900 Miles (Book 2): 900 Minutes Read online

  “Over there!”I heard Jarvis yell out. Following his pointing hand, I found the small firearm sitting in plain sight just feet from where I stood. My final thought before diving was that Rodgers appeared a hell of a lot closer to it than I was.

  My head drove into his chest as we both wrapped our hands around its black metal frame. He had the better grip, so I instinctively arched my back in an effort to force his arm up, pointing the gun at the roof of the helicopter. Jarvis jumped into the mix, trying to wrap his bicep around Rodgers’s neck. Tag teaming the bastard, we had him pinned under our combined weight when Jarvis found a way to slip his fingers through the trigger guard, gaining a solid upper hand.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I watched helplessly as the Hulk found his footing and stood up. He was coming right at us…right at me.

  Two large hands wrapped around my waist, squeezing my stomach hard enough to make me choke. I was yanked out of the wrestling match now happening on the floor, and thrown against a set of green metal benches. The stabbing sensation of getting the wind knocked out my lungs shot through my body, yet I still managed to get to my feet in time to see the giant stomping directly toward me.

  He had my hammer drawn and held it above his head. Crouching down toward the seat to try to avoid the strike, I watched as the Hulk’s sweat-stained shirt squeezed tightly around an enormous set of arms that had already started to swing downward.

  An ear-piecing clang rang out through the cabin as the hammer caught against the railing hanging above his head. He was stunned for a moment, then tried to unhook the hammer. Taking the opportunity, I spun past his legs while swiping one arm out to snag a handful of the yellow wrist ties hanging from his cargo pants pocket.

  “Get over here and grab this gun!”I heard Rodgers cry out.

  Ignoring me, the beast stepped toward Jarvis, who was pinned with his back up against the wall, managing to keep Rodgers from gaining full control of the weapon.

  I didn’t think about what came next. I just acted. It’s the kind of thing that happens in the blink of an eye. A final desperate action that winds up working out only half the time…if you’re lucky.

  Pulling one of the yellow ties open, I jumped forward as the Hulk leaned down and grabbed the gun. Slipping the oversized tie over the giant’s head, it fell loose around his neck before I yanked with all my strength and jumped back. With the plastic digging into his flesh, the Hulk lifted his hands to his throat, trying to slip his fingers between the tie and his reddening skin. Dropping the gun and hammer, he stumbled around the cabin, knocking into each wall. What sounded like a dry cough kept coming out of his mouth as he fell to his knees. He made eye contact with me as he finally fell to his side with a thud that shook the very core of the helicopter.

  The bigger they are, the harder they fall, rang in my mind.

  Inadvertently pulling a deep mouthful of air into my chest, trying to reassure myself that I could still breathe, I watched in awe while the Hulk’s lungs fought to keep moving. As his hands fell lifelessly to the ground, my attention turned to Jarvis, who was struggling to hold Rodgers down.

  “Get the gun! Hurry! I can’t hold him!”Jarvis cried out before taking an elbow to the mouth.

  Diving toward the weapon yet again, my fingers clenched the cold metal, and I staggered to my feet, feeling a momentary victory as I pointed it directly at Rodgers. He scowled, easing up the struggle.

  “Get up…slowly,”I panted, holding the nine mil with both hands, praying that my aim was steadier than my innards.

  Jarvis let go, and touched his hand to his mouth. Rodgers slowly pulled his feet under his body and started to stand. Suddenly, their faces went pale. There wasn’t any time to react.

  In that moment, I was knocked down from behind. It felt like I’d been hit by a freight train. The gun was knocked from my hands and slid right toward Rodgers’s feet. I flipped forward, feeling my face slide through that same piss puddle, before rolling around and looking up to see the Hulk looming above me. His eyes revealed death. They were filled with red, glossed over with a slight white film, and he was charging right toward Rodgers.

  Lying just at arm’s length was my hammer. Reaching over to grab it, I kept my eyes glued on Rodgers, who sidestepped the creature and turned with the weapon drawn. Firing a gun in a closed compartment like that was enough to make my ears bleed. Three bullets passed through the creature’s chest, while one other missed completely.

