Dave quickly changed into an all-black jump suit and slung one of the FN2000s over his back. It had fair enough range and he would be able to sneak in close with the darkness. An assault rifle going off wouldn’t bring anyone’s attention either so it made sense. He grabbed his field scope and knives and locked up his car.
Dave got about 300’ up the road when he realized he left the pictures in the car. This was the third bumble of the day and he felt like a good kill would knock the rust off. If the three weren’t in any of these cabins he would surely go back to his cabin and take the family across the lake out. He needed to feel the feeling again.
After retrieving the photos Dave took to the woods and made his way to the first cabin, it was completely dark, as was the second and third. When he reached the forth he saw it was dark too but there were lights on in the 5th and final cabin. “Just like I thought” he said to himself as he positioned himself around the back of the forth cabin.
He laid out his gear and looked through the field scope. He knew right away this was the crew, he could feel it. He confirmed Jeff as he got up to get a beer. He looked like a wreck; he was clearly not cut out for a life on the run. Bryan was sitting on the couch intently staring at a computer screen and there was an absolutely gorgeous girl with her head in his lap. She was a redhead now and her hair was considerably shorter and curlier but that was easily done and they had stopped at a store and bought hair dye and scissors to change her appearance.
Amy kept staring out the window of the cabin. She couldn’t see anything but was drawn to something out there. She couldn’t shake the thought and Bryan finally asked her what was wrong after she ignored his question a second time. “I’m not sure” she answered “something keeps telling me to look out” She laughed nervously and went back to half-heartedly teasing Bryan by gently dragging her index finger along his inner thigh.
“Would you knock it off, I am trying to work” he laughed. He didn’t really want her to stop but he knew she would escalate matters if he didn’t occasionally shoot her down. She was insatiable and he enjoyed every minute of it but they had serious business to attend to and he felt like he was onto something.
Amy sighed with annoyance and half-jokingly bit his thigh. Bryan practically flipped out, knocked the laptop onto the coffee table and threw Amy off his lap in surprise. That very moment the glass shattered and a hole appeared in the wall where Bryan’s head was just a split second ago.
“We’re being shot at!” he exclaimed and tackled her to the ground. Jeff hit the deck too and covered his head. This was going to be tough for him to handle after going through what he went through 16 years ago. “Jeff, keep it together man, crawl our way, we will bail out the back” Bryan said while trying to maintain his cool. Luckily he had been in situations like this many times in his past and it appeared that Amy had too as she was belly crawling like a pro.
Dave cursed and rolled against the wall. They should be coming out the back shortly and he would pick them off one by one when they did. If he rolled down to the boulder that marked the property line he would have a great shot but he would also be exposed from behind. It was a risk worth taking since they were the only ones on the mountain.
Bryan, Amy, and Jeff reached the back door. “Everyone got their bug-out bags?” Bryan asked and everyone nodded. They were all very poorly dressed for late fall mountain hiking but they could add some clothes when they felt they were safe. Right now the important thing was to get on the trail and evade their potential captors.
Dave was in position and ready to lay down some fire when he was suddenly illuminated from behind. The car from the trail-head was rapidly approaching. The bend in the road directed the car’s headlights right at the boulder and subsequently him crouched behind it with an assault rifle.
Tim Simmons was drunk, high, and maybe even hallucinating a little bit. The 5 people in the car with him were actually worse off if you can imagine that. “Dude! It’s a ninja!” yelled Flynn from the back seat which caused Tim to laugh hysterically and slam the brakes so he could get a better look. Sure enough there was a dude in all black with what looked like a futuristic ray-gun in his hands. “Woah” Tim said in surprise. “Honk at ‘em” encouraged Molly from the passenger seat who was still trying to get her ample cleavage to fit back into her tank-top.
They had been skinny dipping in a hot spring they had found and were ready to return to their cabin back down the mountain. It was much easier to turn around at the top than to make the 3-point turn off the trail parking so they had come barreling up the mountain and into the scene.
