by Greg Gotti
The night was clear, but very dark as the moon was just a sliver in the sky in front of them. There were trees all around, but they thinned out considerably at the foot of the mountain. The three of them scanned the surrounding area for any sign of activity, but they saw none. The night was quiet and still quite warm. John was surprised by this until he remembered they were no longer at the higher altitude, and the air would hold its heat much better here. Time was crucial to their plan, so after surveying their surroundings and finding nothing threatening, the three companions emerged from the creek bed and made their way quickly through the trees until they reached the base of the mountain. They knelt in the midst of some bushes and prepared for the next phase of their journey.
“Listen,” John began as the three of them crouched together. “The Ristas like to do line searches rather than sweeps. That means they’ll cover more ground, but they’ll miss more. If they are already forming the line, we will almost certainly run into it if they’re between us and where we need to be. I don’t think we…”
Williams cut him off by suddenly reaching out and grasping him by the shoulder. John stopped in mid-sentence and listened. He heard nothing for a few seconds and then, there it was: voices. They were nearby, and he immediately recognized the language of the Ristas. He felt his blood run cold in his veins as the three of them quickly fell flat on their stomachs and listened as the voices drew closer. They were talking excitedly, and their footsteps were quick. They were almost on top of them now. John could hear their entire conversation, but he had no idea what they were saying as they were speaking Rista. John realized he was holding his breath, and he slowly exhaled as the cracking of twigs under boots passed by just feet away from them. He dared not move; not even to look up to see if they had been spotted. The two voices continued on as they passed by John and the others, and their volume lessened as they moved farther away. John waited until he couldn’t hear them any longer before raising his head slowly to look around. He saw nothing, and he tapped the others to get up.
“Man! That was close!” Williams said in the softest of whispers.
“They won’t be the last ones we stumble across,” John said. “They were heading up the mountain. Nobody ever goes up the mountain. They are definitely looking for you.”
Maria tugged urgently on John’s arm, and he turned and leaned in close as she pointed in the direction the Ristas had gone and then at Williams. She tapped her temple and pointed towards where the Ristas had gone again. He immediately understood: They knew the missing “pilot” as Williams had called it was on the mountain, and they were going up to get him. Maria continued to try to use her motions to communicate with them. She whispered something with a great deal of urgency as John struggled to understand.
“She said a lot of them are coming behind those two,” Williams offered.
“Those were scouts then,” John said. “The main group must be still forming up. We have time to get out of here.”
John took a moment to process everything. He looked around in the darkness. He could barely make out much of anything; just shapes and bulky chunks of trees with mountains rising behind them. They would never reach Soona land before the Ristas discovered them unless Maria showed them the way.
“We need to move,” John said. “If they are coming at this mountain, we should stay away from the approaches as we leave. Can you make her understand?”
Williams nodded and whispered to Maria in her language. She looked at him strangely, and Williams realized he was probably getting a lot of things wrong. She answered him back, and Williams nodded in relief.
“She understands. She says she knows a way where we shouldn’t run into anyone.”
“Let’s go then,” John said.
Maria left the cover of the trees and the mountain she loved as she led the two men into the valley. She trotted quickly into the open expanse, totally devoid of any cover but darkness, and headed for a cluster of thick bushes and trees several hundred feet away. She was very light on her feet and moved briskly across the grass as the men had to work to keep up. She had moved undetected through this land many times, but never with the Ristas conducting a full-scale manhunt. She made for the bushes, where she knew a path that would lead to the Hermanito, or “Little Brother”; the smaller river that flowed into the Arcángel. The Arcangel was the larger river dividing Rista land from the Soona. She knew the trails along the Hermanito as well as anyone and planned to use them to get them to the Soona border undetected. John would lead them from there. Maria had great faith in John, but she knew this part of the journey depended on her ability to lead them. She was determined not to let John down; not only because she wanted to survive, but because she could not imagine being parted from him now. If either the Ristas or the Soona discovered them, they would most definitely not be allowed to be together. Her people would execute him, and she suspected the Soona would do the same to her. Things were different, and there was no going back. She would see this through or die trying.
The night was sticky and warm as the three made their way through the bushes. John could feel the sweat pouring down his face, a result of both the humidity and the strain he was under as the three of them attempted to evade the Ristas and reach the Soona border. The path Maria led them on was virtually non-existent, just a route through the tall bushes, small trees and whatever else that grew in the valley. John’s arms and face were getting scratched up from various leaves, branches and even thorns, but they did not have the luxury of taking their time. He had been right in assuming the worst. The Ristas were already in full-blown search mode, and he knew more of them would be coming by dawn. They had only hours before the Ristas would have formed a search web without breaks that could be slipped through.
