The Inner Struggle: Beginnings Series Book 7 (48 page)

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John Matoose felt so at a loss, not able to pinpoint his shots at those who gathered around Sara and David, and only able to fire at those who moved toward town. He did his part to help out his men that rushed there yet failed to help David and Sara. He saw Beginnings men moving quickly to the under developed section, but in John’s heart, they weren’t moving fast enough. He banged his hand on the wheel of the chopper and continued to swoop down and fire, hoping to divert what he witnessed happening.

“No!” Sara screamed, feeling her slacks being sliced from her, along with her skin, and then ripped from her body with such magnitude it flipped her over, causing the back of her head to bang. She didn’t pass out. She wished she would have. Kicking her feet as hard as she could, she spun herself over and, in a get-a-way attempt, lifted to her knees in an attempt to run.

The rough hands grabbed hold of her hips, sliding her knees over the ground. She felt the back of her body, along with her knees, lifted upward and pulled back. The hard pain she experienced as her body was slammed into the savage that had her shot into her stomach. It was a deep pain as if her insides were being ripped from her and it was repeated over and over as the savage slammed himself harder, with total control of her body, again and again. When he finished, he threw her from him, laughing as he did.

Sara didn’t realize how far she had been lifted from the ground. Her hands that had dug into the soil in her fight, cracked and broke as her body landed on them. Still she was not giving up. Again she tried to stand. Blood flowed from her, not only from the cuts, but also from the violent invasion of her body that just happened. It was not over yet.

Just as her toes made a standing connection with the ground, the hard-breaking hit to her back sent her forward and smashed her face to the earth. Her legs were grabbed and she was flipped to her back. She couldn’t even scream because the foot that landed on her throat secured her down and blocked her airway.

They fought over who would have her next, each of them grabbing at her legs, spreading, lifting them as they knelt, placing themselves in between her.

Sara lost even more of her breath when the savage fell forward on to her from a hit he had taken from another. A bigger man took his place, ripped her legs open more and punished her while pleasuring himself.

Her body went numb as he took her like an animal, pounding himself into her with such a disgusted look of satisfaction. All she could do was let it happen, ignoring him along with the ones who found great pleasure in urinating upon her while she was being abused.

Maybe it was the loud sounds of gunfire that snapped her from the protective world she placed herself in. It had to be. They drew closer and she closed her eyes She felt a sense of saving as her body dropped to the ground. They let her go. Beginnings men were there. She started to cry. Her salty tears ran down her face and burned her open wounds. She opened her eyes, to see those who encircled her starting to flee and she knew she was safe. Ignoring the pain that swept up her back and her legs, she reached outward to roll over and crawl for safety. Just as she landed on her stomach and reached out her hands, her hair was grabbed again and her head titled back. With all the pain her body was in, she didn’t feel anything but a pinch. When they released her head, she thought she was fine until she felt the blood that poured from the large gouge sliced into her throat. Sara’s body plopped back down in the deep thick grass that hid what happened to her from the Beginnings men that transcended in defense upon the savages.

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Frank broke the arrow off just below the head from his own leg it where it stuck out and raised his M-16, fired across in a straight line, and took out two savages. “No!” He screamed to one of his men. “Don’t pull that out!” He rolled down on the ground, keeping low and made it to Barry. An arrow was protruding from Barry’s leg. “Don’t pull it out. Break it.” Frank snapped it off. “Now stay put, stay ready, and stay low!”

Though he only had eight men out there, Frank refrained from bringing in any more. The savages were not like the SUTs. They crept through the field, each of them trying to make a pass by Frank’s men, and failing as they tried. Yet the others stayed behind, hiding in the nature’s brush that inhibited good shots at them.

Frank made it to each one of his men, whispering and telling them the same thing. He pulled them back and lined them up low in the grass in a straight row across, and let them fire. He pulled his mouth piece closer. “John.” He whispered, hiding his voice within the firing. “They aren’t moving, are they?”

“They’re idle, Frank.”

“Pull back some. Let me know when they move.”

“Gotcha.”

Frank waited with his eyes staring ahead as he listened to the fading chopper. He held up his hands in a cease fire to his men. The gun fire slowed and then . . . silence. “On my call,” Frank mouthed the words as he positioned himself one leg up, the same as he had his men do.

There was silence for a while as if nothing was happening out there at all.

“They’re getting ready, Frank,” John told him.

“I hear it,” Frank listened to the ruffling. The minutes seemed like hours in the anticipation of the next move.

“Now, Frank!”

Frank listened, snapped his fingers to his men, raised his weapon, and so did they. “On my call,” He mouthed the words again then brought his fingers to his lips to keep them silent. He swore he could hear his heartbeat.

Then he heard what he was waiting for. His timing had to be right or his entire plan would be flushed.. Upon hearing the ‘war cry’ out that the savages always made in the run attacks, Frank charged to his feet,. “Now gentlemen!” The running savages finally opened themselves up in their charge. In the savage’s mistake laid Beginnings advantage. The twenty-two savages that remained met with the continuous and fatal gun fire of the eight Beginnings men, some injured, who stood up before them in a surprising synchronization from the grass.

At that point, the gunfire needed was minimal and the time wasted was nil. “Hold your fire!” Frank ordered when he knew he had witnessed most of them fall and he heard no more sounds of movement. “Check for any alive! If you find them, shoot them.” Frank tossed his M-16 over his shoulder and pulled out his revolver, extending it. “Look for our two people.” Frank moved through the grass, nudging his boot at every savage he came across. If he even thought they moaned or moved, Frank would shoot one single bullet into their heads. “Dad,” Frank called over the radio, “have the clinic ready. We have a few injuries and we have two people we’re searching for in this grass.”

“No signs of them, Frank?” Joe asked.

