The Last Peak (Book 2): The Darwin Collapse (30 page)

Across the cabin, the soldier sitting next to the missing door had a fragment of metal protruding from his chest. Blood poured from his mouth. He stared at the jagged tip. A shaky hand touched it and then he passed out. Or died. Elio wasn’t a doctor, but the injury didn’t look like something you could survive.

The remaining four soldiers hurried out of their harnesses. Two climbed out of the twisted wreck, one of them had Clyde wrapped under an arm. Another helped Anton and Iridia out of their seat belts. The others climbed into the cockpit to check on the motionless pilot.

Elio looked across the cabin. Noor had already gotten free of her belt and was trying to help Ahmed do the same. His right leg was bent at an impossible angle. A stick stuck out of his torn pant leg. The jagged end was pale and white.

Not a stick. A bone.

Ahmed screamed as he tried to move that leg.

One of the men from outside returned.

"We have to beat feet, sir. We've got tangos gathering to investigate the crash site.”

Anton nodded and wobbled before catching himself. "How's the pilot?"

The soldier in the cockpit shook his head. He glanced toward the back of the cabin. ”What do you want to do with them?"

“Bring them. They might be useful.”

A soldier reached for Beth’s seatbelt, but she swatted his hand away.

CRACK. CRACK.

A voice yelled from outside. “We’ve got contact!”

“Sir, we have to move out!” another yelled.

Anton glared at Beth. “Get them out of the helicopter!”

"Get up, now!” the soldier shouted.

Elio didn't require encouragement. He flung off his seatbelt and helped his mother to her feet. The soldier shoved them toward the missing door. Elio stumbled forward and would've landed face first outside if the cabin floor hadn’t been flush with the ground.

He stumbled out and caught Maria before they both ate asphalt.

Theresa and Beth came out next with the pushy soldier roughly urging them on. He turned back and saw Ahmed’s leg. “Can you walk?”

“I will try. Help me out and give me the dead man’s rifle.”

Ahmed screamed as the soldier helped him out onto the street. He accepted the black rifle and flipped the barrel to the ground. Leaning on it like a cane to keep weight off his right leg, he managed a few steps. He looked down at Noor at his side and forced a weak smile. The source of his remaining strength was no secret.

Elio would’ve taken the work of the cane, but he was already struggling to help his mother along. He couldn’t see any obvious wounds, but her already weakened state wasn’t improved by the crash.

Theresa was in no shape to run for several blocks either. The fever burned through her like a flame through a snowflake. Beth had Theresa’s arm wrapped over her shoulder. She urged her daughter along even as she bore most of her weight.

Anton huffed and puffed alongside Iridia. Their levels of physical fitness couldn’t have been further apart. They appeared to have escaped relatively unscathed.

And yet, as battered as some of them were, they still had a chance. Mason didn’t even have that. Theresa’s father had become something like a father to him since the outbreak. Maybe finding out the truth behind his own father’s death in Fallujah had dissolved an invisible barrier between them.
 

It would do no such thing for his mother if she ever found out.

The lead soldier pointed at two of his men. “You two cover our six. I’m on point. Move out!" The three soldiers surrounded their small group and guided them away from the crash site and out into the middle of the street.

Up ahead, about four blocks away, was the Milagro Tower.

That was the good news. Unfortunately, there was also bad news. Very bad news.

Numerous packs of deltas emerged from side streets, all heading in their direction. The closest group was no more than a hundred yards away and closing.

A soldier grabbed Elio’s shirt and shoved him forward.

“Run!”

They hobbled along as fast as they could. They would’ve already been run down, but the closest group of deltas paused at the crash site. Perhaps drawn by the scent of fresh meat. Whatever the reason, the delay didn’t last. Still a couple of blocks from the building, and another group was on their tail and catching up.

Elio had his arm wrapped under his mother's and helped her along as fast as he could. As slow as they moved, Ahmed moved slower still. He hopped along using the rifle for support. His mangled right leg dragged along the ground leaving a continuous trail of blood.

