Project Terminus (11 page)

Sara stared at Wade with a questioning look. “If I do, how do I get away again?”

Wade turned and said, “Guys, load up her bucket with berries.” Turning back to her, he said, “After you leave Nina’s room, do what you would normally do. Don’t change your routine and don’t act any different. If you’re questioned about the guard, you stick to the story that he ran off and you had no idea he didn’t come back. Okay so far?”

Sara reluctantly nodded her head. “Then what?”

“Whatever a normal Saturday night consists of, continue with it. When the ceremony starts, don’t be anywhere near the football field. Is that going to present a problem?”

Looking hopeful, Sara said, “No, I can make that happen.”

“Good. Find a place to hide near the front entrance and stay there. You’re a bright girl; you’ll know when it’s time to make your exit. When you do, circle around to the south,” he pointed in the direction he wanted her to go, “and make a circuitous route back to the top of this knoll. If we’re not here, just stay here and wait. Got it?”

“Got it,” said Sara. “But, please don’t take this the wrong way…can I trust you?”

“Relax, Sara. I won’t screw you over. When this is done, you’ll be done with The Light.”

“Then what happens? Where will I go?”

Wade smiled at her. “We’ll discuss that later. For now, get back down there and win that Academy Award.”

Watching Sara go back down the hill with her bucket of berries, Bill said, “FUBAR.”

“Yeah,” said Wade. “FUBAR. Unfortunately, sending her back down was the only choice we had. If both she and the guard went missing, Nina would sound the alarm and we’d be back to square one. At least for now, plan A is still a go. Plus, we know there won’t be a ceremony tonight. Let’s just hope the girl can pull it off.”

******

Sara delivered the berries to Nina with a big smile.

“Here you are, baby. Big, sweet, juicy black berries. I washed them for you too.”

Nina took the bucket of berries and ate a few. “Hmm…these are good, Sara.” She ate a few more, then smiling, said, “But I’m hungry for something else right now.”

An hour later, Nina was sound asleep and Sara left the room. She was shaking.
God, I am so afraid,
she thought
. I’ll never make it until tomorrow morning.

The day passed slowly, and as the sun inched its way behind the mountain at their back, long shadows began to eat away at the football field and the sky to the west darkened. A storm was coming.

Everyone was awake, and Wade said, “Sunset is in an hour. If it rains, that should keep the animals off the field and provide us with additional cover. We might be able to start planting the charges earlier than we anticipated. Let’s do a final check of the gear.”

At 10 pm, a gentle but steady rain began to fall, and Wade, Randal, and Bill eased down the slope to set the Claymores. At midnight, it was still raining and with Chris on over-watch, Bill, Sean, and Highlander made their way to the football field and began burying napalm and C4 pipe bombs while Wade and Randal wired the stage. There was not a sound from The Light, and they finished by 3 am. Bill was too keyed up to sleep and offered to take the first watch while everyone else grabbed a wet but needed nap.

Sunrise on Sunday was at 6:58 am, so at 6:15, Bill woke everyone up. The rain had stopped, but it was still cloudy and the wind had picked up significantly. It was now coming out of the north at 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph.

Chris on the Barrett and Wade on the M24 were going to take the shots on Nina and Saadeh.

“That wind is going to make this an extremely difficult shot, Dad,” said Chris.

“Yeah, it will. If we miss, let’s hope the ordnance gets them.”

Wade and Chris were in the middle of the hide. Highlander was hunkered over the SAW and Randal had an M4 and the M203 grenade launcher, both manning the left and strong side, while Sean and Bill were in position on the weak, right side.

They waited.

At 7 am, The Light began to assemble on the football field. At first it was just a trickle, but in less than ten minutes, the trickle turned into a flood and the field quickly filled up. At 7:15, Paul Justice took the stage and the assembled cannibals started their chant, “Justice, Justice, Justice.” As before, Justice held up his hand for silence and the crowd obeyed. He then motioned stage left and Aziz appeared, leading four captives to the center of the stage where he forced them to kneel.

