Vortex of Evil

by S D Taylor

  Doug looked straight ahead but laughed slightly. “Ok, my dear. I am glad you are looking out for me. Likewise, should you need a gun, I have one in the back of my pants as well.”

  Erin didn’t turn to look at him but she smiled. “I am glad you made it clear it was the back of your pants.” She took his arm and they walked to the pirate pilot in the blue camouflage outfit and wondered what would come next.

  The pilot was tall and thin, and seemed like a tough, seasoned professional. He spoke perfect English. “We want to talk. No strings. No threats. Just talk.”

  Doug wondered how long the “no threats” would last, but he was willing to give the guy a chance. One chance anyway. A brief one. There were three other men on the far side of the chopper. He wished he had a better view of them.

  “How many of you are still around after the sub accident?” Doug wanted to define what he was up against.

  “Why don’t you tell me how many of you there are first? You seem to have a distinct advantage over me since your people are all hidden over in the forest. You can see that I have only myself and three men standing over behind the helicopter.”

  Doug didn’t like the way this guy was so smooth in his speech and yet so menacing in his demeanor. “So you don’t think having an armed helicopter gives you a distinct advantage should we decide the key to working things out isn’t through talking?”

  The pilot laughed. “I don’t believe those things matter since I am here to propose a truce. We have a small helicopter. You have a small boat. Neither of us has enough gas to get very many people off this island. But if we work together and avoid killing each other, we could get the Viking boats or those Haida canoes and get back to the mainland.”

  Doug stared at him without emotion. The man seemed pretty well informed if he knew the canoes belonged to the Haida, a warlike native people who lived on the islands off the coast of British Columbia and southern Alaska.

  “What did you have in mind? I would think that with the helicopter you could just go take those boats without any help. What can they do against your machine guns and rockets?”

  “It isn’t the taking that we are worried about. The four of us couldn’t do much to row a large boat or canoe. We need a plan that involves capture, retraining and operations. We will need the people we capture to provide most of the muscle.”

  Never taking his eyes of the Pirate for a second, Doug reached over toward Erin and took her hand in his. “We need to consider your offer. We will let you know in one hour.”

  “Fine. Pardon us if we don’t wait here for now. We will return in one hour and land over by those graves you were digging earlier. If you are going to work with us, we will exchange two of our people for two of yours. Then together we will go after the boats we need.”

  Both Doug and the pilot jumped when Erin suddenly broke her silence and said, “Why don’t we just ask the people with boats if they would work with us? It seems like a better strategy than attacking them and trying to steal their boats.”

  “One hour.” The pilot got back into the small helicopter and was joined by the three other men. He started up the engine and lifted off, flying quickly out to sea at a very low altitude and then making a sharp turn towards the north.

  Erin turned towards Doug. “They are planning to kill us all, aren’t they?”

  “Absolutely. And they won’t wait for an hour. This ‘meeting’ was just a scouting mission. It is interesting they were watching us earlier. They must have people somewhere in the forest around us.” With that, they turned and ran back towards the forest where Tom, Megan and the rest were waiting.

  Chapter 4

  “What did he tell you?” Tom was the first to come forward to ask what had been discussed. “I thought about just shooting them but I didn’t want to dishonor the white flag.”

  “They were just buying time. I’ll bet that squad of men we saw pursuing John is out there getting ready to attack us. This little theater production was put on to stall for time while they get into position and for the helicopter gang to locate where we are hiding.” Doug knelt down once he got within the cover of the forest and he waved for the others to circle around him. “You too, Gaby.” He saw her hesitancy and wanted to reassure her that it was going to be all for one the rest of the way.

  “Our smooth-talking buddy with the helicopter proposed we work together to get the Viking and Haida boats so we can escape this island and get to the mainland. He correctly pointed out that neither the zodiac nor the helicopter could carry all of us very far and there isn’t enough gas for multiple trips.”

  “What is a Haida boat?” Peter asked the question that the others were thinking.

