He looked as if he were sleeping, and probably was, which meant it was a good thing Reese was taking watch.
He was just a few feet from the tent when he changed his mind. It was quiet, she was probably sleeping, and Reese turned around.
He took a few steps
‘Clank’
The sound of the dropping weapon caught his attention. Thinking, ‘man, he must be out.’ With a slight smile on his face, Reese made his way to Kelly.
As he drew closer, he could see the tip of the weapon, and the dangling arm. Another shake of his head and Reese called out, “Kelly, go to bed, I’m on watch.”
He reached down for the weapon and playfully smacked out at Kelly’s hand. That was when he noticed something was not right. His eyes widened, and slowly rising from his bent position, Reese stood.
A pivot of his body brought the horrifying sight of Kelly into view. He was without a doubt not sleeping.
A huge hatchet lodged in his throat, balanced between his head and his neck. Blood poured profusely down his chest, thick and red.
“Oh my God,” Reese whispered with a groan and reached down to feel in vain for a pulse. No sooner did he touch his neck, than his head toppled forward. “Lucy.” Reese whipped opened the flap of the tent, almost positive he would see Lucy in a similar state, but she was nowhere to be found. In a panic, heart racing, Reese flew from the tent.
Where? Where were they? He shifted his sights around.
At the end of the parking lot, he saw them carrying her. He could see her struggling, she was still alive, and Reese took off running in that direction, yelling out. “We had a breach! Everyone up and ready.”
He heard the voices behind him of the others scurrying to figure out what was going on. He paused for just a moment to aim, but they were still too far, and Lucy wiggled back and forth, as they tried to tie her.
Thinking, ‘fuck, I can’t get a good shot’, Reese lowered his weapon and raced forward.
They had to know he was coming. Were they that certain they could get away?
A hundred feet, that was it and he could see that Lucy’s hands were bound at the wrist and she was tied around the waist of the one assailant. With the help of another, he put her on the motorcycle, jumped started the bike and sped off.
Clear shot and even in his run, Reese fired at the second assailant, taking him out with one shot. A slight shift of aim and, as the other assailant started his bike, Reese drew aim and with a direct hit to the head, he flew off the bike.
The bike sputtered and spun on the ground.
Without hesitation, Reese grabbed that bike and took off after Lucy.
<><><><>
How did it happen? Lucy had dozed off, just dozed off on the comfy cot. Hell, she hadn’t even blown out the lantern when the stench woke her.
She opened her eyes to see the three men, and then a hand came down to her mouth, shoving a cloth in between her lips and taping her mouth shut.
Now that same stench blasted back at her from the body of the assailant that had her.
They moved fast and Lucy knew if she didn’t want the bike to crash, she had to go with the bike ride, holding on, leaning when he did. She wasn’t wearing a helmet, if they crashed or toppled at that high speed, she was dead.
What if they killed her like they did Ken? No. No, if they wanted her dead, they would have killed her already.
But as soon as she thought that, the thought of them torturing her came into mind. Then she recalled the shots. There was no ‘them or they,’ there couldn’t be. She saw the one go down, and since no else one rode close, they were alone. She checked the mirror at least twice.
Her mind moved more to what would happen when they dismounted, how she would fight, how she would make her escape. Her wrists were tied, yes, but they weren’t tied tightly together. There was slack because her assailant was so big. Maybe if she jumped on his back, she could use that slack to strangle him.
Would she even be able to? Who was she kidding? She didn’t have that kind of strength.
Her heart raced and she was scared.
All those times she thought that she didn’t want to live without her children, left for that moment in time and all she kept on thinking was, ‘I’m gonna die.’
Where were they? The wind and stench whipped at her. Hair blowing, a large section of hair flew into her face, and had Lucy not opened her eyes to clear it, she wouldn’t have seen.
It felt like salvation when the slight twinkle blinked in her eye.
It started out as a dance of light. A light that grew bigger in the rearview mirror.
Closer.
All air escaped her in a sense of relief.
Reese.
It had to be Reese.
‘Please, God,’ she prayed in her mind, lips moving in prayer. ‘Please, let that be Reese. Let that be Reese. Let that be Reese.”
She watched, her hands clenching tighter with excitement.
The she watched him turn off. He was gone.
Her head lowered.
Her prayers went from asking God for it to be Reese to praying to God that Reese hadn’t give up. That he didn’t think he could catch them.
No, not Reese. He wouldn’t do that.
But where did he go?
<><><><>
The highway.
That was where Reese had determined the straggler was taking Lucy, they had headed that way. Reese’s only hope was to get ahead of him.
He moved one street over. He had to get two blocks further.
Block one he saw them.
Block two he passed them.
Block three he sped up, and after four blocks, he turned back.
As he turned on the main street, he shut off his headlight and turned the bend, using only the moon’s light to guide him.
He had to take him by surprise.
Reese wouldn’t have much time. Not at all, a split second, maybe three seconds if he were lucky. He knew as soon as he hit the main road, there they’d be.
Turning the bend onto the main road where Lucy was being held captive on the moving bike, he spotted them and reached to his waist, riding, steering with one hand, while grabbing the machete with the other.
