Brainrush 04 - Everlast 01: Everlast (19 page)

W
E’D BEEN CLIMBING
for ten minutes when a twig
snapped in the darkness behind us.

“Hide,” Ahmed whispered, leading us quickly off the path and
behind cover. He crouched in front of us, rifle at the ready. There was a
rustle of leaves. Someone, or something, was moving our way. At first I thought
it might’ve been Mama Bear but the footfalls were too irregular, as if someone
was struggling to move fast. And the breathing was labored. I reached out with
my senses, and then I knew. I stepped around my brother and onto the path. 

“What are you doing?” Sarafina whispered behind me. “Get
back here!”

I held my ground, and a moment later Uncle Timmy appeared
around the corner. He spotted me and stopped, dripping with sweat, out of
breath, grinning from ear to ear. I rushed forward and held up a high five, and
he crouched down to return it. “Hey, little dude,” he said, slapping my palm.
“It sure is good to see you.”

 “Timmeee,” Sarafina cried out, rushing to embrace him. She
squeezed him for a long moment. When she pulled back, one of her cheeks
glistened with his perspiration, something that would’ve made her puke two days
ago. Instead, she was beaming.

 “Jeez,” Timmy said breathlessly. “I thought I’d never find
you guys.”

Ahmed gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. “You were
awesome, man. What you did was pure genius.” He scanned the darkness behind
them. “Did you lose them?”

“I-I think so. It didn’t take them very long to figure out
that I was by myself. I kept dropping wads of cash on the trail to keep them
interested, but after a while I saw three flashlights split off from the main
group and head in your direction.” He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.
“I guess that was them in the clearing back there. At least two of them,
anyway.” His face crinkled at the memory of what he’d seen.

“Allah is just,” Ahmed said. “They got what was coming to
them. So did the third guy.”

My sister shivered.

“How’d you track us?”

“To be honest, I was lost,” Timmy said. “So I left the
duffel and the rest of the money on the trail, figuring the poppy lord and his
goons would find it and quit following. I kept moving in the general direction
I knew you were headed and prayed for a miracle. When I heard the gunshots, I
knew it had to be you guys, so I came running. Then I saw the...mess down
there. How’d you do it?”

“Long story,” Ahmed said.

Sarafina glanced in my direction. “We had help,” she said.

“Mama Bear,” I said.

“No way,” Timmy said.

“It was the miracle you prayed for—that we all prayed for,”
Sarafina said.

 “Up there!” a distant voice shouted. A hundred yards down
the slope, several flashlights popped on.

“Move!” Ahmed screeched, motioning us upward.

Sarafina led the way, clambering up the path so fast I had
trouble keeping up. I heard tiny yelps sneaking from her throat. Timmy was
beside me, helping me forward, and Ahmed was on our heels, constantly glancing
over his shoulder.

There was a spit of automatic fire and bullets whizzed
through the foliage around us. We dropped to the ground.

“Cease fire,” the boss man yelled from below. “I want them
alive.”

“Hurry!” Ahmed said, pushing to his feet.

We charged up the steepening path. Within a few minutes my
heart was pounding in my ears and I could barely catch my breath. The scattered
shouts behind us didn’t seem as far away now.

Then the path died at a vertical incline covered in a tangle
of roots and shrubs, disappearing into the darkness above. Another trail at its
base stretched left and right. Sarafina glanced in both directions, her chest
heaving and perspiration dripping from her nose.

“Which way?” she asked.

“Our only chance is straight up,” Timmy said. “They’re
gaining on us. If we take the easy route, they’ll be on us in minutes.”

A deep inhale was all my sister took before she grabbed a
root above her and pulled herself up. She quickly found another root and kept
going, moving with the assuredness of an athlete. Timmy helped me to the first
foothold and I scrambled to catch up with her. It was tiring but not as hard as
I’d thought it would be; it was kind of like the jungle gym at school. Before
too long, fueled by fear, the four of us were scaling the wall like spiders.
Within a few minutes the path beneath us was out of view, obscured by the
overhang of trees and foliage.

“Freeze,” Ahmed whispered from behind Timmy. “They’re
coming.”

