After the Republic (26 page)

Perry stiffened his body as the men forced him to his knees facing the camera, removed his gag and spaced themselves out behind him.
I MUST find a way to break free and kill these bastards.
The terrorist leader positioned himself behind Perry and began speaking to the camera, once again in perfect English.

“We told you we would bring the fight to America, to your homeland. Now, we are here, in a most remote part of your country. Let this prove that we can strike you anywhere. And know that we will strike you
everywhere
.”

The man turned to Perry. “Are you a Christian?”

I will not give in to you
, Perry thought.
Never!
He glared at the inhuman eyes that stared back at him through the black mask, but did not answer. The man kicked Perry in the ribcage. “Answer me, infidel!”

Perry grimaced as the pain pierced his torso and radiated throughout his body. He defiantly forced himself back to an upright position and glared at the terrorist, rage pulsating through his veins like molten lava. All he could think about was revenge.

“Do you have any last words?” the terrorist asked.

“To hell with you!” Perry’s nostrils flared like an angry Brahma bull. “You may kill me, but you will die in this place today, you piece of terrorist scum, and I hope you burn in hell!”

***

The terrorist leader paused for a moment, appearing caught off guard by Perry’s boldness. He grabbed Perry from behind and began moving the blade toward his throat. Joshua closed his eyes, unable to watch the certain, bloody death of his best friend, knowing that he himself would soon meet the same fate.
Is this somehow my fault for bringing everyone here?

A shot rang out. Startled, Joshua jumped. As he opened his eyes the terrorist leader’s lifeless body fell to the ground. Four more rapid-fire shots rang out, each finding its target. One by one, the other terrorists fell.

Joshua heaved a deep sigh of relief as Bob raced out of the woods, his 1911 still raised.
Bob saves us once again,
Joshua thought. Bob rushed to Perry. “Are you okay?” Perry nodded, and Bob moved on to Joshua and Jack.

“Looks like we got here just in the nick of time.” Bob removed Joshua’s gag and then began unbinding his wrists.

Horror shot through Joshua like a bolt of lightning as he saw the shadowy figure approach Bob from behind. “Bob, look out!” The warning came too late. The terrorist appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Bob and cut his throat in one quick, ruthless motion. A deathly chill overcame Joshua as Bob dropped to his knees, grasping for his neck as blood poured down the front of his torso. Joshua clenched his fists as the terrorist shoved Bob’s dying body to the side and took a menacing step toward him. Bob managed one final, raspy breath as he hit the ground. Two more militants emerged from behind the church.
Where did they come from?

Suddenly a loud scream rang out from the mountainside near the church: “Nooooooooo!” Kane had arrived a moment too late to save his mentor. Enraged, he raised his AR-15 and fired a shot, which removed the head of Bob’s killer. He killed the other two militants in rapid-fire fashion. Two more terrorists emerged from the front of the church, walking into a hail of bullets from Kane’s rifle. Kane kept his weapon trained on the door, waiting for more targets.

Joshua’s heart sank when another terrorist rounded the back corner of the church and fired a rocket-propelled grenade in Kane’s direction. The rocket did not score a direct hit but impacted the mountainside just below Kane’s position. The force of the explosion brutally slammed him against the rock wall.

A tsunami of hopelessness swept over Joshua as he watched Kane’s seemingly lifeless body roll down the mountain and disappear into the brush below. He swallowed hard.
There is no way we get out of this alive.

***

Rebecca watched helplessly from her hiding place as the rocket exploded against the mountain, sending Kane careening out of sight.
Oh my God
, she thought.
Bob and now Kane?
Her heart was pounding a million miles a minute.

She cautiously peeped around the boulder and watched as seven more armed militants emerged from the church.
Eight. No way I can get them all.
The terrorists dragged Perry back to the area where the other prisoners were being held. Rebecca cringed as the militants hit and kicked Joshua and the other hostages, seemingly to communicate that they were still in control. They also secured Perry’s wrist restraints and gagged him once more.

Rebecca slid down behind the rock and pressed the barrel of her Beretta against her chin, her hand shaking like a major earthquake. She closed her eyes, slid her finger across the trigger and took a heavy, deep breath. After a few uncertain moments she opened her eyes and re-holstered the pistol.
What do I do? There are too many of them. I have to--

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a commotion. Rebecca peeped from behind the rock. Adrenalin surged through her veins as the terrorists dragged Joshua toward the camera.

***

The newly self-appointed terrorist leader picked up the knife used by the militant who carried out the earlier beheadings. He positioned himself behind Joshua and spoke to the camera in a thick, middle-eastern accent. “Your infidel came here and killed my brothers. He killed fellow warriors.” He pointed the knife at Bob’s lifeless body. “He is dead.” Next, he pointed the knife at Joshua. “Now this man will pay for his friend’s sins.”

Joshua closed his eyes, bracing himself for the gruesome fate he knew was imminent. His life flashed before his eyes.
What will Rebecca do? Will she ever even know what happened to me? I hope and pray she never sees a video of this. Perry and Jack… I know they’re next. How will the people in the camp survive with Bob, Kane and Jack gone? Will AIS find the camp? Is this the end of the free world as we know it? How could God allow this to happen? Why?

Joshua tensed as he felt the terrorist’s hand grab his head and pull it backwards. He anticipated the imminent sensation of a blade slashing through his neck. Instead, he heard a voice screaming “Nooo!” followed by a shot. This was a familiar voice. A
female
voice.
Rebecca’s voice
!
What is she doing here?
They’ll kill her!

As Joshua opened his eyes the terrorist fell to the ground, lifeless.
She’s always been a good shot.
Another shot rang out and another militant fell to the ground. He spotted Rebecca positioned behind a large rock near the base of the mountain and watched as she calmly fired off another shot from her rifle, taking out a third terrorist.
That’s my girl. Three down, five to go.

