Warfare Season: An Apocalyptic Thriller (6 page)

The riflemen
that had cornered Austin were now running back to the hallway,
returning fire on the military. After capping a soldier, they were
shot down, themselves.

Austin escaped
through the windowsill and walked downhill to the forest-like area
behind the building. He didn't realize that it was raining until he
felt the drops gently tapping his head.

* * *

“
Okay,”
Corporal Johnson said. “Enough of this. Our primary objective
is to locate Austin.”

“
We're
clearing the building right now, sir,” one of the soldiers
responded.

“
Just
remember, do not open fire on him. If he's armed, try to get him to
drop his weapon without dropping him.”

“
Yes,
sir!”

Corporal Johnson
looked down at the corpses and sighed in displeasure.

* * *

Austin made his
way through the trees and shrubs, staying close to the road, but not
directly on it. He noticed another military vehicle speedily heading
toward the abandoned asylum. But they didn't notice him. He turned
off his flash light for a few seconds until they finished passing by.
Then he turned it back on again and kept moving.

Only now did it
occur to him that he was going the wrong way.

He raced across
the deserted road to get back on track. He was now in another woodsy
area, surrounded shrubs and trees, some of them still partially
barren due to it being springtime. He was hoping that they would
provide adequate cover.

* * *

After the
soldiers finished clearing the building, they reported back to
Corporal Johnson.

“
Building's
clear. There's no sign of him, except for this phone, and it's
locked.”

“
So much
for tracking him,” Corporal Johnson said grimly. “But we
can take his phone back to the station and extract some information
from it. In the meantime, he can't be too far from here. Let's move
out.”

After walking all night, Austin finally
decided to sit down and rest. He had traveled through two small
towns, a distance he had estimated to be about twenty miles.

Although he had replenished himself with
food and water, there was little he could do to soothe his nerves and
aching bones.

The rain had mostly tapered off, but it
was still trickling down.

He was still in a woody area. His back
was leaning against a large rock, giving some support to his sore
joints.

He pulled out the bible that he had
brought with him and started reading. He had put it off for too long.
After flipping through the pages and scanning through different
verses, he landed on some chapters that really spoke to him. He
thought about how God was still in control, even in situations as
grim as this. As tired as he was, he kept reading.

* * *

The FBI had gotten a hold of
Austin's cell phone provider. They claimed that Austin was in danger
and that they needed his cell phone information. The cell phone
company agreed to cooperate. They pulled up all of his text messages,
as well as his incoming and outgoing calls.

Many of the calls were from
random people that had dialed the wrong number, making things more
confusing for the FBI.

Most of the other calls were
work-related from his place of business.

Any friends that showed up in
his list of contacts were all interrogated. No one claimed to have
known anything about Austin's plans or whereabouts.

* * *

Austin woke up just in time
to watch the sun set. He felt tired enough to sleep for a few more
hours, but he decided it would be best to continue walking again. His
neck was stiff, and his blisters were hurting more than ever. He took
another painkiller, along with some food and water. Then he gathered
his stuff and left.

A helicopter was approaching
from his left side. He hurriedly ran for cover behind a tree. The
helicopter began circling the area.

They see me,
he
thought. A wave of anxiety bolted through his abdomen. He started
feeling sick at the thought of being captured.

It
was dim, but the sun had not gone all the way down yet.

The
helicopter got closer to him. It started idling in the air.

He
dropped to the ground and laid perfectly still. If they did see him,
he would rather they thought that he was dead. There were already
plenty of dead people, anyway. One of many corpses lying on the
ground wasn't as important as a living outlaw that was on the run.

The
helicopter took off, heading west. But the sound of the propellers
hadn't completely faded away.

Austin
started to get back up. He thew himself back down again when he saw
that the helicopter had
turned
around and was now heading east, back toward him.

This
time it didn't slow down. It kept going until it disappeared out of
sight. He waited until the sound of the propellers was no more. Then
he started walking again, disappearing into the evening shadows.

* * *

A
gang was standing on a bridge that crossed over into the next town.
They were shoving each other, making obnoxious jokes, and sipping
rum.

“We
shank em all,” Jose joked. “Snort that crank and grab a
shank.”

They
were celebrating about how they had gained the upper hand on a rival
gang during the riots. Due to all the commotion on riot night, they
were easily able to evade accountability for fighting right out in
the open.

“Shoot
yourself with a needle, shoot them with a strap,” Juan added.

Laughter
erupted all around.

Austin
was about twenty yards away from approaching the bridge when he saw
the gang. They saw him as soon as he saw them. He was concerned, but
he was also relieved that they weren't soldiers from the military.

“Look
at that boy right there,” Marco said, pointing at Austin.

“You
got the strap?” Victor asked.

Austin
changed his direction, walking through the grassy area underneath the
bridge and off to the side. Due to his throbbing blisters, he was
practically limping.

Marco,
Jose, and Victor all leaned over the edge of the bridge, watching
Austin pass by. Juan was out of site.

One
of them yelled something out at Austin, but it was incomprehensible.
They yelled it even louder, but the heightened volume didn't cancel
the fact that it was still incomprehensible gibberish.

Austin
didn't even look at them. He just kept walking, pretending not to
hear them at all.

Victor
took another hit of rum. Then he grabbed the revolver that the four
of them were sharing.

When
the gunshot went off, he could no longer pretend that they weren't
there.

The
evening had now gone fully dark, but it was still possible to see
anything that was within a close enough proximity. Austin knew that
if he could get at least thirty yards or so ahead of them, they would
lose him in the darkness. In the meantime, he ran for cover directly
underneath the bridge.

