Hothouse

by Stephanie Mylchreest

  “Where’s the fuel?” asks Rich.

  “Ben told me that the massive tank holding the fuel is underground, and it’s accessed through that building.” I point to the stone building that’s lit with a couple of dim yellow lights. It’s barely visible through the trees.

  Abigail takes the binoculars from me and surveys the facility. “There is a row of huge machines with wheels behind the stone building,” she says. “The machines have big tanks on the back and there is a pump near them with a long hose.”

  “They use the hose to get the crude oil from the main tank into the back of those machines,” I tell the others, remembering the information imparted to me from Ben. “Then they drive it to the refinery facility, which is not far from here.”

  I reach for the binoculars again and press them to my face. “There is another patrol. It looks like there are two or three patrols on the outside.”

  “So there could be as many as ten guards inside the facility,” comments Millie.

  “Do you have your cross bow?” I ask her.

  “Always,” she says flashing the weapon to me, which she has slung over her shoulder.

  “We can’t use guns,” I say to the others.

  “He’s right,” says Patrick. “One shot, and the guards will be on us. It doesn’t matter how many bombs we have, they’ll kill us before we have a chance to put them where they need to be.”

  Are we going to kill the guards in cold blood? Are you prepared for that?

  I pause for a moment and stare at Delphine. We lock eyes until I can’t bare the intensity any longer. No one answers her. We all know the answer. There is no other way.

  Abigail tucks a strand of blonde hair behind Delphine’s ear, a painfully intimate gesture. I turn back to the others.

  “When the next patrol passes, Millie can take them down quickly and quietly. I’ll run with Rich to the stone building. You all need to cover us. We’ll place the explosive by the pump and detonate it as soon as we are clear of the area.”

  “Good plan,” says Abigail. “Be careful you three. I can’t let anything happen to any of you.”

  We all hug in what feels like a final goodbye. Birch kisses me sweetly on the cheek and I pull her into a tight embrace. Before we leave, I say to the others, “Once we get to the stone building, you need to run as far as you can. We don’t want any one hurt in the explosion.” They all nod. I take a deep breath. This is it.

  We wait until the moon goes behind a cloud, and then, moving like shadows, we steal quietly through the forest. We crouch in waist-high knotweed behind a large oak. We are close to the fence and wait in the darkness for the patrol. They are moving around the perimeter, beams of light sweeping the area. The other two patrols are on the other side of the compound.

  Slowly, agonizingly, the patrol edges closer to us. Millie lines up her cross bow and releases the quarrels in rapid succession. There’s a ping as the tension releases and the quarrel flies through the air. The first silhouette falls to the ground, the light lying motionless on the ground. Before his partner has time to call out, there’s a second ping and whiz, and the other guard drops.

  “Good shot,” I whisper.

  She grins at us. “Good luck, boys. Burn the house down.”

  Her last words fade behind me. Rich and I are running now. We reach the metal fence and scale it quickly. The fence wobbles under our weight but holds. Rich drops to the ground first and I reach down and hand him the package containing the bombs. Then I drop to the ground and quickly pick up the fallen lights.

  “Take both of them,” I say in a rapid whisper. “Keep walking slowly so the other guards don’t suspect anything.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come?”

  “Yes. It’s better for you to keep moving with the lights. If things look like they are going badly, get out of here. Promise me.”

  “I’ll never leave you, brother.”

  “Just go, don’t wait for me,” I say over my shoulder.

  Rich has the torches now, and he’s walking slowly, sweeping the lights back and forth with both hands. I look up the length of the fence. I have a few minutes before the other guards find their fallen comrades. It should be enough time to make it to the stone building.

  I tuck the package carefully under my arm and pump my legs until I reach the huge vehicles, just behind the facility. I cast a quick glance at the stone building and notice that the yellow lights have clouds of black insects buzzing around them, like flies on a dead carcass.

