Battle Scream (The Battle Series Book 1)

by Mark Romang

  Skymolt stalked over to his desk and sat down. He pulled open a drawer and extracted a satellite phone. This particular phone wasn’t sold to the public, and was primarily used by the CIA and Mossad. The phone’s manufacturer claimed it was the most secure SAT phone in the world.

  Skymolt called Aeton Lasko’s cell phone. But after eight rings he only heard Lasko’s voicemail. Next, he called Nikko Castellanos. But the same thing happened. Neither Skeptikos Alliance agent would answer his call. Anger flared up in Skymolt. His Scandinavian skin reddened. A spasm in his cheek fluttered. He ground his teeth. He wasn’t used to being ignored like this.

  Skymolt suddenly flung his SAT phone at the skyscraper glass. The phone thumped against the glass and shattered into tiny pieces. How dare they ignore me, he fumed. He buried his face in his hands and promised himself he would never allow Lasko and Castellanos to have so much freedom again. From now on they will be like dogs tied to a short chain.

  Chapter 32

  That same moment—Zion National Park

  The mood on board Kyle Miller’s helicopter grew bleaker by the minute. Slumped in their seats, Sara and Webb hung their heads low like monks at prayer time. Teardrops formed a tiny puddle near Sara’s climbing shoes. Their hopes for finding Andrew Maddix fizzled ever closer to despair. They just finished hiking the entire length of Perdition Canyon and didn’t find Maddix, alive or dead.

  In fact, they found no evidence he’d ever been there. No headlamp or torn wetsuit fabric. No backpack or purposely left clues. Miller had flown multiple passes over the Virgin River outside the canyon, thinking the floodwater may have swept Maddix out the canyon and downstream. But all to no avail.

  “I told you no one could survive a torrent like that,” Sara mumbled.

  Webb looked over at her, noticed the tears pooling around her feet. “We can’t confirm his death until we have a body. So until then I’m assuming he’s alive.”

  Sara pulled off her fleece jacket and buried her face in it, unwilling to continue the debate with Webb. Exhaustion had beaten her down physically and emotionally. She wept silently into her jacket.

  “I’m giving up the search here, guys. I think I’ll follow a seldom used dirt road not far from here. Who knows, Maddix might be walking down it,” Miller said. He banked his helicopter into a new direction. A half minute later they taxied 100 feet over a dirt road snaking through stunted willow and box elder groves. The road would eventually lead them south into Zion Canyon and eventually Felicity.

  Cody sat straighter in his seat next to Miller. He quickly lifted a pair of binoculars to his eyes and trained them out the cockpit window. “Hey, I see someone walking. It looks like a man,” Cody said, “and it looks like he might be injured. He’s on crutches.”

  “Let me see your binoculars, Cody,” Webb said.

  Cody handed them back to Webb. The ex-SEAL took the binoculars and peered through them in the direction Cody indicated. “Son of a gun, I think it’s Mad Dog! Set us down, Kyle.”

  Miller immediately guided the MD-500 over to a nearby clearing. Hovering a few feet over the sandy ground, Miller lowered the collective slightly and allowed the helicopter skids to settle gently onto the ground. Sara and Webb bailed out and ran toward the injured man hobbling some fifty yards away.

  Webb arrived first. He looked Maddix over, took in his friend’s battered physique, shredded wetsuit, and hollow eyes. “Forgive me for saying this, Mad Dog, but you look like hell.”

  Maddix smiled weakly. “That makes sense. I went there last night.”

  “What happened to your leg?” Webb studied Maddix’s improvised crutches: tree limbs with pieces of wetsuit wrapped around their tops.

  “I took it off and forgot where I placed it. My stump itched.”

  “Yeah, like I believe that.”

  “Okay, a big log trapped me and I had to lose my leg to get free.”

  Webb shook his head. “You’re a piece of work, Mad Dog.”

  Maddix chuckled softly. “That’s funny, I was about to say the same about you.” Maddix said.