  I heard Kyle screaming from the front as I pulled the hammer to my chest. With the gunfire ringing in my ears, I couldn’t be sure what he was saying. The sun was completely down, so each shot illuminated the suddenly very tiny cabin with muzzle flash as the dark taste of metallic gunpowder caught in the back of my throat.

  Steading itself, the creature now set its eyes on Rodgers and tore forward. More gunshots rang out, and I winced in horror as the creature landed on top of him. His screams echoed through the cabin as he struggled under the weight of the monster. Blood was pooling up beneath them, yet I stared, transfixed, as Rodgers tried with all of his might to keep the Hulk’s mouth from coming down on his flesh.

  Fighting the overwhelming dizziness to get to my feet, I realized the forward motion of the helicopter had been replaced by a wild spin. Grabbing a bench, I started to stand when one final shot tore through the creature’s head, black bile fountaining up against one of the portholes.

  “John, get up here. We’re going down!”Kyle frantically barked from the front. There was a sense of urgency in his voice, pulling me away from the fact that Rodgers was holding the gun.

  Bracing myself against the wall, I made my way up to the cockpit. Jarvis was pinned down by the gravitational force, fighting with all his might to get his bearings.

  “Get seated. I need your help!”Kyle yelled.

  The entire control panel was in disarray with multiple bullet holes, busted dials, and tangled wires that shot sparks into our faces as I forced myself into the seat.

  “Help hold the yoke on your side. Just pull up!”

  It was too late.

  My knuckles turned white as I pushed on the flashing instrument panel, bracing for impact. There was a sudden drop in my stomach as the helicopter took the final plunge. I think I was screaming, but it happened so quickly, I can’t really be sure. In the moment before we crashed, I remember seeing the beam from the headlight of the chopper, as it got smaller and smaller against the calm, flat water. I watched Kyle’s entire body arch back as he pulled on the yoke in vain.

  There was no stopping this.

  Chapter 15

  In the end, when you’re sitting there at death’s door, one thing is crystal clear: we are the sum of all our actions.

  That’s how it all began. And here we were, underneath God knows how many gallons of water with the dead floating around outside ready to rip the pruned flesh from our bones. We had a maniac in the rear of the cabin and another ready to chase us down even if we did manage to escape this waterlogged coffin.

  The cabin light was starting to flicker out, and the thumps and scratches from above were getting louder, more amplified. The helicopter was flashing like a giant McDonalds’ sign to all creatures in the area…and they were starving.

  I noticed the backpack full of meds floating a few feet away from my ankles. I leaned over to pick it up and slung it around my shoulders, pulling the straps as tightly as they would fit over the body armor.

  Glancing at the now upside-down clock on the instrument panel, I could see the flickering numbers telling me it was 5:57 pm. Exactly fifteen hours till Gordon would be at Avalon’s gates.

  The water level was knee deep and quickly rising. The rear of the helicopter wasn’t sealed airtight. The water, once seeping in, was now gushing in. I could see the Hulk’s body bobbing in the rear of the cabin just beyond where Rodgers was crouched, ready to pounce.

  “Don’t you do it, man. John. John. Please, man, don’t do this. There’s got to be another way!”

  “
I don't think you have a fucking say in this, Rodgers,”Kyle shot back at him.

  Kyle was up on his knees now, ready to stop any sort of advance from the backstabbing prick. I still had the gun held up to the glass. I knew the score. We could live here for a few minutes more, or die trying to get to the surface. Both options had my hands trembling, and Rodgers’ manic cries from behind had me second-guessing my actions. Was there another way?

  I did what had to be done. We were not all getting out of that sunken tomb, and I knew it. In the end, when you’re sitting there at death’s door, one thing is crystal clear: we are the sum of all our actions. I could only hope that I’d done enough good to make up for what was about to come.