Dave didn’t have time for this crap so he fired two shots and took out the car’s headlights. He was now committed to killing everyone in the car but he had to get his targets first. It was going to be tricky but if anyone could do it he could.
The three used the confusion from the approaching car to make their escape. Dave didn’t even see them bug out and plunge into the darkness that was a few feet from the cabin’s back door. Bryan took the lead and showed everyone the path that would lead to the trail and their freedom. The key would be to make as much ground as possible while their would-be killer was distracted.
Dave turned to see the back door slamming and the woods rustling. He cursed again and fired off a couple rounds in anger towards the woods. “I guess I have to take care of these kids instead” he said to himself as he stood up and turned around to face the car.
The girls in the car were screaming and one of the guys had already bailed out and was running down the hill. Molly kept yelling for Tim to get the F out of there but he was already in shock. She finally reached over and smacked him and he leapt into action.
Tim slammed the car into reverse and was going to whip it around but he forgot that both sides of the roads had drainage gullies in them. He ended up high centering the car and trapping them. “Stupid, stupid, stupid” Molly yelled and hit him with her shoe. Tim had enough and bailed out too. The others followed.
“Brunette with big boobs in the side pocket” Dave said as he put two rounds into Molly and watched her roll into the ditch. “Goofy dude with the hat in the corner pocket” and down went another passenger. Dave started to jog while still taking the occasional shot. He had dropped 3 of the 6 passengers by the time he reached the car.
There was a blonde, the driver, and the guy who had bailed out scurrying down the road. The blonde was losing ground to the two guys so Dave decided to give her a chance and shot the driver in the ankle. He went down, rolling and clutching at his ankle. The blonde whizzed by him, there was no friendship when someone was indiscriminately killing you and your friends.
Sandra watched Tim go down and picked up her pace. She didn’t want to be next but Flynn had a couple hundred yards head start from bailing earlier. She heard a shot whiz by and Flynn went rolling to the ground in front of her. He was still rolling out of control when she reached him; she actually jumped him like a human hurdle.
Dave smiled and said “good girl” as he watched her flee for her life. He jogged past the driver and put a bullet in his head as he passed. Soon he was to Flynn and did the same. When he reached the car he laughed, the girl was at the car trying to get in.
“Going somewhere?” Dave asked and the girl shrieked and turned around. She started to plea for her life. “Please don’t kill me mister, I didn’t see anything. I’ll do anything you want, please just don’t kill me” she cried.
“You got one part right doll, you WILL do anything I want” he snarled. He grabbed her by the hair and threw her in the trunk. Losing the kids really could’ve ruined Dave’s night but this girl and the family across the lake could make up for it. He had a bottle of whiskey, plenty of rope, cases of bullets and some knives. What more could a man ask for?
Chapter 20- The underground
Jeff, Bryan, and Amy ran for nearly 30 minutes straight before stopping. They knew the man did not pursue them because they heard the shots coming from back at the road. He must’ve ta
ken out that car that had saved their lives. What kind of cop was this guy?
When they finally stopped to rest they got dressed for their environment. They had all been wearing night clothes and would’ve been freezing if they were not so jacked up with adrenaline.
“We need to get a gun when we get to the underground” Bryan proposed. “Several” Amy replied. “I don’t like guns” said Jeff. They both shook their heads, they understood his aversion and the reasons for it but right now a weapon to defend each other was critical. “Luckily everything is for sale in the underground. Amy and I will get guns and will a knife suit you Jeff?” Bryan asked half sarcastically, hoping Jeff would see the silliness but Jeff agreed that he would just get a knife.
The three walked for several hours until they saw the markers that were to lead them to the underground. There were markers painted with UV reactive paint and bryan had a small, battery powered black-light so he could see them. The markers led them off the path into what looked to be dense brush but once they pushed past it another path opened up. The markers continued every couple hundred feet to let you know you were on the right path.