The screeching and howling from behind echoed through the canyon of tall buildings.

CRACK. CRACK.

The two soldiers guarding the rear followed about twenty yards behind, stopping now and again to pick off faster deltas that charged ahead of the others.

The lead soldier halted mid-stride and waved the group on. "Keep moving!"

Elio glanced back. The nearest hunters swept over the two trailing soldiers. One soldier disappeared beneath the frenzy of limbs. The other soldier turned the gun on himself and the back of his head exploded.

"No!" the lead soldier yelled.

The body collapsed and a delta was on it before it hit the ground.
 

Elio's limbs felt like lead. His life was in danger and he knew he'd never run faster. At the same time, it felt like he'd never run slower either. He urged his mother on with all the strength left in his body.

Two more blocks to safety.

Ahmed tripped and crashed to the pavement. He rolled over and the palms of his hands bled from where the skin had been shredded away. Noor tugged at his shirt to get him to stand up. He tried and then collapsed again. He shook his head.

"I can go no farther. You must go, my dear.”

“No, Baba! No!” Tears streamed down Noor’s cheeks.

Ahmed wiped her face leaving trails of smudged dirt. “Habib Albi,” he said and then kissed her forehead. “I’m so sorry.”

Beth wrapped her arm around Noor’s shoulder. “We’ll take care of her. I promise.”

A single tear welled in the corner of Ahmed’s eye. It broke free and raced down his colorless cheek, disappearing into the thick beard. “Thank you.”

Beth pulled Noor away while the hysterical girl fought to stay with her father.

The remaining soldier retrieved Ahmed’s fallen rifle and placed it in his hands. He pulled a baseball-like grenade off his vest and placed it on the ground. “Yank the pin and release the spoon.”

Ahmed nodded. He rolled over into a seated position and brought the rifle up into his shoulder. He watched Noor and the rest of the group continue down the street.

Elio choked back tears. For Ahmed. For Noor. For Mason. For Theresa. For his mother. For the world of suffering.

A torrent of gunfire cut loose. Several deltas fell and then the rifle went silent.

"Don't look back!" Beth yelled as they made it to a half a block from safety.

“Allahu Akbar!”

BOOM.

The exploding grenade echoed down the street like rolling thunder.

“No! Baba! No!” Noor yelled as Beth pulled her onward.

Elio glanced over his shoulder. Ahmed’s sacrifice slowed down their pursuers. But it didn’t stop them. Several lay dead on the street. Several more staggered around screaming. Another pack appeared from between two buildings and closed in. Now, less than twenty yards back.

The lead soldier carrying Clyde sprinted to the entrance area of Milagro tower.

Elio marveled at the odd destiny that connected him to this building. Less than two weeks ago, it held the promise of his death. Now, it held the promise of his life.

What had once been an elegant entrance of all glass and shining metal was now a patchwork of plywood and security fencing. The soldier kicked open a makeshift door and waited at the entrance, waving them forward.

Elio and his mother lagged a little behind the others. He’d practically carried her the last block and his strength was failing. Failing fast. He didn’t look back. He didn’t need to.

The cries of the hunters were right behind them. Their nearness threatened to drown his reason, subdue his will to survive.
 

He knew their hands would pull him down at any second.
 

Theresa, Beth, and Noor made it inside first. At least they would live. Iridia pulling her father along made it through next.

If only he’d been stronger. It was the story of his life. Forever coming up short. Forever one step behind the pace. He regretted the failure more for his mother than himself. She’d suffered so much over the years. She deserved better than to die like this.

A hand grabbed his shirt and tugged backward. The fabric ripped and Elio broke free.

The soldier waiting at the door fired.

A bullet snapped by Elio’s head and a body thumped the ground.

The gun fired again as Elio rushed his mother through the door.
 

The soldier slammed the door shut and barred it from the inside with a couple of two by fours.

"Get to the elevators!" he shouted.

Elio pulled his mother across the wide expanse of marble floor and into the open elevator where the others waited. The soldier joined them and Anton flashed a keycard over the black pad protruding from the mirrored wall. A vaguely robotic female voice responded.

