The Dark Rift: Redemption (7 page)

The gruff man sighed loudly. "Were you asleep during your basic training? You should know this stuff, Billy, or you're gonna blow yourself up someday. We have to leave it out in the open so the signal can get through. If the lead gets pulled out of the bag by one of those things, it'll trigger right away. Either way, we just need to get the hell outa here before the fireworks start. Let's go."

Chuck watched them as they ran down the hallway. He didn't know where Jodie or his other friends were, so until he had an answer to that question, he wasn't about to let Gypsum blow up anything. "No time to waste," he muttered to himself, sliding to a sitting position and standing up carefully. "Radio waves can't get through metal." Chuck sized up the metal cabinets in the room, picking one he thought would be large enough. He knew the cabinet must have weighed four or five hundred pounds, yet he tore it off the wall, shearing off the bolts holding it in place. He carried it to the hallway, where he ripped its doors off and set it gently over the top of the bomb, covering the radio receiver completely. Then he grabbed his Hello Kitty bag and started running. He needed to catch up with the Gypsum guards. They knew a way out. A way he hoped would lead him to Jodie.

Jodie ran through the forest toward the garage she was in earlier. She was starting to think this was all too easy. Keys dangling from an ignition where she could find them, the garage door left open. She wondered if Gypsum was waiting for her by the Jeep now that they'd separated her from her companions. Jodie stopped at the edge of the woods. Something didn't feel right. She didn't know what that something was, but she wasn't about to take any chances. She knew she had to abandon the idea of stealing the Jeep.

Realizing she'd have to find another way to get out of town, Jodie went back into the forest and continued running through the trees toward lights in the distance. Finally reaching a narrow section of woods, she paused, waiting long enough to catch her breath and to look for signs of anyone from Gypsum lurking in the shadows. From what she could make out in the lights ahead, this area had been hit hard by the earthquakes set off by the explosion in Gypsum's underground tunnel. She watched from the bluff as police and Red Cross rescue workers down below in the town dug through the debris that used to be houses, likely looking for survivors. A constant stream of heavy equipment rolled down the main street, each machine being directed to a different location to help in the search.

Nearest to her, utility workers were setting up huge overhead lamps. It wouldn't be long before the area she was in would be illuminated, so she had to move now. She had to get to the middle of the town, where she'd be more likely to be lost in the confusion of the rescue effort.

Jodie burst out of the forest. At the same time, she heard a sound, a terrible sound of something tearing through her shoulder. She felt the spray of hot blood on her face and the searing pain of the bullet ripping through her flesh. She stumbled, feeling the bullets hitting the ground all around her.

Jodie dragged herself forward, pulling her body behind a tree. She groaned in pain. "Shit," she said as she kicked at the dirt.

She examined her wound, finding her shoulder had been grazed. While it bled profusely, thankfully, the wound wasn't life threatening. Jodie unzipped her coat and pulled her t-shirt up. She tore a section of the shirt off, wadded it into a ball and stuffed it into her sleeve on top of the wound.

“Keep moving, Jodie,” she told herself. “Keep moving or die.”

A few yards ahead of her, the slope became steep, dropping down about thirty feet. If she could just inch her way over the edge, she’d be in the clear. The bullets continued slamming into the dirt around her, skipping off trees and spraying her with pieces of bark. Jodie decided she had to move now, whatever the cost, even if she was further wounded in the process. Staying put would only let them get closer to her.

She pushed herself up in to a crouching position and shoved off from the tree, launching her body over the edge of the cliff in front of her. Tripping over the brush, she felt gravity take her into a free-fall for a moment until her shoulder slammed into the ground and she rolled, picking up speed as she careened down the steep embankment.

Bullets whipped past her head as she tumbled aimlessly, head over heels, her face scraping along the soil. Her hair was pulled from her head, snagged on vegetation as she skidded by. Finally, after what seemed an eternity of battering, Jodie came to rest at the base of the slope.