  I drop and crawl between the vehicles. My heart is thudding loudly. The wheels are massive, almost as tall as my standing height and I move quickly to reach the black pump. The hose from the pump is wound in a loose coil and has a handle on one end. The pump itself is humming softly. I can feel the vibrations from the machine through the ground beneath me.

  The vehicles behind me obscure me from that angle, but I would be seen if any of the guards glance at the stone building from this side. They would see me instantly under the yellow lights and clouds of insects, crouched low next to the pump.

  I look around once more but none of the guards are in sight. I place the package on the ground and stare at it for a beat. The enormity of what I am about to do causes my heart to freeze, before it races away once more at top speed.

  I carefully peel open the package. There are two sleek silver objects inside. One has a display where the timer will count down and the other has a small, separate black detonator button.

  I select the bomb with the detonator button and wrap the other bomb up before tucking it inside my vest. I put the detonator button deep into my pocket.

  This is it. I inhale deeply and pick up the bomb with shaking hands. I place it carefully next to the pump, pressing it tight against the machinery.

  Suddenly hell is unleashed on me.

  The alarm comes out of nowhere and I leap backwards in shock. The wail is deafening. Lights that are brighter than the sun flood the compound. There are shouts as the fallen guards become visible. Shots are being fired and all the while the alarm keeps wailing. It’s so loud I can barely think.

  I look for Rich and see him pressed against the ground next to the fence, his arms covering his head. He can’t climb the fence to escape under gunfire.

  What do I do?

  I hear the return fire from my friends. To my right, the front door of the stone building opens and five men come out, crouching low, with massive rapid-fire guns. They haven’t seen me yet. I need to do something. Rich doesn’t stand a chance against them!

  The vehicles catch my eye. It’s a long shot, but I can see no other way out. I sprint to the front door of the closest vehicle and pull on the handle trying to get it open. I can’t figure it out!

  Then I lift the handle and pull at the same time, and the door swings open heavily. I climb high into the seat and shove the remaining bomb on the floor. There’s a large wheel bigger than a plate hovering over my lap, and levers and buttons in front of me. Under my feet are pedals that I can depress.

  I’m panicking now, pressing random buttons trying to get some response from the massive machine. After a few short moments that seem to stretch out for eternity under the endless wail of the alarm, I notice a small button marked ‘ignition’ and I press it hard. Something roars to life underneath me. I keep pressing buttons and thrashing the pedals furiously. All of a sudden the massive truck is lurching forward.

  Bullets ricochet off the metal body but I don’t have time to think about it. I realize I can maneuver the beast with the wheel in front of me and by depressing one of the pedals at my feet. I drive straight for Rich, plowing into the metal fence about five cubits away from him.

  The fence is uprooted and the metal grinding on metal emits a horrible scream. The vehicle slows as it crashes through the fence and I push open the other door.

  “Get in! Get in!” I scream at Rich. He jumps up, his eyes wild, and dives into the massive vehicle. He slides in next to me and slams the door shu
t just as a heavy bout of gunfire slams into the vehicle. The siren continues to wail as I push my foot down on the pedal again and we heave forward.

  Under a volley of bullets, we steer along the edge of the fence until we hit a wide dirt track.

  “You okay?” I ask him. I glance at him quickly, searching for any obvious wounds.

  “I’m fine.” He shakes his head and curses loudly. “I can’t believe we just did that!”

  “But what now? We can’t drive this thing through the forest, it’s too dense. But if we stay on this track they’ll catch us,” I say. “Should we dump it?”

  “Just drive for now. We’ll figure it out as we go,” says Rich. He looks into a mirror on the ceiling of the vehicle that’s angled backwards. “They’ve started one of the other vehicles. Speed up!”

  The machine lurches forward again as we gain momentum. Then, ahead in the dark, in the middle of the road, I see a figure.

  “Stop,” yells Rich. “There’s someone there.”

  I press the slow down pedal and the vehicle grinds to a halt. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I realize it’s Carl standing in the middle of the road. He is pointing a gun at us.