Three
more gunshots went off.

Now
Austin heard the three of them shouting at Victor for wasting their
extremely limited ammo on blind shots in the darkness.

“I'm
just trying to get this guy's attention,” Victor shouted back
at them, spittle flying through his lips. He fired again. Then he
stopped to reload.

Austin
took off.

“There
he goes,” Jose said. “Hurry up.”

Victor
hurriedly reloaded the revolver. Then he jumped in the car and
started the engine, heading for the other side of the bridge. Juan,
Marco, and Jose ran downhill and chased after Austin underneath the
bridge.

Austin
stood still in the dark shadows under the bridge. He heard the car's
tires peeling above him as it sped away. For a second, he thought all
four of them had left, but then he heard voices and footsteps heading
his way. Sticks and twigs were snapping as they got closer and
closer.

Austin
clenched his knife, anticipating the worst. He waited and waited.
Then he decided to take off again.

“There
he is,” Marco said. “He's running.”

“Victor!”
they shouted. “Victor! He's on his way up!”

When
Austin got to the other side of the bridge, he ran uphill as fast as
he could. Victor was sitting in his car waiting for him. At first
Austin kept going, but then Victor got out of the car and pointed his
gun at him, stopping Austin in his tracks. He ran back downhill
again, underneath the bridge.

He
ran right past the trio, slashing Jose in the face. Jose whimpered,
placing both hands on his face.

Next,
he took a slash at Marco, making a dent in his neck.

Juan
backed off.

“You
got him?” Victor asked from the distance. “Where is he?”

Austin
ran back in the other direction, towards Victor's car.

“He's
getting away,” Marco said.

Victor
headed back the other way.

Austin
got into the car and looked at the ignition. Victor had the keys. He
got out and slashed the front tire with his knife. If he couldn't get
away from them in a hurry, he would at least make sure they couldn't
follow him. He wanted to slash a second tire, but there was no time.
Victor had already made his way back up the hill.

Austin
made a run for it. Five gunshots were fired, but Victor missed them
all. He got into his car and started the engine. He reloaded the
revolver with the very last of his ammo. Then he took off, stomping
on the accelerator and peeling the tires maniacally. As he gained
speed on Austin he made a sharp turn. Not even realizing he was
driving on a flat, he lost control of the car and crashed violently
into a tree trunk on the side of the road. He was ejected through the
windshield and thrown about ten yards from the crash site.

The
car was totaled to the point of being rendered useless, but Austin
went back in search for the gun.

Victor's
face was an unrecognizable frame of gore. Shards of glass were still
lodged deep inside his skull. The gun was nowhere near him.

When
Austin looked up, he saw about fifteen figures heading his way. It
was the rest of the gang meeting up with Juan, Marco, and Jose.

Austin
went back to the wrecked car, searching for the gun. Using his
flashlight, he opened the front door and checked the seats. There was
still nothing.

The
gang was getting very close now; close enough for Austin to see some
of their faces. Then he found the revolver lying on the floor. It
must have slid off of the seat during the crash. He turned off his
flashlight and left the scene.

He
didn't slow down his pace until he got about half a mile away from
the crash site. He checked to make sure the revolver was loaded. It
was. It was a fully loaded five-shot revolver. He was exhausted and
almost borderline horrified, but at least now he was armed with a
gun.

Austin was almost there. He
was just outside of his uncle's town. It had been nearly two days
since he had encountered any real obstacles. But that would change.

He was on a road that had
ditches on each side. There were two nearby roads to his left and
right that were within a very close distance to each other.

There were five military
vehicles parked in the middle of the road to his right. Soldiers were
standing all around. He could also see soldiers and military vehicles
on the road to his left.

There was no more food or
water. He couldn't afford to waste anymore time by backtracking to
avoid the military. He needed to reach his uncle's house soon.

He stepped into the ditch
and started walking with his head down low. The road he was on was
clear, but he had to stay hidden.

Occasionally, he would see
a soldier looking in his direction. It would appear that they were
looking right at him, and he wasn't sure whether or not they were.
They would just turn ad stare in his direction for fifteen seconds or
so before looking away. Then it would happen all over again.

One of the vehicles took
off and headed in his direction.

This it it
,
he thought.
They saw me.

The
vehicle drove down the road that Austin was on. He hit the ground and
waited for it to pass. But instead of passing, it slowed down. A car
door slammed.

Austin
pulled out the revolver.

The
car door opened and slammed again. Then the vehicle took off. Austin
sighed and put the revolver back into his bug-out bag.

When
Austin stood back up, he could see a face staring at him from over
the ditch.

“
Austin?
I'm Corporal Johnson. I had a feeling that it might have been you in
this ditch. I spotted you from the other road.”

“
What's
this about?”

“
I've
got orders to take you in. I don't want to do it. But if I don't
bring you in now, they'll never stop looking for you.”

“
What's
so special about me?”

“
Everyone's
special. You're just a hard person to get a hold of. You left your
cell.” He tossed Austin's phone into his hand.

“
I
left it there on purpose. I figured it might distract you for a
while.”

“
Austin,
I won't make you come with me. I've seen what they have been doing in
those emergency camps, and it isn't good. They're testing them out
for something much bigger. Eventually, they're gonna try to imprison
the whole world in those things. I help who I can. I've already
helped a number of people escape. But it's getting more difficult to
cover my tracks. So. . .” Johnson looked away in deep thought.
Then he sighed and looked back at Austin. “So just make sure
that you stay out of sight. You're gonna have to do a better job than
what you just pulled here. It's only gonna get more challenging. Take
care of yourself. And good luck.”