Dazed for a moment, she lay on the ground and looked around, realizing she was in a construction staging area. She spied a stack of pallets and crawled behind them for cover. She didn't feel like she'd broken any bones, but she knew she'd bruised her ribs badly and that her shoulder was still bleeding, as were her head, hands and knees. She realized she probably looked a sight, but maybe she could pass for an earthquake survivor if she somehow managed to drag herself farther into town. The first order of business was to move as far away from the shooter as possible. Then, she could find first aid.

Jodie stood, the pain from her ribs taking her breath away. She had no doubt Gypsum would follow her and had to move now or risk being caught. She watched as a dump truck backed up to unload a pile of debris about a hundred feet away. Once it was empty, the truck turned in her direction and she ran as fast as she could, the pain screaming at her with every step. Sparks flew in front of her as a bullet glanced off the side of the truck. The driver, apparently unaware that someone was shooting in his direction, kept moving. Jodie ran around the back of the truck and kept pace with it as it trundled along. She could see the driver looking at her in his side mirror and did her best to smile. The pain was overwhelming her, though, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to run for very much longer, so ducked down behind a vehicle parked on the road.

Blood saturated her shirt and she winced as she peeled back the fabric of her jeans from a sticky wound on her knee, seeing the exposed bone of her kneecap. Crawling would be out of the question, so she hobbled over to some shrubs along the side of an office building and lay down, hidden. She looked for movement from at the top of the cliff, but only saw headlights swinging in a wide arc. They were on their way down to find her. She needed shelter now, before dawn broke.

No lights shone from houses or businesses. In the distance, an aid worker called out for mandatory evacuation. From what Jodie could make out, the earthquake had severed a major natural gas line. She’d have to move now or risk being caught in an explosion, or worse, discovered by Gypsum and killed.

Mustering the little bit of energy remaining in her battered body, Jodie struggled to stand up, the pain in her knee unbelievable. She hobbled toward an area filled with rescue workers rushing to evacuate. Staying in the shadows as long as she could, she finally saw an opportunity to hitch a ride. Scrambling to catch it as it started to move, she jumped at the back of a fire truck, hoisted her body on the deck, and slid as far as she could behind the hose reel mounted on the deck. The truck picked up speed, following a caravan of emergency vehicles.

Jodie wondered where she would end up. She knew approximately where the Gypsum installation was. The easy part would likely be finding a way to get closer to it. The hard part was going to be getting inside, but she would take one thing at a time for now. She closed her eyes and concentrated on not passing out. She'd need to be ready for whatever came next.

* * *

Christy woke up with a start, her head throbbing and her mouth dry. She couldn't remember when she'd last eaten or drank anything. She cringed in the corner of the room as someone unlocked the door from the outside. A Gypsum guard entered, his gun pointed at her.

"Get up. Time to come with me," he barked.

Christy got up slowly, her eyes adjusting to the light streaming in from the hallway. She was scared without Nick. She'd thought she’d put on her best brave face so far, but inside she really was terrified of what Gypsum would do to them. The level of anxiety she felt about Noah being left behind was debilitating, leaving her not knowing what to do next. The Gypsum guard solved that question for her by grabbing her arm and dragging her behind him down the hallway.

"Where are you taking me?" Christy asked, trying to wrest her arm away from the man. She got no response to her question and the man gripped harder. He stopped at a door, unlocked it with his free hand, opened it, and pushed her inside the room, slamming the door closed behind her. She fell as he shoved her, her body weak from not enough food or rest. It seemed to her like she was moving in slow motion as her body headed toward the floor, but she couldn’t get her hands out in front of her quickly enough to break her fall. She gritted her teeth, preparing for the feeling of slamming her face into the tile when hands reached out for her.

"Oh my God, Christy," Nick said, pulling her close.

Realizing it was Nick holding her in his arms, Christy buried her face in his chest.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked. "Tell me you're alright. What did they do to you?"

