Savage Mist

by Jason Merchant

  The helicopter arrived overhead, Michael was relieved. Once the subjects were captured, he could focus on getting himself examined and possibly cured. He wasn't prepared for the massacre of innocent civilians when the side door of the helicopter opened.

  The people ran and screamed looking for cover, bodies fell everywhere. Michael watched horrified as the people he summoned, mercilessly took dozens of souls. Amid all the screaming, the female target's voice stood out to Michael, she yelled “Xavier! Xavier!” For the first time, he finally had a name for his target, he was real now.

  Unbeknownst to Michael, he had been walking closer to the woman, almost involuntarily. He saw the fear in her face, her clothes were dirty, and she looked worn. The child that was with her clung to her, his face buried in her abdomen. Their horror, their tribulation, brought on by the very men Michael had summoned, the people that sent him.

  “Drop down to your knees and put your hands on your head, both of you!” yelled one of the armed men.

  Xavier and Sheila watched the men as they quickly encircled them, armed with rifles and protective armor. Xavier kneeled to the ground as commanded, Sheila followed. Lisa wailed as Xavier made eye contact with her, he put his hands on his head and mouthed, “It’s ok”.

  The helicopter hovered away from Lisa as the men closed in on Xavier and Sheila, that’s when Xavier noticed a man draw his pistol and take aim at the helicopter. The weapon was silenced, the rotors of the helicopter drowned out any other noise made but Xavier could see the recoil as the man fired. The gunner in the helicopter collapse out of view, the shooter hit his mark.

  He then watched as the shooter approached Lisa and Regina and Charles, he spoke a few words and they quickly took cover. The man then nodded at Xavier, he knew he would have one shot. Xavier grabbed Sheila and yanked her to the ground, Michael fired at one of the armed men closest to Xavier. As their attention shifted from Xavier to the surprise shooter hidden amongst the abandoned cars, Xavier grabbed the underside of the sedan next to him. Instantly knowing what he was thinking, Sheila rushed to help him. Together, they flipped the car over, crushing two of the men on the other side.

  Michael was unable to penetrate the armor on the commando, he and his comrade retreated behind cover but remained unharmed. Xavier grabbed Sheila by the hand and ran toward Michael, they hit the ground again when the commandos fired at them from behind. Michael fired a few rounds of cover fire for Xavier and Sheila, but it wasn't enough against the high-powered rifles.

  “What are we going to do?” Sheila panicked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  Michael fired a few more rounds at the commandos but they forced his head down with suppressive fire, they advanced on Xavier and Sheila.

  “Okay, Listen, when I say go, you sprint toward that guy over there, he’s obviously on our side. Don't look back, just go.” said Xavier.

  “What about you? Xavier don't be stupid.”

  “I’m not, just go.”

  Sheila’s eyes welled up as she stared at Xavier.

  “Sheila please.”

  He looked over the trunk of the car that concealed them, the men were right on the other side.

  “Go, Now!”

  Xavier jumped over the trunk and dived into the man on the other side, several shots went off as they hit the ground. Xavier struck the man's head into the ground with one blow, then quickly got up to attack the other man. He wasn't there. Xavier whipped his head around frantically, searching for him.

  The man stood up behind Xavier and took aim at his head. Michael and Lisa screamed for Xavier to turn around, before he could, a burst of gunfire rang out. Expecting to be riddled with holes, Xavier waited and clutched his fist...nothing. He opened his eyes and turned around, no one was there. He turned around to find Lisa and Charles, they were safe with Regina and Jacob. The man who helped them stood beside them with his pistol up, his sights trained on something. Xavier turned to see Jamal about a few yards away, Shanice hurrying to him. He threw up a peace sign and smiled. Xavier chuckled.

  Lisa ran over to Xavier, she stopped short and walked in close. She looked into his eyes as Xavier wiped the tears from her face. She reached her arms out around Xavier’s neck, grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him down to her. They kissed deeply, Xavier, submitting to her embrace, clutch both sides of her waist, then slid his hands up her back and pulled her in tight.

