Absolution River (12 page)

XXII

Finally reaching the ground, Jack collapsed on his hands and knees and turned to land on his backside. He inched himself over to the wall of the cliff face and leaned his head back. Waves of nausea flooded him, as he was in a state of pure exhaustion. He hadn’t eaten anything in several hours, and his mouth was like cotton from dehydration. The cuts and slashes he sustained during the fight were drying up quickly and they seemed to have stopped bleeding. He crawled over to a nearby tree to retrieve the pistols he stashed so he wouldn’t have to climb with their weight. Leaning now against the tree and finally regaining his breath, “Marie.” How was she going to get her back? Dreadful thoughts entered his mind as his imagination began to run with all the possibilities of what they were doing to her. He winced at the thought, trying to maintain control of his mind. Trying to stay focused on what he had to do.

He gathered himself up and began to make his way back to the cabin. The river roared next to him and his exhaustion was beginning to enter his bones. The pace he set was slowing and eventually he could not move another inch. The darkness was entering into the corner of his eyes and the weapons he carried became heavier and heavier as he dropped them to his side. Falling flat on his face, the pain was dulled by his encroaching unconsciousness. Through his dreams he could hear the howling of some wild thing echoing through his mind, and a vision of the black wolf appeared. The wolf was running through the woods, dodging trees and leaping over creeks. There seemed to be nothing that would slow this beast. Fading in and out of his thoughts were the images of his father holding his shoulder, and through that a sense of regret and guilt on his behalf. The wolf continued to howl into the night, louder and louder, closer and closer. His body began to move and convulse. He opened his eyes and realized that large black beast was nudging his body in an effort to wake him. Jack immediately leaped to his feet and eyed the shotgun sitting four feet from him. The wolf jumped up on a large boulder and stood there on his haunches, staring intently into Jack’s eyes. In that moment there was a howl so loud that Jack stumbled back, plunging his feet into the icy glacier river. A moment later the wolf left, running through the darkness of the woods until there was no more movement and it was gone. Jack shook his head in disbelief. Did that really happen? Jack knelt down into the river and splashed the water into his face, taking hearty gulps of the fresh water. Gathering himself with a few slaps on the face and picking up his guns, he began to walk back to the cabin. The fire was still smoldering and there were still several trout hanging over the pit. Eating his fill, he began to wonder where they took Marie. He had overheard it was a logging operation, but where? It could be anywhere in this vast wilderness.

Jack walked over to the road and found the vehicle tracks. They were still fresh and it was his best chance to find where they had taken her. He turned his head and saw the cabin was still smoldering. He was saddened to think that Eli and his entire life were destroyed for nothing. Among the black heap of ash he noticed an object glinting in the moonlight. It was difficult to see but there was definitely something there. Walking over to the cabin, he brushed away some of the debris and found Eli’s buck knife. The handle used to be made of deer bone, but now it was pure black, hardened by the fire. Grabbing it and placing it into his belt loop, he took his two pistols, placed them behind his back, and held the shotgun in a ready position to his front. Charging the shotgun and loading a shell, Jack began to walk the road in the direction of Marie.

The tracks made by the truck were clear enough even in the dark to determine where he needed to go. He just hoped that those vehicles were going to the same place they took Marie. Up ahead, Jack saw headlights turn a corner. He immediately dove into the ditch, landing on several rocks. Biting his lip to keep from yelling out in pain, the truck moved right on past him. It was one of the same vehicles that picked up Marie. There were so many of the same with the identical logo, “GRIMES LOGGING.” It’s a start, he thought. Standing up in the ditch, he continued to follow it on the chance another truck came through or the other one decided to return. He turned on the same direction as the truck and continued on that road for what seemed like miles. Ahead he could see a massive compound. Jack moved up into the trees away from the ditch and continued to move up the hill to get a better vantage point. In the light of the coming dawn where visibility was still low, he would be able to remain undetected.

…

The Grimes Logging work truck made the trek back to the cabin.

“So this guy’s not dead?”

“Not sure man, the boss said to check for a body, so we’re gonna check for a body,” said Fred.

The truck pulled up to the rubble of the cabin that was once an oasis for a lonely old man.

“I don’t see anything, still too dark.”

“Get the damn flashlights out of the glove compartment.” The worker came back from the truck and handed Fred the flashlight, and they began to scan the area for any signs of Jack.

“What the hell we looking for anyway?”

“His body you nitwit, we’ve been over this,” replied Fred, frustrated. Fred was no genius, Arch was adamant about making sure he knew this, but he was a league above his degenerate co-workers. They began to make their way to the creek and spread out, continuing downhill in the hopes of finding some evidence.

