The Guardians (22 page)

"I thought you said you were gonna let me go!" the man demanded. 

"Oh we will, and we will give you the same consideration you gave her," Evan replied.  "Jason, paracord his feet I'll get his hands," Evan said as they tied the man up and gagged him. 

They then dragged him down the hill feet first, over rocks and thorns and anything in their path.  He attempted to scream the entire way down the hill as he was lacerated and bruised all over due to the rough treatment.  Evan and Jason weren't intentionally being cruel to the man, they had just stopped seeing him and his kind as human.  He and his group were a threat to them and every other decent person that they may find to target next. 

When they got back down the hill, they signaled for the others to join them.  They drug the man across the field and around behind the barn. 

"Holy hell, what did you do to him?" asked Robert Brooks.

"He tripped and fell... a few hundred times," said Jason.

Evan and Jason then went on to explain everything they had seen and what was going on at the Muncie place.  They shared with the others the disgusting details of their vicious behavior, and left it up to the group to decide what to do with him.  A few ideas where tossed around, such as simply killing him on the spot, or letting him return to warn the others to move on. 

Evan then said, "Gentleman, there is only one way to deal with this kind of thing right now.  There is no law enforcement to turn him over to; there is no jail to put him in.  He signed on with those raping and murdering scumbags, who killed Ollie by the way, because he is like them.  No decent human being could be a part of that sort of thing.  We can't rehabilitate him, and we can't detain him.  I only see one answer.  Is it the most civilized answer?  No, it's not.  Do I wish
things were different?  Yes, of course I do.  In a different time or place I would simply turn him over to the police, but we simply do not have that option."

"I've got an idea that will send a very clear message to his partners in crime," said Daryl Moses.

"What's that?" Charlie Blanchard asked.

"Well, let's send them a very strong message, get some payback, and reduce their numbers all at the same time," he said. 

"Now you're talking," said Jason.  "Let's here it."

****

Chapter 23: The Trojan Horse

Back in Texas, Nate and Luke were both feeling as if the world was finally coming together for them.  After receiving the news over the radio that their mother was actively looking for them, Luke joined Nate is sharing the planning and preparations for the trip.  They truly felt like brothers again.  Luke now visited Nate every evening to help him with his physical therapy and fitness plan.  Afterwards, they would discuss the trip.  Nate shared all of his lessons learned from his journey to Texas, and how they may apply in the rest of the journey to Tennessee.  At this point however, their planning was incomplete, as they did not know where in Tennessee she was located. 

As Luke came by for his evening visit, Nate asked, "Any word from Mom?"

"No, I checked with the station radio operator," replied Luke.  "She said the Survivor's Locator Network has no way of contacting individuals on the list, they simply wait for them to check in from time to time, at which point they relay any messages they have in que for them.  She checks in on our behalf daily now, but says they haven't received anything from the other end in a week."

"Man, I can't wait to get a location.  Then it's just a little bit of final planning and we're off!" said Nate.

"Are you sure your leg is up to whatever may come, including extended hikes over rough terrain?" asked Luke.

"As ready as ever," Nate confidently responded.  "It's not like it's a pirate's peg leg.  This thing works pretty well once you learn to trust it.  Besides, it gives me a fifty percent less chance of dying from a snake bite while hiking through the woods than you."

"Touché brother," Luke said with a grin.  "I can already see this is going to be quite the adventure with you."

"So how are things going with Rachel?" Nate asked changing the subject.

"It's going great except for the leaving part.  We've been spending as much time together as we can.  She knows I'm not going to just run off and forget about her.  She also feels much better knowing that Mom now has access to a HAM radio.  We can keep in touch that way and not lose each other."

Just then, a loud explosion rocked the compound.  The lights went dark as the generator shut down.  "What the hell?" exclaimed Nate as he jumped out of bed to see what was going on.  Unfortunately, in the chaos of the situation, he leapt out of bed out of reflex, not remembering that he had relaxed the adjustments on his prosthesis.  Having just finished his workout, he was and was trying to give his leg some much needed blood flow.  He lost his footing and went crashing to the floor.  Gun-fire was now starting to erupt outside of the building as the smell of smoke and fire began to creep into his room.  In the confusion and the darkness, Nate struggled to get his prosthesis squared away so that he could get up and be ready for whatever may come.

Luke ran to his side and tried to help him get himself together with a pen light that he always carried in his pocket for patient use.  "Are you OK?" he asked in a panic.

"Yea, I'm fine.  Grab my pack, it's got my 9mm in the top," Nate said as he got his leg donned properly and got to his feet.  Luke handed him his pack and he reached inside to retrieve his Beretta M9.  He snapped the paddle holster into his belt and racked a round into the chamber readying himself in the event the facility was overrun.  "What the hell was that?" he asked Luke as he went over to the door to listen for movement in the hallway.

"We've been hit before," Luke replied.  "Usually just harassing fire, an IED, or car bomb.  That sounded like it was inside the building though."  They could still here gunfire outside as Luke said, "They also don't stay usually stay in the engagement after contact.  They must be stepping it up a bit.  Can you see what's going on in the hallway?" he asked.

Nate cracked the door open and looked around.  "I don't see or hear anything, so I'm gonna check it out," he said.  As he looked out into the dark and smoky hallway, he could hear yelling off in the distance, but nothing in their immediate area.

"Nate, we've got to get to Rachel," Luke said with a worried tone. 

"Where would she be right now?" Nate asked.

"Probably the triage room, just off of the main ward.  She was on shift when I came down here.  It's straight down the hall to the double doors, then just a little ways down on the right," Nate said.

"Where is your side arm?" asked Nate.

"In my locker.  Just past the ward," he replied.