We stopped and pressed ourselves into the wall. I did my
best to control my ragged breathing. The voices were directly below us. Someone
issued an order and it sounded like they split into two groups, then each one ran
up a side path. Ten heartbeats later, the footfalls receded and the voices
faded.

“Okay,” Ahmed said softly. “But keep it quiet.”

Ten minutes later my sister disappeared over the top. After
a few breaths her head popped back over the edge. “There’s a bridge up here,”
she said eagerly. “I’m going to check it out.”

I was so excited we’d finally made it that I stretched too
far when I reached for the ledge and my foot slipped. The next instant I was
falling. Timmy grabbed for me but all he caught was the strap of my pack and my
body cartwheeled to one side. The momentum caused him to lose his opposite grip
on a limb and we both tumbled free—until Ahmed hooked one arm around a thick
root and the other around Timmy’s ankle. Ahmed grunted at our combined weight
but didn’t let go. There I was, facing outward, swinging side to side in midair
from Timmy’s grip on my backpack, with Timmy hanging upside down above me while
Ahmed hugged Timmy’s ankle to his chest.

Timmy’s voice was strained but controlled. “Alex, I’m going
to slowly spin you around so you’re facing the wall. But listen carefully—you
can’t use your hands to grab hold of a root or limb. You have to get a foothold
first. Understood?”

I was confused by his instructions, until I looked down and
saw I’d locked my arms so tightly around my chest that they were shaking. It
was the only thing keeping me from sliding out of my straps. I tried to say
something but fear paralyzed me. Then I felt a tremble through Timmy’s grip. I
looked up beyond him and saw a grimace on Ahmed’s face that told me he couldn’t
hang on much longer.

  “O-okay,” I said.

“Here goes,” Timmy said.

I felt myself slowly turning. When I was facing the wall, I
stretched my toes out as far as I could toward a solid-looking root in front of
me. I couldn’t reach it; I was still inches away.

“Hurry,” Ahmed urged.

“Can’t…reach,” I said.

“Hang on,” Timmy said. “I’ll swing you.”

I felt Timmy shift above me, and heard a continuing grunt
from my brother in reaction to the extra weight of the movements. I swung
outward and then back toward the wall. My toes caught the limb but couldn’t
hold on, and suddenly I was swinging farther out for another try. Ahmed’s grunt
grew louder and I knew this was our last chance. I swung forward and this time
my foot lodged itself on top of the root. But the reverse momentum was going to
pull me away, so I released my grip on my pack and reached for the wall.

“Got it!” I cried as my hands wrapped around a tangle of
shrubs. Timmy released his grip and I clung to the wall for dear life, my knees
wobbling from relief.

Timmy swung one last time and hooked his arm around a limb
above me. “Okay, Ahmed. Let me go.”

Ahmed released his ankle and Timmy allowed his body to pivot
until he slammed upright into the wall, at which point he was directly beside
me. In the same instant, Ahmed’s assault rifle sailed between us and lodged
itself on a branch several yards beneath us.

Timmy and I exchanged a glance.

“What a rush!” he said.

Sarafina returned from her recon of the bridge and stuck her
head over the edge. “What’s taking you so long?” Her voice told me she liked
what she’d learned from her inspection of the bridge. “Can’t you guys keep up
with a teenage girl?”

“Yeah, right,” Ahmed said, moving to one side as I climbed
past him. He put his hand under my butt and heaved me onto the ledge. We were
on a path that led into a stand of trees, beyond which loomed a moonlit mountain
shrouded in mist. There was a gentle breeze and the air smelled fresh.

Timmy said, “I’m going back for the rifle. Be up in a
second.”

“No time!” Sarafina said, pointing to the canopy of trees
stretching below us to our left, where twinkles of flashlight beams interrupted
the darkness. “They’re coming.”

 Ahmed scrambled over the edge and followed her gaze. “One
of the side paths must lead up here.” He reached down, grabbed Timmy’s hand,
and hauled him up.

“This way,” Sarafina said, running into the trees.

We followed closely, and twenty paces later we were standing
at the edge of a narrow rope bridge that spanned the chasm separating our ridge
from the mountain. The bridge was about half the length of a football field and
dipped low in the middle. It looked ancient, though I could see signs of maintenance.
The handwoven ropes had been repaired here and there, and several of the
rough-hewn, wooden planks that made up the walking platform had been replaced.
There were six support ropes, each one as thick as my wrist, looped around
stout logs that appeared to have been pounded deep into the earth.