Christy looked up at Nick, whose face wore an expression of relief and pure love. "Nothing. They just left me in this room. It was like a cell. I didn't have any food or water." She sensed others moving near as Nick held her close.

"Mom?" a voice called out.

Christy spun around, her heart feeling as if it would burst, not believing that she was seeing Noah. He ran to her as Nick let her go. Christy wrapped her arms around her son, interrupted by Hunter, whose tail wagged at a furious pace as he brushed against her leg. "I don't understand. Why are you here? How did they find you?"

"They got us in the forest . . . the Gypsum people."

Christy pushed her son away to arm's length and looked at him. Other than a few scratches on his chin and a bruised cheek, he looked unharmed. She reached up and touched his face. "What did they do to you?"

"Nothing, really, Mom. I tried to run away, but a guy tackled me in the woods. They just made us get in another truck and brought us here."

"Us? Who was with you? Where's everyone else?" Christy was finally getting her bearings and looked around the room, seeing Evan lying on a gurney and Isaiah digging through a first aid kit, tending to a wound on Evan’s head.

Isaiah looked up at her. "Hi, Christy. I'm glad you're okay." Isaiah gestured to her to remain silent and motioned toward a camera mounted near the ceiling. It panned back and forth across the room.

Nick pulled Christy close and whispered into her ear. "Jodie's still out there. They didn't get her. We told them she was killed in the tunnel. I don't know if they believed that, but we don't want Gypsum to know she's still alive."

"Where are the others? Mei, Bonnie and Fester?" Christy asked.

Nick shook his head and grabbed her hand. "We don't know. Maybe they're going to bring them here next."

"I hope they're taking care of Mei," Christy said. "She didn't look good at all."

"She had a concussion," Nick said. "A really bad one, from the looks of it. She needs a hospital. I'm worried they'll just let her die."

Christy felt a bit guilty because she was sad about Mei, but still somewhat relieved for herself. Whatever was going to come their way, at least she had Noah, Nick and Hunter with her now. "What happened to Evan?" she asked, walking over to the bed.

"Well, hello my dear," Evan said. "Forgive me for not standing. I seem to be a bit dizzy right now."

Christy walked over to the bed and reached out to touch his hand. "Oh, Evan, what happened to you?"

"They … the Gypsum guards … pinned me to the ground, but Noah fought with them and got away,” Evan said.

“Unfortunately, that didn't work out too well," Isaiah said.

"I couldn't run fast enough," Noah said, an embarrassed tone to his voice.

Christy squeezed Evan's hand. "Thank you for protecting my son."

"I'm all finished here, Evan," Isaiah said. "Do you want to sit up?"

Evan nodded. "Well, let's give it a try, shall we?" he said loudly, apparently still suffering from hearing loss caused by being too near the explosion in the tunnel earlier.

Nick moved over to the side of the bed. "Let me help you." Nick slid his hand behind Evan's back and helped him slowly move up to a sitting position. "Feeling okay?"

"A bit like I've been bludgeoned in the head by a buffoon is all," Evan said. "We did give them a run for their money, though, didn't we, Noah?"

Noah smiled. "Yeah, we did. I almost made it, too."

The sound of the door being unlocked startled Christy. It swung open and a Gypsum guard pushed a cart filled with food and water into the room. He said nothing as he left the room, locking the door behind him.

"Whoa. Look at that," Noah said, lunging for the cart. Christy reached out and grabbed him, stopping him before he could get to it.

"Nick, do you think it's safe to eat that? I mean, what if they're going to poison us or something?" Christy said.

"If they were going to kill us, they probably would've done it by now," Evan said. "They're saving us. For what, who knows? Maybe Bonnie persuaded David to feed us."

"Well, we're going to need all the strength we can get, so let's dig in, people," Isaiah said, walking to the cart and grabbing a liter of water.