The eventually reached a dilapidated hut in a small clearing. “This must be it” Bryan said as he climbed onto the porch and knocked 4 times at the door. He then recited the code phrase “Three come in the night, save us from our plight” and the door swung open almost immediately.
The door led directly to a root cellar with candles lighting the sides. There were four other people huddled inside the cellar. “Is there someone in charge here?” Bryan asked to which he was shhh’d in reply. “The man said he would be back in a moment” one of the other travelers replied “Just sit down and be quiet, we are all trying to sleep” she said.
The three sat along the only open wall and waited nearly 30 minutes for someone else to show up. Finally a large black man emerged from one of the tunnels and said loudly “Any newcomers?” to which Bryan awkwardly raised his hand. “This ain’t fif grade boy, speak up!” the man answered. Bryan cleared his throat and said “Us three need to disappear. We need new identities and documents, but we must stay together” he explained. The man nodded and replied “Step into my office boy, bring yo friends too.” The three followed the man into a side tunnel that was set up like an office.
Once they were in and the door was shut the man introduced himself “I am Cedrick, owner and operator of the North GA underground railroad” and stuck out his hand in their general direction. They all took turns shaking hands and making small talk.
“Hiding three white people ain’t as easy as you think” he said. “What are ya’ll wanted for?” he asked. “Well,” Bryan began, “only he is technically wanted for the kidnap of us but someone is trying to kill us.” Bryan explained as best as he could without telling any secrets. One of the main rules about the underground is you do not lie. Bryan told the honest truth as the outside world would see it.
Cedrick looked a little perplexed but eventually answered “This isn’t really our thing but if you got the money, I got the job.” Bryan responded asking the price and Cedrick told him “15k, straight up”. Bryan told him they would need two guns and a knife and he laughed “I’ll throw it in for free if you gots the cash right now?” Bryan smiled and each member pulled out their share of the fee. “Oooh boy” Cedrick exclaimed, “You’ll get the express ride fo that!” and he took their money and quickly squirreled it away.
Within another 20 minutes Cedrick had them guided down a tunnel by a man named Mortimer. Bryan asked where his guns were and Cedrick called out “You get ‘em at the end, no weapons on the railroad boy!” He wasn’t sure he liked that considering the railroad harbored any manner of criminal but they didn’t have a lot of choice, this was Cedrick’ s sandbox, they were just playing in it.
Mortimer explained the plan. They would take this tunnel to a train tunnel that was near the Tennessee border. The train would stop with an open car in the tunnel which they would hop on-board. The train would pass into Canada three days later and stop in another tunnel. Inside that tunnel would be a final tunnel which would lead them to the Canadian underground “welcome center” and they would pick up their documents, weapons, and anything else they had ordered through Cedrick. The three of them were amazed that an organized system like this existed. Mortimer filled them in on some basics. “We go everywhere, from the tip of Washington to the Florida Keys. We even go as far south as Costa Rica” he told them. Jeff just shook his head and said “wow”. If you had enough money you could just about get away with anything thanks to the underground.
When they reached the end of the tunnel it was mid-day outside. Mortimer showed them to a sleeping room bored into the side of the tunnel and told them to lie down and sleep for a bit. The train would not be there until 10pm. The tunnel was locked down and would not be opened until 9:55pm so there was no point in sitting around or trying to explore. “Just take a nap and it will be time before you know it’ he said as he turned around and headed back the way they had come.
The three talked for a bit and then decided it was a good idea to get some rest. They had been awake over 24 hours and were starting to get a little loopy. They had several days of travel ahead of them and knew it wasn’t going to be a cake walk.
At 9:50 Mortimer was back whooping and hollering at them to get up. Everyone groaned a collective groan and rose to their feet. The doors would be unlocked soon and they would be out in the tunnel awaiting the train. Bryan asked Mortimer how they got the train to stop when they had passengers and he told them there was a switch ahead that they would manipulate. It would trick the system into thinking there was another line coming and stop the train. The train always had boxcars as its 20th through 25th cars and they always arranged their escorts to be in one of those.
