Cascade (Book 4): Conflict

by Phil Maxey

  Bass picked up some honey roasted cashew nuts. “Sophia loves these. Doubt I’ll be able to get them back to Bravo in one piece though.”

  Gregg’s smiled. “What’s the worse that could happen? You end up eating them and she doesn’t know anyway!”

  Bass laughed. “Well when you put it like that. The Captain wants us all done and dusted within thirty, so grab what you can.”

  “I hear that,” Gregg’s started filling her backpack.

  Raj, Michael, Zach, Cal and Fiona looked over a map showing Georgia. Michael was chewing on strips of beef.

  “We stay on the road outside, heading east for a few miles, then we go south and that should put us back on highway twenty. Then it’s roughly five hours to Atlanta, passing through a national forest and some decent sized cities along the way,” said Fiona.

  Zach took a sip from a soda can. “Presuming we don’t hit any problems on the way there, we should get to Atlanta mid afternoon, with a few hours of daylight left. They will be waiting for us.”

  “Might be better to wait outside Atlanta and enter when it’s dark,” said Cal.

  “I was thinking the same,” said Zach. He then opened another map, this one solely devoted to Atlanta.

  “How we going to find her in all of that?” said Michael innocently.

  “Wherever they are, they will be giving off noise, heat and light. As far as we know there are no survivors there, so it’s just going to be us, them and any E.L.F’s. If we can get to a high point we might be able to spot them. And there’s some pretty tall buildings in that city, so the plan is once it’s dark we make our way to one of those and see what we can see. When we get close,” Zach looked at Cal. “I was hoping you would be able to lead us to her?”

  Cal nodded. “I’ll try.”

  Michael looked confused. “How could Cal be able to find Abbey?”

  “Because she was affected by the Cascade like he was,” said Zach still looking at the map. He then looked at Raj. “Maybe you can help him with doing that.” Raj smiled and nodded.

  “They probably know about the tank by now, or soon will do, so that’s going to be there main target, which is why we need to keep it hidden until we want them to know about it,” Everyone nodded. “Okay it’s 9 am now. We thought about taking a supply run in the local area, but there’s so many supplies sitting in this place, I don’t think we need too. So pack up on anything you think you need and let’s be back on the road by twenty past.”

  Everyone went to walk away, but Zach tapped Cal on the arm keeping him back.

  “Did you get that strange sensation again? The one you felt a few times yesterday?”

  “No, once we came in here it went.”

  “Any idea what it was?”

  “No idea.”

  “If you feel it again, let me know.”

  Cal nodded and left to join the others getting ready to leave.

  Bass then appeared. “Got the General on the radio in the tank.”

  Zach followed him back, and sat inside the cramped space, the radio operator handed him the mike. “This is Captain Felton. Over.”

  “How’s progress? Over.”

  “So far steady since we had the run-in with the gang members. We have a five hour run today to get to Atlanta, but we will hold off entering the city until it get’s dark. Over.”

  “That sounds a good plan. Reason I’m checking in, is that we have had an increase in attacks on the walls from E.L.F’s, and reports from our stations around the country talk of increased E.L.F activity, they seem to be accumulating into groups, the kind of which we haven’t seen before. The science guys don’t understand what’s going on. Anyway thought I’d pass that on to you and Raj. Have you noticed any strange activity? Over.”

  “Cal, sensed something strange yesterday. He thought an E.L.F had been tracking us from Monroe, but we never saw anything. Over.”

  “He still sensing that? Over.“

  “Doesn’t seem to be. Over.”

  “Okay, I’ll keep you updated if I learn anything more. Stay safe Zach and good luck. Over.”

  Soon the convoy was back on the road moving east.

  “Finally sunshine! Those gray clouds were getting me down,” said Fiona while driving. Large blue patches intermingled with fluffy clouds above them, and sun glistened off puddles they were moving through.

  A wall of spidery frosted trees created an solid obstacle to see through as they progressed.