  By this time Sara arrived. Her green eyes grew larger. “You’re hurt, Andrew! We should probably get you to a hospital,” she said, concern and sympathy cracking her voice.

  Maddix stood up straighter. “I’m okay. I just need a hot shower and a plate of pancakes and eggs. Then I’ll be fine. Just keep me away from caves and slot canyons. I lose a leg every time I go in one.”

  Sara shook her head. “I’ve had about enough of you SEALS. Both you and Webb have rocks for brains,” she said, a relieved smile brightening her lovely face.

  “Come on, buddy. Let’s get you home,” Webb said. He walked over to Maddix, bent down, and hoisted his friend over his broad shoulders.

  They walked back toward the helicopter.

  “Not much of a view from here,” Maddix complained. All he could see was Webb’s butt and the brush-clogged ground.

  “Would you rather stumble along with your homemade crutches?”

  “Not really. But I think you should take squats out of your workout regimen, C-Dub.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Your bumper looks like it came off a 57 Chevy. It’s so big you could fly an airplane around it.”

  Sara giggled.

  “Another wisecrack and I’ll drop you on your head. I would have done it already if I didn’t think you were delirious and borderline hypothermic,” Webb grumbled.

  Chapter 33

  Zion Canyon—that same evening

  The smoldering Escalade lay on its top at the bottom of a steep ravine. A thin wisp of smoke curled up from its undercarriage. The pricey SUV had been black to start with, but now a sooty charcoal film covered its crumpled body. Inside the burned-out wreck, three charred corpses hung upside down from their seat restraints.

  Four men stood around the wreck and discussed the case: Washington County Sheriff Webster Morgan and his two deputies, and Felicity Police Officer Jack Crenshaw. “The plates are registered to a man named Aeton Lasko from Salt Lake City. Can’t tell if he’s the driver or not,” Sheriff Morgan said in an unusually high-pitched voice for such a big man. Morgan liked to voice his thoughts, which often gave others the idea he talked to himself. Morgan turned his egg-shaped head toward Crenshaw. Dying sunlight cast a diagonal shadow across Morgan’s face. “How long they been in town, Jack? Do you know?”

  “Six days, near as I can tell. It was shortly after all the news crews showed up at Zion Baptist Church,” Crenshaw said.

  “What business did they have in Felicity?”

  “They’re lawyers who work for a Swedish land tycoon named Henrik Skymolt. Skymolt is an atheist who sends lawyers into small towns around the world and in America to have them legally remove nativity scenes and ten commandment displays through litigation. These men had been following Andrew Maddix, the pastor of the church, around town monitoring his every move.”

  “These lawyers sound like shady characters.”

  Crenshaw couldn’t tell if Morgan was talking to him or himself. “Yes. They’re not well liked by anybody. This same outfit sued Felicity four years ago to get the annual nativity scene taken down. The city didn’t have enough money to fight them. So we took it down.”

  “Hey, Sheriff, you need to look at this,” the shorter deputy called out. The deputy stood hunkered over the driver’s side front tire.

  Morgan and Crenshaw edged up to the overturned Escalade. The deputy shined a penlight behind the tire and near the brake caliper. “This brake line has been cut, Sheriff,” Deputy Tyler Bledsoe said confidently.

  Morgan looked over the brake line in question. He let out a whistle after several seconds. “You’re right, Tyler, it has been cut. Take a peek at this, Jack.”

  Crenshaw examined the line. He saw not just one cut but several jagged cuts. “You think this could just be natural wear and tear?”

  Deputy Bledsoe shook his head adamantly. “No way, this car is almost brand new.”

  Crensh
aw sighed. He could see where this was likely heading, to an arrest he didn’t want to make. “Well, whoever did it must have used a really dull knife. These aren’t clean slices.”

  “I would imagine it was more of the cutting angle. Lying on the ground, squeezed under the frame, it would be hard to get any leverage,” Morgan said.

  Crenshaw nodded. His mind raced ahead. He mulled over his options and the protocol he was bound to. Despite the need for a full investigation, he already had a suspect in mind. And he hated the thought of arresting him.