“We should have seen something by now.”

“You know, for once, you are actually right,” replied Fred. “Arch said they had the guy cornered right up there where the creek meets the cabin, there were shells everywhere, but I still see no sign.”

The men continued down the hill and came upon a horrific scene.

“Holy shit!”

“Damn.”

Their extremely overweight co-worker was laid prostrate with his face in the mud and his insides all over the trees. The sight made Fred want to throw up. “Been seeing too much of this shit lately, man.”

The worker nodded while staring at the scene in disbelief.

“Boss?” Fred called on the radio.

“Yeah.” Arch replied immediately with a yawn.

“Found him.”

“Who?”

“Nate.”

“
Who
?”

“One of the new workers, he’s dead.”

“No sign of McAulle?”

“None that we’ve seen, should we keep looking?”

“No, get back right now!”

The two ran up the hill back to the truck and sped off down the road toward the compound.

…

Jack heard an alarm burst through the entire camp. The people throughout the compound began moving around in a feverish pace. He was about two hundred meters away hiding behind a dirt mound surrounded by trees, but he could make out Arch standing on a truck with a loudspeaker.

“We have someone coming! Stop the work, grab the weapons from the lockers, I want everyone standing post right fucking now! His name is Jackson McAulle, and I want him dead! Do you hear me!? Dead!”

Damn, thought Jack, so much for the element of surprise. Twenty maybe thirty men all armed with various weapons, pistols, shotgun, rifles. In that moment he heard the truck that passed him earlier approaching. It must have gone to check if he had actually been killed. Taking a chance, he put dirt on his face and left his guns behind except for one of the small pistols. He placed it behind his back and covered it with his shirt. This is going to be really stupid, he thought. As the truck approached, and the remaining darkness on his side, he ran to the road and began to wave his arms up and down in a sign of distress. The truck approached and was not slowing down, they recognize me, shit, just stay strong Jack.

“Help!” Jack cried as the truck finally began to slow down. The trucks headlights were still on high beams and the light would help Jack to remain undetected.

“Help, oh God help, I’ve been lost in the woods.” Jack cried, man I should get an Oscar for this.

“Get the fuck out of the road man!”

“I need your help, please!”

Jack approached the driver side of the truck. Merely feet away from being able to grab him, “Please help me, sir,” Jack repeated.

“Shit, alright man.”

Jack approached and Fred was within his grasp. In that moment he grabbed his pistol from his pants and cold cocked Fred in the nose. The passenger immediately began firing through the windshield and was a horrible shot. Several shots rang out and Jack hit the dirt, crawling to the rear of the vehicle.

“Come out man, this ain’t gonna hurt one bit.”

Jack stayed low but wasn’t able to get a clean shot as the rounds continued to come in his direction throwing up rock and debris in his face. The passenger stood up on the bed of the truck and stood over Jack. The pistol was drawn right down on Jack’s face. Not like this, thought Jack, the nightmare of his failure was flashing before his eyes. How foolish had I been to think I could do this after all these years.

“See ya pal!”

A shot rang out and Jack braced himself for the other side. Eyes clenched, he heard something land right next to him. Opening one eye to see, he looked, the passenger’s face had gaping eyes and a mouth wide open. Above his right eye was a hole and the man lay there lifeless. He sat upright and laid his back against the rear wheel of the truck. Looking across the ditch in the dim light he could see someone approaching through the trees. The figure was slinging his rifle over his shoulder and walking carefully through the brush. Jack noticed dark hair shining in the remnants of the moonlight and the person’s walk. He recognized who it was immediately and could not believe his eyes. Stalking Wolf. Anders casually walked over and without a word came and sat next to Jack.

“Hey Jack.”

Jack continued to stare at him, “How the–what the–where did you come from?”

“Tracked you from the road. You’re not as stealthy as you used to be.”

“But–how did you even know to come find me, or why?”

“You were in a different cell block, but I caught a glimpse of you when you were leaving Deer Lodge. Didn’t even realize it was you at first. Had a feeling I needed to find you, just my gut I guess.”

“That was you at the prison? I was in a different place, didn’t even recognize you.”

“It
has
been awhile.”

“Nice gut, you saved my ass, again.”

“Yeah, you gotta start paying me back on these things man,” Anders said with a smile as he nudged Jack’s shoulder. “So what have you got yourself into now?”

“It’s a long story, and we don’t have the time.”

“Make it short, you want my help or not?”

