900 Miles (Book 2): 900 Minutes (23 page)

Shooting my gaze up just before hitting the tree, I pulled the leather glove down hard on the line. For a second, I thought I smelled something burning, but that sensation was quickly replaced by fear as I realized I was
n’
t stopping fast enough.

Tha
t’
s when my harness hit a piece of rubber sitting on the line. It was a brake of some sort, and my whole body jerked forward, recoiling me backwards just as quickly. Twirling around before planting my feet and steadying myself enough to where I could stand on my own, I unhooked and placed my hand on the tree.

Leaning forward to look over the edge, never letting my hand leave the tree, I could see them below. There was simply no walking up to a nice little ladder and crawling up. Oddly, many of the Zs were wearing Hawaiian t-shirts. I thought of the plane crash. Perhaps the plane w
e’
d spent the night at had been coming back from vacation.

Aloha, Zs.

Grabbing my attention, I could hear the steady purr of the zipper in the distance. The rest of the men would be coming down shortly.

Peering toward the fortress, I shuddered at the thought of what lie ahead.

Chapter 24

As we stepped onto the wooden bridge, I clasped one of the railings with my tired hands. Frayed rope moved through my sweaty palms as I bounced up and down with each step forward. Afraid to look down, I could
n’
t help but keep my eyes fixed to the enormous structure ahead.

It was
n’
t quite square in shape, although it seemed like whoever built it tried to make it so. Without any solid right angles, the fortress had a series of uneven walls with railings and windows throughout the first floor. Growing through and around the walls, many of the branches reached from the structure like eerily knotted fingers waving for us to enter.

Lifting my head, I could see that the second floor only had one window, which was covered with some sort of blanket that flapped in the light breeze. Leading up to the top of the fortress was a ladder which reached out toward the highest part of the canopy, leading to what I could only imagine was some sort of lookout tower.

Making the fortress seem almost electronic or mechanical in nature, I could see the series of wires, which Jarvis had noticed, running up and down the tree bark, leading to some sort of generator or solar powe
r…
maybe both.

As we reached a wooden deck that ran around the circumference of the main section of the fortress, the four of us ducked against the lower part of one of the wooden walls, stopping to hear if anybody had detected us.

Nothing but the moans from the dead called out into the forest.

We knew the zip-line was awfully loud, and we would
n’
t be surprising anybody with a visit. However, we still proceeded as if the place was filled with the Stripes. None of us knew what to expect as we walked through the front door.

I’
m sure we couldn't have guessed if we tried.

Wiping the sweat from my brow, everything in my body wanted to turn around and dart back toward the zip-line. It felt like death was crawling up my spine, whispering in my ear that this could only end poorly.

Over time,
I’
ve learned to trust my instincts. They mean everything. We ignore them at our own peril.

Looking at me, Kyle lifted his hand to the small door leading to the main room of the bottom floor. Reluctantly, I crouched forward, ready to move in. Nodding to Kyle, I lifted my hammer and sprang into the room the moment I heard the rusty hinges swing open. With Kyle and Aidan right behind me ready to pounce, we silently surveyed the room and glanced at each other through the corner of our eyes. Not a creak or movement in the plac
e…
for now.

To my surprise, we stepped into what I can only describe as a holy cathedral of sorts. There were four rows of pews all pointed toward a large cross that held a meticulously detailed wooden statue of Jesus Christ, complete with an orange-painted stripe running across his chest.

Gripping the base of the hammer, I quickly realized that the crazy factor had just shot through the roof.

Stepping around the makeshift benches and altar, I cringed ever so slightly as I heard the boards creaking under my feet. There were dim rays of sunlight shooting in through the cracks between the boards, showing how terribly uneven the woodwork actually was. I certainly was
n’
t a building inspector, but even I could tell that this place was
n’
t exactly up to code.

Walking through another door, around the other side of the thickest tree that ran up through the middle of the room, we saw that the inside of the place was outfitted with some dim lights. We could also see a pump of some sort that appeared to be able to pull water up into the fortress itself. 

Darkness nearly swallowed a cabinet that lay at the far end of a filthy kitchen where the pump ran into an oversized bowl. Drawn toward it, I crept over to its large doors and lifted my free hand to a sticky wooden knob. Taking a breath in, I pulled open the door revealing a wall lined with canned foods and glass jars. Letting out my breath, I realized that these guys had more food than they probably knew what to do with. It was four or five layers deep and well preserved.

Picking up one of the glass jars, I twisted it around to see an inscription written on a piece of duct tape on the side. All it said was:

                                                                         LIVER

Lifting one eyebrow, I showed it to the rest of the group, and then placed it back down while picking up another jar. Curiously, I noticed a circular object floating in the jar of liquid. Raising the glass cylinder up the light, I gasped.

“
Ahhh shit
!”
I heard myself say out loud as the bloodshot, and heavily dilated eyeball, stared back at me through the rounded glass.

Nearly dropping the jar, I felt my heart sink into my stomach as I looked down at the rest of the jars. With my eyes now adjusted to the dim light, there were obvious pieces and parts of human remains filling jars in the cabinet as they came fully into focus.

Thinking back to what Aidan had told us about the Stripes, I suddenly understood why there were never any bodies found at the battleground
s
…

Kyle, Jarvis, and Aidan hastily stepped back from the cabinet, spreading out around the rest of the room, as I stood there dumbfounded, still holding the eyeball jar.

“
Le
t’
s keep moving. I do
n’
t want to end up in that cupboard
,”
Kyle whispered under his breath with a twinge of disgust, while looking over toward a set of stairs leading to the second floor.

