Redemption (The Alliance Series Book 1) (18 page)

              They must be good shots. This one, however, didn't blow up.

              There was a massive impact and parts of helicopter shot off in every direction.

              Luckily, I wasn't hit with any debris. I slowly made my way to the mule where Nathan was leaning on the door in a relaxed pose with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He looked at me, smiled, and said. "Need a hand?"

              "Don’t be a smart ass, that’s my job. Get me outta these will ya?" I asked.

              Nathan looked down and made a small gesture. The links between both pairs of cuffs split and suddenly my hands and feet were free.

              We quickly got the Mule free from its camouflage netting and took off. Driving way too fast for the night, we sped along the rough terrain. Not a minute later, we saw headlights in our rearview mirrors. They were following us.

              Nathan was driving while I got the handcuffs off. I was watching the G.P.S. and noticed something we could use to shake these guys.

              "See this?" I asked Nathan pointing to a spot on the display screen. He looked over for a second and said. "What is that? It looks like a dead-end off the main road?"

              "See this symbol? It's a bridge!" I hollered over the sound of the Mule’s engine.

              "If it's a bridge, why doesn't it go across the river?" Nathan asked.

              I just smiled at him. He looked at me with dawning recognition.

              "You're out of your mind!" He yelled.

              "What choice do we have, they can follow us all along this road, and it just follows the river. If we can get across here it will take them hours to get to us!" I argued.

              Nathan looked at the G.P.S. again. Then he looked up at me, calm certainty settling over his face.

              "Tell me when to turn." He said.

              "The turn off isn't far, once you make the corner there’s a five hundred foot straightaway until the bridge." I said. Nathan nodded.

              We drove at breakneck speed, quickly covering the distance to the turn.               "Here!" I screamed, pointing at a break in the woods off to the right.

              Nathan deftly hit the brakes enough to bring us into a controlled slide, one second we were flying nose first, the next we were sliding sideways as the tires of the Mule tried to get purchase on the dirt road, rally style.

              As the road got closer, I could feel the tires digging in and we started coming out of the slide. The tires found purchase as we shot down the side road that led to the bridge like a rocket.

              I reached over towards the dash and as my hand got close to the red button that activated the nitrous, I looked over at Nathan. He looked back and nodded once. I turned back to the road and pushed it.

              Have you ever been on one of those pressure-activated roller coasters? The ones where you sit in the seat with your head back and on some cue by the operator, it shoots you from zero to eighty in a few seconds. That is what it felt like.

              I heard a high-pitched sound as I released the nitrous. The air consumption went up exponentially and the power output matched it.

              Everything seemed to get a little blurry on the edges as the broken bridge got closer and closer at a faster speed.

              The bridge wasn't big enough to let a car pass. Traders who used it to get carts full of furs across must have built it. They had built up the bridge with gravel and dirt that created a slight ramp before the rotted out wood bridge started.

              The bridge itself had long ago fallen to the river. We hit the makeshift ramp at a berjillion miles an hour. I only had a few seconds to realize we were in the air above the water. If I had to guess, I would say the span we crossed in the air was about two hundred feet. It's hard to judge distance as you're flying over it faster than the speed of sanity.

              I don’t really remember the landing. What I do remember was white as the cab filled with foam. Then silence.

              I had the impression that we made quite an impact when we landed. It was also hard to tell time, but in about five minutes, I was able to move my arm as the foam finally lost its strength and began to crumble like sand.

              I easily made my way out of the mule and saw that Nathan had done the same. I did a quick mental inventory. My body was in the same condition as it was before we made the jump. The Mule was not. We had killed it. The truck was a crumpled mess.

              It had finally come to rest on its wheels. If that’s what you could call them, they were all at odd angles except for the rear drivers’ side one. It wasn't there.

              I looked back toward the span we crossed and saw a long path of destroyed earth and trees that followed the line we took after landing. You could vaguely see headlights on the far side if the river.

              Nathan had already made it over to where some of our equipment had come to rest. He opened one bag and picked it up. A little ways off from Nathan I saw the bag that contained our weapons. I went over to it and slung it on my shoulder. We heard the echo of rifle fire and decided that it was time to leave.

              "If we head east I think I saw a town not five miles from that river." Nathan said.

              "Lead the way." I answered.

              The trek was therapeutic. We easily found our stride and settled into a steady pace. The woods were tranquil at night. This time of year, the nights tended to get pretty cold. We walked in silence as the chill allowed us to see our breath as we exhaled. Occasionally you could hear the hoot of a hunting owl or some small animal flee from us as we made our way east. Occasionally, we could see the night sky as the trees opened up. Giving us a view of the vast Milky Way spread in a line across the deep black of a sky bereft of city lights.

              We were in a thick patch of woods having left the marked path forty minutes ago. We had to keep moving towards town and the trail had turned north.

              "You really think the Col. is going to be able to help us?" Nathan asked looking over at me.

              "I don’t know we're really deep in the shit now. Simmons was trying to kill me this time. You blew up the chopper. Things have gotten heavy." I said.