“It’s not your fight, I can’t ask-”

“What we went through, don’t insult me by saying you can’t ask. We owe each other a lot. And I’m no longer employed, so I have that kind of time.”

“A man saved me out in the wilderness, some psychotic loggers told him to leave, he was stubborn and refused. Something you and I would probably do. The bastards killed him.”

“So is this a revenge thing?”

“That’s not me anymore Anders, that old man brought something out of me, showed me my humanity again. There was a woman, they took her and they are still holding her up in that compound.”

“Who is she?”

“She works for the government, been investigating this guy and I guess she got too close to the truth, not sure how long she has.”

“Are you and her, you know…”

Jack grinned, “No, but..”

“Gotcha. You certainly know how to get in trouble, you been out what, a couple weeks?”

“Story of my life, brother.”

“Well, what the hell we waiting for man, let’s get this thing done.”

Anders stood up and gave a hand to Jack, helping him to his feet.

“One more thing, these guys are amateurs but they are crazy, this guy Grimes is a sociopath and I don’t know what he is capable of. There is someone else out here, he or they killed Eli, it was done with skill. Keep an eye out.”

“You just got the one pistol?”

“Got a few more up where you came from, there’s a shotgun too.”

“What’s the plan?”

XXIII

“Get up on that tower! You! Take five guys and get in the tree line! I want another five on the girl, keep her alive!” Arch shouted through his megaphone.

Mumbling under his breath, “I want him alive to watch her die.”

Arch jumped off of the truck and threw the megaphone into the mud. He walked into his office and opened the floorboards. Never thought I would need this thing, he thought as he pulled out an M249 fully automatic machine gun. Attached were several hundred rounds linked together. Setting the beast of a weapon onto his desk, he was beginning to feel the exhaustion from his lack of sleep. He could barely handle the weight of the weapon and needed a pick-me-up. The cocaine he usually prescribed to himself wasn’t going to cut it, he needed something with a little more kick. With a smile he walked out of the office and thought to himself, what a wonderful excuse to dig into the good stuff. He wasn’t accustomed to its use, but he thought what better an occasion than now.

The building was discrete and set back into the woods. It was extremely large but taken care of better than any other on the compound. Surrounding the structure were large blue empty 55-gallon drums used to hold an assortment of chemicals. Several men guarded this building; it was more valuable than anything in Arch’s possession. You see the good thing about being friends with a congressman and doing their dirty work meant you could operate under the radar. What better activity to do under the radar than massive production of street grade methamphetamines? Arch walked into the building and was greeted by nervous and trigger happy guards. “Relax, its just one guy, consider it practice.” The men laughed nervously, as they found comfort in their bosses’ confidence. Inside of the building was an enormous structure with glass vials and beakers, large containers with temperature gauges and at least a dozen men in black rubber protective aprons and gloves. There were metal walkways all along the ceiling where guards moved to and fro, keeping a vigilant eye on the product. Arch casually walked over to the freezer unit in the back of the large building. Inside of it contained millions of dollars worth of product. There was a small locked cabinet near the rear of the freezer that contained Arch’s personal stash. He pulled one of the glass vials already loaded and took a lighter from his pocket. Burning the concoction of chemicals within the glass ball created that blissful and aromatic smoke with which Arch brought violently into his lungs. The burning was so intense that Arch began to sweat, immediately wondering if it was too strong. But, the pain subsided and the sensation of alertness and invulnerability swept through his brain and settled quietly right behind his eyes. In that moment he knew he would be victorious and that once he killed Jack, killed the girl, and sold the meth that his worries would be no more. He laughed at this little joke of his because he knew that wouldn’t be enough. Nothing would ever be enough. For him, it was the thrill of the uncertainty that really gave him bliss. The unknowable future, and the opportunity to inflict the pain he felt on a daily basis onto others. This was his only motivation; this was what he had agreed to within himself.

Arch walked out of the meth lab and turned before he walked out the door with a big eerie smile, “Keep an eye out fellas, the boogie man is out there.” With a flare of his eyes and a spin as if dancing to a tune in his head, he headed to the shed that held Marie. Even to his men Arch’s behavior seemed erratic and out of control, each looking at each other, unsure of what to do. One of the guards spoke up, “The boogie man? What the hell is the boss talking about?”

“Guess this guy who’s coming is some kind of war hero or something.”

“Shit, really? Who cares we got three dozen guys throughout this camp, what’s he gonna do?”

