by Mike Essex
“I’ll explain later,” I told them.
Footsteps came from down the walkway, the clip clop of high heels hitting the hard floor. I looked up to see Jill making her way towards us, pushing a wheelchair in front of her. As she saw me she released the wheelchair and it rolled towards me.
I helped March get Will into the wheelchair and together we pushed him up the ramp towards the exit of the base. Jill had timed the doors to open one by one as we reached them and then seal themselves behind us.
“Those doors won’t open again once they close,” she explained. “No-one will be coming after us.”
The main door closed, trapping the machine behind us, sealing it off for good. A soldier on our side of the door put their hands in the air and dropped their guns to the floor.
“I saw what you did to Vlad,” said the soldier. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“Then stand by the door and don’t follow us,” I explained.
“I heard what you said, you’ll trap me inside. I knew you back at The Deck Emmie. You have to let me go.”
“Oh I’m sorry,” I replied. “Did you let me go when I was trapped in that hell for seven years? No, I don’t think so. Now get against the door.”
He slowly backed his way towards the door.
“March, mate, you’re one of us. What makes you so special you get to go?” asked the soldier.
“He isn’t free yet,” I replied. March may have saved me but I had a lot more questions for him to answer.
The soldier slumped to the floor as we reached the door. I looked back at him to try and remember who he was, only to see the broken tip of Vlad’s blade flying through the air towards me. I moved away from it and it clattered to the floor.
“No, no, no,” said the soldier. His body position clearly showing he’d been the one to throw the blade. I picked it up from the floor and swiftly threw it towards him. It sunk deeply into his chest, cracking through his rib cage.
“You might have escaped,” I told him. “But not now.”
The doors closed behind us whilst he lay there on the floor, blood pooling in front of him.
We followed the winding pathway round past the rooms where Jill had been held prisoner and where the snatcher’s body had been destroyed by Vlad.
“This isn’t right,” said Grace, as we reached the next area. “Gabe’s body should be here.”
Instead of his body there was a small trail of blood that led up the ramp towards the next set of doors.
“You’re right,” said Jill. “Those doors should still be locked down.”
We followed the blood trail through the remaining doors and up to the entrance of the base. The front door lay wide open, rain splashing inside from the raging storm.
“Crap!” said Grace, darting up the ramp and out into the storm. I checked that Jill and March could keep pushing Will’s wheelchair and then ran after Grace.
The lights outside of the base had been turned off, and it was hard to make out Grace’s form in the darkness. The rain crashed down all around me, hitting my body hard and soaking me through in seconds.
“You stupid bastard!” said Grace and I ran towards the sound. By the time I’d reached her body she was on her knees punching the soaked mud beneath her. I leant down and saw the tyre tracks in the mud.
Our car was gone and so was Tom.
TWENTY THREE
“I’m going to kill him,” said Grace, after I’d convinced her to come back inside and out of the storm.
For a moment we all sat there in the entrance to the base, knowing we couldn’t go back down the ramp but not sure what our next move should be.
“Are you sure they can’t get to us?” asked March.
“Positive,” said Jill. “I planned it all like you told me. After I opened the doors for Grace to get to Emmie, I ran my virus to lockdown the base. No-one is getting past those doors without my say so.”
“So how did he do it?” asked Grace.
Jill checked the tablet computer she’d been carrying and replied. “It’s looks like he used his master key to get out before I locked down the doors.”
“So he’s already been gone for a while?” asked Grace.
“Yes, I’m sorry,” said Jill.
“I should have finished the job and killed him,” said Grace, “and now Tom is paying the price.”
“We should keep moving,” said March. “A security force will be coming soon.”
“How?” I replied. “We have no car and there’s no way we can hide out there with Will in a wheelchair.”
“There’s no other option,” said March. “If there was then I’d recommend it.”
Together the five of us ventured out into the storm. Despite his best efforts Will tried to stand but couldn’t, so we pushed him in the wheelchair as far as we could. We struggled to carve the wheelchair through the mud, but with all of us working together somehow we found the strength to push him through it a good twenty yards from the base.
When we heard the sound of vehicles approaching we helped Will out of the wheelchair and carefully lowered him onto the ground until he was perfectly flat in the mud. The wheelchair folded down and was placed behind us as quickly as we could. We spread out and lay prone on the ground just before a truck pulled up outside the base.
The truck was non-descript with just a black tarpaulin over the top, to hide the soldiers that jumped out of the back of it. There looked to be thirty of them, all kitted out in top of the line gear, even more advanced than that I’d seen in the base.
I lay next to Will and placed my left hand in his.
“At least he can’t hurt us anymore,” he said softly, and smiled in that way he always did to make big problems seem like small ones.
A few years ago that would have been enough but it wasn’t enough anymore. I wanted to be sure Eli couldn’t hurt anyone else ever again and I refused to die here face down in a muddy ditch.
With only the truck’s lights illuminating the darkness, it was difficult to see just how many soldiers were looking for us and how many had ventured inside the base.
