio. Mayor Simpson knew it to be safe there, as his son had recently returned from the area visiting with relatives.

  “You got everything?”

  “I think we’re good, Captain. We got enough food packed for them.”

  “Ammo?”

  “Plenty for everyone.”

  “Tanks filled up?”

  Scar nodded.

  Fuel continued to be a constant burden on their operations, but thankfully, the Canadians had given them enough to operate for at least a week without having to scrounge around.

  Winters attention turned to the approaching cars filled with what looked like two families. Nordell got out of the first car, gave Winters a terse nod, and then opened up the back door to help an old man and his wife out of the car. Their daughter and three grandkids, one boy and two girls, all under the age of ten, followed them. The grandparents wore expressions of concern, as did the mother of the children. The next car had the same worried grandparents as they hurried their grandkids out of the car. The two granddaughters obeyed, but not the two grandsons. The two teen boys didn’t appear to be excited to leave.

  Nearly all of the boys in town wanted to stay behind and fight, but most mothers were unwilling to let them do this. It was a difficult decision to make and every mother handled it differently with some relenting to the boy’s desires, which caused jealousies among them.

  In all, there were fourteen people; each would put their family in an SUV, which would be driven by Scar and Meeks. Winters motioned Scar to help load them up. Within fifteen minutes, everyone was ready to go and Nordell led the convoy with his friend Hollis as his passenger.

  Winters got into the fourth truck and looked at Elliott who wore night-vision goggles. “You ready?”

  Elliott nodded.

  Winters turned his head to the back. “You ready, Amber?”

  “I am, Captain.”

  Winters stared at her when she didn’t call him Cole.

  She gave him a knowing wink then smiled.

  Winters picked up the radio and called out to Bassett. “We’re leaving now.”

  “Copy that. Hadley is sitting on Hanover to direct you into the field. He’s right after the bend in the road.”

  Elliott put the SUV in gear and flipped his goggles down. The green glow lit up his eyes as he let off the brake. They decided to go stealth all the way, even as they left Jackson in fear of the spy whom they still hadn’t identified. Winters didn’t want to take any chances on tonight’s plans. If all went well, they would come back and get a few mo
re groups through the Jiji lines before the sun came up.

  They passed through the small town of Hanover and slipped through without any problems. Looking through his goggles, Winters thought Hanover Road to be the perfect route as trees bordered it on both sides keeping them hidden in the flat country.

  Scar called out on the radio announcing they were coming to the bend in the road that went around a small body of water.

  Elliott put his foot on the brake to slow down. It wasn’t easy to judge distance through the goggles and he wanted to keep plenty of distance from the vehicles in front of them since they had busted out all the taillights to maintain the stealth.

  “Looks like this is it,” said Elliott coming to a stop.

  Winters got out, walked to the front, and greeted Hadley, the young Texan who was keeping an eye on their proposed escape route.

  All the other drivers got out and listened as he gave them the layout of the land.

  “We’re going right through here,” said Hadley pointing to the south. “We’re about a mile from Pulaski. It’s a little tricky through some of the bushes that border these fields, but we’ve driven over them enough so we should be good. ”

  “Where’s Bassett?” asked Scar.

  “He’s waiting for you on this side. We’ve got lookouts at either side of the guard post.”

  “And Burns?” asked Scar.

  “Waiting on the other side. He’s got an exit for you.”

  Satisfied with the info, everyone got back in their vehicles and started across the field. Hadley wasn’t kidding as they crossed the first border of bushes. The SUV rocked side to side as branches scrapped the metal. Each field had its own boundaries marked with shrubbery. It made it easy for the farmers to know where their land started and ended. Since no farming occurred last year, the fields themselves lay barren. Weeds grew sporadically and would overtake the land in no time.

  It didn’t take too long before they were halfway to Pulaski Road when Bassett’s voice came abruptly across the radio. “Everyone stop. We’ve got company.”

  Chapter 18

  Hanover Michigan

  A shudder exploded through Winters when Bassett’s stern voice came through the radio. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions but knew Bassett wouldn't be spooked over just anything. He thought about his decision to have only a small group with him and silently patted himself on the back.

  The three of them sat there quietly waiting for the radio to come back to life. All the drivers maintained radio silence and waited for Bassett to come back with more info. Winters heard Amber take out her Kimber Solo Carry 9mm, a gun she picked up from the cop she killed. She earned it and liked its compact size. She pulled the magazine out, checked it, slammed it back in, and chambered a round. It reminded Winters to do the same on his Colt 1911. The exercise gave you something to do to feel better prepared. It gave you a sense of control even though you knew you had little. Still, it made you feel better.

  Bassett finally came back. “Something’s wrong. We’ve got Jijis positioning every fifty yards. We are a no go.”

  Winters mind raced around wondering if the spy had ratted them out, or did Bassett’s encounter with the Jijis earlier tonight have anything to do with this. Regardless, they needed to get these people back to Jackson. There wasn’t any sense in waiting either, so he grabbed the radio and ordered everyone to turn around ASAP.

  “Elliott, get us out of here.”

  “What about Burns?” asked Elliott.

  “Good question.”

  Burns had set up on the other side of Pulaski Road and if the Jijis were lining up then he and his squad would be cut off. Winters picked up the radio and called out to him.

  “We can try further north, Captain.”

  Winters gave it some thought and didn’t like that idea.