Arch walked up to the shed holding Marie. “Hello?” Arch said creepily as he banged on the tin walls from the outside. “Marie? Are you still in there?” He walked inside of the shed and Marie sat there with her head down, nearly passed out from the exhaustion and lack of water. Arch took a seat in the dark corner of the shed and pulled out the glass containing his special drug. Marie raised her head and barely acknowledged his presence. All she could see was the flash of his lighter and the smoke rising to the room’s ceiling. “Your boy is coming for you, did you know that? Your little hero is coming for you. Do you know why I haven’t killed you yet?”

Marie just sat there, still and lifeless.

“I want him to watch. I want him to watch me kill you, okay? He killed four of my guys!” Arch screamed and changed tones so quickly that it startled Marie awake.

“Wait, he’s alive?” Marie said with a voice that was weak and soft and all she could muster.

“Oh, didn’t I say that! Yes that asshole is alive and I’m going to gut him after I gut you, got it!?” Arch’s mood was like a roller coaster between pure rage and peaceful bliss. His psychotic behavior was increasing the more he used his special drug and the more the exhaustion was attempting to take over. Arch slowly got up and walked over to Marie. He held her head up and whispered into her ear and whatever he spoke was so horrible and degrading that it snapped Marie alive.

“He’s a man of honor and he’s going to save me Grimes, you don’t stand a chance, you filthy piece of shit!” she yelled right in his face and spit directly in his eye.

That was the last of her energy, her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she passed out. Arch immediately arose and slapped her in the face, but there was no reaction, as she was in a deep state of unconsciousness. He sat upright and stood there dazed for a moment in a kind of shock, even what little that got through his drug-induced haze had an impact on him. A man of honor, what the fuck does that even mean, he thought to himself. He laughed under his breath, “Honor, it’s a lost ideal, bitch, pain is all there is. You’ll see honor alright, in a dead heap at your feet.”

Arch left the outbuilding and walked into his office. He lit a cigarette and set his glass pipe down next to the machine gun. The phone rang and he lazily walked around the desk and picked up the receiver. Squinting his eyes as the sun began to bleed through the blinds, he answered the call. “What the fuck do you want?”

“You kill him yet?”

“You calling again, damn!”

“Is it done?”

“No, but it will be soon. He’s coming to get the girl.”

“Just kill her and get it over with!”

“Don’t tell me how to deal with this, I’m going to deal with it my way. I’ll call you when it’s done.”

“I need him dead, I need him dead now.” The congressman said desperately. “I don’t know what he knows, but he could get me put away, with all that stuff with the girl all those years ago.”

“I said I’d call when it’s done.”

“There’s a million in it for you if you do it before nightfall.”

“Deal.”

…

Jack looked through Anders’ scope.

“How many do you see?”

“At least thirty.”

“Piece of cake, reminds me of that time on the Mekong, what a day.”

“Those were highly trained Vietcong, we have hillbillies. I don’t want to kill any more than we have to.”

“That’s not the old Jack I remember, you used to be a maniac.”

“That was another time, and I was another person.”

“So like I said, what’s the plan?”

“There is a building a good distance from here on the other side of the compound, it looks deserted for the most part from the outside. They might be keeping her there.”

“It’s worth a shot, we can skirt the woods and move around the compound to avoid the sharpshooters on the towers and we can handle anyone we may see in the woods easier than being out in the open.”

“We need to hurry, they have her and if they see us coming they may decide just to kill her, have to be careful.”

“You got it man.”

“No,
we
got it, just like old times.”

“Just like old times.”

The two gathered their weapons and moved on the far side of the hill they had used for a vantage point and remained concealed from the compound. The hill was steep and it continued down to a cliff. Over the cliff was a several hundred foot fall into crashing river rapids. Jack and Anders looked down and got a glimpse of the drop. “That would hurt,” whispered Anders, and Jack gave a look of concern as they continually lost their footing along the hillside. Jack put his fist up as a silent means of telling Anders to stop and freeze. He held up three fingers, and then pointed to his eyes. Anders understood immediately, this meant Jack identified three individuals and could see them now. One of the guards sat against a tree looking out over the cliff to the other side of the river. He was slouching and trying to light a cigarette while holding a rifle at the same time. The other two were above him on the hill and talking quietly amongst themselves. The slightest noise would give away their position and it would be their last and worst mistake.

“Try to keep it silent, and just knock them out if you can.” Jack whispered.

Anders nodded and pointed to the man against the tree then to himself. Jack grinned and gave a look of concern, then pointed to the two guys on the high side of the hill then pointed to himself.