And with that in hand, he rode full speed ahead, head to head toward the other cycle. It was only fifteen feet away.
The assailant didn’t have time to react.
Reese rode toward him, and with one full swoop, down went the machete, through the rope binding Lucy’s wrists into the stomach of the assailant. Leaving it in his gut, Reese released the machete and snatched Lucy by the waist of her pants as the bike toppled and she flew backwards.
Lucy swore she was dead, or at the very least going to be seriously facially injured. Never in her life had she seen concrete move so close to her face at such a high speed. She tried not to move, Reese had her, and his dropping her wasn’t even on her mind.
It seemed like an eternity, but in fact it was only a few seconds, until the bike slowed down. The stop was awkward, and the bike lost balance as Reese brought it to a stop. He turned her body some in the fall, bringing her into him as they landed.
Silence.
Tilting his head back, Reese could see the assailant, motionless on the ground. Lucy didn’t move.
“Reese!” David shouted in the distant. “Reese.”
“Lucy,” he whispered. “Are you ok?”
Lucy nodded.
The sound of running feet caught Reese’s attention and he lifted his head.
Kip led the way, David and Thaddeus neck and neck, and Gene not far behind them.
The lights on the mobile made them mere shadows.
Kip slid into the ground toward Lucy. No sooner did he arrive there, than David reached down.
“Lucy, are you ok?”
“Yeah,” she said.
Reese was preparing to get up and help her. His hand rested on her hip, and as he lifted his other arm, David grabbed hold of her.
Lucy responded.
Once on her feet, she held on to David for dear life.
“Oh man. You had us worried.” He cupped his hand on the back of her head. “You OK?”
Lucy only nodded. She clutched David as if she were afraid to let go.
They all gathered round Lucy. Kip, Thaddeus, even Gene ran his hand down the back of her head as he approached and asked if she were ok.
“Come on,” David said. “Let’s get you back. Mobile’s right here. Let me make sure you’re ok. That was quite a tumble.”
Reese sucked in his bottom lip, and then puckered as he grunted and sat up. Thinking, ‘oh, no, hey, guys, I’m fine.’ He focused on Lucy in David’s arms.
A knot formed in his stomach and he ran his hand down his face. He was so focused, he didn’t notice the hand extended toward him.
He looked up.
It was Gene.
“Come on, Big Guy. Let me help you up. You all right?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Reese used his hand as leverage and stood.
There was something fatherly about what Gene did. Holding Reese’s hand, he proudly gripped his arm and squeezed, looking up to Reese with glossed over eyes. “I was the eyes. I had the binoculars as we tailed you. They may not have seen, but I did. Goddamn son, that was amazing. That . . . was unbelievable.”
Reese shook his head with a sniff.
Gene watched Reese’s eyes shift to David and Lucy as they headed to the mobile. Trying to gain his attention, Gene gave a swat to Reese’s arm and tried to make light banter. “Just tell me, what was the name of that hero school you graduated from?”
“United States Marine Corps and really, sir, I’m no hero. I’m not.”
“Yeah, well, you’re making Superman look pretty lame lately.”
Reese quickly looked at Gene. The corner of his mouth rose. “You’re funny. And I need a drink.”
“You need to have Lucy look at that arm.” Gene nodded.
As if he never noticed, Reese looked down to his arm; it was bleeding from the road burn. “Nah, its fine. I’ll wash it.”
“They’re getting ready to drive back, maybe we should hurry.”
“Nah.” Reese shook his head. “I think I want to walk.”
“Good. I’d like to walk with you.” After getting an agreement from Reese, Gene waved the others to go on.
As they drove off, Gene couldn’t help but notice that Reese kept staring.
Gene smiled, laying a fatherly hand on Reese’s back as they walked. “I’m proud of you.”
Reese stopped for a moment, his head lowered in silent bashfulness. He cleared his throat, mumbled a thank you and stood a little taller as he walked with Gene.
He heard words from Gene that he hadn’t heard in a long time, and he basked in those words more than he could ever bask in a thank you.
<><><><>
It wasn’t the desire to see the dead body, that was for sure, but Thaddeus had to get one of those bracelets.
“Dude. What kind of bullets did the big guy use?” Kip asked looking down at the one body that took the head shot.
Nothing remained of the head. It was almost as if the head had exploded.
“Maybe Omega guy had special bullets.” Thaddeus shrugged as he crouched down to examine the man’s wrist. “It’s black. Dark.”
“What is?”
“The bracelet.”
“Wasn’t it always?”
“Uh-uh.” Thaddeus shook his head. “It was lit up before. It had a light. That light is off. See?” He held up the dead man’s wrist.
“Maybe it has some sort of life detector and it stops working when he’s dead.”
“Maybe.” Thaddeus examined the bracelet. A simple pull, it opened, and came off. “That was easy enough.” He examined it, stood and walked to the other dead body. “Man, does Reese know how to do a head shot or what.” Repeating his actions, he crouched down and reached for the man’s wrist. “Same. Dead.”
“Dude, he was shot in the head.”
“I know that.” Thaddeus laughed his response. “I’m talking about the lights. They’re off.” He removed that bracelet as well. “Strange.”