  “Get in,” yells Rich as he opens his door.

  This time I curse.

  Carl clambers into the vehicle next to Rich and we begin to accelerate once again. I’m starting to panic. We need to get further away to set off the bomb but they’ll catch us before we get the chance.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I yell at Carl.

  “Look where you are going, Chris!” yells Rich. “Carl, what the hell!”

  “I came to stop you. I knew you were up to something. You’re sabotaging the whole mission,” he says quickly. I glance at him and he’s got the gun trained on me. He has an unhinged look in his eye. He’s going to blast me, I know it.

  “Do you have any idea what we are doing?” I scream at him. “This is Ben’s plan. We are doing what Ada’s dad wanted. We are getting rid of all this bullshit!”

  “I can see one of the tankers in the mirror, it’s about to exit the compound,” says Rich. He’s gripping my arm tightly. “Set the bomb off, Chris. Do it now.”

  Carl still has his gun on me. “Stop!” he yells. “If you try to set off anything, I’m going to kill you.”

  “Ben wants us to destroy the fuel. He doesn’t want to be locked in a war with Washington. He wants to find peace for his family and his people,” I say desperately.

  A funny look crosses Carl’s face. “Ada wanted peace too,” he says.

  “Press the damn button!” Rich screams.

  I reach into my pocket and pull out the detonator. I glance at Rich and Carl. Then I press the button.

  The world behind us erupts in fire.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I press my foot on the pedal that makes the vehicle move until my calf muscle aches. The road is painted red by the massive fireball behind us. The gravelly surface is potholed, and we are thrown around violently like loose apples in the back of a cart, but we want to get as far away from the madness behind us as possible.

  The bomb creates an explosion that bursts high into the night sky like a gigantic, hellish bonfire. Stone bricks and pieces of metal rain down around us, smashing into the hard metal exterior of our vehicle.

  “It’s like the pits of hell back there,” yells Rich over the noise outside.

  “The other vehicles are exploding!” yells Carl. I look into the mirror as one by one the fuel tankers catch alight and explode, lifting the tankers high in the air until they come crashing down with a thunderous bang.

  Behind us there us a boom that sounds like the center of the Earth collapsing in on itself. “What the hell was that?” I ask. We look back and the whole compound is on fire, belching out thick black smoke, as though from the very depths of hell.

  I take my foot off the acceleration pedal and ease my foot on to the other pedal until the tanker stops.

  “What’s up? Why did you stop?” asks Rich, looking at me with wide eyes. He coughs as the air takes on a smoky haze and looks back at the burning facility.

  “Nothing is coming. Look, even the tanker that was pursuing us is gone. They’re all dead and the facility is burning. We’re safe for a moment.”

  We step out of the vehicle and the three of us stand in the middle of the road looking back on the scene of destruction. The air around is acrid and disgusting. We start to cough and I cover my mouth with my tunic.

  “We need to find the others and get out of here,” I gasp. “This air feels as though it’s going to kill me where I stand.”

  “You’re right,” replies Rich. He presses his sleeve to his mouth and his voice is muffled. “Plus, we have no idea who this explosion will attract. I’ve no doubt Yanx will be here soon, but there could be others from the surrounding areas.” Rich breaks off into a fit of coughing.

  “Pull the vehicle over here into the trees,” suggests Carl. He bends over double, trying to draw a breath. “We may need it later.” We move the vehicle quickly into the trees. It’s not particularly well hidden, but we hope to be out of here before anyone else arrives.

  We stagger through the forest while the fire continues to burn high and bright at the facility. The flames release a never-ending stream of thick black smoke.

  “It looks like the surrounding forest is starting to catch light. We need to hurry!” yells Rich. He’s right. The tall forest trees and dense undergrowth closest to the facility have begun to burn.

  “Abigail!” I scream. “Birch!”

  We listen for our friends, but there is no answer.

  Step by step, we push on as the smoke in the air thickens. “What if we can’t find them?” asks Rich.

