The Dark Rift: Ascension (The Dark Rift Book Series 1) (18 page)

Jodie desperately wanted to laugh, but thought any sudden movement might make her sick. She was able to smile at Nick, though.

Bob looked around, past where Nick was standing. "Weren’t Christy and Noah with you?"

"I put ‘em over there." Nick pointed off to the other side of the path. "I didn’t think it’d be a good idea if we were all in a bunch somewhere. I’ll go get ‘em once I finish helping fix up Jodie." Nick reached out and patted Leah on the back. "Good goin’, partner." He bent down and started tearing off strips of tape for Mei to finish securing the bandage on Jodie's head.

Jodie felt like she was slowly being consumed by the pain in her head. She knew she couldn't let it control her, though. They were still in danger. "How did you know there were five?" she asked Wending.

"I didn’t really know until I got close to them. They were all kinda stupid, ya’ know? I followed them up the hill in my truck at first and they had their lights on the whole time. They were hauling seven dead guys dressed in camouflage. What the hell happened back there?"

"The dead people, did they have Gypsum logos on their uniforms?" Jodie said.

Wending nodded.

"They must be the people who attacked us back at the cabin. We were lucky to get out alive. They killed my neighbor, too," Jodie said, feeling responsible for putting her old friend in harm's way. "Was his body in the truck?"

"You mean the old guy just up the hill from your cabin? I found him on the ground by his house. I called it in. Never had any kinda run-in with him before." Wending lowered his eyes and looked at the ground. "Well, at least I took care of their trucks. I didn’t want them to escape, so I flattened their tires and put some sand in their gas tanks. I woulda done more, but I thought I better get up here, quick. The one that got away won’t be gettin’ down from the mountain too fast. Even if he does, I got the State Police on the way. Wait till they see what’s in those trucks."

"Leah, can you show me where you clocked the two guys? We should probably tie them up, post haste," Bob urged.

"Yes, but I think I might need a little help now that this cane is a bit shorter." Leah held up the bent cane.

Officer Wending extended his arm. "I'll give you a hand, Ms. Fenton."

"No, thanks, Officer Wending. On second thought, I'll give it a go myself, if you don't mind." Jodie could see the apprehension on Leah's face.

"Well, okay. Just trying to help."

"If you want to do something, come with me and we'll tie up those guys," Bob said.

"You got it," Wending said.

Jodie thought everyone must have grown tired of Wending's version of help, even though he did save them, in a way. "Oh, Nick, before you go get Christy and Noah, I forgot to tell you that Hunter’s up at the top of the slope where Bob and I went. I think he’s there, at least. I told him to stay," Jodie said.

Nick handed a piece of tape to Mei and put the roll back in the first aid kit. "Thanks, Jodie. He must have run away from Noah when we were splitting up." Nick whistled and Hunter came bounding through the brush, tail wagging. "Okay, boy. Let’s go get your buddy, Noah. He's probably very worried about you. You need to learn to listen better."

Everyone departed with their tasks, leaving Jodie and Mei alone in the path. "I think I’ve got you about as fixed up as I can with what we have. If this keeps on bleeding, you might need a stitch or two, but we need supplies and more light for something like that. You know, Jodie, even though he shot you, you’ve got quite an admirer in Chuck Wending, but that man is dangerous, even when he’s trying to help."

"I know. He was such an ass when we first got here. Turns out, he probably saved all of us, even though he almost killed me. I’m beyond confused as to why people are after us. Maybe we can get some information out of the two guys Leah knocked out. She's pretty impressive with that cane."

"If I might make a suggestion, maybe it would be a good idea if you didn’t worry about anything right now other than how you’re feeling. Are you dizzy?" Mei said, shining a light into each of Jodie’s eyes.

"Not too bad. Better than before. Thank you for everything," Jodie said, grasping her hand and holding on.

"Okay, well, I’d love to hold your hand. The rest of you, too, but right now, I need to finish up here." Mei gently pulled away as Hunter ran up to Jodie, followed by Christy, Noah and Nick. Hunter greeted Jodie with a wildly wagging tail.

"Oh my God, what happened to you?" Christy said as she came upon Jodie.

"Wending’s aim wasn’t so good," Mei said.