  “Burns, just leave the vehicle and sneak back across.”

  “Copy that.”

  Winters knew they’d be better off taking advantage of their night-vision goggles and crossing the lines on foot. He didn’t want them out there by themselves because there would be no one to help them.

  Elliott turned the truck around and started back across the field. They were almost to Hanover Road when they noticed several sets of headlights. Elliott put his foot on the brake as Winters picked up the radio.

  “We got movement on Hanover.”

  The statement gave everyone pause.

  “Elliott, get us over there,” said Winters pointing east. He wanted to get further away from Hanover Road and do a reconnaissance.

  “Amber, you up for doing a recon?”

  She nodded.

  “Guess you were right, Amber,” said Elliott.

  “About?”

  “Being the Reese tonight.”

  “Yeah, right. Thanks. Thanks for that.”

  “It’s no problem. Cole and I just seem to have that kind of luck.”

  “Let’s not scare her off, Elliott?” said Winters.

  “After last night, I think I got that out of my system,” said Amber.

  “Elliott, I’m gonna have you and Scar stay here with Nordell and keep everyone protected. I’ll have Bassett check out the road south of here. Amber and I will head east.”

  “Will do.”

  “Give Amber your goggles and where’s the map?”

  Elliott handed her his goggles and unfolded the map.

  “We’re right about here so you’ll be going up to Luttenton Road.”

  Winters brought the radio to his mouth and ordered Bassett to check out Wooden Road, which was due south.

  “Copy that, Captain. As soon as Burns gets here, I’m on it.”

  After giving instructions to the men and still having to deal with a little attitude from Nordell, he and Amber set off on foot and headed to Luttenton Road. They crossed the first border of bushes entering another field, and then another, and found themselves in a much thicker wooded area. Sweat started running down the sides of Winters’ head as they entered the woods.

  They finally came to the road and Winters switched the infrared for the thermal goggles. Not seeing anyone on the road, he grabbed Amber’s arm, who was wearing the infrared goggles. “Lead the way, my dear.” They didn’t go a hundred yards before the bright white glow of a warm car engine popped up in his goggles.

  He whispered to Amber.

  “I see ‘em,” she replied.

  “Lets’ go around them. I want to see what they got on Hanover.”

  They gave the car a wide-berth and headed back into the dark cover of the woods. They slipped behind a house before breaking out into a field. Winters decided to go around that house in case people still lived there. He didn’t want to risk having a paranoid homeowner with a shotgun shoot at them as they crossed his property.

  They were on the edge of the field when Winters spotted a small white glowing figure running across the field with a bigger one chasing after it.

  “Over there, what is that?

  It took a second for Amber to zero in on it. “It’s a man chasing a girl.”

  “Damn it.”

  Gunfire rang out in the night air. It came from Hanover Road. Winters knew then that the Jijis were out tonight making trouble for any stragglers and not looking for them. They just had the dumb luck of picking this particular area. He then wondered if they weren’t cops instead of Jijis. Either way, the girl needed rescuing before her pursuer had his way with her.

  He slipped his infrared goggles back on and stuffed the thermals in his backpack. “Let’s go.”

  Amber led the way and raced ahead of Winters. Her college softball playing days were well behind her, but she was still in great shape. They could hear the screaming of the girl before they got to her. She lay on the ground with the man on top of her trying to catch his breath. His excitement blinded his senses and he didn’t feel the presence of Amber’s five-foot-ten athletic frame coming in on him fast. She dropped her Colt M-4 rifle, tore off her goggles, and drew out the knife fro
m the sheath on her belt. She bum rushed him plunging the knife deep into the side of his gut. She tumbled over him as he screamed out in pain. She scrambled back up and came at him again swinging her knife wildly. The blade cut him across the face before she sank it into his throat.

  Winters came up on the scene surprised at her viciousness. He looked at her through the goggles as she panted over the dead man that was dressed as a cop. He looked over at the girl, who stared at her rescuers as if she didn’t believe it.

  Winters knelt down to her. “It’s okay, you’re safe.”

  She recoiled from his touch.

  “We’re not going to hurt you,” he reassured her.

  Amber leaned back and slid off the corpse. She looked at the fearful girl and then up at Winters.

  Winters flipped up his goggles and reached out to her. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just give me a minute.”

  “Okay, Reese,” smiled Winters.

  Amber let out a half laugh. “No kidding. Not sure what came over me.”

  “Mother Hen.”

  “Yeah, sounds about right.”

  Winters turned to the girl who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen. She looked to be about five-foot and probably didn’t weigh but ninety pounds. Her brunette hair hung to her shoulders. She was barefoot and dressed in pink plaid boxer shorts and a white tank top as if she had been in bed. Dirt covered her face and attire from the cop wrestling her to the ground. “You okay, Hon?”

  The girl nodded as her body shook from fear.

  “What’s your name?”

  She took a couple of breaths before answering. “Nicole.”

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “The cops, they came to our door. My mother and aunt told me to hide. I hid in a closet, but then they came inside and…”

  Tears fell down her cheeks, so Amber took her hand telling her it would be okay.

  “They started beating on my mom and I cried out.” She turned to the dead cop. “That’s when this one found me. He dragged me out of the closet, but I fought him off and ran out the back door.”

  “Where do you live?” asked Amber.

  “On Hanover Road.”

  “How come you’re not in Jackson with everyone else?” asked Amber.