Frank took a deep breath. “Not yet. What the fuck happened, Dad? They didn’t just appear in the woods. They had to have been there.”

“I don’t know, Frank. How are you doing? Are you O.K.”

“I got arrowed. Big deal.” He looked down at his bleeding leg and saw a savage. Frank kicked him. “Hold on, Dad.” A single shot was fired. “All right, we’ll be in. Send me some more men out to help search this field. It’s huge.”

“Got it.”

Wiping the sweat from his head, Frank peered out, looked again, and listened to the voices of his men as they called out for David and Sara.

“Frank!”

Frank’s head jolted to the panic call of Jeff. He rushed over where Jeff stood alone. “What.”

Jeff stepped back. “David.”

Frank knelt down to the bloodied and shirtless body. He placed his hand on David’s shoulder and rolled him over. He saw the blood on the stomach and the sliced throat. “Fuck.” He closed his eyes and spoke into the radio. “David’s dead.” In disgust he bit his lip and, just as he stood to his feet, he heard another cry coming only from twenty feet away. “No.” He knew by the sound of that call out what the two men found was not good. A part of him didn’t want to look, but he knew he had to. Frank could see as he approached, the two men that called were stepping away. His quick run slowed when he saw what they had uncovered.

If Frank didn’t know who Sara was he wouldn’t have even recognized her. Her nude body was covered in mud and blood. Her hair was wet, sprawled across and stuck to her face. Below her neck a large puddle of blood formed. There wasn’t an inch of her skin not bruised or cut. He couldn’t even bring himself to reach down and see if she were alive. By looking at her, Frank knew that she was dead and, to Frank, she was better off., Death was probably better than Sara facing the rest of her life living with what she had just gone through. By her body, it was obvious what that was. He stepped back with his head down. He thought how what happened in that field could have gotten so out of control and that the savages may have made it into town before Frank and his men were even ready. With that thought, the vision of Sara’s body became every woman in Beginnings and then Ellen. Frank’s mind and heart raced with an overwhelming sickening feeling, and for the first time ever, and from something he seen, Frank walked a few feet into the field and threw up.

In the lab, Dean and Ellen watched. That’s all they could do. Robbie wanted to do something more. He stood by Henry, listening to the phone conversation or at least Henry’s end of it. The ‘I sees’ told the three of them less than the expression on Henry’s face when he turned off the phone and set it on the counter. He stared at it for a few seconds, trying to think of how to start. Joe had just bombarded him with information. It was information that would make them want to go scurrying into town to check on things, but like Henry, neither Robbie, Ellen, or Dean could do anything but stay where they were. “Like we thought it was a break in the underdeveloped section. It could have been worse, much worse. We prevailed. But what I was told isn’t good.” Henry spoke so sad. “Beginnings, we uh . . . we just had a first.”

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The liquid swished as it returned back into the bottle after being pulled from Frank’s mouth. He slammed it hard on the containment desk then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

“Frank.” Joe reached for the bottle and Frank pulled it back.

“Dad . . . not now.” Briefly he closed his eyes and he shuddered at the images of Sara and David that popped into his mind and, with that, he took another drink. “Here.” He handed Joe the bottle. “I’m done.” He looked at his watch. “Now where the hell is he?”

“Take it easy Frank. He’ll be here. I know this is going to be hard, but staying calm will work best.” Joe placed the bottle on top of the filing cabinet.

Frank leaned back in the chair rocking some. “I’m far from calm.”

“I know but you guys all did a good job out there.”

His lip rose a little in disgust and before he spoke, Frank ran his hand harshly down his face and across his goatee before slamming it on the desktop. “Not good enough.”

“Yes Frank. No matter what . . . good enough.” Joe heard Frank grunt. “What’s wrong? Is that leg of yours bothering you?”

“No, not at all. It was an arrow. I swear to God I’ve been hit with more arrows than the entire fuckin US Cavalry combined.”

Joe wanted to say more, especially when the door to containment opened and Johnny walked into the front office.

“Hey Dad.” Johnny shut the door. “You wanted to see me?”

Joe saw the look on his son’s face as he stood from the chair. “Easy, Frank.”

Frank held his hand up to Joe. “Johnny, I’m sure you know what has happened here this afternoon.”

Johnny nodded his head slowly and somberly. “I do. It’s sucks.”

“It sucks?” Frank walked around the desk. “You aren’t fuckin shittin it suck. Sucks. Twenty-nine savages poured in from the forest behind the underdeveloped section. They poured in down that steep hillside, well on their way to hitting town. Do you know how much damage they could have caused before we got them all? They’re animals, John.”

“I know,” Johnny agreed. “I heard David and Sara are dead.”

“They’re not just dead, John. David, he had a three foot arrow shot straight through his gut and his throat was sliced. He was dragged. And Sara, she isn’t just dead either. They not only raped her, God knows how many did that, but they beat her, cut her, pulled her, and pissed on her, John. She was one of ours, our people and they treated her like she was nothing.” Frank spoke with an edge. “My job is security, protecting these people. I failed my job today, John. Do you know that? I failed because part of my job . . .”

“Dad, where are you going with this?”

Frank bit his bottom lip. “Shut up and listen! I failed my job because it is part of my job to assign the right people to the right job. They are all links in a chain and when one link fails to do their job, the whole fuckin chain breaks and I fail. The people of this community lose.”

“Dad, I don’t think David failed you.”

“David?!” Frank’s voice rose even more. “I’m not talking about David, I’m talking about you!”

“Me?” Johnny said with almost a laugh. “What the hell did I do?”

“You flew the reconnaissance flight last night and this morning, did you not?”

“Yeah,” Johnny answered.

“I know for a fact, John, because I did it myself. That region at seven p.m. was clear when we walked a foot perimeter.”

“So. What are you getting at?”