  Doug shrugged. “They are the native people who live in this area. I don’t know anything about them, but the pirate said they are an indigenous people in this area and that they are warlike. I am guessing that it would be hard to convince them to let us borrow their canoes. We would have better luck with asking Arny for a ride across to the mainland. If getting to the mainland makes any sense. For now, I think the immediate problem is staying alive and avoiding the pirates.”

  Peter looked around the area to the west, expecting to see attackers coming from that direction any second. “Should we try to get out of here? If you are so certain they will attack, why don’t we prepare something special for their arrival?”

  Doug glanced towards the shore. “I wonder if the other two zodiacs survived the explosion? One of them has a machine gun mounted on it.”

  Tom shook his head. “I am sure they were blown to bits by the explosion. They were tied up to the rail of the Rasputin.”

  Doug smiled. “Actually, they were drifting free as we left the scene. I untied all three when John was threatening to shoot us. I pushed ours away so he wouldn’t notice. They may have drifted clear with the current. I never turned around to look.”

  Erin thought back to the hectic escape. “We were pretty busy as I recall. We could go check it out. But what if the helicopter comes back and catches us on the water? From the air they would make short work of us.” She remembered that last time she and Doug had a discussion of taking on the helicopter. He told her then that their rifles didn’t give them much of a chance against the helicopter. But the zodiac with the machine gun was a different story.

  “Let’s go see if they are there. They could give us a way off the island as well as a pretty good antiaircraft weapon.” Doug turned to Gaby and Ying. “Are you with us?”

  They both nodded. Ying shared her thoughts about the situation. “I don’t want to be the only woman on this island with that bunch of pirates around. Now that the Admiral is dead, my usefulness to them will probably not involve my aptitude with physics equations. I would prefer to stay with you.” Gaby just turned and started towards the shore. They all followed. Doug caught up to her and said quietly, “We will get the missiles later.” She nodded and added, “Nobody knows they are there. Probably safer where they are until we work out what happens next.”

  It was a tight fit for the seven of them in the zodiac but they were soon heading towards the debris field that marked the Rasputin’s last location before the explosion. The morning fog was gone now and it was a bright, sunny day with only a few fluffy clouds floating high above. Doug noticed the current flowed to the north along that side of the island and it wasn’t long before they could see the two inflatable boats bobbing in the waves about a mile and a half from where Doug had untied them. The helicopter was nowhere to be seen. It was late afternoon and Doug wondered how long before the helicopter would return and attack them.

  Doug pulled up next to the zodiac with the machine gun mounted on it and Peter jumped on board along with Gaby. “Peter. You take the machine gun and Gaby can drive.”

  “Sounds good. We’ll follow you.” Peter checked the ammunition while Gaby started the motor. Tom, Megan and Ying climbed into the other zodiac, leaving Doug and Erin in the one they started with. All three were underway quickly and hea
ded back to the shore. The zodiacs seemed unharmed by the explosion of the Rasputin. The two that had been derelicts for the day carried a small amount of debris in them from the blast, but both were in fine shape with no punctures. The flotilla was nearly back to shore when they heard gunfire.

  “Where is it coming from?” Doug looked intently at the camp, but there was no movement there. Erin pulled out the binoculars and scanned the horizon to the north. Near the tip of the island, she could see two of the large canoes on the surface and the helicopter circling them in a menacing way. Gaby and Peter were already racing towards them at high speed.

  “Here we go again. The cavalry to the rescue. Do you think it makes sense to get involved?” Erin looked at Doug expecting an answer, but both Tom and Doug turned their zodiacs in wide arcs and followed behind Peter. Erin stood next to Doug and said simply, “Ok, so we’re helping somebody who doesn’t deserve to be attacked by the pirates. I guess that makes sense.” She smiled as he looked at her. “Give me time, Doug. I can’t quite get my head around the concept of heading into a fight every time the bad guys show up. For now, saving the oppressed will have to be my motivation.”

