by Sonador Snow
The moment the engine stopped, Jinhun pulled himself on board from the other side where nobody was observing. At the sound, he made everyone turned instinctively. Taylor waited for this and jumped forward with his hands held together like a hammer. He neutralized the nearest man when hitting him as hard as he could in the back.
He was also quicker than the next soldier, and as the Indian was turning towards , Taylor's fist hit him in the face and sent him backwards. As the helpless man was falling, Taylor managed to grab his machine gun and turn the muzzle towards the third solider who was hit by three lethal bullets. After that Taylor fell behind the body of the solider he had just hit as the strap of the gun was still over the soldier's shoulder. When he got back up to look around, he saw with relief that Jinhun had dealt with the other two men. This brave attack by the two men happened in just a few seconds.
Without wasting any time, they pushed the bodies over board and, using the manual control still available on all military equipment, they turned the engine on.
“How do we increase the speed?” Taylor asked as he was holding the steering wheel.
“Here.” Jinhun pointed. “But first you have to switch off the computer controller waiting for commands from implants.”
“How?”
Jinhun simply lifted the gun he took from the soldier and fired at the brown box at the rear of the boat.
“Now you're manually controlling everything. That's why all military vehicles still have it, in case something like that happens.”
Taylor upped their speed to the maximum, and very quickly the boat's front lifted in the air as it sped through the narrow channel, slicing the surface with calm smoothness. Jinhun gathered all the weapons they kept and, before moving to the rear, said, “Just keep on straight. The swamps will simply end in about three miles, and after that we'll be on foot. I'd say we'll be there in less than five minutes.”
After that he made himself comfortable at the back and lined up all the weapons so they could be in arm's reach. As they anticipated, their journey wasn't going to be smooth and uninterrupted. Less than two minutes had passed since they took control of the boat when three similar motor boats appeared behind them. Jinhun wasn't particularly worried about them because they kept the same speed as them and the distance remained safe, but his eyes narrowed as two much bigger military boats equipped with machine guns and a cannon moved ahead and slowly but surely started eating the distance. His other worry was a fast approaching helicopter from their right.
A minute later, the two big boats were close enough and opened fire. The two cannons sent missiles right in front of the boat, obviously to try and slow them. The two men had to confess this worked, as Taylor was forced to veer left and right and this killed a lot of their speed. Immediately after that, the men behind the big machine guns on top of the boats opened fire, and Jinhun had to seek cover as at least a dozen bullets ripped the metal of their boat.
They were nearly level with the two big boats and had hardly gone half of the distance to the shore. Jinhun had no chance to return fire as he had to seek cover. Now the distance also allowed the soldiers to fire at him. At least the armor of the engine near him was holding and many bullets ricocheted off it.
Jinhun was curled up behind it and in his hands he held a small grenade launcher. It had two muzzles and was able to fire simultaneously from both. A second of no fire was enough for him to quickly jump to his knee. Without having any time to aim, he simply stabilized the weapon and two grenades went up in the air as he quickly dropped back to seek cover. Two explosions and human cries hinted to him that he had succeeded. He peaked out again to see burning people jumping over board from the boat.
The effect this had was immediate. Realizing that the runaways were heavily armed, the two boats slowed down and allowed a safe distance to open. Taylor shouted that he was able to see the shore ahead of them and that soon they must think about leaving the boat.
Jinhun got up and ran to the front to join his companion while the helicopter got near enough to open fire. They were in serious trouble again.
“Give me that.” Taylor grabbed the grenade launcher from Jinhun, leaving in his other hand a gun. “When I say, you jump in the water from the right side but don't swim towards the shore as they expect, just stay in one place under water.”
Jinhun nodded, and shouting over the roar of the engine, Taylor ordered, “Now!”
The two men left the boat trying to jump as far away from its dangerous bottom as they could. Taylor looked around him when he was under the water's surface and, with relief, spotted Jinhun not too far away. At this moment, the surface over them lit up and a loud explosion was heard as their boat crashed into the shore. They felt the wave even under the water.
Using his hands, Taylor indicated to Jinhun to swim to the surface for air and dive back. The Chinaman noticed that his companion deliberately delayed his kick towards the surface and wondered why, but in a second his head popped up and he opened his mouth spitting water. Jinhun didn't have much time. The helicopter was right over his head and he was very lucky to disappear under the water again just before several gunshots ripped the surface where his head was. The pilot lowered the machine even closer to the water to give the shooters a better chance. At this moment, Taylor's head appeared several feet from where Jinhun had popped up just a second ago. The soldier on the edge of the chopper's open door noticed him, but Taylor was quicker and a grenade flew towards the flying machine as the red-haired man disappeared again under the water's surface.
Taylor was kicking hard downwards when the burning helicopter landed with a massive splash in the water and started sinking fast. The two men didn't wait to see if there would be survivors, and using strong underwater kicks, they headed towards the nearby shore. They showed their heads on the surface only when they reached the shallow waters. They were pleased to see that the water's entire surface behind them was covered by burning remains or burning fuel that was providing great cover for their retreat. Dark clouds of smoke were reducing the visibility significantly. With their boat also providing extra fire and smoke, it was impossible for the men on the boats to see them as they waded out of the water on solid ground and, with great leaps, disappeared in between the big trees.