“Guess I’ll get the two,” Jack whispered, and Anders grinned, putting his arm out in an ‘after you’ gesture. Jack began to backtrack and navigate up the hill. He was on his haunches and using his hands to keep as low as possible. Jack needed to get the two men first so they didn’t see Anders take out the guy on the bottom of the hill. There was a direct line of sight and if Anders got spotted, it would all be over. Anders sat watching Jack and waited for his moment, keeping an eye on the guy near the cliff in case he turned in his direction.

Jack slowly crept along the top of the hill, now twenty feet above where the men stood. He was low behind a tree and there were only a few feet of hill behind him where the hill crested and he would be visible to the rest of the compound. He began to move down to the men, when one of them turned, he froze.

“You hear that, man?”

“Nah,” replied the other guard.

One of the guards began walking up the hill towards Jack and was only feet way. Fifteen feet away from the guards there was the sound of something rustling that diverted their attention. Anders had thrown a rock to distract the men and there was only a moment for Jack to react. With shotgun in hand, he moved slowly behind the men who were walking over to investigate the sound. With two smooth cracks, Jack hit each of the men right at the base of the spine, knocking them out instantly. Jack grabbed loose leaves and brush from the ground and covered their bodies as quickly as he could. The mound of leaves that had the bodies under them created a place where Jack dove behind and remained as still as he could. The guard next to the cliff heard the noise and looked up a moment after Jack landed behind the leafy mound of guards. Anders took this chance and snuck up behind the man’s position. He came within feet and tapped the man on the back, he turned, and Anders threw a punch. The guard was a far better fighter than Anders had anticipated and he threw up his forearms to block. They were now in a fierce hand-to-hand fight that was rarely a sure thing. Jack could see what was happening and moved to help. He had over a hundred feet to close and the outcome was going to be over long before he reached them. Anders and the guard were rolling on the rock hanging over the edge of the cliff. The guard and Anders were the same size, each attempting to throw the other over into the jagged rocks below. Just before Jack could render aid, the two men fell over the cliff’s edge and Jack landed on the rock a moment too late to grab his friend. A look of shock and fear filled Jack’s face as he thought in that moment he could not lose another friend. Silence.

“You just gonna lay there on your ass or are you going to help me up?”

Jack crawled to the cliff’s edge and looked over. He could see Anders hanging onto a small rock outcropping a few feet below him. With a sigh of relief, Jack maneuvered himself over the edge and could just barely reach him. The two grasped each other’s hands, and after a moment of struggle found each other laying on the cliff’s edge, gasping for breath.

“Don’t do that again.”

“You got it,” replied Anders with a smile of relief.

Just above the ridge there were three more men who had discovered the bodies at the top of the hill.

“Damn,” Anders whispered. The two scrambled to hide behind the tree where the guard was posted. Jack looked down over the cliff.

“We gotta climb.”

“What, you mean back down there? I was just there, it’s not fun,” Anders whispered.

“They’re coming down, they’ll be here in less than a minute to check on their friend.”

Anders rolled his eyes and the two began to crawl over the cliff’s edge looking for whatever rocks would hold them. As they were positioned a few feet below the cliffs edge, they began to hear the voices of the other guards. Jack and Anders looked at each other as they hung there with white-knuckle grips and sweat pouring down their faces. The view of the river and the jagged rocks below seemed as they were pulling at their feet, and soon the guards were just above their head.

One of the guards was on the radio as the other two began to spread out along the hill to find their friend.

“Not sure how much longer I can hold on, man.”

“Keep moving,” Jack whispered with quiet intensity.

The two continued to skirt along the cliff face suspended above the rocky gorge. After they moved several yards across the jagged rock, Jack peeked up over the edge of the cliff to determine where the guards went.

“You see ‘em?”

“No.”

Jack started to climb over the edge of the cliff and a guard ran up to him and grabbed Jack’s shirt. Dragging him over, the guard stood with his back to the edge. “Where you think you’re going, pal!?”

Anders thrust himself up, grabbed the jacket of the guard, and pulled him over the edge. The man screamed as he fell and his head cracked on a large rock. The river took him and dragged him to the bottom. Anders peered over his shoulder and cringed when he saw the result. Jack stuck his hand down to Anders and pulled him up. The two looked over at the guards alerted to their presence, “Stop!” yelled one of them. They were about two hundred feet from their position. Jack and Anders looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They bolted. Running along the edge of the cliff, the shots rang out, skipping along the rock and striking the trees only inches from their heads. The raging of the river masked much of the noise but the compound was like a beehive after being poked by a band of curious children.