  Doug laughed. “I have created a monster. Or a hero. Either way, let’s see if we can help.” He leaned over and gave Erin a quick and unexpected kiss. She wondered if her life with Doug was going to fall into a pattern of life-threatening situations, punctuated by the very occasional moments of intimacy.

  The lead zodiac closed the distance quickly with Gaby at the controls. She and Peter were astonished at what they saw. The pirate helicopter was hovering motionless and one of the men in the back seat was shooting at the two native canoes with the machine gun mounted next to the door. It looked like many of the people in the canoes had jumped in the water to avoid the bullets. There were some dead bodies lying draped over the side of the canoes as well. The helicopter had made a wide turn and was ready for another strafing run when Peter opened fire with the .30 caliber mounted on the zodiac. The inflatable boat was only about fifty yards from the first canoe and he was able to score several hits near the door of the attacking chopper. It got the attention of the pilot who banked sharply to the right and turned towards Peter and Gaby.

  The helicopter had small anti-tank missiles mounted below each door and was about to fire one when Peter managed to put a burst of machine gun fire right into the cockpit bubble, hitting the copilot in the shoulder and forcing another wild evasive maneuver. Tom and Doug steered their boats toward the two war canoes and the many survivors who were in the water. The gunner in the back seat was still trying to fire the door gun at Peter and Gaby, but the sudden turns were throwing off his aim. Peter had a clear shot at the chopper and was about to fire when suddenly a beam of intense light hit the helicopter, surrounding it with a bright orange glow. As they all looked on, the helicopter blew up with such force that they could all feel the shockwave pass over them.

  Doug instinctively looked back to see where the beam had come from when he saw it. Erin saw it too. “What is it, Doug? It looks like a flying saucer.”

  The remains of the explosion drifted slowly down to the surface of the ocean as the three zodiacs converged on the two war canoes. The full extent of the attack was clear to see with bodies strewn about the canoes as well as some floating in the nearby sea. But all eyes were fixed on the strange craft that hovered noiselessly above them. It had just destroyed the helicopter with a silent, sudden and massive attack, and everyone in the boats, canoes and the water assumed they were next. As they all held their breath and their fire, the craft noiselessly floated over the scene and then rose rapidly straight up and then turned away to the west. As quickly as it arrived, it was gone.

  “What the hell was that? Tom yelled to no one in particular. “Alien spacecraft comes to the rescue? Whatever it is, is scared the hell out of me and blew the hell out of the bad guys in the helicopter.”

  Megan was speechless, but Ying, ever the scientist, was intrigued by anything that could travel with those characteristics. “It is completely quiet and yet is capable of high performance. I have never seen anything that can turn and accelerate like that.”

  Doug reached the first canoe where he and Erin tried to help the people in the water. The native people all recoiled with fear and tried to swim away except the chief. Doug looked right at him and their eyes met. Reaching out his hand as the zodiac drifted close to him, Doug cut the motor. The chief paused for a second then grasped Doug’s wrist and pulled himself into the inflatable boat. Doug nodded to him and immediately reached out for another survivor in the water. Once the chief was on board with Doug and Erin, the others took that as a sign that it was safe and they swam forward towards the three inflatable boats.

  Both of the large war canoes were taking on water from several bullet holes. Doug realized that if they could tow one of the canoes to shore, the Haida crew could probably repair it. He started the motor and moved the zodiac next to the closest sinking canoe. “Hey Tom! We need to tow this canoe to shore so it doesn’t sink in deep water.” Megan pulled one more woman into the zodiac and Tom headed for the canoe.

  The chief turned to Doug with a quizzical look on his face. Doug grabbed the rope that was coiled in the bottom of the inflatable and tied it to the frame of the zodiac. He reached up and threw the other end around the prow of the war canoe. He could see the bodies and blood in the shallow water in the bottom of the canoe but ignored them for now as he tied off the rope. The chief saw what he was doing and nodded. Tom tossed him the rope from the other zodiac and he tied that onto the canoe as well. Then Doug and Tom headed the zodiacs slowly towards the shore as the ropes became taught, towing the heavy weight of the war canoe. Doug hoped the outboard motors were up to the task of towing the large canoe but it proved no problem in the mild seas.