The remaining militants spotted Rebecca almost as soon as Joshua did. He clenched his fists as they turned in unison and began firing wildly in her direction. She fired off another shot and killed another terrorist, then screamed and shielded herself behind the boulder. One of the terrorists began blasting at the rock with a fully automatic rifle. Joshua shuddered, horrified and helpless, certain of what an unspeakable fate she would meet if they reached her.

Two of the terrorists ran toward the area where Rebecca was hiding, while two stayed put and guarded the remaining prisoners.
Are these the only four left? Are there more hiding in the church?
Joshua watched in horror as the militants easily overpowered Rebecca and dragged her to the area where he was being held. She was bound and gagged within seconds.

Rage coursed through Joshua as one of the terrorists stooped near Rebecca, stroked her face and groped her. He groaned and struggled against his restraints, but was helpless to defend her. The terrorist walked over to the other three militants, pointed at Joshua and then Rebecca, said something in Arabic and laughed. The lump in Joshua’s throat was the size of Jupiter. He looked at Rebecca in horror.
I cannot imagine what these animals plan to do to her. Lord, please find a way out of this. If that is not your will, please end it quickly.
Rebecca returned the gaze, but her expression was different. Amazingly, in spite of the seemingly hopeless situation in which they found themselves, the look in her eyes was one that was happy to see him.
How can she be so calm when we are about to die?

Joshua perked up as the four terrorists picked up their weapons and pivoted toward the road, where a jeep turned into the driveway and began making its way toward the church. The jeep’s four occupants were dressed in AIS garb. Joshua looked at Perry and then Jack. Jack shook his head.
Their reinforcements are here,
Joshua thought.
No way out.

The four new arrivals exited the jeep and silently walked toward the terrorists. Without warning they raised their weapons and shot the terrorists. Caught off guard, the militants’ fates were sealed before they knew what hit them.
What the heck?

Two of the new arrivals silently stood guard near Joshua and the others while the other two entered the church, weapons raised.
Who are these people? Are they really on our side?
After some time he heard a shot ring out from inside the church. Then silence. Then another shot. Then silence.

After what seemed like an eternity the two men emerged from the church. The first gave a thumbs-up sign, after which all four of the men removed their masks. The men all appeared to be in their 40s or 50s and their faces were worn by hours spent outdoors in the sun. The leader, a man with graying hair and a moustache, spoke in a strong Western North Carolina accent. “I assume one of you is Joshua Winston. We got to y’all just in time.”

Joshua’s brow furrowed as he nodded.

He pointed at Bob’s bloody, lifeless body. “Too late for your friend here. I hate that.”

They removed the gags from Joshua, Rebecca, Jack and Perry and untied them. Joshua immediately jumped up and embraced Rebecca tightly. “What in the world were you thinking coming here? They would have raped you a thousand times and then killed you!”

“I just couldn’t let you die here without doing something,” she said, tears streaming down her face.

“You are crazy!” He cupped her head in his hand. “I love you, but you are
crazy
!
Please
don’t ever put yourself at risk like that again.”

Joshua turned to Perry and Jack. “You guys okay?” They both nodded.

“Thank you.” Joshua turned to the four newcomers. “But I’m confused. Who are you, how do you know my name, and how did you know we were here?”

“My name’s Ray,” the leader said as he donned a camouflage baseball cap. “That’s plenty for now.”

“But how do you know my name, and how did you know we were here?”

As Joshua finished his question three more pickup trucks entered the driveway. Each vehicle contained at least two men, all of whom were armed.

“Relax, they’re with us,” Ray said. “Just know that we were sent here to make sure you got out of here alive. We’ve got instructions to drop you off at Fontana Dam and wait there until you have been out of sight for thirty minutes. But now we need to focus on getting out of here.”

“Kane!” Jack jumped to his feet. “One of our men was up on that hill, where you see the blast mark.” He pointed at the mountainside. “They didn’t hit him directly. Come on, let’s see if we can find him.”

Jack, Perry, Joshua and several others scaled the mountain toward Kane’s last known location. The incline was steep and climbing was an arduous process. Joshua, Perry and Jack were slowed by the beating they had taken at the hands of the militants, but the others ascended like agile mountain goats. Kane was alive but unconscious. They carefully moved his injured body down the slope.

A tall, slender man in a brown flannel shirt stood guard with a double-barrel shotgun while Rebecca and Joshua tended to Kane, who slowly regained consciousness. Jack and Perry helped the other men clean up the mess.

“One of these terrorists is still alive,” a short, stocky man in a denim jacket and burgundy cap called out.

“Which one?” Perry asked.

The man pointed at a barely conscious militant who was gasping for breath. Perry picked up the large knife that the terrorist leader had used to execute the two hostages.

“This is for my son, you bastard.” Perry gripped the knife with both hands, raised it over his head and plunged it deep into the militant’s abdomen. He pulled the knife out and plunged it in again, twisting it for good measure. “And this is for my daughter.”

Then he lost control, screaming and stabbing the dead body over and over. A morbid chill came over Joshua as he and Rebecca stood up, stunned by this unprecedented outburst of rage from their usually calm friend. Jack rushed over and grabbed Perry’s wrist from behind.

“Come on, buddy,” Jack said. “He’s dead. You did what you wanted to do.”

Perry let go of the knife without resisting, collapsed onto the ground and began sobbing uncontrollably. After a few minutes he regained his composure. “I’ve waited for this moment ever since they killed my children. I’ve thought of little else besides making these bastards pay for what they did to my Charlie and Allie. I somehow thought it would bring more closure than this.” He wiped the tears from his eyes. “Guess I’ll have to kill a few more.”