“Don’t look down,” Sarafina said. She grabbed the rope
handrails and jogged across, each step causing the bridge to bounce and sway.

The handrail was a little high for me but I could still
reach it. I focused on skipping every other plank as I ran across.

“Oh, crap,” I heard Timmy mutter behind me as he stepped
onto the swaying bridge. Even though he’d been willing to jump out of an
airplane to save our lives, he hated heights. 

A minute later we were all across. We turned and spotted the
flashlight beams climbing the trail toward the bridge. It only took a moment
for us to realize that was a different group from the one we’d spotted earlier
on the opposite side of the ridge.

“Both trails lead to the bridge,” Timmy said.

Ahmed took out his pocketknife and started sawing through
one of the support ropes. The blade was sharp but the rope didn’t split easily,
and after several strokes it became obvious he wouldn’t be able to cut through
all six ropes in time.

“Dammit!” His face was red as he exerted more pressure, each
stroke causing strands of fiber to split and curl away. “If only I hadn’t
dropped the rifle.”

A wave of guilt washed over me. He wouldn’t have dropped it
if I hadn’t slipped.

If we get caught...

I slung my backpack off my shoulder and reached inside for
the mini.

Suddenly, Timmy was dashing back across the bridge. I
realized he was going for the gun.

“No!” Sarafina said, starting after him.

“You can’t,” Ahmed said, stepping in front of her. “He can
make it back in time.”

“Are you sure?”

Ahmed glanced at the partially cut rope and pocketed his
knife. “He must.”

A half minute later we heard the first burst of gunfire.

Angry shouts echoed across the canyon walls, and the
flashlights bounced and flittered more quickly. There was a scatter of gunshots
and Timmy dashed out of the trees, carrying the assault rifle. He took a knee,
aimed in the direction he’d run from, and fired a burst from the AK-47. It was
answered by several more shots. Timmy ducked and rolled and came to his feet at
the end of the bridge. He glanced across at us, then back over his shoulder,
then back at us.

I gulped.

“Run!” Sarafina screamed.

Instead, Timmy seemed to draw in a long breath. He said,
“Love you all!” then opened fire on full auto at the support ropes on that side
of the bridge. The first rope shredded and one of the handrails collapsed.

“God, no,” Sarafina said.

Ahmed pocketed the knife. “Allah is with you, my friend,” he
said, his voice choked with emotion.

Timmy aimed at a second rope and opened fire. But only two
shots rang out. The rope jiggled but remained intact. Timmy removed the
magazine, examined it, and gaped at us.

Ahmed gasped, his hand slapping the magazines attached to
his web belt. “Run!” he shouted, waving Timmy toward us.

Timmy spun around as if he’d heard something behind him.
There was a shout and he threw down the rifle and dropped to his knees.

The boss man stepped from the trees.

There were two guards on either side of him, and they stood
in a semicircle in front of Timmy, each with a weapon trained on him. The boss
man said something but he was too far away for us to hear his words. Timmy
replied, shaking his head. The man spoke again and Timmy’s head shakes grew
more insistent.

The three of us stood frozen. One of the guards pointed at
us and all eyes turned our way. Timmy swiveled around on his knees to face us.
His mouth was wide open, as if he was shocked we’d remained in sight. After a
moment, he hung his head.

The boss man stepped behind him, grabbed Timmy’s hair, and
pulled his head back. His other hand held a knife and the blade glimmered in
the moonlight as he held it against Timmy’s throat. The boss man stared at us,
as if awaiting our response.

I swiveled my backpack around and unzipped the top. I pulled
out the mini’s case and held it in front of me with trembling hands, focusing
my thoughts on the men surrounding Uncle Timmy. The mini’s surge of power caused
my skin to prickle. But it wasn’t enough. The mini needed to be free of its
housing. I twisted, pressed, and squeezed, but nothing seemed to open the case.
In a moment of frustration and panic, I screamed, launching my thoughts at it.

There was a click and the case opened like a clamshell in my
palms. I pulled the mini from the case with my right hand, and the full force
of the shiny black pyramid from another world was suddenly a part of me.