Williams stepped on a stick a few steps behind John and the resulting cracking sound made John wince. It was rough going through this part of their journey, and his nerves were on edge. He knew what the Ristas would do to them if they were captured. He had seen the pictures of the unfortunate souls who had made the mistake of allowing themselves to be taken prisoner by Rista forces. He felt a cold chill creep up the back of his neck, and he shuddered involuntarily. He knew he could not allow them to be captured; he could not let them have Maria. The things her people would do to her would be unspeakable. They would deprive her of her humanity and strip out her very soul before they finally allowed her to die. She had saved him in more ways than one, and he could not let any harm come to her. He could barely make her out just a few feet in front of him as she led them by the dim blue radiance of her flashlight. He couldn’t stand the thought of anyone laying a hand on her. The Ristas had already taken his son from him. He swore silently he would not allow them to take Maria.
They moved steadily along the Hermanito, trying to be silent as they travelled towards the Arcangel River. Soona territory lay on the other side of its waters, and John felt a strange excitement at the thought of being in his own land again. He wished there was a way that he could bring Maria there and have her welcomed as his mate. He knew such a thing was not possible; the laws would not allow for it. John felt a stab at his heart as he realized his homeland was not home anymore. They would not accept Maria, and John knew his home was wherever Maria was. From the day he had gone over the waterfall, his and Maria’s paths had been one. He would never see his home in Mile High City again if they were successful. It was America or bust for Maria and him now.
John was jolted from his thoughts as Maria suddenly stopped and looked back towards her mountain, which now lay behind them to their 8 o’clock. She pointed and the three of them followed her line of sight to where they saw a line of lights assembled at the base of the mountain. John was astonished. The Ristas had formed their search party with a speed he hadn’t thought possible. Still, they were beyond it already. They had accomplished their goal of getting through the line before it could form, and John felt a smirk pull at the corner of his lip. There was no way they could have formed so quickly
without pulling their patrols from the surrounding wilderness. He knew their methods, their procedures; he had studied them for many years. They were actually very good soldiers with effective tactics. John respected that much about them; they knew when to attack, when to retreat, how to flank and how to use the terrain. Their tactics were actually quite similar to those of the Soona. It had only been when John had come up with a new strategy that he had made his incredible push to the river. That push had been a constant string of successes until they had surprised them with the ambush leading to his rescue by Maria. He felt confident he knew their procedures, and if they were careful, they might have a much less complicated journey than he had expected.
The three of them picked up their pace as they travelled along the bank of the Hermanito, and John felt the sweat pouring down his face as he tried to ignore the mosquitoes that relentlessly landed on his face and neck. They quickly put distance between them and Maria’s mountain until it was a good two miles behind them. They reached a point where there was no way to go farther without leaving the cover of the trees, and the three of them knelt down to take a quick drink from the river. John cupped his hands in the cool water and brought them to his mouth. He was incredibly thirsty and drank until he felt satisfied. Maria and Williams did the same until they all had their fill. Looking into the night sky, he was struck by just how dark it was tonight. The moon was little more than a sliver and gave just enough light to reveal dark masses of shadows where the trees and hills surrounded them. They would have never made it down the mountain in good time without Maria. Even if they had managed to somehow make it past the Rista search web, they would not have known how to find their way along the river trails. He already realized they had underestimated the length of their journey and would have to maintain a brisk pace to get across the river and past the Soona patrols before first light. Their decision to leave at dusk rather than waiting for twilight had made the difference in getting off the mountain before the Ristas could block their escape; now, they needed to press their advantage.
“If we keep moving, we should reach the Arcangel in time,” John whispered as Maria held the flashlight close to her palm so just enough light escaped for the three of them to see each other. “As I said earlier, I know where we should be able to cross undetected. It’s just about a half-mile upriver from where this one empties into the Arcangel.”
“You sure they haven’t changed the patrols since you’ve been gone?” Williams asked.
“No, I’m not sure,” John replied. “I can’t be sure of what they may have changed. I do know the officer in charge of securing the river border though, and he is not one for reinventing his methods. He finds something that works and sticks to it. Your machine falling out of the sky might bring more attention to the river border. I just don’t know. All we can do is use what we know and adjust on the fly.”
Williams translated John’s words the best he could for Maria, and she nodded in understanding. She replied in a fast-paced whisper, and he grimaced and shook his head to signal his inability to follow. Maria stopped and started over, this time speaking slowly to allow him to process her words. He asked her something in her language and after a quick back-and-forth, he looked at John.
“She says the Ristas keep this river guarded heavily somewhere close to where it meets the bigger river. If we are going to cross into your territory upriver from that point, we need to cross this one a short distance ahead and we can get to the Arcangel without having to spend much time out in the open.”
“Ask her if she needs to rest before we move on.”