  Erin was tending to a young girl who had a superficial bullet wound in her thigh. The bullet had only grazed her, but the wound was bleeding quite a bit. “It will be ok,” she said to the girl, realizing that she wouldn’t understand English. The girl winced in pain but had no tears in her eyes. Erin decided these people must have to be incredibly strong to survive the daily challenges of their lives. They didn’t need to be attacked by idiots with helicopters, guns and whatever that other flying object turned out to be.

  Doug and Tom carefully steered their inflatable boats as they pulled the canoe towards the shore. Doug would periodically glance over at the chief who was tending to his people. The tall man put his hand on each person’s shoulder and looked them in the eye, asking how they were and giving them encouragement. Doug couldn’t understand the language but it was clear what was taking place. He could tell the chief was a man who commanded great respect and was the clear guiding force for these people. The Haida had lost at least twenty people in the attack. Each zodiac had been able to rescue eight or nine, and there were a few survivors in the canoes. But from the original group of sixty there were no more than forty left alive. Doug’s rage at the stupidity of the pirate attack was intense.

  “We should have killed those idiots in the helicopter when they came around waving the white flag. If we had, none of these poor people would have died.” Doug looked at Erin as he spit the words out.

  “You did what you thought was right. We honored a white flag but I guess that doesn’t mean much to pirates. At least we can help the survivors.” Erin felt a sense of loss that these people who were not involved in the vortex weapon test in any way were now paying the price of being in the wrong place and the wrong time. Just like the Vikings, she thought. It was unfortunate that proud, well-trained warriors were mowed down by shameless psychopaths who had no reason for the murders they committed. At least the strange hover vehicle had settled that score and sent the pirates straight to hell. Erin had an uncomfortable feeling that they would be seeing that craft again. And it wouldn’t be saving them next time. “Where did the thing that looked like a flying saucer come from?”

  Doug had been wondering the same
thing. “I have never seen that technology. Not even anything close. It must be something from the future. I am afraid they may be a force we are unequipped to deal with. I hope they got here by accident and we can just avoid them.”

  As they neared the shore by the camp, the chief and two of the men jumped out in the shallow water and grabbed the ropes. They pulled the canoe forward and up onto the rocky beach. Doug and Tom beached their zodiacs and they helped the wounded people out of the boat.

  “Let’s get them over by the tents and we can work on those with the most severe wounds.” Doug walked over to the chief and pointed to the tents. “We need to take your wounded people there.” Doug spoke slowly, knowing that the man would be unable to understand. Doug nearly fell to the ground when the chief looked at him and equally slowly said, “That will be fine.”

  Doug and Erin froze in their tracks and looked at the chief who had a stern but somewhat amused look on his face. “Yes, I speak the English tongue. I do not understand all your words but I understand enough. You are not trying to harm us. You are offering to help. You do not know who we are but you are willing to help us. We value that greatly and for now, we will not kill you for violating our sacred lands.”

  Doug was speechless. Erin walked over to the chief. “You could understand what we were saying when we saw you pass by the other night in your canoes?” Erin and Doug had been on the bridge of the Rasputin when the two Haida canoes went past and they had a stare down with the Chief.

  “Yes, but I believe you often learn more about someone by keeping quiet. I knew you would not suspect that I had been kidnapped and spent time with missionaries when I was a boy. We can talk later. Now, we must help the wounded.”

  “Yes. My apologies for losing focus. We need to move these people over by the tents so we can treat their wounds.” Doug looked at the chief, shook his head and turned quickly towards the beach were Tom and Megan were helping their passengers ashore and Gaby was just pulling the final zodiac into the beach.