Liberty or Tyranny

by John Grit

  They sat down on the log, grasping their rifles and peering through the rain, alert to the danger they knew was out there.

  Nate was about to speak but was interrupted by a crashing in the brush uphill from them. In a blur of motion, they all slid off the log and got behind it.

  Noticing fear on the face of the others, Samantha was wide-eyed but silent for once. Caroline whispered in her ear, “Be very quiet and just lay here behind this log.” She sat up and shouldered her rifle, clicking the safety off.

  Somewhere out there hidden in the green gloom of the jungle, under the shade of heavy rain clouds and the canopy of tree tops above, a killer had just made a fatal mistake.

  Nate got down low and peered over the log. He hand signaled for the others to do the same and then mouthed the words, don’t fire until I do. His skin tingled with nervous tension, all senses on high-volume intensity, eyes funneling in and focusing the images before him in minute detail. He pulled his M14 tight against his shoulder and clicked the safety off with the back of his trigger finger, thinking in a minute or two he just might get a chance to end the hunt by killing the hunters. That is if it was the two or three man team of trackers coming at them and not an entire platoon of trained killers. He hoped the tracking team was far enough ahead of the main force he and the others could kill them and then flee the area before the others arrived. He looked over at Deni, Brian, Caroline, and Samantha and wondered if he was about to get them killed. The only thing that had kept them alive so far was their success at preventing the highly trained killers from locating them and fixing their position so they couldn’t sneak off before being annihilated. He gripped his rifle tighter with sweaty hands and resolved to not let that happen.

  Chapter 22

  A slight movement in the brush uphill and to his right warned Nate. He waited for the man to come into view. The first thing he noticed was the man was looking for tracks. He had lost their trail in the rain, and his efforts were on striking the trail again, not so much on being alert to danger. Nate found it ironic that the man probably entered the river swamp to search for tracks where they would be protected to some degree by the canopy of treetops above and that had brought him and his team directly to their targets, rather than actually tracking them. It was a matter of utter bad luck, and Nate resolved it would be the men who died and not he or those with him.

  More movement caught Nate’s eye. Another man followed 15 yards behind the tracker and a little to the side. Nate desperately searched for a third man. He had no idea if there was one, but he damn sure wanted to locate him before firing the first shot if there was.

  There! Nate aimed his rifle. Glancing at the others, he held up three fingers. He signaled for Deni to take out the tracker and Brian and Caroline to take out the one behind him.

  The third man froze when he happened to look in Nate’s direction and saw Nate aiming at him from behind the log. Their eyes locked for a fraction of a second, each man seeing death staring back. The bark of Nate’s M14 reverberated among the trees. Deni fired. Brian and Caroline fired at the same time, just a hundredth of a second behind Deni. Nate took enough time to make sure all three men were down and that they were alone. “We have to run like hell! Stay on my ass.”

  Caroline swept up Samantha and they took off at top speed, crashing through the brush. Automatic gunfire spurred them on. They didn’t slow down for 15 minutes and then continued on at a jog for another half hour.

  Exhausted, Nate sat down on a large root that at least kept him out of the mud and motioned for the others to do the same. He wanted a drink but was too busy catching his breath to stop sucking air.

  Deni kept her eyes working, scanning the swamp for danger. “We can’t rest now.” She caught her breath. “They’re not far behind.”

  Nate nodded. “They’re in good shape and a lot younger than me. They’ll run me into the ground. You three go on. I can slow them enough to give you a chance. Turn uphill onto drier land and get into the thick stuff.”

  Brian’s jaw dropped.

  Deni gave Nate a look that could kill. “Bullshit!”

  Caroline stood, Samantha hanging onto her neck. “Let’s stop arguing and start running. If I can make it with one leg, you can make it with two.”

  Nate pulled his tired body to his feet. “Okay. I have a little left in me.” He took off, heading for drier land.