  Releasing the clip from the nine mil, I saw that one bullet remained. Looking down at Jarvis, then out toward the creatures lurching toward us in the flickering headlamp, I had an epiphany. I knew what needed to happen.

  We needed a distraction.

  “Step back, Kyle,”I said gravely. I turned back toward Rodgers, pushing the clip back into place.

  Not one person in the helicopter questioned me. I could tell they all saw it in my face.

  Kyle half-lifted his arms in the air as if I was going to do something to him, then slid carefully back toward Jarvis. Rodgers started to back up as I raised the gun toward him.

  “What are you doing? John? John!”It was a distant yell, and I only slightly heard it as my mind focused on what had to be done.

  As if witnessing the event unfold more than being part of it, my words left my lips without any forethought.“Rodgers. Remember when we talked about who the good guys are? You asked the question: how would you ever know which team is the right team to play for?”

  Stunned, he looked up at me. His face was barely visible in the dim lights. I heard the water slosh behind him as he continued to back up.

  “I don’t really know if I understand good from bad anymore.”Taking a deep breath, I slid my finger to the trigger.“But I know one thing. You played for the wrong team.”

  Even in the darkness, I saw his eyes go wide as I pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through his leg, and he dropped with a splash. I couldn’t see the blood spilling into the water, but the liquid grew darker, even thicker, as it splattered in all directions.

  My ears and eyes were burning in pain again. It took several moments to regain my senses. I momentarily made eye contact with Kyle. He didn’t say a word but watched me drop the weapon into the rising water and lift the hammer out of my belt.

  The expression on his face was more surprise than anything else before he finally nodded. He knew what I was doing, and the nod was enough to reassure me that we didn’t have any other choice.

  Pulling the hammer back, I placed my palm on the wall next to me and looked at Kyle and Jarvis one final time.

  “This is it.”I let slip through my teeth.

  With a single moment of clarity, the last thing passing through my mind was a number. The number that separated me from protecting my son. 900 minutes.

  A thump against the glass forced me to look forward. Outside, a creature had its face pressed against the windshield, gnawing at itssmooth finish with a set of broken teeth. Grasping my fingers tightly around the base of the hammer, I took a few quick deep breaths before arching back, grunting and driving that instrument of death down. Despite the pressure from the water outside, the hammer smashed through the windshield and into the creature’s skull.

  I didn’t hear even the tiniest bit of noise. All five senses pointed directly toward the million freezing pricks of cold as they showered across every inch of my skin.

  At first, I thought I was blinded by the glass as it shattered inward. My entire body was catapulted back by the force of the water rushing in. For the briefest of moments, it felt like someone had hit the pause button, stopping time as I floated helplessly deep inside the cabin. Opening my eyes just long enough to see the light flickering against the multiple silhouettes of the dead outside, I was suddenly yanked out into the open water with the current.

  I had no real control as I spun around, swishing through the long seaweed outside. For what seemed like an eternity, I lost my sense for which way was up, and I found myself kicking wildly, trying to hold every small ounce of air in my lungs.

  Ready…waiting to feel a pair of cold dead teeth dig into my flesh, I found myself just floating, paralyzed. Still clutching the hammer in my hand, I finally re-opened my eyes. There was no sting like you’d find with salt water, and a light below made me glance down. Through the blurred darkness, I watched as at least a dozen creatures descended upon Rodgers right in front of the chopper’s headlight, pulling him apart on the murky, mud-covered ground.

  The gurgled horrifying scream as he lay there being torn apart was all that was audible. To this day, I remember it clearly. Sometimes I hear it in my dreams.

  I couldn’t see Jarvis or Kyle, but knew I needed to head up. Kicking for everything I was worth, I pushed through the liquid death. Every muscle in my body was burning, and I could feel my lungs begging for a breath as I fought to keep them for pulling the cold water into my chest.

  There was no way I was going to make it. I was too far down. Drowning was supposed to be a painful, but quick death. I wondered if I’d be destined to be one of these floating creatures down there after I turned.

