by Hunt, Jack
Even he had his limits.
Miles spread out his arms and leaned back in his seat. “I’m out.”
“What?” Maddox replied.
“You heard. I was told we were here to make contact with yourself and retrieve Darius, not jump out of a helicopter with one parachute into a walled city.”
Base jumpers only got one shot. There was no backup parachute. If the drop was short — anything less than three hundred feet — the jumper had to hold a pilot chute attached to a static line that would deploy within seconds of jumping. With almost no time to free-fall and deploy a chute, there was little room for error. It had to work or it was game over.
“But I was told you would help.”
“Well, I guess this is what comes from not telling us the whole truth. I can now understand why Arlo held back information.”
“Arlo didn’t know. I told you.”
“Yeah, and now I’m telling you. I’m out!” He got up and walked a short distance away. Scarlett followed, backing him up. Maddox’s eyes widened.
“That goes for me too,” she said.
Lucius remained neither agreeing nor saying he wouldn’t go. In fact, he looked more interested in eating and drinking than discussion.
Scarlett joined Miles twenty yards away, leaning against the railing that tourists would hold on to as they navigated their way around the huge cavern.
“So what now?”
“We head back as soon as Tex returns,” he said.
She nodded. “You know they’ll want to use that helicopter.”
“Then we’ll go after these adrenaline junkies dive to their deaths.” He shook his head, gripping the railing hard. “I shouldn’t have agreed. I should have pressed Arianna for more details.”
“To be fair, Miles, I don’t think she knew any more than Arlo did.” Scarlett tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and set one foot up on the lower half of the railing. Miles looked over to where Maddox was chatting with Snow and the other militia. He understood the need for secrecy but the whole purpose of keeping things on the down-low and on a need to know basis was to protect people, but that went out the window when these kinds of things happened. He saw Snow nod and pat Maddox on the arm before heading their way.
“Hey, Miles.”
“Snow.”
“Maddox understands your hesitation.”
“It’s not hesitation, it’s refusal. It’s common sense. I’m not saying it can’t be done, I’m saying we’re not the ones to do it. Let’s be serious. I’m pretty sure you need like a hundred skydives or more to base jump and even then there is no guarantee that the chute will open. But it’s not even that. Even if we fly at night, the sound of choppers will attract the PLA and you can be sure they will shoot on sight. I’m not risking it. If you want to go, be my guest, but I know my limitations.”
He nodded. “All of us are trained in sky diving. That was one of the requirements back when I joined the militia.”
“The Watchmen?”
“No. I was part of a different militia. Most of our guys were wiped out. Darius took us in.”
He turned and gripped the railing and looked out. Far below, families were busy tending to their children. Young mothers breastfeeding, fathers washing clothes by hand, and teens finding new forms of distraction. He noted a couple holding hands as they came out from a tent.
“So you ascribe to all that religious jargon?”
“You don’t believe?” Snow asked.
“Oh I believe in a higher power; I just don’t claim to be right. Too many folks strut around like they’ve had a face to face with the almighty only to find out they’re regurgitating what was told to them by their parents, friends, or spiritual leaders. I’m not saying it’s a crock of crap but it’s full of holes and stinks of man.”
“I hear you,” he said, leaning against the railing.
“So, what about you? You always lived in America?” Miles asked.
“No. My mother brought me here when I was eleven.”
“Before that?”
“Tanzania. We were part of the Hadza Tribe. We escaped the country when I was a teen. She wanted a better life for me.”
“Can’t find fault in that. You miss home?”
He rolled his shoulder, working out tension. “I don’t miss being hunted, that’s for sure.”
“Hunted?”
Snow nodded. “Let’s just say that my albinism is looked upon as both a blessing and a curse. Not long after I was born my mother and father had to leave the tribe because a witch doctor wanted to use my body parts for potions to bring luck and wealth. At the age of eight I was kidnapped from a southern village. If it wasn’t for the help of a caring woman, I would have been dismembered and probably wound up as a lucky charm.”
“Are you serious?”
“Oh yeah, albinism is big money even today. Some body parts can fetch up to $75,000.” He breathed in deeply. “Though they won’t tell you that. So no, I don’t miss my homeland.”
“Then why Missouri?”
He took out of his pocket some sunscreen.
“The sunshine?”
“Not exactly. We were originally based in Wisconsin before this. It was a toss-up between there or Washington but we ran out of money for traveling, so we ended up here. Wisconsin gets a fair amount of shitty weather, cloud cover, you know…”
“Cloud cover?”
“My skin, hair, and eyes lack melanin, which is what gives the skin its color and protects it from ultraviolet light from the sun. Without it, I’m at risk of cancer. You could say I’m a modern-day vampire.” He chuckled, finding amusement at his own detriment.
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Ah, I’m used to it. I’ve fared pretty well. Most from my homeland die before they even reach the age of forty.”
“How old are you?”
“Forty-one.”
“Sounds like America is doing you good.”
