Trident Fury (The Kurgan War Book 3) (21 page)

“Did you say something to me?” asked Wendy, looking as tired as her friend was.

Tarina smiled. “No, just talking to myself again.”

“You know that’s not a good thing. Soon you’ll be answering yourself.”

“At least it’ll be the right answer.”

The people in the bunks began to stir. Tarina looked over and saw the food cart pull up. Her stomach growled. She swung her feet down and slid them into her clogs. With Wendy and Angela by her side, Tarina joined the lineup. After getting their supper meal, they made their way back to Tarina’s bed and sat down together.

Angela dipped a piece of dry bread in her soup before devouring it in one bite. She licked her lips and then her fingers, not wanting to waste a morsel of food. She took a quick glance around and said, “I heard a couple of the guards say that the Inspector General is due to arrive later tonight. I hadn’t expected him for a few days. Perhaps he’s here to witness the bloodletting ceremony?”

A shiver ran down Tarina’s back. “If he’s here for that, he’s a ghoul.”

“Ghoul or not, things have just fallen into place for the three of us,” interjected Wendy. “Just think, in a matter of hours we could be heading home.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Angela. “One thing at a time. I think it would be best if we waited until sometime after midnight before sneaking out of here.”

Tarina nodded. “I agree. If we go too early we run the risk of someone coming around, finding our bunks empty, and sounding the alarm. It’s better to wait until the guards have a belly full of liquor before trying to escape.”

“I’ll never be able to wait that long,” Wendy said, nervously tapping her feet against the side of the bed. “I’m already too worked up.”

“You’ll just have to try and force yourself to relax,” said Angela. “You’re supposed to be downtrodden and defeated, not excited and happy.”

“You’re asking for the impossible.”

Tarina patted her friend on the shoulder. “You once told me that you were involved in your high school’s drama program. Well, for the next few hours you’re going to have to channel your inner actress.”

Wendy chuckled at the thought. “Can do.”

Travis appeared at the front of the cavern. With him was a squad of Chosen warriors. This time they were carrying rifles, not whips. He spat on the ground at his feet. “Alright, you lazy sons of bitches, get up off your asses and form up in three ranks in front of me.”

Tarina could sense that something was amiss. The prisoners put down their food and slowly got to their feet.

Travis’ expression turned ugly. “Hurry up or I’ll have the guards shoot some of you for being slow!”

A murmur ran through the prisoners as they shuffled over and got into three ranks.

“Keep you mouths shut,” hollered Travis. “Now listen up, you maggots; I want the following people to fall out and move over beside the guards. For the rest of you, take a look at ‘em as they ain’t ever coming back.”
 

Tarina’s heart began to beat wildly as the names were read off one by one. When hers was called, she could have cried. Instead, she held her head up high, walked over, and joined the other prisoners. She looked back over at Wendy and saw the tears in her friend’s eyes. Tarina tried to smile to comfort her but found that she couldn’t; she was scared out of her mind.

“The first person who tries something stupid dies as does the person standing next to them,” threatened Travis to the selected prisoners. He smiled sadistically at the people he knew he was sending to their deaths. “You’ll be joining the other volunteers at the loading platform. Behave yourselves and try to have a nice day.”

A captured Marine sergeant broke from the group and ran at Travis only to be shot down before he got a little more than five paces. Less than a second later, another shot rang out and a woman who had been in line with the sergeant fell to the ground dead with a hole in her head.

“God damn it. I warned you , didn’t I. I’ve got a quota I have to fill. I got to find me two more volunteers.” He spun about and glared at the cowering prisoners. He quickly picked out two of the fitter and healthier-looking people and had them dragged over to replace the two dead ones.

 
A terrified young crewman was pushed into line beside Tarina. He was shaking like a leaf and looked no older than eighteen years old. She tapped his arm. Quietly, she said, “Stay calm. If we get the chance, you and I are going to make a run for it.”

The young man looked over and nodded. He was too afraid to speak.

Travis dismissed the other prisoners and marched himself to the front of the small column. “No more funny business,” warned Travis as he led the prisoners away from their friends.

Wendy stood, fixed to the ground as if her feet were made of lead. She watched in horror as Tarina vanished into the darkened tunnel. For the first time in months, she was alone.
 

A hand reached out and grabbed her arm. “Come on, let’s go back to the bunks or the guards will make you move,” said Angela.

Wendy hesitated, unsure of what she should be doing.

“There’s nothing you can do. She’s gone.”

Wendy turned. “No! I don’t believe you. There must be something we can do to help her and the others.”

Angela shook her head. “There is nothing you or I could do that would help Tarina. If we tried to stop them, we’d end up dead like the others.”

With her head bowed, Wendy shuffled back to her bunk and collapsed onto her mattress. She brought up her knees to her chest and began to sob. She felt as if someone had just thrust a dagger deep into her heart.

“Let it out,” consoled Angela, sitting on the edge of the bunk.

For several minutes, she cried until she rolled over and wiped the tears from her face. “This is horrible beyond words. Poor Tarina, we were so close to getting away.”

“I’m sure that she’d still want us to try.”

Wendy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her closest friend had just been taken away for execution and Angela was treating it as a minor setback. She shook her head. “Unless you’re a pilot and a damn good one, we’re not going anywhere.”

“I’m no pilot. I thought perhaps you could give it a try.”

Wendy looked Angela in the eyes and said, “In your dreams.”

Angela stood up and shook her head. “Then I guess we’re stuck here until you die or I find us another pilot, whichever comes first.”

Chapter 28

“Okay, it’s nearly 2300 hours, Master Sergeant Cole and I are going to take a better look around this evening and try to learn what we can,” explained Sheridan to Toscano. “If we’re not back by 0300, carry on without us. The task force isn’t due for another day, so you have plenty of time to mark and record all of the LZs for them.”