I looked through the sight of my gun and tried to make out a soldier in the darkness. I was used to living in the dark and hoped all my time in the machine might come in handy. With the sound of the storm all around us I figured I could at least take out a couple of soldiers before they’d notice. It felt like the best chance we’d have.
I tried to look for them but they must have been well camouflaged and covered by the darkness as I couldn’t spot a single one. Obscured by the dark and the sound of the storm it was impossible for me to know if they’d fired a shot. They could have already caught Grace, March or Jill for all I knew.
If I got a target in range then I knew I’d need to shoot no questions asked. These didn’t look like the type of soldiers who would give up without finding me. I had to defend myself. I had to defend Will.
“If we don’t make it, I want you to know that I’m sorry,” said Will.
“We’ll make it,” I replied. “This wasn’t your fault, you can’t be held responsible for what Dad did.”
Although Will had helped Eli plan the events that had led up to this day he couldn’t have known the outcome.
“We’ll make it,” I repeated.
As I gazed at the light in front of the truck I felt like I saw something in the darkness near to us. I had to double take and look around me, aiming the pistol as I turned. The sound of footsteps edged closer to us as an unseen force made their way towards us. I circled round trying to see them, wiping the rain from me eyes, trying to get a grip on the situation.
Although I’d thought the rain would drown us out perhaps Will and I had alerted the soldiers when we’d spoken. We stayed quiet, surveying the area, breathing slowly, constantly looking around us.
The sound of a twig snapping startled me, worryingly close to where we were hiding. I turned towards the sound and saw a shape creeping through the darkness. A small trail of light hovered
there in front of their face, almost invisible to the naked eye. I’d seen that trail before, a sure-fire indicator that someone was using night vision goggles.
Knowing they had the advantage I knew I’d have to be totally certain that my shot would hit the mark or they’d see us instantly. I raised my gun towards the small green light, aiming for their head. Before I could pull the trigger I heard the heavy patter of gunshots ring out into the night. The weapon fired faster and echoed out louder over the storm than anything we possessed. Whoever had fired it hadn’t been one of our group.
In a panic I pulled the trigger, missing the soldier in front of me who had already started to run towards the heavy gunshot. I looked back at Will who shouted for me to go and then I darted out after the soldier, following the thin trail of light he left behind. The heavy gunshots continued to rain out, louder than even the deepest rumblings of the storm.
I could hear the truck start to move as it was driven towards the sound. Desperate to stop the soldier in front of me from reaching the noise I fired three bullets towards the running soldier. Two of them missed but the third grazed his back. I knew he’d have body armour but I just wanted him to stop long enough so I could put a bullet through his head. He didn’t slow down, he just kept running, unaware that a threat was right behind him.
The truck drove in front of the both of us, illuminating a soldier that was firing off a weapon so huge he had to kneel down and prop it on his shoulder just to use the thing. He saw that the truck had stopped and he ceased firing. The driver got out of the truck and walked in front of the light. From the side I couldn’t get a good look at him but was surprised he carried no gun in his holster.
The illuminated figure walked towards the soldier on the ground and patted him on the head. He kept one hand on his left side, clutching at something hidden away from me. If he was talking then I couldn’t make out what he was saying, the storm louder than his words.
The light of the truck was illuminating a set of rocks that the soldier had moments ago been shooting towards. The soldier I’d been chasing reached the illumined figure and then walked back towards the rocks. I watched in horror as a woman walked out from behind the rocks, her hands behind her head.
The light illuminated her completely. They had Grace.
Hopefully Jill and March were safe nearby. It had never been Grace’s style to surrender, she must have had a plan surely? She walked out to the illuminated man and stood in front of the light, her face lit brightly. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. She didn’t pull away. She even smiled a little.
Grace put her hands down and was given a weapon from one of the soldiers. I couldn’t believe what I’d seen. Had she been working for Eli the whole time? It was too much to take in.
The soldiers seemed to welcome her with open arms, some even embracing her. Perhaps this had been why she was so keen to split up, so she could reunite with her group without arousing suspicion from the rest of us. Was everything she’d said about Tom being gone just a ruse to throw us off the scent?
I tried to shake the thoughts from my mind. Whatever Grace was up to it didn’t change the fact that a threat was still out there, and Will wasn’t safe. Not knowing if I could trust Jill or March, I ran back to Will vowing to get him out of here. At least I had Will and that was something I hadn’t been able to say for a long time.
I retraced my steps, dashing through the dark field and doing my best to remember where I’d travelled. The ground that I’d passed through previously felt different to the rest and using the tracking skills that I’d picked up from my time in captivity I made my way back to my brother.
“We have to go now,” I said to him as I flung the wheelchair open. “Do you have the energy to go on?”
“Of course,” he replied, his mind possibly more willing than his body.