  A tremendous fireball erupted 100 yards down their back trail. And then another explosion, closer this time. Terror banished all weariness as they took off at a run. More explosions followed. The explosions continued as they ran at a right angle to the river and climbed out of the swamp onto drier land, where tall pines grew. They didn’t stop running until Nate fell. By that time, it seemed they were safe, and they stopped to rest for a moment.

  “Rockets,” Deni managed to say between gasps, “from a chopper. I don’t think they were guided bombs or missiles. Not large enough for that.” She took in a breath. “We would’ve heard them coming if they were arty or mortars.”

  Brian couldn’t believe it. “Why do they want us dead so much they use millions of dollars’ worth of weapons on us? What did we do?”

  Caroline laughed out of nervousness. “It’s not their money.”

  Thunder shook the ground. Another storm was coming in.

  Nate seemed to be catching his second wind. He stood, but was unsteady on his feet for a second. “Two things in our favor. Those chasing us can’t be that close, or they never would’ve chanced that air strike. The other thing is that new storm coming this way. It’ll keep the choppers away for a while.” He looked around and then checked his compass. “Let’s get out of here.”

  They had run less than half a mile when a sound alerted Nate. “Hit the ground!” he yelled.

  An explosion took them off their feet before they had a chance to react. Spurting soil erupted 70 yards to their left and another where they had just been a moment before, exploding up from the ground and out, into an ever-widening circle of high-velocity earth. And from the center of each geyser of earth came a red ball of fire, expanding, rising, boiling, and climbing into the sky. And then the shock wave hit them, hurling them bodily up from the ground. The roar so loud their ears overloaded and ceased to hear. Some circuit breaker inside their head switched off, leaving them deaf.

  Nate tried to stand, but fell over on his face, his balance failing him. Another explosion, closer still, and the ground came up and slapped his whole body where he lay. He found himself off the ground and in midair. For what seemed to him to be many seconds, but was only a fraction of one, he hung suspended, levitating above the forest floor. Just as he started to fall back to earth, another explosion on the other side of him caused the earth to rise up and slap his underside again. And once more, he felt himself suspended in midair, inches above the ground. In reality, it was only a fraction of an inch, but sufficient enough to create the feeling he was levitating in thin air.

  The next explosion was farther away, and then the next farther toward the river. The last one seemed to land in the river itself. Nate knew for certain the others were dead. He frantically crawled along the ground, still not able to stand. “Deni! Brian!”

  Nate saw a bloody hand protruding from the fresh earth, quivering and reaching up. He pulled on it and the rest of her emerged from the soft dirt. It was Caroline, still holding onto Samantha, who was conscious but too stunned to cry. Both were alive. Once he saw their mouths were clear and they were breathing and not bleeding too much, he crawled on.

  “Deni! Brian!” Nate saw movement to his left and rushed to it on his hands and knees. He thought he heard Deni cough, but couldn’t be sure because of the loud ringing in his ears. He found she wasn’t completely buried the way the others were, but she seemed to be struggling with something next to her.

  Deni yanked on something and it came up from under the fresh earth. It was Brian’s rifle. She clawed at the dirt, digging frantically. “Brian!”

  Nate rushed to her s
ide and dug with both hands. Then he moved a few feet and dug again. “There should be something. A hand. A boot. Something.”

  Deni screamed, “There he is!” She tried to stand but fell on her face, so she crawled. Nate couldn’t hear her words but saw what she was looking at and followed her.

  Brian lay at an odd angle between two large pine trees that had been cut nearly in half by the explosions or metal fragments from the guided bombs. Nate reached him first. Checking his breathing and finding no sign of life, he opened his mouth and pulled out dirt.

  Deni crawled up and bent Brian’s head back to clear his air passage then blew air into his mouth while holding his nose closed. Nate pressed on his chest. After three cycles, Brian coughed. Deni turned him on his side so he could spit up more dirt.

  Nate reached for his pack strap to take the pack off and get at a first-aid kit, but he discovered that his pack had been blown off him. Deni still had hers, so he reached over and took her canteen out of a side pocket. “Brian, can you hear me?”