Despite their lucky escape from the swamps, they were not fooling themselves that it was over. Very soon they heard the sound of more helicopters heading their way. They knew that it was a matter of minutes before the forest would be swarmed by soldiers seeking revenge.
They kept running up the hill as fast they could for about ten minutes, but after that their tanks were empty, and they simply collapsed on the soft moss gasping for air.
“That was great with the chopper,” Jinhun said through two deep breaths.
“Thanks.”
“Our way takes us only upwards from now on. We have to reach the other end of this forest.”
“After that?”
“After that there is open ground with a huge number of rocks scattered around. The mountain had rolled them down for centuries. There we'll find the entrance to the labyrinth of caves, and once inside, I'll feel safer, I know many ways to escape pursuers.”
“Five more minutes and we move.”
Jinhun nodded. The two men leaned back and closed their eyes, trying to restore some energy to their battered bodies.
Taylor allowed his mind to drift. His eyes noticed a white orchid flowering just right of him and this evoked a smile on his face. A long forgotten past emerged in his mind. He remembered the porch of his house where his wife always had a dozen orchids in full bloom, they were always pure white, and it was her favorite color.
Taylor was roughly dragged back to the present situation when two soldiers emerged from behind a nearby tree, their guns pointing at the two helpless men's chests. Left with no choice, Jinhun and Taylor lifted their hands in the air and slowly got up. The soldiers didn't let them out of sight as they slowly moved closer. At this moment, the sound of a broken
branch came from right behind the soldiers.
Seventeen
Carolina cried loudly and instinctively sheltered her head with her hands as the ceiling above them was cracking quickly. As suddenly as it had started, the grinding noise coming from inside the solid rock stopped and an eerie silence descended.
MacGeady was the one that kept his cool and calmly ushered them to quickly make it out of the tunnel, as any minute tons of rock could collapse over them, despite the fact that everything looked calm. Ademar Gamejro was badly hit on the shoulder by a falling rock. The agent that was supposed to kill him picked him up and carried him the last few steps, with the two women following closely.
They made it safely to the big cavity where the other survivors were also recovering after the strenuous walk and the scare some had to endure in the last few seconds when the explosion back in the city nearly collapsed the ceiling over them.
MacGeady and Grossmayer tended to Ademar Gamejro's shoulder, and after popping it back in its socket, they made him a strap in which to keep it. They just finished that when John Masterson's voice echoed through the empty space, “We must move on. Time is pressing us.”
The survivors of the attack split in two as they discussed earlier, and everyone followed their tunnel wishing each other good luck. They were hurrying, but still the progress they were making through the damp, slippery and dark tunnels wasn't as quick as they would like. Adding to that the heavy computer equipment that needed to be carried, as Akio Fukuzawa needed it to set the plan Apocalypse in motion, made them really struggled to cover the required five miles per hour.
After three hours of hard walking, the group led by Fukuzawa stopped for a break. He lifted the radio to his mouth and soon made contact with Apalikov, the leader of the other group of escapees.
“We need to stop,” Fukuzawa said. “The people are too tired and also several are wounded.”
“It's the same here; we'll take a break too.”
They spent the next twenty minutes recovering and eating some of the food taken with them. After that the two groups informed each other that they were on the move again.
An hour more of the same slow walking and Masterson knew that a tough decision had to be made. Walking at the front of the group, he waved Carolina to join him. They talked for a while and then she dropped back to the rear of the group where her father was carried on a stretcher by two men.
“Pa, I'll have to leave you. I and a few others important for our plan Apocalypse will hurry forward, while you'll make it with the rest of the survivors.”
“I understand,” Ademar Gamejro said in a very weak voice, much weaker than one bang on the knee and one hit on the shoulder might suggest. A while ago, he suddenly said that he felt very weak and an improvised stretcher had to be made for him.
“You obviously suffered a lot over the past few days and taking it slower will make you feel better.” She gave him an encouraging smile.
“I think I'm getting too old for such adventures.”
“I love you.” She kissed his forehead as her eyes filled with tears.
His hand trembled unnaturally as he stroked her white face and answered with the same. A few minutes later, Carolina, accompanied by Fabiana and Ian MacGeady, made their way to the front of the group and several hundred people there upped the tempo as the others stopped for a short break.
Ademar Gamejro followed from his stretcher the quickly fading lights of the solar lamps that were moving further and further away, and closing his eyes after he was no longer able to see them, he thought, “Forgive me God for the sacrifice I'm about to make just for the righteous cause.”
Soon after, the painkillers he was given kicked in and the minister fell asleep.
* * *
Several miles back, drama had developed after the bombs pretty much destroyed the entire underground city. Thick clouds of smoke billowed out of the lake for over an hour after the explosion, while the whole surface was covered with burned corpses and boats searching for survivors. The decks of the boats and the nearby shores were filled with agonized and screaming people; some of them had been burned so badly that they looked unrecognizable. Around most of them there were paramedics trying to help, but one in every five soldiers looked like a lost cause.