They both laughed at the irony. “Listen, Miles, if there was another way in, all of us would be for it but this is it. Now, if you want to hang back, I understand. A few guys won’t be able to come because we don’t have enough chutes.”
“But you’re going in?”
“Darius has done a lot for me. In some ways, he’s been like a mentor. I owe him.”
Miles thought of Gunnar and what he would do to help him if he ever fell into trouble. Gunnar had been there after his mother had died, given him a reason to keep getting up each day even if that reason was grounded in vengeance. Miles glanced at Scarlett and she shook her head.
“Give us a moment,” Miles said. Snow walked away, leaving them alone.
Scarlett sighed. “I’ve seen that look before.”
“You can stay here.”
“But you said it was insane.”
“It is.”
“Miles, you don’t owe him or anyone anything.”
“I know that.”
“And seriously, how many of us does it take to bring him back? Huh? No, I think you want to go in because you have a death wish.”
“If I had a death wish I would have jumped at the first mention of it.”
“Then why the sudden change of heart?”
Miles shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said, looking off. “Coming all this way and...”
“You know he sent him over here to convince you.”
“Do I look like someone that’s easily convinced?”
“I’ll ask Gunnar when we get back. Not if we get back but when. You go over that wall, there might not be a when. Are you willing to take that risk?”
Miles looked away, his eyes roaming the cavern. “Oh, Scarlett. Always the voice of reason.”
“Hey, you were willing to walk away a moment ago. I don’t get it. You’re in, you’re out. What is it?”
“What do you want me to say? Huh? Since we have been in this war, nothing is easy. Nothing is straightforward. Every situation I have gone into, I have debated whether or not I shoul
d do it, barring burning the flag in the square but then I was intoxicated at the time.” He turned and took a hold of her arms. “There is a good chance you and I won’t see next year, let alone next month, or tomorrow. One bullet, one mistake, that’s all it takes. I can’t control it. So call it what you will, my self-preservation kicked in. Maybe that’s what my reluctance is to this. Nothing more than a last-ditch effort, a synapse in my brain telling me to avoid danger. But Snow’s right, we can’t avoid danger, sometimes we just have to roll with it. We are in the thick of this and none of us are getting out unscathed. The scars on my back are proof of that.” He looked to Snow, Maddox, and the others who kept glancing over, waiting for him. “Now, regardless of whether or not we jump in, or walk in, there was a risk coming here tonight. You knew that. I knew that. There is a fifty-fifty chance we will die before we even make it in but the odds are the same as making it out.” He released his grip and shrugged. “I made peace with death a long time ago. I’m not afraid to die, Scarlett. And yeah, there will be times my self-preservation will kick in but I’m not going to let that stop me from doing what is needed to turn the tide. My only prayer is that I live long enough to see America back on its feet. That’s it. A home. Friends. Family. The rest doesn’t matter to me. They’re all gone.”
“You still have me. You still have Gunnar.”
He gave a strained smile, his brow furrowing. Miles ran a hand over his stubbled face. Without missing a beat, and before self-preservation kicked in again, he hollered, “I’ll go with you.”
Maddox gave him the thumbs-up.
He turned back to Scarlett and before he could say anything she said, “Then so am I.”
“You’re prepared to jump?”
“Are you?” she asked.
“No.”
“Neither am I,” she said brushing past him.
He knew she was pumping herself up for what lay ahead, doing it because he was, but that’s what he’d always admired about her. She was a girl who didn’t mind getting her hands dirty, she was always up for new things and certainly didn’t shy from danger.
In the early hours of the morning under the cover of darkness, their group prepared for the ride out on the Black Hawks.
Once again what Maddox had left out in the earlier conversation was that only eight were going in, the rest would create a diversion.
It was meant to reduce the odds of getting shot while jumping in but it didn’t mean they wouldn’t end up a smear on the streets.
The two helicopters would enter the city on the west side not far from a sushi place and a Sonic Drive-in, meanwhile a large number of the resistance would attack on the east side. Before heading out, they’d been given a quick rundown of how the jump would go, it was beyond basic, it was a few words followed by double-checking everyone’s gear before they were bundled into a truck and taken to the drop-off location.
Tex was there to greet him, a broad smile spreading.
“Y’all remember to send me a postcard now.” He laughed as they climbed in. One guy threw up, his nerves getting the better of him. One Hawk had already left, taking a group of eight to the east side to get the ball rolling. They would approach the west once they saw an explosion.
As the thump of rotors beat out its rhythm and the helicopter lifted, Miles couldn’t believe he’d agreed. He felt like he wanted to vomit the higher they got. The worst scenario played out in his mind even as Snow ran them through what they needed to do and then had them repeat back his instructions. By the time they saw the perimeter of the city, and flaming torches that lit up city streets, he’d grown tired of saying the steps, they were ingrained in his mind.
“So how many skydives are you actually supposed to have done before doing this?”
“Around two hundred, give or take,” Snow said nonchalantly as Miles glanced at Scarlett across from him. On paper, that’s what was required but the days of doing things by the book were long behind them.
“You know anyone who’s done this before without that?”