“What are you gonna do with them?”
“Examine them. See if they can give us any clues.” Thaddeus stood. “You know what? Let’s go get the third.”
“Why? You have two.”
“I don’t know. Something to do.”
“Yeah, but the Captain wants us close. He’s setting up Walmart as a safe area for the night.”
“We’ll see if he wants to come. Besides, you’re the psychic, at least that’s what they say. Is there danger?”
“I don’t feel it.”
“Then we’re good.” Hooking the bracelets to his belt loop, Thaddeus laid a hand on Kip’s back. “Let’s get Reese.”
<><><><>
“Why exactly do you need three?” Reese asked as he stepped from the mobile right by the last body.
“Something to work on. Were you busy?”
“No, just getting ready to take my watch.”
“This will only take a minute. Just want to see if his light is off, too. If it is, Kip’s theory is right, they have a life force detector.”
“Dude!” Kip shook his head with a snicker. “Man, you did a job on the bodies. Look at his guy. The other ones’ heads exploded.”
“Their heads didn’t explode.” Reese scoffed.
“Did, too.”
Thaddeus’ comment, “Odd,” caught their attention.
“What is?” Reese asked.
“This bracelet is still lit.” Thaddeus showed them.
“Dude is he still alive?” Kip asked.
Thaddeus looked at the disembowelment and machete still protruding from the corpse. “I highly doubt it.” He grabbed the bracelet, pulled at the seam and like the other two, it opened and removed with ease. With a shrug and an ‘hmm’, Thad stood up with it. “Got it let’s go.” A step away he stopped. “Weird. It’s flashing.”
“Flashing?” Reese looked.
“Faster, now.”
“Dude, it’s a bomb!” Kip yelled and ran.
With a peep of a shriek, Thaddeus dropped the bracelet and took off running with Kip.
“Gentlemen!” Reese yelled as he bent down for the bracelet. “I highly doubt it’s a bomb.” Just as he said that, he heard a pop and what sounded like the bursting of a water balloon. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder to see the head of the disemboweled man splattered across the concrete. He lifted the bracelet. “We know now what the bracelets do.” After a shrug that said he could ‘care less,’ he joined Thaddeus and Kip.
<><><><>
David asked, as he held the bracelet, “It exploded their heads?”
Thaddeus answered, “Looks that way. The other two took head shots. That, in my opinion, exploded the bomb or whatever they had implanted in their heads, therefore, deactivating the bracelets. That’s why they weren’t blinking or lit.”
“But the other one was still lit? So it wasn’t a life force thing, it was a detonation thing.”
“Exactly.”
“This is really sophisticated technology.”
“Not really.” Thaddeus took the bracelet back. “The concept was in movies forever. It’s not the concept or the technology that baffles me.”
“Well, what is it then?”
“Feel this. Really feel it.” Thaddeus returned it to David. "It’s not steel, not plastic or a metal like copper. I’m an inventor and that material is like none I’ve ever seen.”
<><><><>
His lips were moistened by the whiskey that just crossed into his mouth from a swig from the bottle. Reese felt like he could see the entire small town from his rooftop vent seat on top of the Walmart.
The huge exhaust box served as a comfortable seat, which was great since he planned to sit there for the night. He had cushions to prop up his back, the bottle next to him, weapon on the other side and his journal on his lap.
The lantern prov
ided enough light for him to see.
He was getting ready to make his entry, thinking about what he’d write, but hesitated. He heard Thaddeus and Gene talking below, then the clank of the ladder. One of them was on their way up and before he got engrossed in what he was writing, he’d wait.
‘Here they are now,’ he thought.
“Am I bothering you?” she asked.
Surprised, Reese spun around to look. “Lucy. What are you doing climbing up here?”
“Two reasons.” She walked nearer to him and to the vent box. “I needed to talk to you… and I heard this is where Jack was hiding.” She stood at the bottom of the vent. “Permission to come up, sir?”
“Absolutely.” Reach set down his items, leaned over the exhaust and extended his hand to her.
Lucy grabbed on to it, using it as leverage. She climbed as he pulled. When she arrived with him, she peered out at the town. “This is sweet.”
“Yeah, it is.”
She pointed to the bottle. “I see Jack.”
“I don’t have a glass.”
“I don’t need one… if you don’t mind.”
Reese shook his head and sat down at the same time as she did. He handed her the bottle. “What brings you up here?”
She took a swig. “I needed to talk to you.”
“I could have come down.”
“I wanted to talk to you alone.”
“I still could have come down.”
“I know. But I didn’t want to chance others being around,” she said. “Reese. Listen. First, I need to apologize.”
“For what?”
“I was in shock, I wasn’t thinking, and I didn’t even acknowledge what you did right away.”
“Luce, don’t worry about it.”
“I do. What you did tonight . . .”
“Stop. Don’t say anything. It’s all good.”
“Yeah, yeah, it is. Because of you it is.”
Reese just shook his head.
“Why do you dismiss something so good?”
“I don’t. It’s just really nothing.”
“Oh, it’s nothing?” she asked sarcastically.
The Last Mile Trilogy Page 46