  Brian opened his eyes. He saw the canteen and snatched it out of her hand.

  “Wash your mouth and throat out first,” Nate warned. He had no idea if Brian could hear him.

  Deni checked Brian’s legs and arms, then pulled his jacket and shirt up. After checking him for wounds and finding nothing serious that could be detected, her face was no longer rigid with near panic. “I can’t find any broken bones or serious bleeding on the surface.” Nate and Deni’s eyes met. “But there’s no way to tell about internal injuries,” she added.

  Nate thought he understood what she said by reading her lips. He looked over at Caroline and Samantha. “There’s no way to tell how seriously any of us are hurt.”

  Deni noticed the others for the first time. “I’ll check on them.”

  Nate pulled her to him before she had a chance to move. Holding her, he said, “Who’s going to check on you?”

  She blinked tears. “I can hear you now, above the ringing, and I think I’m okay. You better look yourself over. You’re too pumped right now to feel much.” She pulled away and crawled to Caroline and Samantha, not even trying to stand and walk.

  By the time Deni reached Caroline, Brian had sat up on his own. “Where’s my rifle?”

  “Can you walk?” Nate asked, not sure he could walk himself. “We still have to get out of here.”

  Brian tilted his head to aim his right ear at his father. “I can’t hear anything but ringing.” He took another swallow of water. “What about…” He turned and saw Caroline and Samantha were alive. “Thank God. We’re all alive. Let’s get moving.” He started to stand, but pain stopped him. He tried again and managed, gritting his teeth, but making no sound. Holding his hands out, the canteen still in one, he staggered along and fell to his knees beside Caroline.

  Caroline took the canteen and gave Samantha a drink. Deni busied herself checking them both for wounds and broken bones. “Your little finger on your left hand is broken,” she warned. “And you have a cut on your right arm that needs stitches.”

  “Neither is worth worrying about right now.” Still holding Samantha, Caroline reached her bloody hand out. “Help me up. We stay here, we’re dead.”

  Nate found Deni and Brian’s rifles and carried them over. “Clear the chambers and check the bores for obstructions.” He scanned the ground around them for his rifle. Not finding it, he staggered off, searching the area where he thought the rifle might be. He found his backpack 20 feet away, pinned to a pine tree six feet above ground. A limb had gone all the way through, and the pack was hanging there against the trunk. He pulled it off and found the pack damaged to the point he would have to carry it in his hands. One shoulder strap was broken and the other damaged. He heard Brian make a noise and looked up to see him with the M14 in his hand. A quick check confirmed the rifle was not damaged, but the magazine was dented and the rounds inside jammed. He removed it from the receiver, dropping it. Opening the chamber and catching the round inside in his hand, he checked the bore, blew through it, and checked again. Satisfied, he slammed another magazine in. I would rather not shoot it like that, because the dirt will play hell with the rifling, but if I have to, so be it.

  Caroline limped up to him. “Lead us out of here.”

  Nate understood what he couldn’t hear. He nodded. “Everyone ready to travel?” They seemed to know what he meant, whether they could hear him or not. They all nodded. He pulled his compass out from under his shirt and discovered its plastic casing and baseplate was smashed. Since he didn’t want to travel blind under an overcast sky with no sun to guide him, he took the time to fish a spare out of his pack before starting.