  “We’ll find them. We can’t give up.” I cough into my arm and try to draw in a deep breath. But the fire is taking all the air, leaving only smoke and ash to be inhaled once more.

  The fire is getting closer to us and the visibility is greatly reduced. Burning red embers rain down on us, and the heat from the flames are hotter than anything I’ve ever experienced.

  The sound of the old forest catching fire all around us is like a wild beast rampaging.

  “Millie!” I scream. “Patrick!”

  “Where are they?” yells Rich. He sounds panicked and spins around wildly.

  Then, through the haze staggers a figure bent over double. At first I think I’m seeing things. But then she raises her blonde head and looks right at me. “It’s Delphine!” I yell.

  I run to her, wrapping my arms around her.

  “I love you. You’re safe,” I say into the side of her head. But they are words she will never hear. Relief floods me but we don’t have time to stop. We have to find the others before it is too late.

  I look at her face and begin to speak, but she knows what I am about to ask. She takes my hand and drags me deeper into the smoky, burning forest. Rich and Carl follow closely behind.

  We stagger about two chains through the intense heat and flames and choking smoke until we come across the others lying on the ground. Patrick and Millie are coughing, barely able to breathe. Abigail and Birch are on all fours, trying to crawl away from the fire that burns all around.

  We run to them. I hold Birch up with one arm and Abigail up with the other. They are coughing and wheezing and struggling to breathe. “You came for us,” gasps out Abigail.

  “Of course,” I reply, holding her tighter to me.

  I look back through the thick haze and see Carl and Rich helping Patrick and Millie. Delphine struggles along beside them, barely holding herself up but pressing on.

  The fire is all around us now. I’m disoriented but somehow, miraculously, we stagger through the flames and smoke and end up back at the road. “Where is it?” yells Rich, looking through the trees that line the road.

  “We’ve overshot it,” I yell back. “We’ll need to walk further up the road. We have to hurry!”

  “Where are you taking us?” asks Birch,
as she collapses in a fit of coughing.

  “We have a vehicle. We need to find it so we can escape before the fire engulfs us completely,” I reply.

  The others look as though they can’t take another step. “I don’t want to leave them here,” I say to Rich and Carl. “We have to press on.”

  And so the eight of us drag ourselves up the road, desperately searching the adjacent forest for our vehicle. The flames continue to close in on us, the embers continue to rain down, but we continue our desperate search.

  Finally, we make it to where we hid the tanker and I open up the main cabin. “There’s not room for us all!” yells Carl over the crackle and the roar of the encroaching forest fire.

  “I’ll drive,” I say to him, speaking rapidly, urgently. “You, Rich and Delphine can hold on to the back.”

  I search for Delphine and find her face. “Delphine, are you strong enough to hold on while I drive us out of here?”

  She nods resolutely.

  “The others can crowd on to the front seat with me. Let’s go!”

  We help the others into the vehicle as I suggested. It’s cramped but we have no other choice. Then, I boost Rich and Delphine on to one side of the tanker where there is a narrow platform and a small metal ladder that runs up the side of the main tank.

  Carl and I run around to the other side of the vehicle and I boost him up too. He looks down at me and we lock eyes for a moment.

  “Thank you,” I say to him.

  “You did the right thing,” replies Carl.

  I turn and run back to the driving side door. I climb back onto the seat in front of the wheel and press the ignition button again. The engine splutters to life and we begin to roll towards the road. “Hold on tight,” I yell over the crackle and popping sounds of the fire that now burns all around us.

  When I look up, Rich and Delphine are visible in the mirror attached to the ceiling. Rich catches my eye and he gives me a salute.

  “We did it,” I whisper to myself. “Ben, we did it. Go and be with Ada.”

  The forest fire and the burning, smoke-belching facility grow smaller in the mirror until they are just a red dot in the far distance behind us. The air is clearer but the smell of scorched plastic and wood lingers.