Shaking my head, I placed the jar back in the cabinet and pushed the door tight with both hands. Swallowing a bit of vomit, I backed up and turned toward the stairs. My senses were on high alert as I reached over and started twisting my wedding ring around my finger. Letting go, I clenched both fists and tried to shake the fear off my body as a dog would shake water off its coat.

We still needed to find truck keys and a radio. Without them, this risk w
e’
d taken would be a total loss. At the moment, our best bet was that they sat at the top of that winding staircase which led to a room filled with nothing but black.

It was time to continue exploring what Aidan had earlier called a tree house of horrors.

Following behind the group, stepping past the altar, I watched as Kyle slowly started his ascent. His weapon was drawn, held out above his head and leading us like a guiding light up the staircase. As he reached the top, we all paused to listen. Still no noise, but the room was devoid of light. Glancing back at me, he nodded as I raised my hammer and followed close behind.

Ducking his head, Kyle disappeared in the darkness. My heart was thumping through my chest as I followed closely behind him. Stumbling around in the dark while my eyes fought to adjust to the shadows, I was able to make out a few bunk beds in the corner with mounds of fur blankets draped across them. Under one of the bunks, I could just barely make out a larger mound of blankets. Leaning in, the hair on the back of my neck shot straight out as I saw one of the blankets move.

“
Right there
!”
I bellowed.

Before anybody could react, I saw the silhouette of a man sit up through the furs and point something directly at me. Lifting my hands to stop what I thought were bullets, I was immediately blinded as a series of flashing lights filled the room. Dropping to my knees, completely disoriented, I heard movement and footsteps as Kyle screamed out.

A knee rammed the side of my head as someone bolted by, knocking me to the ground. Pulling my face into my knees, I tried to shield myself from the struggle.

With bright spots covering my vision, the only one of my five senses that seemed to work was sound. A number of footsteps circled around the room, with at least two men grunting loudly, before I heard a large crash which let out an audible crack that shook the very core of the trees that the fortress was built upon.

Then there was silence.

Realizing I had my eyes closed, I lifted my head and opened them to find the room once again filled with darkness. Still seeing flashes in my vision, I heard Jarvis say
,“I’
ve got it
,”
as he yanked down the blanket covering a not-so-square window in the far side of the room.

As I stood up, I could see Kyle standing over a man lying on the ground with a nice-sized gash in his forehead. The man was out, but that did
n’
t stop Kyle from keeping the wrought iron post pointed toward him with one hand, while wiping his own eyes with the other.

Glancing around the room, I saw that Aidan was now standing at the window, looking out into the forest, pulling deep breaths of air into his lungs. He looked to be hyperventilating as he stretched to push his head into the open air.

“
Tha
t’
s it, boys
!”
I heard Jarvis let out as he limped over to a large radio sitting on a table across from the window. Stopping at its base, he reached down and lifted his hand. Three sets of keys dangled from his fingers, as he turned back around and faced the radio.

Looking toward the old man on the floor, I shook my head, rubbed both eyes with my hands, then asked,

“
What the
hell
caused that light pulse
?”
My finger bounced wildly toward a device that was hanging from the fingers of the gu
y’
s hand.  

Kyle, whose eyes were red, reached down, yanking the device out of the clutches of the man on the ground. Lifting it to his face, he said
,“
I
t’
s an LED weapon ligh
t…
made to blind and disorient your enemy in the dark
.
”

“
Well, it did the trick. Christ, man, that thing nearly made me vomit
.”
I heard Aidan say from the window, still taking in deep breaths.

“
This has got to be what they used at the tree. Probably had a bunch of them wired up in that box at the end of the pole
,”
Kyle said, rubbing his eyes one last time.

Smirking ever so slightly at me, he stuck the device in his pocket and looked back down at the man, who had shifted to his side.

"He's waking up," Kyle said, crouching down with his weapon raised.

Looking down at the man's leathery face, I could see a small streak of blood running down his chin from the blow that Kyle had delivered. He had a full mane of wiry gray hair slicked back behind his ears, and a look in his eyes that screamed anger. Like the rest of his friends, who we knew would be back soon, he was covered in mostly animal skins and wore an orange blood-covered strip of cloth around his right arm.

Looking around the room, trying to orient himself, his eyes landed on Jarvis, who was standing over the radio flipping switches and blowing into the radio speaker.

The maddening smile that grew across the old ma
n’
s face was enough to run a chill through my body. Staring directly at me, with that wide grin full of tar-stained teeth, he belted out a pain-filled laugh while opening his mouth wide as if trying to move his jaw back into place.

“
My comrades will be back any moment. You have to know yo
u’
re all gonna die. The Lord Almighty will see to that
.
”

“
Nobod
y’
s gonna die, old man, and just for the record,
I’
m not sure the Lord is on your side just because you have a statue of Jesus Christ downstairs
,”
Kyle replied.

Shaking his head, now looking up at Kyle, he smiled
.“
W
e’
ll see
.
”

“
Just stay calm, and stay down.  W
e’
ll be gone before you know it
,”
Kyle spoke sternly, still waving his weapon in the air.

Shifting his head, the old man looked at Jarvis.

"They won't respond. Those bastards are done responding to anybody. You should know that by now." He wheezed, slightly chuckling then gave a heavy cough
.“
The
y’
ve abandoned us
.
”

Kyle raised a brow to me. I simply shrugged my shoulders. Neither of us had any clue what this nut bag was talking about.

Not acknowledging him, I heard Jarvis speak into the radio, trying Avalon's distress channels. "Kin
g’
s Landing, Kin
g’
s Landing, this is Iron Eagl
e…
Over."

Kyle looked down at the man with some disdain and said, "Do
n’
t worry. We'll get through to our friends."