Shimi Levy looked at the scene with a dark expression from one of the shores of the lake. His thunderous eyes moved across the bodies lined up in front of him. He was still refusing to accept what had happened. All those years of waiting and preparation and, when everything finally seemed to be happening, he was caught by surprise.
The seven archangels and the recently magnificent-looking Lucifer lay on the grass in front of him, their bodies very badly burnt. Gabriel and Rafael also had what looked like fatal wounds after sharp objects had hit them. The young men cried with pain as careful medical staff tended them. Lucifer's perfect face, blond hair and hypnotizing eyes were now replaced by a blood-red skull and big ugly bubbles on his skin.
Shimi Levy heard a louder noise than usual coming from above and looked. He saw the big medical helicopter approaching them slowly. He knew who was coming with it; after all, he called for him.
Shimi Levy kept his lips pressed tight as the big white helicopter equipped better than an ambulance turned surprisingly quickly in midair and soon landed not very far away from them. Immediately, six people dressed in white coats jumped from its belly. Carrying three stretchers, they hurried towards Shimi Levy and the bodies in front of him. Behind them a much smaller man came out. Doctor Yao wasn't happy.
He walked slowly towards the edge of the grass; his eyes narrowed even more as he soaked in the surrounding carnage and the amount of devastation caused by the explosion. Shimi Levy had called him immediately after the incident, requesting his presence. After all he knew the anatomy and physical features of the unique men better than anyone.
He made his way to where the archangels were. After only narrowing his snaky-eyes even more when he looked at Shimi Levy, he knelt without saying a word and started examining the hurt bodies. He stopped longer with Rafael, who seemed to have suffered the most damage. Yao examined the thick blood that kept coming out of his stomach and his head shook negatively.
Three of the injured were already on the stretchers and Yao waved his men to take them quickly. He continued to walk from archangel to archangel, while Shimi Levy stood motionless nearby and only watched. When Yao's doctors returned to take three more injured, the pissed-off Chinese doctor turned sharply to head towards the helicopter, but before leaving he said loud enough to be heard by everyone near, “I told you they were not ready.”
Without saying anything else or waiting for an answer, Yao disappeared inside the helicopter to start work on the wounded men. When all of them were on board, the machine lifted off and disappeared over the horizon.
While all this was happening, Shimi Levy didn't move from his place or say anything. This is how his agent found him, standing motionless, and his eyes avoiding looking at the dark stains of blood on the grass around.
“Boss,” the nervous young man started cautiously his first ever conversation with the main director of the agency he worked for with such passion, “the Indians just informed us that Jinhun Sun and Taylor Swansea managed to exit the swamps and entered the forest. The soldiers are narrowing the ring around them though, and any minute news of their capture is expected.”
“They won't catch them,” Shimi Levy answered with conviction, without lifting his eyes from the drying blood of his archangels. “How many agents can we send to the area within an hour?”
“Only three, sir.” The man swallowed hard. “You said earlier that we didn't need to redirect more men.”
“Yes, I trusted the future too much.” After a short pause, he added, “Find me a chopper that will take me back to our building in New Delhi. Meanwhile, I want you to send a message to all local directors of the Agency to fly immediately to New Delhi for an urgent meeting. Tell them also to bring with them as many
agents as they can spare.”
“Right away, sir.” The young man ran towards the far end of the lake where three helicopters stood waiting.
Shimi Levy followed him for a second, and after that his eyes were again drawn by the dark stains of blood in front of him. He shook his head, turned, and with long strides followed his young agent. He knew that the time for experiments was over, the time for decisive actions had come, and it was his responsibility to prevent the promised apocalypse.
* * *
Jinhun and Taylor stood with hands held high as the two soldiers slowly walked towards them, their guns ready to fire. Naturally, when a branch snapped right behind the two young military men, they turned to check the source of the sound. This mistake gave Taylor and Jinhun just enough time to leap forward and, after that, to collide with the soldiers, preventing them using their weapons.
Two pairs of fighting people appeared, and as the slope was quite steep, a tangle of arms and legs started rolling downwards. During their very dangerous roll, both Taylor and Jinhun found themselves in a very difficult situation. All four men took hits from trees and other heavy objects. Jinhun and the soldier trying to choke him stopped their decent when they bumped into a massive rock. Luckily for the Chinaman, the Indian soldier took the entire weight of the blow and numerous bones in his body cracked. When Jinhun got up, the soldier in front of him was unconscious, maybe even dead.
Taylor had a much bigger problem with his man. The two of them were entangled and fighting about ten feet up the hill. The trained soldier had managed to take his gun out of his holster, and despite all the effort put in by Taylor, the young man was simply stronger, and slowly but surely he was turning the barrel towards his opponent's head.
The soldier had Taylor pinned down, with an iron hand holding one of his to the ground and a knee placed on his throat. This was a massive advantage for the trained killer. The gun was slowly turning towards Taylor's head, and despite all the effort he was putting in, the red-haired man knew that he couldn't prevail. As a final act of despair, Taylor managed to free a leg and tried to plant his knee somewhere in the body of his opponent, but he reached only the side of his thigh. The few times he hit the place, he felt something hard. This was when the decision was made.