The cannibals were silent.

Pointing stage left, he screamed something that was lost in the wind, but in seconds Mohammed Saadeh, wearing his red cowboy hat, appeared and walked to center stage. Saadeh raised his hand and the crowd went wild.

“Saadeh, Saadeh, Saadeh,” they chanted.

He basked in their adoration for a few moments, then raised both hands for silence. When they were quiet, he went through the thumbs up/thumbs down gestures.

“Where the hell is Nina?” muttered Bill.

*****

Nina Lutrova had a severe case of diarrhea from the blackberries, and was running back and forth between the toilet and her bed.

An hour before the sunrise brunch ceremony was slated to begin, she sent the guard to bring Saadeh to her room.

“But you have to attend the ceremony, Nina,” Saadeh whined. “There is no other option.”

Nina made no effort to hide her annoyance. “Mo, what type of impression will we send to the flock if they see their beloved queen shitting all over herself on the stage?”

“But what do I tell them?” asked Saadeh.

In an irritated voice she said, “You tell them nothing. You perform the ceremony, or have Paul do it. I am
not
going on stage today. And you, of all people,
know
the sunday brunch ceremony is my favorite. If there was any way possible, I would be there.”

Reluctantly, Saadeh agreed. “I’ll have Aziz perform the ceremony.”

******

Sara awoke to find the other members of The Light in various stages of preparation for the sunrise brunch. Going through the motions was easier than she anticipated and, as those around her began heading for the football field, she headed for a broom closet near the front entrance. She wasn’t sure how she would know when it was time to exit, but the guy said she would understand. Looking at the entrance door, she could see the lone sentry sleeping as usual, and eased into the closet. Leaving the door cracked, she verified she could see the front door, then settled in to wait.

This ceremony was different. All four captives were given the thumbs up, but instead of Nina stepping forward, it was Aziz. The clan screamed at the top of their lungs as he turned all four captives to face him. Unlike Nina, he did not play to the crowd. Holding the sword by his side he raised it above his head and the crowd went silent.

Wade was on the M24 and targeted Justice.

Chris centered the crosshairs on Saadeh’s head.

Randal said, “Now.”

A nanosecond after two bullets started their flight toward their targets, the football field erupted in a gigantic and thunderous fireball. The air was sucked out of the immediate vicinity and into the heart of the massive explosion. Within seconds, the men in the hide felt the concussion and then the heat of the blast. Immediately, a huge mushroom cloud started its climb into the air; moments later, rocks, flaming debris, and body parts began falling back to earth.

Sara heard the world explode and felt the building shake. Plaster rained down on her and she started to panic, unable to comprehend what happened. When the thunderclap receded, she gathered her wits and peeked out the door. The entrance guard stood frozen for nearly a minute, then started running toward the football field. Sara decided the explosion was her exit cue. She flung open the front door and hit the ground running in the direction she was told to go. As she ran, she glanced over her right shoulder at the angry dark cloud that, while sheared by the gusting wind, was still ascending into the early morning sky.

“Holy balls,” muttered Sean.

“Now that was some serious shit,” said Bill. “We might have overdone the ordnance on this one, Boss.”

Randal said, “Yeah, but that’s the nature of homemade bombs. Never know for sure what you’ll get. All right guys, change of plans. I doubt they’re going to be capable of mounting any type of response, but just in case—Chris…you, Highlander, and Sean stay here and take out any stragglers or anyone trying to get to the woods.”

We can’t assume they were all on the field when the bombs went off, so we need to clear the buildings before we go down there. Dad…you, Bill, and I will start clearing them right to left. We’ll end up at their HQ by the stage. Let’s hit them before they get a chance to get their shit together. When we’re done, we can start mopping up.”