  “This is the national forest, we shouldn’t be in it long,” said Fiona half looking over her shoulder to Cal. “Anything?”

  Cal paused. “Nothing…actually, maybe.”

  “Which direction?” said Zach looking to see where a possible threat could come from.

  Raj leaned in closer to Cal. “Like we practiced.”

  Cal closed his eyes and slowly the world around him fell away until he was inside a void. A darkness with pins of light moving at different distances, most too far away to get a clear view of. He looked to the south. A group of these particles of light were grouping and growing rapidly in size. As he tried to focus, he started to make out movement, and form, not as he saw them in the real world, but as ethereal beings against a uniform background. They’re coming towards us. His thoughts were meant to be spoken words, meant to be a warning but he was still inside this other realm. He could now clearly see the creatures that were on a collision course with him and his friends. Large beasts, like Rhino’s but more agile in design and with multiple horns not just on their heads but also their limbs. They’re moving so fast. They’re going to hit us! Again thoughts not words. He grabbed his head. Wake up. Wake up!

  He was back in the Humvee, with Raj’s hand on his shoulder looking concerned. He looked out the side window into a blanket of trees. “Stop the convoy, they are just bey…”

  Suddenly trunks and branches split and flew through the air, and the same creatures that Cal had just seen in his mind, burst onto the side of the highway and kept moving towards the side of the vehicles. Fiona and the other drivers swerved to the other side, but there was no way to avoid the creatures that were seconds away from crashing into them.

  “They’re going to hit us!” shouted Fiona, not being sure to slow down or speed up. The gunner on the Humvee behind them opened up, but the bullets weren’t slowing them.

  Cal looked at the herd of beasts bearing down on them, and pushed his hand up against the side glass of the Humvee in the creatures directions and concentrated. You need to stop. The tingling grew around his mind, until it fused and he felt their presence just yards away. Stop.

  One by one the creatures, seemingly in a panic, swerved around the convoy as they moved to the opposite side of the highway, some even jumped clean over the top of it, causing the ground to shake as they landed. After a few seconds, they were gone, crashing through the trees and heading north. The convoy came to a halt.

  “Are we still alive,” said Raj.

  Fiona unbuckled herself, and leaned between the front seats, and hugged Cal. “You did it! You saved us!”

  Cal felt drained but smiled.

  Zach let out a breath. “That was close,” he then clicked on the radio. “Everyone in one piece? Over.”

  Bass reported back that there were no injuries.

  “Lets keep going.”

  CHAPTER 18

  The intense heat from the jungle around Abbey made her feel giddy, but she fought her way through it regardless. Pushing back strange colored leaves with small spikes and flowers that seemed to move as you neared them, she kept best she could to the path she felt beneath her feet. Up ahead there seemed to be a clearing, so she pushed through harder, and suddenly she was there, but it wasn’t a clearing, it was or used to be a park at the edges of a city.

  She looked upwards mouth agape. Vines amassed over everything, making most things look like they were part of the landscape, but she could recognise cars and buildings under it all. She felt faint. The heat was too much. Something was telling her
to wake up, but she didn’t understand as she wasn’t asleep. She fell to her knees, and started to strip off her clothes to get some air to her skin, it was then she realised she wasn’t wearing any, and her skin, was made of scales.

  Abbey woke with a shudder. She couldn’t feel any of her limbs, but felt strangely warm, at least her neck and head did. Hypothermia? Don’t panic. Her breath was barely visible leaving her mouth as she looked around her. She then tried wiggling her toes, her fingers on her good hand, anything she could do to get sensation back. She also started moving her head from side to side. Gradually feeling returned to her thighs, then her calfs, then her feet inside her boots. She sat up, and wiped away the condensation from the closest window to her. The morning light was shining onto the concrete floor illuminating a patch of ice. She then quickly wiped the other windows to give her an all round view. Alone. She looked at her wrist on her left hand and tried moving some of her fingers. Some of them twitched. Guess I’ll learn to type with one hand. She giggled, and then a wave of emotion flooded over her which she let pass.