I put an arm under each of his shoulders and put all of my weight into lifting him up. The ground beneath me was slippy and my shoes refused to keep their grip. Every time I pulled him up a foot or two my feet lost purchase and I went tumbling to the floor. Will tried his best to help by propping his arms on the floor and pushing upwards with all his strength but he had so little left to give.
“You have to go. I won’t let you die after all this,” said Will.
I couldn’t talk, all of my energy was focused on saving him.
I searched the ground to find the driest part and with all my might pulled Will’s shoulders towards me. He raised up just enough for me to put his back against the chair, only for the chair to slip out from underneath him, sending both of us collapsing into the mud.
For a second I lay there on the floor wondering if this was all just a horrific nightmare. Had I died back in the weapons room and this was just some horrific purgatory? I’d been betrayed by my best friend and was helpless to save my brother. Perhaps this was hell; a penance for the things I’d done under Eli’s control.
Even the monster in my mind was gone. From the second I’d woken up Tobias hadn’t uttered a word. Whatever he’d done to get me out of the machine it must have taken all of the strength he had left. Even Corinna and Cleon couldn’t communicate with me anymore, the comms unit linked to them was back at the base. For the first time in years I only had my own thoughts to guide me and they were failing me again and again.
“Hands where I can see them,” shouted a voice, so close to me I could hear it over the rain.
I looked up to see a soldier stood over me, the flicker of his night vision goggles taunting me that I should have killed him earlier. I reached for my gun but couldn’t find it, I must have dropped it when I’d collapsed.
Surrender was the only option I had left. If nothing else I wanted to know why Grace had betrayed me and if I was dead I’d never know. Reluctantly, I place my hands in the air, stood up and faced the soldier head on.
After getting a good look at me he responded; “Emmie?”
The storm waned for just a second but it was enough for me to hear his voice clearly. I walked towards the soldier and pulled the goggles from his face. A burst of lighting cracked through the sky illuminating us both.
Before we could utter another word we embraced and kissed each other, forgetting about the forces that had tried so hard to keep us apart.
TWENTY FOUR
As I felt Rex’s lips touch mine everything else clicked into place. The illuminated soldier had been Jacobi and these soldiers were his private military group; that Grace and Rex also worked for. Grace hadn’t betrayed me after all, she’d just been relieved to see that the army sent to capture or kill us were in fact our allies.
Rex held me tightly in his arms, with one arm around my back and the other holding my head. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, letting the storm wash over me and trying to forget where we were and what we’d been though.
I didn’t want to let go of Rex but knew we needed to help Will. Together we got him back into the wheelchair and made our way back towards the truck. Grace was relieved to see us and she encouraged us into the back of the truck, whilst a couple of soldiers helped Will on board. I sat down on one of the seats inside and Rex handed me a blanket to keep me warm.
“We’re still searching for March and Jill but we’ll find them,” said Grace. “Jacobi had ordered his men not to fire. It’s a stroke of luck his army was called in.”
“I’ll say, but why would Eli use him. He knew that Jacobi helped us in London before,” I said.
“Well we don’t exactly advertise ourselves as ‘Jacobi’s army’,” said Jacobi as he strode into the truck. “We’ve got several different military contracts that we fulfil through a number of shell companies. You know me, I have my fingers in plenty of pies.”
He reached his hand out to shake mine.
“I had no idea that this would be a rescue mission when we set out,” said Jacobi. “Only when we saw Grace did we realise she’d found you at last.”
“Everyone at QWS knows about you Emmie and they were alw
ays on the lookout for you. There are a lot of people at the base who will be happy to see you,” said Rex.
“Oh yes,” said Jacobi. “Some of our newer recruits will be quite surprised you’re even real. I suspect a few of them thought we’d just made you up to keep them busy.”
“I just can’t believe it’s really you,” said Rex.
“I know you never stopped searching,” I told him as he reached his arm around my shoulder.
“Never,” he replied and I lay my head on his shoulder.
Grace grew antsy waiting for the others, keen to get on the road and find Tom. After a minute or two of tapping her feet she went outside to search.
Whilst Grace searched for Jill, March made his way onto the truck and Rex jumped to his feet. “What the hell is he doing here?” he asked.
“It’s ok,” I told him, “He helped us.”
“He disappears the day you do and we’re expected to believe he helped you? Where was he when you needed him in London? Probably setting up everything so you could be captured.”
“No, it’s not like that,” I tried to calm the situation.
“You don’t need to make excuses for me. I can accept what I did,” said March. “I blame myself for Emmie being captured but I’ve spent every day for the last seven years trying to help free her.”
“It’s true,” said Jill. “If it wasn’t for March we’d all still be trapped down there. He cared for you and your brother every day to make sure your bodies could hold out and wouldn’t be in too much pain.”
I could see March felt awkward from the situation and he quickly changed the subject. “I’m doing what I can to make things right.”
“Not good enough,” said Rex, squaring up to March. “Get off the truck.”
“Wait, he can help us,” I said.
“Get off the truck. Now!” said Rex.