  Charles giggled as he watched his mother kiss the man who was nothing more than a stranger just a few days ago, he smiled. They separated just long enough to see that theirs wasn't the only bond that was formed, Regina and Jacob were locked in an emotional embrace as well. Lisa and Xavier smiled, then Xavier remembered the man with the pistol.

  He walked over to the man and extended his hand, Michael obliged.

  “Thank you… whoever you are.”

  “Michael”

  “What made you stick your neck out for us?”

  “A change of heart.”

  Xavier looked confused.

  “I’ve been following you all since the Chinese got a hold of you, I’m the reason you made it out.”

  “How?”

  “Long story. Listen, the agency I work for...worked for, they did this.”

  Sheila stormed up to Michael's face.

  “Why!” she shouted. “Why would they do this? I lost my husband.” She began to cry.

  “Our military is stretched too thin, we don't have the resources to fight off the invasion. The Russians are attacking the east coast, their navy stands between our forces abroad and the homeland. Black Shield went rogue.”

  “Black Shield?” Xavier said.

  “Yeah, for obvious reasons, you’ve never heard of us.”

  “So, what is this...thing that we’re infected with?”

  “It’s called ochlos3, I think I may have been exposed as well, but I haven't shown any symptoms. It basically shuts down a large portion of the brain and pain receptors and sends the body into an adrenaline overdrive.”

  “Is there a cure? Does it wear off?”

  “There is a cure, but we’ll need help to get it. There's a military base in Yakima, when I get there I can tell someone what happened. They’ll send word where it needs to go and shut Black Shield down, they’ll also know how to get the cure.”

  Lisa interlocked her fingers with Xavier's and held his hand tight.

  “So many people died today, we’ve all killed innocent people. How do we come back from this?”

  Xavier pulled her in close.

  “We only did what we had to do, Black Shield killed those people when they infected them, not us.”

  “What about our homes? Our lives?” Shanice asked.

  “We all are going to be starting over, there's nothing there to go back to after those explosions, not to mention the Chinese probably own it. For now, at least.”

  Michael’s phone rang in his pocket, they all looked at him curiously. He answered.

  “George, you son of a bitch, you’re going to pay for what you’ve done. You murderous fuck.”

  “My helicopter pilot told me you had a change of heart.” George said as he chuckled. “Michael, this isn't just war, at least not like you're familiar with. This is a fight for the country's existence, for the existence of our way of life. This world war will determine whether democracy, true democracy and capitalism live on. No one life is greater than that Michael, you need to choose what side of our history you want to be on; the fight for the greater good, or for your personal morale.”

  “I’m going to make sure you pay for this George.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you...your new friend too. Until next time Michael.”

  Michael put the phone in his pack and walked over to the body of one of the commandos, he took the rifle and ammunition from the corpse.

  “Well, I have somewhere to be, you guys coming?”

  Xavier took the rifle and ammunition from another corpse, Jacob did the same. He walked over to Lisa and he
ld the sides of her face between his two hands.

  “What do you say? Are you with me?”

  “Absolutely.”

  About the author

  I am new to the world writers and I must say, it is a great feeling to finish my first novel. I managed to complete this book despite the hurdles provided by my three boys. Jayden, Jacob and Josiah, I love them very much and I want them to see daddy’s love for books, and hope they adopt the same joy in reading and writing. My wife Jennyfer was my key beta-reading and supporter, she ran interference for me with the boys, so I could get this accomplished. Thank you, baby, I love you.

  I drive a metro bus for a living in beautiful Seattle Washington, I consider myself very lucky to do so. I have had many different jobs in the past, from being a Correctional Officer, to a Massage Therapist. I also served in the U.S. Army for six years, and served two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom. My job history has exposed me to so many different types of people, from so many different walks of life, I’ve had an amazing journey so far.

  My mom always told me I would grow up to be a writer, I wish I would have started sooner. I love a good story of survival and hardship, people overcoming adversity and growing closer as a group because of it. The human spirit and resilience is fascinating, I try to incorporate both into my writing. I hope you enjoy Savage Mist, and thank you for reading.