  She awkwardly swallowed. Need water. Leaning forward, she unlocked the doors, and opened the back one. Instantly the chilled air flooded in, and she realised how much warmer it had been inside. She stood up outside and stretched, which was hard because of the amount of extra clothing she had on. She then walked over and picked up the ice that had formed. Placing chunks in her mouth she bit down on it, moving it around as it stung her tongue and gums, until it melted. Right, food.

  Moving back to the car, she removed a few layers, which weren’t providing her much warmth and were just restricting her movement. She thought about using them to tie her left arm to her chest but thought she would rather have it free, even if the pain from it was so painful it made her feel sick if she hit something with it.

  Taking one last look at the back seat, she went to move off then stopped. Opening the front door, she pulled open the glove box, and instantly smiled. She slowly pulled out a candy bar in a navy blue wrapper. It’s sell by date was six months ago, but she didn’t care. Tearing the packet gently, she sniffed at it, and absorbed the smell of chocolate. She then pulled some out and started eating.

  It was only a small bar and was devoured within a minute, but the boost it gave her went beyond just the calories she just injected. Standing outside the car, she closed the door quietly, and looked around. There were still car doors to try on this level, but before she did any of that, she wanted to see what was around her. Turning, she headed up the slope, round and around until she came out onto the wind swept roof.

  The sky was large and blue above her, and for a moment she felt free from the situation she was in, but then she saw it. A collection of furniture, broken trees, various clothes and what looked like bones, were all gathered together in a ring formation. Nest? It had to be, and she instinctively crouched down, and looked all around her. Nothing. She also wasn’t getting any tingling in her neck, which she had learned to trust even if she had no idea why it was happening. Standing, she moved closer to the pile of forgotten objects and looked into its center. It was empty. She then rushed to the closest wall and looked over. The street she came in from was just about visible below, but any hope of seeing far was dashed due to the high buildings which surrounded her. Only on one side could she see more than a mile and that was further inwards towards even taller structures. Think Abbey, think. What would Zach be doing right now? How can I help?

  She knew he would be coming to Atlanta to rescue her. She felt it. She also knew he would probably be coming into the city from the west. But then Tinley would know that too. Zach would also probably get to a high point so he could see where Tinley was, and he would probably enter the city at night. If I could only get him a message somehow.

  Her thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of a vehicle. It was some streets away, but it was definately an engine noise of some kind. She ducked down. The vehicle noise grew, and then it stopped somewhere in the street below. Zach? She had to know. Slowly rising, she looked over the top of the wall. It wasn’t Zach. Instead a light green pickup, with a hastily welded light machine gun on the back sat with it’s engine idling. There were two men inside the truck, neither Abbey recognised. One was talking on a radio. Keep going, keep going. The last time she prayed to a higher power she was in her teens, but she found herself instinctively doing so now. Unfortunately her prayers were not answered and the truck drove into the parking garage.

  The sound of it’s engine echoed around the walls below her. It’s coming up here. Damn. She looked around desperately for somewhere to hide, but there was only one place. The nest. She glanced up at the sky, and ran towards the twisted metal and wood, climbing over chairs and roots until she was inside it. She then crouched down. The pickups engine roared and it came onto the top floor, stopping twenty feet from her. One of it’s doors opened, and she could hear a mans voice carried on the wind.

  “We have covered most of south of the city. Over,” there was a pause. “She could be in any of these buildings. I’m going to need more men. Over.”

  As the man continued to talk, Abbey looked up into the sky and saw it. It was small at first, a dark shape rapidly growing in size. No. No. She felt the back of her neck it was tingling. The man had stopped talking on the radio. Fuck. She rose slightly and glimpsed through the broken twigs and furniture parts. Where is he?

  “I found her!” the man was on the other side of the creature made barricade. “Don’t make me come in there and get you!”

  Abbey crouched even lower, touching her neck. Then everything around her got swept away as a gust of wind descended from above.

  “Shit!” shouted the man and the sound of gunfire mingled with shrieking.