              "Technically the chopper didn't blow up." Nathan argued.

              I smiled. "I really don't know if he can help us. I just have to see him. I feel like it's the only way to figure out what’s going on." I said.

              "Doesn’t that seem odd to you?" Nathan asked. "You're talking like you don't have a choice, like your being compelled to see the Col.”

              I stopped walking. I thought about it.

              If it was true that I was being compelled that meant mind magic was involved. How?

              When a wizard or something else puts the mental lock on you it really messes you up. You lose all autonomy when you have had your freewill taken from you in that manner, your body and mind fight back.

              You can't operate like a normal person; your mind turns itself off. It only operates as if you are a robot. The one in control can order you to do specific things like get the mail, or protect a casket all day. Stuff like that. You are not going to go to the store and get milk or make all the hundreds of daily decisions you make independently.

              The only other exception to that is if you have been influenced. Influencers are very powerful wizards. There are only five on the planet and I haven't been in contact with any of them, ever.

              They have the ability, through talking with you, to exude their influence on you. They cannot force you to do something like mind benders can, but they can influence how you think, guiding you to the outcome they desire while keeping you as a normal operating person. They are by far the more dangerous. That is why the agency keeps close tabs on all known Influencers.

              Imagine if an Influencer got a hold of a politician or the president. He could, over time, suggest things or use his power to manipulate them, and in a short while have them doing whatever he wants while showing absolutely no traceable signs of being under control. They are the ones we read about, the ones counseling the kings and tyrants. They are the true puppet masters.

              "I don’t see how, I'm not saying someone hasn't gotten to me. I guess it is possible. I'm not a walking zombie so that rules out mind magic. I have never talked to or met an Influencer. The only other beings capable of compulsion like that are capable of never being noticed. Like a deity or demon. I have no real way of knowing. The only thing I can do is get to the Col. I’m sure he can help." I said.

              Nathan looked at me for a minute, nodded. "To the Col. then." He said.              

He started walking again and I followed. A short while later we started seeing lights in the distance through the trees. The closer we got we realized the lights were coming from a gas station, one of those all-nighters on the sides of the highway.

              We came to the end of the woods and stopped just before leaving the tree line. Periodically, a semi-truck would fly past us, hurrying on the highway to an unknown destination.

              Nathan placed a light dampening field on us to make it hard for anyone to recognize us. We ran across the highway and quickly but quietly hotwired a Toyota Tundra that someone had parked near the back. Soon we were back on the road.

              I rummaged in the bag I had picked up and took out the radar detector that was in it. This one not only could tell us when we were getting close to a patrol car using a radar gun. It also allowed us to pick up a radar gun that wasn't in use. Letting us know when we were getting close to any police cruisers.

              That way Nathan could place a light dampening field around us and hide us from any units that had an A.P.B. out for the car we were driving in. We had used this same technique after stealing the trusty Neon.

We drove most of the day and as the sun began setting I decided it was time to call the Col., I had been putting it off really. I don't know why. Maybe I was worried that he would be disappointed in me.

              "Let's pull over to the next gas station so I can use the payphone." I told Nathan.

              "Alright." Nathan said.

              We drove another ten minutes before we saw a sign that said there was a gas station at the next exit. We turned off the road then made our way into one of those big truck stops, the kind that had a sign showing a big cast iron skillet with a delicious looking breakfast in it.

              The place could hold near a hundred eighteen wheelers and it looked like it was almost at maximum capacity.

              Nathan parked by the restaurant and I got out to make the phone call. Nathan stayed with the car, in case the cop detector went off and he needed to shield our ride from prying eyes.

              I went inside and found the phone room. It was a large area, which had about ten phones on the wall. I found an empty one and dialed the number that would patch me directly to the Col. The phone range about three times before someone picked up.

              "John? Is that you?" Asked the Col.

              I couldn't explain it, but just hearing his voice made me feel better.

              "Yes, sir." I said.

              "What the hell’s going on out there son? I've been hearing strange things." He said.

              "I can't really talk about it now sir. I need to see you in person. Something has come up and I need you in on it." I said.

              "Yeah, sure son, whatever you need. What's your location?" He asked.

              "I'm in between Colorado and Missouri. I really would rather not say." I said.

              "The situation is that bad?" He asked. "Okay, I know a place. Do you remember that banshee you eliminated at the old sawmill a few years back?" He asked.

              "Yeah, I remember the one." I answered.

              "Can you meet me there in four hours?" He asked.

              "Yes sir." I said.

              "Good, I look forward to seeing you, son." He said, and then hung up.

              I sat there for a few seconds. I already felt better. The Col. was going to meet me. He could help. I got up and went back to Nathan. He was standing by the passenger’s side door with his hands on the roof in a relaxed position.              

"Well?" he asked, lifting his palms upwards.

              "We’re going to Chesterfield." I said.

Chapter 17

The drive to Chesterfield went smoothly. There were no helicopters trying to kill us, no angry centaurs, no elves and no psychotic G-men trying to slit our throats.