  “This brake line has been cut, too,” the taller and more reserved deputy said, interrupting their thoughts. Crenshaw followed Morgan and Deputy Bledsoe over to the passenger side tire. They all took turns looking at the sabotaged brake line. Similar cuts were clearly present in this line as well.

  “Well, this is looking more and more like a crime scene, Jack. Bad thing is you have a whole town of suspects. I imagine there was a lot of animosity stored up for these atheist lawyers, especially after they sued to have the nativity scene taken down,” Morgan said.

  Crenshaw didn’t answer right away. He chewed his gum so hard his jaw made popping noises. “There is one individual who stands out from the rest.”

  “Who would that be?”

  “Andrew Maddix.”

  “The pastor you were talking about earlier? Why would he do such a thing?”

  Crenshaw scratched his thinning hair. “One of these lawyers just pressed assault charges on Maddix yesterday. I already talked with both parties. The lawyer says Maddix shoved him down. But Maddix denies it, of course.”

  “Well, that makes it easy. I assume this pastor is in your custody?”

  Crenshaw shook his head. “The prosecutor is still deciding whether to try the case. There’s little evidence. Only one witness saw the altercation. And the witness is legally blind.”

  “I’ll go with you to arrest him, Jack. No need for an arrest warrant. We have probable cause. We need to nab this Maddix fellow before he flees town.”

  A thought burst into Crenshaw’s head. He grasped at the notion before it escaped him. “Wait a second, Sheriff. There were four of them.”

  “Huh?”

  “Yeah, there were four of these lawyers staying in town. We only have three in this vehicle.”

  Morgan surveyed the brushy ravine growing faint in the dusk. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  Morgan scowled. “Well, this opens a can of worms. It’s possible this missing man cut the lines. Maybe he got in an argument with his friends here and lost his mind. People are crazy these days. There’s a lunatic in every town.”

  “Anything is plausible. We can’t rule out anybody at this stage.”

  “I would still bet on your pastor, though. He has a motive. And I think we better poke around in the brush here before it gets dark. The fourth lawyer may have been thrown out when the car went over the edge.”

  “Or he could still be in town. They were staying at the Best Western,” Crenshaw said. “I’ll radio my dispatcher and have her send another officer over to the motel. Maybe our man is there now.”

  Morgan nodded. “While you do that we’ll poke around here and see if we can find another body. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find him. Then we’ll know for sure who our number one suspect is.”

  Chapter 34

  That same moment—Felicity

  Although he didn’t feel like Jesus at all, Maddix couldn’t help but be reminded of the Last Supper. He sat in his recliner, surrounded by Sara, Webb, Cody, Kyle, and Miller’s Labrador retriever. They all munched silently on carry-out pizza. This would probably be the last meal they gathered like this, the last time they prepared to physically fight fallen angels. Maddix hoped and prayed the demon hunting expeditions ended tonight. The resistance he’d been anointed to lead was too emotionally taxing to carry on for very much longer. The strain ate at his sanity. And he was sure the others felt the same. This supernatural fight needed to end soon for everyone’s sake.

  Maddix chewed a bite of pizza. He wasn’t hungry at all, but forced himself to eat. He would need a big storehouse of energy tonight. Tonight’s battle would dwarf the previous two.

  As he chewed he watched the others eating solemnly around him. He considered them all to be good friends, people he would go to war with. Each one shined a bright light onto a dark world yearning for something good, something noble to cheer for. Yet a premonition gnawed at the back of Maddix’s mind. Someone in this room was preparing to betray him.

  He couldn’t pinpoint why he felt this way. It was just a feeling, an emotion that he couldn’t explain. Maddix thought he knew each person in this room fairly well. But then again, humans tend to hide their flaws and struggles. It started with Adam and Eve hiding their nakedness from God in the garden, and it still continues today. Maddix took a minute to secretly evaluate the others in the room with him.