  At first they traveled only a mile per hour. Their bruised bodies protested every step and resisted their desire to move fast. As their legs limbered up, they managed to walk faster, traveling at two miles per hour the rest of the afternoon. By sundown, they were many miles from the river and in heavy forest. Nate couldn’t believe none of the others had asked for a chance to rest. He was dead on his feet and amazed the others were still keeping up with him. Proves I’m too old for this shit. He saw three large pines growing close together and turned to them. Though still raining, there had been no nearby lightning lately, and he felt it safe to use the trees for concealment from the air. Thunderstorms, not just in their area but all over the county, had probably forced any helicopter gunships to head for base, wherever that was. The last air strike could’ve been guided bombs from a plane 20 miles away and modern helicopters could kill from many miles away, also. I think they were bombs, not missiles. Five-hundred-pounders, he thought. Or it could’ve been arty. There was a sound just before the explosions, but he couldn’t be sure. He knew no artillery or planes came from Glenwood and Donovan’s base. There was no landing field, and he hadn’t seen any heavy artillery there. Why would they need such weapons of war? For all he knew, Col. Donovan could be dead or at least relieved of his command. If the air strike originated from his base, Donovan better be dead or no longer in command. There simply was no excuse for using such weapons of war on civilians. He looked at his wife and son, Samantha and Caroline, and grew so enraged he could barely keep it inside. You assholes want a war with the American people? You have it!

  Nate pointed at the space between the three large pines and turned to the others so they could see him speak and maybe read his lips. “We’ll rest there a while.”

  Deni sighed. “I thought you would never stop, and I was afraid to ask you to.”

  Brian limped along. “I can hear both of you. Been hearing the rain for the last 30 minutes now. Can you hear yet?”

  Deni managed a smile. “Yes. I heard your father and you both.”

  Caroline put Samantha down by one of the large pines. “Can you hear okay?” she asked Samantha.

  The little girl nodded, her face all but covered by the hood on Nate’s poncho. “I’m tired, and I hurt all over.”

  “Just lie on these pine needles. We’re going to rest now.” Caroline offered her a drink, but the little girl just wanted to sleep.

  Everyone but Nate dropped to the wet ground and shed their packs. They lay on their back, their rifle in their hands. Nate looked around for trouble. “We shouldn’t stay long if we’re going to travel anymore today. Our bodies will be so stiff in a few minutes we probably won’t be able to move at all. Best to get going soon.” He was answered by the sound of snoring from Brian and Samantha.

  Deni spoke while she lay flat on the ground. “Give me a minute and I’ll take first watch. I think we’ve gone as far as we can for a few hours.”

  Taking everything into consideration, Nate relented. “Okay. We have a small child with us, and she’s been through too much already. We’ll stay here awhile… if they let us.”

  To Nate’s surprise, it was Brian who relieved him and took the next watch.

  Brian said, “Fix your pack if you’re not going to rest. I’ll stand watch.”

  Shunning sleep, Nate cleaned his rifl
e first. Afterwards, he got out a sail needle and twine. In 15 minutes, he had both straps on his pack repaired.

  While Nate and Brian kept watch, Deni cleaned her rifle. Caroline took the clue and cleaned hers, using Deni’s cleaning kit.

  Deni saw Caroline’s wound and did her best to clean it and close it with sutures. She put a bandage on it that wouldn’t come off.

  A series of booms in the distance, in the direction of the river, caused temporary alarm, until they realized how far away it was. Samantha slept through it all.

  “What does that mean?” Brian asked. “They have no idea where we are?”

  Nate and Deni looked at each other, puzzled.

  “Don’t know,” Nate answered. “Maybe they found someone else to kill. What’s the difference? We’re no threat to anyone. They might as well go after the next person as us.”

  Deni rubbed a sore shoulder. “I guess we should be on our way before we stiffen up.” She sighed and stood. “Samantha’s asleep. If she’s carried gently, she might not wake up.”

  Nate slipped his pack on. “I’ll carry her. Caroline’s arm must be about to fall off. Someone will have to take point, though.”

  Deni reached over and touched Samantha’s forehead. “She’s a real trooper. Been through hell. What a world she’s growing up in.”

  The miserable group forced themselves to start again, with Deni in the lead, using a compass to follow a course Nate told her to stay on.

  Samantha slept, her head on Nate’s shoulder.

  The rain-heavy trees drooped, and the very air seemed to weep. They went on, inching their way through the streaming black night, wet and chilled to the bone. And scared. More scared than they had ever been in their lives.