“Right, sir,” replied Toscano.

“Are you sure you don’t need another set of eyes?” asked Urban, chafing to help.

Sheridan shook his head. “No, Sergeant, you have to remain here. Two people may be able to move about without drawing too much attention, three might be pushing it. Besides, I only brought back enough clothes for two people.”

“You’re welcome to mine,” said Cole, waving a hand in front of his nose. “It’s gonna take a week of long hot showers to wash the smell of my body.”

“Sergeant, you can’t go anywhere. I need you to help me coord the incoming fire,” pointed out Toscano.

Urban knew that he didn’t have a leg to stand on. He relented and nodded.

Sheridan said to Toscano, “We’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Good luck, sir.”

“How come no one ever says good luck, Sergeant?” groused Cole.

“Because it would be wasted on you,” replied Sheridan. With that, he led Cole out of their hiding spot and back out into the open. Both men took cover and looked up into the sky trying to see if there were any drones flying about.

“The coast looks clear,” said Cole. “Let’s get a move on, sir.”

Sheridan hunched down and led them into the darkness. It took them less than ten minutes to make it back to the office door they had used the night before. Sheridan quickly jimmied the door open. Only Sheridan had a weapon on him. As Cole was playing a prisoner, he wasn’t carrying one. The room, as before, was quiet. All of the lights were off. Sheridan dug out his flashlight and turned it on.

“Okay, from here on out, unless we’re dead certain that we’re alone, we cannot talk to one another,” explained Sheridan. “As I’m supposed to be escorting you somewhere in the mine. I’m going to speak Kurgan to the guards and the odd word to you in English to move you along.”
 

“Sounds par for the course,” said Cole with a grin on his dirt-covered face.

“If, for whatever reason, we get split up, head straight back to the cavern and let the others know what has happened.”

“Yeah, whatever, sir. I ain’t letting you out of my sight. So quit stalling and let’s get a move on. My skin’s crawling. I think these rags are infested with lice or whatever pests they have on this godforsaken rock.”

Sheridan shuddered at the thought of the little parasites and scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t think mine are much better.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Cole whispered, sliding over to the door leading out into the tunnel system. When he didn’t hear anyone moving about, he opened the door.
 

Sheridan stepped out and grabbed hold of his pistol, a Kurgan one that he had kept from the fight on Illum Prime, and pointed it at Cole. “Walk,” he said in his best attempt at a Kurgan speaking English. Which sounded to him more like poorly spoken Arabic than anything else.

With his hands by his sides, Cole began to walk down the long sloping corridor. When they came to the tarpaulin screen, Sheridan stopped and poked his head inside. Bile rushed to his throat when he saw at least twenty new emaciated bodies lying on the ground in a heap. Some of the men and women had their eyes open looking up at him. It appeared that the Kurgans didn’t care if the Chosen warrior who looked after the dead was around, they just kept dumping the bodies. Sheridan pulled his head back and took in several deep breaths to calm himself and to rid his nostrils of the vile smell from the room.

“You okay?” whispered Cole.

Sheridan nodded and pointed down the corridor with his pistol. They carried on for another minute before coming to an open elevator shaft. Sheridan stepped up to a metal bar secured to the wall to prevent people from falling down into the shaft and looked down. He could only see a few meters below them, after that it was as dark as pitch. He moved back, pushed the button, and waited for an elevator to arrive.
 

Just as their lift arrived, a voice in Kurgan called out, “Hold, please.”

Sheridan turned and saw a Chosen sergeant running toward them. He raised the bar and motioned with his weapon for Cole to step back. The sergeant stepped into the elevator as did Sheridan and Cole.

“Where are you taking the prisoner?” asked the sergeant.

“The third level,” replied Sheridan, recalling the mine schematic on the map.

The sergeant nodded and looked down at this watch before saying, “Your prisoner looks healthy enough. Is he going to join the others?”

Sheridan had no idea what the sergeant was on about. Rather than keep talking and potentially revealing that they weren’t what they appeared to be, Sheridan shook his head.

The sergeant shrugged and pressed the down button for the third and eighth floors. With a shudder, the elevator began to descend. Cole and Sheridan looked over at one another as if to say that they had dodged their first bullet of the evening. Less than thirty seconds later, the elevator came to a halt. Sheridan nodded at the sergeant before escorting Cole out onto the third floor. He stopped for a moment to get his bearings.

“The nearest duty station is to your left,” said the sergeant just as the elevator continued on its way.

Sheridan waved and waited for the sergeant to disappear from sight. The second he was gone, Sheridan lowered his weapon and indicated to the right with his head. It didn’t take them long before they came to the first cavern filled with sleeping prisoners.

Cole saw a painted sign. “What’s that mean on the wall?”

“It says Red One. I think they color and number code the caves.”

“The schematic said that there were thirty-three caverns, did it not?”

Sheridan nodded. “Let’s see how long it takes us to walk the length of the tunnel; see if there are any exits along the way we could use when the time comes.”

With Cole in the lead, they walked in silence studying every nook and cranny of the long passageway. Every detail, from the size of the caves to their exact location, was memorized.

A hushed voice seemed to float on the air. Wendy rolled over and did her best to ignore it. Her tired body craved sleep. Again the sound of a woman’s voice invaded her subconscious. For a split second, she saw Tarina standing there next to her bunk. Her heart began to race. Pulled out of her deep slumber, Wendy opened her weary eyes, turned over, and sat up. Instead of her friend standing there, her eyes focused on Angela’s face. “What do you want?”

“I know what you said earlier, but I think that we should still try to escape tonight while we still have the chance.”