  Cody was a typical youth. He had the same interests and hobbies as most kids his age. He loved electronics and playing video games. Yet he also loved God and going to church. Because of his situation at home with his deadbeat parents, his faith was a lifeline to him. And Maddix knew Cody thought the world of him. He often called Maddix his big brother.

  Sara Kendall was every man’s dream. Beautiful and sweet natured, she loved being outdoors and participating in adventure sports. She also followed God with all her heart and displayed a gritty toughness most men could never achieve. And Maddix could tell she loved him. For this reason he ruled her out as a candidate for betrayal.

  Coleton Webb was his best friend. They had been through so much together, hair-raising SEAL missions in hotspots around the world. Both had saved each other’s life on numerous occasions. They were almost like twins in that they thought alike. Maddix knew Webb better than any person in the world. And if he was sure of one thing in this fallen world, it was that Webb would have his back to the bitter end.

  Kyle Miller was a wildcard and someone he hadn’t quite figured out. Miller was quiet and difficult to get to know. Maddix knew Miller lost his wife not too long ago, and assumed his grieving process had much to do with his aloofness. But Miller seemed like a rock, a decorated patriot who served his country in the first Gulf War. Dependable and trustworthy, he was a deacon at the church. He was always the first one there to a service or meeting, and the last one to leave.

  So why am I so paranoid?

  “I didn’t know you were such a MMA fan, Mad Dog,” Webb said. He picked up one of the MMA magazines off Maddix’s coffee table and flipped through it. “We’ll have to spar some time,” he added, smiling mischievously.

  “I’m just a fan, C-Dub. I don’t think I would provide you much competition. I’m wearing a prosthetic and you have twenty pounds on me.”

  Webb snorted. “Don’t give me that handicap BS. I’ve seen you in hand-to-hand combat. You’re a killing machine. You’re fast and efficient. And you plot out each move like you’re playing chess, and then carry it out in a split second.”

  “But I’ve never sparred in a cage like you, C-Dub. I’ve only watched matches on pay-per-view from the comfort of this chair.”

  Sara Kendall held up her hands in a timeout gesture. “Boys, boys, you can question each other’s manhood some other time. Let’s devote what time we have left to what’s important.” Sara turned to Maddix. “So are we using the same tactics tonight? We didn’t do so well last night. I think the demons are adapting to us.”

  Maddix shook his head. “I need to show you guys something.” Maddix left the recliner and walked over to his bed in the corner. He lifted up the pillows and picked up a cylindrical package. Maddix then walked back over to the others and got down on the floor beside them. He pulled a cap off a thick cardboard tube and reached his fingers inside. Maddix gently pulled out an ancient-looking scroll and unfurled it on the floor.

  “Where did you get that?” Kyle Miller asked. “It looks very old, ancient to be more exact. Is it an animal skin?”<
br />
  Maddix shrugged. “I suppose it could be. Goat skin was commonly used in ancient times.”

  Miller persisted. “But when did you get this? And how?”

  “It was delivered to my apartment sometime today. It was outside my door when I woke up.” Maddix had fallen asleep sometime around 10 a.m. and slept deeply until 5 p.m.

  “Gabriel, the UPS angel strikes again,” Cody said.

  “Do you know what it says?” Webb asked. “It’s obviously written in a foreign language.”

  “The writing is in Hebrew. I took two semesters of Hebrew while I was in seminary. I can read it,” Maddix said.

  “So what does it say, Pastor,” Cody asked.

  There were only two lines on the scroll. Maddix placed a forefinger to the right of the first line. He cleared his throat. “The demons are no longer in Perdition Canyon. They will congregate on Angels Landing at midnight and welcome reinforcements. Do not be afraid of them. The Lord will surely be with you and fight for you.”

  “There is going to be more of them?” Cody asked, his voice trailing off.

  “The Lord is with us, Cody. We’ll be okay.”

  “But how do we fight them out in the open? They’ll never stay still long enough for you to impale them,” Sara said.

  Maddix looked over at Webb and smiled. “We’re going to break out the FLASH launcher and scorch them. I’ll enter the superheated air and neutralize them while they’re distracted with the flames.”