"Seriously?" Nate said in a frustrated manner.  "C'mon man.  Step it up.  We are in the home stretch.  Don't get lazy on me know."

"I know, I know, you can bitch at me later.  Let's get to the triage," replied Luke.

"OK, then cover behind me.  We'll stick to the left when going down the hall to set us up for the double door opening on the left," said Nate as he proceeded into the hall.  Luke followed closely behind, shinning his light in their direction of travel as necessary.

Upon reaching the double doors, Nate looked through the window on the door and said, "I can see some light coming from the ward, but that's it."

"They have standby battery powered lights for when the generator is shut down," Luke replied.  "Do you see any movement?"

"No, but it looks like someone is down in the hall," Nate said. "They are moving around, but appear to be incapacitated.  You go help and I'll follow along and cover you."

Without hesitation, Luke ran down the hallway and began to attend to the wounded man while Nate scanned the triage.  "He's alive, just banged up," Luke said.  C'mon Mr. Walker, snap out of it," said Luke to the man.

"It's a mess in here, no survivors," said Nate reluctantly as he cleared the triage.

Luke leapt to his feet and ran into the room only to be horrified by the carnage.  There was blood and the battered, dismembered, and charred remains of several of the medical staff personnel and patients.  He looked frantically for any survivors but alas, there were none to be found.  He thankfully did not see any signs of Rachel among the horror scene, that only moments before was their bustling triage unit. 

"He's waking up!" yelled Nate from the hall. 

Luke rushed back out to the hallway to care for Nick Walker, a retired firefighter who had been a TSG medical volunteer.  "You're OK Mr. Walker.  You look like you got out of there just in time to miss most of the blast, but got caught up in the concussion from it.  You took a good hit, but you seem intact.  Can you talk, are you having any pain?" Luke asked him.

"My head, oh my head hurts, and my ears are ringing and are very painful, other than that, I think I just got the wind knocked out of me," he responded wincing in pain as he moved his jaw.

"What in the hell happened?" asked Luke.

Mr. Walker struggled with ear pain for a moment and then composed himself enough to explain.  He said, "Someone dropped off a wounded man at the front entrance who was bleeding heavily from the abdomen.  The people that dropped him off just sped away.  We could see that
he would die without our help, so we rushed him in to get him assessed by Doc Stewart, hoping that she could possibly save him.  She was in the restroom when we brought him in, so Lucinda cut open his shirt to look at the wound.  His abdomen was covered with bloody cloth bandages.  As she tried to remove them, Kyle saw a wire tied to the bandages pull at something inside of him.  He was crudely stitched together, and I guess Kyle realized it was a bomb lodged inside the man and screamed for us to get out, but it was too late.  I just happened to be on my way out to get some fluids for his IV when I heard Kyle scream bomb.  I turned out of reflex to see the wire in the man's stomach and just dove for the door before it all went dark."

"So Doctor Stewart wasn't in there for sure?" Luke asked frantically.

"She had gone to the restroom is all I know," Mr. Walker repeated.

"Stay here with him," Luke said to Nate as he got up and ran down the hall.

Luke busted through the double doors into the other hallway as he ran to find Rachel, when TSG security personnel entered the hall yelling, "On the floor! On the floor now!  Hands out to the side and empty!"

The men pointed their M4 carbines at him, while another TSG soldier frisked him and shined a light in his face.  "He's ours, let him up!" the Soldier yelled.

Luke got up from the floor and pointed at Nate and Mr. Walker who now had the attention of the security personnel and said, "Those two are good!  The one on the floor is hurt and I'm looking for Doc Stewart."

Just then, a woman's voice yelled out from down the darkened hallway, "Lucas!" 

Luke turned to see Rachel running to him.  She grabbed him in an emotional embrace and began crying.  She said, "I went to Nate's room after the explosion and you two were gone.  I was so afraid something had happened to you.  Oh thank God you're OK," she said as she wiped the tears from her face.  It was then that she turned and looked down the other hall to see Nate kneeling down with Mr. Walker lying on the floor and the triage unit's door blown off of the hinges.  She yelled out, "Oh my God no!" and ran to the triage.  She looked in the room at the blood and carnage and collapsed to her knees.  Her coworkers and the patient were killed and were barely recognizable.  She put her hands to her face and just began to cry. 

One of the TSG soldiers looked at Luke and said, "When the confusion hit from the bomb going off inside the building, our guys out front standing watch at the entry point where ambushed with a barrage of automatic fire.  One is confirmed dead, the other is critical.  We need you and the Doc ASAP!" the soldier said.

"We're on it," said Luke as he jogged over to Rachel as she knelt on the floor just outside the triage.  "Rachel," he said as he leaned over and put his hand gently on her shoulder.  "An injured soldier needs us.  I know it's hard to put this horrible stuff aside and just go right back to work, but that's all too often what we must do.  Another horrible tragedy could happen with someone else's life if we don't."

She wiped away the tears and nodded in agreement, still too choked up to speak.  They then stood up and rushed to follow the TSG personnel to the fallen soldier.  The other security personnel on scene had dragged the wounded soldier inside during the firefight.  A trail of blood led from where he was shot and fell, all of the way into the building where he was now laying on the floor in the middle of an administrative office.  Another TSG soldier had been applying pressure to his wounds while they waited for Luke and Doctor Stewart to arrive.

As they entered the room, Luke rushed to his side, knelt in front of him, and started gathering vital signs, while Rachel got an assessment of his wounds.  His liver had been pierced, as had one of his lungs.  He had a severe sucking chest would and could barely breath as he choked and gasped for air as his lungs filled with blood.  Rachel ordered Luke to treat the chest wound with a vent flap while she assessed further.  She found another wound in his lower abdomen.  Her eyes filled with tears as she thought to herself, how did he last this long?