Countdown by John Walker (most life changing books TXT) 📕

fists up defensively. “You won’t escape this place alive though. That much I promise.”

The compound was nearby, less than a quarter mile certainly. Black smoke rose from the front, probably some kind of vehicle. That was new carnage since they fled, and Loch dragged her aboard the ship.

Zem’s pretty damn serious about this. I’m shocked he had to go this far.

“What’re you hoping is going to happen?” Rita asked. “We have to get away before the reactor explodes.”

“You’re not escaping,” Loch said, “whoever these people are, they came for you. I’m…”

Rita punched him in the face mid-sentence, knocking him off the ship. He dropped to the ground, his landing sending dust high into the air. She followed, hopping after him. As she landed, she intentionally fell forward, rolling on her shoulder before dashing away. There wasn’t time to brawl with the idiot, much as she wanted to finish him off.

A series of clicks came from the yacht, rhythmic and quick. Rita had no idea what she might be hearing. A prelude to the explosion. She risked a glance over her shoulder. I’m not far enough away, dammit! Breaking into a sprint, she pushed herself until her lungs ached which made it clear she hadn’t made it entirely out of the crash unscathed.

The clicking stopped. Half a moment later, a concussive force picked her up from behind, throwing her into the air. She pulled her arms in tight to her body, bending her knees. The landing came a second later and she rolled in the grass then slid at least a hundred feet. When she came to a halt, she groaned, struggling to rise.

Wasn’t I just in this position? Heat from the explosion made her instantly sweat. She crawled, buying a little more distance. Loch moaned to her left. Jesus Christ, he’s a cockroach! How’d he make it through this? She regained her feet, coughing several times as she took in the area.

The ship became a burning hulk. The reactor sent the top into the air though the sides and bow remained intact. Fire raged all around, on the hill, the dirt… melting metal at the epicenter of the explosion. Loch rose, rubbing his eyes. They were roughly thirty yards apart though he came out worse than she did.

Dirt covered his face, matted his hair. One of his sleeves was torn off. He turned to her, glaring.

“You want to continue our conversation?” Rita shouted. “Come over here, bastard!”

“Another time, Peck.” Loch turned away, running toward the compound. Rita thought about giving chase… paused… thought better of it.

Screw him. Rita checked her computer. The screen was cracked but it still seemed operational. The bars at the bottom showed she had a signal again. Cranking up the volume, she sent a message back to the compound.

“Zem? Anyone? Can you hear me? This is Rita, please respond.”

“Welcome back,” Zem said. She heard gunfire on the other end of the line, a constant vibration from multiple weapons. “You okay?”

“Are you? What’s going on in there? And did you shoot down that yacht?”

“Um… yeah, that was us. You were aboard, huh?”

“We’ll talk about it later.” Rita picked up the pace, heading back to the compound. “What’re you dealing with?”

“A dozen guys, maybe more. We’re hunkered down in the command center. Should have them taken care of soon enough. What about Loch?”

“He’s running around here somewhere,” Rita said. “I didn’t have it in me to chase his stupid ass down, but he can’t get far. Not if you’ve got the automated turrets working.”

“Yeah, about that… I think they’re kind of done. Managed to take out the vehicle but they’ve done something to the generators. The yacht was the only one these can take out. Dora’s here though.”

“Anyone leaving here that isn’t us…” Rita hummed. “Shit. I might have an idea. Wrap that nonsense up, Zem. Meet me outside. I’ll get in touch with Dora. We may just come out ahead… in a way that helps the cause.”

With everyone gearing up for war with the ervas, every little bit will help.

***

Dora fidgeted on the bridge of the ship while staring at the scanner. Ronnie had them running in low power mode, meaning they could jump into action at any moment but would be practically impossible to detect. They parked in a forest, using the natural foliage to help mask their presence while waiting to take action.

Ronnie sat beside her in the copilot seat. She flew through different menus, manually managing the various systems. She muttered to herself, whispering the whole time. That had gone on for the better part of an hour. The woman became accustomed to working by herself in the engine room.

Didn’t take her long. Dora asked her to come up to the bridge in the event something bizarre happened… like a person finding the ship. Infiltration seemed highly unlikely, but she wasn’t about to take a chance. Besides, everything could be run from the cockpit providing the person knew what they were doing. Now I wish I would’ve left her down there.

“What’re you on about?” Dora muttered. “Don’t you have an internal monologue?”

“Most of the time,” Ronnie said. “Right now, I’m doing complex equations. I’d rather not get them wrong. It’s easier for me to put the information out into the world to ensure I don’t forget.”

“That makes absolutely no sense but okay. More power to you, I guess.” Dora shook her head. She sat forward when the yacht took off. “Look at this!” She gestured to the scanner. “That ship…”

“They’re not getting far,” Ronnie replied. “Look.”

Weapons fired from the compound. The first couple missed but the next blasted the hell out of them. It didn’t take much to put the thing down. As it spun toward the surface, the maneuvering thrusters burst some two hundred feet above the ground… just before it