  Despite her instincts not to, Abbey looked up. A huge feathered creature, similar to the ones she had seen months before was hovering above her, it’s attention split between her and the man. The creature, at least forty foot across, came lower, it’s talons only a few feet away from her head. She scowled. The tingling intensified, and ran across her head like bolts of electricity. No! She waited for the claws to tear into her. But they didn’t come. Looking up, the creature hovered and looked straight at her, it then swooped down over her and grabbed the man.

  The creatures sharp nails sunk into his shoulder and he was lifted off the ground. The other man ran to the back of the pickup, scrambling to get up into it and onto the large gun they had there, but he wasn’t quick enough, the creature grabbed him with it’s beak.

  Abbey watched mesmerized as the creature struggled to gain height as the two men screamed and grabbed at the vice like grip which was holding them aloft. The creature gave one last shriek and dropped in height, it’s wing crashing against the outer wall, and then together with its cargo dropped over the side.

  There was a distant thump. She shook her head to break free of the scene she just witnessed and ducked and looked upwards again. There was nothing there, and the tingling that had been eating at her had gone.

  Carefully she stepped through the broken parts of the nest and stepped back onto the concrete.

  “Reese? You there Reese? Over.” The mans radio sat on the ground. For a moment Abbey was almost afraid of it, like whoever was on the other end would see her somehow, but she then quickly grabbed it. The pickup sat with it’s engine idling. She dared not look, but moving past the pickup, she looked over the wall towards the street below. Only the creature with it’s huge wings strewn across the sidewalk could be seen.

  Turning around, she ran back to the pickup, threw the radio on the seat next to her, and turned it around. Taking a deep breath, she drove down the numerous slopes until she reached the ground floor. Creeping out of the building, she had a quick look left and right, and then headed south.

  CHAPTER 19

  Martin Long sat studying his face in the large mirror on the dressing table. He did this every morning before he applied his makeup. The room around him was exuberant in its decor. Purple and
pink velvet cushions fought for space amongst lush antique pieces of furniture and the other things. The things he cherished above all else.

  The morning light bathed the side of his face. Looking closer to the mirror he studied every line on his middle-aged face. Am I old? It was a question he often wondered, especially before his mask was applied. Carefully opening his jar of white face paint, he plunged his fingers into it, got a small amount and started dabbing it on his face, being careful to avoid his lips and eyebrows.

  After a few minutes, he was transformed. Not old anymore. He smiled. For his stage act he also used to wear a wig, but why now bother? The face would have to suffice. He then picked up his brush, dabbed it into the black powder and brushed it over his eyebrows. Finally, he picked up his purple lipstick and applied it thickly to his lips. Done.

  He looked upon his face, the face of a magician. A man that for thirty years toured the backwater parts of America with his partners in crime, Jack Russell dogs.

  Getting up, he turned around and walked to the first of them. Rocky. He was the first and the reason he had an act at all. He started out as the run of mill magician. Rabbits and doves would appear from places they shouldn’t, and he was good at it, one of the best he used to tell himself. But it wasn’t enough to earn him anything more than a motel room to live out of. Then one night walking home from another half drunk audience, a Jack Russell started following him.

  He tried to shoo it off, even shouting obscenities at it multiple times, but this dog wouldn’t leave. Finally he made it back to his room, and the dog looked so sad he had no choice but to let him stay the night. And another night. After a week, with no sight of anyone looking for a dog, he decided he would take him as his own, and so named him Rocky.

  He didn’t become part of the act for months though. The motel owners started to get antsy about their furniture being chewed when Martin was out doing his act, so to keep the peace and his room, he took the dog with him. And one night, while doing another of his perfectly rehearsed acts, the dog somehow got loose from the room he was in and charged onto the stage, barking, and jumping and thoroughly messing up his trick. But the audience loved it. Right there and then Martin realised fate had handed him a gift in the shape of a yappy, brown and white dog. The money started to increase, and he had a specially designed cart made for Rocky to travel in, which connected to the back of his motorbike.