“None that are still alive.” He burst out laughing, a couple of the other guys joined him. “No, you’ll be fine. There’s nothing to it. Whether you’ve done it two hundred times or two times. We all go out the same.”
“That’s reassuring,” Miles replied with a raised brow.
The truth was whether a person had two hundred jumps or not, even professionals died doing this.
Now if everything went accordingly and the chute didn’t get tangled, the biggest challenge they faced was landing without injury. Apparently that was the hardest part. “Remember what I said about landing. You don’t want to end up with a broken femur, pelvis, or back.”
The reality of it was sinking in. To say he wasn’t scared would have been a lie.
It was one thing to be taken out by a bullet, another to break bones. There were so many things to think about: malfunction steps, object avoidance, canopy control, and landing techniques.
Once again, here he was shooting from the hip, riding by the seat of his pants and looking death in the face.
“I hope to God this isn’t all for nothing,” Miles said.
“Me too, brother.” Snow snorted, looking out at the dark terrain below. Scarlett kept fidgeting with her gear. One of the militia soldiers muttered something in her ear and she smiled. Miles didn’t hear what he said but it must have given her confidence as she closed her eyes and began taking deep breaths.
Minutes.
Only minutes away from jumping.
A jump that could mean life or death.
There was no in-between.
Miles took a moment to check his watch, then the magazine in his SIG Sauer. A few of them were packing MP 40s, short, powerful submachine guns that were easy to carry, others M4 carbines. As the Black Hawk got closer, they saw in the distance an explosion of orange on the far side of the city.
It was the signal.
“Hold on, folks,” Tex yelled as the helicopter banked hard to the left and headed for the city. Miles looked at Scarlett, knowing this could be the last time he would see her. His thoughts circled to Gunnar, then his mother and father. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer as the bird got lower and the first of their crew jumped into oblivion.
16
Arianna
The arrival of the stranger was startling but to see nudity beneath Gunnar’s unbuttoned jacket was even more shocking.
“Who’s this?”
Gunnar turned to the dark-haired woman.
“My name’s Brooke,” she muttered, her chin down, not making eye contact with any of them.
Arianna looked at Gunnar and jerked her head toward the corridor. “A moment,” she said, brushing past the woman. They stepped outside into the dark corridor and she waited until the heavy door closed before she peppered him with questions.
“Where did you find her? Why is she wearing your jacket? And why is she partially nude?”
“First, you might want to drop the accusing tone. If I wanted to get it on with a complete stranger that’s my business. You certainly didn’t let it stop you.”
“Oh no, no you don’t go turning this around. Answer the question.”
Gunnar strolled a short distance away from their room, making sure they were out of earshot. “She was being attacked by the PLA over at the diner. I stopped it. Her clothes were torn. I gave her my jacket. She never gave me her name until now. There you go. Satisfied?”
A few seconds of silence, she glanced off then looked back at him. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come across as accusing but when you see an attractive woman wearing your husband’s jacket…”
His brow furrowed. “Ex-husband. It’s been five years since we’ve been a couple.”
“On paper, we are still married.”
“Not in my books.”
She paused. “If that’s the case why are you still wearing your wedding band?”
He glanced down at it and then back at her. Gunnar wiggled it loose and
handed it to her. “There you go.” He walked past her back into the room, leaving her looking down at the gold ring in her hand. A wave of regret hit her and she tucked it into her pocket and decided to head down to avoid having to look at him.
Arianna slung her rifle over her shoulder and strolled to the stairwell, trying to push the thoughts of her failed marriage from her mind. She understood his anger. She would have felt the same way if it had happened to her. The truth was her involvement with Demar couldn’t be excused, even if she did it out of pain, pain from losing her son, pain from losing her daughter to the PLA, pain from the distance that had come between her and Gunnar.
What she never explained to Gunnar was that she wasn’t the first to make the move, Demar was.
Sure, she could have pushed him back, told him she couldn’t go there, but with all that had happened to the county, to her family, to her relationship with Gunnar, it just felt right.
It wasn’t.
There was no excusing it.
Truly, if she wanted Demar she could have ended it with Gunnar, and she had considered it, but she still cared for Gunnar. She still loved him deeply. How could she not?
He’d never done anything wrong.
Sure, they had argued like any other couple but he’d never cheated on her, at least that she knew. That just wasn’t his way. He was old-fashioned, believed in being married to one person for life. Whereas she’d come from a family that had divorced when she was five.
Security, loyalty, faithfulness, these were foreign to her.
Arianna stepped over wet garbage at the bottom of the stairwell before entering the lobby. The place was a complete shambles. Besides what had been destroyed by water damage, the rest came from human hands — garbage, feces, murder. Her eyes caught sight of a dead body, or what was left of it buried below the rubble. A femur bone protruded from a pair of dress pants, nearby was an overturned stroller. She didn’t even dare look inside that. The atrocities that humans were capable of were enough to make anyone want to give up. Over the past five years, she’d gotten to that dark place in her mind multiple times. Twice, she’d considered taking a walk into the woods and ending it.