"He shot you? Oh, Lord. That man is a nitwit --" Christy looked up abruptly.

Jodie sat up slowly and turned to see what she was looking at. Bob was sprinting toward them, followed by Wending dragging Leah along.

Bob came up next to Jodie and bent down to whisper. "We have to get out of here, now. We found one of the guys over there, dead. His throat was cut. The other one’s gone."

"His throat was cut? Who …" Jodie let her words trail off. She already knew the answer. Gypsum was doing everything necessary to cover their tracks. Her growing fear was interrupted by Hunter, who had run about a hundred feet away and was barking at something on the ground.

"Nick, keep that dog quiet," Bob whispered loudly.

Nick ran over to Hunter. "Here, boy. What did you find? Uh, Bob, I think you might wanna see this. Hunter found something."

"What is it?" Bob walked over toward Hunter, who was digging at the ground.

"It’s a vent or something, I think. I can see light in it. It’s really dim, but it’s lighter in there than out here."

Bob and Nick walked over to where Hunter was digging. Everyone followed, with Mei guiding a wobbly Jodie and Wending holding onto Leah’s arm.

Noah looked down into the vent. "What is that, Mom?"

"I don’t really know, honey. I think I can guess, though." Christy looked at Bob. "Can you get the cover off?"

"You’re not suggesting we go down in there, are you?" Wending asked.

Before anyone could respond, the sound of a branch snapping echoed through the woods. With her head pounding, Jodie tried to regain her composure as best she could, raising her gun and aiming blindly toward the noise.

"Everybody get down," Bob whispered. "Lights off. I don’t think those guys are gonna give up just yet. Going down there might be our only option. Maybe we can find a place to hide until Isaiah sends help. Officer Wending, can you keep an eye on the woods while Nick and I get this cover off? Oh, and try not to shoot any of us, okay?"

Training his weapon toward the noise in the forest, Chuck Wending mumbled, "Yeah. Got it, but I'm not going in some vent in the ground. We might never get out of there."

Bob and Nick tugged on the vent grate, sweat pouring down their foreheads. "This thing must weigh a couple hundred pounds," Nick said. He pulled harder and the grate finally released, sending him flying backwards. As he fell, the heavy grate came with him and he dropped it in mid-air, back toward the vent. Jodie watched it, preparing herself for the deafening sound of metal on metal. As it was about to make contact with the vent, Chuck Wending flew across her field of vision and grabbed it. It slammed down hard on his hands, making a deep, dull sound followed by a loud crack.

Bob and Nick scrambled to lift the grate off of Wending's fingers. Once they pulled it up, they cast it to the side and Nick went to Wending, whose face was filled with agony. Wending pulled his hands toward his abdomen and curled up in a ball. Jodie could hear him straining not to scream. Mei moved over by Nick, pulling Wending's hands away from his body. She barely had time to apply bandages before Jodie heard someone moving in the brush near them. Bullets hit the ground around them, tearing through vegetation, sending up sprays of dirt.

"We have to move" Bob said, pointing at the grate.

"What if we can’t get out of there?" Christy’s voice shook.

"I'm sorry, but do you have a better idea?" Bob said. "We’re in the dark here. They must have night vision equipment to be able to spot us so quickly." Covering his face from the exploding dirt around them, Bob called out, "We have no choice. It’s move or die."

Jodie looked back at Bob, knowing what she had to do. She holstered her weapon and crawled over to the vent opening. Looking down into the dim greenish light, she hoped she wasn’t making the wrong choice. She lowered herself into the hole, tucked in her arms and let go.

The four-foot wide vent was made of aluminum and oriented almost vertical for the first twenty feet. As she slid, Jodie picked up speed, losing contact with the side of the shaft at times, falling through mid-air. She was terrified for a moment that she'd made a mistake jumping in the tunnel. Just when she was sure the fall was probably going to kill her, the angle of her descent gradually bent toward horizontal almost fifty feet below the ground surface, and she slid to a stop in and area large enough for several people to stand in.

A dimly illuminated four-foot tall conduit gaped in front of her. She thought her vision was blurred at first, until she realized she was looking into a wall of spider webs. "Yuck," Jodie said as an uncontrollable shiver ran up her spine. Dismissing her fears in consideration of the real danger facing them, Jodie yelled up to the top. "Send them down. Keep your arms tucked in."