“Hello, Dr. Reshenko. Where do you wish to go?”

“My office.”

"Descending to the basement laboratory."

Anton growled. "No. Go to Mr. Cruz's office."

“Ascending to the seventy-third floor. Please stay clear of the doors.” The elevator dinged and the doors slid shut.

They started up. Elio supported Maria. The crash and subsequent escape had taken it out of her. She trembled in his arms and, for the first time in his life, he realized that meant they’d switched roles for good. Going forward, maybe it was now his job to be the strong one. The one that wouldn’t allow them to give up or surrender. She’d been strong for so long that seeing her so weak was almost more than he could bear. But it was also precisely why he alone absolutely had to bear it.
 

Anton doubled over holding his knees for support. He coughed and wheezed. Thick tendrils of saliva dripped out of his mouth and swayed in the air.

The elevator stopped. “Seventy-third floor.” The door dinged open. Another soldier dressed in all black like the others waited outside the door.

"Where's the rest of the team?" he asked.

Anton pushed his way out of the elevator waving the guy off like an annoying fly buzzing around his ears.

“Escort Iridia to my quarters.” He turned to his daughter and cupped his hand against her cheek. “Go have a hot shower, my precious. You will find a dresser in the bedroom full of your clothes.”

Her face brightened with a million dollar smile. What used to be a million dollar smile, at least. She started to walk off with the soldier, but then stopped and turned. “Papa, my friend is sick. Can you help her?”
 

Anton held his arms wide. “She will be taken care of,” he said with a smile.

She nodded and left with her escort.

Anton’s smile vanished. He marched over to an office door and threw it open. “Put them in here and post a guard. No one is to go in or out unless I say so. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir.”

The soldier in the elevator herded them out and toward the open door. As they walked by, Anton pointed at Theresa. “That one is infected. Put her and the chimp in secure cells in the lab.”

One of the soldiers grabbed Theresa’s arm and pulled her to the side. He and the soldier holding Clyde started back for the elevator.

Beth lunged for her daughter but their escorts intervened and dragged her away.

“Don’t touch them!” Beth screamed. She fought to break free, but the soldiers were too strong. “No! No!”

Elio watched Theresa. Her eyes rolled around not comprehending what was happening. Her skin glistened with sweat. An intricate maze of black veins covered her left arm.

“Don’t do it, hero,” the soldier behind said as he rammed the butt of his rifle into Elio’s back.

If it weren't for his mother at his side and him bearing most of her weight, Elio would've thrown his life away to help Theresa. But he couldn't bring himself to leave his mother. Not after he’d taken so long to find her after the outbreak. He was the only one his mother could count on.

Elio caught Anton’s gaze before being forced into the room. "I'll kill you if you hurt her.”

Anton chuckled and his jowls jiggled with the effort. He shook his head disdainfully. “Hurt her? Look at her. She's already dead."

November 2004

Fallujah, Iraq

MASON
put one foot in front of the other. The limping cadence had become a meditation that kept him going. The simple mechanics of walking had become anything but. Each step was a struggle of the will against an unrelenting foe—the body’s physical limits.
 

Or the mind’s perception of them.

Whatever was at fault, the results were the same. Every step was an all out battle between total collapse and one more fight.

Another foot forward and the rhythm continued.
 

Had the rest of third squad already made it to the extraction point?

They’d only been a couple of blocks away when they ran into the ambush. As much as he wanted to get there himself, he also dreaded the thought of arriving. Evac meant time to think. Time to register losses. Time to think about the families back home that would never be the same.

And time to remember Lopes.

Sharp pain radiated up his right leg. He stumbled and Miro took on the additional load.

Mason gritted his teeth and refocused on the steps. Thankfully, the immediate needs of survival kept his brain busy. The priorities of the present kept a comfortable distance between the now and thoughts of anything in the past or future.

The sounds of active fighting died away as they continued twisting through back alleys doing their best to continue heading west in the general direction of the extraction point. They came to the end of an alley and stopped.