Even in the dim light of the flashlight, John could see him roll his eyes as he turned and asked Maria his question. She gave John a look that said, “Are you kidding me?” and he felt sheepish as he remembered how she had managed to live happily all alone in the wilderness. He raised his hands as if to say “Ok, ok,” and got to his feet. He gave her an embarrassed smile and gestured in the way they were going.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Maria headed out of the trees and into the open ground with the two men on either side of her just a half-step behind. She led them through the darkness, but kept the flashlight switched off so they could not be spotted from a distance. John knew they would blend in with the terrain in the darkness, and the three of them moved swiftly across the open ground. She guided them to a spot where they re-entered the trees and travelled down a path that led them to the banks of the Hermanito once more. They removed their boots and socks before crossing in knee-deep water. After drying their feet and putting their boots back on, they readied to press on. John gazed into her eyes in the dim moonlight. She was leaving behind everything she’d ever known to go with him, and he saw her mixture of strength and faith. He felt something come over him and pulled her to him and kissed her. She responded in kind, and her kiss told him everything he needed to know. Any lingering uncertainty he had felt was gone. Maria was putting all of her eggs in his basket. She truly loved him and would follow him anywhere. He felt more clarity in that moment than he had known in his entire life. He smiled at her and turned to where Williams stood by uncomfortably and froze.
“What?” Williams asked as John stared at him. No, he was staring past him in a frozen state. Williams turned around and realized why. There was a lone figure standing at the top of the river bank, silhouetted against the night sky.
“Oh, frag me!” Williams exclaimed as John blew past him and sprinted up the bank. The shadowy figure disappeared as John approached, and Williams followed close behind. He got to the top and found John sprinting like mad into the darkness to his right. Williams took off after him, trying to keep him in sight as they ran through the trees. He couldn’t see John as much as he could hear him, and he followed the sounds of falling footsteps and caught sight of him every few seconds. Williams was a fast runner, but the unfamiliar and uneven terrain prevented him from being able to run all-out. He rounded a large rock and found John stopped with a hand up.
“Which way did he go?” Williams asked in a loud whisper.
“He’s close. I can’t see a thing. I could hear him and then I couldn’t. He had to have gone to ground. We’ve got to find him fast.” John was panting from running, and Williams realized he was too. They both tried to control their breathing as they listened for a clue to the whereabouts of their mysterious visitor.
“Where is Maria?” John asked looking around.
“I don’t know; I took off after you and left her there.”
“You left her there alone?!?!?”
“What’d you want me to do, man? You know we gotta catch this guy or he will have every Rista on the planet swarming this area in no time!”
“Alright, alright, he can’t be far. You stay here and make sure he doesn’t double back. I’ll head about 100 feet up that way and try to flush him out. Don’t use the gun unless you absolutely have to. You probably won’t hit him in the dark anyways, and we can’t afford to have gunshots going off.”
Williams looked skeptical.
“So we do what; just let him shoot us first?” he asked John.
“If he was part of a patrol, he’d have fired a few shots into the air already to bring his buddies running. That’s what I would do anyways. Stay here. Use the knife we gave you. If you have to use the gun, so be it, but make it a last resort.”
John took off running and disappeared into the darkness. Williams stood against the big rock where he knew he wouldn’t be visible to anyone and waited. John’s plan was sound; he’d run ahead hoping their target would believe the danger had passed him and double back right to where he was waiting. If not, at least he’d maybe start moving again and give the two of them a fix on his position when the sound of his movements gave him away. He knew their very survival depended on not letting him get away. He had to be close, maybe just feet away from him. He held the rifle in front of him. Forget the knife, he thought. He’d rather take his chances with someone hearing the gunshot than get killed.
Suddenly, he heard a surprised cry off to his left some distance away. He heard a female voice shouting,
“No se mueva!”
Maria! He realized she had found their evasive target and took off towards the sound of her shouting. He had no idea where Wallace was, but he realized whoever Maria had found was running away from her.
“John!” he heard her shout as he could suddenly hear the sound of someone crashing through branches and heading right towards him. He steadied himself and waited. He held the rifle across his chest and waited to locate the fleeing Rista. He heard him getting closer in a hurry. He was almost on top of him now, and he raised the rifle as he could now hear each footstep hitting the ground as he approached. He put his finger on the trigger and brought the rifle to his shoulder as his eye suddenly detected movement in front of him to his left. He saw the shadowy figure streaking across the woods and was tensing his finger to pull the trigger when the figure suddenly dove and tackled another shadow he hadn’t seen. A cry of surprise rang out, and Williams ran towards it. He quickly arrived to find John having wrestled their mysterious visitor to the ground and pinning him to the ground with his knee. John held his knife to the man’s throat as Maria came running from the far side of them.