She heard a small shriek followed by delivery of Noah to the bottom. Jodie pulled him out of the way and told him to move down the vent. She saw him look up at the webs and walk forward anyway, a determined expression on his face. Leah came next, followed by Mei and Christy. Jodie heard a barrage of gunfire above her and said a silent prayer that everyone would make it down safely. Ten seconds passed, then twenty. Not knowing who might be coming down next, Jodie pulled out her gun and pointed it at the vent. She finally let out a breath as Wending hit the bottom of the vent and landed in an immobile heap. Christy helped her pull him to the side.

Jodie listened and waited. Finally, after a minute, the gunfire stopped and she heard someone sliding into the vent again. Nick came down, holding a terrified Hunter leaving a trail of urine behind him. When the two hit the bottom, Hunter bounded out of Nick’s arms and howled. He ran to Noah, tail tucked between his legs. Bob came last, landing on top of a surprised Nick.

"Sorry, man. I was in a hurry," Bob said. "I don't appreciate what you left behind for me, Hunter." Bob untangled himself from Nick and turned to look at his wet pants.

"Sorry about that," Nick said. "He's just so scared. What’s wrong with Wending?"

"He jumped in front of Jodie when she was getting in the pipe. Besides getting his fingers smashed, I think he was shot."

Jodie had thought he was unconscious as a result of the injuries to his hands. She didn't know he was shot, too. That meant Wending probably saved her life. There seemed to be no end to what the man would do for her.

Nick jumped up and went over to Wending. Mei joined him and they pulled back Wending’s bloody shirt, revealing an exit wound on the left side of his chest.

"Think I’m not gonna be able to go with you guys," Wending said. The illumination of Mei's flashlight lit up his very pale face.

Jodie knelt down so Wending could see her. "First, you shot me, then you saved me. You sure know how to show a girl a good time, Chuck."

Wending smiled. "Jodie, I always wanted to tell you … I want you to know I’m sorry for the way I acted. It’s just that … well--"

"You might want to save that for later, Romeo," Mei said, inspecting the wound. "The bullet went clean through you, I think in a place that didn't do too much damage." Wending, who was focused solely on Jodie, didn't even wince when she dabbed it with gauze and applied a bandage. "We can stop the bleeding for now, but we need to get you somewhere and stitch you up."

"You mean I’m not gonna die?"

"Not at the moment, Chuck," Mei said. She turned to Jodie and spoke quietly. "I’m more worried about his fingers than the gunshot wound." Mei pulled the gauze off Wending’s hands, revealing two severed digits, deep cuts on his palms and two badly broken fingers. Both of his hands were pulverized and bleeding profusely.

Jodie didn’t have time to respond. Noises echoing off the metal walls told them their pursuers were at the top of the vent.

"Sorry, everyone, but we have to move," Bob said. "We're sitting ducks down here."

Jodie wondered how they would survive this situation and, if they did by some miracle, who or what would be meeting them at the end of the tunnel. She feared the worst.

Nick approached Leah. "You know, I can give it a go by myself now that my cane's a little shorter," Leah said, holding up the severely bent stick. "It's a better length for a stroll through a four foot-tall tunnel, don't you think?"

"Looks perfect, Leah," Nick said. "I’ll take good news wherever I can get it. If you change your mind and need help, you let me know."

              "Can you walk, Chuck?" Bob asked Wending as he pulled him off the floor.

Sounds of agony from Wending echoed through the vent. Jodie could see the sweat pouring off his face as he stood in a half-crouch. "Yeah. Hurts like a son of a gun, but like you said, we need to get outta here."

"We don't know where we're headed, but it's clear that we're going deeper underground by the slant of this pipe," Jodie said. "Let's move as quickly and quietly as possible and stay together. If one of us stops, we all stop. Hopefully, we'll find friendly faces up ahead, but I think it's safe to say chances of that happening are slim, so if we run into anyone, trust is not an option. Okay, everybody ready?" she asked. She didn't want to show it, but her head was pounding and claustrophobia was beginning to tighten its grip. She hoped no one, including herself, would have an anxiety attack from being in such confined conditions.