The gymnasium was empty, but as they entered the first set of buildings, three cannibals came running out of one of the rooms twenty feet away. They went down without ever seeing who shot them. Working quickly, they cleared the rooms in the first building and moved on to the next. Thirty minutes later, they’d cleared the barracks, eliminating thirty-three more cannibals.

When they reached the headquarters building, Randal said, “Since Nina wasn’t on stage, there’s a chance she’s in here.”

The HQ building was empty. After clearing the last room, they stood looking at the gaping hole that minutes ago was a large picture window. The still smoking crater where the stage had been was less than one hundred feet away. The room was a shambles and thick, acrid smoke billowed in through the blown out window. Shards of glass were embedded in the walls and debris littered the room.

Opening a closet door, Wade said, “This was her room.” He held up Nina’s sword and black leather outfit. “If she was here when the stage went, she’d be hamburger, but there’s no blood and no body, so we need to assume she was somewhere else.”

Bill noticed the bathroom door was open and looked inside. “Here’s a news flash. The bitch was in the bathroom.” Wade and Randal looked, and Bill muttered, “Saved by the diarrhea.”

Exiting the HQ, they stood by the stage crater and looked at the football field. The smoke was beginning to dissipate, but buffeted by the gusty winds, it continued to swirl through the air in a macabre dance of death. Bodies on the field were still burning, and the odor of cooked meat mixed with the smell of cordite and kerosene put an exclamation point on the success of the operation.

Wade stared at the carnage before him. “I’m not sure the human race deserves to be at the top of the food chain.”

Randal nodded.

Bill put things into perspective. “You might be right, but humanity isn’t at the top of the food chain. We are. Fuck a bunch of cannibals.”

Wade nodded at Bill, and then keying his radio, called Chris. “Eagle-One.”

“Eagle-One.”

“Buildings are clear. SITREP.”

“We took down one runner. No movement on the field.”

“Roger. Did the picker make the rendezvous?”

“Affirmative.”

“Roger. We’re on the way.”

Skirting the field on the west side, they started towards the knoll where the others waited. The carnage on the field was hypnotic, and they stared as they walked, mesmerized. Bodies and body parts were still smoking.

Randal told Wade, “I’m guessing our little sunrise surprise killed most of them, but I doubt the thirty six we took out in the buildings were the only survivors.”

“Yeah, I agree. Unless we get lucky when we’re cleaning up this mess and find her body, then Nina, and probably a number of others, escaped.”

When Wade entered the hide, Sara said, “Hi. You were right about me knowing when to get out.” She smiled.

Wade smiled back. “I’m glad you made it out. What happened to Nina, Sara? She wasn’t at the ceremony this morning.”

Sara looked confused. “What?”

“She wasn’t at the ceremony this morning. Aziz was going to perform the be-headings. We found her room and her sword and costume, but no body. It looks like she had a bout of diarrhea and was in the bathroom when the bombs went off.”

“Oh my God!” exclaimed Sara. “The berries. Her system isn’t used to eating anything but meat. The berries gave her diarrhea. I accidentally saved her life.”

“It’s not your fault. We’re not positive she escaped; we just haven’t found a body.”

“No, trust me,” she said. “She got away. And she is going to be one vindictive bitch. You haven’t heard the last from her. You can take that to the bank.”

“Maybe, but even if she lived, she isn’t going to be a threat anytime soon. Tell me how you got away.”

Sara shrugged. “It was simple really. After I took the berries to her, and she…did her thing, I left and did like you told me to do. I acted normally, and then just before the ceremony, I hid in a broom closet near the front entrance. When the bomb went off, the guard ran towards the field and I ran out the door and up here. What are you going to do with me?”

“We’re going to let you go and you can do whatever you want—”

“No,
please
. There’s no way I can survive on my own. Take me with you. I’m not a danger to anyone. I mean, I’m not a cannibal. You know that. I’ll work hard. And I’ll do whatever you need me to do. I promise.”