At 9:55 the doors were unlocked by Mortimer and re-locked as soon as the group was through them. They were the only three going to Canada from this part of the world apparently. “Stay close to the edge” Mortimer had warned and at 10:01 they found out why.
The train came barreling through the tunnel at near full speed. It was impressive and scary having such a large machine flying by so close. Amy buried herself into Bryan as it went by. As soon as the first few cars had passed you could hear the train braking as they were told to expect. The momentum slowly wore off and soon the train was barely creeping through the tunnel.
A man with white hair and a brimmed hat leaned out of the third boxcar “You goin’ to Canada?” he asked loudly over the screeching brakes and squeaking suspension. “YES” Bryan shouted back. “Hop in, not sure if she’s gonna stop this time” he answered. Bryan, Amy and Jeff threw their packs on their backs and jumped aboard one by one with each helping the next get in.
When they were finally on board and situated the man held out his hand and said “Cisco, pleased to meet ya!” They took turns making introductions and then found their way into the back of the car to unwind and wait out their trip. “Ya’ll eat yet?” Cisco asked the group. Bryan shook his head no, in fact they hadn’t eaten much since they were rudely removed from their cabin the night before. “I got some jerky, candy, and beer. It ain’t much but this trip is all-inclusive, so dig in” he told them. They obliged. Anything was better than nothing and chocolate and salt were actually quite welcome.
A couple long and boring hours went by and Cisco had pretty much left the group alone. Bryan and Amy were discussing their run in with the law the night before and Cisco’s ears perked up. “That was no law-man that was an assassin” he said nonchalantly. The three looked at him and the realization dawned on them that he was right. “But who, and why?” Bryan asked to nobody in particular. Cisco felt like he had an answer ‘My guess is you know more than you should about somethin’. You two there don’t seem normal to me. What is it about you?” he asked with a raised haggard eyebrow at Amy and Bryan. “No lies in the underground, right?” Bryan asked back. Cisco nodded and confirmed “That’s right”.
Brya
n told him his story and Amy added her parts. Jeff sprinkled in some details as well and Cisco just sat and absorbed the wild tale. When everything was done he started right in “Well, your boy back there was from the factory, I can guarantee that. I bet he was a soul that had specialized in nothing but killing. I’m sure you have run into them before right Bryan?” Bryan shook his head and answered “Too damn many times. But hey, how do you know all this?” he asked, this time with his own eyebrow raised.
Cisco had a story too. He had been around nearly 6,000 years and had been born with a nearly complete blueprint 58 years ago. He told them his story and how he ended up being an engineer on the Underground Railroad. He was a key player in the construction and revamping of the southern branch after he lost a friend that was a 50% blueprint. He realized that blueprints were scarce and viciously hunted by the factory. The front of helping criminals was actually a farce. Most of the criminals they “helped” were abducted somewhere along the route and their money kept to fund the business. Minor criminals and innocent victims were helped but violent and sexual criminals were dispatched in some form or another before they reached freedom. It was a great front, the criminals did disappear and nobody ever heard from them again so everyone assumed it was a successful venture.
The three sat enthralled at his stories. He had actually saved 16 other mild blueprints at various points in his life. Bryan and Amy were the most complete he had ever seen though and he knew he had precious cargo the minute he had laid eyes on them. He leaned in and spoke softly “I got somethin’ else you need to know” he said and looked around as if to make sure nobody else would hear them. With all the sensitive information he had just told them Bryan couldn’t fathom what kind of secret he was about to reveal.
“Everything upstairs is scripted. If you bust up their script they take a while to find out” he said. “One time I was driving along and decided I was done so I drove the car off a bridge. I woke up in a field outside the factory, like you do many times throughout your life. This time there was nobody to escort me to my room. I literally wandered around for a day before they found me. The only way you are going to get this turned around is to sneak into the factory. The only way to sneak into the factory is to bust up their script.” The three were mind-blown. Cisco went and sat on the other side of the car to give them some time to digest the information.
Soul Factory Page 8