  Tyler shot through my mind. A cold, more piercing than the water I was cursed in, flushed through me. Tyler. My little boy. My precious baby boy. After everything I’d been through to protect him, was I giving up now?

  Hell no!

  A burst of adrenaline shot through my body. The cold turned warm, and the pain turned into energy. The murkiness at this depth made it impossible to know how far I still had to go, but I wasn’t stopping. I’d come too far. I needed to go up. Up to my son.

  The hammer, held firmly in my hand, was the first to hit the cold air. It felt heavy as it reached the dark night sky. Pulling life back into my lungs, I shot out of the water feeling like one of those seals doing a back flip at Sea World. Splashing around frantically to stay afloat, I looked for the closest land.

  “John!”It came from behind me.“Over here!”

  Kyle was swimming backwards, holding Jarvis’s head above water. They were heading for a set of nearby trees. Intent on not getting sucked down by any of the Zs lurking below, I kicked into full speed, which probably looked more like a snail trying to sprint as I fought against the waterlogged body armor trying it’s hardest to pull me back down.

  Land wasn’t too far away, and the three of us pulled ourselves onto some stones lying on the shore. I saw Jarvis spit water out of his mouth and nose, which was good. He was alive. Kyle lay there breathing heavy, with his arms spread out on the ground.

  “Jesus, man. You picked the wrong team?”Kyle finally sputtered, looking up at me.“That was some cold shit, man. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

  “It was the only thing I could think of,”I replied, looking down at the smooth pebbles.

  “I know! It was some Dirty Harry kind of shit.”Half a smirk crossed his face.

  “You likely saved us, John. I know you saved me. If it hadn’t been Rodgers getting torn to shreds down there, it surely would have been me. You did what needed to be done. Feel confident in that,”Jarvis said making direct eye contact.

  Looking back out at the water, I remember thinking he was right. However, it didn’t soften that dark feeling that had crept into my mind. As if a tiny black seed had been planted, I already felt it ready to grow over what had been left of my humanity. A darkness that cloaked the light, making it easier to be a killer. Easier to do what needed to be done. I feared how much I would allow it to blossom.

  The air was crisp, and our clothes were wet. In a survival situation, this was a bad combination. The fact that Jarvis was still losing blood didn’t make it any better. Taking a quick survey of our surroundings, we discovered that we’d landed in nothing more than a lake in what felt like a park. It co
uld have been the hard ground, a building, or a forest. Given the circumstances, I guess we were about as lucky as we could have been.

  Luck. In the end, it’s the only reason that anybody’s still alive in this world. There isn’t a person still breathing who doesn’t realize that at any given moment that proverbial coin could land tails down. So many of us have relied upon that fifty-fifty chance. Even more of us aren’t around to talk about it.

  The moonlight revealed a series of trails that wrapped around the lake. We needed to find some sort of shelter, not only to get out of the elements, but who the hell knew how many roaming Zs lurked in the forest. I had images of dead hippies with long, cornrow hair jumping out of the trees at us wearing torn, bloodied camping gear.

  “There’s a trail map over here,”Kyle whispered over to us from a small pole prominently sticking out of the ground by the trail’s edge.

  Jogging over, I glanced down at the map. I’d been into camping and backpacking when I was younger. Seemed do it less and less as I got out of college. Either way, I knew my way around a park. I also knew there was usually some sort of shelter.

  Now we just had to get there, and hope that Gordon or the dead wouldn’t find us first.

  Chapter 16

  Preventing Forest Fires for Over 100 Years!

  Kyle was pulling Jarvis up, propping him against his shoulder when we heard it. Starting as a distant whisper that called out to us through the waving tree limbs, it echoed through the park like the cries of some benevolent force. Growing louder, I knew the sound all too well, and saw the recognition in Kyle’s eyes as he looked up.

  My heart skipped a beat when the light from the sky came into sight, pointing down at the forest ground as it tore through the air toward us.

  They were on our trail, and we had nowhere to run.

  Dragging Jarvis, Kyle shouted,“Duck down by that tree!”over the roar of the copter’s engine.